Cal Poly, UC-Davis join Big Sky

OGDEN, Utah, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- The Big Sky Conference announced Tuesday the University of California, Davis, and Cal Poly are joining the league for football only.

The addition of the two schools as affiliate members brings the number of schools in the league to 11. It wasn't announced when UC-Davis and Cal Poly will make the move from the Great West Conference, though it appears it could happen for the 2012 football season.

The Big Sky has been the subject of speculation that the University of Montana and perhaps other members may split from the conference.

Great West officials will now have to seek new members or disband.

"The addition of two great institutions like Cal Poly and UC-Davis gives us more depth to compete for additional playoff berths and enhances our profile throughout California," Big Sky Conference Commissioner Doug Fullerton said in a statement. "This is a great fit for both institutions and the Big Sky Conference. We are bringing in two strong western FCS programs. They will benefit from us in having access to an automatic playoff bid and a full slate of conference games."

UC-Davis Athletic Director Greg Warzecka called it "an extremely exciting day for our football program and the institution."

Cal Poly Athletic Director Alison Cone said his school's "goal all along has been to find stability for our football program, and the Big Sky Conference gives us exactly what we needed."

Fullerton said the Big Sky will seek a 12th football member and split into two six-team divisions.

The nine Big Sky programs are Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Portland State, Sacramento State and Weber State.

The Great West's other members are North Dakota, South Dakota and Southern Utah, which could be expansion possibilities for the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which has nine programs.