StanfordAggie Wrote:

jediwarrior Wrote:I noticed on the other board that Sac2010 mentioned that Sac State has averaged 11K fans for 3 years running even though their team has been weak.This is a pretty good indicator that if they are invited to the WAC, their fan base could double. And if they started winning at the D-1a level in the WAC, who knows how high their attendance could grow.

I'm not that worried about Davis' attendance. (Although I have to admit that their comparitively low attendance in basketball is somewhat troubling. IIRC, the capacity of their arena is much greater than the attendance.) Davis is a town of 60,000 that's pretty much in the middle of nowhere. (That's not entirely true; it's actually only about 20 minutes from Sacramento. But it sure feels like it's in the middle of nowhere.) It has a huge student population, most of whom live on or near campus, and there's absolutely nothing to do on a Saturday night. My guess is that if they had a winning football team they could easily sell out every game.

UCD is suffering in the attendance dept right now. Take out the home game with stanford this season and our basketball attendance was less than half what is was in our last year of DII in '03-'04. Having 1k people in an 8k arena was painful to watch. (BTW there are plans to expand the pavillion to ~10k) I think it's equal parts the postseason ban, the poor record, and the lack of appeal of the Big West schools to our fanbase. Baseball drew over 1000 just once, for a saturday game with Long Beach. again that's probably due to the losing record. Worst of all the old football stadium doesn't even seat 8k without extra bleachers yet it only sells out for Suc St or Cal Poly. And it's not about winning because the ffotball team hasn't had a losing season in 36 years. It's true there's nothing else to do in davis (except study) but lately it seems attending games is included in the 'nothing to do' category.

As for Suc St averaging 10k, that was 1999-2001. They hosted the Causeway with UCD 2 of those years (21k and 17k fans) and also had St Mary's twice (13k and 15k fans). Lately they've been having trouble getting 5k into games. However I'm sure that were Suc St in the WAC they could easily average 20k hosting 2 of the 4 local schools (Nevada, SJSU, Fresno, UCD) every year. I'm also sure they could put up a record as good as NMSU. The Sac Metro area is ripe for big time college football but UCD's attendance and Suc St's poor play are keeping us both back right now.

There's a rumor out that in Sac State's efforts to improve, they've hired USC's strength coach.

Any truth to this rumor?

I still follow the WAC tho Tulsa is no longer a member. I will always wish the WAC good fortune. Just curious...I used to hear banter about Cal Poly. Are they out of the picture for the future?

TU72N76 Wrote:I still follow the WAC tho Tulsa is no longer a member. I will always wish the WAC good fortune. Just curious...I used to hear banter about Cal Poly. Are they out of the picture for the future?

There is no way that Cal Poly will be added. UC Davis, Sac St and Montana are probably the best options.

Good luck to Tulsa this year in football. Tulsa is one of my three favorites to bust the BCS: Boise St, Tulsa and TCU.

TU72N76 Wrote:I still follow the WAC tho Tulsa is no longer a member. I will always wish the WAC good fortune. Just curious...I used to hear banter about Cal Poly. Are they out of the picture for the future?

I think Cal Poly is out of the question. San Luis Obispo is a gorgeous little town, but it's not a large enough market to be an attractive expansion candidate. (And travelling there would be an absolute nightmare. I think the closest major airport is in San Jose, which is over three hours away.) Moreover, their football stadium isn't close to D1 standards, and I don't think they have any plans to upgrade it. I don't see Cal Poly as a viable expansion candidate.

OrneryAggie Wrote:

StanfordAggie Wrote:

jediwarrior Wrote:I noticed on the other board that Sac2010 mentioned that Sac State has averaged 11K fans for 3 years running even though their team has been weak.This is a pretty good indicator that if they are invited to the WAC, their fan base could double. And if they started winning at the D-1a level in the WAC, who knows how high their attendance could grow.

I'm not that worried about Davis' attendance. (Although I have to admit that their comparitively low attendance in basketball is somewhat troubling. IIRC, the capacity of their arena is much greater than the attendance.) Davis is a town of 60,000 that's pretty much in the middle of nowhere. (That's not entirely true; it's actually only about 20 minutes from Sacramento. But it sure feels like it's in the middle of nowhere.) It has a huge student population, most of whom live on or near campus, and there's absolutely nothing to do on a Saturday night. My guess is that if they had a winning football team they could easily sell out every game.

UCD is suffering in the attendance dept right now. Take out the home game with stanford this season and our basketball attendance was less than half what is was in our last year of DII in '03-'04. Having 1k people in an 8k arena was painful to watch. (BTW there are plans to expand the pavillion to ~10k) I think it's equal parts the postseason ban, the poor record, and the lack of appeal of the Big West schools to our fanbase. Baseball drew over 1000 just once, for a saturday game with Long Beach. again that's probably due to the losing record. Worst of all the old football stadium doesn't even seat 8k without extra bleachers yet it only sells out for Suc St or Cal Poly. And it's not about winning because the ffotball team hasn't had a losing season in 36 years. It's true there's nothing else to do in davis (except study) but lately it seems attending games is included in the 'nothing to do' category.

As for Suc St averaging 10k, that was 1999-2001. They hosted the Causeway with UCD 2 of those years (21k and 17k fans) and also had St Mary's twice (13k and 15k fans). Lately they've been having trouble getting 5k into games. However I'm sure that were Suc St in the WAC they could easily average 20k hosting 2 of the 4 local schools (Nevada, SJSU, Fresno, UCD) every year. I'm also sure they could put up a record as good as NMSU. The Sac Metro area is ripe for big time college football but UCD's attendance and Suc St's poor play are keeping us both back right now.

Interesting. That surprises me. I didn't go to the Stanford/Davis football game, but I had some friends who went, and they told me that it seemed like there were more Davis fans than Stanford fans in the stadium. (Admittedly, Davis has a huge number of alumni living in the Bay Area, but it does suggest to me that they have some kind of fan support.) Do you think that a new stadium and/or better-known opponents would improve the situation?

The WAC needs to convince the U of Montana to move up to I-AA. I'm sure the Grizzlies would do very well in I-A. They'd be the only I-A in the state. I think they could do for the WAC what Marshall did for the MAC.

StanfordAggie Wrote:Interesting. That surprises me. I didn't go to the Stanford/Davis football game, but I had some friends who went, and they told me that it seemed like there were more Davis fans than Stanford fans in the stadium. (Admittedly, Davis has a huge number of alumni living in the Bay Area, but it does suggest to me that they have some kind of fan support.) Do you think that a new stadium and/or better-known opponents would improve the situation?

Oh yeah, there were about 15k aggie fans at stanford for the football game. About 10k in the dedicated ucd section then several thousand more scattered throughout the stands. And the aggie fans were definitely louder than the cardinal fans.

UCD fans are begging to see our boys (and girls) play big time ball. It's going to take a few years to recruit the students we need to win consistently but once we get rolling the ags will be an attractive option for expansion.

As for now i think Montana best fits the WAC model for success. Winning programs with rabid fans who will travel thousands of miles to support their team, just like Utah St basketball fans and fresno football fans.

jediwarrior Wrote:There's a rumor out that in Sac State's efforts to improve, they've hired USC's strength coach.

Any truth to this rumor?

Rumor is fact. Nice pickup for the Hornets. They also just signed a strong JC QB (Marcel Marquez)....

GARY URIBE HIRED AS DIRECTOR OF STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING
Release Date: 6/20/2006

SACRAMENTO, Calif. ? Gary Uribe has been named the Director of Strength and Conditioning at Sacramento State, it was announced today by Director of Athletics Dr. Terry Wanless.

Uribe has spent the last three years as the assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Southern California. While at USC, he assisted with the football and baseball programs, and also served as the head strength and conditioning coach for men?s and women?s track & field, men?s and women?s swimming, men?s tennis, men?s golf and women?s cross-country.

?I?m very excited about Gary accepting the head strength and conditioning position at Sacramento State,? Wanless said. ?Gary brings a tremendous amount of experience from a top-notch university which we think is significant for our athletics program.?

Prior to working at USC, Uribe was the assistant football coach and head strength and conditioning coach at Sierra Vista High School in Baldwin Park, Calif., from 2001-03.

He earned his master?s degree in physical education from Azusa Pacific in 2005 after earning his bachelor?s degree in health services management from the University of LaVerne in 1996.

http://www.hornetsports.com/sports/news/...E_ID=10173

Jugnaut Wrote:The WAC needs to convince the U of Montana to move up to I-AA. I'm sure the Grizzlies would do very well in I-A. They'd be the only I-A in the state. I think they could do for the WAC what Marshall did for the MAC.

Why is everyone so hardheaded about this? Montana can't move up, by state law, without Montana State. You also can't convince anyone to do anything that they don't want to do. They keep saying no but people refuse to listen.

The WAC doesn't need a "Marshall" either. Boise State and Fresno State are just as good in football as Marshall was. Sacramento State and UC Davis will be fine additions, if they are called, in 5 years. There is no need to rush stuff.

Lolly Popp Wrote:Why is everyone so hardheaded about this? Montana can't move up, by state law, without Montana State. You also can't convince anyone to do anything that they don't want to do. They keep saying no but people refuse to listen.

The WAC doesn't need a "Marshall" either. Boise State and Fresno State are just as good in football as Marshall was. Sacramento State and UC Davis will be fine additions, if they are called, in 5 years. There is no need to rush stuff.

According to Griz fans, there is not state law that requires Montana State to move with Montana. Montana won't move until they want to and that may never happen.

Right on Gaard, No law on the books in Montana tieing MSU to UM.
Last time I was on the Griz. board they were talking about the WAC,
someone said that a survy was taken and only 25% of Montana fans
wanted to leave the Big Sky. I really think they would do well in
the WAC, in fact they would fight for one of the top 3 spots in football
every year.
Fresno, SJSU and NMSU would be for a big shock when they played in Missoula in late Oct and Nov. with the temp in freezing range and the snow and wind really whooping it up, and Griz. Stadium packed to the rafters, now that is real fan support.

GO BRONCOS GO WAC

I don't understand you people! You say a survey shows only 25% of Montana fans want to leave the Big Sky. That means 75% of Montana fans don't want to move. Yet you then go on to talk about how great their stadium would be for WAC games. Huh?

Lolly Popp Wrote:I don't understand you people! You say a survey shows only 25% of Montana fans want to leave the Big Sky. That means 75% of Montana fans don't want to move. Yet you then go on to talk about how great their stadium would be for WAC games. Huh?

Montana would fit in the WAC and provide good competition. Why not talk about it in the off season even if it won't happen?

As a Missoula native and someone who has followed the Griz for a good share of my life I have a couple observations.

Correct there is NO LAW that says UM and MSU have to be in the same conference.

Second, it is about 45% of Griz fan from all I have seen would like to join the WAC, and that number is increasing slightly every year. Will it happen? I am not sure. Being a native of Montana, I know people there are content with the "small time".

http://www.egriz.com/GrizBoard/viewtopic.php?t=16371

In the last I will admit unscientific poll on the Griz board it was against I-A and the WAC by 53% to 46%. I actually think those numbers are probably accurate.

Some day Montana may move up to D1A, if 45% of the fans want to move to the WAC, the question becomes how many of the big dollar Montana boosters do not?. If some of the big bucks get on board then the Montana A.D and President would probably get much more serious about the WAC.
Personally for me, Montana is just another potential snowy and cold football game in the Fall. We already have USU, Nevada and Boise that can have snow in the Fall. I would much rather see California warm temperature schools, UCD and Sac State start working quicker on getting the groundwork set to get into the WAC. I'd rather wear shorts than thermals to a game. Plus as a Nevada fan, it will be a short road trip. Nevada has a history with UCD, even when they were D2 and Nevada was D1-AA, they would hold their own in football.UCD has always had their share of players they have put in the pros.

I'm definitely "not" a fan of Montana moving to the WAC.

I know some of you will say that Montana would wipe out Hawaii. But before we go there, let's get the record straight first.

In 2001, Montana won the D-1aa National Championship going 15-1. That "1" came from Hawaii.

Since 2000, Montana has only played two D-1a schools (Hawaii and Oregon - Both losses). I think I see why they want to stay away from D-1a.

I'm in favor of bringing in Sac State or UC Davis. If Portland State can get their act together in 5 years, I like them to.

I'm also now leaning toward the SDSU Aztecs as a possibility.

The WAC's first priority should be to gain the Sacto Market, then move toward SDSU.

JMO.

jedi, I like your posts, but I just don't get your constant pimping of Portland State to the WAC. They are a third tier school in a saturated market. They get no support, and have lousy facilites.

The Big Sky Conference fans would love to get rid of them, I hope we never do them a favor and take them. No MWC team will move to the WAC, so forget about SDSU. I think are best bet aside from Montana (who is not coming), is to wait for UC-Davis.

NavyBlueUSU Wrote:No MWC team will move to the WAC, so forget about SDSU.

Nobody can say that with certainty, especially when talking about mid-majors. If SDSU were in a BCS conference, then I'd be perfectly in agreement with that. But, simply put, they're not. And the MWC's future success is NOT guaranteed, nor is it guaranteed to be greater than the WAC's. *IF* SDSU saw a greater chance for success in the WAC, they'd move in a heartbeat. Obviously, the WAC isn't in that kind of position right now.

NavyBlueUSU - I'm not beating PSU's drum as loud as I used to. They definitely have issues to work out and I realize it.

Like I mentioned on previous posts, I really do believe that the WAC and the Pac-10 are "unofficially" becoming conference travel partners. And this is great for the WAC.

PSU is located in a prime spot near 4 Pac-10 schools and one WAC school. They play D-1a programs regularly, and Portland is one of the largest cities in the North West. These are the pluses. But I kow that the negatives currently outweight the positives.

With SDSU, They can be had. The MWC isn't all that great.

I'm predicting that in a couple of years, they're going to have difficulty scheduling non-BCS and BCS schools solely because of their CSTV contract. USC just cancelled a trip to Colorado State. No reason was given...but I have a feeling that playing on CSTV may have been a contributing factor.

This is one reason why we're going to see a lot more WAC vs. Pac-10 games than MWC vs. Pac-10 games.

This year alone, the WAC has 9 (was 11) games vs. the Pac-10. The MWC...only 2.

This is a trend you're going to start seeing. Both BYU and Utah approached Hawaii to get on our 2006 schedule. Hawaii declined. Hawaii is working OT to land Pac-10 teams as all WAC schools should.

SDSU and the rest of the MWC is going to get left behind the WAC, C-USA and the MAC.

So, SDSU will be "gettable" sooner than we think.