Cal Poly, UC Davis move to Big Sky

OGDEN -- The Big Sky is getting bigger.

Cal Poly and UC Davis will be joining the Big Sky Conference as football-only affiliate members, the league announced Tuesday. The Mustangs and Aggies accepted invitations late last week.

And the Big Sky isn't done expanding, commissioner Doug Fullerton said. The league will likely invite a 12th member by late December to create two six-team divisions in football.

Fullerton would not discuss specific universities the Big Sky is interested in, but said the conference will next look to add a full membership school that will compete in all league sports.

"We right now have nine full members and the problem with that is there is no partner scheduling in basketball," Fullerton said. "We're looking for a full member to create 12 members in football and go to two divisions, but create 10 members in basketball," Fullerton said.

Getting to 10 members in basketball will allow the league to have travel partners and avoid playing single games at odd times like Mondays or Wednesdays, he said.

The full membership requirement for the next Big Sky school may open a door for Southern Utah University, but would eliminate the possibility of adding Utah Valley University. Utah Valley does not sponsor football.

With UC Davis and Cal Poly's pending move, Southern Utah will be the last football-only team remaining in the Great West. SUU competes in the The Summit League in other sports and the Western Athletic Conference in gymnastics.

The timeline of the Mustangs' and the Aggies' transition from the Great West Conference to the Big Sky remains uncertain. Both teams must officially withdraw from the Great West and many Big Sky teams have scheduled into 2011.

Institutional fit will be the most important criteria the Presidents' Council will look at before extending its next invitation.

"That's what made (Cal Poly and UC Davis) an easy sell. We were past that hurdle very quickly," Fullerton said. "That's the same hurdle they will look at first with looking for a full member. After that, it goes to the kind of athletic program they've got, to make sure they ramp up sports. Geography comes into play, ease of travel."

Weber State will get a preview of one future conference associate when the Wildcats take on the UC Davis Aggies at Stewart Stadium on Sept. 25 for Homecoming. The two teams also met in the FCS playoffs in 2008, with Weber State winning on the road in the first round.

WSU athletics director Jerry Bovee said the additions are a positive for the conference.

"It definitely makes us stronger in a football situation for the Big Sky. It puts us up there at the top tier of football-playing conferences in the FCS. Hopefully what that means for everybody in the Big Sky is that we have more opportunities for postseason play in the conference," Bovee said.

Cal Poly, located in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and UC Davis, located in Davis, Calif., will continue to compete in the Big West Conference in other sports.

The move marks a reversal of the Big Sky Conference's past decision not to include affiliate members.

It also adds a measure of protection in case other conferences come looking, Fullerton said. After an offseason of shifting conference affiliations, both UC Davis and Cal Poly as well as other members of the Big Sky have been mentioned as possible replacement candidates to restock the weakened Western Athletic Conference.