[Vision2020] Back to the Big Sky (except football)

[Carl Westberg]

>From Josh Wright of the Spokesman-Review (I like this, I could be drawn and quartered by by some Vandal fans for saying so....
"The University of Idaho will seek approval Friday from the Idaho 
State Board of Education to go independent in football and move to the 
Big Sky Conference in all other sports. According to the Idaho 
Statesman, UI presented to the board Wednesday in an executive session.
Friday’s meeting will be public, and UI’s conference reshuffling is the only agenda item.
According
 to a state board document, UI estimates it will generate approximately 
$1.5 million more annually with game payments by staying in the Football
 Bowl Subdivision than moving down to the Football Championship 
Subdivision (formerly Division 1-AA).
Additionally, the report 
reads, “by scheduling football as an unaffiliated and independent FBS 
institution, the University retains the ability to react to conference 
changes should an opportunity appear with an FBS football conference in 
the future.”
All non-football sports would compete in the Big Sky,
 where Idaho was a charter member in 1963 and played until 1996. In the 
report, UI touts the “re-establishment of historic rivalries” with Idaho
 State, Montana, and Montana State (as well as competing with Eastern 
Washington) as a way to increase fan interest in Olympic sports, reduce 
travel costs, and lower the time away from the classroom for athletes.
Both athletic director Rob Spear and UI president Duane Nellis were not made available for comment on Thursday.
With
 the crumbling of the WAC, Idaho has been weighing its options for more 
than three months. After being rebuffed by the Mountain West Conference,
 Idaho set its tights on FBS independence for football, with moving down
 to the FCS and joining the Big Sky as a fallback option.
But 
football coach Robb Akey always favored staying in the FBS, and UI 
clearly wants to wait to see if further conference shakeups create an 
opening in a conference in the next few years. Spear told the Statesman 
previously he didn’t see Idaho’s independence “going beyond two years.”









    


 		 	   		  
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