If one needed an illustration of just how fluid Division I conference situations can be, consider the the case of the Great West Football Conference. Most had resigned themselves to the death of the league back in October, when we learned the Gateway Football Conference requested institutional information from both North and South Dakota State. Conference commissioners, being what they are, generally don't name potential members unless they are pretty sure they have a consensus to bring those schools into the fold. But now the Bloomington (Ill.) Pantagraph., is suggesting that some of the Gateway's football coaches and athletic directors are not totally excited about the prospect of adding the Dakota schools. If you're not in the mood to click through, the two main reasons given are cost and the increased competition level.
It's impossible to tell from this story just how widespread those sentiments are. But it probably won't take much dissent to scuttle any expansion bids. Should the Gateway not take the Dakotas in this round, the future of the Great West would look quite bright. The probable additions of North Dakota and South Dakota after next season would make for a seven-team league. Odd numbers are good for football scheduling because it would allow for an even number of home and road dates within the league. A six-game conference slate would allow all league teams to pick up a Bowl Series game, and then continue the tough intersectional scheduling that made the Great West the highest ranked confernece in what is now called the Football Championship Series. There would still be the matter of automatic qualification to postseason. But the more teams there are in the league, the better the chance its champion meets all the selection criteria (especially those seven Division I wins). We'll probably have a sense of where things are going by spring.
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