Football within the Great West Conference enters another era in 2008 with the addition of two schools and the departure of two of the founding members of the league. The University of North Dakota and the University of South Dakota enter the league for the 2008 season after North Dakota State and South Dakota State departed for the Missouri Valley Football League.

The departure of the two Dakota state schools leaves a void since they finished 1-2 in the 2007 standings, with South Dakota State winning the title after a thrilling 29-24 victory over North Dakota State on the final day of the season. The loss was North Dakota State's first of the season and ended a successful season that produced wins over Football Bowl Subdivision teams Minnesota and Central Michigan. South Dakota State finished the season 4-0 in Great West play and 7-4 overall, with three of the losses coming by seven points or fewer. Cal Poly had a 7-4 record and wide receiver Ramses Barden earned his second all-American nod after setting numerous school and conference records. UC Davis won its final two games of 2007 after rivals Sacramento State and San Diego, but finished the season 5-6, the first time in more than 30 years the Aggies failed to finish a football season .500 or better.

The league may have a void, but a possible gap should be closed quickly with the addtion of North Dakota and South Dakota, both of which advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs the last two years. Both teams play in domed stadiums that are state of the art, giving visiting teams and fans a quality game-time atmosphere.

North Dakota State blitzed through the Great West schedule in 2006 with a perfect 4-0 record, which included a 41-28 victory over previously unbeaten South Dakota State in the final reguar season game of the season for the title. The win, which improved the Bison's overall record to 10-1, was played in front of a school-record 19,053 fans and it helped the team to a No. 5 rankining in the final College Sporting News poll. The lone NDSU loss on the season came at the hands of Minnesota, which escaped with a 10-9 victory. While placing second in the league, South Dakota State had its finest season in years with a 7-4 record and a No. 21 ranking. Cal Poly just missed making the FCS playoffs with a 7-4 record, with one-point losses to Montana and South Dakota State. UC Davis kept its streak of consecutive winning seasons alive with a 6-5 record, including a decisive win over previously unbeaten San Diego in the final regular season game.

In the last two years, the Great West has been rated as one of the best in Football Championship Subdivision and ahead of Football Bowl Subdivision leagues such as the Mid-American Conference and the Sun Belt. The league boasted wins over FBS teams the last three years, with victories over Ball State San Diego State, Minnesota and Central Michigan. In the final CSN poll of 2006, NDSU was 5th, Cal Poly 14th, SDSU 21st and UC Davis 24th, giving the Great West 80 percent of its membership in the rankings.

Cal Poly and UC Davis shared the league's championship with identical 4-1 records in 2005, with Cal Poly gaining an at-large entry into the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. The Mustangs advanced to the second round of the playoffs after avenging a regular season loss with a victory at Montana before losing at Texas State. Cal Poly ranked No. 6 in the final 2005 USA/Today/ESPN Coaches I-AA Top 25 poll. UC Davis put the Great West on the map early in the season with a win over Stanford in what media observers believed to be the biggest upset of the 2005 college football season.

The league is made up of five intercollegiate institutions that have ranging geographically from North Dakota to South Dakota to Utah to California.

Officially announced Feb. 25, 2004, charter members of the Great West Football Conference were California Polytechnic State University; University of California, Davis; North Dakota State University; University of Northern Colorado; South Dakota State University; and Southern Utah University.

Conference competition began on Sept. 4, 2004 with UC Davis scoring a 52-0 win over South Dakota State and Northern Colorado notching a 15-13 win over North Dakota State.

Great West members Cal Poly, UC Davis and Southern Utah remain at-large candidates for NCAA I-AA post-season playoff consideration. South Dakota State and North Dakota State become candidates in 2008. The conference has recently submitted its application for formal recognition to the NCAA.

The Great West Football Conference recognizes 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 crowns a team champion following the conclusion of conference competition.

The governance of the Great West Football Conference remains primarily with the member institutions. Each member institution is represented on the President's Council by its respective CEO. Dr. Michael Benson (Southern Utah) will serve as the Chair with Dr. Warren Baker of Cal Poly as Vice Chair. The general operations and management of the Conference will be conducted by the Directors of Athletics (Director's Council). Three Athletic Directors will comprise the Executive Committee and be responsible for the overall administrative functions of the Conference. The Great West Executive Committee includes Ed Grom (Commissioner) as Chair, Alison Cone (Cal Poly) as Vice- Chair and Greg Warczeka (UC Davis) as Treasurer and Ken Beazer (Southern Utah) will chair the Coaches Committee. Scheduling of contests, assignment of officials and certain media relations functions will remain with member institutions.

"Providing these student-athletes with the opportunity to compete for a conference championship makes all of this effort so worthwhile," said Tom Douple, former Athletic Director at Southern Utah, 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 GPI (Gridiron Power Index) ratings during its first three 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. In 2004, Cal Poly was ranked No. 14, while North Dakota State rose as high as No. 18 in the final poll. In the final 2005 GPI, Cal Poly was No. 6, North Dakota State was No. 18 and UC Davis was No. 22. In 2006, NDSU was ranked as high as 3rd before ending No. 5, Cal Poly was at No. 14, SDSU No. 21 and UC Davis No. 24.

The five member schools are spread out of over four Western states and three time zones, giving each school added exposure - both in terms of media and recruiting - in new destinations. The conference affiliation is also expected to generate much interest within the five schools' substantial alumni base, which numbers nearly 400,000 combined.



CONFERENCE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE

Ed Grom, Commissioner
P.O. Box 9334
Naperville, IL 60567
Phone: (630) 452-3105

E-Mail: grom@gwconference.org