Back to basics (Missoulian, 8/12).
Grizzlies open preseason camp (Missoulian, 8/11).
Griz set to begin fall drills (UM, 8/10).
Hauck hires Hauck (Missoulian, 8/10).
Tim Hauck named assistant football coach (UM, 8/9).
Big Sky changes, again a topic of conversation (Ken Schmidt, I-AA.org, 8/9).
Former Griz Coach Swarthout Battling Lymphoma Cancer (UM, 8/5).
Wyoming's Glenn calls 1st practice 'terrific' (Billings Gazette, Associated Press).

***

Hello from Montana -- spotty coverage with a vacation in full swing

***


Back to basics

By JON KASPER of the Missoulian

Practice starts with former receiver on sidelines

Not even a half hour into the Montana Grizzlies' first football practice Wednesday afternoon, some players were sucking wind.

Those players were certainly regretting not working harder in the offseason, and some were probably wishing preseason drills were still a couple of months away.

There was no one happier to be at South Campus field than LeShawn George, the former Griz receiver who was involved in a car accident with fellow receiver Jon Talmage in late March of 2003.

George has endured countless surgeries - mostly on his legs - and didn't begin walking again until the first month of this year. George wasn't in uniform, instead sporting a white T-shirt, white shorts, black tennis shoes and a huge smile. He held a bullhorn in one hand and an air horn in the other as he stood on the sideline waiting to call out the next practice drill.

"It feels great,'' George said. "I'm just thankful for the coaches and athletes. Everybody is showing me a lot of love and a lot of support. It's good to be out here. A year ago things weren't looking too bright. The hard work has really paid off.''

George has been rehabbing since shortly after the accident. He's walking fine and jogs a little bit. He's not quite up to full-blown sprints, but admitted he's itching to be back on the field.

"I am, I am,'' he said with a huge smile. "It's bringing back a lot of memories. Maybe not this year, but with some more therapy, weight training and running, maybe next year I'll be out there and trying to help these guys anyway I can.''

"It's great to have him back out here,'' said Montana coach Bobby Hauck.
"It's been a long road back for him and we're just glad to have him around.''

George, a business economics major, will head back to school later this month. He was sitting home in Southern California a couple of weeks ago when wide receivers coach Luther Carr called and asked him if he'd like to come early and assist the coaches at camp.

"I wasn't doing anything,'' George said. "I thought it would be nice to be around football again.''

George said he's most likely done with major surgeries, although one of his shoulders and his left knee could need some work.

Both of his legs are badly scarred. There's a large lump on the inside of his left leg, a product of taking thigh muscle and grafting it to that area.
George says he's not too concerned about how his legs look.

"I don't care,'' he said. "As long as they are functional and working, I'll go ahead and show them.''

George said he's had a lot of people stare at his legs, but he doesn't mind.

"It's OK,'' he said. "You can come up to me anytime and ask what happened and I'll tell you what happened.''

Doctors said George was looking at two years for a complete recovery. George has set a goal of March 4 to be 100 percent. That's George's birthday.

Freshman linebacker Alex Hawthorne went down about an hour into practice from what appeared to be dehydration. UM athletic trainers tended to Hawthorne, who took a knee and watched the rest of the practice from the sideline.

"Alex has allergies to dairy products,'' Hauck said. "He had some yogurt and stuff for lunch and it didn't sit well.''

True freshman quarterback Cole Bergquist didn't suit up Wednesday. Hauck said Bergquist needs to have one more test to complete his physical and the doctor couldn't do it Wednesday.

Sports Illustrated thought very highly of the Big Sky Conference in its preseason Division I-AA top 10 poll.

Three Big Sky schools were included in SI's top 10. Montana checked in at No. 5, while Montana State is picked eighth and Northern Arizona 10th. The three teams tied for the Big Sky title last year and all advanced to the playoffs.

SI went out on a limb last season, picking Grambling No. 1. The magazine played it safe this year, tabbing defending national champion Delaware No.
1, followed by Southern Illinois and Maine. Montana and Maine square off in Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Sept. 4.

The Southern Conference also has three teams in SI's top 10: No. 6 Furman, No. 7 Wofford and No. 9 Georgia Southern.

National champion runner-up Colgate checked at No. 4.

The Sports Network Division I-AA poll will be released Monday.

***


Grizzlies open preseason camp

By JON KASPER of the Missoulian

The clock is ticking for the Montana Grizzlies.

Just 25 days remain until the Griz battle the University of Maine in the
2004 football season opener.

Second-year head coach Bobby Hauck and the Griz open preseason drills Wednesday with a single practice at 2:30 p.m. at South Campus field. Players reported Monday and went through a series of meetings and physicals.

"Once the players report, we're kind of in a battle against the clock to be ready for Sept. 4,'' Hauck said. "So that's started.''

This is the second year of the revised NCAA preseason practice schedule. The Griz will practice just once a day for the first five days. After that, they'll work out twice on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and once on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Three scrimmages are planned, with the first on Saturday, Aug. 21.

"I really liked fall camp last year with the exception of the practices canceled because of the smoke,'' said Hauck, who was forced to call off some practices and move to Butte for three days because of smoke created by the forest fires.

"The only regret I have with the new rule is we aren't allowed to have freshmen practice (before the veterans) and we aren't really allowed to have conditioning tests for our players. We don't really know where our freshmen are. We don't know what kind of condition our players are in.''

The coaching staff will find out soon. There's little time to for shenanigans during the preseason as Maine will prove a stiff test. The Black Bears are ranked No. 2 in Street and Smith's preseason top 25 poll, and are tabbed 10th in the USA Today/ESPN poll, which was released earlier this week. Montana is ranked third.

The Grizzlies are coming off a 9-4 season that saw them clinch a share of the Big Sky Conference title along with Montana State and Northern Arizona.
The Grizzlies advanced to the playoffs for an 11th consecutive season, falling 43-40 in double overtime to Western Illinois in the first round.

The Grizzlies return 13 starters and 43 lettermen from last year and are picked by the Big Sky Conference coaches and media to win the league title for a seventh straight season.

During the preseason, UM's must solidify a starting offensive line, hope a young and relatively inexperienced defense gels, and find a replacement for All-American kicker Chris Snyder.

"On offense I think the big key is our offensive line has to come together and play well as a group, which is a necessity at that position,'' Hauck said. "At defense, we're very young and we need to progress as an entire unit. The only real experience we have is at the defensive tackle spot.
We're going to build around those guys.''

Stiff competition is expected at the linebacker position where all three starters will be new. Several young linebackers, including Kyle Ryan, Loren Utterback and Alex Hawthorne looked good in the spring. Adam Hoge, Nick Vella and Shane MacIntyre are trying to fend off the young backers for starting roles.

"There will be great competition at a lot of spots,'' Hauck said. "On any defensive position there are going to be a lot of guys who play and there is going to be great competition to see who gets to start and take the first snap.''

Walk-on Paul Cahill beat out two other kickers in spring ball. He'll compete with true freshman Dan Carpenter of Helena for the right to replace Snyder.

"We'll chart every kick they take in a competitive setting during camp,''
Hauck said. "It will be a couple of weeks before we make a decision on who will be the starter before the Maine game.''

Montana's offense is led by senior Craig Ochs, who is looking for an injury-free season after struggling with the injury-bug as a junior. Senior workhorse running back Justin Green also returns, along with senior left tackle Cory Procter and a talented and experienced group of receivers.

The receiving corps, which includes Jon Talmage, Jefferson Heidelberger, Tate Hancock, Levander Segars and tight end Willie Walden, will be bolstered by the addition of 6-foot-4 Notre Dame transfer Ronnie Rodamer.

"Ronnie is a good-looking kid and we're excited to get him out there and get him immersed in our offense,'' Hauck said. "It's a new year and all the kids on the team are more mature and they have a year in the program under their belt. I'm just excited to get out there and watch our team run around.''

Wednesday will be the first chance for the coaches to get a look at the true freshmen. Hauck said it's too soon to know if any of the pups will be forced into playing time this year.

Hauck said all of the new recruits arrived with the exception of Aaron Mack, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound freshman defensive end from Denver. Mack failed to qualify academically. He'll enroll in classes later this month, but won't be able to practice with the team until next August.

Quick kicks: Junior Kyler Noel and Brian Carlson have been moved from linebacker to tight end. They'll back up Colt Palmer at the H-back spot.
Darby's Ben Winn, who played the H-back spot in spring, didn't return. Š Muckie Foreman, who joined the Griz in January but missed spring with a shoulder injury, will practice in a red jersey for roughly 10 days. Foreman is listed as a safety, but could move to cornerback. Š The annual Great Griz Encounter will be held Thursday, Aug. 26. Unlike previous years, it won't be held at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. This year's event will be held at Caras Park.

***


Griz set to begin fall drills

Dave Guffey of UM Sports Information Department 8/10/2004

The University of Montana Grizzlies begin their quest for an unprecedented seventh Big Sky Conference title in a row, as they begin fall camp with their first practice on Wednesday, August 11 at 2:30 p.m. at UM’s South Campus Field. The Griz have won or shared every league championship since
1998 and for nine of the past 11 seasons.

Despite the loss of several key players, Montana was once again picked as the favorite in the league’s coaches’ and media (listed in this release) pre-season polls.

Montana does return 13 starters and 43 lettermen from a 9-4 team that finished 5-2 in league and in a three-way tie for the Big Sky championship (with Montana State and Northern Arizona) a year ago. UM was ranked 14th in The Sports Network/CSTV final 2003 poll.

Last season Montana set a record by advancing to the Division I-AA playoffs for the 11th season in a row. It was UM’s 18th consecutive winning season (since 1986). In 2003, the Griz had one of the top-scoring teams in I-AA football, as they were 17th in scoring (33.1 ppg).

On offense, UM lost all-conference selections Dylan McFarland and Jon Skinner at tackle, center Derek Decker, and starting wide receiver Dane Oliver and all-league fullback Brad Weston to graduation. McFarland was a seventh-round draft pick of the Buffalo Bills, while Skinner signed a free agent contract with the San Diego Chargers.

Last season Montana was also ranked among the division’s top defenses -- 21st in total defense (310.7 yards a game), and fifth in rushing defense, giving up just 93.6 yards per contest.

On defense, the Griz must replace all-time sack leader and All-American end Tim Bush, safety Dave DeCoite, and starting linebackers Brent Meyers, Joel Robinson, and Andy Thompson, As well as cornerback Vern Smith.

Also gone is All-American kicker Chris Snyder, who signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Lions. Snyder is the Big Sky’s all-time scorer with 394 career points.

Despite the loss of so many key players, Hauck is enthusiastic about the
2004 Grizzlies. “Right now I am very excited about where this team is at and the potential it has,” Hauck said.

2004 BIG SKY COACHES POLL
TEAM (First Place Votes in parenthesis)
1. MONTANA...(5) 44
2. Eastern Washington...(2) 40
3. Northern Arizona...(1) 32
4. Montana State...31
5. Weber State...28
6. Idaho State...20
7. Sacramento State...17
8. Portland State...12

2004 BIG SKY MEDIA POLL
TEAM (First Place Votes in parenthesis)
1. MONTANA...(16) 209
2. Montana State...(6) 183
3. Northern Arizona...(5) 182.5
4. Eastern Washington...(2) 146.5
5. Idaho State...(1) 133
6. Weber State...98
7. Sacramento State...67
8. Portland State...61

***

Hauck hires Hauck

Jon Kasper of The Missoulian 8/10/2004

Tim Hauck was busy working away in his new office Monday afternoon.

His new digs are right across the hall from his brother Bobby and about a five-second walk away from his uncle Tom's office.

Tim Hauck, the former Montana Grizzly All-American, has joined his kin on the University of Montana football staff. Hauck will coach the safeties.

"Coming out of college, if I wouldn't have made the NFL, that's what I would have wanted to do," said Tim, who played safety for 13 seasons in the NFL.
"About eight years into my NFL career, I was like, 'Man, I don't want to do this forever.' Last year just hanging around and being out of the playing part of it, I realized that this was in my blood and that's what I wanted to do."

A spot opened on the UM staff last week when assistant head coach and defensive ends coach Fred von Appen retired.

Tim Hauck, who watched UM practices and spent a lot of time around the coaching offices, was a natural fit to join the staff, especially with practice beginning Wednesday.

"Hiring Tim was the logical choice, being he knows the system," said Bobby Hauck, who is entering his second season as UM's head coach. "He knows the language of our defense and he knows the personnel."

"I think it will be a smooth transition," he added. "But this late in the game there is bound to be some upheaval, but we're going to try to minimize that as best we can."

Tim Hauck's addition caused a shakeup on the defensive staff. Ty Gregorak, who coached the cornerbacks last season, will coach linebackers. Gregorak was a linebacker at Colorado.

Kraig Paulson, who coached linebackers last season, will coach defensive ends. Paulson, who spent five seasons as a defensive coordinator at Montana and Utah State, coached the Grizzly defensive line from 1991-1999. Paulson has also been named the new assistant head coach, a title von Appen held last season.

Tom Hauck will remain as the defensive tackles coach. Defensive coordinator Jeff Hammerschmidt, who coached safeties last season, will mentor the cornerbacks.

"Bobby made it easy for me by giving me the safeties," Tim said. "It's a pretty natural fit for me just being around that position for so long. If I would have had to coach the D-line, that would have been a major transition.

"I've been around a lot of different coaches and a lot of different philosophies. I've seen a lot of things that can happen. On the other side, it is new to me as far as dealing with kids and being a full-time coach.

The 38-year-old Hauck played three seasons at Montana after transferring from NAIA Pacific University in Oregon. He was the Big Sky Conference defensive MVP in 1988 and 1989.

He signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 1990.
He played with Green Bay, Seattle, Denver, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, and San Francisco during a 13-year career that ended in 2002.

"He's played in God knows how many defensive systems," Bobby Hauck said.
"He's got a pretty broad-based knowledge and I think he relates well with our staff and players."

The Griz begin practice Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. at the South Campus fields.

***


Tim Hauck named assistant football coach

Dave Guffey of UM Sports Information Department 8/9/2004

Former University of Montana football All-American Tim Hauck has been selected as an assistant coach at his alma mater, announced his brother and UM head coach, Bobby Hauck.

The assistant position recently opened up at Montana when assistant head coach and defensive ends coach Fred von Appen retired.

“Hiring Tim was a logical choice since he knows our system so well,” said Bobby Hauck, who went 9-4 last season, his inaugural year as head coach. “He knows the language of our defense and he knows our personnel, as he was around our team all of last season. I expect a smooth transition.”

Tim Hauck, 38, will coach the safeties at Montana. His addition caused some position changes on the defensive staff.

Ty Gregorak, who coached the cornerbacks last season, will coach linebackers. Gregorak played linebacker at Colorado.

Kraig Paulson, who coached linebackers last season, will coach defensive ends and was named assistant head coach, a title von Appen held last season.
Paulson, who spent five seasons as the defensive coordinator at Montana and Utah State, coached the Grizzly defensive line from 1991-99.

Tom Hauck will continue to coach the defensive tackles. Defensive coordinator Jeff Hammerschmidt, who coached the safeties last season, will now work with the cornerbacks.

A safety for the Grizzlies, Tim Hauck was voted the Big Sky Conference MVP on defense in 1988 and 1989. He is ranked third in Griz history with 305 career tackles. He was selected UM’s Golden Helmet Award (“Hardest Hitter”) in 1987, 1988, and 1989 and received UM’s Steve Carlson Award (team MVP) in
1988 and 1989.

Tim Hauck was a safety in the National Football League for 13 seasons, retiring in 2002. He originally signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 1990. During his NFL career he played with Green Bay, Seattle, Denver, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.

***


Big Sky changes, again a topic of conversation

Ken Schmidt of I-AA Western Columnist 8/9/2004

On August 9th, there will be yet another Big Sky expansion meeting. The expansion topic had first been brought up in February of 2003 when North Dakota State and South Dakota State sent their proposals for their addition to the Big Sky and the expansion topic has been discussed in some respects ever since that meeting. At that 2003 meeting, the two Dakota (North Dakota State and South Dakota State) schools were told to possibly look elsewhere for a conference home, as they were out of region in comparison to the remaining Big Sky schools.

The eight Big Sky presidents, along with Commissioner Doug Fullerton and Assistant Commissioner/Media Relations Director Dusty Clements, will meet again in Salt Lake City to discuss not only the expansion issue but also other issues not covered in the past.

Other then expansion, the presidents will be discussing Commissioner Fullerton’s performance and giving his evaluation, and will be going over information from the Fair Labor Standard Act. These items were unable to be discussed in regularly scheduled presidential meetings.

What is new for this meeting in comparison to the last meeting 18 month ago?

The new meeting will have the presidents discuss schools previously off the expansion table but have now become possibilities.

Idaho seemingly had been on the top of the Big Sky’s list to come back to the Big Sky at the previous meeting. However, Idaho has now been accepted into the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The WAC has about the same regionalism as the Big Sky and is a I-A football conference. Idaho had been a member of the Big Sky until 1996 when they left for I-A football play.

Idaho is a current member of the out of region Sun Belt Conference for football and the Big Sky had hoped that for that reason Idaho might want to play back down to I-AA. Idaho will be joining the WAC in the fall of 2005 for all sports, along with two other soon-to-be former Sun Belt western schools, New Mexico State and Utah State. Both of these schools had also been discussed as possible Big Sky additions.

The Big Sky Conference presidents and officials had hoped that not only the out-of-region problem would be a selling point to come back to I-AA play but also the newly enacted I-A rule for attendance (averaging 15,000 for a season). It was possible this rule would be broken by Idaho forcing them down to I-AA again. This attendance clause, however, seems to be enforced more liberally and likely teams not meeting it will be given more leeway to stay at I-A play or at least able to delay its implementation.

The Big Sky officials may now be forced to look at other options. These options likely will be four schools from the newly formed Great West Football Conference. The four schools that have been discussed include Northern Colorado, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, and Southern Utah.

Are these four the only schools that the Big Sky will be discussing?

One thing has been clear about expansion for the Big Sky is that only All-Sport members (6 men’s and 7 women’s sports) will be asked to join and this stance has not changed. The four I-AA schools seemingly are the only ones being considered who meets these criteria.

Everyone who is a member of the Big Sky Conference is required to play in all thirteen sports. These sports include football, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s indoor track, men’s and women’s outdoor track, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s volleyball, and women’s golf.

A school like the University of Denver (which does not play football at any
level) had been rumored because they play in the out-of-region Sun Belt for the majority of their sports and would bring the large media market of Denver to the Big Sky. However, this rumor seems false according to both Fullerton’s statement and those from Denver officials.

Assistant AD (of Media) Derek Nagy from Denver said, “Right now, there are no plans for the University of Denver to leave the Sun Belt conference. We have been pursuing different options for leaving the conference, but as of right now there are no plans to leave.”

Will there be an announcement on expansion schools on August 9th?

The likelihood of a school or schools being added August 9th is remote, as it would require six of eight presidents’ approvals.

Fullerton said, “The reason why we (the Big Sky Conference) would expand is to make the conference better and to protect ourselves from any teams moving up a level.”

The meeting, according to Commissioner Fullerton, is just for more expansion discussion amongst all the Big Sky presidents to see what schools are on the table and how any one of those schools would fit in the Big Sky in all aspects. The discussions may lead to more thorough evaluations of the schools at future dates.

No dates as to when expansion school or schools would be admitted have been announced and this likely will be a topic of discussion at the meeting.

The Big Sky would like to get above the eight members it currently has. This is due to any possible movement by any current Big Sky members to a possible I-A conference.

“If you said nine or ten (schools) were the number (for expansion), that probably would be correct,” said Fullerton.

Does expansion mean there are any Big Sky schools looking to leave for a I-A football playing conference or another I-AA conference?

No Big Sky schools are currently looking to leave according to Fullerton but the future may be different.

Fullerton said, “No teams are currently looking to leave the Big Sky but we want to keep our conference protected (in terms of automatic qualifications; seven members for basketball, six for football) in case any team would decide to leave.”

The schools that Fullerton suggested may look to jump up a level sometime in the future are Montana and Sacramento State from both a facilities stand point and city size standpoint respectively.

“When a school like Sacramento (State) has 26,000 or 27,000 students, they have the ability to be very good (at the I-A level) with more athletic commitment, said Fullerton.

Montana is maybe less likely to make the jump, at least in the short term.

“Montana is unique as they haven’t had a seat to sell for three years (in football). But they know the difference between moving up and moving up well,” Fullerton added.

How do the four possible expansion schools break down?

Since only all-sport members are being considered, this likely leads the Big Sky to just four possible choices for expansion; Southern Utah, Northern Colorado, North Dakota State, and South Dakota State.

Southern Utah is the only school of the four that is currently a full Division I member currently. SUU is a current member of the Mid-Continent Conference for non-football sports and the Great West Football Conference for football.

The other three schools are all transitioning from Division II play and do not have conference homes except for football in the Great West. Those three schools are Northern Colorado, North Dakota State, and South Dakota State.

The conference, as mentioned earlier, had been looking at I-A downgrades such as Idaho, New Mexico State, and Utah State but it is unlikely they would move down because of their new affiliation with the I-A Western Athletic Conference. The WAC has roughly the same geographical area as the Big Sky currently, from the Rocky Mountain to the Pacific areas.

Other western I-AA football schools that play in the new Great West Conference, UC Davis and Cal Poly, are members of the non-football California only league -- the Big West. Therefore it is doubtful these schools would be persuaded to move to the Big Sky as travel costs for them would be higher in non-football sports.

Lets take a look at what these four schools have to offer the Big Sky in terms of their school, geography, travel arrangements, football facility, and what sports each school presents:

Southern Utah
Location: Cedar City, UT (21,535 population) Student Enrollment: 5,881 (2003-2004 year) Distance to Closest Big Sky School by ground: 287 miles to Flagstaff (Northern Arizona) Athletic Expenses: $3,939,674 (2002-2003 year) Football Expenses: $962,834 (2002-2003 year) Football Stadium: Eccles Coliseum (8,500 capacity) Proximity of school to an Airport: 170 miles (Las Vegas), small airport in Cedar City Current Athletic teams: Football, Baseball, Basketball (men’s & women’s), Volleyball (women’s), Cross Country (men’s and women’s), golf (men’s), gymnastics, soccer (women’s), softball, tennis (women’s), indoor and outdoor track and field (men’s and women’s)

Northern Colorado
Location: Greeley, CO (76,000 population) Student Enrollment: 11,380 (2003-2004 year) Distance to Closest Current Big Sky School by ground: 497 miles to Ogden (Weber State) Athletic Expenses: $4,083,357 (2002-2003 year) Football Expenses: $887,817 (2002-2003 year) Football Stadium: Nottingham Stadium (6,500 capacity) Proximity of school to an airport: 68 miles (Denver) Current Athletic Teams: football, baseball, basketball (men’s and women’s), cross country (women’s), golf (men’s and women’s), soccer (women’s), softball, swimming (women’s), tennis (men’s and women’s), outdoor track and field (men’s and women’s), volleyball (women’s), wrestling

North Dakota State
Location: Fargo, ND (90,599 population)
Student Enrollment: 11,623 (2003-2004 year) Distance to Closest Current Big Sky School by ground: 750 miles to Bozeman (Montana State) Athletic Expense: $4,598,273 (2003-2004 year) Football Expense: $1,131,753 (2003-2004 year) Football Stadium: Fargodome (18,700 capacity) Proximity of school to an airport: 2 miles (Fargo) Current Athletic Teams: football, baseball, basketball (men’s and women’s), cross country (men’s and women’s), golf (men’s and women’s), soccer (women’s), softball, track and field (men’s and women’s), volleyball (women’s), wrestling

South Dakota State
Location: Brookings, SD (18,504 population) Student Enrollment: 10,561 (2003-2004 year) Distance to Closest Current Big Sky School by ground: 900 miles to Bozeman (Montana State) Athletic Expense: $4,976,059 (2002-2003 year) Football Expense: $845,483 (2002-2003 year) Football Stadium: Coughlin Alumni Stadium (16,000 capacity) Proximity of school to an airport: 62 miles (Sioux Falls) Current Athletic Teams: football, baseball, basketball (men’s and women’s), cross country (men’s and women’s), golf (men’s and women’s), track and field (men’s and women’s), swimming (men’s and women’s), tennis (men’s and women’s), soccer (women’s), softball, volleyball (women’s), wrestling, equestrian (in 2005)

To Note: Populations obtained from each cities’ chamber of commerce, student enrollments obtained from each school’s web site, all travel distances from mapquest.com, and all athletic expenses from ope.ed.gov/athletics/.

All four schools seem to have advantages and disadvantages. Southern Utah is a good geographical fit and good travel partner for Northern Arizona but would be tough to travel for other members other then Northern Arizona. SUU, however, has the lowest athletic budget of the four. Northern Colorado located near Denver would be easy to travel to and from and has most of the current Big Sky sports. Northern Colorado would pose a travel problem as it is nearly 500 miles from a current or expansion possible school (Weber State). North Dakota State and South Dakota State seem to be a package deal.
If both were admitted, the travel would be relatitivly easy (being 190 miles
apart) as these two would be travel partners but either would be unlikely to be added alone as both are no closer then 750 miles from an existing Big Sky school. NDSU and SDSU also arguably have the best facilities of the four schools considered and the larger athletic budgets.

All schools would need to add sports to meet the Big Sky’s minimum sports with the exception of South Dakota State. North Dakota State would need to add men’s and women’s tennis. Northern Colorado would need to add indoor track and field for both men and women and also men’s cross country.
Southern Utah would need to add men’s tennis and women’s golf.

What are the Big Sky’s future plans beyond expansion?

The Big Sky may have plans for expansion but is also keeping their eyes on what happens in the I-A ranks.

Lesser I-A regulations could mean a movement by the entire conference as a whole to the I-A ranks, according to Fullerton. However, this is a long term aspiration of the league and nothing is certain.

“With the lessening of the I-A rules, absolutely this (moving up to I-A) is something we would consider,” Fullerton said. Also, if the revenue situation was right financially with the BCS (Bowl Champions Series) to share to all I-A teams, we would consider moving up.”

“But we would like to first get our overall conference (football) attendance to a 15,000 average.”

Whatever the Big Sky decides to do on either expansion or classification, one thing is true; nothing will be as it is now. Whether it is schools leaving the conference or schools being added or the whole conference moving up a division, the Big Sky Conference will be changing. A lot of that future will come from what is discussed on August 9th.

***


Former Griz Coach Swarthout Battling Lymphoma Cancer

Staff of UM Sports Information Department 8/5/2004

Former University of Montana football coach Jack Swarthout is battling
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and a number of his former players are seeking to
add to his support. This month the web site CaringCoaches.org is focusing on
Swarthout and his need to seek alternative cures and treatments.

The web site is attempting to raise support to provide radioimmunotherapy
for Swarthout. Radioimmunotherapy is an experimental treatment that was
approved by the FDA in 2002 and is the first radioimmunotherapy agent for
the treatment of cancer. Swarthout's treatment schedule was revised recently
and he now needs the radioimmunotherapy that is available at only a handful
of select clinics.

Anyone interested in joining Swarthout's support team can do so by visiting
CaringCoaches.org. On the site, fans can send messages of support or assist
the fight financially. Any financial gifts provided through the site are
administered by the National Heritage Foundation.

Swarthout, a native of Prosser, Wash., began school at the University of
Montana in 1938 and eventually earned five varsity letters with the
Grizzlies, three in football and two in basketball. He played quarterback
and halfback before finding a starting position at end for Coach Doug
Fessenden's 1941 team and Coach Clyde Carpenter's 1942 team.

Swarthout graduated in 1942 with a degree in political science.

After several successful years coaching at the high school level in
Washington, Swarthout joined Darryl Royal's staff at the University of
Washington. He eventually followed Royal to the University of Texas before
returning to Montana to take over the Griz program in 1967.

Montana had gone through a drought in the 1960s prior to Swarthout's
arrival, going 20-35, but things turned around immediately in 1967. The
Grizzlies went 7-3 in Swarthout's first season, their best finish in 30
years.

Swarthout's 1969 and 1970 teams both produced 10-0 undefeated regular
seasons and advanced to the Camellia Bowl in Sacramento, Calif., the NCAA's
college division national championship game. The Griz outscored their
opponents 645-254 over those two seasons, breaking 81 school and 21 league
records, and Swarthout was named the Big Sky Conference coach of the year
both seasons.

Swarthout, who was also the UM athletic director from 1967 to 1974, finished
his Montana coaching career in 1975, finishing with a nine-year mark of
51-41-1. At the time that was the most career victories for a Griz football
coach.

Swarthout and his wife, Mary, live in Olympia, Wash., and have six children.
Over 100 of Swarthout's former players reunited last September in Missoula
on a Griz football home weekend to honor the coach.

***


Wyoming's Glenn calls 1st practice 'terrific'

Billings Gazette, Associated Press

LARAMIE (AP) - Enthusiasm for 2004 was plainly evident as Wyoming's fall
drills began Wednesday, but no one was more jacked up than the head coach.

"Awesome!" Joe Glenn said. "It's great to see everyone back and all of our
new players here. It was a terrific day."

The first practice started inauspiciously, with senior linebacker Randy
Tscharner dislocating a finger.

"But things got a lot better after that, and we got a lot done," said Glenn,
beginning his second season with the Cowboys.

The Cowboys completed the two-and-a-half-hour session in shorts, T-shirts
and helmets. Single practices, without pads, will continue through Saturday.

The first full-padded practice is Sunday, and two-a-days begin Monday.
Scrimmages are planned Aug. 21 and Aug. 26.

Glenn declined to single out any players but said he was pleased with the
overall appearance of his squad.

"There's no cinch that the young men we recruit are going to be a hit," he
said. "But as I looked at everyone, and watched them after one day, I think
we have a lot of guys who can help this team."

"I told the team after practice that there are a lot of guys in uniform now
who weren't wearing our colors last year, who can really help us. The
competition is keener than a year ago, and we look better."

Fall camp can be challenging, the coach added.

"Everything is done on the dead run," he said. "This is a very important
time for any team. There is so much packed into 29 days. Coaching is done on
the run, and learning is done on the run. It's really an exciting time."

Several players missed some or all of practice Wednesday, including junior
wide receiver Jovon Bouknight (groin), offensive guard Dan Fisher
(recovering from knee surgery) and safety Marcial Rosales (hamstring).

All are expected to be back within days.

The season opener is Sept. 4 at home against Appalachian State. Kickoff is
at 1 p.m.

The Cowboys were 4-8 last year. The Mountaineers, a Division I-AA team, were
7-4.