UC Davis and six other intercollegiate institutions, ranging geographically from North Dakota to Utah to California, last week announced they would become charter members of the new Great West Football Conference. The NCAA I-AA football-only alliance will begin competition in 2004, with full round-robin play scheduled to commence during the 2005 season.
Along with UC Davis, other charter members of the Great West Football Conference include California Polytechnic State Univ-ersity, North Dakota State University, the University of Northern Colorado, Saint Mary's College of California, South Dakota State University and Southern Utah University.
UC Davis has competed for years as Division II independent.
"We welcome the opportunity to be a part of the Great West Conference," said Greg Warzecka, athletic director at UC Davis. "We've had wonderful rivalries with many of the institutions in the conference and this strengthens those rivalries."
The charter-member intercollegiate institutions have competed in a combined 268 games with each other.
Great West Conference competition will begin this fall, with South Dakota State visiting UC Davis, and Northern Colorado playing host to North Dakota State on Sept. 4.
Each of the member institutions are scheduled to compete against at least five other charter members during the 2004 season, with Cal Poly, UC Davis, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado and Saint Mary's scheduled to play all six other charter members.
For South Dakota State and Southern Utah, one specific non-conference opponent will be designated as a "conference" opponent in order to fulfill their respective six-game commitments. All "designated" conference games will count for both conference standings and statistical purposes.
Great West members Cal Poly, Saint Mary's and Southern Utah remain at-large candidates for NCAA I-AA post-season playoff consideration. UC Davis and Northern Colorado will become eligible for at-large consideration in 2007, while South Dakota State and North Dakota State become candidates in 2008.
The conference has recently submitted its application for formal recognition to the NCAA. It is expected that the NCAA will consider the application in April.
The Great West Football Conference plans to recognize student-athletes on both a weekly and full-season basis. Individual awards will include Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week; All-Conference teams; an Academic All-Conference team; and Player, Newcomer and Coach of the Year awards. The league also will crown a team champion following the conclusion of conference competition.
The governance of the Great West Football Conference will remain primarily with the member institutions. Each member institution will be represented on the Presidents Council by its respective CEO. Additionally, the conference will be conducted by an athletics directors council. Three athletic directors will comprise the executive committee and be responsible for the overall administrative functions of the conference. The initial Great West Executive Committee includes Tom Douple, of Southern Utah, as chair; Alison Cone, of Cal Poly, as vice-chair; and Warzecka as treasurer. External relations and a coaches committee also will be formed. Scheduling of contests and assignment of officials will remain with the member institutions.
"Providing these student-athletes with the opportunity to compete for a conference championship makes all of this effort so worthwhile," Douple noted. "I am certain that all the coaches will also use the opportunity to compete for a conference championship to motivate their players and to attract recruits. This is great for all of the athletes, coaches and institutions involved, as well as each university's entire community."
League members have earned impressive RPI ratings over the past few seasons, including a No. 14 by Northern Colorado and No.19 by Cal Poly in 2003. In the national I-AA Top 25 poll, Cal Poly reached No. 14 while Northern Colorado achieved a No.19 ranking.