HERO Sports was on site for the 2022 Big Sky Football Kickoff earlier this week in Spokane, Washington. Head coaches and two players were available for 1-on-1 interviews with the media.
Promised anonymity, we asked some head coaches who their preseason favorite is to win the Big Sky, which current conference player they would draft onto their team, the best head coaching job in the FCS, and the future landscape of Division 1 football.
Here are their answers.
Without picking your team, who is your favorite to win the Big Sky title?
“I’ll go Montana State. They were really good last year and you have to give that team respect this year.”
“Montana State. They’ve been there, and their QB is good.”
“Sac State. They’ve won the league recently. That’s where I would start.”
“I like Montana State. I like Sac State. They have enough guys back. And it just comes down to the fact that they have really good players.”
“Well, I will say that you never know and it all comes down to who makes the big plays in the big games. But I will say that the two Montana schools and Sac State are the teams to beat based on last year and who they have coming back.”
“You could go a lot of different ways. I think it’s Sac State because they’ve won it before. You have to beat them to unseat them. But you could argue Montana for various reasons. And Montana State played in the national title game.”
“I’ll go with Montana State. They have a great QB coming back. I feel like they’ve been there and they have enough good players coming back that they can do the same thing as last year.”
“I think it’s Montana. They have a lot of guys coming back. I trust what I see on film and they are really impressive”
If you could draft one current Big Sky player onto your team, who would you choose?
“Isaiah Ifanse is a fantastic player.”
“(Northern Colorado OLB) David Hoage.”
“The defensive back from Montana. Hauck’s kid (Robby Hauck). I love that kid and he’s fun to watch.”
“I love the (Anthony) Sweeney kid from NAU. I like who he is and how he plays. Another one is (Montana State’s) Ty Okada. He’s a good player and he’s a good dude. He likes to play, likes to tackle. He’s just my kind of guy.”
“I think Patrick O’Connell. The different impacts and the versatility that he brings. And the motor is something that you want in your players.”
“I really like that big Weber State offensive lineman (Noah Atagi).”
“I would say Troy Andersen. But currently on a roster, I’d say (Montana’s) Justin Ford.”
Without picking your program, what is the best head coaching job in the FCS?
“I think Montana, North Dakota State, and James Madison when they were here. To me, those are the top three and you could choose any one of them as the best.”
“I’d probably say North Dakota State. Three guys in a row have won a national title. They have a lot of things in place. It’s like Boise State at the G5 level. They’ve had a lot of different coaches that have won there. When you see that over time, it tells you that there are things in place that do help you win and you don’t try to reinvent the wheel. There are some other places where that’s not the case. Like going 7-4 at Western Illinois is maybe more impressive than going 11-0 at North Dakota State. But it’s still impressive and clearly the best job. They’ve stayed committed to this level whether it’s because they want to or because they haven’t had a right fit to move on. So many of the other teams that have been dominant in FCS football like Georgia Southern or App State have moved up. But they’re just doing a heckuva job in Fargo. The last two guys have moved on and I’m sure coach Entz will as well.”
“North Dakota State. You can get anybody to go to your school. You pay your coaches more. You have all the advantages. Don’t get me wrong, they’re good. That’s a good football team. But I always love in this game … it’s not apples to apples. People try to make it that way. It’s not. So, they got all the advantages. When you have money, resources, you’re the only game in town, you get out-of-state-waivers, you pay people cost of attendance, good things happen.”
“North Dakota State is obviously one of them. James Madison was one for sure. I think the next couple are probably in the Big Sky.”
“I think it’s Montana. Yeah, I gotta go with the Griz.”
“Montana State. There is less pressure than Missoula. They have resources. They have players. They have a 50/50 chance in-state with all the Montana recruits. They have unlimited resources outside of Montana to go get guys that they don’t find in Montana. A tough place to play. Passionate crowd and passionate following.”
“I would have to say Montana. The tradition, the culture. They have it.”
“It’s obviously North Dakota State. The continued commitment they have. They’ve set the standard on how you keep pushing. It’s impressive.”
What do you think the future of Division 1 football looks like, and how does the FCS fit into that landscape?
“I don’t think anyone has an answer right now. I do know I like where I’m at right now. I’m worried about football and not talking about what conference we’re in and NILs and TV deals. I think we’re in a good spot. I like where we’re at. But you just look at the last three years, if you’re not agile and flexible, you’re going to have a hard time surviving. I don’t know where it’ll end up, but we’re going to adjust. The main thing we try to do is make it a great experience for our players. As long as we keep that mindset, there will always be a place for FCS football.”
“I think there are dominos above us that have to fall to dictate that. Having coached at the G5 level and the FCS, is there a level where it takes the top of FCS and the bottom of even the Power Five along with the Group of Five, does that exist in the future? I think there will be, whatever the number is between 40-60, teams at the top. And then is there a bit of reshuffling to say who wants to be a part of this next level? The second level of football, which I would say now is the Group of Five, and we’re really the third level of D1 football. Is that second level of football, can that level compete for a championship much like we do now? Does that take some FCS teams up to that? I really think that future could be reality.”
“I think there will be three tiers. I’d be curious to see how much FCS changes. The interesting piece would be with 120+ teams in the FCS, how many more would be introduced to the FCS from the FBS level right now? Or do 30-40 teams move from FCS to the G5 area? And some drop down? I really don’t know. I don’t have enough information. My gut, though, is FCS doesn’t change as much as FBS.”
“I think this level is going to be fine. Where I think the shakeup is going to be, I think we’re going to have a superconference, semipro football. And then you’ll have two levels below that top league. You’ll have what used to be the Group of Five. And I think you’ll see some teams, when you have to be self-sustaining, we’ll see if they can actually be an FBS team. There are a lot of those teams that made a run for the money, and that money may not be there anymore. But I think this level is going to be pretty safe. It will be pretty sustainable. Because by and large, you don’t have a lot of people being artificially sustained. We’re not relying on TV money. So many of these other programs, they’re relying on factors that are not in their control. So I think we’ll have semi-pro, higher-level D1, and then lower-level D1 FCS.”
“There will always be a spot for our schools because of budgets, because of interests at our level. It’s still a market where fans want to come, they want to see it and follow it. FCS football is still very strong. I do believe the separation will continue to grow. Those top 40-50 teams break off. But that middle group is going to have a hard time hanging on to those top 50 schools. And my guess is the next tier is going to get bigger. And I think eventually we’re going to be pretty on par.”
“I think we’re in a great place. This is a great level of football. Still really pure. We don’t have to deal with the stuff they’re dealing with right now. We’re still playing football. We don’t have to deal with NIL as much. We do still have to deal with the transfer portal. But as far as dealing with the NIL stuff and what conference you’re going to be in, the Big Sky is solid and the FCS is the place to be right now.”
“I think we’re positioned well. But there will be movement. Programs like Alabama and Ohio State, they know they’re going to be in the top level. The Group of Five are in that window where some are wondering if they can get into that top group if they do break off. Or where do they fit? A lot of the Group of Five is closer to the Big Sky and the Missouri Valley than they are to the Big Ten and the SEC. You look at the Big Sky, I looked this up at the banquet the other night, and you see the Big Sky has had a lot of movement over time too. Boise and Reno were in the league at one point. I’m sure some of the teams currently in this conference won’t be in the conference over the next 50 years. I’m sure there will be some movement. But we’ve firmly planted ourselves along with the Missouri Valley as the top two conferences. I think we are the SEC and the Big Ten of FCS football. And a part of that has been the best teams in the south and the east moving on. That has weakened those leagues a bit. But I love it here and the regional rivalries.”
“I don’t know how to answer that for sure. Anyone that says they know where this is going is full of crap. If I had to guess, though, I think it will break off into three D1 groups instead of two. What form that takes, I don’t know. Maybe that top level is more of a semi-pro type deal. But then, who chooses to join that? Would a team like Stanford go in there? Or would they go to the next group? I think there’s a place for all of us. And I’m guessing one of the reasons why you do what you do, Sam, is you love the purity of football at this level. Guys are playing because they love to play. Even though we have many guys go on to the pros, but mainly they’re here because they are competitive and are guys that love ball. But I don’t know. I don’t know where all of this is heading.”