ilovethecats said:
Just to play devils advocate here Spanky.
Is it not odd that a team that hasn't even made it to the "B-League Championship" in well over a decade thinks they should be one to move up a level? I'm not getting into the move-up thing. No one is going to change anyones mind. But unless you're NDSU, I can't see why any other program feels they are too good for the FCS right now. It just strikes me as odd that some Griz fans act like they are way to good for this depleted B-League conference when they are far from dominating said B-League.
Not intending to talk smack, just trying to figure out the mindset.
Just to double down on the devil thing, I'd suggest the following:
First, a move to the the MWC would be about much more than football. That tends to be what we focus on on this board, but think what it would mean to the basketball programs, as well as the Olympic sports. The additional basketball revenue alone would go a long way toward defraying any additional expenses, and give UM a much greater chance at not only making the NCAA tournament, but drawing a decent seed (because they wouldn't be playing in a conference with an RPI which is often second to last in the nation).
Second, a move isn't only about winning. There are so many factors that factor in, and I'd argue on-field success is probably 8th or 9th. Sure, you've got to be good enough to attract attention. But things like facilities, fan base, alumni and administrative support, donor levels, history, passion and prestige all matter. And UM has all of those things, largely in spades.
Finally -- and this addresses points other posters raised -- the playoffs are great. We all love the playoffs. But that doesn't equate to "relevance". The fcs playoffs, I would argue, are in fact the text book example of irrelevance. We care because we have a team playing. But 99% of the rest of the country -- even the hardcore college football fanatics -- couldn't name 3 of the top 8 seeds. And if they did, they'd still refer to them as the "Division II playoffs".