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Is the Big Sky the Best Conference in FCS Football?

 


As we close in on the final month of the regular season, here are the current Big Sky Football Standings, with conference records.

1.      Montana State   4-0

UC Davis              4-0

3.      Montana             3-1

4.      Idaho                    3-2

5.      N Arizona             2-2

Weber State       2-2

7.      Idaho State         2-3

8.      Cal Poly                1-3

E Washington      1-3

Sac State              1-3

Portland State    1-3

N Colorado          1-3

Montana State and UC Davis play each other on November 16th, which could in effect be a de-facto conference championship game. However, if either UCD or Montana State stumble, Montana is still within striking distance, and with the Brawl of the Wild looming on the horizon, things looks to be headed towards an exciting finish in the Big Sky Conference Championship race. With the Wildcats having a bye this week, I wanted to dive into a fun discussion I’m sure many Wildcat fans have had—Is the Big Sky the best conference in the FCS?

The Big Sky Conference was formed in 1963. Five football playing schools were original charter members: Idaho, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, and Weber State. Over the past 61 years, the Big Sky Conference has established itself as one of the strongest, most consistent, and deepest FCS conferences in the country.

When it comes to FCS level football, the Big Sky is strong. Like really strong. At one point this season, there were six teams from the conference ranked in the top 25. You’ve probably heard an eager Weber fan proudly proclaim, “The Big Sky is like the SEC of the FCS.” I know I have heard this. I’ve even heard ESPN+ announcers say this, and I’ve even said this myself. But is that actually true? Is the Big Sky the best FCS football conference in the country? Many agree, me included, that the Big Sky and the Missouri Valley are the best two conferences in FCS (Sorry Colonial, but you’re a solid 3rd). In this 2-horse race, who gets the nod as the strongest conference? Let’s dive in and decide!

Power Rankings:

Flo Football did an FCS Conference Power Ranking at the beginning of the season and ranked the Big Sky as the second strongest conference behind the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Opta Analyst and Hero Sports published similar lists, both ranking the Big Sky 2nd behind the Missouri Valley. You can Google FCS Conference Rankings and see similar rankings on several websites and they generally rank the MVFC and Big Sky 1 and 2 respectively. The popular take among the college football media is that the MVFC is the superior conference.

Winner: MVFC

Well, maybe that’s true for the 2024 season, but what about historically?

 

National Championships:

A team from the Big Sky has won the National Championship 5 times, and had a team appear in the championship game 13 times, with the most recent being Montana losing in last year’s national championship. The MVFC has… get this… 16 National Championships and has had a team appear in the championship game a whopping 23 times, including last year’s champion South Dakota State. A lot of this success is from NDSU’s 9 natties in 11 years. A dynasty that will probably not be outdone in my lifetime. MVFC clearly gets the nod here.

Winner: MVFC

Ok well that's the top teams in the conference, what about the depth of the conferences overall?


All-Time Record – Big Sky vs MVFC

Unfortunately this is another one where the MVFC outshines the Big Sky. The all-time record between Missouri Valley and Big Sky is 82-52 in MVFC’s favor. That is a 61.2% winning percentage for the Missouri Valley. Over the last several years, the Missouri Valley – Big Sky Challenge has provided some great battles, however, the Big Sky has some real ground to make up here.

Winner: MVFC

 Alright, it seems clear at this point that overall, the Missouri Valley gets the nod when it comes to the on the field play. Well, I’m going to bust out one more bonus category where I think the Big Sky could challenge.


Fan Support/Gameday Atmosphere.

I know this is very subjective, but one of things that make great college football conferences so great is the passion of the fan base and watching a game in an electric stadium.

Average Stadium Size: Big Sky = 14,070     MVFC = 15,162

Average Attendance: Big Sky = 9,444     MVFC = 8,928

So while the MVFC has slightly larger stadiums, on average, the Big Sky fills them better. Not to mention, a lot of the stadiums in the Missouri Valley are domes, which just seem a bit… well… lame in my opinion. I know that they get loud, but there is something about the fall air and element of weather impacting the game that just screams football purity to me. I'll fully admit, I have never been to a game inside a MVFC dome, but still, I give the Big Sky the nod in this one.

Winner: Big Sky

 

In conclusion, both the Big Sky and the Missouri Valley are the best of the best when it comes to FCS football conferences, but the nod has to be given to the MVFC overall, except for fan support, where the Big Sky seems to slightly outpace them. 

Maybe we ought to start proclaiming the Big Sky as the “Big 10” of the FCS instead of the SEC. Would that make Montana and Montana State the Ohio State and Michigan of our conference then? What does that make Weber? The Wisconsin? Idaho State would be the Rutgers or Purdue no doubt. A fun discussion to have on a bye week. Got an opinion? Leave a comment.

Now that the bye week is over, it’s back to the current season. Cats are traveling to NAU this week in the Red Rock Rivalry. Can’t wait.

Go Wildcats

Michael Garlick

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