............what are they gonna do? I mean, being FBS for so long and now, not being able to find a new conference is crazy. Its like someone is

The WAC will live again. They'll be OK!

I'm not sure they would viewg being in a conference with schools like Liberty as living again. Might be better than dropping to the FCS, but not sure.

Idaho is likely to return to the Big Sky. NMST might join them. Good football there - not FBS but equal competition.

They did it to themselves unfortunately

NMST has to be marshalling its political resources on state government and UNM to get it in the MWC.

Somewhat surprised that Idaho government isn't pressuring Boise St to stay in the WAC, saving it as an Olympic conference.

I have a question.

The funding for the University of Idaho and Boise State presumably comes from the same place, right? Correct me if I am wrong, but I think the State of Idaho ultimately pays the bills for both institutions.

How did one become so wildly successful in football while the other is about to be relegated?

I understand that the University of Texas and University of North Texas are both funded by the state of Texas and one has a much more successful athletic tradition. In that case, though, there are other factors. UT gets much more money from the state than does UNT. UT has a larger alumni base who gives to athletics. UT would be able to recruit the superior players etc.

In the case of Idaho and Boise State, though, I do not fully understand the discrepancy. Does one University get more money from the state? Does either Idaho or Boise State have a much more powerful alumni base from which to draw funds? Was it simply an institutional decision? In other words, did Boise State have a president and an AD who decided to funnel more of their state funding into football while the president of Idaho chose to fund other things? Obviously Boise State would be more likely to get football recruits now, but I feel like 10-15 years ago they would not have had a huge advantage. Is there an inherent recruiting advantage for Boise State?

I guess I am just wondering why the major difference?

(05-25-2012 09:47 AM)NoDak Wrote:  NMST has to be marshalling its political resources on state government and UNM to get it in the MWC.

Somewhat surprised that Idaho government isn't pressuring Boise St to stay in the WAC, saving it as an Olympic conference.

You mean the MWC? The Idaho Government knows it has been playing favorites for far to long when it involves the Vandals. However I would not be shocked if they demanded we pay money to Idaho out of our paycheck. Would not surprise me at all.

Quote:I understand that the University of Texas and University of North Texas are both funded by the state of Texas and one has a much more successful athletic tradition. In that case, though, there are other factors. UT gets much more money from the state than does UNT. UT has a larger alumni base who gives to athletics. UT would be able to recruit the superior players etc.

This is true, but one has nothing to do with the other. In the state of Texas, your athletics have to be self funded because you get no money from the state for athletics.

UT has better sports than UNT because of it's larger alumni base (and having a larger alumni base than anybody else for a long time) playing football longer, not being a commuter school, etc etc.

If both Idaho and New Mexico State end up moving down to FCS to join the Big Sky for football, then this will increase the Big Sky to have 15 football-playing members. Would they actually want to have that many? It would be easier for only Idaho to go to the Big Sky for north/south division-creating purposes. Also, why did the Big Sky add North Dakota? It seems so far from the other members.

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=209...349c&msa=0

North Division
Eastern Washington
Idaho (football only?)
Idaho State
Montana
Montana State
North Dakota
Portland State

South Division
UC-Davis (football only)
Cal Poly (football only)
*New Mexico State (football only?)
Northern Arizona
Northern Colorado
Sacramento State
Southern Utah
Weber State

Thoughts? Especially from people out west closer to this situation! Thanks!

The difference between BSU and UofI is so dramatic it is worth noting. Only historical fate has northern Idaho as a part of the southern half. The geography is different, the culture is different and population makeup is very different. Boise, located on the high plains is a capitol city with a moderate population, and far enough way from the powers of UW and BYU to be a viable school. UofI is located in northern Idaho and nestled in a quaint mountain area. WSU is a mere stones throw away (I think 10 miles), but the overriding influence of the area is UW, and the population center in Spokane (a considerable distance away)is more or less dedicated to UW and WSU. To put it mildly, ya gotta wanna go there to get there. If you are into some of the most beautiful scenery in the West, glacier lakes, gentle mountains, skiing, then UofI is where you want to be. Boise rolled the dice and came out a winner - charismatic coach, blue turf, and a great PR team. UofI built a tiny dome (basically covered the old field), but little else happened. Boise is metro, UofI is pristine. If I were to go to undergrad again, I might strongly consider UofI, but watch Boise football. I hope the Vandals land somewhere that will benefit their program.

I could see the Northern part of Big Sky eventually breaking off and adding schools with the hopes of one day going FBS together:

UC Davis
Sacramento State
Eastern Washington
Portland State
Idaho
Idaho State

Montana
Montana State
North Dakota
North Dakota State
South Dakota
South Dakota State

One of the reasons why The University of Idaho is where it is at is because the capitol of Idaho used to be Lewiston. It was moved to Boise in 1886 but Lewiston still have a bigger population than Boise at the time so the U of I was established in 1889. Back then Idaho as a state still had less than 100,000 people total. They also had classes in Caldwell,Idaho which is about 20 minutes or so from Boise.
I am not sure what the thought process was when they decided to keep Moscow as the main campus and then eventually the State University. You can't even get to it from Boise without having to go to the Oregon border and heading up toward Hells Canyon. Anyone who lives in Idaho will tell you there really is no reason to go up there and it is true. If the southern Potatoes wanna go see mountain lakes, forest, and ski, we go to Sawtooth or the River of no Return Wilderness. Or we go to Sun Valley.
Boise grew because of the location. The state of Idaho knew they had to get people to come here so Boise and the surrounding area started to grow. It makes since. Most of southern Idaho is desert or high desert and it was a lot easier to build an interstate there (To this day Idaho only has 2 main interstate highways). And when the city started to grow the Junior College started to grow and that became Boise State. The problem was it was not til recently that the state decided to treat Boise the U of I's equal. I think Idaho was getting 60% of the state funding out of all of the Universities in the state. Of course the U of I does not like that the state is starting to divide the money a little better and realizes Moscow was not exactly a smart decision.
It is the same as Washington State. There was not one good reason to built that campus there. Their is nothing in Eastern Washington except Spokane and I am pretty sure that was built there just to have something on a map. But Pullman is just far enough that people in Spokane could care less about Washington State.
The hate between northern Idaho and southern Idaho is very real. They have no love for each other at all. They would argue over diamond digging rights, land rights, what forest areas got cut down and what doesn't. The Universities is just an extension of that. Does not help Boise State that most grads from the U of I end up in or around Boise including most of the Government here. That is finally starting to change a little as well.

Ok, I have a crazy question for you WTR. It is crazy because I realize the chances of it every actually happening are slim to none. What if Idaho finally realized the futility of this whole situation you guys got there and they just merged the two schools? How much better in academic ratings would that one school be?

I think you can probably guess where I am going with this.

(05-25-2012 11:06 AM)He1nousOne Wrote:  Ok, I have a crazy question for you WTR. It is crazy because I realize the chances of it every actually happening are slim to none. What if Idaho finally realized the futility of this whole situation you guys got there and they just merged the two schools? How much better in academic ratings would that one school be? I think you can probably guess where I am going with this.

Welcome the newest member of the PAC 12 ...... The University of Idaho at Boise?

(05-25-2012 11:16 AM)TommyC2 Wrote:  

(05-25-2012 11:06 AM)He1nousOne Wrote:  Ok, I have a crazy question for you WTR. It is crazy because I realize the chances of it every actually happening are slim to none. What if Idaho finally realized the futility of this whole situation you guys got there and they just merged the two schools? How much better in academic ratings would that one school be? I think you can probably guess where I am going with this.

Welcome the newest member of the PAC 12 ...... The University of Idaho at Boise?

Yeah, kind of in that direction but I have absolutely no clue what the combined academic prowess of such a venture would be.

I realize that there are some serious cultural hurdles to jump over but at some point these people need to realize they are only hurting themselves with this serious in state feud. Idaho is not large enough to support it.

(05-25-2012 11:20 AM)He1nousOne Wrote:  

(05-25-2012 11:16 AM)TommyC2 Wrote:  

(05-25-2012 11:06 AM)He1nousOne Wrote:  Ok, I have a crazy question for you WTR. It is crazy because I realize the chances of it every actually happening are slim to none. What if Idaho finally realized the futility of this whole situation you guys got there and they just merged the two schools? How much better in academic ratings would that one school be? I think you can probably guess where I am going with this.

Welcome the newest member of the PAC 12 ...... The University of Idaho at Boise?

Yeah, kind of in that direction but I have absolutely no clue what the combined academic prowess of such a venture would be.

I realize that there are some serious cultural hurdles to jump over but at some point these people need to realize they are only hurting themselves with this serious in state feud. Idaho is not large enough to support it.

My take on any proposal to merge the two schools is about the same of asking UNC to take over NCState, or Alabama to merge with Auburn ... there is more likely to be an armed war between the two halves of the state than a merger. And, UofI has the Nez Perce tribe to back them. My thought is... no way would that be feasible until the world dissolves into a pile of dust. But, that's just my opinion.

(05-25-2012 11:32 AM)Dub591 Wrote:  

(05-25-2012 11:20 AM)He1nousOne Wrote:  

(05-25-2012 11:16 AM)TommyC2 Wrote:  

(05-25-2012 11:06 AM)He1nousOne Wrote:  Ok, I have a crazy question for you WTR. It is crazy because I realize the chances of it every actually happening are slim to none. What if Idaho finally realized the futility of this whole situation you guys got there and they just merged the two schools? How much better in academic ratings would that one school be? I think you can probably guess where I am going with this.

Welcome the newest member of the PAC 12 ...... The University of Idaho at Boise?

Yeah, kind of in that direction but I have absolutely no clue what the combined academic prowess of such a venture would be.

I realize that there are some serious cultural hurdles to jump over but at some point these people need to realize they are only hurting themselves with this serious in state feud. Idaho is not large enough to support it.

My take on any proposal to merge the two schools is about the same of asking UNC to take over NCState, or Alabama to merge with Auburn ... there is more likely to be an armed war between the two halves of the state than a merger. And, UofI has the Nez Perce tribe to back them. My thought is... no way would that be feasible until the world dissolves into a pile of dust. But, that's just my opinion.

That sucks to hear man. The difference between the situation in Idaho and the situations in Alabama and North Carolina is that Alabama and North Carolina have the ability to support multiple institutions at the top level. Idaho does not have that ability. At some point people there would need to realize just how much they are hampering themselves on the National level.

I am not really sure what that would take but if it helped the state in general I would be all for it. I am not sure the state even cares right now about the schools. Idaho has been all about wolf hunts and prepping for a bad summer full of fires because we had no winter this year. I have never even heard Butch Otter mention football. As far as I know he has done nothing to try and help Boise State out with realignment.

(05-25-2012 11:42 AM)He1nousOne Wrote:  

(05-25-2012 11:32 AM)Dub591 Wrote:  

(05-25-2012 11:20 AM)He1nousOne Wrote:  

(05-25-2012 11:16 AM)TommyC2 Wrote:  

(05-25-2012 11:06 AM)He1nousOne Wrote:  Ok, I have a crazy question for you WTR. It is crazy because I realize the chances of it every actually happening are slim to none. What if Idaho finally realized the futility of this whole situation you guys got there and they just merged the two schools? How much better in academic ratings would that one school be? I think you can probably guess where I am going with this.

Welcome the newest member of the PAC 12 ...... The University of Idaho at Boise?

Yeah, kind of in that direction but I have absolutely no clue what the combined academic prowess of such a venture would be.

I realize that there are some serious cultural hurdles to jump over but at some point these people need to realize they are only hurting themselves with this serious in state feud. Idaho is not large enough to support it.

My take on any proposal to merge the two schools is about the same of asking UNC to take over NCState, or Alabama to merge with Auburn ... there is more likely to be an armed war between the two halves of the state than a merger. And, UofI has the Nez Perce tribe to back them. My thought is... no way would that be feasible until the world dissolves into a pile of dust. But, that's just my opinion.

That sucks to hear man. The difference between the situation in Idaho and the situations in Alabama and North Carolina is that Alabama and North Carolina have the ability to support multiple institutions at the top level. Idaho does not have that ability. At some point people there would need to realize just how much they are hampering themselves on the National level.

Exactly. But when I said Boise State would probably have to pay Idaho some of its Big East money I was not joking. And as a school, Boise State is so broke right now we no longer take the band to most of the away games. We have had to cut back on our renovation about 3 or 4 times now. The football stadium by itself went from 50,000 and dropping the field to adding more bleachers to the end zones to get it up to 37,000 or 38,000 and just finishing the new building with the football offices, weight rooms, and player lounge's.
I am an optimist but Boise State is gonna get left behind if they do not get some kind of funding soon. When we get to the Big East I am gonna expect us to take a step back if the football program does not get a boost somewhere. I think we will still go to bowl games, but I am looking at 7-5 and 8-4 seasons and at times actual rebuilding years where we struggle to win 5. We have a chance to not go through that if the state helps out.