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Show ~ I THE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL• SOUTHERNUTAHUNIVERSiTY • WEDNESDAY,SEPTEMBER 28, 1994 'BIRD SPORTS Jlll Thunderbirds could fly north into the Big Sky FROM STAFF AND AP REPORTS With Boise State University and the University of Idaho poised to leave for the Big West Conference, the Big Sky Conferen ce is looking to a future without two of its most successful m embers. " That probably m eans a time of reeval uation of where we'r e at," Big Sky Commissioner Ron Stephenson said Thursday fro m Bozem a n, Mont. "The Big Sky will have to look at the possibility of expansio n." This possible expansion could involve South ern U tah Univers ity as it has been m entioned as a possible n ew recruit . Portland State University, currently a Division II school, and Sacramento State, a member of the I-AA American West Conference with SUU, are two other schools mentioned as candidates if the league chooses to expa nd. SUU Athletic Director and Head Footba ll Coach Jack Bis hop is excited abo ut the possibility of playing with geographically located rivals s uch as Weber State and Northern Arizona. But Bishop says, "This is n' t som ething that will happen overnight. I wis h it would but it's not goi ng to." "We need a s tronger conference," Bishop added, " It's great encouragement to know the opportunity exists." T he Idaho Boa rd of Education approved reques ts fro m Idaho and Bo ise State on Thursday to change leagues. Both schools want to m ove up from NCAA D ivision I-AA to Divis ion I-A foo tball competition, and a Big West expa ns ion committee has recommended that they be invited to join. A final decision by the Big West could be weeks away, and Idaho s till needs an NC AA attendance waiver. T he Moscow school m eets neither th e I-A requi rem ents of a 30,000-seat s tadium or averaging 17,000 fa n s duri ng a season. Idaho will go before the NCAA next m onth to ask for the waiver. But even if only Boise State leaves in 1996 and the Big Sky falls to seven rather than six m embers, the Big Sky may be looking fo r new blood. Stephenson, who is retiring next June 3 0, said he already has received a membership inquiry from Portland State, which Boise State football coach Po key Allen built into a divisional football power. A visit from Portland State officials to the league offices in Boise is expected in the next two weeks, Stephenson said. Presidents of the Big Sky's rem aining schools after the coming shakeout will decide what course the conference takes. " I think the sentiment right now would be to rem ain a national (I-AA) fo rce," Stephenson said. The Big Sky currently has fo ur of the top 25 team s in the Sports Network I-AA rankings, incl uding N o. 3 Montana and No. 7 Idaho. One likely change in th e conference after Boise State's departure regardless of what happens to Idaho is the location of the Big Sky headquarters. Officials would have to decide whether to keep the ir offices in a city not even represented in the leagu e. Arnie Sga lio, the Big Sky's assistant commissioner for information services, said it is too soon so say w hat will happen. The six rem aining schools in the Big Sky Conference say they're committed to rem aini ng com petitive in NCAA Division I-AA foo tball. T hat apparently m ea ns staying at the 63 foo tball scholarships allowed D ivision I-AA team s. Presidents of the remaining institutions, Eas tern Washington, Idah o State, Montana, Mo ntana Sta te, Northern Arizona and Weber State, in a telephone conference Monday stressed staying at the sam e level of competi tion. The Presidents Council and athletic d irectors will m eet later this year to discuss possible new m embers. "The Big Sky Confe ren ce pldges a continuing commitment to a national focus in Division I-AA football and to remaining competitive within the upper level of NCAA Division I-AA," said a statement adopted by the Presidents Council. Big Sky presidents in March of 1993 voted to allow no more than 45 Shawn Jones flies through th e air and the Eastern New Mexico defense in SU's 24-10 win over ENMU Saturday. Southern Utah University b as been mentioned as a possible new recruit of the Big Sk y Conference since Idaho an d Boise State are attem pting to leave the BSC and jum p into the Big W est. football scho larships as a cost containment m ove. But two m onths later, the idea was dropped in the face of strong opposition from som e league m em bers. The 45-scholarship idea for Divis ion I-AA went before the NC AA convention that year, but received little s u pport . T he scholarship limit proposal was a factor in the decision by Idaho and Boise State to seek a higher level of footba ll compet ition. Big Sky teams three times have won the Division I-AA football championship, but the last tim e was 10 years ago. This week, Montana is ranked N o. 3 am ong Division I-A.A team s, Idaho is N o. 6 and two other Big Sk y Conference team s are in the top 25. The Presidents Council also set up a six-pon screening commit tee to look for replacem ents for Big Sky Commissioner Ron Stephenson, who's leaving the job n ext July. Pau l Thom pson, president of Weber State and chairman of the Presidents Coun cil, will serve as chairman of the search committee. 'Bird golfers 12th after two at Oak Craft Classic By RYAN WILKES JOURNAL SPORTS WRITER T he Thunderbird golf team traveled to Phoenix, Ariz. Monday and Tuesday where it played in the Oak Craft Classic. This is the first time that the SU golf team has ever entered this tournament. Through two rounds the 'Birds were in 12th place in a field of 16, posting an two-round team score of 610. SU struggled in the first round played on Monday with a 309 score, but the team settled down on Tuesday and shaved 9 shots off their first-round total to finish one stroke up on Abilene Christian University, and 7 up on Santa C lara. The 'Bird scores were improved from last week's results at the Falcon Classic. In Colorado Springs, Colo., SU averaged 309 in three rounds. This week the 'Birds drove out an average of 305 in two rounds. Low scoring man for the 'Birds was Kenny Hollifield who shot 76-73 to finish with a 149, and tied for 28th place overall. Other scores for the 'Birds include Mike Evans at 15 1, Colby Cowan at 152, Jared Barnes at 158, and Tom Johnson shot a 163. In team competition Cal State-Stanislaus finished the firs t two rounds with a total team score of 577. This effort by CSUS put them alone in first place, just one s troke ahead of UC-Irvine and 5 ahead of Cal St. Northridge in third. Rounding out the top five were Idaho St. University in fo urth, and Grand Canyon University tied with Utah University in fifth . Top individual honors went to Jon Wright of Utah University, who sh ot a 71 -69 to finish with a 140, just one stroke ahead of fo ur other golfers . SU's next meet is in Reno, Nev., Monday and Tuesday, at the Wolipack Invitational. |