Cravens Out! Now What?

As first posted at The Good in Ogden:

Local sports reporter Randy Hollis said it best this morning in the Standard-Examiner: "Nice guys finish last." Joe Cravens has one of the greatest personalities around. His interviews on local sports talk radio were very entertaining at worst, spectacular at best.

However, I do have to give the folks on the bench credit for this one. W.S.U. has struggled a lot lately. The past two years have been losing seasons. The mark of a good season in college basketball is usually the twenty win plateau---something Cravens did only once in his tenure at Weber State. The year they won 26 games and made the NCAA tournament was awesome, but alas, that seemed to be a statistical outlier for the Cravens Cats, not the norm.

Weber State has a proud basketball tradition. In a state full of good basketball, Weber State has the reputation of walking the walk in big situations. Except for the U of U, who has been stellar in basketball for some time now, the 'Cats have the most wins in the Big Dance dating back to 1995 of any team in the great state of Utah. Weber's victories over North Carolina in 1999 and Michigan State in 1995 are the only victories in the NCAA Tourney for Big Sky teams since 1981. Obviously Joe Cravens had a lot to live up to, and didn't do it. Once the Purple Palace (otherwise known as the Dee Events Center) is completely empty, as it has been for a couple of years now, it becomes painfully obvious that a change is coming. Weber needs the revenue too badly.

Luckily for the Wildcats, the cupboard is not empty. The first, and I mean this jokingly, choice has to be W.S.U. grad Ben Howland. What? You think the current U.C.L.A. head man wouldn't choose Ogden over L.A. or the Big Sky over the Pac-10?

Okay, now seriously speaking, the 'Cats do have some good options here. Former W.S.U. guys who are still around include Dick Hunsaker, who has done a marvelous job of taking U.V.S.C. from a JUCO program to a D-I program (even to the point of beating Arizona State this year), and Snow College Head Coach Roger Ried. Ried, the former coach at B.Y.U., may be best known for his "you're letting down 9 million Mormons" comment. But it should be remembered that he had a 152-77 record at the "Y" and led them to five Big Dance appearances; something B.Y.U. hasn't been able to come even close to since Ried's departure.

Other candidates, according to the Standard-Examiner and reporter Jason Asay, include Jeff Judkins and former W.S.U. coach Ron Abegglen. Judkins is the Lady Cougars head coach and another all-around good guy who gets lots of media exposure in this state. He has the Lady Cougs nationally ranked and seems to be just waiting to step into a head coaching role on the men's side of things. Abegglen is Weber's former coach that led them to their Tourney wins against North Carolina and Michigan State. He was a good recruiter. Unfortunately he had some off the court issues that got him dismissed from Weber.

For my money, I like a number of these coaches. If Abegglen has been forgiven, he could get another opportunity. However, many in the community still remember his problems, and that could cause some controversy. Abegglen is a good coach, though. Ried deserves another chance to coach D-I ball and was a winner at B.Y.U. who got screwed when Shawn Bradley decided to return from his mission and immediately turn pro (which didn't turn out so well).

Like I said earlier, I give Weber State credit for making a change now. Cravens is a good guy, but hasn't won enough for Ogden. We want our team to be at the top of the Big Sky, and beat some of the higher profile teams in the state. This is no small task at a school like W.S.U., but it seems to be what we expect. I look forward to good games, winning, and seeing the Purple Palace full again. There is nothing like a packed, raucous crowd at the Dee Events Center.

What do you think?

Montana Nabs 2 Of Top 10 TEs / NAU Recruit Also On List

Montana grabbed the #1 and #10 tight end recruits in I-AA, according to Showing Blitz. Northern Arizona also snagged themselves a top 10 TE as well.

1. Rob Overton - 6'6 240 - San Leandro, CA (Moreau Catholic) - Montana
6. Trevor Hankins - 6'5 235 - Scottsdale, AZ (Chaparral) - Northern Arizona
10. Steven Pfahler - 6'5 215 - Frenchtown, MT (Frenchtown) - Montana

Two New Coaches At UNC

Two new assistant coaches have been hired at UNC, officials say. Scott Downing (head coach) added Brian Natkin, who spent the last three seasons as a coach at his alma mater, the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP), and Craig Robinson, who spent the 2004 and 2005 seasons working at the University of Idaho as defensive assistant coach and administrative assistant.

Also included in the article are spring practice dates.

Clink the headline for the article.

Showing Blitz - Wide Receivers

In Rob's latest addition, he ranks the best high school WRs going to I-AA. Five future Big Sky players land in this list of 40 receivers.

11. Tony Kazmierczak - 6'2 200 - Thompson Falls, MT (Thompson Falls) - Montana
13. Isaiah Burel - 6'2 180 - Redlands, CA (East Valley) - Idaho State
26. Myron Beck - 6'0 205 - Seattle, WA (Ingraham) - Weber State
HM. Austin Raught - 6'2 180 - Farr West, UT (Fremont) - Weber State
HM. Ronald Richardson - 6'0 200 - Pomona, CA (Grant) - Sacramento State

Pretty good classes for the Big Sky schools this year so far, at least according to Rob.

Portland State Drops A I-AA Game To Play Cal

Portland State will again play 2 I-A games next year. Walsh is quoted as saying they have played well against IA and are excited to see what they can do with this years squad. Do they not even care about making the playoffs? It sounds to me like Walsh would rather get beat up by IA schools than play good I-AA schools (they had McNeese State on the schedule before this change). I don't understand the logic behind this, unless PSU is really that far in debt. Here is a blurb:

Portland State continues in its desire to play as challenging a schedule as possible with the addition of Cal. The 1-AA Vikings already are scheduled to play at New Mexico in the season-opener on Sept. 2, giving PSU games against both Pac-10 and Mountain West Conference teams.

“I think we have been competitive against the Division I programs we played against in recent years,” said Viking Coach Tim Walsh, who will enter his 14th season in 2006. “We are good, getting better, and are excited to play a program with the tradition and academic excellence that Cal has.

“We are always fighting the battle of who we are and what we are at PSU. I think this says we are a good Division I football program. This game would not have happened when we were playing at Division II.”

Sac State's Athletic Director Named To I-AA Football Committee

ATHLETICS DIRECTOR TERRY WANLESS NAMED TO DIV. I-AA FOOTBALL COMMITTEE
Release Date: 2/22/2006

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento State Director of Athletics Terry Wanless has been named to the Div. I-AA Football Committee. Wanless, who is in his fourth year at Sacramento State, is one of eight administrators on the committee — two from each of the four regions.

“I am honored to be named to this committee,” Wanless said. “I look forward to working towards the betterment of I-AA football.”

The Div. I-AA Football Committee’s most notable duty is selecting and seeding the 16 teams for the Div. I-AA playoffs and overseeing the chamoionship each fall.

Prior to his appointment, Wanless served as a member of the West Region Advisory Committee. In that role, he helped with regional rankings.

The remaining members of the committee are comprised of Bobby Williams of Sam Houston State, Donald Kaverman of Southeast Missouri State, John P. Hardt of Bucknell, Lynn W. Thompson of Bethune-Cookman, Roachel Laney of Appalachian State, Tim Van Alstine of Western Illinois and John McCutcheon of UMass.

Big Sky Combine Invites

Here is a list of the Big Sky alums that were invited to the NFL combine:

QBs:
Travis Lulay, Montana State
Erik Meyer, Eastern Washington

OT:
Paul McQuistan, Weber State

S:
Reed Doughty, Northern Colorado

Good luck to these fine athletes, and may they represent the Big Sky well!

Eastern Looking For A New Athletic Director

Eastern Washington's search for an athletic director was put in motion last week when the position was advertised nationally.

"We'll see where it goes from there," interim A.D. Pam Parks said. "We'll probably take applications for a good month, maybe longer."

The position has been open since last summer when Scott Barnes left for an associate position at the University of Washington. Because EWU was also without a president, the A.D. position was not advertised until after a president was hired.

Rodolfo Arevalo, recently selected, is expected to be in Cheney permanently about the first of April. He was in town recently and approved the A.D. posting.

"We'll try to fill it about the same time president Arevalo gets here April 3," Parks said. "That's probably not realistic; we're probably looking at the first of May.

"I haven't seen any names," she added. "We have five or six resumes on file (since Barnes left)."

Parks has said all along she is not interested in the position.

"No change of heart," she said. "It's been fun thus far but it's not something I aspire to do. I don't want the external part of the job. Hopefully, I can stay and focus on the internal part."

Multi-Year Contracts

Most fans of the two Montana schools have argued this since the invention of the message board. Currently, coaches in Montana are not allowed multi-year contracts - they are forced to sign year-year contracts instead. While the majority seems to think the multi-year contracts would increase job security and overall stability of the program, Andrew Hinkelman (writer at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle) presents some opinions and viewpoints against multi-year contracts, and has a few valid points, methinks.

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2006/02/16/sports/02hink.txt

Ali Ready To Go

MuAmmar Ali (5'8 200), the transfer running back from New Mexico State, says he just wants to play anywhere coach Walsh wants him to. There was a cloud of controversy surrounding his departure from NMSU, but he wants to put it all behind him and play some football. PSU fans have reason to hope he could be the next Joe Rubin.

MuAmmar Ali is fit, chiseled and champing at the bit to get started as the next great running back at Portland State.
But the 5-8, 200-pound transfer from New Mexico State, who will be a senior in eligibility this fall, isn’t pounding his chest with braggadocio, as a certain former heavyweight champ of the same surname might have.
“I’m going to do whatever coach (Tim) Walsh wants me to do, whether it’s at tackle, fullback, linebacker — it doesn’t matter,” Ali says. “I’m going to compete and contribute in any aspect I can.”
Ali, a Muslim, carries himself in a polite, respectful manner that belies the controversy surrounding his departure from New Mexico State, which brought him to Portland State in January for winter term.
The former star running back from Vacaville, Calif. — he was recruited by several Pac-10 schools out of high school but was a Proposition 48 academic casualty — butted heads with first-year New Mexico State coach Hal Mumme.
Ali reportedly was kicked off the team early last season after claiming he was criticized by Mumme for reciting a prayer from the Quran instead of the post-practice Lord’s Prayer said by most of his teammates. Ali says he also was questioned by Mumme about al-Qaida. The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal religious discrimination suit against the university on behalf of Ali and two other Muslims, who also were dropped from the squad.
“I can’t speak on that because of a gag order,” says Ali, who had rushed for a team-high 561 yards and 10 TDs as a sophomore under previous coach Tony Samuels. “There’s more to it than you know. Things just weren’t clicking for me there.”
Ali was born into the Muslim religion. He attended the private elementary school in east Oakland, Calif., at which his mother taught. He says the religion “has always been in our family, whether at home or in school.”
Does the controversy that follows Ali to Portland bother him?
“It doesn’t bother me at all,” he says. “Comes with the territory.”
After a moment, Ali reconsiders.
“I have to take that back,” he says. “I’m not going to lie. It does bother me. It has really stressed me out, stressed my family out. I’ve never been a controversial person. Teammates, friends, family — they’ve always looked up to me. Me coming here, I carry a lot of ‘he said, she said’ baggage.”

Weight comes with power

After cameo appearances in three games for New Mexico State — he gained 24 yards on eight carries — Ali was booted from the Aggie squad. He considered a transfer to a couple of other Big Sky schools, “but my best opportunity was Portland State,” he says. “It has a reputation as a running-backs school, and coach Walsh had connections with some of the assistants (under Samuels).”
A physical specimen who has bench-pressed 355 and squatted 565 pounds during PSU’s winter workouts, Ali says he runs a “consistent” 4.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash. A gain of nearly 10 pounds since the football season has taken away none of the speed, he claims.
“My body has changed drastically, but I still have my quickness and speed,” he says. “I consider myself an elusive back who also has power and strength. The more weight I put on, the more explosive I’ve become.”

Big role calls for competition

Walsh has only seen video of Ali in action, but he was impressed. The longtime PSU coach compares Ali physically to school single-season and career rushing record-holder Charles Dunn and hopes the transfer can become as productive as Joe Rubin, who rushed for 1,702 yards and 17 TDs last season.
“Mo is good,” Walsh says. “He’s extremely strong and quick. He’s not quite Joe Rubin strong, but he’s in that category. Mo is more of a slasher like Charles Dunn was.”
Ali won’t be handed the starting job. He’ll be in competition with holdover Kelena Ho’okano, a 6-foot, 205-pound senior-to-be. Spring practice begins April 19, “and they will both get a ton of carries,” Walsh promises.
“Portland State has had some great running backs who have put up big yards,” Ali says. “If Coach Walsh decides on me for that position and gives me the opportunity, I’d like to pick up some yards for him.”
This is a chance for Ali to re-establish himself as a person, too.
“It’s a clean slate,” he says. “I’m really looking forward to getting a fresh start.”

MSU Hires New TE Coach

The Bobcats have hired a new coach for tight ends, E.J. Arnold. Bobcat fans sure remember his father, Dave Arnold, coach of the Bobcats in 1984 when they won the national I-AA championship. Here is the article:

MSU SIGNS ARNOLD TO STAFF: Montana State has added E.J. Arnold to its coaching staff, head coach Mike Kramer said on Thursday.

Arnold will coach MSU's tight ends.

The move was necessary after Jeremy Thielbahr was switched from tight ends to the defensive line earlier this month.

Arnold was a graduate assistant at the University of Texas-El Paso last season after working as special teams program coordinator the previous year. His father, Dave, was Montana State's head coach from 1983-86, leading the Bobcats to the 1984 national championship.

E.J. Arnold was a quarterback at Albion College, earning academic all-conference honors as a senior in 2000. He was assistant quarterbacks coach at Albion the next season and worked with wide receivers and tight ends as well.

"He grew up around the sport," said Kramer, who said he has known Arnold since he was born. "He'll be in this business a long, long time."

Dave Arnold, who in 1983 gave Kramer his first college coaching job at MSU, is now special teams and tight ends coach at Colorado State.

Monte Being Sued

The two-time Capitol One Mascot of the Year, Monte, is being sued by a man that Monte allegedly jumped on 3 years ago. The man had back surgery awhile back, but hadn't quite recovered from it (good enough to shoot a half-court shot) when he was selected at halftime for a half-court shot. He made the shot, and was "pounced" on by Monte, re-injuring his back.

Interesting it wasn't until 3 years later that a lawsuit was filed.

Thoughts?

*note - In case you were curious, links to all the articles I post are in the headline of the blog entry. So click on "Monte Being Sued" to read the article.

McBride Denied Money, Needs to Be Treated Better

As first published at The Good in Ogden:

A Jan. 23 article by Jason Staley in The Signpost talked about how Ron McBride has asked for more money for recruiting at Weber State. The article says that WSU is ranked fourth in the conference with their football recruiting budget at $33,000. Montana State's budget is $129,000 and Montana's budget is $90,000. With those stats in mind, it is no wonder that McBride asked for another $20,000 for his recruiting budget. Here's a quote from Ronny Mac himself in the aforementioned article:

"I've been a national recruiter for years, I've recruited the whole United States, so I know coaches in all areas of the country and I can get players and I can put this program where I want this program to be. I want this program to be the number one program in Utah; I want it to be the number one program in this conference and the only way you can do that is you got to have big players; now I can get the players, you just have to give me the help to get them."

Remember when everyone in town was ecstatic when Weber State got McBride? Remember 16000+ people packing Stewart Stadium? Remember a team with a much improved record? Well it looks like the honeymoon is officially over up on the bench. In another Jason Staley article from the Feb. 6th version of The Signpost we get this:

Football coach Ron McBride did not receive his $20,000 to help recruiting efforts. The SFRC allocated the athletic department just enough money to cover last year's budget and the required $74,391 to cover salaries, compensation and scholarships.

What that means, I don't exactly know. I don't know if there is another way around it, but I hope that there is. McBride is definitely taking a step down by coaching at Weber State. He is the best thing to happen to Weber State football since Jamie Martin. The university needs to take a look at what they hope to accomplish with McBride at the helm. If they want to continue to be a low level division I-AA program, than keep denying the football team the things they need. But it seems to me that since they already have a great coach, they need to jump in the water completely and not let this opportunity go to waste. Weber has potential in all sports. Their facilities are the best in their conference. The Dee Events Center and the newly remodeled Stewart Stadium provide excellent and scenic athletic venues where success can happen.

However, our budget cannot be nearly one-fourth of that of other schools in the Big Sky. Events like this seem to be what keeps Ogden's university treading along in mediocrity. All we have to do to see Weber's mediocrity is look at what has happened in their own conference over the last decade or so. Remember Nevada-Reno? Weber used to have a decent rivalry with them. They now compete in the WAC and won the Hawaii Bowl this past year. How about Boise State? Though some people think they may not do it in the most legal of fashions, they are constantly ranked in the National Top 25 and usually in the top fifteen or ten. I'm talking about the I-A rankings here, folks. Remember the Idaho Vandals? Though they have not had a great deal of success since becoming a division I-A program, they just landed former S.F. 49ers head coach Dennis Erickson and look to be on the way up. All of this goes on while Junction City 'U' remains in the middle or bottom of the Big Sky.

That basketball stadium needs to be filled. The football stadium needs to be filled. But the bottom line of any sport is that people won't come unless the team is winning. People won't consistently attend unless the team wins for a long period of time. Some people at Weber don't seem to get that. Maybe the University needs to look at spending a few million less dollars on remodeling the Student Union Building and give Mac his $20,000. If we don't we may just lose him.

Until Weber State gets up off of the mat and realizes that they have to compete for the athletic dollar in Ogden and in this state, then nothing will happen. Montana and Montana State don't have to worry about the Jazz, RSL, and the Blaze. They are the only games in town. They don't even have to worry about division I-A programs like Weber does. The crew on the bench need to realize that people would much rather travel two hours in traffic to watch BYU take on USC and see two future Heisman Trophy winners, than stay in Ogden and practically walk to a stadium and watch Sac. State.

All I have to say is this: give me the real Washington, not Eastern Washington. Give me Arizona, not Northern Arizona. Give me Colorado, not Northern Colorado. All of these directionally named state schools aren't nearly as exciting as the real deals. That's what you have to do in this market.

Since these teams won't be coming to Ogden any time soon and we can drive a few to see them play, at least do what it takes to give me a winner.

Then I'll gol; and so will many others.

Showing Blitz - RBs

In Rob's latest addition, he rated the top 25 high school RB recruits in the nation, and listed 8 honorable mentions. Rob does this on his own free time, and these are his personal rankings. Two Big Sky RBs snagged an honorable mention:

HM. Andy Muns - 5'7 190 - Castle Rock, CO (Douglas County) - Northern Colorado
HM. Chase Reynolds - 6'0 190 - Drummond, MT (Drummond) - Montana

*note - again, ATH are not listed here.

It will be interesting to see these lists as they unfold, and eventually see the rankings on the entire class.

Idaho State Names New President

Dr. Arthur Vailas was named President of Idaho State University today. Since news surrounding Big Sky football is non-existent at this time, I thought I'd mention it.

3 Big Sky QB Recruits In Top 20

Three of the top 20 high school quarterbacks, as rated by Rob of Showing Blitz, were picked up by the Big Sky, along with one honorable mention. Including the outstanding transfers this year (Josh Swogger (WashingtonState)-UM, Matt Gutierrez(UofMichigan)-ISU, and Jack Rolovich(Hawaii)-MSU), the Big Sky had a solid quarterback class. Here are the ratings from Showing Blitz:

6. Andrew Selle - 6'2 205 - Billings, MT (Billings West) - Montana
17. Travis Gowan - 6'4 195 - Arcadia, CA (Arcadia) - Portland State
18. Jordan Rasmussen - 6'4 200 - Tacoma, WA - Montana State
HM. Jason Harris - 6'1 200 - Issaquah, WA (Skyline) - Eastern Washington.

*note - Some quarterbacks will be listed as ATH (athlete), so not all QBs may appear on this list.

Lulay-less Era Begins

Well since I haven't found anyone else to write articles for the blog yet, so I'll attempt one to help pass the time until we start getting some other information up.

When fans around the I-AA community think about the future of Montana State, they will most likely respond with three words, or a variation of these three : "Travis Lulay graduated". And how can you blame them? The most prolific passer in Bobcat history led his team to 4 straight winning seasons, 2 straight playoff appearances and 3 shares of the Big Sky Championship in his 4 years as starter. So now that the red-headed houndini is off to greener pasters, where does that leave the Bobcat offense?

Not only do the Cats lose Lulay, but all-conference performers Jeff Bolton (C) and Ricky Gatewood (WR), and offensive starters Chaz Guinn (WR), Tremaine Murray (WR), Justin Domineck (RB), Michael Bass (RB), and Lawrence Figueroa (G) all exhausted their eligibility as well.

I think you saw the beginning of a new Cat offensive last year vs the Griz. For those who respond with those three words, I reply with one simple word: "balance". I look for the Cat offense to be very balanced next year. Evin Groves (5'8 185) fought his way into the starting role as a freshman last year, and gave Cat fans something they hadn't seen in a while - a running back who rushed for more yards per game than Travis Lulay. Despite getting only 94 carries and starting only 3 games (he played sparingly in 3 other games), he rushed for 436 yards and 6 TDs in a total of 6 games. He has given Cat fans hope that he may be the first 1,000 yard rusher since the all-time leading rusher in Cat history, Ryan Johnson, mustered up 1,092 yards back in '02. Throw redshirt sophmore Isaih Taito (5'11 180) into the mix, and I think the Cats will pack a nice 1-2 punch with Groves getting the load and Taito to come in and spell relief.

So if the running game has the potential, where does that leave the passing game? All 5 WRs who saw the field last year are gone. An all-conference Payton candidate is gone. So who do we have waiting in the wings at QB? Many are high on junior Hawaii transfer Jack Rolovich (6'3 215), but we have a QB who has been waiting patiently on the bench for 3 years, and I think it just might be his time to come out. Cory Carpenter (6'2 214) hasn't had a chance to hardly see the field in his 3 years at MSU, but he knows the offense better than anyone at this point, and still has 2 years of eligibilty left. I have seen the kid throw in practice and in trash time in games, and I believe he has the potential to make the Cats an aerial threat. Bringing in Rolovich can ony create competition, and I'm confident whomever wins the starting job will give the Cats a solid passing game next year.

To address the issue at the WR position, Kramer has brought in several JUCO/I-A transfers for immediate help at that position. WR is the one position Kramer never seems to rely on high school kids for, which is a shame in my opinion, but you can't argue with his track record of WR transfers - Ricky Gatewood, Junior Adams, Chaz Guinn, Tremaine Murray, the list goes on. Kramer has brought in 3 veteran transfers at WR position: Donnell Wheaton (5'11 178 SR UNLV), Michael Jefferson (6'3 185 SR UofArizona), and Deon Toliver (6'3, 180 SO East LA College). It shoud also be noted that Tyler Lulay (6'0 182), brother of Travis, may be fighting for a starting role as well, as a sophomore.

Kramer has told us time and time again that his style is the smashmouth football. Now that he has the tools to run that kind of offense, only time will tell how that will translate onto the field.

So Cat fans, the face of this team has changed, but there is no reason to fret. Mike Kramer has built a sucessful program up here, and should continue to be for some time. Lulay helped create this program, and now we will see what Kramer can do with it.

Idaho State - Background Checks?

We are all aware of the nasty conflict concerning the ISU basketball and football teams. Well this article from the Pocatello Idaho State Journal indicates that we may see background checks for incoming students in the near future at ISU. No longer will just SAT and ACT scores be looked at, they have to make sure you haven't had any speeding tickets. This seems like something that if I were a potential student, I don't think I would like a college sniffing my crotch to make sure I'm clean. Plus it will cost the university time and money. Anyway, here is the article:

ISU taking wait-and-see approach to issue of background checks

POCATELLO - To work for the Idaho State athletic department, you must submit to a background check. To play for them, you don't.

But after a tumultuous fall - highlighted by a much-publicized conflict between the football team and men's basketball team - maybe ISU should make all incoming student-athletes undergo full background checks before donning the Bengals' orange and black.

There were rumors that the group of junior college transfer football players, who arrived in time for spring semester, underwent background checks. ISU athletic director Paul Bubb crushed the hearsay, saying, “Right now, we as a department have not gone to background checks.”

While Bubb's has many questions, his interest is piqued by the background check process. Yet, it is unlikely anything will happen immediately at Idaho State. The process isn't something you can implement overnight. It isn't completely up to Bubb, ISU's new incoming president and other facets of the university would have to be consulted.

“I am not philosophically opposed to doing something like this, but I think there has to be an institutional discussion on this,” Bubb said.

It seems logical considering a policy that sweeping would affect other areas of the university. However, background checks on students are already occurring at ISU.

Authors Wanted

I am looking for a respresentative from each school to post news, articles, and write an opinion piece or two a month. If you are interested, the following spots are open:

Montana
Northern Colorado
Sacramento State
Idaho State
Northern Arizona
Portland State
Eastern Washington

Drop me a line at bscfootball@gmail.com if you are interested. Some journalism experience preferred, but not required.

Big Sky Football Signing Day Lists

Here is a link to all the Big Sky teams, from I-AA.org:

http://www.i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=75741

Also, below are links to each team's official list from their respective homepage:
EWU
ISU
UM (video highlights)
MSU
NAU
UNC
PSU
CSUS
WSU (video highlights)