Big Sky Conference-growth issues

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Highlights from the Sioux Falls, SD paper the Argus Leader:

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 002/SPORTS

Big Sky sticking with 9, for now
Conference may expand later

Chris Solari
csolari@argusleader.com

Article Published: 10/6/05

BROOKINGS - At their annual meeting Wednesday in Salt Lake City, the Big Sky Conference presidents once again discussed membership issues.

When the meeting adjourned, the Division I-AA Dakota schools got the same answer for the third straight year about potential membership: Not right now.

"Future expansion was discussed, but at the moment, (the presidents) don't anticipate any changes in the current lineup," said Ron Loghry, the Big Sky's chief of staff and director of compliance. "They just wanted to get a sense of whether to advance any further with their discussions."

It was a statement that didn't surprise South Dakota State Athletic Director Fred Oien, who said he hadn't heard from Big Sky Commissioner Doug Fullerton before or after the meeting.

"We expected nothing out of this meeting," Oien said. "I think just about every conference talks about expansion at every meeting right now. It's not just the Big Sky." . . .

Gene Taylor, NDSU athletic director, told The Associated Press that he hasn't talked with any Big Sky officials about the meeting. . . .

The Mid-Continent Conference, a league which is home to nine schools from everywhere from Michigan to Utah, has long been talked about as a second choice for SDSU and NDSU. They met in July and discussed membership issues, but no details were released.

One thing that could work in both schools' favor is that the Mid-Continent recently hired Southern Utah's Athletic Director Thomas Douple as the league's new commissioner last month and begins his job on Oct. 10. Douple worked with both SDSU's Oien and NDSU's Taylor in forming the Great West Football Conference in 2004.

The Big Sky's next presidents meeting is in May in Missoula, Mont. The Mid-Continent presidents won't meet again until March at the conference men's basketball tournament.

"The bottom line is we will keep doing the best we can until 2008-09, when we are eligible for postseason," Oien said. "The closer we get to that date, the more desirable we will be to get into a conference. One just has to be patient here." . . .