Andrew Schmidt, the one-time starting running back for the 2008 Montana Grizzlies, has been telling anyone within earshot that Griz football should be moving on up.

We’ve pooh-pooh’d this guy through the years, but with the arrival of James Madison in the FBS Top 25 — the Dukes, who last year beat Schmidt’s alma mater 28-6 in the FCS quarterfinals, slid in there this week — well, he has the floor.

“Things have changed,” said Schmidt, a lawyer and NFL agent who resides in Denver. “The money has changed, for one. I think the FCS teams are kind of tapped out for revenue. I think everyone’s looking around and asking, ‘Are we going to keep playing at Northern Colorado in front of 3,000 fans?’”

Heck yes, says many Griz and Bobcat fans, but hear the man out. He feels it’s time not just for Montana and Montana State to think bigger, but also perennial FCS powers North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Weber State.

Throw in Idaho — recently back in the FCS after 22 mostly moribund seasons in the Bowl Subdivision — Sac State, UC Davis, Cal Poly, Northern Iowa, New Mexico State and Missouri State and you have an FBS league.

Schmidt would call it the Snow Belt Conference, and judging from the reaction he has received via Twitter, it has some carry.

“How about that?” asked Schmidt, whose love of college football began as a youngster when his dad Ed was in the midst of a 20-year career as an assistant coach (including at San Diego State; Schmidt wore No. 28 in honor of Marshall Faulk). “What I’m kind of floored by is the amount of appetite people have for something like this.

“It’s not just Griz fans. It’s Weber State fans, Bobcat fans, Idaho fans eating this up.”

There’s nothing quite like self-advocating, but Schmidt did the best thing by creating @TheSnowBelt Twitter identity, then asking for logo and art ideas. Minutes later submissions poured in while his league tweeted out invitations.

Then he quote-tweeted that: “I mean, look how official this is.”

“I don’t know whose idea it was, right?” he said this week. “We had a conversation after I got done playing, and my argument is all about progression.”

Schmidt is acutely aware that programs like Massachusetts, JMU, Texas State, Troy, Marshall, Georgia Southern, Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina have moved up. The Griz played all of them in FCS playoff games, some not that long ago. Schmidt played against the first three on that list.

A couple factors seem to signal the Snow Belt or something like it could happen. One is that TV money is ever increasing. The Mountain West, one of the so-called “Group of Five” or non-Power-5 conferences, has TV deals that pay each member school $4 million annually.

Boise State, probably the best-case scenario for teams that jump out of the FCS (in 1996), is in the MWC. The Sagarin Ratings have the Broncos at No. 46; JMU is No. 47.

So while the argument that it will cost money to move up is compelling, Schmidt is more compelled to get the Griz into the FBS than ever.

“We’ve got to figure out a way to make more money as costs increase,” he said. “Would we rather tie our futures to the other FCS schools that are like us, or kick the can down the road and stay with the Idaho States, Northern Colorados and Eastern Washingtons?”

The Sun Belt, in which James Madison now plays, is a great example.

“It’s better than the Mountain West right now,” Schmidt asserts. “Better than the WAC. Maybe the American (Athletic Conference) is better because of Cincinnati, but the Bearcats are moving.

“And I’ll tell you right now, NDSU is better than any Sun Belt team.”

All of this leaves us with the obvious question: Where can I find some Snow Belt merch?

That’s probably a ways off, but as far as Schmidt is concerned, there is no time like the present.

“I’ve been pounding on the table like this for a while,” he said.

Fritz Neighbor can be reached at 758-4463 or [email protected].