Better days ahead for the Vandals

Vandals fans, fear not. Just because the Sun Belt Conference has given your football team an eviction notice does not mean the gridders will end up homeless.

Our guess is they’ll end up just fine, somewhere they can compete and where rivalries can be built or maybe even renewed. That essential element of keen competition could never have happened in the Sun Belt, where your nearest conference foe — in this case, New Mexico State — is 1,506 miles away.

The Sun Belt Conference was an awkward but adequate placeholder for Idaho until something better came along. But make no mistake, seeing the Sun Belt in Idaho’s rear-view mirror won’t blind anybody. Put another way: Getting dumped by UL Monroe isn’t like getting the cold shoulder from Marilyn Monroe. This stings, but UI will get over it.

Because Idaho has two years to set a new course, rule No. 1 is to not panic. If the worst thing that can happen to you is that you wind up back where you started, back in the Big Sky Conference with Montana, Eastern Washington and Idaho State, then your current storm clouds are guaranteed a silver lining.

An idea that’s been floating around for some time may or may not materialize: Creation of a division between the largest football-playing schools (for instance, the Pac-12) and the next-largest group (Big Sky, etc.). That’s a place some proponents could see Idaho fitting in. The question is, how much interest exists for building something like an entirely new college football division? Even if there’s enough interest, is the NCAA adroit enough to get it up and running in two years?

University of Idaho Athletic Director Rob Spear and President Chuck Staben are justified if they’re disappointed in the Sun Belt, which appeared only too eager to push the eject button on UI and New Mexico State. The remaining conference schools laid on the insult by reaching consensus and giving notice even earlier than they said a verdict would be rendered.

But making smart decisions over the next 12 to 24 months will likely land Idaho in greener football pastures, where even if the same revenue doesn’t stack up, fans’ experience and alums’ sports pride can shine.

In the meantime, two seasons paying back the Sun Belt for its snub sounds like a whole lot of fun.