(11-01-2018 02:36 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  

(11-01-2018 01:19 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  

(11-01-2018 12:56 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  

(06-10-2018 04:17 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  

(06-10-2018 02:54 PM)Bogg Wrote:  Hawaii's flagship is there as well, which is fine because it's a good name for the conference to include/the schools to associate with and it's not super-hard to get flights to Hawaii from the major California airports. It's really the on in-conference school you have to fly to, although granted UCSD-UC Davis is going to be a real hike that'll probably be flown to the majority of the time. Probably doesn't actively hurt recruiting that the kids get an occasional expenses-paid trip to Hawaii, either.

Obviously the geographic factor works both ways. The Big West is the only conference that makes sense for Hawaii from a travel perspective.

Also the conference fits Hawaii perfectly with respect to niche sports. Hawaii has top-5 programs nationally in men's volleyball, beach volleyball and women's water polo. The Big West sponsors and offers elite competition in these sports whereas the MWC doesn't sponsor them.

In baseball, although Hawaii isn't a powerhouse the sport is popular and well supported (third-highest home attendance in the western U.S. after Arizona and Oregon State), and the Big West is a quality baseball conference.

Split conference membership isn't ideal for almost any school, but in Hawaii's case I think we landed in the best possible situation. The only regret is not playing men's basketball in the MWC. Back in the 1990s we had home games every season against BYU, San Diego State, Fresno State, New Mexico and (for three years) UNLV. That was great competition and enormously fun for fans to watch.

Unfortunately, those olympic sports are going to suffer with the additions of Cal State Bakersfield and UC San Diego. It's already happened in volleyball where the BW is now reduced to two bids at best. Attendance isn't high as a whole to begin with and at-large bids are dwindling, and these two members will only exacerbate both problems. Baseball is really going to take an RPI hit with the Birds coming in.

And Stugray, if all these Cal State and UC students loved playing in an all-California + Hawaii conference, shouldn't attendance be much higher for basketball? Or men's soccer, or baseball? Fact is, it isn't. Which says the students don't care. Having 10/11 members in one state saves money, but it hurts everything else.

Californians just don't care about team sports as much as the rest of the country. It's not just college; they don't support their pro teams either.

Californians are more interested in individual sports. Skateboarding, surfing, swimming, diving, etc.

No one in the state supports the Lakers, Rams, Angels, Dodgers, Giants, Warriors, 49ers, Raiders, Sharks, or Ducks? None of those teams?? Huh. Here I thought much of SoCal was about the purple and gold.