The University of South Dakota spurned their invitation to the Big Sky Conference party and in so doing left the league, and more importantly the University of North Dakota, in a bit of a lurch.
One of the reasons the Vermillion, S.D. school cited in accepting a midnight-hour invitation to join the Missouri Valley Conference is the same reason it makes no sense for North Dakota to join the Big Sky Conference.
While no one will admit it – and by the way there’s enough egg-on-the-face to go around – no matter what the company line is, had UND known USD was not joining them in the move, they never would have committed to becoming a Big Sky Conference member.
Just like they say real estate is “location, location, location,” believe me when I say league membership is travel, travel, travel. It’s not as big of an issue in football, where charter flights transport most teams – and remember you are only there at the most every other season. But in men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball, making a 1,000-mile trip for a single matchup is quite simply a nightmare.
And without a travel partner, North Dakota will face the unenviable task of playing on the second night against a team with more preparation time and no previous competition.
But what about the challenges facing North Dakota teams to reach the southern and western parameters of Big Sky Conference competition?
Five Missouri Valley Conference schools are located within 700 miles of Vermillion, which doesn’t only ease team travel, it also allows better access for fans to attend road games.
Not so for North Dakota.
No doubt the Missouri Valley Conference was where the University of South Dakota wanted to land in the first place but when the Big Sky came calling, the school’s expressed interest in becoming a core member raised the price of poker for the MVFC to put up or shut up, so to speak, if the football league wanted a 10th member.
South Dakota’s move also renews rivalries, not just with former Division-II North Central Conference foe North Dakota State and South Dakota State, but also with perennial FCS power Northern Iowa.
Also looming were the financial and ethical implications of leaving the Summit League in basketball.
South Dakota, in its third year of transition from D-II, just joined the league last season as a provisional member during its move to Division-1, and will become a full member July 1, 2011.
With the demise of the Big West Conference, it simply was not feasible for South Dakota to function as an Independent, and they had to find a football home before 2012.
There will be plenty of positive spin and the Big Sky Conference landscape will be painted with optimism, but the league jumped the gun by announcing the changes and South Dakota’s possible league inclusion, no doubt in an attempt to leverage the Coyotes to commit to league membership.
And in the process the University of North Dakota is left blowing in the wind.