Story on CWU and WOU as only D2 programs in west

[D2Rover]

If the LSC boots CWU, they'd probably cut football.

A) See what condition other D2 conferences are in when that happens. Allegedly bigger is better these days, wouldn't be shocked if the MIAA, NSIC, or RMAC would cooperate.

B) If going D1 was the way to save football, I would think Central makes that happen. Big Sky isn't realistic but WAC might be.

[CWU Wildcat Nation]

This topic keeps coming up. CWU certainly not moving up to FCS. Simply no funding; they can't even build bleachers on the away side of the stadium! And there is no way they would drop to NAIA because we need to remember they have more sports than just football that are doing well (enough) in D2. Their only options are football affiliation, go independent (if affiliation ever ends), or cut football (which they insisted they will not do). The LSC affiliation does bolster their out of state recruiting, at least.

[Buffalo/Islander Alum]

A) See what condition other D2 conferences are in when that happens. Allegedly bigger is better these days, wouldn't be shocked if the MIAA, NSIC, or RMAC would cooperate.

B) If going D1 was the way to save football, I would think Central makes that happen. Big Sky isn't realistic but WAC might be.

RMAC makes geographical sense. MIAA and NSIC would have the same travel challenges and really don't need to expand.

[tsull]

If the LSC boots CWU, they'd probably cut football.

Seems so stupid to cut football to hang on to a division that no one outside of division 2 even knows what it is. Local fans just want to go to a football game, they don't care about alphabet soup. Cutting football is an administrative thing, not one player likes it, not one coach likes it, and not one fan likes it. It's amazing those bad decisions are done. I remember when Central Washington played independent and was pretty darn good. It's incredible that because they can't play football in Texas they would cut the sport in the northwest. It makes no sense to me at all.

[tsull]

One more thing, if Western Oregon and / or Central Washington went naia, here's how many people would be ultra upset: zero. Maybe a few diehards like the people on this board might get mad, they'd be over it in a week. These schools really need to get over themselves about ncaa, naia, division 2, 3 etc.

[Buffalo/Islander Alum]

There are not "tons" of NAIA football teams out west. There are two in Oregon (Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon), one in Idaho (College of Idaho), four in Montana (Carroll, Rocky Mt, Montana Northern, Western Montana) and NONE in Washington. The bus trip to Billings would be 12+ hours. The Eastern and Southern trips are okay (4+ hours and 6+ hours), the other trips would be brutal.

As far as DIII, I cannot see that happening. While there are a lot of DII teams between WA and OR, they are all private schools. The Columbia Football Conference was a real NAIA power conference and a mix of private and public. The privates didn't like the growing force that WWU, CWU, and WOU were showing, so they took their ball and went home, all going to DIII to be with their "peers". No way they let WOU into that conference.

7-8 are a heck of a lot more than 2.