It's a nice argument but in 5 years there won't be any "up" to move up to. Big time college football is no longer an NCAA sport, doesn't matter wrestling or women's golf or whatever. And we don't have 5 years to move up, we have none and never did. We could have become New Mexico State a few years ago but so what? There isn't a single TV channel that even knows our address, let alone is beating down our door. We are more likely to meet New Mexico State on the way down than we ever were to become the next "Wyoming".
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UCLA/USC
- Thread starter HelenaHandBasket
- Start date
So you consider this a very forward move? This sounds like nothing more than due diligence to me. Could be for defensive reasons as much as offensive. There exists a real fear among UM admin and many, many fans (and maybe BH) that playing stiffer competition can produce losses that could negative impact the fan base, attendance and reputation. Forget how much more attractive it would be to have better teams come into Wash/Griz.Griz til I die said:
alabamagrizzly
Well-known member
AZGrizFan said:
I think a wise man once said “change is the root of all evil” or something like that.
mthoopsfan
Well-known member
AZGrizFan said:
The overriding factor is the cost of moving up. To date, it has never been even close to being financially feasible to move up. I suppose the stiffer competition thing might be a factor, but I would describe it as the possibility that more losses and no playoffs would result in lower attendance. Didn't attendance go down under Stitt, presumably because of more losses and missing the playoffs? I assume the MSU factor might also come into play. I don't know what the university system or board of regents thinks about that, but have, of course, seen what has been said about that on the board. I don't think UM has a fear of stiffer competition per se.
mthoopsfan
Well-known member
AZGrizFan said:
I wouldn't, because I love the playoffs.
How about going 7-5 or 6-6 every year? I think it would take awhile to get to 8-4 every year.
Where would UM recruit the greater depth needed to play in a tougher conference? Presumably, not as many MT kids would be on the team.
Do you think UM could upgrade men's and women's hoops to get to MW level, and to compete at the top?
I wonder what's going to happen with the Pac-12.
kemajic said:
Sure, but how else can we tell Ferris State fans that we beat them and have them stare blankly because they had no idea they had a team, let alone a game?
Alaska, Dakotas, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Delaware are our state peers.
No surprise I'm a not move up guy. One thing to think about is that a move up is most likely the end of a strong Montana presence on the Grizzly team. It's just numerical reality; one million Montana's (it should be going up but I feel like some of those Butte-Irish-Catholics have been sneaking the occasional condom into the marital bedroom) vs 47.8 Million for just California/Oregon/Washington means there won't be many spots left for the walk-on from Savage.
A big part of NDSU's success is that they stopped trying to have North Dakota kids on the team. They get their linemen from Minnesota/Wisconsin/ etc and most of their skill players from Florida etc. Carson Wentz is an exception but he's a souless ginger and like Beetlejuice should not be named. Trey Lance is from greater Minneapolis which has a pop of 3.5 million or roughly twice the number of Keno machines in Billings.
There is a reason that the Montana/North Dakota high school game got cancelled, cuz North Dakota football is garbage and so how could they sell a game to sponsors that might as well have been between the US Air Force and Saddam's Republican Guard.
A big part of NDSU's success is that they stopped trying to have North Dakota kids on the team. They get their linemen from Minnesota/Wisconsin/ etc and most of their skill players from Florida etc. Carson Wentz is an exception but he's a souless ginger and like Beetlejuice should not be named. Trey Lance is from greater Minneapolis which has a pop of 3.5 million or roughly twice the number of Keno machines in Billings.
There is a reason that the Montana/North Dakota high school game got cancelled, cuz North Dakota football is garbage and so how could they sell a game to sponsors that might as well have been between the US Air Force and Saddam's Republican Guard.
mthoopsfan
Well-known member
kemajic said:
I don't think you are fully and properly analyzing the situation. Many of us would rather have the playoffs, and are fine with some lesser games if that's what it takes to stay in the playoffs. Also, we have some fear that too much losing, i.e. too many lost games for multiple years, would cause attendance to go down (and the golden goose to be killed). For each 1,000 of lost attendance, I'd estimate lost revenue (from tickets, food/beverage, and Griz ware) of $300 times 1,000. So, $300,000 lost by UM for each 1,000 in lost attendance, plus related losses to the local businesses. Ticket loss of 5,000, would be $1.5 million. 10,000 would be $3.0 million. If conference tv revenue was so incredibly high, which I doubt, then that tv revenue could offset lost game day revenue.
I love the home games. Besides the home playoff games, I also love the extra games UM gets at home. In FBS, UM wouldn't get those extra home games.
Maybe I'm not the only one not fully and properly analyzing the situation. First, it is speculation that we would lose attendance from losing a few more games when against stiffer competition. I instead would speculate that bringing more interesting opponents into Wash/Griz could easily increase fan interest and put more pressure on ticket availability. Second, I don't follow the fear that UM would have to have fewer home games. I would presume a 12 game schedule with 8 conf. games, 4 at home and 4 on the road, leaving 4 OOC games. It should not be that difficult to get 2 of those at home for our normal 6 home games in the regular season.mthoopsfan said:
I did not attempt to pick at the desire for playoff games, which I don't challenge. I picked specifically at the fear of losing a few games to better opponents, which deserves challenge. That's like asking the homely one to the dance because you're afraid of getting turned down by the fox.
oldrunner
Well-known member
You just need to ask Idaho how trying to be a FBS team in a remote, small maket worked out. They went from being a highly regarded FCS program to being a bankrupt laughing stock of a FBS program. I think UM could be the next Wyoming of FBS if you wanted to, but why? Right now, UM is a big fish in a small pond with plenty to eat. Swim out to the ocean and you could either grow or get eaten by the sharks. Yes, there are small market big programs that are quite successful. However, they usually either have a long tradition at that level or some other broader appeal to bring in a wider market.
Moves like this should always be considered, but there are a lot of variables to think about. :thumb:
Moves like this should always be considered, but there are a lot of variables to think about. :thumb:
mthoopsfan said:
At this point, there isn’t anyone that can project/itemize lost revenue to UM or local businesses resulting from a move to the Mountain West Conference. There could be an increase in the fan base because we would be playing better teams showcasing more talented athletes which will increase revenue to UM and the local businesses. Further, enrollment would probably increase by virtue of an affiliation with more identifiable schools.
