University of Idaho President Chuck Staben discussed his presentation to Sun Belt officials during a radio interview with ESPN affiliate KRPL 1400 AM Thursday morning.
Staben addressed the potential options for the future of Idaho’s football program, pending a contract extension vote from the Sun Belt Conference on March 10.
“It’s probably obvious, but people care deeply about athletics,” Staben said. “It’s clear there is a deep division of opinion on what would be the best direction for the university.”
The Idaho president discussed the possibility of the Vandal football team moving from the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) if the program is not offered a future position in the Sun Belt.
“What we really want to do is have a conference that allows us to have stability, have influence on our athletics future and provide a great student-athlete experience,” Staben said. “That is possible at either the FBS or FCS, but we have to evaluate our options.”
Staben said he had heard contrasting opinions from Idaho fans and alumni on the issue.
“There are many strong supporters who feel it is critical we remain FBS,” Staben said. “There are many that feel it is important we move to an FCS level and feel we could compete more effectively. This is an area where there is great passion.”
Staben said that the University of Idaho would not make a future decision based solely on revenue.
“From a strictly financial perspective, remaining in the Sun Belt is the most attractive option,” Staben said. “Becoming independent or becoming an FCS team in the Big Sky are similar in terms of their financial position … from a money standpoint, we can make either of these decisions work, they just have different implications about what we do.”
Staben said joining the Big Sky Conference as an FCS program was a potential option if the team did not receive a contract extension from the Sun Belt.
“With respect to the affiliation with the Big Sky, we have a conference that has been fairly stable,” Staben said. “A conference that is welcoming Idaho. A conference that has had significant football success and significant athlete success.”
The Idaho president said administration was also considering other FBS conference options.
“At the moment, it is not clear that we would be invited to join another conference, aside from the Sun Belt,” Staben said. “We have focused primarily on the Independent FBS option and the Big Sky FCS option.”
Staben said he would consider the student-athlete experience as a main factor in the potential decision.
“Athletics is an important part of the University of Idaho,” Staben said. “It is important for the student-athlete experience, it’s important for the student experience and it’s important for our alumni and fans.”
The Idaho president said administration would review all aspects of the decision if the team were forced to switch conference affiliations.
“There is probably more than one direction we might take, and we’ll take the best possible direction,” Staben said.
Josh Grissom can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @GoshJrissom