Sept. 2, 2006

SEATTLE, Wash. -

By John Boyle, Special to The Seattle Times

The football rivalry between Western Washington and Central Washington is a spirited one, full of tradition and passion.

Now, as the two NCAA Division II programs move from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference to the North Central Conference, they can look forward to creating new conference rivalries with the likes of Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota and Minnesota-Duluth.

Not exactly a Washington vs. Oregon border clash, but in the challenging world of non-Division I football, it will have to do.

As more money flows into big-time Division I programs, small-school football in the west continues to find its place in the college sports scene.

Western and Central made the switch to NCC football -- they will remain in the GNAC for all other sports -- to play a true conference schedule. Last season, there were just four GNAC schools playing football: Western, Central, Humboldt Sate and Western Oregon. As a result, each school had to play the others twice in order to have a sufficient number of conference games to balance out the schedule.

"There aren't any Division IIs out here for us to play," said first-year Western coach Robin Ross. "We've got one in Oregon, one in California. There just aren't a lot of options."

But if the move was intended to give the two schools some stability, they might not be so lucky. Perennial NCC power North Dakota has already announced plans to leave the conference to move up to the Division I level, and other schools are rumored to be considering a similar move in the future.

"Stability certainly is an issue for the West Coast," said Western athletic director Lynda Goodrich. "For us in the West it's a problem. For now I think this is a good solution for us, but it's a very moving target. It's pretty fluid."

On the field, the move to the NCC will present Western and Central with numerous challenges. The NCC is considered one of the best Division II conferences in the country, and last year sent three schools to the playoffs.

In a preseason coaches' poll, the Wildcats were picked to finish sixth in the nine-team conference, and the Vikings last.

"It's one of the toughest conferences in Division II football," said Central coach John Zamberlin. "If you perform well in that conference, you'll be in the playoffs. We were 8-2 last year and got bumped by one of their teams. We're definitely looking forward to the challenge."

The players are also looking forward to the increased level of competition, but at the same time are a little bit nervous about how they'll stack up.

"It is a tough conference, and week in and week out we're going to play extremely tough teams," said Western quarterback James Monrean. "But it's going to make us better. If you do well in this conference, it shows you're one of the top teams in the country."

While non-Division I football in the west appears to be struggling, both Western and Central say their programs are healthy and in no danger of going away. Instead, they need to be creative when it comes to finding teams to play.

"I think small-college football in the west is in danger, but I don't think either of us is close to that point," said Central athletic director Jack Bishop. "If you take everything below Division I and you consider how many junior colleges, NAIA and Division II programs have given up, it is kind of scary."

One long-term solution for Western and Central could be a move up to the Division I-AA level. In that scenario, they could join the Big Sky Conference and play other Northwest teams, such as Eastern Washington and Portland State. Neither school is seriously considering that option currently, but both said they wouldn't close the door to the idea in the future if the financial situation and timing were right.

"In a perfect world, if Western and Central are I-AA and playing in the Big Sky, that would be a pretty good deal," said Bishop. "But for now that's about $6 million a year away. Someday down the road, that could become a more realistic goal."

Until then, the Vikings and Wildcats will look forward to building new conference rivalries.

This state never liked the Dakotas much anyway, right?