Today it was announced that Cal-Poly and UC-Davis will be joining the Big Sky conference for football starting in the 2012 season.  There is also speculation that Southern Utah will be added for all sports in the Big Sky as well.  The Great West Football Conference is soon to be dead with UND and USD currently without homes.

So what’s the fate of both football programs?  If Southern Utah ends up in the Big Sky, a door would seem to open for UND in the Summit for all sports except for football.  Some have opined that will eventually lead to a MVFC invite down the road.  Others seem to think that a Summit Football Conference would be the answer given the new landscape.  Neither of these is a guaranteed option, which has many rightfully concerned about UND’s future.  Is the Big Sky seriously considering UND as the 12th team?  Given the geographical direction of the conference, it would seem as though Southern Utah has the obvious inside track on the 12th spot.

It has been well documented that the Summit, GWFC and MVFC have been talking in regards to the future of their respective conferences, and possibly even collaborating for the future given the tumultuous nature of college football and its conference shakeups that have sent reverberations down the corridors of NCAA athletics.

We sincerely hope that the UND administration and athletic department have a plan in place and are working diligently behind the scenes to make sure that UND’s future is secure in football and all other sports for conference affiliation.  We also understand and realize they are handcuffed for the time being, given the obvious variables.  If we thought scheduling was tough now, just think about what it would be like if we had to schedule games without a conference at all.  Athletic Director Brian Faison and President Robert Kelley have their work cutout for themselves in the next year or so.  As if they didn’t already have enough on their plates.

Here’s to hoping that they are up to the task.