<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt">Some of the commenters were speculating that the Mountain West was waiting to see of Boise State and SDSU returned to the MW. If not, they'd probably go with UI and NMSU regardless of the TV market.<br><h1 class="title">Big Sky commissioner on Idaho's situation: Top of FCS is healthier than bottom of FBS</h1>
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<span class="submitted">Submitted by <a href="http://voices.idahostatesman.com/user/bmurphy">Brian Murphy</a> on Mon, 05/07/2012 - 12:11pm, updated on Mon, 05/07/2012 - 5:33pm</span>
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By Brian Murphy<br>
bmurphy@idahostatesman.com</div>
<div>Big Sky Conference Commissioner Doug Fullerton has not been shy about his league's interest in adding the University of Idaho. </div>
<div>Now — with the Vandals' current league crumbling — Fullerton just
might get his chance at convincing Idaho that the Big Sky is the best
place for its athletic department.</div>
<div>Fullerton and Rob Spear, Idaho's athletic director, have spoken and,
Fullerton said, will talk again this week. Spear said last week that he
is considering <a href="http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/05/05/2104199/idaho-weighing-options-after-rejection.html" target="_blank">four options</a>,
including a return to the Football Championship Subdivision, but said
the ideal situation was to remain at the Football Bowl Subdivision
level.</div>
<div>"I'm really impressed with the University of Idaho, the athletic
director and the president. They are doing what they need to do and
looking at the options that are available," Fullerton told the Idaho
Statesman on Monday morning.</div>
<div>Fullerton said the competitive and financial imbalance in the FBS makes the FCS a better spot for some teams, including Idaho.</div>
<div>"Playing at the top of the FCS is a better situation than playing at
the bottom of the FBS," Fullerton said, adding that it is nearly
impossible for schools with budgets near $20 million to compete with
schools like Texas and its $140 million athletic department budget.</div>
<div>"The success and fan base and excitement you can do (by) staying
regional is what college athletics are supposed to be about, unless you
can play at the national level," Fullerton said.</div>
<div>He said athletic departments that raise money from their fan base,
booster support, fans at the game and media rights are doing it in a
healthy way. Departments that rely on student fees and game guarantees
are not stable.</div>
<div>Idaho is playing a number football road games with big paydays in future seasons, including games at Florida, Auburn and LSU.</div>
<div>He said Idaho could shave $3 million to $5 million from its athletic
budget by moving to the Big Sky, lessening the need to play those types
of payday games. Those savings would come from fewer scholarships in
football and women's sports and from lower coaching salaries. Idaho, he
said, could then reinvest that money into other programs.</div>
<div>"I think I could sit at a debate table and be able to convince an
awful lot of people that the Big Sky will be the best option for
(Idaho)," Fullerton said.</div>
<div>Fullerton said the league is well-positioned to be in the second-tier
of college football if there is a break in the FBS with the top five
conferences creating their own level of play. Spear made several
references to this scenario during his call with media last week.</div>
<div>The Big Sky has 11 all-sport members and 13 football-playing members.
The league is positioned as the No. 3 football-playing conference in
the West, behind the Pac-12 and Mountain West, a position Fullerton said
that will allow his league to garner better talent and more media
attention. The league has a TV contract with Root.</div></div></div><br></div></body></html>