Embrace the Mountain West if need be

[clonefanpaul]

Quick question.

So with all the talk about realignment, a lot of people are tossing around the idea that, if worst comes to worst, ISU can always go to the MWC. My question is, if the Big 12 dissolves, what makes everyone think that the MWC would take ISU? Honestly, has there been any leaks on this from either ISU or the MWC? If the Big 12 goes then Kansas, K-State, and Baylor at the least are all going to be looking to join as well. The more and more I look at this the more I see ISU as getting shafted and having no safety net to fall into.

Thoughts?

 

[everyyard]

Re: Quick question.

So with all the talk about realignment, a lot of people are tossing around the idea that, if worst comes to worst, ISU can always go to the MWC. My question is, if the Big 12 dissolves, what makes everyone think that the MWC would take ISU? Honestly, has there been any leaks on this from either ISU or the MWC? If the Big 12 goes then Kansas, K-State, and Baylor at the least are all going to be looking to join as well. The more and more I look at this the more I see ISU as getting shafted and having no safety net to fall into.

Thoughts?

not everyone. I don't think the MWC takes ISU.

 

[Tre4ISU]

Re: Quick question.

not everyone. I don't think the MWC takes ISU.

If they don't try to pick up the rest of the Big 12 they are idiots and I will never again feel sorry that they don't get a BCS bid. This is their chance to go out and get teams to get them closer to it. If they don't take it they are making their own bed.

 

[clonefanpaul]

Re: Quick question.

If they don't try to pick up the rest of the Big 12 they are idiots and I will never again feel sorry that they don't get a BCS bid. This is their chance to go out and get teams to get them closer to it. If they don't take it they are making their own bed.

The MWC has 9 teams, meaning they probably would like to add 3. Given that they likely are still strongly going after BSU, then they may only decide to add 2 Big 12 teams. Seams to me K-State and Kansas would be the teams to add. :sad:

 

[Wesley]

If we did end up in the MWC I like the layout of MookINLincoln's Signature graphic. They could poach Fresno State and Nevada to make it an even 16. That ends up being a pretty solid conference with only a few states having only one team a piece; Idaho, Iowa, Wyoming and New Mexico.

Interesting alternative and deffinitely prefferable to the MAC or C-USA.

No MAC. Never.

 

[clonefanpaul]

No MAC. Never.

And if the MWC doesn't offer a spot to ISU? Go indy over MAC? Unless the Big East leftovers are looking to make a new conference the MAC seems like the next best choice.

 

[frndlyhawk]

Maybe not, but it would still be devastating to Iowa State University as a whole. Not belonging to a big-time athletic conference affects our recruiting of the best and brightest. Those in our esteemed College of Engineering are already very concerned.
We no longer could go toe-to-toe with the U of I for the best academic in-state students. In terms of academic prestige, it will be a three-tier state - Iowa at the top, ISU in second, then UNI.
I am so tired of the "MVC is not so bad" mantra. That is BS.

I'm an Iowa fan and grad but I don't believe a great university like ISU is going to be "devatstated" or anything close to it by a change in athletic conference affiliation. You're selling ISU short if you believe that.

 

[swarthmoreCY]

And if the MWC doesn't offer a spot to ISU? Go indy over MAC? Unless the Big East leftovers are looking to make a new conference the MAC seems like the next best choice.

ISU will not be in the MAC.

 

[clonefanpaul]

ISU will not be in the MAC.

My question still stands. If not MWC, then where. I'd rather ISU go indy than go to C-USA. If you take MWC and MAC out of the picture, things are looking extremely bleak for ISU.

 

[frndlyhawk]

Research funding goes way down, leads to cuts as the State will not be able to make up for the loss of funding. Same with grant money. ISU will not be able to recruit the same level of faculty in the MWC conference, and will not be able to keep paying some they already have. Our prestige in a lot of our academic programs will take a hit, which will lead to a decline in enrollment.

Why does research funding necessarily go down significantly if you have the same outstanding faculty, students and facilities?

How much of ISU's research funding is attributable to Big XII membership?

 

[Tornado man]

I'm an Iowa fan and grad but I don't believe a great university like ISU is going to be "devatstated" or anything close to it by a change in athletic conference affiliation. You're selling ISU short if you believe that.

Then call any of your former professors tomorrow and ask them what the academic impact would be on the U of I if they left the Big Ten for C-USA. I'd bet you'd get at least one of them to say "devastating."

 

[frndlyhawk]

BWC - Big West Conference

Every school would be west of the Mississippi

Great name, but already in use.

 

[Wesley]

Re: Will the Mt West want us?

Here are some facts on the MWC
Sponsors 19 championships (B12 has 21 excluding equestrian and rowing, which are not sponsored by the conference)
Plays conference bball tourney in Las Vegas
Only two schools have wrestling (Wyoming & Air Force)
Three schools have womens gymnastics (Air Force, Utah and BYU - note Utah is typically a top five team) I added wrestling and gymnastics, because they are sports where only 5 schools compete in wrestling and four in gymnastics in the B12, and if the MWC added ISU and MU, we both add those sports to the conference and may be able to add conference championships for those sports. If we want wrestling to continue, we have to find a conference that offers it, or it could be dead, and the same for gymnastics. We can't afford to lose anymore sports or we could lose D1 status.
SDSU is the largest school at 35,887 students, while the Air Force Academy is the smallest at 4,000 students. TCU has 8,865 students and Wyoming has 13,207 students (size of Baylor)
ISU would rank # 5 out of nine in enrollment with the current nine schools. BYU is 2, Utah 3, and UNLV 4. If you added MU, KSU, and KU, and ISU, we would be the seventh largest school. We are the 8th largest school in the B12.

The scary part of this is, taking MU with us helps in wrestling and gymnastics, because they offer both programs. KU and KSU do nothing for us in those sports, but we don't do anything for any of the three because we don't play baseball.

The more I look at this, I just don't have a good feeling about the MWC.

Hey, we might go big time in hockey.Womens bball will take a hit.

 

[frndlyhawk]

Then call any of your former professors tomorrow and ask them what the academic impact would be on the U of I if they left the Big Ten for C-USA. I'd bet you'd get at least one of them to say "devastating."

I'd recommend you read the post above by someone who actually did some analysis of the impact of the Big XII on research and grants. I understand why people are concerned about the worst case scenario, but he's one of the few posters who's actually offering specifics on the question of impact on the University's academic and research mission.

 

[Wesley]

Re: Quick question.

The MWC has 9 teams, meaning they probably would like to add 3. Given that they likely are still strongly going after BSU, then they may only decide to add 2 Big 12 teams. Seams to me K-State and Kansas would be the teams to add. :sad:

I think they will go 16 also.

 

[IAm4State]

Re: Will the Mt West want us?

ISU has to find a way to join the Big 10. This is much bigger than athletics, ISU as a University has millions of research dollars and prestige at stake.

Why is this guy the only one who get's it? As I stated on the end of the Neb thread, we need to be begging the Big 10 to let us in! This institution needs all the funding it can wrangle. Going to the MWC is financial suicide.

 

[swarthmoreCY]

ISU needs help from the State. JP or GG calling will not do much...what do you want them to do- call and say they will take 50% of what Iowa is getting to have them kick those guys to the curb.

 

[Al_4_State]

Re: Quick question.

not everyone. I don't think the MWC takes ISU.

You realize there is no objective statistical reason for them not to, right? They gain nothing at all by leaving us out. We would overnight be one of the largest Universities in the conference, have larger attendance than anyone save BYU, and bring 3,000,000 people to their TV network.

 

[Tornado man]

I'd recommend you read the post above by someone who actually did some analysis of the impact of the Big XII on research and grants. I understand why people are concerned about the worst case scenario, but he's one of the few posters who's actually offering specifics on the question of impact on the University's academic and research mission.

I would recommend that you actually talk with faculty, as I have at ISU in the last three days, who actually do the recruiting of the best and brightest, who actually are involved with grants and research, and who actually have seen, first-hand, the impact of BCS-level athletics and how it impacts the university as a whole. As I have posted earlier, a department head in our highly-ranked Dept. of Engineering told me today that the collapse of the Big 12 would be "devastating" to ISU.

 

[frndlyhawk]

I would recommend that you actually talk with faculty, as I have at ISU in the last three days, who actually do the recruiting of the best and brightest, who actually are involved with grants and research, and who actually have seen, first-hand, the impact of BCS-level athletics and how it impacts the university as a whole. As I have posted earlier, a department head in our highly-ranked Dept. of Engineering told me today that the collapse of the Big 12 would be "devastating" to ISU.

Go back and ask him/her why he/she said that, then come back and share the specifics. Not saying this one was, but professors have been known to engage in emotional overreactions, too.

Your comment raises some interesting questions, though: Wasn't ISU a great, successful institution before the Big XII and BCS? Was the old Big 8 full of great research universities? Has ISU fared dramatically better as an institution because of the Big XII, per se?

I would answer those questions YES, NO and SHOW ME.