Moving up

[AFCAT]

We can’t even win a National Championship at this level. Why would people want to watch us play for a the chance at a bowl game? This would be a huge mistake. The fan base would drop to below 10,000 fans per game. It would destroy our program. Just look at Idaho. There is a reason they came back to the Big Sky.

Totally disagree. Bobcat Stadium is packed on Saturdays because it's the place to be. It's a premier and one of a kind event that people don't want to miss. It's the same thing in Missoula. Like an old athletic director used to always say: "It's not about winning. It's about the hope of winning. If you win consistently for awhile, then people will have the hope of winning forever."

Montana State would have to be absolutely terrible for 10+ years in a row AND have a style that was unappealing to watch AND have a terrible coach for people to completely stop coming to games. And that wouldn't happen. If MSU was FBS, they could out-recruit at least half the league simply based on Bozeman being a way more desirable destination than Laramie or Reno or San Jose or wherever.

Hope of winning what? The Potato Bowl? Nope, as a lifelong Bobcat fan, I hope to win a National title and I don’t see that happening in the FBS. If Bozeman was such a desirable location for players, then the Cats would be destroying the Dakota schools every single year.

[MSU01]

We can’t even win a National Championship at this level. Why would people want to watch us play for a the chance at a bowl game? This would be a huge mistake. The fan base would drop to below 10,000 fans per game. It would destroy our program. Just look at Idaho. There is a reason they came back to the Big Sky.

Totally disagree. Bobcat Stadium is packed on Saturdays because it's the place to be. It's a premier and one of a kind event that people don't want to miss. It's the same thing in Missoula. Like an old athletic director used to always say: "It's not about winning. It's about the hope of winning. If you win consistently for awhile, then people will have the hope of winning forever."

Montana State would have to be absolutely terrible for 10+ years in a row AND have a style that was unappealing to watch AND have a terrible coach for people to completely stop coming to games. And that wouldn't happen. If MSU was FBS, they could out-recruit at least half the league simply based on Bozeman being a way more desirable destination than Laramie or Reno or San Jose or wherever.

100% agree. We need to look forward and in a way that looks at the entire athletics department as opposed to just football. People on the basketball board are always talking about how they want MSU to build a mid-major power like Gonzaga, but there's 0% chance of that happening if MSU stays in a one-bid conference like the Big Sky where one bad conference tournament game can ruin your season no matter how many games you won before that. I have no clue if the opportunity to move up to FBS is going to be there soon, but the worst thing to me would be to turn down such an opportunity and cling on to an FCS system that's getting weaker and weaker every year as so many of its best teams have made the move to FBS. Increasingly what's left are the Montana/Big Sky schools and XDSU schools dominating the division every year while nobody outside of those states pays attention or cares.

[GoCats18]

I have been a Bobcat fan my entire life. I was fortunate to have had family play for them and even walked on for one year. I have been a season ticket holder since the South endzone was built. My Grandparents had season tickets since the 70’s, which now belong to my folks. The day that MSU announces they are moving to FBS, I will not renew my tickets and wouldn’t spend another Saturday sitting in Bobcat Stadium. There is absolutely no point. I would rather jump in the car and go watch Carroll or Tech at that point.

[Colter_Nuanez]

We can’t even win a National Championship at this level. Why would people want to watch us play for a the chance at a bowl game? This would be a huge mistake. The fan base would drop to below 10,000 fans per game. It would destroy our program. Just look at Idaho. There is a reason they came back to the Big Sky.

Totally disagree. Bobcat Stadium is packed on Saturdays because it's the place to be. It's a premier and one of a kind event that people don't want to miss. It's the same thing in Missoula. Like an old athletic director used to always say: "It's not about winning. It's about the hope of winning. If you win consistently for awhile, then people will have the hope of winning forever."

Montana State would have to be absolutely terrible for 10+ years in a row AND have a style that was unappealing to watch AND have a terrible coach for people to completely stop coming to games. And that wouldn't happen. If MSU was FBS, they could out-recruit at least half the league simply based on Bozeman being a way more desirable destination than Laramie or Reno or San Jose or wherever.

Hope of winning what? The Potato Bowl? Nope, as a lifelong Bobcat fan, I hope to win a National title and I don’t see that happening in the FBS. If Bozeman was such a desirable location for players, then the Cats would be destroying the Dakota schools every single year.

The Dakota schools are better in recruiting than Montana State because MSU practices at 6 a.m. in the freezing cold while the Jacks and the Bison practice inside. They also have far superior recruiting budgets and can offer full cost of attendance. Fargo metro is more than twice Bozeman metropolitan population. Both Brookings and Fargo are 3-3.5 hours from Minneapolis. Bozeman is not within six hours of any major city.

[Cataholic]

I have been a Bobcat fan my entire life. I was fortunate to have had family play for them and even walked on for one year. I have been a season ticket holder since the South endzone was built. My Grandparents had season tickets since the 70’s, which now belong to my folks. The day that MSU announces they are moving to FBS, I will not renew my tickets and wouldn’t spend another Saturday sitting in Bobcat Stadium. There is absolutely no point. I would rather jump in the car and go watch Carroll or Tech at that point.

Wow man. That is a piss poor attitude. I suffered through the streak and had many seasons where I hoped we would be .500. I never once questioned my allegiance as a Cat fan. Does that make me a better fan than you? ABSO-FUC&ING-LUTELY!

[AFCAT]

We can’t even win a National Championship at this level. Why would people want to watch us play for a the chance at a bowl game? This would be a huge mistake. The fan base would drop to below 10,000 fans per game. It would destroy our program. Just look at Idaho. There is a reason they came back to the Big Sky.

Totally disagree. Bobcat Stadium is packed on Saturdays because it's the place to be. It's a premier and one of a kind event that people don't want to miss. It's the same thing in Missoula. Like an old athletic director used to always say: "It's not about winning. It's about the hope of winning. If you win consistently for awhile, then people will have the hope of winning forever."

Montana State would have to be absolutely terrible for 10+ years in a row AND have a style that was unappealing to watch AND have a terrible coach for people to completely stop coming to games. And that wouldn't happen. If MSU was FBS, they could out-recruit at least half the league simply based on Bozeman being a way more desirable destination than Laramie or Reno or San Jose or wherever.

Hope of winning what? The Potato Bowl? Nope, as a lifelong Bobcat fan, I hope to win a National title and I don’t see that happening in the FBS. If Bozeman was such a desirable location for players, then the Cats would be destroying the Dakota schools every single year.

The Dakota schools are better in recruiting than Montana State because MSU practices at 6 a.m. in the freezing cold while the Jacks and the Bison practice inside. They also have far superior recruiting budgets and can offer full cost of attendance. Fargo metro is more than twice Bozeman metropolitan population. Both Brookings and Fargo are 3-3.5 hours from Minneapolis. Bozeman is not within six hours of any major city.

So, how is that any different from Laramie, Reno, San Jose or wherever? Will moving up to FBS make MSU any closer to more fruitful recruiting grounds?

[Mtcatfan]

I’m with you Cataholic. Been a cat fan through the worst seasons ever and would never waver. But if the Cats started going 5 and 7 every year in the FBS, you and I and another 8000 would keep going to the games. Maybe 2000 of the others would go as well. Attendance would waver and it wouldn’t be near as much fun as it is now.

[Cataholic]

I’m with you Cataholic. Been a cat fan through the worst seasons ever and would never waver. But if the Cats started going 5 and 7 every year in the FBS, you and I and another 8000 would keep going to the games. Maybe 2000 of the others would go as well. Attendance would waver and it wouldn’t be near as much fun as it is now.

I am not sure just how high attendance would be, but I would be there. And like Colter said, given the show that game day has become, I don’t ever see us falling below 15,000. But I will call out a fair weather fan like 18. Saying you would rather go watch Tech or Carrol because we moved up to FBS is exactly what a fair weather fan is.

[CelticCat]

I have been a Bobcat fan my entire life. I was fortunate to have had family play for them and even walked on for one year. I have been a season ticket holder since the South endzone was built. My Grandparents had season tickets since the 70’s, which now belong to my folks. The day that MSU announces they are moving to FBS, I will not renew my tickets and wouldn’t spend another Saturday sitting in Bobcat Stadium. There is absolutely no point. I would rather jump in the car and go watch Carroll or Tech at that point.

You’d rather watch Carroll vs Tech than Wyoming versus MSU in Bozeman? OOC game at home against Oregon State, Washington State?

[Cataholic]

I’m with you Cataholic. Been a cat fan through the worst seasons ever and would never waver. But if the Cats started going 5 and 7 every year in the FBS, you and I and another 8000 would keep going to the games. Maybe 2000 of the others would go as well. Attendance would waver and it wouldn’t be near as much fun as it is now.

I am not sure just how high attendance would be, but I would be there. And like Colter said, given the show that game day has become, I don’t ever see us falling below 15,000. But I will call out a fair weather fan like 18. Saying you would rather go watch Tech or Carrol because we moved up to FBS is exactly what a fair weather fan is.

And I am not really for moving up until the G5 has its own playoffs, but I would never stop going to Cat games. Especially games against higher level competition.

[MSU01]

I have been a Bobcat fan my entire life. I was fortunate to have had family play for them and even walked on for one year. I have been a season ticket holder since the South endzone was built. My Grandparents had season tickets since the 70’s, which now belong to my folks. The day that MSU announces they are moving to FBS, I will not renew my tickets and wouldn’t spend another Saturday sitting in Bobcat Stadium. There is absolutely no point. I would rather jump in the car and go watch Carroll or Tech at that point.

You’d rather watch Carroll vs Tech than Wyoming versus MSU in Bozeman? OOC game at home against Oregon State, Washington State?

A great argument to me for moving up is that Carroll vs Tech will probably be a much more entertaining game than any of the six regular season games that will be played in Bozeman this fall. If MSU can sell out games against Stetson and Utah Tech, two colleges you have to Google just to be sure that they're actually colleges and not made up by AI, I think they'll do just fine bringing in fans at the FBS level even if the home winning streaks aren't nearly as long as they are now.

[Colter_Nuanez]

I’m with you Cataholic. Been a cat fan through the worst seasons ever and would never waver. But if the Cats started going 5 and 7 every year in the FBS, you and I and another 8000 would keep going to the games. Maybe 2000 of the others would go as well. Attendance would waver and it wouldn’t be near as much fun as it is now.

I am not sure just how high attendance would be, but I would be there. And like Colter said, given the show that game day has become, I don’t ever see us falling below 15,000. But I will call out a fair weather fan like 18. Saying you would rather go watch Tech or Carrol because we moved up to FBS is exactly what a fair weather fan is.

For better, or likely worse, one of if not THE No. 1 question many if not most Montanans have before going to an event is "can you drink before, during and after said event?" If the answer is yes, then the next question is, "how's the weather?" And then, What's the vibe going to be like? Bobcat Stadium checks the boxes.

The fact that it's a gathering that draws all sorts of people from all sorts of backgrounds and demographics, the game day show is on point, the liquor and beer is widely accepted, the band rocks and the team has a 20-year stretch of being good to great....as long as the Griz have it and you can compete with the Griz about ANYTHING.....fans will absolutely still sell out Bobcat Stadium almost certainly no matter the success or lack thereof. I think Montana State would have to be terribly bad for a really long time and all consecutive seasons for people to completely jump off the bandwagon.

[Common Cat]

I have been a Bobcat fan my entire life. I was fortunate to have had family play for them and even walked on for one year. I have been a season ticket holder since the South endzone was built. My Grandparents had season tickets since the 70’s, which now belong to my folks. The day that MSU announces they are moving to FBS, I will not renew my tickets and wouldn’t spend another Saturday sitting in Bobcat Stadium. There is absolutely no point. I would rather jump in the car and go watch Carroll or Tech at that point.

Ok but you can’t go to any other MSU athletics event either. Not when we have a sweet Utah State coming in to play basketball or Boise State in football. You give up your fandom and leave. Deal?

[CNC_Cat]

Long time lurker. This topic finally convinced me to make an account.

For context I grew up in NW Montana in a family of casual Griz fans, but I was always more of a Cat fan and that was solidified when I pursued my degree in engineering from MSU (graduated 2017).

Due to current life circumstances I can’t quite swing season tickets, but I have attended about 3 regular season and all post season football games since graduating.

I am finding it really hard to spend the money to take my family to this year’s slate of home games. Gold Rush has its own energy and NAU and EWU might be ok. The game day experience is good, but it’s going to be hard to keep the crowd engaged and coming back if it’s just 6 blowouts. I know that I would be looking forward to this season a lot more if I saw Wyoming, Boise State, USU, etc on the schedule.

People on this board dog on the NDSU fans for not selling out their barn during the season, however that is exactly where we are headed if we stay at in this conference and at this level.

[utucats]

We can’t even win a National Championship at this level. Why would people want to watch us play for a the chance at a bowl game? This would be a huge mistake. The fan base would drop to below 10,000 fans per game. It would destroy our program. Just look at Idaho. There is a reason they came back to the Big Sky.

Totally disagree. Bobcat Stadium is packed on Saturdays because it's the place to be. It's a premier and one of a kind event that people don't want to miss. It's the same thing in Missoula. Like an old athletic director used to always say: "It's not about winning. It's about the hope of winning. If you win consistently for awhile, then people will have the hope of winning forever."

Montana State would have to be absolutely terrible for 10+ years in a row AND have a style that was unappealing to watch AND have a terrible coach for people to completely stop coming to games. And that wouldn't happen. If MSU was FBS, they could out-recruit at least half the league simply based on Bozeman being a way more desirable destination than Laramie or Reno or San Jose or wherever.

Sorry Colter but I could not disagree with you more. Back when Kramer was coaching and Lulay came in we started to see the winning increasing and since then the game day experience has steadily grown. During that time and especially the years leading up to it, there were only a few thousand people attending non Cat griz games. One season we bought end zone season tickets because Cat griz was in Missoula so every game all one needed to do was get in and seating was pretty much whatever you wanted. We were drinking then so your statement that the booze is bringing Montanans is not correct.

Winning is important. Competing at a high level is important. I like Montana the way it has been. We are a rural state and our colleges are smaller schools. I hope we stay FCS forever. I have no desire to try and pretend to be a bigger deal than we are.

You are right that we have an amazing game day experience. If it ain’t broke don’t try to fix it.

[Colter_Nuanez]

We can’t even win a National Championship at this level. Why would people want to watch us play for a the chance at a bowl game? This would be a huge mistake. The fan base would drop to below 10,000 fans per game. It would destroy our program. Just look at Idaho. There is a reason they came back to the Big Sky.

Totally disagree. Bobcat Stadium is packed on Saturdays because it's the place to be. It's a premier and one of a kind event that people don't want to miss. It's the same thing in Missoula. Like an old athletic director used to always say: "It's not about winning. It's about the hope of winning. If you win consistently for awhile, then people will have the hope of winning forever."

Montana State would have to be absolutely terrible for 10+ years in a row AND have a style that was unappealing to watch AND have a terrible coach for people to completely stop coming to games. And that wouldn't happen. If MSU was FBS, they could out-recruit at least half the league simply based on Bozeman being a way more desirable destination than Laramie or Reno or San Jose or wherever.

Sorry Colter but I could not disagree with you more. Back when Kramer was coaching and Lulay came in we started to see the winning increasing and since then the game day experience has steadily grown. During that time and especially the years leading up to it, there were only a few thousand people attending non Cat griz games. One season we bought end zone season tickets because Cat griz was in Missoula so every game all one needed to do was get in and seating was pretty much whatever you wanted. We were drinking then so your statement that the booze is bringing Montanans is not correct.

Winning is important. Competing at a high level is important. I like Montana the way it has been. We are a rural state and our colleges are smaller schools. I hope we stay FCS forever. I have no desire to try and pretend to be a bigger deal than we are.

You are right that we have an amazing game day experience. If it ain’t broke don’t try to fix it.

This is what I’ve been trying to say on my show tho…it IS broken. Montana State generates the second most football revenue of any program in the Big Sky and one of the top 5 in the country. Yet when the final numbers come down for athletic department budget, the Cats make next to nothing.

Meanwhile, UC Davis has about 8,000 total people who care about football yet are about to build a new stadium. NAU just built a $44 million facility almost exclusively with state and student money, no real fundraising. All the fans in the Big Sky outside of Montana would have a hard time filling the two Montana stadiums. Yet the playing field is equal because the business model is broken.

The Cats and the Griz have the least amount of money to reinvest because each gets less than 50 percent of its athletic budget subsidized. This issue is compounded by the fact that at least half the league receives 70 percent subsidization and a few schools get more than 80 percent.

That’s not an equal playing field. That’s legislating to the lowest common denominator.

You want to know why most of you think Big Sky officiating sucks? Because it does. You want to know why you think the league’s administration is bush league?? Because it is.

You are who you hang out with. Northern Colorado’s
Locker room is like a mile from its D2 stadium. More people go to Bozeman Gallatin football games than NAU games. Portland State plays at a high school field, and it’s not even the nicest high school field in the area. Given the state of affairs in college sports, Idaho State might never field a winner ever again. Weber State just had its greatest coach in school history, tripled its number of all time playoff appearances and went on its first few playoff runs….how much did attendance increase? Not one bit. Still drawing a crowd that would turn out in Butte to watch the Bulldogs against Bozeman…

When you talk about the olden days, I get where you’re coming from. But that ain’t it anymore. Montana State is big league athletics and the football experience is one of the best in the West. From the rodeo team entrance to the spirit of the West to the engagement of the fans to the tailgates to the radio broadcasts to the media coverage to the scenery, I can’t really think of a scenario short of a full on catastrophic event that would deter people from coming to Bobcat Stadium in droves. You’d get at the very least three home teams better than you could ever get now from in the conference. And then you can get real home and homes, not just McNeese State or Bryant.

Let’s say MSU had a league to land in and BOR approval. And Cruzado is still president, Leon still AD and Vigen still head coach. And they get 22 more scholarships. That team is really competitive in the Mountain West right away. You’d add a $4-8 million revenue stream from TV. Waded would fully jolt
Fundraising and raise eight figures. You’d get more state money.

This is all a business. Doesn’t matter if you don’t like the thought it’s all about money. It’s all about money! Danny Sprinkle and the Big Sky All stars are all in Logan because of money. RaeQuan Battle is at West Virginia because of money.

And think of the publicity if MSU made a move. Nevada Reno and Wyoming coming on Bobcat Stadium for the first time in years….or better yet the second or third time after already being there….those coaches gushing in fear over Bobcat Stadium…I’ve been to most the stadiums in the Mountain West. The Montana schools are more raucous and wild for sure.

The Cats and the Griz just can’t get caught with their pants down playing in a division where the rivalry game is the conference AND national championship game. To me,
That makes it a fully diluted product. And this is coming from someone who has dedicated more than half my life to covering the Big Sky Conference…

[GoCats18]

What cracks me up, as bad as most of the other Big Sky schools and their facilities are, they are still beating UM and sometimes MSU, or at least play pretty darn competitive against them. I sat in Bobcat stadium in the 90’s when there were less than 2,000 fans. You can call me whatever you want, I really don’t care. What I am getting at is that even though we haven’t won a NC since 1984, the thought of playing in the playoffs, possibly making a deep run…that excites me. I don’t care who we play against, who comes to Bozeman…the thought of watching us try to get to some cheesy ass bowl game doesn’t excite me. It wouldn’t be worth the time and the money to keep investing into that. I would still be a Cat fan, I would just loose all interest in attending. I don’t benefit from the revenue, or the increase in scholarships. My salary doesn’t go up because we move up. I get this is a business and they will do what they need to do when the time comes. I just don’t think it is a good move. That’s all.

[utucats]

We can’t even win a National Championship at this level. Why would people want to watch us play for a the chance at a bowl game? This would be a huge mistake. The fan base would drop to below 10,000 fans per game. It would destroy our program. Just look at Idaho. There is a reason they came back to the Big Sky.

Totally disagree. Bobcat Stadium is packed on Saturdays because it's the place to be. It's a premier and one of a kind event that people don't want to miss. It's the same thing in Missoula. Like an old athletic director used to always say: "It's not about winning. It's about the hope of winning. If you win consistently for awhile, then people will have the hope of winning forever."

Montana State would have to be absolutely terrible for 10+ years in a row AND have a style that was unappealing to watch AND have a terrible coach for people to completely stop coming to games. And that wouldn't happen. If MSU was FBS, they could out-recruit at least half the league simply based on Bozeman being a way more desirable destination than Laramie or Reno or San Jose or wherever.

Sorry Colter but I could not disagree with you more. Back when Kramer was coaching and Lulay came in we started to see the winning increasing and since then the game day experience has steadily grown. During that time and especially the years leading up to it, there were only a few thousand people attending non Cat griz games. One season we bought end zone season tickets because Cat griz was in Missoula so every game all one needed to do was get in and seating was pretty much whatever you wanted. We were drinking then so your statement that the booze is bringing Montanans is not correct.

Winning is important. Competing at a high level is important. I like Montana the way it has been. We are a rural state and our colleges are smaller schools. I hope we stay FCS forever. I have no desire to try and pretend to be a bigger deal than we are.

You are right that we have an amazing game day experience. If it ain’t broke don’t try to fix it.

This is what I’ve been trying to say on my show tho…it IS broken. Montana State generates the second most football revenue of any program in the Big Sky and one of the top 5 in the country. Yet when the final numbers come down for athletic department budget, the Cats make next to nothing.

Meanwhile, UC Davis has about 8,000 total people who care about football yet are about to build a new stadium. NAU just built a $44 million facility almost exclusively with state and student money, no real fundraising. All the fans in the Big Sky outside of Montana would have a hard time filling the two Montana stadiums. Yet the playing field is equal because the business model is broken.

The Cats and the Griz have the least amount of money to reinvest because each gets less than 50 percent of its athletic budget subsidized. This issue is compounded by the fact that at least half the league receives 70 percent subsidization and a few schools get more than 80 percent.

That’s not an equal playing field. That’s legislating to the lowest common denominator.

You want to know why most of you think Big Sky officiating sucks? Because it does. You want to know why you think the league’s administration is bush league?? Because it is.

You are who you hang out with. Northern Colorado’s
Locker room is like a mile from its D2 stadium. More people go to Bozeman Gallatin football games than NAU games. Portland State plays at a high school field, and it’s not even the nicest high school field in the area. Given the state of affairs in college sports, Idaho State might never field a winner ever again. Weber State just had its greatest coach in school history, tripled its number of all time playoff appearances and went on its first few playoff runs….how much did attendance increase? Not one bit. Still drawing a crowd that would turn out in Butte to watch the Bulldogs against Bozeman…

When you talk about the olden days, I get where you’re coming from. But that ain’t it anymore. Montana State is big league athletics and the football experience is one of the best in the West. From the rodeo team entrance to the spirit of the West to the engagement of the fans to the tailgates to the radio broadcasts to the media coverage to the scenery, I can’t really think of a scenario short of a full on catastrophic event that would deter people from coming to Bobcat Stadium in droves. You’d get at the very least three home teams better than you could ever get now from in the conference. And then you can get real home and homes, not just McNeese State or Bryant.

Let’s say MSU had a league to land in and BOR approval. And Cruzado is still president, Leon still AD and Vigen still head coach. And they get 22 more scholarships. That team is really competitive in the Mountain West right away. You’d add a $4-8 million revenue stream from TV. Waded would fully jolt
Fundraising and raise eight figures. You’d get more state money.

This is all a business. Doesn’t matter if you don’t like the thought it’s all about money. It’s all about money! Danny Sprinkle and the Big Sky All stars are all in Logan because of money. RaeQuan Battle is at West Virginia because of money.

And think of the publicity if MSU made a move. Nevada Reno and Wyoming coming on Bobcat Stadium for the first time in years….or better yet the second or third time after already being there….those coaches gushing in fear over Bobcat Stadium…I’ve been to most the stadiums in the Mountain West. The Montana schools are more raucous and wild for sure.

The Cats and the Griz just can’t get caught with their pants down playing in a division where the rivalry game is the conference AND national championship game. To me,
That makes it a fully diluted product. And this is coming from someone who has dedicated more than half my life to covering the Big Sky Conference…

I don’t agree that this is all a business. It is more than that and there are other considerations other than just solely making money. Even if we look at it from purely a business perspective, it is surprising that your take is that us funding all these programs and paying for this great game day experience with all the trimmings (rodeo team entrance, Spirit of the West) while continually improving facilities (paved parking/tailgating, BAC, new video board, South end zone, new field, rebranding, etc.) and doing that with less subsidies and somehow you find that system broken? Or your point is that since the other schools can’t do the same that we have an unfair advantage? Or maybe if we got 70% subsidized that would make it fair for us? Call me crazy but not needing assistance always seemed to me to be a marker of success. You’ll have to clear that up for me because I’m not understanding that point.

I also think you are way overhyping the impact of Wyoming showing up at Bobcat Stadium. The publicity? Is ESPN gonna come running and wanting it on prime time? No. In the whole college football market we have a very small footprint and that doesn’t change at all with a move up.

I look at schools like Wyoming with pity for having nothing real to play for. They are never going to win a championship. You talk about an unfair system, does us moving to a system where we have to accept never finishing #1 a fair system? I don’t think so.

We have a great rivalry, great venues, amazing fan support and we are the Big Sky conference. FCS football is truly becoming more and more about Montana State and the Dakotas. I love that fact. We built all of this in a broken model/system.

I appreciate your opinion but I think it is naive. This is an argument about priorities. Your take is simply that money matters more than winning. I disagree.

[Hawks86]

If the MWC called and offered a spot to MSU & little brother. We would be gone.

[The Butcher]

I also think you are way overhyping the impact of Wyoming showing up at Bobcat Stadium. The publicity? Is ESPN gonna come running and wanting it on prime time? No. In the whole college football market we have a very small footprint and that doesn’t change at all with a move up.

For what it is worth, in 2021 the MSU v WY football game drew 30,007 fans and the next best home game that season drew 23,467. That season only when they played at Boise were there more fans in attendance with 35,474. In 2022 Wyoming didn't even come close to 30,000 fans for a home game. I remember the MSU v WY basketball series that would be played in Billings. Those games were awesome. So maybe ESPN doesn't get all jacked up for MSU v WY, but fans sure do for both sides. MSU fans aren't crazy about playing Portland State, just like Wyoming fans aren't terrible excited about games against Hawaii.