Wowza! I'm a jealous man! Have a great time :)

Yeah I was gonna say I remember them saying total seating was less than 3000 ...

Rough one. Started off well but ended up with some serious struggles in pitching. 12-2

I do think some of that has to do with it being the first year of that new arena and them having some flashy names, but also impressive considering the record they have. I think the new sac arena fits well in the Big West.

I also think our (mens) basketball team is a bit stale and has been for a bit. Most people I know who are still in Davis think the team has been "mid" for the last few years. I think some of the new student section stuff has been cool, but I do worry moving into the mountain west that we are gonna really struggle at first (expected with any step up in competitive though). I am okay moving on from Les.

you know that’s not what I’m saying lol, I’m saying that budget wise, student body wise and yes, research is way more in line with Davis when you look at MW schools than most of the FCS. Obviously the big west academically or the Ivy League lines up with us, but we’re already moving to the mountain west for other sports so I’m just saying the mountain west compared to the big sky.

OH AND I WANT TO SPECIFICALLY SAY SOMETHING: I would not want to do what sac is doing. Forcing FBS by any means necessary as fast as possible not caring about money, facilities, fans or much more is not a good idea. Maybe it will work out for them, but I think it’s a very very risky thing to be doing, especially with all the budget issues the CSU is facing.

I appreciate your take. Well informed and logical. I agree with much of it too. I am happy staying in the FCS and trying to win a championship in the next few years, growing the national profile of the school and also building momentum. I also just think we realistically will probably need to move to the Mountain West in between moving to play a Cal or Stanford. I know they are not “elite” but whether I personally think they are ridiculous for thinking they are or not, they spend a heck of a lot more money on sports than the mountain west, and a ton more than big sky schools. I don’t want to just spend a billion dollars on football or sports in general, but I think that by 2030 by ramping up fan support, donations, budget, etc and trying to reach the mountain west for football after hopefully some success in the FCS playoffs (past the cursed quarterfinals) is a good move for the future of the program.

It’s also really hard to mess with the tv numbers when almost all your games are on espn+ and the national outlets don’t say a peep about your level of football most of the year. Heck, last year they were STILL screwing up the names and logos of FCS teams on graphics and posts. I 100% agree with you that we could become way more relevant if we can compete year in and year out in the FCS championships, but I also think looking forward needs to (and the timeframe I am more flexible) include that step to the mountain west to prepare us to be in the strongest position when realignment comes again.

I agree with much of what you say about the illogical reality of modern college football, it’s absolutely ridiculous, but I also still see being in the mountain west for ALL sports as aligning our athletics department.

Thank you for being so awesome to talk football about btw Gabe :)

in what world though do Stanford and cal invite Davis? Athletics wise we are much more similar to the mountain west members than p5 programs like cal and Stanford. I would love to be in a conference but don’t see that happening with them realistically (especially if we stay an FCS program). Getting on a national stage with the MW seems important.

To be honest, if we did want that to happen eventually moving up to an FBS level program in the MW before this implosion of conference stuff seems like a no brainer. Close that gap between the programs while we can. I appreciate your perspective but don’t see how staying in the FCS makes us more marketable to a potential conference with Stanford and Cal in it.

Speaking of academics, the MW aligns more with Davis academics wise too than the Big Sky. Flagship universities in the states they are in vs directional, regional schools. That’s not a knock on those schools, but just the reality size, endowment and student-body wise.

The MAC would not/isn’t the same draw as the MW. Also, I’m sure people said the same stuff when sac went to d1 first before Davis but it ended up okay. I think sac has the space for 2 markets. + Davis has a large alumni base.

As long as we join the MW soon, I wouldn’t be worried. 5-10 more years of FCS and we might have more of an issue if sac is successful.

we will be in the MW by 2028-2030 once we start or finish stadium expansion. If coaches on the team are retweeting things about Davis being in the MW for football, the team is talking about that as the goal, and plans to expand the stadium are already mapped out, I’d imagine sac moving is a bit of a motivator but not majorly. We will be there, just taking a smarter approach than throwing 15 million to join ANY conference. We are in a good spot. I think the sooner the better honestly.

agreed! I think an Aggie stadium with 17k-20k capacity should be the target, at least to initially join the MW and expand the stadium.

I agree with your attendance point, I think it’s telling that Davis is getting similar numbers to them (and would imagine could be slightly better with an FBS move). I think us being in SJSU’s conference could be really good for both schools in forming a rivalry. I don’t necessarily see the smaller capacity as the worst thing ever (considering it’s similar to NDSU now). Getting a stadium similarly sized to SJSU and we could probably hover similarly or higher. Even with that attendance SJSU has been a pretty good competitor in the MW too and been able to recruit well. I think it speaks to the playing level and quality of facility no matter the size. That new addition you can say what you want about but seems to mirror the Davis move with building our new athletic training center next to the stadium.

I think adding Davis for football could be one of the most positive additions for Reno and SJSU

Makes sense. I hope it works out, I really do wish in a perfect world sac and davis would be in the MW together. I worry about the Sac admin's spending and broken/constantly changing goalposts but also think forward looking isnt the worst thing. Its all a bit of a gamble right now, but the position of bein an already established FBS school in future realignment seems like a no brainer. I worry about a g6 split that shuts out FCS members (and hope Davis is already in the MW if that happens).

Yeah I don't really worry about Sac attendance, I just don't see the draw of MAC schools to be close to playing Mountain West or Pac12 schools. Talking about filling the stadium by playing all these west coast schools is just NOT the reality of what is gonna happen if Sac joins the MAC. I think if Sac is putting up a good season the potential for bowl games, etc will draw well, but the MAC seems like a hard conference to draw fans to considering the conference schools are so far away and not super recognizable to those on the west coast.

Again, I hear a lot of people talking about where fans will come from, why the MW would have more fans actually show up. Look at the attendance averages for MW teams compared to Big Sky teams (across the board in sports but especially football). People care more, show up more, and invest more in programs in the MW then in the Big Sky overall. I think it would bring more energy to Aggie Stadium if we are in a conference with more engaged fan bases.

I think its a hell of a lot easier to get people to come to games to watch UNR or SJSU then to watch Utah Tech or Portland State. With Sac leaving the Big Sky, the MW has more teams within our proximity in the conference. Easier to travel to, renewed and new rivalries, and schools that actually invest in athletics. I know the MW teams are not the biggest FBS names, but obviously are way more exciting and recognizable than much of the FCS (and easier to understand what level of football they play in lol).

The MW also provides better environments for Aggie fans to travel to and watch games. The very worst stadiums and attendance #'s in the MW are better than almost every single Big Sky team.

I love playing Montana State and Montana but a good chunk of the Big Sky doesn't have the draw or name recognition, much less the larger FCS. I would rather take the risk and join the MW to position ourselves with more aligned brands then tread water and hope that we eventually get to merge or something with the g6.

I know individual experience doesn't decide moves, but I know many alum, students and family members that would be more motivated to go to games against MW schools.

Yeah I was this today too! I found it encouraging, especially considering the #'s we are getting while still being in the FCS. We averaged 12,991 fans per game last season for home. I think we could get that number up with a move to the MW at the very least to the levels around Nevada or NDSU. Adding the new premium seating that is already planned + additional bleachers or a filling in of the berm could get us there pretty easily.

Seriously. I think we have a good chance to finish higher than 8th in the conference at the end of the year. I expected Santa Barbara to be really strong.

It seems pretty evident, seems like more of a matter of getting that stadium expansion started.

Well we have coaches on the team retweeting this..

I also wanted to give you kudos for these consistent posts about each game. Makes it easy to read out and hype the family and friends for games.

Would love to build momentum in what is often a strong Big West Conference before moving to the Mountain West next year (which unlike for most sports, may actually be an easier conference to compete in for the Ags).