MWC Expansion Candidates

[Spaztecs]

On 1/9/2025 at 12:49 PM, idkk said:

Why are you doing a deep dive on a thread by a random Beav fan? All of these "experts" on Twitter don't know anything and have no sources. They just throw shit at the wall and hope something sticks.

Edit: Bro's "Sports GM" experience is a running Bus Ops for a random junior hockey team in Oregon. 😂 

Why are you worried about it ?

[415hawaiiboy 2.0]

On 1/10/2025 at 1:48 AM, ChiTownHuskie said:

I assume this guy is including non-conference game views in his total number of views.

I'd go all streaming if it meant more money. Amazon reports over 200 million subscribers. That's way more than ESPN, which is a dying cable brand with decreasing subscribers. Jump on the ever-growing streaming brands over decreasing cable TV brands. Big ten has Fox so Pac is gonna have a hard time getting many games on OTA.

The CW channel is OTA.  PAC would have good exposure there.  I believe all streaming is currently too risky. 
 

The MW, if they plan an international viewership strategy (they can with Hawaii, UTEP and New Mexico as members), should sell this niche with TNT/MAX.  Particularly MAX for streaming. 

[Spaztecs]

On 1/10/2025 at 10:03 AM, 415hawaiiboy 2.0 said:

The CW channel is OTA.  PAC would have good exposure there.  I believe all streaming is currently too risky. 
 

The MW, if they plan an international viewership strategy (they can with Hawaii, UTEP and New Mexico as members), should sell this niche with TNT/MAX.  Particularly MAX for streaming. 

The P4's could get away with stream only.

Not the G's. 

Streaming is the future, but linear still has a footprint and the G's need the exposure.

[SleepingGiantFan]

On 1/10/2025 at 8:37 AM, NorthWestCowboy said:

It will be very interesting to see if Oregon State, without its historical old PAC-12 rivals can maintain its baseball program success on the same level.

I'm hoping that getting out of the baseball deficit that is the MW will help SDSU's program. During coach Jim Dietz's lengthy tenure our facilities were abysmal with no Tony Gwynn Stadium and Dietz's office being in a trailer. Despite the upgrades, Dietz's successors, including Gwynn, haven't done diddly squat in the NCAAs and haven't even managed to get there most of the time. That's inexcusable for a school located in an area where weather is never a problem for baseball.

[idkk]

On 1/10/2025 at 8:48 AM, Spaztecs said:

Why are you worried about it ?

Because you guys fall for all these fake "insider" accounts which don't know shit and all they do is make imaginary numbers up to generate engagement 

[idkk]

I'm sure the nPAC is going to love playing here /s

 

[Bigd]

On 1/10/2025 at 1:55 PM, idkk said:

I'm sure the nPAC is going to love playing here /s

 

I've been to a few games there and never seen it that full haha.

UC Davis used to get a really good student turnout and had a great student section. Not sure if that's changed over the years.

[SleepingGiantFan]

On 1/10/2025 at 1:55 PM, idkk said:

I'm sure the nPAC is going to love playing here /s

 

The first thing which came to mind in seeing that is CSUN's "Matadome." Does Sac State have such a nifty name for their arena (sic)?

[SleepingGiantFan]

On 1/10/2025 at 3:43 AM, SWspartan said:

Names, math and geography don't mean much in college sports anymore. 🙁

Seems that college is all about STEM now. So maybe math does still matter but not liberal arts subjects and that's quite apparent from the horrible writing skills of so many young college graduates, particularly those without Grammarly.

[KingSpartan]

On 1/10/2025 at 2:08 PM, SleepingGiantFan said:

Seems that college is all about STEM now. So maybe math does still matter but not liberal arts subjects and that's quite apparent from the horrible writing skills of so many young college graduates, particularly those without Grammarly.

Pfft. I write good.

[idkk]

On 1/10/2025 at 1:58 PM, Bigd said:

I've been to a few games there and never seen it that full haha.

UC Davis used to get a really good student turnout and had a great student section. Not sure if that's changed over the years.

This is their "new arena", which is them adding bleachers to their rec center basketball gym.

[DestinFlPackfan]

On 1/10/2025 at 3:55 PM, idkk said:

I'm sure the nPAC is going to love playing here /s

 

My high school gym was almost this size. Small town Oklahoma, 1,000 people at most. My graduating class was 67 kids.

[idkk]

Chris Murray got UCD's membership agreement with the MWC

From the article: https://nevadasportsnet.com/newsletter-daily/details-from-uc-davis-heavily-redacted-membership-agreement-to-join-the-mountain-west

* UC Davis has first right of invitation if the MW elevates a football program from the FCS level; that could complicate the MW attempting to add a school like North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Montana, Montana State or Sacramento State

* UC Davis will get a phased-in share of the MW's NCAA Tournament units, starting with one-sixth share of those units in 2026-27, a two-sixth share in 2027-28 and so on by a one-sixth share each year until getting full-share status in 2031-32. For each NCAA Tournament unit earned by UC Davis, it will increase its share by one-sixth

* UC Davis agreed to give the MW a grants of media rights through June 30, 2032, which is a condition the remaining MW schools also gave to the conference

* UC Davis would owe the MW $3 million if it does not join the conference in 2026

* UC Davis' entry fee to the MW, which was redacted, will be paid in six annual installments; Northern Illinois had a six-payment entry fee totaling $2 million to join the MW

* UC Davis agreed to increase its annual men's basketball expenses to certain financial levels in 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29; those specific benchmarks were redacted; UC Davis spent $2,823,059 on men's basketball in fiscal year 2023; comparatively, Nevada's men's basketball budget in 2023 was $4,978,558; the MW's lowest figure was San Jose State at $3,254,424, more than $430,000 higher than that of UC Davis

* UC Davis agreed to spent a minimum figure in men's basketball game guarantees for "winnable home games;" that benchmark was redacted

[Billings]

On 1/10/2025 at 2:08 PM, SleepingGiantFan said:

Seems that college is all about STEM now. So maybe math does still matter but not liberal arts subjects and that's quite apparent from the horrible writing skills of so many young college graduates, particularly those without Grammarly.

English Majors are getting great jobs right now

[Billings]

On 1/10/2025 at 3:53 PM, idkk said:

Chris Murray got UCD's membership agreement with the MWC

From the article: https://nevadasportsnet.com/newsletter-daily/details-from-uc-davis-heavily-redacted-membership-agreement-to-join-the-mountain-west

* UC Davis has first right of invitation if the MW elevates a football program from the FCS level; that could complicate the MW attempting to add a school like North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Montana, Montana State or Sacramento State

* UC Davis will get a phased-in share of the MW's NCAA Tournament units, starting with one-sixth share of those units in 2026-27, a two-sixth share in 2027-28 and so on by a one-sixth share each year until getting full-share status in 2031-32. For each NCAA Tournament unit earned by UC Davis, it will increase its share by one-sixth

* UC Davis agreed to give the MW a grants of media rights through June 30, 2032, which is a condition the remaining MW schools also gave to the conference

* UC Davis would owe the MW $3 million if it does not join the conference in 2026

* UC Davis' entry fee to the MW, which was redacted, will be paid in six annual installments; Northern Illinois had a six-payment entry fee totaling $2 million to join the MW

* UC Davis agreed to increase its annual men's basketball expenses to certain financial levels in 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29; those specific benchmarks were redacted; UC Davis spent $2,823,059 on men's basketball in fiscal year 2023; comparatively, Nevada's men's basketball budget in 2023 was $4,978,558; the MW's lowest figure was San Jose State at $3,254,424, more than $430,000 higher than that of UC Davis

* UC Davis agreed to spent a minimum figure in men's basketball game guarantees for "winnable home games;" that benchmark was redacted

Compare this to the report saying the Montana's and Dakota's wanted the MWC to pay their entry into the FBS

[jdgaucho]

On 1/10/2025 at 2:02 PM, SleepingGiantFan said:

The first thing which came to mind in seeing that is CSUN's "Matadome." Does Sac State have such a nifty name for their arena (sic)?

 

Yes.  It's called The Nest.  By comparison, the Matadome looks like Caesar's Palace.  At least The Matadome had some new paint slapped onto the floors and have chairbacks. Capacity's only 2400 and even that doubles up The Nest.

https://gomatadors.com/news/2023/8/23/general-csun-athletics-announces-a-robust-summer-of-facility-improvements.aspx

 

I went to a game there last January.

[BoneYardNIU]

On 1/10/2025 at 4:02 PM, SleepingGiantFan said:

The first thing which came to mind in seeing that is CSUN's "Matadome." Does Sac State have such a nifty name for their arena (sic)?

ScrotumDome? ScroDome? ScroDum? The Scrotal Sac?

NadsDome?

[SalinasSpartan]

On 1/10/2025 at 3:53 PM, idkk said:

Chris Murray got UCD's membership agreement with the MWC

From the article: https://nevadasportsnet.com/newsletter-daily/details-from-uc-davis-heavily-redacted-membership-agreement-to-join-the-mountain-west

* UC Davis has first right of invitation if the MW elevates a football program from the FCS level; that could complicate the MW attempting to add a school like North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Montana, Montana State or Sacramento State

* UC Davis will get a phased-in share of the MW's NCAA Tournament units, starting with one-sixth share of those units in 2026-27, a two-sixth share in 2027-28 and so on by a one-sixth share each year until getting full-share status in 2031-32. For each NCAA Tournament unit earned by UC Davis, it will increase its share by one-sixth

* UC Davis agreed to give the MW a grants of media rights through June 30, 2032, which is a condition the remaining MW schools also gave to the conference

* UC Davis would owe the MW $3 million if it does not join the conference in 2026

* UC Davis' entry fee to the MW, which was redacted, will be paid in six annual installments; Northern Illinois had a six-payment entry fee totaling $2 million to join the MW

* UC Davis agreed to increase its annual men's basketball expenses to certain financial levels in 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29; those specific benchmarks were redacted; UC Davis spent $2,823,059 on men's basketball in fiscal year 2023; comparatively, Nevada's men's basketball budget in 2023 was $4,978,558; the MW's lowest figure was San Jose State at $3,254,424, more than $430,000 higher than that of UC Davis

* UC Davis agreed to spent a minimum figure in men's basketball game guarantees for "winnable home games;" that benchmark was redacted

Interesting. This tells me that UCD wants to move up, and it is more the MWC telling them to hold off. If I had to guess, the MWC wanted UCD because they wanted to strengthen their presence in CA, but they don’t want UCD to move up right now if it reduces the per school payout.

Because otherwise the first clause makes no sense. If UCD actually wasn’t ready right now, the MWC adding an FCS school won’t change that. 

[pomf]

On 1/10/2025 at 9:41 PM, SalinasSpartan said:

...that could complicate the MW attempting to add a school like North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Montana, Montana State or Sacramento State

This part leads me to believe that any talk of future FCS adds is dead in the water for now. I know some people got love for the Montanas and Dakotas but I don't think you wanna start adding multiple FCS schools in short order if you're trying to show you're better than the SBC/CUSA and a top 3 G6 conference.

[HawaiiMongoose]

On 1/10/2025 at 8:41 PM, pomf said:

This part leads me to believe that any talk of future FCS adds is dead in the water for now. I know some people got love for the Montanas and Dakotas but I don't think you wanna start adding multiple FCS schools in short order if you're trying to show you're better than the SBC/CUSA and a top 3 G6 conference.

That may be true from a strategic perspective, but it's important to understand that the agreement doesn't in any way preclude the MWC from adding an FCS school in lieu of elevating UCD to full member status.

The agreement does say that if in the future "the Conference contemplates elevating an FCS program to Full Member, including participation in the Conference's Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) competition, the Conference will first invite New Member [UCD] to apply for that opportunity." However, the agreement also states clearly that "the Conference is under no obligation to select the New Member for elevation to Full Member status."

So in brief, the conference is in control.  Provided that UCD has been invited to submit its application first, and (if it applies) the conference has reviewed and responded to the application, the conference is free to move on to upgrade another school to FBS regardless of whether its decision was to approve or decline UCD's application.

If NDSU expresses an interest tomorrow in joining the MWC as a football only-member in 2026, and if the MWC thinks NDSU football should be added to the conference in 2026 instead of UCD football (e.g. because NDSU is better prepared to move up or would be a more valuable addition), all the conference has to do before reviewing and accepting NDSU's application is to give UCD an opportunity to apply first and (if it applies) decline UCD's application.