Let’s get weird?

[PapaG]

IMO, conference championships have become very devalued ever since the Big Sky expanded to the extent that not every team plays the same conference schedule. Make it to the playoffs and the real best team in the conference will be revealed there.

Add to that the fact that a minimum of 3 teams from the conference make the playoffs every year. A conference banner is a good goal for the team but as fans I think we'd rather have a seed and a team built for December football.

I guess that’s the difference. I tend to think like a player and have won conference and league championships and it was a big deal. I think of us fans as secondary to the actual players and coaches and what matters to them.

[coloradocat]

IMO, conference championships have become very devalued ever since the Big Sky expanded to the extent that not every team plays the same conference schedule. Make it to the playoffs and the real best team in the conference will be revealed there.

Add to that the fact that a minimum of 3 teams from the conference make the playoffs every year. A conference banner is a good goal for the team but as fans I think we'd rather have a seed and a team built for December football.

I guess that’s the difference. I tend to think like a player and have won conference and league championships and it was a big deal. I think of us fans as secondary to the actual players and coaches and what matters to them.

I definitely think it's an important goal for the team and an easy thing to market to recruits/boosters when you win one. But how do you think Sac thought about their conference title while we were playing Austin Peay and NDSU in 2019? I'm sure they were still proud but would much rather have been playing the game than watching it on tv.

Going back to MSU01's post, the scheduling seems to handicap multiple teams every year. The only way we could have a tougher schedule this year is if we played at Davis. No shame in not winning the conference with the our road schedule. And we still might win the whole thing!

[Cledus]

Since we're already going to make the playoffs does it really matter whether we win the conference or not? It wouldn't be surprising for us to be seeded/ranked higher than Sac in the playoff field and we'll almost definitely play further into the bracket then them.

Yes it matters. When you win the conference, you get to hang a banner, and add a year to the big sign, for 2021 Big Sky Conference Champs.
We haven't won the conference since 2012.

Ooh, a banner! It would be nice but I don't think it matters.

Seriously? Goals for this season in order:
1. Be a winning team
2. Win the Big Sky Conference (hang a banner)
3. Beat the griz
4. Make the playoffs
5. Win playoff games
6. Win a Natty

If you don’t have winning a conference title in your goals for the season the others won’t matter a lick. Winning the conference makes the other goals realistic.

Might be nitpicking, but a winning record isn't so much a "goal" as it is a baseline expectation. As in, "Any MSU coach & his entire staff that has a losing record should expect to be fired prior to the first playoff game".

And I think that #2 should be "Beat the Griz" and "Win the Conference" is more like #5, because the Cats can have a pretty disappointing season (like 2014 & 2018) and still make the playoffs...and given the FCS playoff expansion, beating a 6-5 team like Incarnate Word (2018) is a low bar for even a mediocre team like 2018.

This season, the Cats could finish 9-2 (7-1 in conference) and not even share in the conference championship...even though in that scenario the Cats would probably be a Top 5 team, and the team that went undefeated in conference play (Sac St in this case) was ranked roughly #10.

So "hanging a banner" is more like #5 IMO.

You really think that winning a Big Sky Championship means nothing to the players? You just devalued the accomplishments of some great Bobcat teams. Is this Bad Take Weekend and nobody messaged me?

I’m of the belief that winning the conference is a big deal and a significant accomplishment. But it seems like it doesn’t carry the same weight as it did 10 years ago because of this jungle conference we’re in now.

[CelticCat]

Winning the conference is a big deal because you get banners, and banners are good for recruiting and tradition.

But in the context of a national picture it just isn't that important. Look at Sam Herder's latest bracketology - EWU is a 4 seed, MSU is 7, Sac is 8 and he has Sac as the AQ from the Big Sky. That means two teams who did not win the conference will be seeded higher than the conference winner.

[allcat]

Winning the conference is a big deal because you get banners, and banners are good for recruiting and tradition.

But in the context of a national picture it just isn't that important. Look at Sam Herder's latest bracketology - EWU is a 4 seed, MSU is 7, Sac is 8 and he has Sac as the AQ from the Big Sky. That means two teams who did not win the conference will be seeded higher than the conference winner.

I think that has happened before.