DavidSt
Hall of Famer
Posts: 22,962
Joined: Dec 2013
Reputation: 656
I Root For: ATU, P7
Location:
|
RE: Interesting Article on Idaho Drop-Down/FBS WAC
(10-14-2016 05:49 PM)NoDak Wrote: (10-14-2016 05:12 PM)LUSportsFan Wrote: (10-14-2016 02:10 PM)NoDak Wrote: (10-14-2016 01:46 PM)DavidSt Wrote: Cal.-San Diego 30,310
East Bay State 14,526
Humboldt State 7902
Simon Fraser 35,604
Western Washington 13,070
Central Washington 10,145
Western Oregon 6233
Azusa Pacific 9258
Eastern New Mexico 5574
Midwestern State 6093
UTPB 3600
West Texas A&M 8389
Tarleton State 13,020
Texas A&M-Commerce 12,013
Texas A&M-Kingsville 8783
Angelo State 8521
Western New Mexico 3820
Central Oklahoma 16,845 Rising
Fort Hays State 13,825
NE Oklahoma State 8548
Pittsburg State 7400
Nebraska-Kearney 7052
Mary, ND 2758
Sioux Falls 1576
Western State 2400
Dixie State 8570
Colorado Mesa 11,000
Colorado State-Pueblo 6805
Colorado Mines 5468
Black Hills State 4722
Fort Lewis 4000
New Mexico Highlands 3500
Chadron State 3000
South Dakota Mines 2640
SW Oklahoma State 5154
Oklahoma Baptist 2097
Missouri Western 5795
Missouri Southern 3561
Mankato State 15,649
Minn.-Duluth 11,729
Arkansas Tech 12,009
Most of these schools do have alums that could help with donations, and several of them have famous people that could help out. Some are in large populated towns that could support a move to D1. Central Oklahoma and others could get local businesses donations as well. That is how Dixie State got their money from donations to improve their facilities.
UCSD students already voted to go DI, but they are waiting on the Big West to offer, and that's without football.
Simon Fraser wants DI hockey. They aren't allowed to be a full DI school by rule.
Many on your list should offer DI hockey as an alternative to full DI.
Central Oklahoma already has a national power club hockey team. Hockey would be a good introduction to the DI world without all the expense. How is UCOK going to compete with the Sooners? Better to choose something where there isn't competition for $'s.
Minn-Duluth, St Cloud St, and Minn St-Mankato held back the NCC when it wanted to go DI back 20 years ago. They have had their chance and they are satisfied with being DI hockey schools.
Dixie St will probably get in a realigned Big Sky because they have would be rivals like UVU and S Utah. Most of the others should look at lacrosse and drop football. The Big Sky, WAC, and Slummit wouldn't even consider most of these schools unless they were desperate for survival.
Central Oklahoma might have some challenges at Division I-FCS, but Texas State University, now FBS, operated successfully at the FCS level for many years only 30 miles away (according to Google Maps) from the University of Texas. At around 40 miles away, Central Oklahoma is close, but still a little further away from the University of Oklahoma.
Based on a quick spot check, the Bronchos have had decent football attendance as a Division II program despite many disappointing season records. Attendance fluctuates, but with the exception of one season, highs ranged from over 6,000 to 8,500 in a 10,000 seat stadium for at least one home game each season since the 2010 season. Attendance at most of the games was below that, but playing a Division I-FCS schedule might help attendance. It would help with a record better than the following.
2010: 2-9 High attendance: 8,495
2011: 2-9 High attendance: 6,200
2012: 2-8 High attendance: 6,800
2013: 2-8 High attendance: 5,100
2014: 8-4 High attendance: 6,128
2015: 7-5 High attendance: 7,189
2016 to date: 1-5 High attendance: 6,218
Attendance and record source: http://web1.ncaa.org/stats/StatsSrv/careersearch
With four SLC members within 400 miles, I think Central Oklahoma would be a better fit in the Southland Conference if that conference had need of another member in the future.
Would wager that Central Oklahoma students wear much more Sooner t-shirts than Texas St students wear Longhorn stuff. Much of whether a school should be DI is related to residential campuses, which have much more loyalty to their schools for life than commuter ones. Presume Texas St is residential oriented and Central Oklahoma is commuter based. It takes a long time for a formerly commuter school to get allegiances of their srudents.
But agree that if Central Oklahoma goes DI, the Southland is the obvious and practically only target.
Southland wanted Central Oklahoma to join before Central Arkansas.
Lawton already have Cameron at D2, but no football.
Rogers State in Oklahoma is thinking of adding football.
As for Oklahoma? They are a very large state, and not many D1 schools to help ease the travel costs. As it is, any basketball and other sports except for football is exhibition than for stats.
|
|