As you guys might know, Montana just expanded to 23,119 seats after three straight years of sellouts. Well after the latest expansion we sold out again in 2003, in fact we over sold the capacity. We averaged 23,350 in 2003.

Now there is insider info from some big boosters that we plan to add more luxury boxes and another 6000 seats by the 2006 season. That would bring us to around 30,000. Sound like a program that plans to stay 1AA? Hmmmm.......

Montana is one of those I-AA programs that could very well make a nice fit in I-A. Kind of like Marshall and UCONN have done.

bigskygriz Wrote:As you guys might know, Montana just expanded to 23,119 seats after three straight years of sellouts. Well after the latest expansion we sold out again in 2003, in fact we over sold the capacity. We averaged 23,350 in 2003.

Now there is insider info from some big boosters that we plan to add more luxury boxes and another 6000 seats by the 2006 season. That would bring us to around 30,000. Sound like program that plans to stay 1AA? Hmmmm.......

I am hoping that Montana will join Nevada, Boise State, and Idaho in the WAC one day. The Broncos and Griz had great rivalries in Basketball and Football!

The Montana Griz Womens Team would give the Techsters some great conference games if La Tech remains in the WAC by the time Montana joins!!!!

Adding 6,000 to 23,119 would still leave Montana short of the 30,000 seat minimum for Division 1-A. They would still have to add almost 1,000 more seats in order to qualify for Division 1-A. Unless you go the University of Idunno route and go play in another State (Washington) at a real Division 1-A school's home field (Washington State in Idaho's case).

Personally, I truly hope Montana DOES make the jump up to Division 1-A soon. With the current rather shaky status of San Jose State and La Tech and Idaho in the W.A.C. the W.A.C. needs options if one of them has to leave/quit.

I'm sure they would add enough seats and luxury boxes to reach the magical 30,000 figure. But as I understand it the NCAA did away with the stadium capacity rule. Heck they don't even enforce the attendance rules. We were ahead of about 30 1A schools for attendance in 2003.

I've heard nothing at all about the NCAA doing away with the 30,000 seat minimum. As far as I know that is still the MINIMUM seating capacity required to be Division 1-A (but then again how does one explain Idaho and it's 17,000 seat Kibbles and Bits dome?)

It hasn't gone away yet, but the concensus among AD's and conference commissioners is that it's unenforceable and noone's moving to do anything about it if they don't meet it. It may yet come back to haunt idaho, etc but Benson and company are betting it doesn't.

Nice stadium photo.
Looks like a nice, pleasant, "country" like atmosphere.

I'd love to play Montana again. But I don't see it happening anytime soon. I think Montana would make a fine I-A program if brought up right. Maybe if the Big Sky were to lose a team or two Montana leaves.

There has NEVER been a minimum stadium capacity for I-A.

The rule was that you had to average 17,000 paid attendance the past four years -OR- if you had 30,000 seats you only had to average 17,000 paid attendance in one of the prior four years.

30,000 seats wasn't REQUIRED but made being I-A easier.