As if it surprised anyone in the Big West, the Nevada Wolf Pack was again the clear favorite to repeat as conference champions.
After entering the Big West in 1992, Nevada has won or shared four of five possible conference titles. "It's a one-horse race isn't it," asked Utah State's John L. Smith. "Everybody else is trying to catch Nevada."The Aggies, however, were given the best shot at knocking off the king of the smallest conference in the NCAA. In both the media and coaches' polls taken Thursday at Big West media day in Boise, USU finished second, handily outdistancing North Texas.
The voting of Nevada as the Big West favorite was simply a formality. The Big West's big news coming out of the meetings in Boise was a step toward legitimacy in the eyes of the rest of the college football world. No longer would the conference champion be relegated to playing in a bowl game viewed as a joke.
Wednesday, the conference itself put an end to a fundraising effort to create the Sports Humanitarian Bowl. After getting 25 Boise-area residents to pledge $950,000 the Big West itself agreed to foot the rest of the $2-million bill to get the game off the ground.
"We will no longer be participating in an asterisk bowl game," proclaimed Big West commissioner Dennis Farrell. "This is a monumental day. It's a major development for the Big West Conference."
The Big West, in years past, has participated in the Las Vegas Bowl - a game with a paltry $150,000-per team payout. The Dec. 29 Sports Humanitarian Bowl will meet the NCAA standard minimum $750,000 payout and feature the Big West Champion against an at-large opponent.
"We needed something," Smith said. "If we don't have a bowl game in this league - shoot - it'd hurt us. We have to have something to play for."
The bowl game still lacks a title sponsor, which may help the Big West defray some of the costs, but is scheduled to be carried by ESPN2 with a 1 p.m. kickoff time.
For Utah State to play a bowl game on the blue turf of Bronco Stadium in December, though, the Aggies will have to overcome a difficult schedule. Not only does USU have to play non-conference road games at BYU, Utah and Oregon State, the Ags host Colorado State and New Mexico before finally getting down to the games that count in the conference race.
And all the supposed tough games in the Big West are on the road. Only Boise State and New Mexico State visit Romney Stadium in 1997. Games at North Texas, Idaho and against the Wolf Pack may be more than Smith's third Aggie team can handle.
"The positive thing is we do have a bye before Nevada," Smith said.
The Pack, according to the polls Thursday and nearly every preseason publication, are the obvious team to beat. And you could tell it by listening to Nevada coach Jeff Tisdell. "I expect us to be a very fine football team," Tisdell said. "It would be hard to disguise the fact that we should be a very good football team, so I am not going to try to smoke screen anyone. I imagine we will be the consensus choice to win the league, so we will accept that favorite's role and attempt to live up to our own expectations."
After practically making his championship acceptance speech, Tisdell did manage to find a few words of respect for his would-be challengers. "Utah State has always been formidable," he said. "With only five league games, you've got to treat every one as gold. You can't afford to be overconfident."
Nevada's spot on top of the polls, though, is about the only constant in the Big West.
In addition to the new bowl game, the Big West announced a new television package that should double the homes able to receive Big West football games. Matrix Sports, based in San Diego, will produce a Big West game of the week. Last year's Big West television package was available in Utah to only the Cache Valley. TCI and other cable systems on the Wasatch Front didn't pick up the signal last year and negotiations between the Big West and potential carriers of the games will begin soon.
USU is also suddenly in the market to find a new radio outlet on the Wasatch Front as well. With KISN-AM changing format, the Aggies need a new home.
And change isn't monopolized by USU, either. John L. Smith, entering only his third year as coach in Logan, is the Big West coach with the most league games under his belt with a whopping 11 games to his credit. Only North Texas's Matt Simon has been at his school longer and is only a three-year coaching veteran.
Each coach was asked what he thought of the Big West as a whole. Only Smith said the conference was down from its state in 1996. Of course, the coaches at NMSU and Boise State are hoping things are better because for those schools, it couldn't have been much worse. The Broncos and Southern Aggies combined for a 3-20 record with only BSU's 33-32 win in Las Cruces counting as a Division IA win for either team.
The Big West isn't content to stand pat with its band of six football playing schools. One source said as late as Monday that Arkansas State and another school had been contacted about joining the Big West at least as a football-playing school. Another rumored Big West expansion target is Portland State as an all-sports school.
"We need something," Smith said. "I don't think it matters if they're coming up or already IA, but I do think we need someone."