SALT LAKE CITY — There will be no Big Sky Conference football games this fall.
The hope is the league will have conference play in the spring.
The Big Sky, which includes Weber State University and Southern Utah University, announced Friday it has postponed its fall 2020 conference schedule to spring 2021 due to health and safety concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.
The league said that nonconference play for member institutions is still pending further review.
“The Big Sky has begun exploring modified versions of a conference football schedule to be played in the spring and fully supports the NCAA shifting the FCS championship to the spring,” the league said in a statement.
The Big Sky Conference’s Presidents’ Council voted on the move Thursday.
“This is the right decision for our member institutions, even though we realize how disappointing it will be for all who represent and care about Big Sky football,” Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said in a statement. “We will now shift our attention to doing everything within our power to provide our football student-athletes and coaches with a conference schedule and a championship opportunity in the spring.
“We already have begun actively engaging our fellow FCS conferences and the NCAA to join us then for what will be a unique opportunity to return to competition and compete for an FCS championship.”
What does it mean for the FCS as a whole this season?
Football at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level — of which the Big Sky is a part — is looking increasingly bleak this fall. On Wednesday, the NCAA decided it would allow each NCAA division to choose whether or not it would cancel fall sports championships.
Division I has yet to make a decision — Division II and Division III have already canceled NCAA fall sports championships — though the NCAA stipulated that at least 50% of teams that compete in a fall sport in any division must participate in a regular season this fall for a championship to take place.
With the 13-team Big Sky opting out of fall play, FCS football falls below that 50% threshold. Seven other FCS conferences — there are 13 in the subdivision — preceded the Big Sky in either canceling or postponing their fall football season, including the Pioneer Football League, which officially called off its fall schedule early Friday morning.
The other six conferences include the Colonial Athletic Association, Ivy League, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Northeast Conference, Patriot League and Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The Big Sky and CAA represent two of the FCS level’s top conferences, along with the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which announced late Friday it will also move its eight-game conference schedule to the spring. The MVFC includes North Dakota State, which has won eight of the past nine FCS championships.
“Now the work begins for us to lead the charge and hopefully get the FCS playoffs moved to the spring,” Wistrcill said during a Big Sky-released video where the commissioner discussed specifics behind the league’s decision. “We’ll be working with other FCS commissioners and NCAA leadership to get this train moving. Our plan is to build a spring conference schedule that leads into the playoffs, and hopefully, one of our teams winning a national championship. The Big Sky is excited, as we believe we’re the leaders in FCS football.”
What does it mean for local schools?
For Weber State, the fall cancellation is tough news, considering the success the program is having under head coach Jay Hill. The Wildcats have won three straight Big Sky championships and played in the FCS playoffs four straight years, advancing to the semifinals last year.
“We thought, and we still feel, that this team’s got a chance to be really, really special,” Hill said in a video shared on the team’s Twitter account. “To have it come to an end is disappointing. I think maybe there’s some light at the end of the tunnel where we get to play with these guys come spring time.”
Following their 11-4 season in 2019, Weber State finished the season No. 3 in the national polls, the program’s highest ranking in school history. Last month, Weber State was picked to win the Big Sky in both the preseason media and coaches polls, another first for the university.
“We anticipate and look forward to a championship football season in the spring and as we prepare, our goal is to provide an environment that our student-athletes can continue to thrive in, both academically and athletically.” — Weber State athletic director Tim Crompton
“Our student-athletes always have been and will continue to be our top priority. We are disappointed that we are not able to move forward and provide the opportunity to compete this fall, however we understand and are acutely aware of the current circumstances,” Weber State athletic director Tim Crompton said in a statement. “In addition, we are very fortunate to have outstanding leadership from our president and his administration. Weber State University has the best interests in mind of our entire campus community.
“We anticipate and look forward to a championship football season in the spring, and as we prepare our goal is to provide an environment that our student-athletes can continue to thrive in, both academically and athletically.”
Southern Utah, meanwhile, is coming off back-to-back losing seasons. The T-Birds won three games last year.
Demario Warren has been at the helm of the SUU program for five years and is trying to get the program back to a competitive level. The T-Birds reached the FCS playoffs in 2017.
Weber State’s originally scheduled nonconference matchups included games at Wyoming and Northern Iowa, as well as a home game against Dixie State University. SUU’s scheduled nonleague slate included road contests at Utah State University and Abilene Christian, with a home opener against Dixie State.
If Big Sky nonconference play is also shelved, Dixie State would have just three games remaining on its schedule. In addition to the games against Weber State and Southern Utah, the Trailblazers also had contests scheduled against Big Sky opponents Montana State and Sacramento State on the road.
The Trailblazers moved up to Division I during the offseason and are set to play their first season as an FCS independent.