NCAA Board of Directors vote, change is coming.
Indianapolis, Indiana (AP) - The NCAA Board of Directors, led by Commissioner Myles Brand, voted 7-2 in favour of having CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport)'s University of Western Ontario Mustangs join the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision in place of the Rice Owls for the 2010 season. Rice, who have been playing in Conference USA since leaving the WAC in 2004, will drop down to FCS and play in the SWAC. The reason for the Owls leaving the FBS remain unclear, although rumours of the lack of transparency around Rice's 2008 & 2009 accounting records have been heard amongst college football writers. Navy will break from it's independent status and will replace Rice in C-USA. Western will compete as an independent.
While promoting one of the FCS' top teams seemed like the obvious option, the NCAA board have cited the "unique opportunity to grow college football in unchartered territory" as their main reason for extending an invitation to the Western Mustangs. The NCAA recently began having the International Bowl at the Skydome in Toronto, Ontario. The success of this bowl game has allowed the board to be optimistic about the performance of a Canadian University in the NCAA from a marketing standpoint. On the field, however, Western have their doubters.
Going 5-3 last year in the OUA, Western last won the Vanier Cup (Canada's National Collegiate Championship) in 1994. While the The University of Calgary (8-0), University of Laval (7-1) and Queens University (7-1) all seemed like better choices from a competitive standpoint, the NCAA acknowledged Western's location (London, Ontario, 2 hours from both New York and Michigan), large enrollment rate, and stadium as the factors that won them the bid. The Mustangs will play at TD Waterhouse Stadium, which is set to have a full renovation to its playing surface this summer.
"The NCAA is a tradition rich association. We pride ourselves on history and culture," said NCAA Commissioner Myles Brand "With that being said, change can often be the catalyst for even greater success. Our board of directors see the participation of a Canadian institution as a potential key in growing college football on an unprecedented scale."
Coach FlyingHigh will lead the Western Mustangs in their inaugural season as an FBS school. With the announcement coming so close to the 2010 season, The Mustangs will play a schedule largely made up of FCS schools for it's first and second years in the FBS. Coach 'High has been at the school 5 seasons and sports a lifetime record of 31-22. "I'm stoked for this opportunity." said High. "How can you not be? We're excited to represent Canada in one of the most exciting landscapes in North American sports." When asked about the transition from 3-down football to-4 down football, 'High seemed dismissive, yet optimistic: "This just gives us an extra down we're not accustomed to having."
Naturally there has been a lot of pushback on this decision from the NCAA. "American's can be a proud bunch," said NCAA Commissioner Brand. "But there are already Canadian roots in our game. Look at players like Doug Flutie. Hell, Bronco Nigurski was Canadian!"
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Game: NCAA Football 11
Console: PS2
Quarter Length: 7 minutes
House Rules
Recruiting: I can recruit Canada freely. I can also recruit Michigan + New York, but only from cities/towns that are remotely close to bordering Ontario (Buffalo/Niagara Falls, Windsor/Detroit, Port Huron/Sarnia). American recruits cannot make up more than 60% of my recruits. I am allowed 1 recruit per season from anywhere equal to the number of school prestige stars minus one. I.E, if I get to 3-Star Prestige, I can have 2 recruits from anywhere.
Starting Roster: Create-a-team cup cake base, with some real names from Western's 09/10 team added in. Ratings will be untouched (mostly 45-62 rated players)
In Season Suspensions: Must comply with NCAA's suggested punishment for all infractions.
Players Leaving/Transfering: Cannot stop players from transferring elsewhere or joining the NFL draft. Can only accept transfers from mid-majors OR players that are from Michigan, New York or Canada.
Scheduling: While an independent, must schedule 4 home and 8 away games in inaugural season. Second season will be 6 home and 6 away. Additionally, a rivalry game against the University of Buffalo will be scheduled each year titled "The Battle for the Golden Barrel".
Conference Invitation: Must accept any invitations to conferences.
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Editors Note: There is a very clear inspiration from Careless Whisper's Carnegie Tartan Dynasty. So shoutout to them for the dope 'nasty and inspiration. I'm also going to be simming the first season and only doing in season recruiting so I can avoid the painful process of playing with an absolutely piss poor unusable roster.
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