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Yep, it's the annual off-season move-up thread

There are a number of inherent advangates the Griz hold above the cats that make the likelihood of a long term changing of the guard more than improbable. These include:

An unprecedented 30 year dominance in football and a ten year dominance in basketball.

Facilities: Wa-Griz vs RHS; Champions Center vs a trophy case; Student Athlete Academic Center vs the lawnkeeper's shed at RHS.

Fandom: Most of the in-state kids dream of becoming a Griz.

NFL Legacy: 9 Griz currently in the league vs the blurred memory of Jan Stenerud.

Brand of Football: Bob Stitt's innovative spread attack vs Richard Choates' 1950's Power I.

Appeal for out of state recruits: Perennial FCS powerhouse vs a team that sometimes makes the playoffs but never gets past the first round.

Scandal: UM has weathered the storm and is trending upward vs the place where Ron Ash used to crease his chinos.

Success begets success. I don't see the changing of the guard anytime soon.
 
Who really know what "direction" UM has with regards to football future. If they do have a plan it would be nice for them to give some hint of what that might be other than we continue to monitor for the best options. I don't see what it hurts to officially let it be know that UM has aspirations to compete at a higher level.

UM has invested so much money into recent projects to attract and enhance student athlete experience and for what? To have to try and out recruit Southern Utah and EWU? If UM has to complete these types of project to be competitive in the BSC there is a real problem. Of recent years we have seen the likes of schools with much less to offer and next to zero fan support compete or beat UM. Sad really when you think back to the last 20 years.

Luckily UM still appears to be in a position to steer the BSC to some degree. Maybe UM should push for a WAC merger that has been mentioned to them start up "FBS" football again in the WAC. I would believe if that happened the Dakota schools could be persuaded to join with the Montana schools, Cali schools and PSU to form a 10 team FBS conference. Other BSC schools coukd then have the option to move up. I would think the WAC coukd petition the NCAA to extend time to increase scholarships etc.

I believe a move like this would also better position UM for the day the P5 breaks away or the G5 decides to start a playoff system and changes the structure of the conference so teams are based more regionally. I think if UM just holds tight for something suck as this to happen they will be behind the curve still.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Except for the Stitt thing, Ursa Major, your living in the past list won't do it for much longer. It appears, already, that despite all those "advantages," students, including athletes, increasingly prefer our bigger little brother.
 
Fat Bruno said:
Except for the Stitt thing, Ursa Major, your living in the past list won't do it for much longer. It appears, already, that despite all those "advantages," students, including athletes, increasingly prefer our bigger little brother.
Click to expand...

Really? Are you really surprised kids from Glacier are going to the cats? When a Griz legacy or a kid from a solid Griz family goes cats, call me. Otherwise, it's a non-starter.
 
Fat Bruno said:
Except for the Stitt thing, Ursa Major, your living in the past list won't do it for much longer. It appears, already, that despite all those "advantages," students, including athletes, increasingly prefer our bigger little brother.
Click to expand...

As others have noted, the passion for either the cats or Griz run deep in Montana. Generally, you are either one or the other and this passion often runs in families. Recruits are no different.

Also the advantages listed above are very real and are currently relevant and will be relevant for the foreseeable future. The stadiums are not equal nor are the fan support or the ancillary facilities (e.g. academic center, Champion's Center; soon to be built weight room). These are huge advantages in attracting recruits. One only has to look at the facilities of FBS Alabama and Oregon to understand the appeal of these types of environments for recruits. This is not arguable. Also the pathway to the NFL and the number of former Griz players in the NFL is another huge recruiting advantage that the Griz have. That's why the coaches make such a big deal of it during recruiting, What high school football star doesn't dream of playing in the NFL?

Anomalies exist but they should not be mistaken for a longer-term trend. Kids in MSU families will more than likely go to MSU. If you had the choice of being the AD for either program and your future was directly connected to the success of either program, which program would you choose? Unless you're a cat fan, you would put your money and your future on the Griz.

It's not even close.

Ursa J. Major
 
Fat Bruno said:
Except for the Stitt thing, Ursa Major, your living in the past list won't do it for much longer. It appears, already, that despite all those "advantages," students, including athletes, increasingly prefer our bigger little brother.
Click to expand...

Since you're clearly a fat cat fan, it's very odd that you don't refer to lil bro in the first person.
 
Inspector Griz said:
Who really know what "direction" UM has with regards to football future. If they do have a plan it would be nice for them to give some hint of what that might be other than we continue to monitor for the best options. I don't see what it hurts to officially let it be know that UM has aspirations to compete at a higher level.

UM has invested so much money into recent projects to attract and enhance student athlete experience and for what? To have to try and out recruit Southern Utah and EWU? If UM has to complete these types of project to be competitive in the BSC there is a real problem. Of recent years we have seen the likes of schools with much less to offer and next to zero fan support compete or beat UM. Sad really when you think back to the last 20 years.

Luckily UM still appears to be in a position to steer the BSC to some degree. Maybe UM should push for a WAC merger that has been mentioned to them start up "FBS" football again in the WAC. I would believe if that happened the Dakota schools could be persuaded to join with the Montana schools, Cali schools and PSU to form a 10 team FBS conference. Other BSC schools coukd then have the option to move up. I would think the WAC coukd petition the NCAA to extend time to increase scholarships etc.

I believe a move like this would also better position UM for the day the P5 breaks away or the G5 decides to start a playoff system and changes the structure of the conference so teams are based more regionally. I think if UM just holds tight for something suck as this to happen they will be behind the curve still.

Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

I can't imagine you're suggesting affiliating with the latest permutation of the old WAC? Current members include Grand Canyon University, Chicago State, Seattle U and Univ of Missouri KC - none of whom play football or are likely to anytime during the lifetime of anybody currently logging onto egriz. They are an even bigger bundle of mismatched parts than the BSC - if that's possible. :coffee:
 
Of course, they're real, but nowhere near permanent. A shrinking institution cannot maintain its programs for very long in any area. To deny that is just childish. And, so is talk about moving up while this is going on. Why anyone thinks the athletic dept. of all unnecessary things is immune is beyond me ... well, not really ... wishful thinking is a common thing.
 
Duh ... yeah i must be a cat fan. Unlike pedestrian fans and sugar coaters, I take an objective view of these matters. Backward children like Everett Griz, who dream obsessively and constantly ... and boringly ... about the greater vicarious thrills and cheap derived glories they could have if only we'd magically move up even while the U is getting smaller by the year are true fans ... of inane self delusion.
 
It's remarkable to me how many cat fans there are on here pretending to be GRIZ fans. I mean, I get it. I wouldn't cop to being a kitty fan either, but...
 
It's amazing how many weak, boring, little minds there are here who can't imagine anyone taking a serious look at the decline of UM and noting that it's bound to have an effect on its sports programs. Whatever education they managed to fake while at the U did not include the most important lessons in critical thought or in intellectual honesty. And they're out of their league in trying to deal with people who did.
 
I think the only chance Montana would move up in this scenario is if the Big 12 takes 4 teams and 2 of them from the MWC, in this case Colorado State and Boise State. Even then though we would be a 4th or 5th option at best as the MWC seems more interested in getting a school or a few schools in Texas primarily such as UTEP, UTSA ect. After that they could offer New Mexico State and Idaho next as they are the only other 2 FBS (Idaho still is currently FBS) teams out West who could fill in the gaps but if they were deadest on not inviting either I could see the MWC looking to take Montana and Montana State as I don't see us moving up without the Cats.

Trust me I would love to see and I think Montana should make the move to FBS, would love to see them play against Wyoming, Utah Sate, Nevada every Saturday and as proven there is more money and exposure at the FBS level, even for the smaller teams, I mean hell the Idaho Potato Bowl had more viewers then last years FCS Championship game.
 
Fat Bruno said:
It's amazing how many weak, boring, little minds there are here who can't imagine anyone taking a serious look at the decline of UM and noting that it's bound to have an effect on its sports programs. Whatever education they managed to fake while at the U did not include the most important lessons in critical thought or in intellectual honesty. And they're out of their league in trying to deal with people who did.
Click to expand...


ATL...is that you boy????
 
"I'd offer a large wager, but I've never been paid off by a cat fan so....."

Do you ever run out of trite, pre-canned, little Bobcat references, you adolescent mediocrity? Try to absorb this fact: regardless of the preferences of the source, the fact remains that UM is rapidly becoming little brother in everything but sports, and that relatively soon that will have to be reflected in the sports programs. If you have anything but stale, predictable fan garbage to refute that, why don't you share your wisdom with us? We could use some comic relief.
 
I'm sure you're right ... trite rationales from the lower hominids tend to make little sense to me. Btw, how are you managing to carry on without the increased, derived glories you imagine would accrue to your narrow, little self if only we were to move up to the light infused glamours of big time football? It seems to be your entire reason for living ... and congratulations on that ... thinking big within a very tiny sphere is a tried and true formula for bovine contentment.
 
Fat....are you another dual Griz/Cat fan like so many on the board? We are aware that UM has declined in enrollment, however, many of us are weary of our school competing against the likes of North Colorado, Southern Utah. Why not move to a FBS conference if given the opportunity?
 
Fat....are you another dual Griz/Cat fan like so many on the board? We are aware that UM has declined in enrollment, however, many of us are weary of our school competing against the likes of North Colorado, Southern Utah. Why not move to a FBS conference if given the opportunity?
 
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