Should the Great West invite San Diego?

[ronbo]

I think it makes sense as they are already qualified for the playoffs and are a geographic fit. No schollies, no problem, give them the option to carry none, some, or 63 if they want. The Great West needs teams and they should consider inviting San Diego.

[Sly Fox]

Why not? Their recent success might even encourage them to pony up a few partials to split among key contributors.

[SuperHornet]

Sounds good. It would promote conference stability and would save USD some travel costs within conference. The only drawback in my mind would be that with the departure of the Dakotas, this is one step closer to making the GW like the Big West: BW fans' nickname for the conference is the CBL (California Bus League). If that's something GW fans can live with, then it's cool in my book.

[ronbo]

I would assume that Great West invites have already been sent to North Dakota and South Dakota for 2008.

[SloStang]

I would assume that Great West invites have already been sent to North Dakota and South Dakota for 2008.

North Dakota and South Dakota will be come members of the GWFC in 2009 when they will count as D-I game. In 2008 North Dakota will play UC Davis and SUU and South Dakota will play Cal Poly and SUU.

As far as San Diego, the would be a great fit with the GWFC if they add scholarships. Their are two teams other than North and South Dakota that have expressed interest in the GWFC. Most speculate that San Diego is one of the two.

[AppGuy04]

Not until they beat somebody of consequence

[catbob]

Not until they beat somebody of consequence

That doesn't matter. Not accepting a team because they have never beaten a high-quality opponent would be a foolish move.

That being said, I think they need to add scholarships first, and then they would be a great fit in the Great West.

[AppGuy04]

Not until they beat somebody of consequence

That doesn't matter. Not accepting a team because they have never beaten a high-quality opponent would be a foolish move.

That being said, I think they need to add scholarships first, and then they would be a great fit in the Great West.

With Harbaugh gone, they could be another Prairie View for all we know, only time will tell. I don't think anyone would want that, no USD, not the Great West

[ChetSteadman]

USD would need to make a major commitment to its football program if they were going to play in the GWFC. Scholarships being one of the largest. I do think that, with Harbawl gone, and Josh Johnson being a senior, they are about 4 months from being unheard (again)

[catbob]

Harbaugh leaving was definitely a big blow for USD. But I hope the new guy can carry on the success.

[DetroitFlyer]

Not that far fetched.... USD ALREADY spends as much on football as Wofford according to information published in the public domain. ( USD spent over a million last year, even with zero scholarships ). Now, a school like Wofford would not be questioned concerning joining the Great West if the Geography worked. USD has demonstrated that they can play with any FCS team by hammering Yale, and losing a close game at UC Davis. IMHO, USD could be competitive in the Great West, with zero scholarships. That said, why would USD want to play in the Great West versus the PFL? In the PFL, USD is a power! In the Great West, maybe not.... Neither conference has an automatic bid for its champion to the FCS playoffs.... Frankly, I see nothing for USD to gain by leaving the PFL at this point. One thing seems certain, USD does not have the coin to fund 126 scholarships, ( 63 for football and 63 for the ladies ), so if scholarships were a requirement, no Great West anytime soon. As for the future at USD, who knows.... Harbaugh leaving was a huge blow, and JJ graduating after this season will not help. USD did pick up an FBS transfer at QB this year, ( from Utah ), so they may be OK. From what I can tell, USD's success last year raised the profile of the PFL in general. In following recruiting over the last three years, I see kids choosing PFL schools over traditional / scholarship programs at every school. For 2007, USD, Butler and Jacksonville have also landed FBS transfers! Yep, kids giving up full scholarships at FBS schools to play in the PFL. As I recall, the QB from Utah that USD landed has a father that is a doctor, so the money was probably not that big of a deal.... I do not know the specifics of the Butler and JU guys, but it could be something similar. IF USD goes 11-0 this year, the playoff talk will continue and they just might sneak in.... If so, I see USD in the PFL for a long time to come, at least until being in the Great West offers more tangible benefits.

[AppGuy04]

I think performance is the issue here. I want to see that they are not just a one hit wonder before I make any judgements

[putter]

San Diego could not compete in the GW without scholarships. 6 games or more against scholarship teams would beat USD down but I think if they could committ the money to fund the scholarships they would be a great fit for the GWFC. Moving up from the PFL would raise the bar for San Diego so I disagree with DetroitFlyer in staying put.

[AppGuy04]

San Diego could not compete in the GW without scholarships. 6 games or more against scholarship teams would beat USD down but I think if they could committ the money to fund the scholarships they would be a great fit for the GWFC. Moving up from the PFL would raise the bar for San Diego so I disagree with DetroitFlyer in staying put.

Flyer only wants to keep some idea of legitimacy to non scholly football. Without USD, they are pretty much irrelevant in the grand scheme of things

[Fresno St. Alum]

USD should get schollys before they move to the GWFC but even if they don't the GWFC needs a 6th member bad and USD seems to be the ony option. They'll probably go 0-5 in conference most years with no schollys

[ronbo]

They could help pay for the schollies with reduced travel costs and also by qualifying to play FBS games. Plus you start up a Scholarship Association that helps pay for schollies by doing fund raisers and takes donations from community members and Alumni. I think the Grizzly Scholarship Association raises several hundred thousand a year, maybe more. Any Griz fan have a figure on what the GSA raises?

Make $250,000 more on gate receipts because of increased interest in higher competition.
Save $400,000 on travel.
Make $450,000 playing a Pac 10 school.
Raise $650,000 with a Scholarship Association

That's $14,500 each for 120 athletes.

It's a gamble but if you don't take chances in life you'll never get anywhere.

[DetroitFlyer]

$14,500 per athlete at USD is not even a half scholarship. USD is running around $35K per year or so, if not more. Providing scholarships at a medium sized, private school is very difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. Furman is the poster child for private school FCS football. Football seems to be Furman's main focus in athletics as I do not recall seeing any other Furman teams consistently on the national radar. Maybe I'm simply uninformed. Furman fans, help me out here.... Furman seems to have a ton of "old money" to help fund football. USD is strong in baseball, men's and women's soccer and other sports, in additon to Football. Most PFL schools are basketball schools first, ( think Butler, Dayton, Davidson ), for example. Reducing travel and FBS games help, but still do not come close to funding scholarships at private schools. Very rich alumni or a significant diversion of general funds to athletics are required for private schools to fund those schollies. Schools like USD and Dayton have been growing in national reputation by improving their campuses and programs. Athletics are part of the equation, but they are balanced against all other financial needs. At $35K per year, USD would have to come up with $4,410,000 every year to fund the 126 scholarships needed, ( 63 for football and 63 for the ladies ). Not an easy task by any measure.

[ronbo]

Tuition can be waived for scholarship athletes. That's how Colgate and the other Patriot League schools do it. No tuition. Then by raising the sports profile of the school more regular students are attracted that are football fans. So by raising the level of competition students that go off to other schools because they have good football programs stick around and go to San Diego. You can replace the money you lose supporting 120 athletes with the influx of new students that want to attend a school that plays a higher level of football. The same thing is true at Montana if we went to the WAC. I would wager that student body at Montana would increase by 1000 within 3 years because we would be attracting students that want to attend a school that plays a higher level of football.

[ronbo]

You know I was raised in a household that didn't allow the word "can't". It wasn't allowed vocabulary. If Steve Jobs and Bill Gates sat around their parents garages in the 70's thinking about all the reasons not to go ahead there wouldn't be an Apple or Microsoft today.

[GannonFan]

The PFL's not going to be getting a playoff auto anytime soon, so if that was an issue worth pursuing then San Diego would be better served by trying to join the Great West. Plus, by joining a quality conference like that, they could keep the OOC games they currently have and just have a big boost in the schedule strength by making a move like this. But it depends if San Diego is really more than just a one or two year wonder. With Harbaugh gone and with the QB only having one more year, what will be interesting is seeing how San Diego does two, three, and four years from now. They may just be a blip on the scene.