FB: Northwest Conference

[Ralph Turner]

Did anyone notice that Menlo has eleven games scheduled?

Yes.  That confirms NAIA.

[Pat Coleman]

I believe this means more than just Menlo declaring NAIA and maintaining dual membership. In order to be an NCAA/NAIA dual member, a school must obey the more restrictive rule whenever two rules are in conflict. That would mean they must still schedule 10 ames, even if the NAIA would allow them to schedule 11.

If Menlo's goal is to go D-II, that means being an NCAA member. Leaving the NCAA means they would have to get on the waiting list to get back into the NCAA as a D-II member. If they remain in the NCAA and transition from there to Division II, no waiting period is necessary before beginning the transitional years.

If D-II is their goal, playing 11 games this year is not in Menlo's best interest.

[snoop dawg]

The only place for them to go in D2 is the GNAC. They would have a very difficult time competing there.

[Las Vegas Wildcards]

 Regarding Menlo, I have to wonder how much actual support they have for football, given the facilities they play in. If more California schools will be going D2, maybe they hope that would spur more interest if the Oaks did the same.

RedandPurple and everyone else, I screwed up on my last post about Linfield plain and simple. That post was more obese than Fat Albert!   

[OxyBob]

If more California schools will be going D2, maybe they hope that would spur more interest if the Oaks did the same.

Yesterday on the SCIAC board I posted this from Jeffrey Jen of the Redding Record Searchlight:

College football grows, but not so much out West

Ever since the mid-1980s, college football programs have been disappearing particularly in California. Whether it is Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara, Pacific or St. Mary's College, there are fewer four-year options in the state and west of the Rockies. At the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), there are the Pac-10 programs as well as the Mountain West (MWC) and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), though Louisiana Tech geographically shouldn't be considered west.

Of the 125 programs at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), you have the Big Sky and the five-team Great West and....that's it. California, the most populated state in the United States, has all of four FCS programs (UC Davis, Sacramento Staet, Cal Poly, Univ. of San Diego).

At D-II, there is the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) which includes Humboldt State and Western Oregon. Then, you have to go to New Mexico to find the next closest football programs. Go further down and there's Menlo, Cal Lutheran and the rest of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). Of course, there is Southern Oregon, Eastern Oregon and Azusa Pacific. While some of the schools are moving up in competition, there still remains a bit of a vacuum in college football in the Western states.

The good news is that there are several new college football programs forming in the next few years. The bad news is that most of them are east of the Rockies.

In 2010, schools such as South Alabama, Georgia State, Lamar and another Notre Dame (a college in South Euclid, Ohio) are starting up programs. The first three are jumping straight into FCS competition. Of the new programs this year, only Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore., is a Western school. Pacific is entering the Northwest Conference in NCAA D-III. Over the next three years, University of Texas-San Antonio and Univ. of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC-Charlotte for short) are hoping straight into the FCS.

Only George Fox, another D-III program, is going to start up a new football program. So while the opportunities are cropping up for future collegiate players, most of them are thousands of miles away from here. In short, go East, young man.

OxyBob

[warthog]

Mrs. Warthog and I had a tasty bottle of wine tonight from the Willamette Valley.  It came from the Duck Pond Cellars in Dundee, Oregon.  I would recommend their 2007 Pinot Grigio.

[Bearcat Press]

Mrs. Warthog and I had a tasty bottle of wine tonight from the Willamette Valley.  It came from the Duck Pond Cellars in Dundee, Oregon.  I would recommend their 2007 Pinot Grigio.

Travelers on Highway 99W generally get plenty of time to stare at the Duck Pond vineyards ... since traffic is at a dead stop because of that one godforsaken stoplight in Dundee!

 

[wildcat11]

Catdomealumni.com Video of the Week: 2010 Linfield Spring Highlight

2010 Linfield Spring Highlight

next week: 2009 Vs. PLU

[MonroviaCat]

Sweet 11----if we could just fast forward a few months now...

[Bearcat Press]

Really sad news out of La Grande this morning:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5176992

[RFB]

Really sad news out of La Grande this morning:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5176992

Very sad story indeed. The game is getting really fast and more physical every year. I'm count my blessings every day that I was able to walk away from the game with minor injuries only

[DBQ1965]

Mrs. Warthog and I had a tasty bottle of wine tonight from the Willamette Valley.  It came from the Duck Pond Cellars in Dundee, Oregon.  I would recommend their 2007 Pinot Grigio.

Try some Lodi wines.  Some are really outstanding ... none really bad.

[catback4]

The state of affairs for D2 football out west is very sad to say the least.  Although Menlo does have SUB PAR facilities I think that would have less to do with them being able to compete at the D2 level than the amount of funding they could muster up.  Down here at SE Oklahoma our facilities are better than Menlo's but they are also nothing to rave about either (I'd take Maxwell Field at the Catdome over our field anyday).  We have one of the lowest budgets in all of D2 (certainly in the Lone Star), but because of our proximity to the Dallas Metroplex we are able to get some quality kids that allow us to compete with all the LSC schools and dominate the Oklahoma schools (LSC North).  If Menlo had enough funding to support their recruiting and game travel I'm sure they would be able to survive in D2 because of their location.  KIDS WANT TO PLAY FOOTBALL and more than anything want to get some athletic aid to do so.  Menlo could also make a killing from the Juco's out there as well.  There are so many kids who play football in California and end up going juco first, but as stated earlier there just aren't very many opportunities after that if you aren't a D1 kid.  Most of those kids can't afford D3's so many of them are stuck with no where to go.  If Menlo, Eastern Oregon, and Azusa went D2 it could make for a nice D2 league out west  with Humbolt, Western Oregon, Central Wash, and Simon Frasier (which I heard was getting back into the GNAC).  Now the likelyhood of that may not be great but I don't think it's too far fetched to see Menlo get into D2 in a few years.  It makes much more sense for them to play D2 than D3 if they can get enough funding to support the travel.  They were already traveling all the way to Spokane so it can't be too far fetched to see them travel to Monmouth, Ellensburg, British Columbia or Humbolt.  Or travel to Colorado or New Mexico and play schools from the RMAC. 

With all the talk about the NAIA schools, what is the word on Southern Oregon???  Did they shut down their football program???  They could be in the same boat as far as the liklihood of them being able to go D2 

[D O.C.]

Good insight and good luck.

[wildcat11]

Great take #4.

SOU decided to say NAIA for now and it seems that football *could* be on the chopping block after this season....we'll see.