Friday, April 30, 2010
Academic Leaders!
Congratulations to Bobcats who competed during the winter sports seasons. Montana State placed 46 student-athletes on Big Sky Conference Winter Sports All-Academic Teams, the highest total of any conference school. Way to go, Cats! (Details at msubobcats.com later this afternoon.)
The Paper Chase - April 30, 2010
One of the things I've really wanted to do in this space is offer links to happenings in and around the Big Sky Conference. I'll try to do this every couple days during the off-season, but when September arrives I'll make every effort to make this a daily feature.
The Sports Network announced this week that Craig Haley has joined the organization as its FCS Editor, which almost immediately makes his the preeminent voice on college football in the championship subdivision. He is a respected, veteran sports reporter from New Jersey, and I look forward to working with him. Craig’s first column touches on an interesting topic, the potential rise or resurgence of some FCS programs, beginning with Sacramento State.
Idaho State coach Joe O’Brien signed a big, rebounding freshman on Thursday.
Colt Idol, a Bobcat redshirt in 2009-10, was among the new men’s basketball recruits Carroll College announced Thursday. Colt is a nice kid who's knee injury in the summer of 2009 sidelined him for the past season, and Bobcat Athletics wishes him the best.
How does a pony do when attempting to fly like an Eagle? Bo Levi Mitchell will try to show us next fall upon officially earning Eastern Washington's starting quarterback job, according to the Spokesman-Review.
Sac State signed a big man who won’t see Big Sky hardwood for a couple years, but there is a more interesting topic unfolding in California’s university systems. UC Davis dropped four sports programs recently, which triggers debate on the heated topic of funding in college athletics.
The Sports Network announced this week that Craig Haley has joined the organization as its FCS Editor, which almost immediately makes his the preeminent voice on college football in the championship subdivision. He is a respected, veteran sports reporter from New Jersey, and I look forward to working with him. Craig’s first column touches on an interesting topic, the potential rise or resurgence of some FCS programs, beginning with Sacramento State.
Idaho State coach Joe O’Brien signed a big, rebounding freshman on Thursday.
Colt Idol, a Bobcat redshirt in 2009-10, was among the new men’s basketball recruits Carroll College announced Thursday. Colt is a nice kid who's knee injury in the summer of 2009 sidelined him for the past season, and Bobcat Athletics wishes him the best.
How does a pony do when attempting to fly like an Eagle? Bo Levi Mitchell will try to show us next fall upon officially earning Eastern Washington's starting quarterback job, according to the Spokesman-Review.
Sac State signed a big man who won’t see Big Sky hardwood for a couple years, but there is a more interesting topic unfolding in California’s university systems. UC Davis dropped four sports programs recently, which triggers debate on the heated topic of funding in college athletics.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Bobcats Add LB - Details to Follow
Montana State just added linebacker Roger Trammell to the roster, and he is expected to compete for playing time as a Sam as soon as he arrives. At 6-1, 230, Bobcat linebackers coach Kane Ioane characterizes him as a physical player with the ability to play sideline-to-sideline. For more details, check www.msubobcats.com later this afternoon.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
DAILY DOSE - April 28, 2010
The name Matt Szczur probably doesn’t conjure as vivid an image for Bobcat fans as for their maroon-clad brethren across the Treasure State, but in case you were wondering what the Villanova wide receiver is doing when he’s not leading his team to a football National Championship… the sophomore outfielder, who torched Montana for 271 total yards in last December’s FCS National Championship game as a sophomore receiver/running back, also torched Temple on the diamond yesterday. Baseball America’s hitter of the day hit for the cycle and finished 5-for-5 with four runs scored and five driven in.
Pigskin Ponderings
With a flurry of basketball news (team awards: good; signing a point guard: great!) out of the way, I need to put a bow on spring football with some thoughts left over from the weekend’s Sonny Holland Classic. Some random thoughts…
INJURIES = OPPORTUNITIES: For every player that misses time in during spring drills – and this year the list was lengthy – at least one other player, and often more than one, gains the opportunity to impress. Here is one man’s list of players that responded to opportunity this spring… with Darius Jones and Zach Coleman injured, sophomore walk-on Heath Howard was terrific in a primary role at cornerback, earning Most Improved Defensive Player honors; Denarius McGhee was terrific at quarterback, particularly once Cody Kempt’s spring ended with a knee tweak, but so was backup Cody Davies, who finished the spring getting reps as the number two and finished with a 6-for-10 effort in the finale; Everett Gilbert was hardly an unknown entering the spring, but he took advantage of the chance to enter a new role by playing some running back, and I’m excited to watch how the speedster is used and how he responds to that role in fall camp; with injury epidemics striking the running back and linebacker groups, Cody Kirk proved to be a battering ram back and Aleksei Grosulak stepped up as a physical presence in the middle of the defense; Zach Minter looks for all the world like the next wrecking force on MSU’s front four, and Kruiz Siewing looks like the program’s next small-school (he and his twin brother Kazz hail from Saco, and played football at Malta) star.
LEADERSHIP: One rite of spring I miss is the guessing game former Voice of the Cats Kris Atteberry and I engaged in about who the team’s captains would be coming out of spring ball. This year’s captains were no-brainers to all concerned, earning what Rob Ash characterized as “overwhelming” support from their teammates in entering the captaincy. Person extends the trend of the Bobcat offensive line serving as a leadership point on the team, Rider offers a cool and inspiring walk-on-to-captain tale, and the two give MSU a pair of senior captains from Montana who have done all the right things during their career, and who undoubtedly bring all the positive aspects of college athletics to their role. And make no mistake about it, these two guys have helped lead throughout their careers and would have done so no matter who had officially been elected captain. Congratulations, Michael and Mike – this was an honor well-earned.
WHAT WAS NEW NOW SEEMS OLD: It seems like just a few weeks ago that Brian Wright was MSU’s brand new offensive coordinator and uncertainty surrounded the Bobcat offense. Well, OK, that was true only a few weeks ago, but on concluding spring drills it’s clear that everything that was then new is now old hat. The changes in MSU’s offense are structural in nature – terminology, mostly – but that’s largely because Wright made a decision that will undoubtedly pay dividends in the fall. He reduced the players’ learning curve by jacking up his own. He took it upon himself to adapt to the MSU system in a large way, and what fans saw on the field looked different in only superficial ways. That the change was barely noticeable from the stands and the press box is a tribute to the Bobcat offensive players, but also to a veteran coach who put team success first.
WHERE’S EVERETT? It’s not exactly Mike Garrett running behind Jim Tyrer, but when MSU’s leading receiver Everett Gilbert lines up in the backfield, he offers a dynamic weapon. Gilbert displayed an increasing knack for finding holes from the running back position as the spring went, and continued to offer big-play possibilities whenever he touched the ball. Watching his role evolve and expand will be one of the fascinating developments of fall camp.
--Bill Lamberty, MSU SID
INJURIES = OPPORTUNITIES: For every player that misses time in during spring drills – and this year the list was lengthy – at least one other player, and often more than one, gains the opportunity to impress. Here is one man’s list of players that responded to opportunity this spring… with Darius Jones and Zach Coleman injured, sophomore walk-on Heath Howard was terrific in a primary role at cornerback, earning Most Improved Defensive Player honors; Denarius McGhee was terrific at quarterback, particularly once Cody Kempt’s spring ended with a knee tweak, but so was backup Cody Davies, who finished the spring getting reps as the number two and finished with a 6-for-10 effort in the finale; Everett Gilbert was hardly an unknown entering the spring, but he took advantage of the chance to enter a new role by playing some running back, and I’m excited to watch how the speedster is used and how he responds to that role in fall camp; with injury epidemics striking the running back and linebacker groups, Cody Kirk proved to be a battering ram back and Aleksei Grosulak stepped up as a physical presence in the middle of the defense; Zach Minter looks for all the world like the next wrecking force on MSU’s front four, and Kruiz Siewing looks like the program’s next small-school (he and his twin brother Kazz hail from Saco, and played football at Malta) star.
LEADERSHIP: One rite of spring I miss is the guessing game former Voice of the Cats Kris Atteberry and I engaged in about who the team’s captains would be coming out of spring ball. This year’s captains were no-brainers to all concerned, earning what Rob Ash characterized as “overwhelming” support from their teammates in entering the captaincy. Person extends the trend of the Bobcat offensive line serving as a leadership point on the team, Rider offers a cool and inspiring walk-on-to-captain tale, and the two give MSU a pair of senior captains from Montana who have done all the right things during their career, and who undoubtedly bring all the positive aspects of college athletics to their role. And make no mistake about it, these two guys have helped lead throughout their careers and would have done so no matter who had officially been elected captain. Congratulations, Michael and Mike – this was an honor well-earned.
WHAT WAS NEW NOW SEEMS OLD: It seems like just a few weeks ago that Brian Wright was MSU’s brand new offensive coordinator and uncertainty surrounded the Bobcat offense. Well, OK, that was true only a few weeks ago, but on concluding spring drills it’s clear that everything that was then new is now old hat. The changes in MSU’s offense are structural in nature – terminology, mostly – but that’s largely because Wright made a decision that will undoubtedly pay dividends in the fall. He reduced the players’ learning curve by jacking up his own. He took it upon himself to adapt to the MSU system in a large way, and what fans saw on the field looked different in only superficial ways. That the change was barely noticeable from the stands and the press box is a tribute to the Bobcat offensive players, but also to a veteran coach who put team success first.
WHERE’S EVERETT? It’s not exactly Mike Garrett running behind Jim Tyrer, but when MSU’s leading receiver Everett Gilbert lines up in the backfield, he offers a dynamic weapon. Gilbert displayed an increasing knack for finding holes from the running back position as the spring went, and continued to offer big-play possibilities whenever he touched the ball. Watching his role evolve and expand will be one of the fascinating developments of fall camp.
--Bill Lamberty, MSU SID
Thursday, April 22, 2010
MSU AD Peter Fields: Realignment Coming, But No One Knows How It Will Look
We may be entering the ‘quiet time’ of the college sports year in the northern Rockies, but the buzz in intercollegiate athletics surrounding the possible and anticipated shift in conference alignment is deafening.
The shift in league alliances in the 1990s was significant, to be sure, and it affected the Big Sky Conference and Division I-AA (now the Football Championship Subdivision) in major ways. The events looming on the horizon now appear just as seismic. The key player appears to be the Big 10 Conference, which initiated the current frenzy a few months ago by simply stating that it would entertain expansion. Some sort of formal announcement appears imminent, and once that occurs the wheels should really begin spinning.
A lot of ink and air time have been devoted to sorting that information out without much clarity, so I won’t spend time on that. But the very real question for those of us in Big Sky Country remains: how will this affect us, and what are we doing?
Because this process is centered in the Midwest and East, many dominoes will fall before schools in the West are affected, and even more before FCS schools enter the decision-making process. Adding FCS (or I-AA) schools has always been a last-resort proposition for FBS (or I-A) conferences, and it is highly likely to remain so. But, it remains a very real possibility.
Any movement in our regional FBS leagues – the Mountain West, Pac 10 and WAC – would almost certainly precipitate meaningful discussions of current Big Sky members. University of Montana officials have indicated that they have undertaken an internal feasibility study to determine their level of preparedness.
Since my arrival at MSU in 2002, I’ve built and maintained a strong working knowledge of how our resources fit into the national scale of Division I. My background in the MAC and Big 12, along with my recent work on the NCAA Management Council, have added context.
From our position, a move ‘up’ would involve the addition of 22 football scholarships, and the corresponding addition of the same number of scholarships in women’s programs. Any serious analysis begins with this component: how do you fund these additions, and where do they happen?
There is a hidden side to this element of an upgrade, however. More student-athletes need more support, so our staffing levels would increase in all areas of the department. More student-athletes mean increased staffing in the equipment room, more athletic trainers to facilitate their care, more assistance in the Academic Center to maintain our standards of excellence in that area. Those moves must all be met with increased revenue to match the extra expenditures.
This is a tremendously simplified look at a complex issue, but it gives you a taste of the ideas competing when evaluating the concept of moving to a new league and a new level of competition. Boise State, a Big Sky member as recently as 15 years ago, is the poster child for such a move, particularly BSU’s football program. But for every success story there are many schools that have struggled with such a move.
We have enjoyed considerable success at Montana historically, and over the past decade. Would a move enhance that success, or threaten it?
These discussions are taking place throughout our conference – and throughout our subdivision – with various levels of seriousness. I can assure you we take the impending shift in conferences very seriously. President Cruzado and Vice President Yarnell understand the issues and how they apply to Montana State.
We are in an interesting and volatile period in the continuing timeline of college athletics. Uncertainty is the only real certainty, but we know that Montana State’s rich athletic heritage is something we all cherish and work every day to protect and enhance.
--Peter Fields, MSU Director of Athletics
The shift in league alliances in the 1990s was significant, to be sure, and it affected the Big Sky Conference and Division I-AA (now the Football Championship Subdivision) in major ways. The events looming on the horizon now appear just as seismic. The key player appears to be the Big 10 Conference, which initiated the current frenzy a few months ago by simply stating that it would entertain expansion. Some sort of formal announcement appears imminent, and once that occurs the wheels should really begin spinning.
A lot of ink and air time have been devoted to sorting that information out without much clarity, so I won’t spend time on that. But the very real question for those of us in Big Sky Country remains: how will this affect us, and what are we doing?
Because this process is centered in the Midwest and East, many dominoes will fall before schools in the West are affected, and even more before FCS schools enter the decision-making process. Adding FCS (or I-AA) schools has always been a last-resort proposition for FBS (or I-A) conferences, and it is highly likely to remain so. But, it remains a very real possibility.
Any movement in our regional FBS leagues – the Mountain West, Pac 10 and WAC – would almost certainly precipitate meaningful discussions of current Big Sky members. University of Montana officials have indicated that they have undertaken an internal feasibility study to determine their level of preparedness.
Since my arrival at MSU in 2002, I’ve built and maintained a strong working knowledge of how our resources fit into the national scale of Division I. My background in the MAC and Big 12, along with my recent work on the NCAA Management Council, have added context.
From our position, a move ‘up’ would involve the addition of 22 football scholarships, and the corresponding addition of the same number of scholarships in women’s programs. Any serious analysis begins with this component: how do you fund these additions, and where do they happen?
There is a hidden side to this element of an upgrade, however. More student-athletes need more support, so our staffing levels would increase in all areas of the department. More student-athletes mean increased staffing in the equipment room, more athletic trainers to facilitate their care, more assistance in the Academic Center to maintain our standards of excellence in that area. Those moves must all be met with increased revenue to match the extra expenditures.
This is a tremendously simplified look at a complex issue, but it gives you a taste of the ideas competing when evaluating the concept of moving to a new league and a new level of competition. Boise State, a Big Sky member as recently as 15 years ago, is the poster child for such a move, particularly BSU’s football program. But for every success story there are many schools that have struggled with such a move.
We have enjoyed considerable success at Montana historically, and over the past decade. Would a move enhance that success, or threaten it?
These discussions are taking place throughout our conference – and throughout our subdivision – with various levels of seriousness. I can assure you we take the impending shift in conferences very seriously. President Cruzado and Vice President Yarnell understand the issues and how they apply to Montana State.
We are in an interesting and volatile period in the continuing timeline of college athletics. Uncertainty is the only real certainty, but we know that Montana State’s rich athletic heritage is something we all cherish and work every day to protect and enhance.
--Peter Fields, MSU Director of Athletics
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Conference realignment surfaced as a red-hot topic in intercollegiate athletics since the Big 10 announced over the winter that it would explore adding school pursuant to staging a football championship game. The heat on this topic has risen recently, as other leagues – the Big 12 and Pac 10, specifically – have joined the discussion. Information on realignment at the BCS level emerges almost every day, sometimes by the hour, and it’s easy to find historical information, as well. Dillon Tabish of the Daily Interlake in Kalispell offers a solid, if somewhat griz-centric, local take on the topic.
Bobcat fans rightly wonder what’s cooking with the home team. Find out tomorrow, when MSU Director of Athletics Peter Fields offers his thoughts in this space.
Until then, the important idea to remember is that, outside the Big 10, most of the ongoing communication and negotiation ranges from strictly informal pure speculation. A friend at a school in the West most prominently associated with changing conferences told me recently that his school has not been conversed in any manner at any level about moving, so it seems that the first move is the Big 10’s.
--Bill Lamberty, MSU Sports Information
Bobcat fans rightly wonder what’s cooking with the home team. Find out tomorrow, when MSU Director of Athletics Peter Fields offers his thoughts in this space.
Until then, the important idea to remember is that, outside the Big 10, most of the ongoing communication and negotiation ranges from strictly informal pure speculation. A friend at a school in the West most prominently associated with changing conferences told me recently that his school has not been conversed in any manner at any level about moving, so it seems that the first move is the Big 10’s.
--Bill Lamberty, MSU Sports Information
Monday, April 19, 2010
Bobcat Basketball Recruiting Odds 'n' Ends
WELCOME to the 'CatConnection, MSU Sports Information's first official dalliance with the blogosphere! We're always open to suggestions, questions, comments and, if offered kindly, corrections. This week we'll keep tabs on men's basketball recruiting, the football spring game, and whatever else pops up. Thanks, and Go Cats!
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As MSU's men's basketball coaches continue to scour the country for the last piece(s) of the 2009-10 recruiting class, here are a couple leftover thoughts from last week's NLI signing day...
* Jourdain Allou, originally from Africa's Ivory Coast, becomes the third native of that continent to play basketball for the Bobcats in the past seven seasons. In that regard, Allou has big shoes to fill. Al Beye and Divaldo Mbunga, like Allou both inside players, combined for 1,181 points, 643 rebounds, and 193 blocked shots in their Bobcat careers. Like Al and Divaldo, Jourdain Allou is said to be a high-energy player, and if he is anything like his African predecessors Bobcat fans will love him!
* As currently configured, MSU's 2010 recruiting class is well-decorated. Shawn Reid earned Idaho 5A Player of the Year honors. Blake Brumwell and Tre Johnson earned all-state honors as seniors, while Jordan Salley earned all-state honors as a junior before missing his senior season with an injury.
* Members of this year's recruiting class are no strangers to important games. Chris McCall led his team to a state title in Nevada this year after earning runner-up honors last year. Shawn Reid, Blake Brumwell, Casey Trujeque and Jordan Salley were also members of state championship teams this season, while Jourdain Allou's team qualified for the NJCAA National Championship Tournament twice.
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As MSU's men's basketball coaches continue to scour the country for the last piece(s) of the 2009-10 recruiting class, here are a couple leftover thoughts from last week's NLI signing day...
* Jourdain Allou, originally from Africa's Ivory Coast, becomes the third native of that continent to play basketball for the Bobcats in the past seven seasons. In that regard, Allou has big shoes to fill. Al Beye and Divaldo Mbunga, like Allou both inside players, combined for 1,181 points, 643 rebounds, and 193 blocked shots in their Bobcat careers. Like Al and Divaldo, Jourdain Allou is said to be a high-energy player, and if he is anything like his African predecessors Bobcat fans will love him!
* As currently configured, MSU's 2010 recruiting class is well-decorated. Shawn Reid earned Idaho 5A Player of the Year honors. Blake Brumwell and Tre Johnson earned all-state honors as seniors, while Jordan Salley earned all-state honors as a junior before missing his senior season with an injury.
* Members of this year's recruiting class are no strangers to important games. Chris McCall led his team to a state title in Nevada this year after earning runner-up honors last year. Shawn Reid, Blake Brumwell, Casey Trujeque and Jordan Salley were also members of state championship teams this season, while Jourdain Allou's team qualified for the NJCAA National Championship Tournament twice.
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