Big Sky’s Eyes Bigger than its Stomach

If you can get more, why wouldn’t you?

That is what I thought when I recently sat down to a business meeting at a local diner. I looked at the menu and saw the three words that touch my soul every time I see them: biscuits and gravy. What to order was no longer in dispute. The only matter to solve in my mind was how much to get.

I had two options. I could go with the full order or the half order. I had never been to this establishment, so I was unfamiliar with the size of its portions. My first thought was the half order would probably be plenty, but I do love the biscuits and gravy. Why would I not get as much as I could when I had the chance? More is always better, right?

But no. There is such a thing as too much. A lesson I was digesting as I watched my server deliver a massive plate piled with biscuits and dripping with gravy. My first inclination was correct; the half order would definitely had been enough. I knew I couldn’t eat it all. I knew more was not always better.

Big Sky Conference Commissioner Doug Fullerton loves his conference about as much as I love biscuits and gravy.

At the football media day recently in Park City, Utah Fullerton addressed the idea of expansion. As far as football goes, the Big Sky already has 13 schools. That’s a hefty portion. Especially considering that the league does not split into divisions and have a championship game. There is not really room on the plate for another helping.

But Fullerton’s hungry eyes has his sights set on two schools stuck in FBS purgatory. He told the media that he would like to see Idaho and New Mexico State join the Big Sky Conference as football members. That would stretch the league to 15 football playing schools. As great as it would be to see the Vandals back in the conference as a full member (Idaho rejoined the Big Sky in all sports except football in 2014), 15 schools is too many.

If the conference were split into divisions and it had a championship game — it would be different. But in the Football Championship Series where the Big Sky typically gets two to three teams in the playoffs every year, a championship game would be pointless. There is no huge TV deal revenue to go along with it. Plus it would just beat up the two best teams heading into the playoffs.

With so many teams in the league, a team like Idaho State University could go a few years without playing some their traditional rivals. The Bengals are seeing the Montana Grizzlies come to Holt Arena this year for the first time since 2011. That gap will only grow if more teams are added to the mix. Plus, with only eight conference games, a team will not face half the league every year. That always reeks havoc on tiebreakers when a handful of teams haven’t faced one another.

As much as the thought of having more teams in the best conference in the FCS sounds appealing, I can’t help but think of my plate of biscuits and gravy. I had to break down my breakfast into two meals. One at the diner and one later with the leftovers I brought home. If the Big Sky gets too big, it too may have to be split. I don’t want that to happen.

I love Big Sky football. I love the quality of football and the brand that it has established. Having too much of it could diminish that.