PDF of Prospectus
Spring Notes
Big Sky Conference
The Big Sky will be a nine-team football league in 2011, but expand to 13 football-playing members in 2012. North Dakota and Southern Utah will join the Big Sky on July 1, 2012 as full members. Cal Poly and UC Davis will begin play as football-only members in 2012.
A Big Sky team has played for the Division I national championship each of the previous three seasons. Eastern Washington won its first national championship on Jan. 7, 2011, beating Delaware 20-19 in the national championship game. Montana lost in the championship game in 2008 and 2009.
Eastern Washington Eagles
The Eagles closed the 2011 season by winning 11 straight games, capturing the school’s first national championship. EWU rallied from a 19-0 deficit to beat Delaware in the national championship game.
EWU lost two standouts from its national championship team in linebacker J.C. Sherritt and running back Taiwan Jones. Sherritt, the Buck Buchanan Award Winner, was a consensus All-American who tallied 176 total tackles last season. Jones, who missed the final two games with a broken foot, declared for the NFL Draft. Jones was second in the nation in all-purpose yards in 2010.
The Eagles return senior QB Bo Levi Mitchell and junior wide receiver Brandon Kaufman, who both starred in the run to the national championship. Senior All-Conference center Chris Powers also returns to the offense. On defense, the Eagles return defensive tackle Renard Williams, safety Matt Johnson, and linebacker Zach Johnson.
Eastern Washington will open the 2011 season with road games at Washington, South Dakota and Montana before returning to “The Inferno” on Sept. 24 against Montana State, which shared the Big Sky regular-season title with EWU in 2010.
Idaho State Bengals
Mike Kramer was hired in the off-season as the new coach of the Idaho State. Kramer is no stranger to the Big Sky Conference, having coached both Eastern Washington and Montana State to Big Sky championships. Kramer ranks in the top five in Big Sky history in overall and conference victories.
Kramer takes over a program that went a combined 3-31 overall and 2-22 in Big Sky play the last three seasons. Idaho State hasn’t won a road game since the 2006 season.
The Bengal defense will be led by senior All-American linebacker A.J. Storms, who led the nation in tackles last season with an average of 13.3 per game.
Montana Grizzlies
For the first time since 1993, Montana enters a season without having advanced to the postseason the previous campaign. Montana’s record string of 17 consecutive playoff appearances was snapped with last year’s 7-4 record. It also marked the first time since 1997 that UM failed to win at least a share of the Big Sky Championship.
Junior Nate Montana, the son of NFL legend Joe Montana, transferred from Notre Dame during the offseason. Montana will battle this spring with sophomore Justin Johnson for the Grizzlies’ starting quarterback job.
Montana will open the 2011 season at Tennessee, the Grizzlies first game against an FBS opponent since opening the 2006 campaign at Iowa.
All-American cornerback Trumaine Johnson returns to lead the Grizzly defense. UM led the Big Sky in scoring defense, total defense, and passing defense in 2010.
Montana State Bobcats
Montana State is coming off a nine-win regular season that saw the Bobcats share the regular-season title with Eastern Washington. The Bobcats earned the league’s automatic bid to the playoffs, the program’s first postseason appearance since 2006.
Quarterback DeNarius McGhee returns for his sophomore season after sensational freshman campaign. McGhee was the Big Sky Co-Offensive MVP and Freshman of the Year. He averaged 278.7 yards of total offense per game and led the Big Sky in passing efficiency at 153.8.
Along with McGhee, the Bobcats are set to return seven other offensive starters, six defensive starters, and the kicker and the punter from last year’s squad.
Under the direction of McGhee, Montana State led the Big Sky in passing, total and scoring offense in 2010.
Montana State coach Rob Ash, who enters his fifth season with the Bobcats, is the President of the American Football Coaches Association this season.
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
Northern Arizona opens its home schedule on Sept. 17 against Fort Lewis in a renovated Walkup Skydome. The dome has been closed since the end of the 2010 football season as it underwent a major remodel.
Jerome Souers enters his 14th season at the helm of the Lumberjacks. He is the longest-tenured coach in the history of the Big Sky Conference. Northern Arizona has finished with a winning record four of the last five seasons.
Northern Arizona must find a replacement for two-year starting quarterback Michael Herrick, who finished his career as the all-time leader in completion percentage (65.0) and yards per attempts (7.5). Among the candidates looking to take over behind center include Chasen Stangel, who saw action in nine games last season and threw for 376 yards.
Sophomore running back Zach Bauman returns, hoping to build on his impressive freshman campaign. Bauman rushed for 1,059 yards and 14 touchdowns in his first season.
Northern Colorado Bears
A new era in Northern Colorado begins in 2011 at alum Earnest Collins Jr. takes control of the program. Collins, a former standout and assistant coach for the Bears, spent the previous two seasons as the head coach at Alcorn State. Collins is the second coach for the Bears since they joined the Big Sky in 2010.
Dylan Orms returns for his second season as the Bears’ starting quarterback. Orms completed 52.4 percent of his passes for 2,055 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a junior.
The Bears should have one of the top receiving corps in the conference with the return of Jace Davis and Patrick Walker. The duo combined for 90 catches for 1,562 yards and 13 touchdowns last season.
The Bears have some major holes to fill on defense with the loss of linebackers John Eddy, Matt King, safety Max Hewitt and cornerback Korey Askew.
Portland State Vikings
The Vikings will return to the downtown stadium now known as Jeld-Wen Field. The former PGE Park underwent a major renovation during the last season, forcing the Vikings to play at Hillsboro Stadium last season. PSU will play six home games this season.
The Vikings finished last in the league in rushing in 2009, but averaged a league-best 203.3 rushing yards per game in 2010. Cory McCaffrey, who will be a senior this season, averaged 117.0 rushing yards per game and was named first-team All-Conference.
Portland State is set to return 20 starters in 2011, including quarterback Connor Kavanaugh and the entire offensive line. Defensively, All-Big Sky defensive back DeShawn Shead will lead the return of the entire defensive backfield, as well as veteran defensive end Carl Sommer, fourth-year linebacker Ryan Rau and a host of others with starting and/or game experience. Finally, the Vikings boast one of the top kickers in the country in junior Zach Brown, and third-year starting punter Thomas Duyndam.
Sacramento State Hornets
Over the final seven games of the 2010 season, Sacramento State scored at least 40 points in four contests and averaged 36.6 points per game. Most of key contributors for that unit return in 2011 as the Hornets feature eight returning starters.
Quarterback Jeff Fleming, who was a second team all-Big Sky selection a year ago, will likely lead the offense. Fleming finished ninth in the Football Championship Subdivision in passing efficiency (147.42) and set the school record with 24 passing touchdowns. However, Fleming will sit out most of the spring with an elbow injury.
Defensive End Zack Nash, who was a second team All-American as a junior, returns for his senior season. Nash led the Big Sky and ranked fourth in the FCS with 1.18 sacks per game. He was also the Big Sky leader in tackles-for-loss and was a first team all-Big Sky honoree.
The Hornets closed 2010 by winning four of its final six games. The Hornets’ two losses were close. Sac State lost on the road to eventual national champion Eastern Washington 28-24, and fell 17-16 on the road to rival UC Davis.
Weber State Wildcats
The post-Cameron Higgins era begins at Weber State. Higgins finished his career with more touchdown passes (98) than any player in Big Sky history. Higgins finished second all-time in passing yards (12,274). Junior Mike Hoke is expected to assume the quarterback duties after serving as the backup the previous two seasons.
Weber State’s defense will be led by All-Conference linebacker Nick Webb, who tallied 99 total tackles last season.
Weber State will need a boost from sophomore running back Josh Booker, who carried 91 times for 563 yards and two touchdowns last season. The Wildcats lost all-conference fullback Vai Tafuna to graduation, and Bo Bolen has left on a two-year LDS Mission.
Ryan Eastman, a junior defensive tackle, has returned to Weber State. Eastman played for the Wildcats in 2008 and 2009, earning honorable mention All-Conference honors both seasons. Eastman transferred to Hawai’i for the spring semester of 2010, but returned to Weber State last fall.