Vandal Football to Join Sun Belt Conference By Beck y Paull
Rob Spear had good reason to smile as he addressed the media in late March. The University of Idaho’s director of athletics was announcing he’d found a conference home for Vandal football. “This is a tremendous opportunity as we continue to position the Vandals for the future,” Spear said in confirming that Idaho’s football program will join the FBS Sun Belt Conference beginning with the 2014 season. “The landscape in college athletics has been changing continually. With this, we have our feet on solid ground,” Spear said. There’s more to a league affiliation than a name, he added. As a member of the Sun Belt Conference — which touches Idaho, New Mexico, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas and North Carolina — the Vandals will have scheduling partners. They will have a chance to play in a conference championship game, will join a league with multiple bowl affiliations and will gain television exposure, along with the associated revenue of a TV package. More importantly, Idaho football remains a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly I-A) and all that comes with it — a status that translates to as much as $1 million annually for the athletic department. So as the conference landscape continues to shift, the Vandals will be at the FBS table. “It’s going to provide great stability for our student-athletes who represent the University of Idaho,” Spear said. 44
Coach Paul Petrino applauded Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson’s invitation. “We’re extremely excited to get into the Sun Belt Conference,” Petrino said. “It’s a great football league. It’s a great thing for the University of Idaho football program.” Vandal football will compete as an FBS independent in 2013 before heading to the Sun Belt, where they also played from 2001-04. It won't be Idaho’s first foray into independent football. After they left the Pacific Coast Conference, the Vandals were independent for six seasons, from 1959 through 1964, before the Big Sky Conference formed. While Vandal football returns to a former home in 2014, so will most other Idaho sports as the Vandals renew their Big Sky Conference affiliation in 2013-14. After more than 30 years in that conference, the university left the Big Sky in 1996 and most recently was a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The swimming and diving team will remain in the WAC because the Big Sky doesn’t sponsor those sports. “We look forward to renewing our association with the Big Sky Conference,” Spear said. “Our rivalries with Montana and Montana State date back almost 100 years.” The Big Sky includes schools in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, Washington, California, Colorado and North Dakota.