BREAKING: Idaho football....

[bincitysioux]

your north/south split left out cal davis and cal poly

UC Davis and Cal Poly are football affiliates only. Idaho won't be bringing football to the Big Sky. At least not right away.

I believe the speculation on potential divisional splits are in reference to the basketball and other olympic sports.

[bincitysioux]

So, the Idaho A.D. says he doesn't expect to be an independent for more than two years. That means in 2015 he expects Idaho to have a conference for football.

Remind me, when do Nevada, Fresno St., and Hawaii have to stop making their installment payments for the exit fees?

[Wildcat Ryan]

So where is Bigskybears telling us Idaho would never be back in the Big Sky?? true they are not coming back in football........yet, but they are in fact Back in the Big Sky for everything else, and that has to count for something

[Screamin_Eagle174]

So, the Idaho A.D. says he doesn't expect to be an independent for more than two years. That means in 2015 he expects Idaho to have a conference for football.

Or swallow what little they have to be prideful of and drop down to FCS.

[EWURanger]

So where is Bigskybears telling us Idaho would never be back in the Big Sky?? true they are not coming back in football........yet, but they are in fact Back in the Big Sky for everything else, and that has to count for something

They are seeking approval from the state BOA to explore going Indy in football and Big Sky in all other sports. Nothing's final yet.


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[BlackFalkin]

I would love to have Idaho back in the Sky, but to accept them without football is a rip. They're smack dab in the Big Sky footprint, so it does Idaho a huge favor to have olympic sports in the Sky but how does the BigSky benefit? Still hoping that their fb team will fail at FBS ball, so we can be "lucky enough" to get Idaho football back? FXCK THAT! Include fb in the deal or get the fxck outta here.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

John Blanchette absolutely nails it. Out of the park.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/a ... watch-sky/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What’s official is this: There’s a lot of hard swallowing going on, all over the Vandal map.

So ardently has the school sought to distance itself from the very notion of the Big Sky for the last 17 years that now mockers and myopics have all the ammo they need to spin this looping back as apocalypse, or at least high comedy.

You know college football fans. They think the only thing better than a touchdown pass is a teaspoon of schadenfreude.

But of all the times over the years the Vandals have trudged into the BOE with skinned knees, it does seem as if they’re down to the last Band-Aid.

...

But the most delicious irony in all of this is that now those hard-liners – whether they be politicians, big donors or just football snobs – will have to explain why the Big Sky is good enough for every other athlete at the University of Idaho, but not for football players.

And they can’t. Not with a straight face, and not without acknowledging that it really isn’t about the athletes at all and apparently not what’s best for the school but simply about themselves.

[bincitysioux]

I would love to have Idaho back in the Sky, but to accept them without football is a rip. They're smack dab in the Big Sky footprint, so it does Idaho a huge favor to have olympic sports in the Sky but how does the BigSky benefit? Still hoping that their fb team will fail at FBS ball, so we can be "lucky enough" to get Idaho football back? FXCK THAT! Include fb in the deal or get the fxck outta here.

I think the fact the Commissioner Fullerton was quoted as basically saying, "we'll accept them on these terms, although these were not the terms under which they were invited" says alot. Probably means that Idaho's A.D. told the Big Sky presidents, that unless they get an invite to the Mountain West in the next two years, they'll be playing football in the Big Sky. In the meantime, the Big Sky gets an even number of teams and true travel partners for all other sports, while Idaho can "re-acclimate" their fanbase to Big Sky play. Even in the remote chance that Idaho is not a full Big Sky member across the board by 2015, it is win for all the conference schools for the upcoming two seasons....................

I view it as a pretty safe gamble for all of the Big Sky schools..............

[kalm]

John Blanchette absolutely nails it. Out of the park.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/a ... watch-sky/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What’s official is this: There’s a lot of hard swallowing going on, all over the Vandal map.

So ardently has the school sought to distance itself from the very notion of the Big Sky for the last 17 years that now mockers and myopics have all the ammo they need to spin this looping back as apocalypse, or at least high comedy.

You know college football fans. They think the only thing better than a touchdown pass is a teaspoon of schadenfreude.

But of all the times over the years the Vandals have trudged into the BOE with skinned knees, it does seem as if they’re down to the last Band-Aid.

...

But the most delicious irony in all of this is that now those hard-liners – whether they be politicians, big donors or just football snobs – will have to explain why the Big Sky is good enough for every other athlete at the University of Idaho, but not for football players.

And they can’t. Not with a straight face, and not without acknowledging that it really isn’t about the athletes at all and apparently not what’s best for the school but simply about themselves.

Blanchette is a terrfically honest writer.

[kalm]

Oh...and now paging...Kemajic.

[WeberAlum02]

I would love to have Idaho back in the Sky, but to accept them without football is a rip. They're smack dab in the Big Sky footprint, so it does Idaho a huge favor to have olympic sports in the Sky but how does the BigSky benefit? Still hoping that their fb team will fail at FBS ball, so we can be "lucky enough" to get Idaho football back? FXCK THAT! Include fb in the deal or get the fxck outta here.

[SouthDakotaGrizzly]

What, exactly, does Idaho hope to achieve as a football independent? No bowl affiliations. No conference schedule. It's gotta be a nightmare for their AD trying to get a schedule put together for the next two seasons. What will define "success" for an independent Idaho football team? It's hard enough for them to recruit against Wazzu and Boise St. as it is; how does being a no-name football independent possibly help them in that regard? To take it further, if you're a high schooler with borderline FBS talent who is faced with the choice of going to Idaho and playing for essentially nothing (no conference title, long shot at a bowl appearance, zero shot at a national title) or playing for a program like Montana or Eastern Washington (with a legitimate shot at an FCS national title), where do you go? What is the draw that is going to bring recruits to Moscow? The Kibbie Dome ? Notre Dame is the only institution in the country that can successfully pull off being an independent, and even they have struggled with it in recent years.

I know they still hold out the hope that some, any, FBS conference will extend a hand and save them from drowning in their own misery, but there seems to be a snowball's chance in hell of that. I mean, they were spurned by the Sun Belt for Christ's sake. As has been mentioned already, just delaying the inevitable.

[kalm]

90 minute drive? You must be one crazy f#ck on the interstate

Ok, so I remember it being a little closer.

It's doable in 3.

And Idaho is 45 ?

[EWURanger]

John Blanchette absolutely nails it. Out of the park.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/a ... watch-sky/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Blanchette is a terrfically honest writer.

Agreed, even when he pisses me off it's usually pretty spot on.


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[EWURanger]

Ok, so I remember it being a little closer.

It's doable in 3.

And Idaho is 45 ?

Ok I was exaggerating a little.

The point still stands though.


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[Screamin_Eagle174]

John Blanchette absolutely nails it. Out of the park.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/a ... watch-sky/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Blanchette is a terrfically honest writer.

Indeed.

[DaCats21]

Idaho is going Independent for two reasons:

1. To shut up their whining boosters who are too arrogant, stubborn, and to accept that UI can't compete in the FBS (and are now in the shadows of their once little brother Boise State)

2. To transition to the FCS and eventually meet the league's scholarship requirement. They will use these two independent years to slowly go from 85 scholarships to 63.

Welcome back to the Big Sky Vandals. Cant wait to play a conference game in the crappy Kibbie Dome in 2015

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Idaho is going Independent for two reasons:

1. To shut up their whining boosters who are too arrogant, stubborn, and to accept that UI can't compete in the FBS (and are now in the shadows of their once little brother Boise State)

2. To transition to the FCS and eventually meet the league's scholarship requirement. They will use these two independent years to slowly go from 85 scholarships to 63.

Welcome back to the Big Sky Vandals. Cant wait to play a conference game in the crappy Kibbie Dome in 2015

I can't wait until their fanbase is completely demoralized after losing to "inferior" competition in 13 days.
Beating them on the red turf in 2015 will be fun too.

[BlackFalkin]

QUESTION? If Idaho's Kibbie dome was an impressive, state-of-the-art, 29,000 seat stadium/dome... would they still get rejected by the other FBS confrences?

[Screamin_Eagle174]

QUESTION? If Idaho's Kibbie dome was an impressive, state-of-the-art, 29,000 seat stadium/dome... would they still get rejected by the other FBS confrences?

Probably not.

[EWURanger]

QUESTION? If Idaho's Kibbie dome was an impressive, state-of-the-art, 29,000 seat stadium/dome... would they still get rejected by the other FBS confrences?

Nope.


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[BlueHen86]

They are just delaying the inevitable, might as well just admit you made a mistake by moving up in the first place and come back to the Big Sky in ALL sports.... Wait, hold on, SCREW YOU Vandals, we don't want you for ANY sports, and neither does any other conference in the continental US.

They won't survive as Independent. I'll give it 3 years before they admit defeat and rejoin the BSC in football as well.

Maybe they are positioning themselves for a shot at joining the Big East? Probably not, but think about it.

The Big East currently has 13 teams that are either already in or commited to join. Eventually they will need a 14th team. There may be some pressure on the Big East to add a western team in order to balance out the divisions. Maybe Idaho thinks that by being Independent they become an easy and attractive option.

I admit the above scenario is unlikely, but going independent seems crazy, unless you are Notre Dame.

[kalm]

They won't survive as Independent. I'll give it 3 years before they admit defeat and rejoin the BSC in football as well.

Maybe they are positioning themselves for a shot at joining the Big East? Probably not, but think about it.

The Big East currently has 13 teams that are either already in or commited to join. Eventually they will need a 14th team. There may be some pressure on the Big East to add a western team in order to balance out the divisions. Maybe Idaho thinks that by being Independent they become an easy and attractive option.

I admit the above scenario is unlikely, but going independent seems crazy, unless you are Notre Dame.

Perhaps it's the same big donors that pushed for and funded the move up that can't let go of a failed experiment?

[BlueHen86]

Maybe they are positioning themselves for a shot at joining the Big East? Probably not, but think about it.

The Big East currently has 13 teams that are either already in or commited to join. Eventually they will need a 14th team. There may be some pressure on the Big East to add a western team in order to balance out the divisions. Maybe Idaho thinks that by being Independent they become an easy and attractive option.

I admit the above scenario is unlikely, but going independent seems crazy, unless you are Notre Dame.

Perhaps it's the same big donors that pushed for and funded the move up that can't let go of a failed experiment?

Could be. I don't know Idaho's financial situation. How does Idaho's football revenue now compare to the revenue when they were FBS?

[danefan]

So since the WAC is dead, when does App State sign up for the CAA.