There is one rumor that a couple of power conferences are discouraging the Pac-12 and the Mountain West from inviting any FCS schools. I'll see if I can find that Tweet during my downtime unless if someone else can find it before me.

CBS Sports: "Is this the moment when FCS powers from the Dakotas and Montana move up to populate the Mountain West? North Dakota State, North Dakota, South Dakota State, Montana and Montana State have played in 11 of the last 12 NCAA Division I national championship games. Pros for those schools: FBS, the big time. Access, in theory, to the College Football Playoff.

"Con: without saying it, the game's stakeholders -- cough, cough, the Power Four -- don't want to see any more Kennesaw States move up to FBS. To them, the division is too crowded now with 134 teams. That's one reason the Power Four are pushing for their own NCAA governance structure."

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/whats-next-for-pac-12-more-expansion-options-tv-deal-on-check-list-for-re-imagined-conference/

TV Viewers - earlier in the article:

"At first glance of this deal, the move was made strictly along television dividing lines. Only one of the six new Pac-12 schools (Washington State) is among the top 50 in total TV viewers since 2016. That's actually a positive. The eight MWC schools left behind range from 83rd in that category to 104th."

Not sure how TV viewers compare to TV media market size. Sac-Modesto-Stockton is #20 media market, and growing.

hmmm…. I seem to recall that the Hymenopteras lost the last Causeway???

Sac fans (all 7 of them) are absolutely delusional, as usual. There are a few over there with rational thoughts on this.....

They can hype it all they want, but UC Davis is in a stronger position in nearly every way on the FBS / stadium expansion thing, and its still a pipe dream (at this moment).

the oregon state AD said 9 would be 'ideal' for scheduling. that gives them 8 conference games (like most conferences) and only need to schedule 4 out of conference. having to schedule 5 would be a challenge.

i can't see any FCS school being Pac-8/9/10 ready by the summer of 2026, nor do i think any TV network is going to be excited about paying out to a conference where one or more teams wouldn't be eligible to play in a bowl unless the bowls run out of eligible teams. (like James Madison last year).

I'm certainly not against the idea of moving up IF i knew what we'd be moving up into. Ponying up a $5M fee to go FBS, and figuring out the money situation to add 22 football scholarships (and add a like number of women's, or get rid of some men's sports) to hopefully go into a Mountain West where you don't know who will be there? Will Air Force join the PAC, or join up with the other service academies? Will other MWC join the PAC, or leave to the Sun Belt or AAC? Are you looking to join a conference that has a core of 4 or 5 teams? Its a huge investment for a huge unknown.

Sounds like the Pac was exploring this move prior to the final announcement of the corner schools joining the Big12. They maybe could have retained Cal and Stanford, giving them as much TV money as they are getting in the ACC and a better path to the playoffs. But, they sat and waited...and.....here we are!

Canzano: Pac-12 preparing to take a second bite of expansion apple

University of Memphis and Tulane University are top targets.

That sums it up nicely, Mike.

Does anyone know what is going on with the East sidelines on this stadium build out pic? It doesn't make sense to me. Are there seats? Club boxes? Or is it some kind of San Jose State deal where they put an office building on one of their sidelines?

Not sure how realistic FBS football is at Davis, but it's fun to dream...

Honestly, my take on this.....this is a photoshop job by an intern on a screenshot of the ~2004 concept package (you can tell by the field markings). I say this because there has never been an expansion concept since then (that fans have seen anyway).

I really wouldn't read too much into this, as there is no known explanation.....however, I would love to be pleasantly surprised.

Wow, this AggieSportsTalk site looks excellent and works well on mobile. Great work, whoever built it! I see Ron Gould has the program going in the right direction! ;)

Yep, I'm back, and I missed you all, even DrMike, CA Forever, SochoField, NCagalum, 69aggie, and AggieFinn. And if I missed anyone, I'm sorry. Any word on aggie6thman or ucdavisaggie05? MIA?

I'm glad to be back. I'll catch up on some reading, but I'll post soon.

-PortlandAggie, and yes, still in Portland!

welcome back, Portland!

Welcome back! 05 and his family moved to Tennessee. 6th moved to Texas. They both have young families so I’m sure they’re busy with kids sports. Finn stays in better touch with them than i do so maybe he can comment.

Ha! I noticed that, too. Taken from the original expansion specs we saw when the stadium was built. Zoom in and look at the scoreboard. It’s the old one.

:strong:

what do you mean ‘even Dr Mike’? I think you meant especially?!?!?

Welcome back

Welcome back, PA! We've missed you here.

05 made a post a couple of days ago for the first time in years and, like agalum said, 6th moved to Texas and I heard he found another team to follow. We haven't heard from him since he left, unfortunately. All this speculation about the PAC12 and the MWC has generated a lot of interest even if it just a pipe dream and it seems like some of original members from the past have taken notice. I hope they'll stay around and contribute to the conversations. Again, welcome back!

Gotcha- thanks, that makes sense with the small scoreboard in the pic. I have a vague memory of build out plans that just extended the bowl. I don't remember seeing any plans that had a second deck.

Lots of schools are lobbying for the PAC12 according to Teresa Gould. Possible additions include: UNLV, UTSA, Memphis, Tulane, North Texas, South Florida, Air Force and Gonzaga (basketball only).



https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10135993-report-pac-12-eyes-unlv-utsa-more-for-expansion-gonzaga-a-possibility-for-cbb?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

Richmond, TX (Houston)
Nashville, TN

Both are loving life and continuing to rock it in the free world. 6th is a high school baseball coach and history teacher. 05 is enjoying the Nashville hockey scene, as well as Volunteer Football (no Vandy for 05) - still working Civil Design on public projects. Both doing very well - those kids keep them both super busy. Sometimes 05 will swing through the site here, but 6th has basically moved on, every now and then I'll get his sage advice on something AST related...but for the most part we're on our own. All these Aggie fans make it pretty easy.

I actually made a road trip out to 6th a few years back to run the Sugarland Half Marathon on St. Patrick's Day. Very nice area, can be a little floody, as 6th found out early, but the house and land he is on is head an shoulders above anything financially comparable in California. Very nice spread. Have yet to go see 05 in Nashville, but he does make trips through the South Bay occasionally, and SochorField and I make a point to meet up with him.

We are working on our Mobile, AL plans next fall if this vs. Mercer game takes hold.

The following article is about a meeting that took place earlier this summer in Florida that included the NCAA President and the commissioners of the SEC, ACC, Big 10 and the Big 12. The group discussed a proposal that separates the 4 Power Conferences away from the other 28 conferences.

While many details remain unclear, the new governance structure clearly draws a dividing line between the revenue-generating football giants competing in a mostly commercialized, professional enterprise and the more basketball-centric institutions participating in a more amateur landscape.

Whole article here: https://sports.yahoo.com/with-the-future-of-college-sports-uncertain-one-thing-is-clear-an-official-and-permanent-split-of-ncaa-division-i-is-here-123034315.html

I appreciate the update. I’ll be in touch soon. :strong:

Hey! It takes a wild Pac-12 rumor to get me to pop in, I guess…. (shrug)

Any official news release on that Mobile game? I swore the only reason I would get to the Gulf in Alabama was the beach….

Right?!?! I live one state away, and I’m tired of people not knowing anything about UC Davis, let alone that we have a football team. Glad you’re doing well!

hence, why we need to move to FBS!

So, how's this new Pac X conference shaping up? Who are the actual players and who's looking in?

Another nebulous post from Rocko

I appreciate Rocko’s enthusiasm, but let’s see what the stadium looks like on November 2nd against Northern Colorado…..

Are we ready to ditch “The Davis Way”? Because that is what it will take, and full buy-in from the very top, with the wherewithal to fight the academic types.

“I use the analogy that athletics are the front porch of the university. If someone has never heard of UC Davis, they might see one of our teams playing — they might be on television … they might want to learn more about the university and it might cause interest among respective students.

Well, Chancellor, if that’s the case…..

Oh I agree. I don't particularly think major stadium upgrades or an announcement to the mountain west are imminent, but I've certainly been wrong before! Davis has a long history of lackluster fan support.