In the money-driven world of big-time college football, the Montana Griz are what you'd call a 'tweener.
Almost too good for the Big Sky Conference for 10 years, they're not where they need to be financially or in terms of facilities to make a good-faith leap to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
As one fan wrote to the Missoulian on Tuesday, “It's time to abandon the sand box and put on long pants as is appropriate to a program that has nothing left to prove in its present situation.”
Those who closely monitor the UM athletic budget see something different.
“Appalachian State did a study in 1999. Now why did they not make the move up?” Montana athletic director Jim O'Day said of the defending FCS national champions.
“Obviously the study said ‘You're not ready.' A lot of schools have done studies and not moved up. Study results (for Montana) could be very interesting. But in my mind I think they would tell us, ‘Where you're at right now is where you belong.' ”
Bottom line numbers indicate something must change for FBS football to thrive. Only six big-time programs are making money, according to O'Day, and the average annual loss among FBS athletic departments is $8 million.
According to Big Sky commissioner Doug Fullerton, nearly every trend points to the fact FBS football has unsustainable growth. Expenditures are growing faster than university budgets.
But Fullerton is keeping an open mind about the future. He can envision a day when the entire Big Sky Conference joins a revamped FBS.
“What I'm watching for is when a lot of FBS schools can't sustain the same direction, so the FBS we would join changes,” he said. “I'm looking for something that changes the landscape, the way we play.
“There's not a ton of difference between us and many people in the WAC and Sun Belt Conference. Montana is a poster child for what you can do in the FCS. But do they have the demographics and TV market to sustain what they're doing in the FBS? Very few have made the move successfully.”
Demographics, in this case, is a fancy word for fans, some of whom make tidy contributions to support their favorite team. Demographics are a big reason why a team like Boise State can thrive in the FBS while a team like Idaho struggles.
“Nationally, the programs that have been successful, their population base is much different than here,” Montana State president Geoff Gamble said.
Success is another reason Boise State fills the seats and continues to add seats. Likewise, Montana's success - it has reached the FCS playoffs a record 15 straight times - is a big reason why it fills Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
Without that success, the UM athletic department would not be the only one feeling the sting.
“Our fans expect us to win 10 games every year,” O'Day said. “What if you only win eight or nine, which other teams would die for.
“We take it for granted we're going to the playoffs every year. We have businesses that budget based on home football playoff games, which is dangerous to do. But we've been very fortunate.”
Take a stroll around the Boise State or Idaho athletic facilities and you'll have a hard time finding peace and quiet. If someone isn't pounding a hammer in one nook, someone is putting up a wall in another.
Keeping up with the competition is a year-round, money-devouring chore for FBS schools. For Montana, success on the FCS level - fiscally and in terms of wins - is more predictable.
There are other aspects of Griz football that are also predictably enticing. Many of Montana's finest prep football players dream about playing for the Maroon & Silver. A good chunk of those players would either be passed over or forced to walk on if the Griz went big-time.
For example, take Boise State. The Broncos, who played in the Big Sky Conference up until 1996, had 15 players from Idaho on their 2007 roster. The Griz had 43 Montana players on their 2007 roster.
“I know that is a source of pride for so many of us across the state,” O'Day said. “Fewer Montana kids competing could mean fewer out-of-town travelers to Missoula, especially with gas prices going up the way they are.
“The more out-of-state recruits, the more costly. We estimate it costs about $14,000 for a full scholarship for a Montana student-athlete, compared to around $25,000 for a similar student-athlete who comes to us from out of state.”
For O'Day, it's hard enough to make budget at Montana without adding more strains by jumping to the FBS. Besides adding 22 football scholarships at approximately $400,000 and two women's sports that would require another $1-2 million, there would be additional costs for coaches, facilities and travel.
Add it all up and Montana would need to bump up its $13 million budget by at least $3 million. That's not including the $500-600,000 it will need in the near future to replace the SprinTurf on its football field.
“When the expenses come, they come fast,” O'Day said. “We're looking at what we should do with our current field. The warranty is a year off. It's starting to show its wear.
“Everything is in hundreds of thousands of dollars every time you turn around.”
The success of the Griz helps the budget considerably. But when you factor in all the expenses involved, Montana football is not clearing millions of dollars, according to O'Day.
If the Griz should fail to live up to their lofty standards - which is bound to happen at some point, possibly even in 2008 - that would present another strain on the budget.
“It's going to continue to get tougher,” O'Day said. “We had a good financial fiscal year 2008 that's wrapping up now. We're anticipating a good fiscal year 2009. Fiscal year 2010 will make a big difference.”
Regardless of money issues, Griz fans will continue to wonder if their team could succeed on the FBS level. Montana men's basketball coach Wayne Tinkle is among those who would love the opportunity to compete in the WAC if it proved to be a sound decision financially.
“It would be challenging and exciting for me because we'd be playing a league that has more competitive teams, more talent,” Tinkle said. “But looking at the football side of it, I really respect what most of the fans think. They enjoy watching our football team compete virtually every year for a national title.
“It would be neat to see them play on the kind of field we do, so to speak, where you're facing the big dogs if you make it to the postseason. But you don't fix what's not broken. Our football team has built quite an empire here.”
Sports writer Bill Speltz can be reached at 523-5255 or bill.speltz@lee.net.
FBS requirements
- A minimum of 16 sports are required.
- A total of 85 scholarships must be offered by FBS teams.
- FBS teams must average at least 15,000 in actual or paid attendance for all home contests over a rolling two-year period.
- FBS coaching staffs may include up to 11 assistants and their combined salary will usually total a minimum of $800,000.
- FBS bottom-end schools are doling out game guarantees in the $200,000 to $225,000 range to lure nonconference opponents to their home site.
How Montana compares
- Montana offers 14 sports - six men's and eight women's. Adding two more sports, and taking Title IX into consideration, would cost roughly $1-2 million. That does not include facility upgrades.
- Montana offers 63 scholarships as an FCS team. Unlike FBS schools, FCS schools may divide their allotment into partial scholarships. Adding 22 scholarships would cost the Griz roughly $400,000.
- In 2006 the Grizzlies led the FCS in attendance for the second straight season, averaging 22,600 per game. The Griz averaged 22,800 in 2007, second in the FCS to Appalachian State, which averaged 24,219.
- Montana had 10 assistant coaches last season and their combined salary was about $410,000.
- Many schools at the FCS level are doling out $50,000 to $100,000 in game guarantees to get a team to come to their home site (not counting home-and-home series).
Coaching salaries
Montana salaries
(not including incentives)
Bobby Hauck, football: Paid $124,000 for the 2007 season.
Wayne Tinkle, men's basketball: Paid $115,000 for 2007-08.
Robin Selvig, women's basketball: Paid $98,800 for 2007-08 season.
Boise State salaries
(not including incentives)
Chris Petersen, football: $850,000 for the 2007 season.
Greg Graham, men's basketball: Will be paid $345,000 for 2008-09.
Gordy Presnell, women's basketball: Will be paid $180,000 for 2008-09.
Idaho salaries
(base only, unless otherwise noted)
Robb Akey, football: $155,000 in base plus $85,000 for media/public appearances (with contingencies).
Don Verlin, new men's basketball coach: Will be paid $117,000 for 2008-09 season.
Jon Newlee, new women's basketball coach: Five-year contract, terms undisclosed.
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