University of Idaho President Chuck Staben addressed Sun Belt officials via conference call Monday to campaign for the Vandals to remain as a long-term football-only member of the conference.
Staben’s 19-slide presentation focused on media markets in Boise and Spokane and attendance history as key reasons why Idaho should receive a contract extension from the conference.
Despite Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Karl Benson’s comments that the presentation was “well done and well received,” Idaho fans still remain uncertain about the future of Vandal football.
With an upcoming decision to be made by the conference presidents on March 10, Idaho officials have remained fairly quiet regarding the stance of the university, with the exception of a candid interview by Staben about the Big Sky Conference.
There will be critics of every possible scenario for the program. Even if the Vandals were to remain in the Sun Belt Conference, fans would passionately contend that the travel costs for road games are too expensive.
If the Vandals are not offered a contract extension and choose to go independent, the university would be upset over the lack of revenue from out-of-conference road games. The Vandals would also experience difficulty scheduling future opponents, because many programs play a conference schedule during the second half of the season.
If Idaho chose to make the move to the Big Sky Conference, pandemonium would likely ensue.
As the first modern program to make the move to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), the Vandal football program would be viewed in a negative light. In addition, there’s no guarantee that Idaho would automatically compete for a conference title immediately after joining the Big Sky.
As a student at the University of Idaho, I am unsure which option is best for the future of the Vandal football program.
A major staple of any university is a competitive football team that competes at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. A surprising number of high school students select a college based on this very aspect.
As a member of the Sun Belt Conference, the Vandals would continue to play at the FBS level. However, the majority of Idaho opponents would be from the southeastern region of the country, making it difficult for fans to attend road games.
As an independent program, Idaho would retain its FBS status. But the downside is that the university would receive a drastic reduction in revenue and experience difficulty in scheduling opponents every year.
An upside of independence is that it could potentially result in unique matchups for the Vandals against nontraditional opponents. But Staben has said that independence is not an attractive option for the football program, which reduces the likelihood of this scenario.
As a traveling student journalist, I am intrigued by the possibility of a drop down in divisions to the Big Sky Conference. The Big Sky provides an improved regional fit for the Vandals and allows fans in the northwest to travel with more ease for conference matchups.
But a drop in divisions means a drastic reduction in available scholarships for the football program, and will possibly result in the loss of a television deal with ESPN3 for the broadcasting rights of home games at the Kibbie Dome.
The best possible news for the Idaho football program would be a contract extension offer from Sun Belt officials next month. This would maintain the status quo, allowing the Vandals to remain in the FBS while possessing a semi-permanent conference affiliation.
With the Vandals showing improvement on the gridiron, the team deserves more time to prove that it can be a contender in the Sun Belt. Idaho showed signs of this last year when the team knocked off conference opponents Troy, Louisiana-Monroe and Texas State.
While an official decision will not be made for three weeks, anxious Vandal football fans will keep their fingers crossed in the hope that the Sun Belt Conference decides to offer a contract extension to Idaho.
Josh Grissom can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @GoshJrissom