Monica YamamotoThe Great West Football Conference is looking into expanding to at least eight teams in order to secure an automatic bid to the Division I-AA playoffs, the Mustang Daily has learned.
In a phone interview Tuesday, Great West commissioner Ed Grom declined to name what schools the Great West has contacted about joining the football-only conference, in which Cal Poly is currently one of five I-AA teams. He said, however, that discussions are already underway and that an announcement on expansion could be made as early as January.
“We’ve had discussions with several schools, some out west,” Grom said. “We need to expand in order to gain an NCAA automatic qualifier. We’re pursuing a seventh and eighth member to solidify that.”
In the midst of its third season, the Great West will not provide an automatic berth to the 16-team I-AA postseason until it consists of six playoff-eligible teams aligned for at least two seasons. It currently consists of Cal Poly, UC Davis, Southern Utah, North Dakota State and South Dakota State.
Grom, whose office is located in Elmhurst, Ill., is also the commissioner of the non-football Mid-Continent Conference. He said the Great West has not limited its goal to eight teams.
“Eight, perhaps more if the right mix of schools comes together,” Grom said. “We’re discussing an announcement as early as January with a couple possible members. We’ll see how those talks go.”
Despite the goal of expansion, Grom confirmed an Oct. 26 report in the Sioux Falls, S.D., Argus Leader newspaper that the Gateway Football Conference has requested information from both North Dakota State and South Dakota State. The Gateway has admitted interest in adding the two schools because it is losing Western Kentucky, whose board of regents voted 7-2 Nov. 2 to move to the I-A level. That would leave the Gateway, in its 22nd season, with only seven teams.
“We’re quite aware that the Gateway has approached both North and South Dakota State,” Grom said. “All they’ve done is ask for information from those schools. As of now, they’re Great West members in good standing.”
Asked whether he is worried if North Dakota State and South Dakota State might leave the Great West, Grom said, “I don’t think we can worry at this time.”
Though Grom would not specify what schools the Great West has contacted, one possibility is the University of San Diego, a private school that fits well in the non-football West Coast Conference but is an unusual component of the Pioneer Football League. In its 14th year, the Pioneer consists of San Diego, Drake, Davidson, Jacksonville, Butler, Morehead State, Dayton and Valparaiso.
San Diego, however, would have to become a program with scholarships to join the Great West. San Diego head coach Jim Harbaugh has said in the past that he would like the 15th-ranked Toreros (9-0) to gain scholarships.
A phone message left Tuesday for San Diego executive director of athletics Ky Snyder was not returned.
Aside from Cal Poly, UC Davis and San Diego, the only other I-AA football program in California is Sacramento State, which is currently one of nine teams in the mighty Big Sky Conference.
Grom said he could not name the schools the Great West has contacted because they are in good standing with their respective leagues.
“We’re doing what we can to expand the league and make it viable,” Grom said.
Despite not providing an automatic bid to the I-AA playoffs, the Great West is ranked No. 1 among 16 I-AA conferences in USA Today’s Jeff Sagarin ratings.
That actually places it ahead of the I-A Sun Belt Conference, which includes Middle Tennessee State (6-3), Arkansas State (5-4), Troy (4-4) and Louisiana-Lafayette (4-4).
“We’re really pleased about the performance of all our (Great West) institutions,” Grom said. “We knew going into the season that all five schools were going to be competitive teams. I’m really pleased with the I-A wins. South Dakota State had a very tough start, really picked it up by winning six straight games. I think the league has been pretty balanced.”
The Great West’s wins over I-A schools Grom referred to are North Dakota State’s 29-24 win at Ball State (3-7) on Sept. 23 and Cal Poly’s 16-14 win at San Diego State (1-7) on Oct. 28. North Dakota State lost 10-9 at I-A Minnesota (4-6) on Oct. 21 and Cal Poly lost 17-7 at I-A San Jose State (6-2) on Sept. 23.
Entering the weekend, the Great West has three teams ranked in The Sports Network’s I-AA poll – No. 5 North Dakota State (8-1, 2-0), No. 9 Cal Poly (6-3, 2-1) and No. 22 South Dakota State (6-3, 2-0). UC Davis (4-5, 1-3) and Southern Utah (3-6, 0-3) round out the Great West.
“Every team in the league can play,” Cal Poly head coach Rich Ellerson said Oct. 19. “That’s really an impressive crowd. We’ve gotten people’s attention and we deserve to have people’s attention based on the way the teams in the conference have played.”
The top four teams in the Great West are all in the top 21 of I-AA.org’s Gridiron Power Index, which simulates the NCAA playoff selection committee’s formula used to determine which teams reach the postseason.
Despite the lofty rankings, North Dakota State, South Dakota State and UC Davis are all barred from postseason play this year because each school is a provisional I-AA member still transitioning from Division II.
When asked how the Great West became the top-ranked conference in only its third year, Grom credited the commitment each school has put forth.
“The commitment they put into their programs led to this,” he said. “They committed to their scholarships and recruited the right types of players.”
The Great West has been the top-ranked I-AA conference for four weeks. It ended last season No. 5 in that category.
Cal Poly likely must win its final two games of the season – at North Dakota State on Saturday and at home against Savannah State (1-8) on Nov. 18 – to reach the playoffs.
“We’re anxious to see how Cal Poly ends the season, obviously,” Grom said. “I think if you do see a win from Cal Poly this weekend, I would hope the selection committee would grant them a bid.”