The Bobcat Nation

starting in the 2007 season.

http://www.wkusports.com/news.cgi?article=4842

HelenaCat95 wrote:starting in the 2007 season.

http://www.wkusports.com/news.cgi?article=4842

A proud addition to the Sun Belt conference ... aka, that conference that rates far below the best I-AA conferences.

It could be an ugly transition for them ... and they will still be just a directional school from Kentucky (and overshadowed by Louisville and UK).

Yeah, but at least they will get their full team, stadium, fight song, etc properly available in EA NCAA 2008.

Speaking of Western Kentucky, NDSU and SDSU are submitting proposals to join the Gateway Conference.

The Great West could shortly become just the West.

http://www.i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=81850

It's at the bottom of the page.

Cledus wrote:Speaking of Western Kentucky, NDSU and SDSU are submitting proposals to join the Gateway Conference.

The Great West could shortly become just the West.

http://www.i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=81850

It's at the bottom of the page.

I wonder with the train-wreck that has been Northern Colorado, and with it looking like NDSU and SDSU being off the table, if the Big Sky will change their views about expanding to the Dakotas and consider UND for expansion?

bincitysioux wrote:

Cledus wrote:Speaking of Western Kentucky, NDSU and SDSU are submitting proposals to join the Gateway Conference.

The Great West could shortly become just the West.

http://www.i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=81850

It's at the bottom of the page.

I wonder with the train-wreck that has been Northern Colorado, and with it looking like NDSU and SDSU being off the table, if the Big Sky will change their views about expanding to the Dakotas and consider UND for expansion?

Que the begging and pleading
They already passed on the #1 (Best) in North Dakota State University but if they want the scraps more power to em. Can you say Northern Colorado all over again?

I say this for one reason only. Look at UNC's financial situation as they sit right now in the BSC. They are in financial trouble now. Now lets look at und. They had a projected budget defecit of almost 1 million dollars before the year started. After making many CUTS and having to have some interesting financial bookwork done they say they are now financially out of the red tape. This while they are still DII. So why is the BSC going to want to take on another red headed stepchild financially in the future? Hope you make it I really do but I see UNC all over again.

From the Sioux Falls, SD Argus Leader:

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

Western Kentucky will leave Gateway
Talks with SDSU could begin at season's end

By Terry Vandrovec
tvandrovec@argusleader.com
PUBLISHED: November 3, 2006

News on Thursday that Western Kentucky will move its football program to the NCAA Division I-A level next fall and thus leave the Gateway Football Conference did little to immediately advance the possibility of South Dakota State and North Dakota State joining the I-AA league.

The yes vote by WKU's board of regents - final tally of 7-2 - was a formality. Gateway commissioner Patty Viverito said she'd long expected the Hilltoppers to jump; that was the reason her league sought institutional information from SDSU and NDSU regarding potential expansion.

"Western Kentucky gave us the heads up in August," Viverito said. "The action today is no surprise. Back when we got the news, we entered into some discussions and started conversations. The interest, I think, is mutual between those schools and the Gateway." . . . (read more)

From the St. George paper (Southern Utah):

http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... /611030327

Great West Football in for some changes
By BEAU EASTES
beastes@thespectrum.com

CEDAR CITY - Changes are a coming for fans of the Great West Football Conference.

As expected, Western Kentucky's board of regents approved the school's move from I-AA football to I-A on Thursday with a 7-2 vote. The decision means the Hilltoppers will leave the I-AA Gateway Football Conference for the I-A Sun Belt Conference, a league the rest of Western Kentucky's athletic programs already participate in.

Like any move in college athletics, the move has ramifications beyond just the Gateway. The loss of the Hilltoppers leaves the conference with seven members, one school more than the minimum six teams required for an automatic bid into the NCAA's I-AA football playoffs. With that in mind, Gateway officials are expected to invite Great West Football Conference members North Dakota State and South Dakota State to join the Midwest-based league. . . .

"It's not good for the (Great West)," Southern Utah athletic director Ken Beazer said last week when the possibility of losing the Dakotas was first brought up. "But the Great West has plans to move forward.

Though the Dakotas would almost certainly participate in the Great West next season, 2008 could see several new teams in what is currently the top-ranked I-AA football conference in the country.

The University of North Dakota will begin its transition from Division II to Division I/I-AA football next season and would be seen as a logical replacement for NDSU and SDSU. Additionally, on Monday the University of South Dakota received a recommendation from an intercollegiate consulting firm to make the move from Division II to I-A with a I-AA football program. Similar to when NDSU and SDSU moved classifications together, UND and USD could be seen as a package deal that would solve the Great West's membership problems, at least temporarily.

"We're at the table with some other I-AA schools," said Mid-Con commissioner Tom Douple, whose conference governs the Great West. "But it takes time to develop a viable conference." (read more)

bincitysioux wrote:

Cledus wrote:Speaking of Western Kentucky, NDSU and SDSU are submitting proposals to join the Gateway Conference.

The Great West could shortly become just the West.

http://www.i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=81850

It's at the bottom of the page.

I wonder with the train-wreck that has been Northern Colorado, and with it looking like NDSU and SDSU being off the table, if the Big Sky will change their views about expanding to the Dakotas and consider UND for expansion?

Doh, you just lost one vote in your favor. Burning bridges isn't the best strategy to gain enterance to a conference.