The 10 Biggest Cities In Nevada - WorldAtlas

Team has been involved in a substantial number of the digital media, sports, entertainment, leisure and gaming industries’ most significant merger and acquisition transactions, holding key positions at, and transacting with Scientific Games Corp, Inspired Gaming Group, FOX Bets, Ocean Casino Resort, Resorts International Holdings, PokerStars, DraftKings, Mohegan Sun, Caesars Entertainment Corporation, Harrah’s Entertainment, Tropicana Entertainment, Inc., TSG/Sky Betting & Gaming, Facebook, Inc, Wynn Resorts, Dubai World/MGM Resorts
Here's all the Bios. These guys are stellar! TEKK closed at $10.30 today. Still cheap!
If you don't like to read... you don't like to make money!!!!
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Matthew Davey — Chief Executive Officer and Director
Mr. Davey has over 25 years of experience within the digital media, sports, entertainment, leisure and gaming ecosystems, as well as experience in the public sector. He is an experienced public company executive officer and board member. He has served in executive management positions across the gaming technology arena. Over the course of Mr. Davey’s career, he oversaw more than ten mergers and acquisitions and over $1.2 billion in debt and equity capital raised to support the companies he has led.
Most recently, Mr. Davey was Chief Executive Officer of SG Digital, the Digital Division of Scientific Games Corp. (“Scientific Games”) (Nasdaq: SGMS). SG Digital was established following the purchase by Scientific Games of NYX Gaming Group Limited (“NYX”) (formerly TSXV: NYX), where Mr. Davey served as Chief Executive Officer and Director. The NYX acquisition provided Scientific Games with a vehicle to significantly accelerate the scale and breadth of its existing digital gaming business, including the strategic expansion into sports betting. In his capacity as Chief Executive Officer of NYX, Mr. Davey developed and implemented a corporate strategy that generated strong revenue growth. Mr. Davey shaped company strategy to focus on digital gaming supplier platforms and content that provided various gaming operators with the underlying gaming and sports betting systems for their online gaming business. In 2014, Mr. Davey oversaw the initial public offering of NYX, and his experience in the digital media, sports, entertainment, leisure and gaming industries helped NYX recognize momentum as a public company. After the public offering, from 2014 to 2018, Mr. Davey oversaw seven acquisitions which helped establish NYX as one of the fastest growing global B2B real-money digital gaming and sports betting platforms. These acquisitions included:
• OpenBet: In 2016, NYX completed the $385 million acquisition of OpenBet. This was one of the more complex and transformative acquisitions that Mr. Davey oversaw at NYX. Through securing co-investments from William Hill (LSE: WMH), Sky Betting & Gaming and The Stars Group (formerly Nasdaq: TSG, TSX: TSGI), Mr. Davey was able to get the acquisition from Vitruvian Partners completed successfully, winning the deal against much larger and well capitalized competitors. By combining two established and proven B2B betting and gaming suppliers, NYX was well positioned to provide customers with exciting player-driven solutions across all major product verticals and distribution channels. This allowed NYX to become the leading B2B omni-channel sportsbook platform in the market and the supplier to over 300 gaming operators globally with an extensive library of desktop and mobile game titles, including more than 700 on NYX platforms and more than 2,000 on the OpenBet platform.
• Cryptologic/Chartwell: In 2015, NYX completed the $119 million acquisition of Cryptologic and Chartwell. The acquisition provided NYX with more than 400 titles of additional leading gaming content, a broader customer base, and direct exposure to PokerStars and Intercasino, part of the Gamesys Group (LSE: GYS) — two of the world’s largest online casino offerings.
• OnGame: In 2014, NYX completed the distressed acquisition of OnGame, a premier poker content, platform and service provider. This acquisition provided NYX with one of the best poker products in the industry, access to several regulated jurisdictions, and a valuable talent pool that was instrumental in the growth of NYX. The addition of OnGame further established a path for NYX to continue its growth in both European and U.S. markets.
These acquisitions, together with meaningful organic growth, increased NYX’s revenue from $24 million in 2014 to $184 million annualized in 2017. During that time, Mr. Davey helped build NYX to have over 200 customers in the global gaming industry and a team of 1,000 employees. Mr. Davey’s success at NYX ultimately led to its sale to Scientific Games for $631 million in 2018.
Mr. Davey joined Next Gen Gaming, the predecessor to NYX, in 2000 as the Vice President of Technology, was appointed as Executive Director in 2003 and named Chief Executive Officer in 2005. Prior to that, he was the Senior Consultant for Access Systems, a company that specializes in the provision of back-end software for licensed online casinos. Prior to joining Access, Mr. Davey worked for the Northern Territory Government specializing in matters pertaining to the internet and e-commerce along with roles in the Department of Racing and Gaming. Mr. Davey received a Bachelor of Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Northern Territory University, Australia (also known as Charles Darwin University).
Robin Chhabra — President
Mr. Chhabra has been at the forefront of corporate acquisition activity within the digital gaming landscape for over a decade. His prior experience includes leading corporate strategy, M&A, and business development at two of the global leaders in the digital gaming industry, The Stars Group (“TSG”) and William Hill, and a leading supplier, Inspired Gaming Group (Nasdaq: INSE). Mr. Chhabra served on the Group Executive Committees of each of these companies. From 2017 to May 2020, Mr. Chhabra served as Chief Corporate Development Officer at TSG and, from 2019 to August 2020, he also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Fox Bet, a leading U.S. online gaming business which is the product of a landmark partnership between TSG and FOX Sports, a transaction which he led. During that period, Mr. Chhabra led several transactions which transformed TSG into the largest publicly listed online gambling operator in the world by both revenue and market capitalization and one of the most diversified from a product and geographic perspective with revenues of over $2.5 billion. Mr. Chhabra’s M&A experience is extensive and covers multiple global geographies across the digital gaming value chain and includes the following:
• TSG/Flutter Entertainment Merger: In 2019, Mr. Chhabra led the TSG M&A team that was responsible for TSG’s $12.2 billion merger with Flutter Entertainment (LSE: FLTR). The merger between TSG and Flutter Entertainment is the largest transaction in the digital gaming industry to date. The combination created the largest publicly listed online gaming company with approximately 13 million active customers and leading product offerings, which include sports betting, online casino, fantasy sports and poker. The combined entity includes some of the world’s most iconic digital gaming brands such as Fanduel, Fox Bet, Sky Bet, PaddyPower, Betfair, PokerStars and SportsBet. TSG/Flutter Entertainment is one of the most geographically diverse digital gaming and media companies with leading positions in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Germany and Georgia.
• TSG/Sky Betting and Gaming (“SBG”): In 2018, Mr. Chhabra led the acquisition of SBG from CVC Capital Partners and Sky plc, Europe’s largest media company, in a transaction valued at $4.7 billion. At the time of the acquisition SBG was the largest mobile gambling operator in the United Kingdom and one of the fastest growing of the major operators having doubled its online market share in three years. The acquisition of SBG provided TSG with (a) greater revenue diversification, significantly enhanced expertise and exposure to sports betting just ahead of the judicial overturn of The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) by the U.S. Supreme Court, (b) a leading position within the United Kingdom, the world’s largest regulated online gaming market, (c) improved products and technology as a result of the addition of SBG’s innovative casino and sports book offerings and a portfolio of popular mobile apps, and (d) expertise in deeply integrating sports betting with leading sports media companies, positioning TSG to create more engaging content, deliver faster growth and decrease customer acquisition costs.
• William Hill (LSE: WMH): At William Hill, from 2010 to 2017, Mr. Chhabra served as Group Director of Strategy and Corporate Development where he led several transactions which contributed to William Hill’s transformation from a land-based gambling operator in the United Kingdom to a leading online-led international business. Mr. Chhabra led William Hill’s entry into the U.S. sports betting and online lottery markets with the acquisition of four businesses, including the simultaneous acquisitions of three U.S. sportsbooks, Cal Neva, American Wagering and Brandywine Bookmaking, in 2011 for an aggregate purchase price of $55 million. These businesses ultimately led William Hill to achieve a leading position in the U.S. sports betting market with a market share of 24% in 2019. Additionally, Mr. Chhabra played a key role in structuring William Hill’s successful joint venture with PlayTech Plc (LSE: PTEC) in 2008. The combined entity created one of the largest online gambling businesses in Europe at the time of its formation and led to William Hill’s buyout of Playtech’s interest for $637 million in 2013. Prior to the transaction, William Hill had struggled in its attempt to establish a strong online gaming platform and a meaningful presence outside the United Kingdom.
Mr. Chhabra has also successfully completed four transactions worth over $1.2 billion in Australia, the world’s second largest regulated online gambling market, and various partnerships in Asia. Additionally, he completed several technology and media related transactions, including William Hill’s investment in NYX, where he worked with Mr. Davey on NYX’s transformational acquisition of OpenBet.
Prior to working in the gaming sector, Mr. Chhabra was an equities analyst and a management consultant. Mr. Chhabra received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Eric Matejevich — Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Matejevich is a seasoned gaming executive with extensive experience in both the online gaming and traditional casino industries. From February to August 2019, he served as Trustee and Interim-Chief Executive Officer of Ocean Casino Resort (“Ocean”) (formerly Revel Casino, which had a construction cost of $2.4 billion) in Atlantic City, where he successfully led the management team through an ownership change and operational turnaround effort. Over the course of seven months, Mr. Matejevich managed to reduce the property’s weekly cash burn of $1.5 million to an annualized cash flow run rate in excess of $20 million.
Prior to Ocean, from 2016 to 2018, Mr. Matejevich served as the Chief Financial Officer of NYX. At NYX, he focused his efforts on integrating the company’s many acquisitions and multiple debt refinancings to simplify its capital structure and provided liquidity for growth initiatives. Additionally, Mr. Matejevich was instrumental to the executive team that sold NYX to Scientific Games for $631 million.
Prior to NYX, from 2004 to 2014, Mr. Matejevich was the Chief Financial Officer of Resorts International Holdings and later, from 2011, also the Chief Operating Officer of the Atlantic Club Casino, a property under the Resorts International Holdings umbrella — a Colony Capital (NYSE: CLNY) entity. As Chief Financial Officer, he provided managerial oversight for all finance functions for a six-property casino company with annual gaming revenue exceeding $1.3 billion, 10,000 gaming positions, 7,000 hotel rooms and over 11,000 staff members during his tenure. Mr. Matejevich led the transition effort to integrate a four-casino, $1.3 billion acquisition from Harrah’s Entertainment and Caesars Entertainment (Nasdaq: CZR). As Chief Operating Officer of Atlantic Club, he lobbied for and was successful in obtaining the first internet gaming legislation passed in the United States. The Atlantic Club was the sole New Jersey casino proponent of the legislation.
Prior to serving in various gaming positions, Mr. Matejevich was a Vice President of High Yield Research for Merrill Lynch, where he managed the corporate bond research effort for the gaming and leisure sectors and marketed high yield and other debt transactions totaling $4.8 billion. Mr. Matejevich received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from The College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.
Our Board of Directors
Morris Bailey — Chairman
Over the past 10 years, Mr. Bailey has been a leader in turning around Atlantic City, as well as being among the first gaming executives to embrace online gaming and sports betting in the United States. In his efforts, Mr. Bailey partnered with two of the largest digital gaming companies in the world, PokerStars, part of the Stars Group, and DraftKings (Nasdaq: DKNG). In 2010, Mr. Bailey bought Resorts Atlantic City (“Resorts”) and initiated a comprehensive renovation which allowed for the property to be rebranded and repositioned. In 2012, Mr. Bailey signed an agreement with Mohegan Sun to manage the day-to-day operations of the casino. In addition to Mohegan Sun’s operational expertise and ability to reduce costs via economies of scale, Resorts gained access to their robust customer database. Soon thereafter, Mr. Bailey and his team focused on bringing online gaming to the property. In 2015, Resorts established a platform to engage in online gaming by partnering with PokerStars, now part of the $24 billion Flutter Entertainment, PLC (LSE: FLTR), to operate an online poker room in Atlantic City. In 2018, Resorts announced deals with DraftKings and SBTech to open a sportsbook on-property and online. For 2020 year-to-date, Resorts has performed in the top quartile in internet gross gaming revenue in New Jersey. Mr. Bailey’s efforts in New Jersey helped set the framework for expansion of online sports and gaming throughout the United States.
In addition to his gaming interests, Mr. Bailey has over 50 years of experience in all facets of real estate development, asset M&A, capital markets and operations and is the founder, Chief Executive Officer and Principal of JEMB Realty, a leading real estate development, investment and management organization. Mr. Bailey has notable investment experience within the energy, finance and telecommunications sectors through investments in the Astoria Energy Plant, Basis Investment Group and Xentris Wireless.
Tony Rodio — Director Nominee
Mr. Rodio has nearly four decades of experience in the gaming industry. Most recently, Mr. Rodio served as the Chief Executive Officer and director of Caesars Entertainment Corporation (“Caesars”) (Nasdaq: CZR), one of the world’s most diversified casino-entertainment providers and the most geographically diverse U.S. casino-entertainment company, from April 2019 until its acquisition by Eldorado Resorts, Inc. in July 2020. Mr. Rodio led Caesars through its $17.3 billion merger with Eldorado Resorts, one of the largest transactions in the gaming industry to date. Additionally, Mr. Rodio was instrumental to Caesars’ expansion into the digital gaming industry and oversaw the implementation of new digital segments such as its Scientific Games powered retail sportsbook solution that now operates in various states throughout the U.S. From October 2018 to May 2019, Mr. Rodio served as Chief Executive Officer of Affinity Gaming. Prior to Affinity Gaming, he served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Tropicana Entertainment, Inc. (“Tropicana”) for over seven years, where he was responsible for the operation of eight casino properties in seven different jurisdictions. During his time at Tropicana, Mr. Rodio oversaw a period of unprecedented growth at the company, improving overall financial results with net revenue that increased more than 50% driven by both operational improvements and expansion across regional markets. Mr. Rodio led major capital projects, including the complete renovation of Tropicana Atlantic City and Tropicana’s move to land-based operations in Evansville, Indiana. Each of these initiatives, among others, generated substantial value for Tropicana. Ultimately, Mr. Rodio’s efforts at Tropicana led to its sale to Eldorado Resorts in 2018 for $1.85 billion. Prior to Tropicana, Mr. Rodio held a succession of executive positions in Atlantic City for casino brands, including Trump Marina Hotel Casino, Harrah’s Entertainment (predecessor to Caesars), the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort and Penn National Gaming. He has also served as a director of several professional and charitable organizations, including Atlantic City Alliance, United Way of Atlantic County, the Casino Associations of New Jersey and Indiana, AtlantiCare Charitable Foundation and the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming Hospitality & Tourism. Mr. Rodio brings extensive knowledge of and experience in the gaming industry, operational expertise, and a demonstrated ability to effectively design and implement company strategy. Mr. Rodio received a Bachelor of Science from Rider University and a Master of Business Administration from Monmouth University.
Marlon Goldstein — Director Nominee
Mr. Goldstein is a licensed attorney with nearly 20 years of experience in the gaming space. He joined The Stars Group (Nasdaq: TSG)(TSX: TSGI) in January 2014 as its Executive Vice-President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary until his retirement from the company in July 2020 following the merger of TSG with Flutter Entertainment, PLC (LSE: FLTR). Mr. Goldstein also previously served as the Executive Vice-President, Corporate Development and General Counsel of TSG. Mr. Goldstein was also the senior TSG executive based in the United States and was one of the primary architects of TSG’s strategic vision for its U.S.-facing business. During his tenure, TSG grew from an approximately $500 million market-cap company to an approximately $7 billion market-cap company through a combination of organic growth and strategic mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Goldstein participated in numerous M&A transactions and capital markets offerings at TSG, including several transformational transactions in the digital gaming industry. Notable transactions in which Mr. Goldstein was involved include:
• TSG/Flutter Merger: In 2019, TSG merged with Flutter for a $12.2 billion transaction value, the largest transaction in the digital gaming industry to date.
• TSG/Fox Bet Partnership: In 2019, TSG entered into a partnership with FOX Sports to create FOX Bet in the U.S., a leading U.S. online gaming business. Wall Street Research estimates an approximate $1.1 billion valuation for Fox Bet post-partnership with The Stars Group.
• TSG/Sky Betting & Gaming: In 2018, TSG acquired Sky Betting & Gaming, the largest mobile gambling operator in the United Kingdom at the time, for $4.7 billion.
• TSG/CrownBet and William Hill: In 2018, TSG simultaneously acquired CrownBet and William Hill, two Australian operators, for a total of $621 million in a multi-part transaction.
• TSG/PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker: In 2014, TSG acquired The Rational Group, which operated PokerStars and Full Tilt and was the world’s largest poker business, for $4.9 billion.
Through his ability to legally structure large and complex transactions, Mr. Goldstein was integral to TSG’s vision of becoming a full-service online gaming company. Additionally, he assisted in structuring TSG’s capital markets activity, which generated liquidity for acquisitions and strengthened its balance sheet.
Prior to joining TSG, Mr. Goldstein was a principal shareholder in the corporate and securities practice at the international law firm of Greenberg Traurig P.A., where he practiced for almost 13 years. Mr. Goldstein’s practice focused on corporate and securities matters, including mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, and financing transactions. Additionally, Mr. Goldstein was the founder and co-chair of the firm’s Gaming Practice, a multi-disciplinary team of attorneys representing owners, operators and developers of gaming facilities, manufacturers and suppliers of gaming devices, investment banks and lenders in financing transactions, and Indian tribes in the development and financing of gaming facilities.
Mr. Goldstein brings experience and insight that we believe will be valuable to a potential initial business combination target business. Mr. Goldstein received a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in accounting from Emory University and a Juris Doctorate with highest honors from the University of Florida, College of Law.
Sean Ryan — Director Nominee
Mr. Ryan is a digital media and technology operator with extensive global experience in online payments, e-commerce, marketplaces, mobile ad networks, digital games, enterprise collaboration platforms, blockchain, real money gaming and online music. Since 2014, Mr. Ryan has been serving as Vice President of Business Platform Partnerships at Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) (Nasdaq: FB), where he leads a more than 500 person global organization that manages the Payments, Commerce, Novi/Blockhain, Workplace and Audience Network businesses. Prior to his current role, Mr. Ryan was hired in 2011 as the Director of Games Partnerships to lead and grow the global Games business at Facebook. While the Director of Games Partnerships, Mr. Ryan focused on re-shaping Facebook’s games and monetization strategies to derive more value for Facebook, its users and its partners, including the addition of a Real Money Gaming offering in regulated markets. Mr. Ryan’s team helped accelerate a major trend in engagement through cross-platform games and therefore the opportunity to increase users through establishing games on multiple platforms. Prior to joining Facebook, Mr. Ryan created the new social and mobile games division at News Corp, an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by Rupert Murdoch. While at News Corp, Mr. Ryan led the acquisition of Making Fun, a San Francisco social-game start-up, that created News Corp’s games publishing division.
Before joining News Corp., Mr. Ryan founded multiple digital businesses such as Twofish, Meez, Open Wager and SingShot Media. Mr. Ryan co-founded Twofish in 2009, a virtual goods and services platform that provided developers with data analytics and insights for individual application’s digital economies. Twofish was later sold to online payments provider Live Gamer, where Mr. Ryan served on the board of directors. From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Ryan founded and led Meez.com, a social entertainment service combining avatars, web games and virtual worlds. The white label social casino gaming company Open Wager was spun out of Meez and was later sold to VGW Holdings, Mr. Ryan also co-founded SingShot Media, an online karaoke community, which was sold to Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: EA) and merged into its Sims division.
We believe Mr. Ryan’s experience will be valuable to a potential initial business combination target and would provide an expanded perspective on the digital gaming landscape. Mr. Ryan received a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Tom Roche — Director Nominee
Mr. Roche has more than 40 years of experience in the gaming industry as a regulator, advisor and independent auditor. Mr. Roche joined Ernst & Young (“EY”) as a partner in 2003 and opened its Las Vegas office. He was subsequently appointed as the Office Managing Partner and Global Gaming Industry Market Leader. In 2016, Mr. Roche relocated to the EY Hong Kong office to supervise the expansion of the EY Global Gaming Industry practice in the Asia Pacific region. Mr. Roche has been integral to numerous transactions that have shaped the current gaming landscape, including:
• Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN) initial public offering: Mr. Roche was the lead partner on Wynn Resort’s initial public offering, which raised $450 million in 2002.
• Harrah’s Entertainment/Apollo Management Group & Texas Pacific Group: Mr. Roche headed the regulatory advisory services on the buyout of Harrah’s Entertainment, the world’s largest casino company at the time, for $17.1 billion.
• Dubai World/MGM Resorts: Mr. Roche headed the regulatory and due diligence advisory services to Dubai World in its approximately $5.1 billion investment in MGM. Dubai World bought 28.4 million MGM shares, or 9.5 percent of the casino operator, for $2.4 billion. It then invested $2.7 billion to acquire a 50% stake in MGM’s CityCenter Project, a $7.4 billion 76-acre Las Vegas development of hotels, condos and retail outlets.
• MGM Growth Properties (NYSE: MGP) initial public offering: Mr. Roche provided tax and structural transaction services to MGM Resorts in the creation of MGM Growth Properties, a publicly traded REIT engaged in the acquisition, ownership and leasing of large-scale destination entertainment and leisure resorts. MGM Growth Properties raised $1.05 billion in its 2016 initial public offering.
Mr. Roche also directed EY advisory services to boards and management teams for profit improvement and technology related initiatives. In addition, Mr. Roche provided advisory support to the American Gaming Association on several research projects, including those specifically related to sports betting, the revocation of The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) and anti-money laundering best practices in the gaming industry. Equally, he has assisted government agencies in numerous international locations with enhancing their regulatory approach to governing the industry especially in the online gambling sector.
Prior to joining Ernst & Young, Mr. Roche served as Deloitte’s National Gaming Industry Leader and as the co-head of Andersen’s Gaming Industry Practice in Las Vegas. In 1989, Mr. Roche was appointed by then Governor of the State of Nevada, Robert Miller, to serve as one of three members of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board for a four-year term, where he was directly responsible for the Audit and New Games Lab Divisions. As a board member, he spent a substantial amount of time assisting global jurisdiction regulators enact gaming legislation in the design of their regulatory structure. During his career, Roche has been involved in numerous public and private offerings of equity and debt securities. His background includes providing casino regulatory consulting services to casino licensees and to federal and state agencies including the National Indian Gaming Commission and the Nevada State Gaming Control Board, and industry associations such as the Nevada Resort Association and the American Gaming Association.
We believe Mr. Roche’s highly regarded reputation as a gaming auditor and advisor in the gaming industry will be valuable for us and a potential business combination target. Mr. Roche is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and is licensed by the Nevada State Board of Accountancy and Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Southern California.

Even if the Legion were to win the Second Battle of Hoover Dam and conquer the Mojave Wasteland, they'd merely be buying themselves a little extra time and simply stall their inevitable demise. Note that the following analysis assumes that the Legion won the Second Battle of Hoover Dam and that the Courier died in Goodsprings.
To start off this analysis, let's begin with a run-down of the respective weapons, equipment and gear of the respective ranks of the NCR and the Legion going into the Second Battle of Hoover Dam. Beginning with the NCR garrison at Hoover Dam. The NCR Trooper comprises the core of the Republic's colossal armies and is the prime component of the NCR Army. A superb combination of volunteers and conscripts whose degrees of training, motivation, combat experience and access to equipment vary across the ranks, they're some of the most disciplined, most professional soldiers in all of the Wastes.
They're outfitted with modern military-grade ballistic vests that offer excellent protection against small arms fire, shrapnel and melee weapons alongside steel helmets. The NCR Army battalion that's stationed at Hoover Dam in particular is fully comprised of battle-hardened, fully-trained volunteer veteran NCR Troopers that are armed with 5.56 × .45mm NATO Marksman Carbines, 5mm Assault Rifles, 12-gauge Riot Shotguns and .308 Sniper Rifles to supplement their standard-issued 5.56 × .45mm NATO Service Rifles.
The NCR Patrol Ranger is one of the finest, most elite warriors in both the NCR military and the Wastelands, overall. Having survived a brutal training regimen that's so ludicrously difficult that 8-out-of-10 aspiring recruits wash-out, these purely volunteer harbingers of death have little to no equals in terms of skill, fighting prowess and strength.
They're outfitted with a suit of hand-made First-Generation Combat sporting a knife sheath, a hydration pouch and spiked spurs for unarmed combat that is impervious to any and all small arms fire, shrapnel and melee attacks. They're armed with 5.56 × .45mm NATO Marksman Carbines, .308 Sniper Rifles and .44 Magnum Trail Carbines.
The NCR Heavy Trooper is not only the elite heavy shock infantry of the NCR Army, but is also the proverbial sledgehammer through which the Republic may crush its enemies and obliterate all that may threaten its values.
Having earned their distinctive armor through immense sacrifice in blood, sweat and most of their young lives, they're the absolute best-trained, best-equipped, most battle-hardened, most professional, most skilled, most fanatically-devoted warriors in the whole of the NCR Armed Forces (rivaled only by the legendary NCR Veteran Rangers). Warriors that are more than willing to fight to their absolute last breath in defense of the Republic and all that it represents.
They're outfitted with NCR Salvaged Power Armor, suits of T-45d Power Armor that were captured from the Brotherhood of Steel during the Brotherhood War that have had their joint servomotors removed and their back-mounted power cylinders replaced with custom-built energy modules and built-in air-conditioning units so that Power Armor Training wouldn't be needed to wear them.
And while they're no longer legitimate suits of Power Armor in that they're no longer powered, they're still some of the absolute best and most protective suits of armor within the Republic's entire mammoth arsenal. Completely invulnerable to all but the most powerful conventional firearms, highly-advanced energy weapons, specialized ammunition and high-powered explosives, they can truly absorb Hellish amounts of punishment. They're armed with 5.56 × .45mm NATO Light Machine Guns, 5mm Miniguns, Heavy Incinerators, Flamers and Missile Launchers (albeit rarely).
The NCR Veteran Ranger is a living, breathing legend walking amongst the ruins and ashes of the Old World, drawing inspiration and hope from soldiers and citizens of the Republic as well as fear and terror from enemies and all those who dare to oppose the NCR.
Fabled for their unmatched fighting prowess, envied for their flawlessly unequalled marksmanship technique, feared for their unrivaled warfighting skills, awe-inspiring for their unsurpassed pugilist talent and legendary for their innate mastery over hardcore survivalist skills, the NCR Veteran Rangers are the absolute finest, best-trained, most battle-hardened, most professional, most skilled, most-elite and all-around most bad-ass warriors in not only the entire history of the Republic military, but also the whole of the Western Wastes, as well.
Centurions and Praetorian Guards of Caesar's Legion, Knights and Paladins of the Brotherhood of Steel and even the Republic's very own NCR Heavy Troopers have learned to shudder in terror and fear at the mere mention of the mythical phenoms of the Wastelands that are the NCR Veteran Rangers
These fabled guardian angels of the Republic are outfitted with the equally legendary Black Armor, a hyper-advanced suit of Third-Generation Combat Armor consisting of a highly-flexible vest of incredibly-rigid high-impact armored plating with adjustable straps on both the sides and the shoulders and a built-in throat protector that's mounted on the vest.
Combined with the state-of-the-art rounded-shell ballistic helmet sporting built-in lamps and infrared/visible light projectors as well as the complimentary highly-sophisticated armored mask with built-in low-light optics, an incorporated locking mechanism that joins the mask itself with the helmet shell, ear covers with built-in membranes that confer additional protection without inhibiting the wearer's hearing and built-in air filters, the mythical Black Armor is well-deserving of its stellar reputation.
As you can see, the NCR's forces are extremely heavily-armed, well-equipped and armed to the teeth with the absolute latest in top-of-the-line, high-powered firearms and state-of-the-art, highly-sophisticated energy weapons as well as superbly well-protected with an abundance of different varieties of military-grade body armors with varying degrees of effectiveness and even Salvaged Power Armor.
Now it's time for an evaluation of the Legion's weapons and technology. The Recruit Legionary is the primary foot soldier of Caesar's army and comprises the vast majority of the Legion's ranks. Trained and conditioned from before they could walk to become the perfect warriors, Recruit Legionaries are incredibly well-conditioned and in phenomenal physical shape, owing to a savagely intense training regimen that even the NCR Rangers would envy. Despite said conditioning, however, they're still the equivalent of literal cannon fodder with little-to-no actual skill in firearms usage and maintenance.
They're outfitted with a suit of makeshift featherweight armor that consists of sports equipment with bits and pieces of scrap metal atop a cloth tunic that's all lashed together with leather straps. An armor that's so weak that it couldn't even protect its wearer against the likes of a straight razor.
They're armed primarily with a "Machete" (what's really a lawnmower blade that's lashed to a stick) and "Throwing Spears" (what's really even bigger sticks with pieces of sharpened scrap metal fastened and jabbed into the tips), though they can rarely get their hands on firearms (albeit damn near broken ones) such as .357 Magnum Revolvers, .357 Magnum Cowboy Repeaters, 9mm Pistols, 20-gauge Single Shotguns, 20-gauge Caravan Shotguns, 5.56 × .45mm NATO Varmint Rifles and 10mm Pistols.
The Prime Legionary is the centerpiece of the Legion's fighting force and the core component of any Legion formation. Having survived 5 years in Caesar's forces, a remarkable accomplishment in and of itself, Prime Legionaries are no longer mere cannon fodder but are now the main frontline fighting force of the Legion. With the accompanying improvement in weapons and equipment as well as adequate firearms skills to make the promotion that much sweeter.
They're outfitted with the exact same armor as before, only with a slight improvement in protection. It still can't protect the wearer from shit, however. They're armed with the standard-issued "Machetes" and "Throwing Spears" though they also have much better access to more advanced weapons than before.
Melee weapons, such as Machete Gladius', Power Fists and Chainsaws, and firearms (of decent quality), such as 10mm SMGs, 12-gauge Sawn-Off Shotguns .44 Magnum Revolvers and .308 Hunting Rifles are all available to them in significant quantities.
The Veteran Legionary is the oldest, most experienced, most elite warrior within the lesser ranks of the Legion and is also the precise scalpel to the blunt, destructive warhammer of the Recruit and Prime Legionaries.
Having survived a full decade in Caesar's service, a monumental achievement in its own right, Veteran Legionaries are the elite rapid reaction force of the Legion that's tasked with neutralizing particularly tough adversaries that their lesser counterparts can't defeat and typically remain in reserve until otherwise needed for tipping the scales of a pivotal battle or campaign in the Legion's favor.
As they're the oldest Legionaries (a lot of whom have been with Caesar since day 1), they're also the most experienced, most capable Legionaries who are in their absolute prime in regards to martial prowess and physical resilience. They're second only to Centurions in terms of skill and experience, which is reflected in their improved access to superior weapons and equipment. They can also use and maintain firearms with frightening levels of efficiency.
They're outfitted with the same armor as before, though with even better protection. Still couldn't protect you from anything meaningful, though. They're armed with the usual standard kit in addition to melee weapons such as Fire Axes and Power Fists as well as firearms (of mint condition and with virtually unlimited access to) such as .44 Magnum Revolvers, .308 Hunting Rifles, 5.56 × .45mm NATO Marksman Carbines and 12.7mm SMGs.
The Decanus of the Legion is the lesser officer beneath the Centurion and is responsible for tactical small-unit operations and squad-level leadership. While not too different from ordinary Legionaries in terms of skill, equipment and even appearance, they still have slightly better access to weapons hence they deserve a separate segment.
Recruit Decanii can get access to 9mm SMGs and 10mm SMGs unlike Recruit Legionaries, Prime Decanii aren't any different from Prime Legionaries and Veteran Decanii can get access to 12.7mm Pistols unlike Veteran Legionaries (not a real improvement, I know). Everything else is exactly the same.
The Centurion is the absolute apex of the Legion's strength and the top field commanders of Caesar's armies, second in authority only to Legate Lanius and Caesar himself amongst a tiny select few of other superiors.
Having survived 15-20 years of a long, arduous life of fighting in Caesar's name (a completely unimaginable phenomenon, indeed) before finally earning the treasured armor of the Centurion (which they can decorate with the trophies of their fallen enemies at their leisure), Centurions are the absolute most elite, most skilled, most battle-hardened and ultimately the most dangerous warriors in the entirety of the Legion.
To even BEGIN to qualify for Centurion status, one must have fought in and survived numerous Legion campaigns as well as slain countless opponents in battle alongside the time requirement. All to ensure that only the finest of Caesar's warriors ever reach that level of authority in his Legion.
As the oldest, most experienced warriors in Caesar's army, the Centurions comprise the old guard of Caesar's army, most of them having served their lord since the very beginning. Their status all but ensures that they're reserved for only the absolute deadliest, most lethal of assignments that even Veteran Legionaries can't handle. They're ultimately only deployed if absolutely necessary.
In order to ensure that his Centurions can both accomplish their missions without even the slightest chance of failure and protect themselves without difficulty, Caesar has granted them unlimited access to the absolute finest weapons in his Legion's arsenal and has seen to it that they have acquired the absolute sharpest firearms skills that money can buy as a corresponding reward for their reaching Centurion status.
They're outfitted with Centurion armor which, while legendary amongst the Legion, really isn't that special. It's actually just Veteran Legionary armor with some cool decorations on it at the end of day.
Pieces of T-45d Power Armor on the right arm, the sleeve from a suit of NCR Ranger Patrol Armor and the pauldrons from an Armored Vault Suit on the left arm, the boots and shin guards from a suit of First-Generation Combat Armor on the lower legs, the crotch/thigh guards from a suit of NCR Ranger Patrol Armor on the upper legs, gloves from a suit of Leather Armor on the hands and a Super Mutant Brute chestplate on the torso, to be exact.
Realistically speaking, Centurion armor would be just about useless against virtually any weapon in the NCR's arsenal. Even a single 5.56 × .45mm NATO round fired from a basic Service Rifle would most certainly do the job, flawlessly.
They're armed with basic melee weapons such as Machete Gladius' and Chainsaws as well as high-tech melee weapons such as Thermic Lances (which are actually just repurposed metalworking tools) and Super Sledges in addition to powerful firearms such as .308 Hunting Rifles, 12-gauge Hunting Shotguns, 5.56 x .45mm NATO Marksman Carbines and even .50 BMG Anti-Materiel Rifles (albeit rarely).
Now we must now examine what will inevitably be a huge problem for the Legion even if they were to win the Second Battle of Hoover Dam. The Legion, even though it does in fact have access to some top-of-the-line weapons, only has them in an extremely limited capacity and strictly reserves them for only the highest-ranking, most elite Legion forces and field commanders.
The overwhelming bulk of the Legion's troops have little-to-no real firearms and what pitifully little that they can get their hands on are in extremely piss-poor condition. Not that it would matter, considering the fact that they don't have the proper training that's necessary to actually use them, much less maintain them.
The vast majority of Caesar's troops rely almost entirely on primitive makeshift melee weapons and their own martial prowess to fight their battles, which inevitably means that the Legion has to avoid direct engagement with NCR forces, instead relying on subterfuge and guerilla warfare to combat the Republic.
And it gets even worse for the Legion when one considers that the higher that its troops advance up the totem pole, the fewer Legionaries that it finds at the higher levels. A direct consequence of the Legion's overprioritization of quality and individual skill in combat is that it inevitably results in an extremely small cadre of elite warriors and field commanders surrounded by a sea of lesser soldiers and officers.
Combined with the fact that the Legion is only 34 years-old by the events of F:NV (meaning that even if one were to ignore things like inevitable attrition all throughout the Legion's war-filled history of expansion and conquest, they still wouldn't have that many Veteran Legionaries/Decanii and Centurions) as well as the fact that attrition over the years must be taken into account (the First Battle of Hoover Dam and the Legion's invasion of Colorado alone absolutely devastated their elite ranks), it's only obvious that the Legion's elite forces are relatively puny.
Furthermore, we know for a fact that there's enough Veteran Legionaries/Decanii for them to form a few of their own exclusive Centuria (a Century is 80-men-strong, I might add), with the Red Okie Centuria being a prime example of this. This definitely suggests that the Legion has at least a couple hundred Veteran Legionaries/Decanii at its disposal. As for Centurions, it's a little known fact that they're so incredibly rare in the Legion that they're actually explicitly ordered to not enter combat until absolutely necessary (i.e self-defense or if they're ordered into battle by a superior).
This, along with the fact that they're never really seen in any meaningful numbers in-game until the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, strongly suggests that there might only be at most several dozen Centurions in the whole of the Legion (there definitely wouldn't be over 100 of them). Either way, however, the Legion's elite forces are so pathetically tiny that they couldn't possibly justify the Legion having any meaningful amount of high-end weaponry.
The NCR, on other hand, doesn't have these problems as 1. the NCR prioritizes protection and firepower above all else for their forces and 2. even their most basic troops have exclusive access to essentially unlimited supplies of all manner of firearms and explosives as well as highly superb protection in the form of military-grade body armor.
Meaning that the NCR not only has a hopelessly insurmountable edge in firepower, technology and protection over the Legion, but that soldiers of the NCR also have a far higher life expectancy than their Legion counterparts, as well. All but ensuring that the NCR has a vastly higher volume of surviving battle-hardened combat veterans relative to the Legion that enables for the Republic to easily distribute extremely invaluable, ultimately irreplaceable combat experience and lessons learned in battle across the entirety of their military to a far greater extent than the Legion.
Scores of battle-hardened NCR Troopers that distinguish themselves on the battlefield go on to enlist with the NCR Rangers upon receiving an invitation to do so (fun fact: the vast majority of NCR Ranger recruits and even NCR Rangers themselves are/were NCR Troopers who earned their new status while serving in the NCR Army), earn the coveted Salvaged Power Armor and become NCR Heavy Troopers or earn promotions to positions of authority in the NCR Army (prime examples being Colonel Cassandra Moore and Colonel James Hsu). All of the above information will have colossal long-term consequences for the Legion, at the end of the day.
With that out of the way, let's move on to the main argument itself. The most positive estimates of the Legion's total numbers and military strength would be at best 5,000-8,000 troops. Then we must take into account the fact that the Legion is going to suffer massive losses (easily numbering into the thousands) taking Hoover Dam from the NCR as the NCR garrison here is extremely well-defended, well-supplied and heavily-fortified by both an entire battalion of elite, battle-hardened NCR Troopers and God only knows how many NCR Patrol Rangers, NCR Heavy Troopers and NCR Veteran Rangers.
Combined with the fact that General Oliver's Compound is extremely well-defended with force fields, a turret system, NCR Veteran Rangers, NCR Heavy Troopers, elite NCR Troopers and an absolute labyrinth that's filled to the brim with all manner of booby traps ranging from rigged shotguns, bear traps and mines of all types to grenade bouquets and overhanging objects (and given that you see a pile of fresh Legionary and Centurion corpses at your feet whenever you enter the Compound during the "Veni, Vidi, Vici" quest it's more than safe to assume that Legion casualties will be extremely massive just securing this area alone), this only serves to bolster my claim that thousands of the Legion's troops will perish at Hoover Dam even if they were to take it.
With only a mere fraction of their original number (that 5,000-8,000 will have been massively depleted after the Second Battle of Hoover Dam), now the Legion has to set out and secure the rest of the Mojave Wasteland, which will prove to be completely impossible over time. The Legion will find next to no tribes to assimilate as they exterminate the Powder Gangers, Fiends, Vipers, Jackals and the Kings in all of their endings.
And while the Legion still has the Great Khans and the Boomers, they won't help much. The Great Khans are down to little more than a pitiful rag-tag band of holdouts after both their ass-whipping at the hands of Mr. House and their decimation at Bitter Springs by the NCR. A fact that only gets worse when we subtract the women and female children (breeding stock), the elderly, the sick and the disabled (killed off immediately) as well as mention the fact that the Frumentarius Karl does say in his journal that the Legion would have to decimate most of the tribe, anyways. Meaning that the Legion will at most get a couple paltry handful of warriors from them.
As for the Boomers (assuming that the "Volare!" quest isn't completed) will prove to be more than a huge cost than a real benefit to the Legion. The Boomers' artillery alone would kill hundreds, if not thousands, of Legionaries with the Boomers themselves, armed to the teeth with Missile Launchers, Fat Mans, Grenade Machine Guns, Grenade Launchers, Grenade Rifles, 5.56 x 45mm. Marksman Carbines and 5mm Assault Carbines in addition to Mr. Gutsy combat robots and Sentry Bots, killing hundreds and even thousands more before the Legion finally conquer them.
Also consider that the Boomers, who worship their artillery and weapons with a near religious reverence, will by no means let their weapons fall into the hands of savages. Thus we could easily see them sabotaging their artillery (how hard would it be to load an artillery shell and lob a frag grenade down the barrel, after all?; and given that the Boomers only have 3-4 artillery pieces it wouldn't take long to do) and munitions stockpiles (just a few bricks of C4 could easily destroy all of the Boomers' weapons and ammunition supplies) to keep them out of Legion hands, which only adds insult to injury.
Even worse for the Legion is that when we subtract those Boomers that died in battle (most likely all of the adult males), the women and female children, the elderly, sick and disabled the Legion will have only a handful of male children to their name (remember that the Boomers are a really puny tribe that depend entirely on their firepower to survive) which means that they will have achieved nothing despite their massive losses incurred from conquering Nellis Air Force Base.
Then we also consider the fact that the Legion doesn't enslave civilized communities or Independent Towns unless under extraordinary circumstances (as evidenced by Siri over at the Fort who hailed from an Independent Town in New Mexico and was a medical student there prior to its destruction by the Legion).
Of course, it wouldn't matter as even if they did, the entire New Vegas area is completely evacuated by the NCR in the event of a Legion victory at Hoover Dam as evidenced by Arcade Gannon's Legion ending where he's convinced to remain in Freeside (all of Freeside, North Vegas, Westside, East Vegas and the Strip, which is really just a resort for NCR tourists rather than an actual community, are evacuated with those few that don't make it out, Arcade included, being killed by the Legion).
And when we consider that Nelson was butchered, Camp Searchlight irradiated and Nipton destroyed by the Legion with Goodsprings being left alone and Primm just falling under Legion authority (no point in enslaving the town anyways considering how it's just one big retirement home alongside Goodsprings which is also evacuated by all save a few old, stubborn folks) then it's blatantly clear that the Legion will have very few civilized people left to enslave.
With an even smaller fraction of survivors thanks to their conquest of Nellis AFB (in addition to hundreds more casualties against the Mojave Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel, the Kings and what's left of House's Securitron police force and the Chairmen) the Legion will soon realize its folly and discover that both holding the Mojave Wasteland and continuing their advance West is literally impossible.
The Legion's logistical situation and acquisition of supplies will soon prove to be an insurmountable nightmare within mere weeks of their occupation of the Mojave. The loss of Nipton, Camp Searchlight and Nelson will serve to severely hamstring the Legion's logistics with the eventual deaths of New Vegas, Primm and Goodsprings only complicating the Legion's supply lines even further.
As 99% of the Strip's revenue comes from NCR tourists and soldiers on leave and given how the Legion will most likely tear down the casinos and ban whores, booze, chems and gambling under Caesar's law, the Strip will eventually shrivel up and die due to loss of revenue. North Vegas, East Vegas, Westside, Freeside, Primm and Goodsprings, which are entirely dependent on Republic trade and commerce for survival, will eventually suffer the same fate as NCR trade and business abandon the region out of both fear and hatred for the Legion.
Especially after the Legion's successful assassination of President Kimball which will see him martyred and ensure that the NCR will cut off all ties to the fallen Mojave Wasteland. With all of the Mojave's communities and towns dying off, the Legion's supply lines will crumble and face imminent collapse within only a few months time (Hoover Dam isn't a viable supply route as while it does allow the Legion to cross the Colorado River in force it's just too far to provide adequate, long-term support) which will only serve to doom the Legion's occupation of the Mojave Wasteland.
We must also take into account that the Legion will need every last man, Denarius and resource at its disposal if it so much as hopes to hold the region and continue the advance West. Which will force Caesar to relinquish the Legion's entire empire East of the Colorado in order to do so. In Legate Lanius’ own words, the Legion's expansion campaigns in the East have been faltering badly as Caesar's obsession with Hoover Dam, New Vegas and the West has seen the Legion's full strength syphoned off towards Hoover Dam as part of Caesar's plan to overrun Hoover Dam, conquer New Vegas and eventually invade the West.
Imagine the Hell that the Legion will have trying to secure the Mojave Wasteland, which will prove to be so bad that the Legion heartlands will have to be left defenseless, lawless and chaotic just to even begin to make such an ambitious feat even remotely feasible. Some would probably argue that Caesar would surely never abandon the East just for the tiniest, southernmost tip of Nevada and just one little city but I'd advise you to reconsider.
Caesar explicitly states that while the Legion does have their own cities back East, NONE OF THEM are ANYTHING like New Vegas. Why is that such a big deal, one might ask? It's simple, really. While the Mojave Wasteland was relatively untouched by the nuclear holocaust that was the Great War, thanks to the quick and decisive actions of Robert Edwin House, New Vegas is at best a total dump and at worst an absolute shithole.
Filled to the brim with disease, essentially overrun with Raiders, bandits and common criminals of all stripes, absolutely crushed beneath the iron heel of a colossal drug-addiction crisis, bursting at the seams with abject misery and poverty and rampant with starvation, New Vegas is without a doubt little more than a massive dumpster fire.
Things are so bad in that cursed place that you actually have children chasing rats in the streets just to survive, locals constantly complaining about hunger pains and withdrawals and scum ranging from the Fiends to random little hooligan punks constantly ransacking the place.
Westside, the South Vegas ruins, East Vegas, North Vegas and Freeside are all Hellish nightmares that are almost completely hopeless causes, at the end of the day. Even if one takes into account the diamond in the rock, the New Vegas Strip, you still wouldn't find many reasons to be impressed.
What you have is a tiny wealthy resort community that still looks like a dump (though it's still a major improvement from the rest of New Vegas), has highly dilapidated infrastructure (the Tops Casino still has a giant hole on the side of the building) and is surrounded by a wall that's held together with spit, grit and a whole lotta' duct tape.
And while the Strip is safe, orderly and prosperous by the standards of the Mojave Wasteland (a very shit standard, I might add), it's ultimately a very terrible place by the standards of the rest of the post-apocalyptic world (i.e. NCR territory and lands under Legion control). If Legion cities can't even match the standards of that shithole, what does that say about Caesar's willingness to hold them? Especially in light of what he'd be gaining in return?
Furthermore, Caesar often tends to view himself as a mere barbaric king of the Gauls, with his Legion being nothing but one big nomadic tribe of savages without a true home or purpose in his eyes, which is extremely depressing. Caesar sees New Vegas as a true city, a true capital, a true home for both himself and his Legion, a true Rome that he can rule over and could preside over a true empire in. And the West as that very true empire that he so desperately relishes.
Do you honestly believe that Caesar wouldn't trade his current empire (which he clearly holds in very low esteem and almost regrets ever conquering it) for his new Rome and a stepping stone towards eventually conquering his new Roman Empire (the stepping stone being the Mojave Wasteland)? He'd trade the whole of the East for New Vegas and the Mojave Wasteland in a heartbeat and in doing so will seal the Legion's fate and imminent doom.
With the Legion having completely relinquished the East (and therefore cutting themselves off from their resource base, source of revenue/income and escape route, in the process) their supply lines and logistical network in chaos and having absolutely no source of replenishment and reinforcements for their ranks, the Legion will slowly but surely disintegrate, trapped in a permanent holding pattern in the Mojave that'll bleed them dry and drain them of all their resources.
The NCR, meanwhile, will have simply dug in at the Mojave Outpost and fortified their defenses there. They'd have most certainly brought in the 3 VB-02 Vertibirds (which are armed with Gatling Lasers, Missile Launcher racks and Mini Nuke Launchers and outfitted with heavy armor) that were conducting combat air patrols of the NCR military base just a few miles away from the Mojave Outpost.
Far from stopping there, however, Colonel Royez (who's outfitted with the Scorched Sierra Power Armor which is a fully-operational suit of heavily-modified T-45d Power Armor upgraded with onboard medical systems capable of healing any injury and an improved back-mounted power pack from a suit of T-51b Power Armor that will be capable of resisting nearly all of the Legion's weapons and armed with a Plasma Caster chock full of overcharged Microfusion Cells so incredibly strong that it can kill a lvl. 50 Courier in Power Armor with just 2-3 hits!) and his men (NCR Heavy Troopers armed to the teeth with Gatling Lasers, Plasma Casters and Tesla Cannons as well as NCR Troopers armed with Tri-Beam Laser Rifles, Multiplas Rifles, Laser Rifles and Plasma Rifles) will also redeployed there from the same military camp, as well.
Republic artillery pieces can also be deployed there to help bolster the outpost's defenses, as well. A massive network of bunkers, pillboxes and trenches all along the hill below the outpost as well as machine gun nests, sniper nests, minefields and razorwire can also be established to further enhance the impregnable defensive perimeter of the new frontline. Once all of this is done, the NCR will then proceed to flood the outpost with tens of thousands of NCR Troopers, NCR Heavy Troopers, NCR Veteran Rangers
And when coupled with the fact that the Mojave Outpost is atop a high hill, is flanked by mountain ranges on both sides (which will completely prevent the Legion from attacking its flanks and rear), is right on the border with fully-controlled Republic territory (which will make it impossibly easy to keep well-supplied and will also ensure that Republic reinforcements are plentiful and easily available) and the fact that one could see everything up to Primm and Nipton from the Mojave Outpost (that particular area is also wide-open, completely exposed and lacks any real cover which means that any Legion force of any meaningful size would be spotted from miles away day or night which in turn will prevent Legion surprise attacks), the Mojave Outpost will truly become a 100% impregnable fortress.
To make things even worse for the Legion, there's absolutely no bypassing the Mojave Outpost either as the only areas that can allow such a short cut around the Long 15 are completely and literally impassable. The Big Empty is often described as a wall to any living thing approaching it, the Divide is little more than a death trap and is completely avoided by the Legion for obvious reasons and Death Valley is so inhospitable that even the NCR, with its fleet of military cargo trucks and Vertibirds, flat out avoids that area out of habit.
Any army stupid enough to try and cross through these areas will not return alive under any circumstances. Which in turn ensures that only through the Long 15 can the Legion hope to invade the West and given that the Mojave Outpost is purely impenetrable and that the Mojave Wasteland is completely entrapped with mountains and the Colorado River, the Legion will be completely trapped in the Mojave Wasteland and will never be freed from their holding pattern there.
The NCR simply bides its time and let's the Legion wear itself out and tear itself apart trying to hold the Mojave Wasteland, occasionally fending off Legion assaults on the Mojave Outpost whilst inflicting heavy losses on the Legion, launching several limited-scale offensives here and there so as to deplete the Legion's ranks even further and deploying NCR Veteran Rangers into the Mojave Wasteland so as to ambush Legion supply caravans and patrols to worsen the Legion's logistical nightmare.
After almost a year, the Legion will finally be vulnerable, it's forces stretched absolutely thin down to their absolute breaking point, their supply lines and logistics completely exhausted and expended alongside their supplies as a whole, the Legion's ranks reduced to little more than a tiny skeleton crew, the Legion completely scattered across the entire Mojave Wasteland unable to guard it or defend it any longer and the Colorado River at its back, with absolutely no way of escaping their inevitable demise.
At this moment, the NCR finally attacks with a full-scale assault across the entirety of the Mojave, completely and utterly destroying the Legion in its entirety and killing/capturing Caesar himself as Republic forces swarm across New Vegas and wipe out his Legion all around him within mere hours, days if the Legion is lucky. And so the NCR-Legion War finally draws to a close, with the back of the Legion broken forever and ceasing to exist.
Either way the Legion is fucked with a Legion defeat at the Second Battle of Hoover Dam being a mercy killing at best for the Legion.
(Sources are down below in the comments section).

It could be the best in terms of anything
Paul Newman: The Hustler, Cool Hand Luke, Exodus, From the Terrace, Paris Blues, Hud, Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man, Sweet Bird of Youth, Harper, Lady L, Hombre, Torn Curtain, Winning, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Secret War of Harry Frigg, The Prize, What a Way to Go!, The Outrage, and A New Kind of Love.
Gregory Peck: To Kill a Mockingbird, Mackenna's Gold, The Chairman, Cape Fear, Captain Newman, M.D., How the West Was Won, Behold a Pale Horse, Marooned, Mirage, Arabesque, The Stalking Moon, and The Guns of Navarone.
Steve McQueen: The Sand Pebbles, The Great Escape, Love with the Proper Stranger, The Magnificent Seven, The Thomas Crown Affair, The Cincinnati Kid, Bullitt, The Honeymoon Machine, The Honeymoon Machine, The War Lover, Soldier in the Rain, Nevada Smith, Baby the Rain Must Fall, and The Reivers.
Dustin Hoffman: The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy, The Tiger Makes Out, Madigan's Millions, and John and Mary.
Peter O Toole: Lawrence of Arabia, Becket, The Lion in Winter, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Kidnapped, The Day They Robbed the Bank of England, The Savage Innocents, What's New Pussycat?, The Sandpiper, Lord Jim, How to Steal a Million, The Bible: In the Beginning..., Casino Royale, The Night of the Generals, and Great Catherine.
Henry Fonda: How the West Was Won, Firecreek, Once Upon a Time in the West, Madigan, The Boston Strangler, Fail Safe, Sex and the Single Girl, The Longest Day, Advise & Consent, Spencer's Mountain, The Dirty Game, In Harm's Way, A Big Hand for the Little Lady, Welcome to Hard Times, The Best Man, The Rounders, Battle of the Bulge, and Yours, Mine and Ours.
Toshiro Mifune: Shinsengumi, The Battle of the Japan Sea, Red Lion, Safari 5000, Hell in the Pacific, Samurai Banners, The Day the Sun Rose, Admiral Yamamoto, Japan's Longest Day, The Sands of Kurobe, Samurai Rebellion, Grand Prix, The Mad Atlantic, The Adventure of Kigan Castle, Rise Against the Sword, The Sword of Doom, Fort Graveyard, The Retreat from Kiska, Sanshiro Sugata, Samurai Assassin, Red Beard, Legacy of the 500,000, The Lost World of Sinbad, Whirlwind, Chūshingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki, Attack Squadron!, High and Low, Yojimbo, The Youth and his Amulet, Sanjuro, Tatsu, Three Gentlemen Return from Hong Kong, Salaryman Chushingura Part 1 & 2, The Story of Osaka Castle, The Youth and his Amulet, Ánimas Trujano, The Last Gunfight, The Gambling Samurai, The Bad Sleep Well, Man Against Man, and Storm Over the Pacific.
Montgomery Clift: Judgment at Nuremberg, The Misfits, Freud: The Secret Passion, The Defector, and Wild River.
Burt Lancaster: Judgment at Nuremberg, Birdman of Alcatraz, Elmer Gantry, Seven Days in May, The Leopard, The Professionals, The Unforgiven, The Young Savages, The List of Adrian Messenger, A Child Is Waiting, The Hallelujah Trail, The Train, The Swimmer, The Scalphunters, Castle Keep, and The Gypsy Moths.
Marlon Brando: Mutiny on the Bounty, The Fugitive Kind, One-Eyed Jacks, Morituri, The Chase, Bedtime Story, The Ugly American, Reflections in a Golden Eye, Candy, The Appaloosa, The Night of the Following Day, Burn!, and A Countess from Hong Kong.
Tony Curtis: Captain Newman, M.D., The Boston Strangler, Sex and the Single Girl, Spartacus, Pepe, The Rat Race, The Great Impostor, The List of Adrian Messenger, 40 Pounds of Trouble, Paris When It Sizzles, The Outsider, Taras Bulba, Goodbye Charlie, Not with My Wife, You Don't!, The Great Race, Wild and Wonderful, Boeing Boeing, Chamber of Horrors, On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who..., Rosemary's Baby, Drop Dead Darling, Don't Make Waves, Monte Carlo or Bust!, and Who Was That Lady?.
Robert Redford: The Chase, Tall Story, Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious, War hunt, Inside Daisy Clover, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Barefoot in the Park, This Property Is Condemned, Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here, and Downhill Racer.
Anthony Perkins: Tall Story, Psycho, The Trial, Phaedra, Pretty Poison, Five Miles to Midnight, Goodbye Again, The Fool Killer, Une ravissante idiote, Le glaive et la balance, The Champagne Murders, and Is Paris Burning?.
John Huston: Candy, The List of Adrian Messenger, The Cardinal, Casino Royale, and The Bible: In the Beginning
John Wayne: How the West Was Won, The Sons of Katie Elder, The Longest Day, True Grit, El Dorado, Cast a Giant Shadow, The War Wagon, The Green Berets, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Hatari!, North to Alaska, The Alamo, The Comancheros, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Circus World, Hellfighters, and The Undefeated.
Jack Lemmon: The Great Race,Pepe, The Apartment, The Wackiest Ship in the Army, The Notorious Landlad, Days of Wine and Roses, Under the Yum Yum Tree, Irma la Douce, How to Murder Your Wife, Good Neighbor Sam, Luv, The Fortune Cookie, The Odd Couple, and The April Fools.
Marcello Mastroianni: 8 1/2, La Dolce Vita, La Notte, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Divorce Italian Style, Marriage Italian Style, The 10th Victim, Adua and Her Friends, Il bell'Antonio, Ghosts of Rome, La Notte, Family Diary, Family Diary, The Organizer, Kiss the Other Sheik, Me, Me, Me... and the Others, Casanova 70, Shoot Loud, Louder... I Don't Understand, The Poppy Is Also a Flower, Ghosts – Italian Style, Amanti, Break Up, The Stranger, and Diamonds for Breakfast.
James Stewart: How the West Was Won, Firecreek, The Flight of the Phoenix, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Cheyenne Autumn, The Mountain Road, Two Rode Together, Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation, Take Her, She's Mine, Shenandoah, Dear Brigitte, Bandolero!, and The Rare Breed.
Robert Mitchum: What a Way to Go!, Cape Fear, The Longest Day, El Dorado, Home from the Hill, The Sundowners, A Terrible Beauty, Two for the Seesaw, The Last Time I Saw Archie, The Grass Is Greener, The Way West, Mister Moses, Rampage, Man in the Middle, Anzio, 5 Card Stud, Villa Rides, The Good Guys and the Bad Guys, Secret Ceremony, and Young Billy Young.
Robert Duvall: Captain Newman, M.D., True Grit, To Kill a Mockingbird, Bullitt, The Chase, Nightmare in the Sun, Countdown, and The Detective.
Jean-Paul Belmondo: Breathless, That Man from Rio, Seven Days... Seven Nights, Trapped by Fear, Classe Tous Risques, The Lovemakers, Two Women, Lettere di una novizia, Love and the Frenchwoman, Le Doulos, Famous Love Affairs, Cartouche, A Man Named Rocca, Mare matto, The Winner, Sweet and Sour, Banana Peel, A Monkey in Winter, Backfire, Greed in the Sun, Weekend at Dunkirk, The Shortest Day, Magnet of Doom, Tender Scoundrel, Is Paris Burning?, Casino Royale, Male Hunt, Crime on a Summer Morning, Pierrot le Fou, Up to His Ears, Ho!, The Brain, Mississippi Mermaid, and Love Is a Funny Thing.
Kirk Douglas: Seven Days in May, The List of Adrian Messenger, Spartacus, Is Paris Burning?, The War Wagon, The Way West, Lonely Are the Brave, The Heroes of Telemark, Town Without Pity, The Last Sunset, For Love or Money, The Hook, The Arrangement, The Legend of Silent Night, The Brotherhood, A Lovely Way to Die, and Cast a Giant Shadow.
Charles Bronson: The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, Battle of the Bulge, Villa Rides, Guns of Diablo, X-15, The Bull of the West, 4 for Texas, Lola, Once Upon a Time in the West, Guns for San Sebastian, The Dirty Dozen, A Thunder of Drums, Kid Galahad, Master of the World, The Sandpiper, This Property Is Condemned, The Meanest Men in the West, and Adieu l'ami.
Orson Welles: Casino Royale, Is Paris Burning?, The Trial, Kampf um Rom, The Thirteen Chairs, The Merchant of Venice, Battle of Neretva, Tepepa, The Southern Star, I'll Never Forget What's'isname, A Man for All Seasons, David and Goliath, La Fayette, Austerlitz, Crack in the Mirror, The Tartars, The V.I.P.s, Chimes at Midnight, In the Land of Don Quixote, Marco the Magnificent, House of Cards, The Immortal Story, and Oedipus the King.
William Holden: Paris When It Sizzles, The Wild Bunch, The World of Suzie Wong, The Lion, Satan Never Sleeps, The Counterfeit Traitor, Casino Royale, The Devil's Brigade, The 7th Dawn, Alvarez Kelly, and The Christmas Tree.
Frank Sinatra: Cast a Giant Shadow, The Detective, 4 for Texas, The Manchurian Candidate, Tony Rome, Pepe, The Devil at 4 O'Clock, The Road to Hong Kong, Sergeants 3, Come Blow Your Horn, None but the Brave, Paris When It Sizzles, Lady in Cement, The Oscar, Assault on a Queen, The Naked Runner, Von Ryan's Express, Marriage on the Rocks, and Robin and the 7 Hoods.
Elvis Presley: G.I. Blues, Kid Galahad, Wild in the Country, Follow That Dream, Blue Hawaii, It Happened at the World's Fair, Girls! Girls! Girls!, Fun in Acapulco, Roustabout, Viva Las Vegas, Kissin' Cousins, Frankie and Johnny, Girl Happy, Harum Scarum, Tickle Me, Clambake, Easy Come, Easy Go, Double Trouble, Stay Away, Joe, Live a Little, Love a Little, Speedway, Change of Habit, The Trouble with Girls, Charro!, Spinout, and Paradise, Hawaiian Style.
Edmond O'Brien: The Wild Bunch, The Longest Day, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Fantastic Voyage, The Great Impostor, The Last Voyage, The 3rd Voice, Birdman of Alcatraz, Man-Trap, Moon Pilot, Sylvia, Rio Conchos, The Hanged Man, The Outsider, Synanon, The Doomsday Flight, The Love God?, Flesh and Blood, The Viscount, and To Commit a Murder.
Ben Johnson: The Wild Bunch, The Rare Breed, The Undefeated, Hang 'Em High, Cheyenne Autumn, Will Penny, One-Eyed Jacks, Ten Who Dared, Tomboy and the Champ, and Major Dundee.
Warren Oates: The Wild Bunch, The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond, The Rounders, Ride the High Country, Private Property, Mail Order Bride, Hero's Island, In the Heat of the Night, Welcome to Hard Times, The Shooting, Return of the Seven, Smith!, Crooks and Coronets, The Split, Something for a Lonely Man, and Lanton Mills.
Sidney Poitier: In the Heat of the Night, Lilies of the Field, A Patch of Blue, To Sir, With Love, A Raisin in the Sun, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Paris Blues, The Long Ships, Pressure Point,All the Young Men, The Bedford Incident, The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Slender Thread, Duel at Diablo, For Love of Ivy, and The Lost Man.
Rod Steiger: The Longest Day, In the Heat of the Night, The Pawn broker, Doctor Zhivago, No Way to Treat a Lady, Three into Two Won't Go, Seven Thieves, The Mark, 13 West Street, World in My Pocket, Convicts 4, Time of Indifference, Hands over the City, A Man Named John, The Loved One, The Girl and the General, The Sergeant, and The Illustrated Man.
Ernest Borgnine: The Dirty Dozen, The Wild Bunch, The Legend of Lylah Clare, Pay or Die, The Last Judgment, Barabbas, The Italian Brigands, McHale's Navy, The Flight of the Phoenix, The Oscar, The Split, A Bullet for Sandoval, Ice Station Zebra, Chuka, Go Naked in the World, Black City, and Man on a String.
George Kennedy: The Boston Strangler, Charade, Strait-Jacket, McHale's Navy, The Sons of Katie Elder, The Dirty Dozen, Shenandoah, The Flight of the Phoenix, Guns of the Magnificent Seven, The Good Guys and the Bad Guys, Cool Hand Luke, The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come, The Man from the Diners' Club, The Silent Witness, McHale's Navy, Mirage, Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Island of the Blue Dolphins, In Harm's Way, Hurry Sundown, Bandolero!, The Ballad of Josie, Gaily, Gaily, and The Pink Jungle.
Strother Martin: McLintock!, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Cool Hand Luke, Hurry Sundown, Sanctuary, Shenandoah, Harper, Nevada Smith, The Sons of Katie Elder, The Wild Bunch, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, True Grit, An Eye for an Eye, The Flim-Flam Man, Showdown, Invitation to a Gunfighter, and The Deadly Companions.
Clint Eastwood: The Dollars Trilogy, Hang 'Em High, Where Eagles Dare, The Witches, Coogan's Bluff, and Paint Your Wagon.
Eli Wallach: How the West Was Won, The Magnificent Seven, The Misfits, The Tiger Makes Out, Lord Jim, How to Steal a Million, A Lovely Way to Die, Seven Thieves, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Genghis Khan, The Poppy Is Also a Flower, How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life, Ace High, Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man, The Brain, Mackenna's Gold, Kisses for My President, Act One, The Moon-Spinners, and The Victors.
Lee Van Cleef: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Posse from Hell, The Big Gundown, Sabata, Death Rides a Horse, Commandos, Day of Anger, and Beyond the Law.
Richard Burton: The Sandpiper, Where Eagles Dare, Ice Palace, The Longest Day, The Bramble Bush, Zulu, Becket, Cleopatra, What's New Pussycat?, The Night of the Iguana, The Spy Who Came In from the Cold, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Taming of the Shrew, Candy, Boom!, The Comedians in Africa, The Comedians, Doctor Faustus, Staircase, and Anne of the Thousand Days.
Paul Scofield: A Man for all Seasons, The Train, and Tell Me Lies.
Warren Beatty: All Fall Down, Splendor in the Grass, Bonnie and Clyde, Lilith, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, Mickey One, Promise Her Anything, and Kaleidoscope.
Albert Finney: Tom Jones, The Entertainer, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Two for the Road, The Victors, Night Must Fall, Charlie Bubbles, and The Picasso Summer.
Lee Marvin: Hell in the Pacific, The Professionals, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Comancheros, Paint Your Wagon, Point Blank, The Killers, Donovan's Reef, Cat Ballou, Ship of Fools, Sergeant Ryker, Hell in the Pacific, The Dirty Dozen, and Point Blank.
Anthony Quinn: Behold a Pale Horse, Barabbas, Zorba the Greek, Lawrence of Arabia, Guns for San Sebastian, The Rover, San Sebastian 1746 in 1968, The Secret of Santa Vittoria, A Dream of Kings, The 25th Hour, The Happening, Lost Command, Marco the Magnificent, The Visit, A High Wind in Jamaica, Heller in Pink Tights, The Savage Innocents, Portrait in Black, The Guns of Navarone, The Magus, and The Shoes of the Fisherman.
Michael Caine: Hurry Sundown, The Magus, Zulu, The Ipcress File, Alfie, The Italian Job, Deadfall, Funeral in Berlin, Billion Dollar Brain, Battle of Britain, Gambit, The Wrong Box, Woman Times Seven, Play Dirty, Foxhole in Cairo, Solo for Sparrow, The Wrong Arm of the Law, The Bulldog Breed, and The Day the Earth Caught Fire.
Rex Harrison: Cleopatra, My Fair Lady, Doctor Dolittle, The Happy Thieves, Midnight Lace, The Agony and the Ecstasy, The Yellow Rolls-Royce, Staircase, The Honey Pot, and A Flea in Her Ear.
Sean Connery: The Longest Day, Dr. No, Marnie, Goldfinger, From Russia with Love, Macbeth, The Frightened City, On the Fiddle, Anna Karenina, Shalako, The Red Tent, You Only Live Twice, Un monde nouveau, The Hill, A Fine Madness, Thunderball, Woman of Straw, and The Bowler and the Bunnet.
Spencer Tracy: Judgment at Nuremberg, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Inherit the Wind, The Devil at 4 O'Clock, and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
Chishû Ryû: Late Autumn, Otoko wa Tsurai yo, The Human Bullet, Japan's Longest Day, The End of Summer, An Autumn Afternoon, The Human Condition 3, and The Last War.
Martin Balsam: Psycho, A Thousand Clowns, Trilogy, The Good Guys and the Bad Guys, Around the World of Mike Todd, Me, Natalie, Around the World of Mike Todd, Hombre, Among the Paths to Eden, After the Fox, Harlow, The Bedford Incident, Seven Days in May, Suspense, Youngblood Hawke, Everybody Go Home, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Ada, Cape Fear, Route 66, and Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?.
Alan Bates: Zorba the Greek, Georgy Girl, Far from the Madding Crowd, Women in Love, King of Hearts, The Fixer, The Entertainer, Zorba the Greek, Nothing but the Best, Whistle Down the Wind, A Kind of Loving, The Caretaker, and The Running Man.
Alain Delon: Is Paris Burning?, Famous Love Affairs, Rocco and His Brothers, Purple Noon, The Leopard, Le Samouraï, The Yellow Rolls-Royce, Lost Command, L'Eclisse, The Joy of Living, The Devil and the Ten Commandments, Love at Sea, Carom Shots, Any Number Can Win, Joy House, The Unvanquished, Once a Thief, Texas Across the River, Adieu l'ami, Jeff, The Sicilian Clan, La Piscine, Spirits of the Dead, The Girl on a Motorcycle, The Last Adventure, and Diabolically Yours.
Peter Sellers: What's New Pussycat?, Casino Royale, Woman Times Seven, Dr. Strangelove, Lolita, The Millionairess, Never Let Go, Two-Way Stretch, The Wrong Arm of the Law, The Dock Brief, The Pink Panther, Only Two Can Play, Mr. Topaze, Waltz of the Toreadors, Heavens Above!, A Shot in the Dark, The World of Henry Orient, A Carol for Another Christmas, Casino Royale, Woman Times Seven, The bobo, The Party, The Magic Christian, and I Love You, Alice B. Toklas.
George C. Scott: The List of Adrian Messenger, The Hustler, Not with My Wife, You Don't!, The Flim-Flam Man, Dr. Strangelove, The Power and the Glory, The Crucible, The Yellow Rolls-Royce, The Bible: In the Beginning..., This Savage Land, and Petulia.
Walter Matthau: Charade, Fail Safe, The Fortune Cookie, The Odd Couple, Strangers When We Meet, Lonely Are the Brave, Mirage, Ensign Pulver, Island of Love, Who's Got the Action?, Candy, Cactus Flower, Hello, Dolly!, The Secret Life of an American Wife, and A Guide for the Married Man.
Jean-Louis Trintignant: Z, A Man and a Woman, The Great Silence, Austerlitz, Horace 62, Un homme à abattre, La Longue marche, Trans-Europ-Express, Le Combat dans l'île, So Sweet... So Perverse, L'Américain, Mata Hari, Agent H21, Journey Beneath the Desert, Il Sorpasso, Col cuore in gola, Death Laid an Egg, Les Biches, My Love, My Love, The Man Who Lies, Metti, una sera a cena, My Night at Maud's, The Libertine, The Sleeping Car Murders, Diamond Safari, Spotlight on a Murderer, Nutty, and Naughty Chateau.
Max von Sydow: The Greatest Story Ever Told, Shame, Hour of the Wolf, The Virgin Spring, Through a Glass Darkly, Bröllopsdagen, 4x4, Winter Light, Hawaii, Adventures of Nils Holgersson, The Mistress, Made in Sweden, The Passion of Anna, The Quiller Memorandum, Svarta palmkronor, The Reward, and Here Is Your Life.
Richard Attenborough: The Sand Pebbles, The Great Escape, Doctor Dolittle, The Angry Silence, Upgreen – And at 'Em, The Dock Brief, Only Two Can Play, The League of Gentlemen, All Night Long, Séance on a Wet Afternoon, The Third Secret, The Flight of the Phoenix, Only When I Larf, Guns at Batasi, The Magic Christian, Oh! What a Lovely War, and The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom.
Melvyn Douglas: Hud, Hotel, The Crucible, Companions in Nightmare, Rapture, Inherit the Wind, Lamp At Midnight, Advance to the Rear, A Very Close Family, The Americanization of Emily, and Billy Budd.
Woody Strode: Spartacus, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Sergeant Rutledge, The Last Voyage, Two Rode Together, The Sins of Rachel Cade, Che!, Once Upon a Time in the West, Boot Hill, Genghis Khan, Shalako, Black Jesus, The Professionals, Tarzan's Three Challenges, and 7 Women.
Yûsuke Kawazu: The River Fuefuki, Ken, Manji, Kiri no Hata, Cruel Story of Youth, Genocide, Fighting Elegy, and Black Lizard.
John Cassavetes: The Dirty Dozen, Rosemary's Baby, A Child Is Waiting, The Killers, Devil's Angels, Roma come Chicago, If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium, Machine Gun McCain, and The Webster Boy.
Laurence Harvey: The Outrage, Kampf um Rom, The Manchurian Candidate, The Ceremony, The Alamo, The Long and the Short and the Tall, BUtterfield 8, Walk on the Wild Side, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, The Running Man, A Girl Named Tamiko, Darling, Of Human Bondage, Summer and Smoke, Two Loves, The Doctor and the Devil, Rebus, The Spy with a Cold Nose, The Magic Christian, L'assoluto naturale, The Charge of the Light Brigade, A Dandy in Aspic, Life at the Top, The Outrage, and The Winter's Tale.
Omar Sharif: Mackenna's Gold, Behold a Pale Horse, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, The Poppy Is Also a Flower, The Fall of the Roman Empire, Funny Girl, More Than a Miracle, Che!, Mayerling, Trois hommes sur un cheval, The Appointment, Genghis Khan, The Yellow Rolls-Royce, El mamalik, The Night of the Generals, Lawet El Hub, Nahna el talamiza, Gharam el assiad, Hobi al-Wahid, The Beginning and the End, The River of Love, A Rumor of Love, and There is a Man in our House.
George Peppard: How the West Was Won, Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Carpetbaggers, House of Cards, Home from the Hill, The Victors, The Subterraneans, P.J.,What's So Bad About Feeling Good?, Pendulum, Operation Crossbow, The Third Day, Tobruk, Rough Night in Jericho, and The Blue Max.
James Garner: The Great Escape, Grand Prix, Duel at Diablo, 36 Hours, The Pink Jungle, A High Wind in Jamaica,Hour of the Gun, The Americanization of Emily, Cash McCall, The Children's Hour, Boys' Night Out, Action on the Beach, The Art of Love, Grand Prix: Challenge of the Champions, The Thrill of It All, Move Over, Darling, The Wheeler Dealers, Marlowe, Support Your Local Sheriff!, The Man Who Makes the Difference, Once Upon a Wheel, The Racing Scene, A Man Could Get Killed, How Sweet It Is!, and Mister Buddwing.
Donald Pleasence: The Great Escape, The Night of the Generals, You Only Live Twice, Creature of Comfort, Will Penny, Fantastic Voyage, The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Hallelujah Trail, The Caretaker, Suspect, No Love for Johnnie, The Shakedown, The Flesh and the Fiends, The Hands of Orlac, Hell Is a City, The Wind of Change, Circus of Horrors, Sons and Lovers, The Big Day, Dr. Crippen, Cul-de-sac, The Inspector, What a Carve Up!, Eye of the Devil, Matchless, Arthur? Arthur!, The Other People, The Madwoman of Chaillot, A Story of David, and Spare the Rod.
James Coburn: Charade, The Americanization of Emily, The Magnificent Seven, Hell Is for Heroes, The Great Escape, Our Man Flint, In Like Flint, The Man from Galveston, The Murder Men, Hell Is for Heroes, What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?, Duffy, Candy, The President's Analyst, Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round, Waterhole No. 3, Major Dundee, A High Wind in Jamaica, The Loved One, and Hard Contract.
Cary Grant: Charade, The Grass Is Greener, That Touch of Mink, Walk, Don't Run, and Father Goose.
Horst Buchholz: The Magnificent Seven, One, Two, Three, Fanny, Nine Hours to Rama, Marco the Magnificent, The Empty Canvas, Ankle Bone, Cervantes, That Man in Istanbul, Johnny Banco, and How, When and with Whom.
Jackie Gleason: Soldier in the Rain, The Hustler, Gigot, Requiem for a Heavyweight, Skidoo, Papa's Delicate Condition, How to Commit Marriage, and Don't Drink the Water.
Arthur Kennedy: Lawrence of Arabia, Barabbas, Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man, Claudelle Inglish, Cheyenne Autumn, Murder, She Said, Anzio, Shark!, A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die, Hail, Hero!, Nevada Smith,Murieta, Fantastic Voyage, Attack and Retreat, Joy in the Morning, Monday's Child, and Day of the Evil Gun.
Peter Finch: Kidnapped, The Trials of Oscar Wilde, The Day, No Love for Johnnie, In the Cool of the Day, I Thank a Fool, Girl with Green Eyes, The Pumpkin Eater, The Flight of the Phoenix, Judith, First Men in the Moon, Far from the Madding Crowd, 10:30 P.M. Summer, Come Spy with Me, The Greatest Mother of Them All, The Legend of Lylah Clare, and The Red Tent.
Hugh Griffith: How to Steal a Million,Exodus, Mutiny on the Bounty, Oliver!, The Counterfeit Traitor, The Citadel, Point of Departure, The Day They Robbed the Bank of England, The Inspector, Tom Jones, Term of Trial, The Poppy Is Also a Flower, Hide and Seek, The Bargee, The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders, On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who..., Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad, The Sailor from Gibraltar, The Fixer, Il marito è mio e l'ammazzo quando mi pare, and Brown Eye, Evil Eye.
Jason Robards: A Big Hand for the Little Lady, Hour of the Gun, Long Day's Journey into Night, A Thousand Clowns, Act One, By Love Possessed, Isadora, Tender Is the Night, Divorce American Style, A Big Hand for the Little Lady, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Any Wednesday, Once Upon a Time in the West, and The Night They Raided Minsky's.
George Seagel: The Southern Star, No Way to Treat a Lady, Invitation to a Gunfighter, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Lost Command, The Quiller Memorandum, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, King Rat, Act One, The Young Doctors, The Bridge at Remagen, The Girl Who Couldn't Say No, Bye Bye Braverman, and The New Interns.
Rod Taylor: Chuka, The Time Machine, Sunday in New York, The Glass Bottom Boat, 36 Hours, The Birds, Hotel, Nobody Runs Forever, The Hell with Heroes, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Seven Seas to Calais, Colossus and the Amazon Queen, Dark of the Sun, The Liquidator, Young Cassidy, Fate Is the Hunter, Do Not Disturb, and A Gathering of Eagles.
Robert Ryan: Ice Palace, Billy Budd, The Longest Day, The Wild Bunch, The Dirty Dozen, Battle of the Bulge, The Professionals, Anzio, Captain Nemo and the Underwater City, A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die, Hour of the Gun, Custer of the West, The Busy Body, The Canadians, King of Kings, and The Crooked Road.
Christopher Plummer: Battle of Britain, The Sound of Music, The Fall of the Roman Empire, Inside Daisy Clover, The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Lock Up Your Daughters, Nobody Runs Forever, Oedipus the King, The Night of the Generals, and Triple Cross.
Michel Piccoli: Le Doulos, Contempt, Diary of a Chambermaid, La Guerre Est Finit, Les Creatures, The Young Girls of Rochefort, Belle De Jour, Danger: Diabolik, Dillinger is Dead, The Milky Way, Topaz, Lady L, The Day and the Hour, Masquerade, L'Invitée, Climats, Les Petits Drames, Adieu Philippine, La dragée haute, Le Bal des espions, Amazons of Rome, All About Loving, The Sleeping Car Murders, The War Is Over, The Game Is Over, Belle de Jour, Benjamin, Shock Troops, La Chamade, and La Prisonnière.
Tatsuya Nakadai: When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, Yojimbo,The Human Condition: A Soldier's Prayer, Immortal Love, Sanjuro, Harakiri ,High and Low, Kwaidan, The Sword of Doom, The Face of Another, Samurai Rebellion, Kill!, Goyokin, Portrait of Hell, Get 'em All, Daughters, Wives and a Mother ,Miren, A Woman's Life, Pressure of Guilt, Love Under the Crucifix, The Blue Beast, The Other Women, Kumo ga chigieru toki, Hakari, The Legacy of the 500,000, Saigo no shinpan, Blood End, Arijigoku sakusen, Kwaidan, Saigo no shinpan, Fort Graveyard, Cash Calls Hell, Illusion of Blood, Kojiro, The Age of Assassins, The Daphne, Today We Kill... Tomorrow We Die!, Rengō Kantai Shirei Chōkan: Yamamoto Isoroku, Blood End, Hitokiri, Eiko's 5000 Kilograms, and The Battle of the Japan Sea.
James Mason: Lolita, Duffy, Mayerling, The Sea Gull, Age of Consent, The Blue Max, Stranger in the House, The Deadly Affair, Georgy Girl, The Fall of the Roman Empire, The Pumpkin Eater, Genghis Khan, Lord Jim, The Uninhibited, Hero's Island, Torpedo Bay, Tiara Tahiti, The Trials of Oscar Wilde, The Marriage-Go-Round, and Escape from Zahrain.
Vincent Price: The Last Man on Earth, Witchfinder General, Convicts 4, Confessions of an Opium Eater, Tower of London, Tales of Terror, The Raven, Diary of a Madman, The Haunted Palace, The Masque of the Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, Twice-Told Tales, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, The Comedy of Terrors, City Under the Sea, The House of 1,000 Dolls, The Pit and the Pendulum, Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile, Rage of the Buccaneers, Beach Party, House of Usher, Master of the World, Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs, Spirits of the Dead, The Trouble with Girls, The Jackals, More Dead Than Alive, and The Oblong Box.
Jack Nicholson: The Raven, Easy Rider, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Shooting, Head, Hells Angels on Wheels, The Trip, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Psych-Out, Thunder Island, Back Door to Hell, Ride in the Whirlwind, Flight to Fury, The Wild Ride, The Broken Land, Studs Lonigan, Too Soon to Love, and The Terror.
Rock Hudson: Lover Come Back, Send Me No Flowers, The Last Sunset, Marilyn, The Spiral Road, Come September, Strange Bedfellows, Man's Favorite Sport?, A Gathering of Eagles, A Very Special Favor, Seconds, Tobruk, Ice Station Zebra, The Undefeated, Blindfold, and A Fine Pair.
Charlton Heston: El Cid, The Pigeon That Took Rome, 55 Days at Peking, The Greatest Story Ever Told, While I Run This Race, All About People, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Number One, Planet of the Apes, Counterpoint, Will Penny, Major Dundee, Khartoum, The War Lord, The Five Cities of June, and Diamond Head.
John Gavin: Psycho, Midnight Lace, Back Street, The Madwoman of Chaillot, Thoroughly Modern Millie, OSS 117 – Double Agent, Tammy Tell Me True, Spartacus, Pedro Páramo, A Breath of Scandal, and Romanoff and Juliet.
Stephen Boyd: Lisa, Billy Rose's Jumbo, Fantastic Voyage, The Poppy Is Also a Flower, The Big Gamble, Slaves, The Caper of the Golden Bulls, Shalako, Assignment K, The Bible: In the Beginning..., The Fall of the Roman Empire, Genghis Khan, The Oscar, The Third Secret, and Imperial Venus.
Dick Van Dyke: Bye Bye Birdie, Mary Poppins, Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N., The Art of Love, What a Way to Go!, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Divorce American Style, The Comic, Some Kind of a Nut, Fitzwilly, and Never a Dull Moment.

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I’ve been seeing a lot of negativity around here recently, and rightfully so. We lost Iowa. I know that’s not an easy fact to take in given the amount of time and effort put into the state from the campaign, staff, and volunteers, but we have to face the truth. We got out-organized.
So what do we do about it?
I’m the author of these previous 4 posts if you have the time to read them. If not, its ok. This post is very much a standalone post. And probably my most important post thus far:
Part 1: https://www.reddit.com/YangForPresidentHQ/comments/b17slb/ive_worked_on_multiple_campaigns_and_managed_a/
Part 2: https://www.reddit.com/YangForPresidentHQ/comments/b9yyyh/getting_andrew_yang_to_the_white_house_step_2/
Part 3: https://www.reddit.com/YangForPresidentHQ/comments/c1h0lj/getting_andrew_yang_to_the_white_house_part_3_at/
Part 4: https://www.reddit.com/YangForPresidentHQ/comments/ds6rh0/getting_andrew_to_the_white_house_part_4/
In this post, I will detail our best path forward. Our best path to shock the political world and get the American people and the media to take us seriously. And it’s not what you think. Andrew has been campaigning tirelessly in IA and NH, but his best chances are not there. Our entire campaign, our entire country’s future rests on us winning Nevada. There is no other state more prime for our message and our vision than Nevada.
I’ve been canvassing in Nevada since November of 2019. I have knocked on hundreds of doors and spoken to hundreds, maybe thousands of Nevadans. We have a chance to take top 3 in Nevada. When textbankers told me to go to IA, I chose to travel to Nevada. And I’m glad I did. The political environment and campaign infrastructure are much better in Nevada. Nevada (and more specifically one city in NV) is a state full of Yang Gang, they just don’t know it yet. Nevada has early voting which has already begun, but their caucus is on Feb 22nd. Nevada is our last stand. And I will detail in this post exactly why we can and should win Nevada. If we don’t, that could very well be the end of this campaign. So buckle up, this is important.
Nevada is the third state to vote. In addition, like Iowa they are also a caucus state. No one was expecting us to win Iowa. Heck, it’s probably a good thing we didn’t win Iowa. With the debacle going on there, our win would have been overshadowed by the IA Democratic Party screwup anyways. That being said, no one is expecting us to win NH either. (If you want to go to NH, please still go. But from this time of posting, we have 5 days to convince NH, we have two weeks to convince NV – do the math). If we lose Nevada however, that is three in a row. More than enough reason for the media to write us off for the rest of the primary cycle. We need to prove them all wrong. We SHALL NOT let the Bernie Bros pass!
We can do this because Nevada has favorable Demographics, the Issues/Politics resonate with its voters, and the Nevada Staff/Campaign are the best I’ve seen.
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Demographics:
To win Nevada, we only need to focus on one location. Unlike Iowa and New Hampshire where the population is spread out (there are 99 counties throughout the state of IA), Nevada only has 16 counties and most of them are very sparsely populated. The most important county is Clark County, and the most important city in that county is…..you guessed it, LAS VEGAS. The Las Vegas metropolitan area includes Boulder City, Enterprise, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Summerlin, Winchester, Paradise…etc. The Las Vegas Metro area has 2.2 Million people living in it. The entire state of Nevada has a population of ~ 3 Million people. The Las Vegas metro area comprises of more than 70% of the entire population of Nevada. If we win Las Vegas, we win Nevada. Its that simple.
In addition, you know what Las Vegas has that IA and NH did not? A group of people whom tend to like Yang automatically: MINORITIES!! Las Vegas has a huge Chinatown and we have a Yang office there! Las Vegas had a Chinese New Year’s parade two weeks ago! Did NH or IA have a Luna New Year Parade? FUCK NO! Yang Gang was there and walked in it! We got cheers from the audience! Yang Gang has ran ads in Chinese media for Yang. There are at least several precincts that are majority Asian people! That better be automatic delegate pickups for us. We just need to turn them out!
Las Vegas, unlike Iowa or NH, is very compact. You can finish canvassing 50 doors easily because the houses are close to each other. If you’re really hitting it, you can easily do 100 doors a day. You dont need to hit a few, then drive several blocks. You can simply drive to a neighborhood and bang out door to door very efficiently. Also, unlike IA and NH, it’s a sunny/cool 60-70 degrees in Las Vegas. So people are actually out doing stuff.
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The Issues/Politics:
There is no other city where the narrative and issues Andrew Yang champions appear more salient than in Las Vegas. Las Vegas is at the center of the automation revolution, and you can look no further than the famous Las Vegas strip. If you have the money (seriously, it can get pricey) stay on the strip and talk to every bartender, waitress, blackjack dealer, housekeeper, bellman, etc you can. In Las Vegas, the service employees win the elections.
This New York Times article details it very well. (If you cant read it due to paywall, don’t worry, I’ll explain) (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/12/us/politics/nevada-caucus-2020-culinary-union.html)
The most important special interest groups in Las Vegas are the culinary workers union, Local 226, and the bartenders union, Local 165. These unions see automation in front of them every day. MGM recently automated most of their backhouse bartenders. Servers now pick up drinks from a robot and deliver them to customers. I spoke with a bar manager in the Bellagio and he said that in their contracts, there are clauses that dictate they can be automated away by a machine anytime. And they have to be ok with that. So Andrew Yang's message of the Freedom Dividend resonates. In addition, there is one issue the unions care about more than anything else and that is Healthcare. However, this is the best part: they HATE Medicare for All. Not one union worker I spoke with wanted Medicare for All. Why? Because their unions have negotiated for them stellar healthcare for years and years. They love their healthcare. And they don’t want the government coming in and taking away all the hard work their union has done for them. If you bring up Yang to your housekeeper, your waiter, your bartender, I guarantee you their first question to you will be: “What will happen to my healthcare?”. And unlike Bernie, we can say “You can keep it”. (Note: Biden also said that when he visited the unions). If Andrew Yang can win the endorsements of the Local 226 and Local 165, we win Las Vegas/NV. It was these unions whom delivered Hillary Clinton her victory in 2016. Now Andrew has not met with the unions and their leaders yet, and I hope that the campaign is reaching out to them. But until that happens, it us up to US to talk to as many union members as possible.
(Note also: Nevadans have a bad taste in their mouth for Bernie, especially after how the Bernie people acted in the NV State convention in 2016. Maybe using death threats was not the best look for the Bernie campaign. Just sayin: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/17/us/politics/bernie-sanders-supporters-nevada.html)
If you stay on the strip, talk to every employee you can. You can change minds. I Yanged an entire bar by myself when I spoke with the Bar Manager about the Freedom Dividend, automation, and that Yang wont take away his Healthcare. He then bought me a free drink, gave me his card, and committed to taking all his employees to the caucus. Imagine if the Yang Gang descended onto Vegas and did this at every restaurant, every bar, every hotel, and every venue. We would win Las Vegas, and get free shots too.
After speaking to many Las Vegas voters, I’ve come to believe that they don’t like politicians. There’s a reason why Tom Steyer has blanketed the state with his ads. Because Nevadans don’t trust politicians. Thus, Yang is a natural alternative to the rest of the field. Steyer may have some traction, but almost everyone I spoke with didn’t like the fact that Steyer was trying to buy the election. Everyone from Uber drivers to strippers (seriously) found Steyer annoying.
Something unique to Vegas that you don’t see anywhere else is the way wealth inequality unravels itself. Las Vegas is the place where the rich and famous come to party and blow their money away. Yet the residents here don’t scorn or hate them. Bernie and Warren’s rhetoric of the “greed and the corruption” fall on deaf ears here because in Las Vegas, the rich treat service employees well. Talk to any bartendeserver long enough and they’ll tell you about that one time when Rihanna came in and left a $10K tip on her tab. The rich come here to live out their vices, yet they are gracious and generous to the people who serve them. You can spend upwards of $5000 at a nightclub and $20 for a drink on the strip, but once you leave the strip prices drop by at least 75%. So residents don’t feel the price inflation. Don’t want to spend money? Party in downtown Vegas, where a drink is only $3- $4. The residents of Las Vegas don’t hate the rich, and they don’t want a “revolution”. They just want to make enough money so that sometimes they can sit down and enjoy a football game with the high rollers. The Freedom Dividend is the ticket to that life.
The Staff
Last, but not least, is the staff. Speaking from meeting as many of them as I have, the Las Vegas campaign staff are absolutely phenomenal. Mark Peckham, the NV state director did a great job picking his team and it shows. Reading through the threads I see talk about the Iowa staff being unprofessional and not ready for the caucus. I see talk about IA not training their precinct captains correctly, and offices hiring people with no experience. I can tell you, that is certainly NOT the case in Las Vegas. Almost every staff member I spoke with was professional and experienced. I consider myself pretty experienced in politics. There was not one staff member I met who didn’t know their shit. Precinct captain training? The NV staff has been doing that on a WEEKLY basis since November! Sign up for canvassing and are late 30 mins, you bet your ass a staffer will call you up and find out where you are. I remembered when I was considering going to IA and I wanted to know if the IA campaign needed a data analytics guy (my specialty). I asked several staff and never got an answer back. I asked the same question to Las Vegas staff and I got an answer back in seconds. The Las Vegas staff know their shit and they’re here to win. Even their volunteer coordinators are dedicated and knowledgeable. They have daily tables at UNLV, and weekly well attended Yang Hangs. Their offices are clean and open on time. Yang Gangs have houses you can stay in free of charge, and volunteers happily drive you around in a Tesla to get you to your canvassing locations. They’re that fucking good. Convinced yet? Here are the contacts you should add/follow on facebook:
Eileen Patterson, Las Vegas Volunteer Director
Gavin Williams, Field Organizer
Alex Pitarro, Field Organizer
Alyssa Monet Manson, Yang Gang House Leader
Nick Joke (not his real name, but his name on facebook), Volunteer organizer
(these are not all the staff, just the ones I can remember off the top of my head. There are several others, almost all are sharp).
Join the Vegas Yang Gang Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vegasyanggang/
The Las Vegas Yang Gang has a website: https://vegasyanggang.com/
The following are their active offices and hours:
Addresses:
Chinatown Office
4276 Spring Mountain Rd Suite 203 Las Vegas, NV 89102
Henderson Office
580 E. Windmill Lane Suite 130 Las Vegas, NV 89123
North Las Vegas Office
2815 W Lake Mead Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89106
Hours
Monday—Saturday: 10:00AM–8:00PM
Sunday: 12:00PM–8:00PM
(Note: I emphasize Vegas because it is the population center of Nevada. However, if you would like to help win other parts of Nevada, Reno is worthy of helping too. I’ve met several Reno organizers and they are all very capable people.)
Lastly, Las Vegas is truly an amazing city. Nothing beats canvassing 50 doors a day and then settling down to a workout, a spa, and a buffet. Want to Yang marijuana aficionados because Yang has the best drug policy? Great, its legal to buy weed in NV. Go to one of the hundreds of dispensaries in Vegas. Want to Yang sex workers and strippers because Yang wants to decriminalize sex work? Great, Vegas has the best strip clubs in the world. Want to party hard and work hard? Great, Vegas has the best nightclubs and bars you could ever dream of. Want to Yang sports gamblers because Yang wants to legalize online gambling, you can do that too!
So lets leave all our chips on the table Yang Gang. There is no other city more prepared to be won than Las Vegas. Lets lay it all out on the floor and say we did our best. Make Las Vegas our Last Stand. And if we win, if we do, that will be more than enough momentum to carry us to victory on Super Tuesday. Nevada/Las Vegas is better representative of America than any other state/city so far, and America will recognize that. If we win Vegas, we carry enough momentum to finish well in Super Tuesday, guaranteeing our bargaining power in a brokered convention in July.
I hope this is not the last time I write these posts. And I hope you all can join me. What are you waiting for? Buy your ticket. We’re going to Vegas baby.
thank u, next.
Note: last but not least, if you can donate, please donate to the Ken Jeong fundraiser this coming 2/13, will help us hit NV campaigning strong!:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ay-events-lv-1215
Edit: Thank you so much for everyone giving me awards! I just want Yang to win and I firmly believe this is our last stand. We’re in the Endgame now....

I posted this in a UFO related sub, but I thought people may find it interesting here too. Sorry for the length, but it involves three incidents that I believe are all connected.
I have had three encounters involving UFOs between 2003 and 2005. I was born and raised in Northern California in the Sacramento Valley. It is an incredibly rural area surrounded by orchards and cattle pastures. On August 17th 2003 I was driving from my Grandmother's home in Gridley, California to my home in Live Oak, California. This is a roughly 7 mile drive, I take the back road, Township Road and at 10:00 PM, there was absolutely no one around on the road.
I was surrounded by orchards and farm houses. My 1986 Ford LTD would always have electrical problems and it was no shock to me when my lights started flashing erratically on their own. The radio started getting nothing but hissing static. I pulled over, thinking my alternator was going out.
The moment I stopped the car, I noticed an incredibly bright blue light coming from across the street on my left. I looked over at the orchard and I saw a triangle shaped craft hovering about ten feet above the tree. There was a column of bright blue light coming out of the craft and illuminating the dirt on the ground. The triangle rotated slowly but made no noises whatsoever. Around the edges of the craft were pulsating blue lights, but every other feature of the craft was glossy black.
The craft itself was very wide, yet it was probably less than six feet tall. My automatic locks in the car were moving up and down. I shut the car off and I opened the door, I was contemplating walking across the street and into the orchard to get a better look. The moment I stepped my foot onto the street I felt incredibly dizzy and nauseous. In that moment, I thought that something horrible would happen to me if I went closer to the object.
This was before I had a cell phone and there were no cars anywhere around me. I quickly closed my door and tried to start my car. It started easily and I drove as fast as I could. I looked in the mirror behind me and saw that the craft was still there. I told my younger brothers, but I kept it to myself, mostly.
This was a small town and I was already seen as the weird writer, artist guy. I didn't want to be mocked even more than I already was. To be honest, Beale Air Force Base is about 30 miles from where I saw the craft and the first thing I thought was that this had to be some find of test flight. Then I realized that if this were a top secret, silent stealth craft, why the hell would it be out in the open. This was a small town, but not exactly desolate. There were homes a few miles away from where I had stopped the car, if this was the government’s idea of a secret, they were doing a lousy job.
A year later (I don't have the exact date, but it was in August as well), I was in Gridley, California at my Grandma and Grandpa's farm on French Avenue. They have eight acres of property and there are other farms surrounding them. About a mile away is a huge wildlife refuge called Grey Lodge. The stars light up the night sky because there is practically zero light pollution, especially on a moonless night like the one in question. My father and I had just bailed the hay in the pasture and we were staring up at the sky.
Miles above us was an object zooming through the night sky, it was egg shaped and all we could really make out was a vibrant bright yellow light. My dad and I watched as the craft dropped rapidly toward the ground and suddenly stopped in mid air and hung in the air. If that wasn't odd enough, the craft shot back up and started doing loops in the air. My dad kept saying that this had to be from Beale Air Force base because of the way the aircraft was moving. It would hang in midair and suddenly appear on the left, then the right. It repeated these movements for about five minutes.
Then, it dropped down, plummeting toward the earth. Once again, the craft stopped and hung in the air. This time, without any sound at all, the craft split in two sections, each flying in separate directions. My dad just shook his head and started complaining. “How much do you think this fucking bullshit costs us taxpayers?” I laughed at him and we both went inside. I wasn’t so certain that this craft was from the base. Nothing on this planet moves like that. This craft was so fast, it almost appeared to teleport. It’s movements were fluid and graceful almost as if the sky itself was water and it was swimming through a sea of stars.
Living so close to Beale Air Force Base, my family and I would often attend the annual air shows. I’ve seen all manner of aircraft performing stunts and I’ve never seen anything move like that, let alone split into two pieces. My last experience also has something to do with Beale Air Force Base. It was on January 16th, 2005. It was my 23rd birthday and I usually try to celebrate with a solo driving adventure. I decided to drive from my Grandmother’s home in Gridley, CA to a small gold mining town called Grass Valley. It’s a very cool little town that has many of its historical, Victorian era buildings still in tact.
There is also an abandoned insane asylum nearby that attracts ghost hunters. I just wanted to browse through the old book stores and shops. I was there for hours. At the time, I had a cell phone, but it wasn’t that dependable and this far up in the hills, the reception was a bit of a gamble anyway. When night fell, I decided to head for home. I had a much better car, a 1995 Oldsmobile.
This car was a lot more dependable than my previous car, but I didn’t want to get stuck on the side of the road with a so-so cell phone. When I stopped to get gas, there was a beat up red studebaker pickup truck next to me. Its owner was a portly oldman with a long, bushy beard. As I pumped gas, he stared down the freeway and started laughing. I saw headlights coming our way from the highway. The old man turned next to me and asked if I lived around there.
I told him no and he said that there have been a lot of military vehicles driving down the Nevada City Highway through Grass Valley for the past few days. He noticed that at around 8 or 9, a convoy of camouflaged trucks with government license plates would roll through town. Every single night it would be around the same time. It was 8:30 and a lot of trucks were headed our way. While it was dark, the lights from the gas station lit up the road enough to see the green trucks roll by. Each one had a canvas top over the bead of the truck. The first ten or so trucks were nearly identical military trucks. The kind you see in every episode of M.A.S.H. then there were two black Lincoln Continentals that drove past, followed by an enormous flatbed truck.
A large black tarp was draped over a large, gun metal grey oval shaped object. There were two more Lincoln’s following the truck. After that, they were gone as fast as they came. I asked the old man where he thought they were going. He turned to me and laughed. I’ll never forget what he told me. “Don’t you know, Beale is the new Area 51.” Once he gassed up, the old man jumped in his truck and drove away. I drove back home with an eerie feeling. If this was a secret government project, this was a terrible way to keep a secret.

I have had three encounters involving UFOs between 2003 and 2005. I was born and raised in Northern California in the Sacramento Valley. It is an incredibly rural area surrounded by orchards and cattle pastures. On August 17th 2003 I was driving from my Grandmother's home in Gridley, California to my home in Live Oak, California. This is a roughly 7 mile drive, I take the back road, Township Road and at 10:00 PM, there was absolutely no one around on the road.
I was surrounded by orchards and farm houses. My 1986 Ford LTD would always have electrical problems and it was no shock to me when my lights started flashing erratically on their own. The radio started getting nothing but hissing static. I pulled over, thinking my alternator was going out.
The moment I stopped the car, I noticed an incredibly bright blue light coming from across the street on my left. I looked over at the orchard and I saw a triangle shaped craft hovering about ten feet above the tree. There was a column of bright blue light coming out of the craft and illuminating the dirt on the ground. The triangle rotated slowly but made no noises whatsoever. Around the edges of the craft were pulsating blue lights, but every other feature of the craft was glossy black.
The craft itself was very wide, yet it was probably less than six feet tall. My automatic locks in the car were moving up and down. I shut the car off and I opened the door, I was contemplating walking across the street and into the orchard to get a better look. The moment I stepped my foot onto the street I felt incredibly dizzy and nauseous. In that moment, I thought that something horrible would happen to me if I went closer to the object.
This was before I had a cell phone and there were no cars anywhere around me. I quickly closed my door and tried to start my car. It started easily and I drove as fast as I could. I looked in the mirror behind me and saw that the craft was still there. I told my younger brothers, but I kept it to myself, mostly.
This was a small town and I was already seen as the weird writer, artist guy. I didn't want to be mocked even more than I already was. To be honest, Beale Air Force Base is about 30 miles from where I saw the craft and the first thing I thought was that this had to be some find of test flight. Then I realized that if this were a top secret, silent stealth craft, why the hell would it be out in the open. This was a small town, but not exactly desolate. There were homes a few miles away from where I had stopped the car, if this was the government’s idea of a secret, they were doing a lousy job.
A year later (I don't have the exact date, but it was in August as well), I was in Gridley, California at my Grandma and Grandpa's farm. They have eight acres of property and there are other farms surrounding them. About a mile away is a huge wildlife refuge called Grey Lodge. The stars light up the night sky because there is practically zero light pollution, especially on a moonless night like the one in question. My father and I had just bailed the hay in the pasture and we were staring up at the sky.
Miles above us was an object zooming through the night sky, it was egg shaped and all we could really make out was a vibrant bright yellow light. My dad and I watched as the craft dropped rapidly toward the ground and suddenly stopped in mid air and hung in the air. If that wasn't odd enough, the craft shot back up and started doing loops in the air. My dad kept saying that this had to be from Beale Air Force base because of the way the aircraft was moving. It would hang in midair and suddenly appear on the left, then the right. It repeated these movements for about five minutes.
Then, it dropped down, plummeting toward the earth. Once again, the craft stopped and hung in the air. This time, without any sound at all, the craft split in two sections, each flying in separate directions. My dad just shook his head and started complaining. “How much do you think this fucking bullshit costs us taxpayers?” I laughed at him and we both went inside. I wasn’t so certain that this craft was from the base. Nothing on this planet moves like that. This craft was so fast, it almost appeared to teleport. It’s movements were fluid and graceful almost as if the sky itself was water and it was swimming through a sea of stars.
Living so close to Beale Air Force Base, my family and I would often attend the annual air shows. I’ve seen all manner of aircraft performing stunts and I’ve never seen anything move like that, let alone split into two pieces. My last experience also has something to do with Beale Air Force Base. It was on January 16th, 2005. It was my 23rd birthday and I usually try to celebrate with a solo driving adventure. I decided to drive from my Grandmother’s home in Gridley, CA to a small gold mining town called Grass Valley. It’s a very cool little town that has many of its historical, Victorian era buildings still in tact.
There is also an abandoned insane asylum nearby that attracts ghost hunters. I just wanted to browse through the old book stores and shops. I was there for hours. At the time, I had a cell phone, but it wasn’t that dependable and this far up in the hills, the reception was a bit of a gamble anyway. When night fell, I decided to head for home. I had a much better car, a 1995 Oldsmobile.
This car was a lot more dependable than my previous car, but I didn’t want to get stuck on the side of the road with a so-so cell phone. When I stopped to get gas, there was a beat up red studebaker pickup truck next to me. Its owner was a portly oldman with a long, bushy beard. As I pumped gas, he stared down the freeway and started laughing. I saw headlights coming our way from the highway. The old man turned next to me and asked if I lived around there.
I told him no and he said that there have been a lot of military vehicles driving down the Nevada City Highway through Grass Valley for the past few days. He noticed that at around 8 or 9, a convoy of camouflaged trucks with government license plates would roll through town. Every single night it would be around the same time. It was 8:30 and a lot of trucks were headed our way. While it was dark, the lights from the gas station lit up the road enough to see the green trucks roll by. Each one had a canvas top over the bead of the truck. The first ten or so trucks were nearly identical military trucks. The kind you see in every episode of M.A.S.H. then there were two black Lincoln Continentals that drove past, followed by an enormous flatbed truck.
A large black tarp was draped over a large, gun metal grey oval shaped object. There were two more Lincoln’s following the truck. After that, they were gone as fast as they came. I asked the old man where he thought they were going. He turned to me and laughed. I’ll never forget what he told me. “Don’t you know, Beale is the new Area 51.” Once he gassed up, the old man jumped in his truck and drove away. I drove back home with an eerie feeling. If this was a secret government project, this was a terrible way to keep a secret.

A mystery ignited by a local news piece

Early last month, a sports reporter at a local station out in Grand Junction ran a piece looking at how local D-II Colorado-Mesa turned down an offer from the WAC. Not really an odd story for a local station to run, and while not exactly new news, it made sense in light of Dixie State having recently announced their move to D-I through the WAC.
Normally, a local story like this would only be of interest here as a small glance at how the WAC appears to be looking to restart football and join the FCS. That was, until a company called Collegiate Consulting tweeted an accusation that Colorado Mesa had not received an invitation to join the WAC. An accusation they also sent directly to the local reporter who had done the piece they took offense to.
So what the heck is going on? Did Colorado-Mesa get catfished? Make up an offer for some reason? And who is Collegiate Consulting and why are they laying into the school?
If you’re up for it, join me in taking a deeper look.

WAC

First things first, let’s check in on what the WAC has been up to over the last couple of years.
For those of you who weren’t around during the major conference realignments of 2010-2014, the WAC (Western Athletic Conference), was one of the major casualties. In reality, that whole mess is probably a bit more convoluted than worth going into here, so check out wikipedia for a longer summary if you’re interested in learning more. But essentially, they were an FBS conference that lost a number of football members during that period (including but not limited to Boise State, Fresno State, Hawai’i, Nevada, San Jose State, Utah State, and UTSA), and in response stopped sponsoring football after the 2012–13.
They also were forced to bring in a large amount of new members to keep the conference from completely collapsing. As of current, it consists of nine members. Of which only one joined the conference before 2012—FBS independent New Mexico State—who also has the distinction of being the only program in the conference to field football.
Despite the change in strategy, the WAC has never really been able to shift out of survival mode. They lose one member school, CSU Bakersfield, to the Big West in 2020. And another member, the geographically odd fitting Chicago State, has an enrollment of just 2,029 undergrads (down 57% on the decade), and a graduation rate of only 11%. So it’s very possible Chicago State’s future as an institution, let alone as a member of the conference, is in long term jeopardy.
Expansion and push for an FCS conference
This instability has lead to the WAC aggressively pursuing bringing new schools to its mix, a message relayed last year by New Mexico State’s Chancellor, Garrey Carruthers. The conference announced in January that Dixie State (located in southwest Utah for what that’s worth) would be joining the conference starting the 2020 season, and are known to have reached out to MSU Denver, and showed interest in Tarelton State as a travel partner for and the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. And to the FCS football angle, interestingly UTRGV ran a feasibility study of introducing FCS football which currently has left the decision looking murky at best.
But it’s become increasingly clear that the WAC desires to reintroduce football and start up an FCS conference as a means of shoring itself up. From the feasibility study that Dixie State commissioned before their decision to move up to DI and the WAC, it was suggested that they not move unless the WAC intended to sponsor FCS football. And in the same study, it was stated that, “The WAC is currently looking to expand its membership, as well as include football as a conference sport.”
Given all of this, it would make sense to assume that there are other schools being pursued in the background allowing for this offering, which were presented to Dixie State to entice their move. So could Colorado-Mesa reasonably have been one of them? They do align well with the conference’s current makeup and apparent other targets. They’d also help drive the football member count if the WAC was intending to go FCS.
But when I reached out the WAC’s Assistant Commissioner of Media Relations, Hope Shuler, about the seeming confusion on whether Colorado-Mesa had received an offer, the official response was:

”...we don’t speak on membership matters. As much as we’d like to make a comment on this one, we just can’t because once you comment on one, you set a precedent and then have to speak on all of them.”

This falls in line with “no comment” lines that commissioner Jeff Hurd has given in the past on expansion matters, and makes sense from a strategic point of view. But it doesn’t provide a ton of clarity on whether the WAC did make them an offer or not. So why is Collegiate Consulting lobbing accusations at Colorado-Mesa regarding them making up the claim of a WAC offer? In fact, who the heck are they in the first place?

Collegiate Consulting

Collegiate Consulting is one of a group of consulting firms that offer services to supplement what athletic departments and universities can quickly do on their own. Per their website, this includes producing financial reports, running market research, carrying out feasibility studies, and assisting in strategic planning, operational reviews, and executive searches.
There is no question that the company is known and tapped into the evolving college landscape, as evidence by their published consulting track record. Just recently they’ve run feasibility studies and aidedNorth Alabama, Merrimack, and Dixie State in their recent announced moves up to D-I and FCS football. And they were consulted by Idaho in their exploration into dropping down from FBS to FCS.
But despite their knowledge and ties, why would their Managing Director, Russel Wright, be so adamant in using such a denunciatory tone to address the Colorado-Mesa article? What would make him so sure they never received an invite that he’d state so publicly despite the WAC not doing so?
Relationship with the WAC
It’s clear that Collegiate Consulting has a close working relationship with the WAC. They were directly involved in both Dixie State and Cal Baptist’s move from D-II into the WAC. They also have provided services to WAC members that include but are not limited to:

• Benchmarking Grand Canyon University’s 2018 move to D-I and into the WAC
  
• Benchmarking University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley’s consolidation
  
• Ticket sale partnerships with both CSU Bakersfield and University of Missouri-Kansas City
  
• AD searches for both Seattle University and Utah Valley University
  

Collegiate Consulting also just recently finished feasibility studies involving rumored WAC targets Tarleton State and West Texas A&M, and are working on a study for another WAC target, MSU-Denver.
So obviously they have a close working relationship with WAC member schools (and the WAC itself).
But there also happens to be a more personal connection between the consulting group and the WAC! Shannon Hurd, the daughter of WAC Commissioner Jeff Hurd, is the copy editor for Collegiate Consulting. And in fact, despite Collegiate Consulting being located in Atlanta, she still resides close by to WAC headquarters in the suburbs of Denver.
Are the relationships enough that the WAC would be showing their workings directly to this outside firm about their proposed movements?
I decided to reach out to Russel Wright to try and get clarity about why he was so sure about the lack of an invite. Despite being adamant (even though he had since deleted the tweet that started this curiosity), he was not willing to provide me with specifics as to what and how he knew. When I asked him how he was sure, his response was:

”...mesa portrayed as invite, that isnt[sic] true....wac has a membership protocol and strlep[sic] #1 never occurred”

I though this reference to a “step 1” was interesting, because it seems to suggest that the first step to receiving an invite from the WAC would be some aspect that his company wold be in the know about. When I asked for clarification, he responded with more of the same:

”...in the news article Mesa stated they received an invitation from the WAC, and as noted below, ^{[note: not sure what he meant by this]} there is a formal protocol (which our firm is well-versed) and there was no invitation extended to the WAC and none of the formal steps were initiated. I removed the posts, because I was having quite a few folks wanting me to give the entire back story.”

While this continues to double down with his charge, it does open up an avenue where there wasn’t a “formal” invite, but rather potentially some back room discussion that Colorado-Mesa understood to mean they had a spot in the WAC if they wanted it.
I did try to get clarity from Russel about whether Collegiate Consulting may play an official or unofficial role within the WAC’s invitation process, but he was not willing to provide me any more information. So from here I’m left only the ability to speculate as to how exactly he knows, and to what degree his group may be part of the process.

Colorado Mesa

So the WAC won’t talk about it, and Collegiate Consulting is willing to double and triple down with the accusation that Colorado-Mesa never received an invite. What does Colorado-Mesa have to say about all of this?
When I reached out to the university, I was put in contact with David Ludlam, Director of Public Relations. I asked about their invite to the WAC, and his response was:

“CMU researched DI participation after direct discussion between President Holland and President Foster. Initial research resulted in CMU Board of Trustees opting not to pursue additional exploratory action shortly after President Holland reached out to Pres. Foster and inquired if Cmu would be interested in joining DI, the WAC.”

President Foster being the president of Colorado-Mesa, and President Holland being the—at the time—president of WAC member Utah Valley University. What is somewhat interesting is that Holland left Utah Valley in June of 2018, and in fact had announced he was stepping down then back in November of 2017. Not to suggest he wouldn't have been engaging in discussions like this up until his departure, but it does means the conversation was happening well earlier than late last year, when the “invitation” was taken to Colorado-Mesa’s Board of Trustees in November of 2018.
To see if this jived with what he was told by Mesa, I reached out to the reporter who did the original story, Richie Cozzolino at KREX 5. In his own words:

An "official" invite for Colorado Mesa from the WAC was a difficult piece of reporting. Yes, I spoke with both WAC officials and CMU Athletics Directors. When I first met with CMU officials, they told me the university's president, Tim Foster, was approached with an informal offer to join the WAC. He had the athletic department put together the feasibility report to see if it was possible. When I published the story, WAC officials declined to comment on what they called "speculative membership offers" but told me after the fact that CMU was never officially offered a WAC spot.
As far as my report goes, I've had numerous CMU higher-ups tell me something different; that an offer was on the table, if they decided to move forward with the transition process. Obviously, it didn't go that far. But since the WAC never wanted to go on the record, I decided to stick with my original story.
I'm confident about the time period. I know for a fact CMU brought the feasibility study to the board of Trustees in Mid-November, and turned down any offer, speculative or otherwise, a few weeks after that.

So this appears to mesh, although it leaves open a question as to what was an invitation vs an offer, what was official vs unofficial. Heck, would the WAC even formally offer a proper invite without already knowing it was a done deal?

Supposition Time

I wasn’t sure I expected to get a clear answer at the end of all of this, but I think it’s clear at the least that the story wasn’t as cut and dry as either Colorado-Mesa or Collegiate Consulting attempted to portray it. My best guess right now as to what happened is as follows (with plenty of supposition throughout, so take all with grain of salt):

1. Utah Valley’s president did in fact reach to President Foster at Colorado-Mesa about an informal offer to join the WAC, with it being made clear to them that they would have a place in if they decided to move. This would fall in line with slides that show up on Dixie State's town hall video when they were scoping their D-I move. In that presentation, a slide at the 0:45 mark states that they received an informal offer which lead to them conducing their own feasibility study (with Collegiate Consulting). And then a slide roughly at the 1:05 mark says they were approached by the WAC Commissioner, the president of UVU, and the president of Grand Canyon Valley.
   
2. Colorado-Mesa ran an internal feasibility study, possibly with a level of skepticism that the move would make sense for them. This lead to them feeling it didn't make sense. This, I believe, is where a lot the friction stems on multiple angles.
   My guess is they were pointed to Collegiate Consulting as being able to assist them (which in itself would make sense if Collegiate Consulting had been putting together good work in regards to this type of work when it came to other WAC and potential target WAC schools). When they didn't, and furthermore made the decision not to go up, it rankled Russel Wright over at CC who was cut out of the loop.
   Russel had mentioned a “step 1” that I never was able to get clarity about but couldn’t. And since the WAC also won’t comment,I’m left only to speculate. But I suspect that first step is, in fact, running a feasibility study as a way of protecting both the university and the conference. And Collegiate Consulting is likely the group the WAC points schools to initially because of their being a known quantity.
   
3. Mesa going public about having considered DI and deciding it doesn't make sense puts more scrutiny on the move of a school like Dixie State. I actually can't prove the animosity there, and was hesitant to include this part because I didn't get a screen shot for proof. But another wrinkle in all of this was that before it was deleted, Dixie State's Athletic Director Jason Boothe had liked Collegiate Consulting’s tweet accusing Mesa of making their invite up.
   The move has left Dixie State a bit exposed without other schools coming along with them. They're jumping to FCS football without a conference until the WAC can bring in enough teams. Their finances and market aren't really much different than what Mesa has going. In all it's a gamble that relies on other schools taking the same risk. So a school publicly going on about turning the move down doesn't look great for them.
   
4. It's also possible the public nature of stating they had been offered (independent of officially or not) still could play a role in the WAC's strategy to shore itself up. They made it clear to Dixie State that they intended to start up FCS football. Even in Dixie State’s feasibility study, it was pointed out the move only makes sense for them if that occurs. And the WAC's strategy on that front appears to be, in part, based around bringing in multiple football around the Rockies and Texas so that they can have an FCS football conference. But Mesa being open about thinking it was a bad idea for them could spook schools like MSU-Denver and West Texas A&M, who otherwise appear to have similar open offers.
   

So you got to the end, what about it?

Honestly, I’m not sure. In the end it doesn't appear to be as big of a mess as it may have been (e.g. Colorado-Mesa having made up an offer completely or having been catfished into thinking the WAC and given them an invite). But it does give you a hint at how serious the WAC appears to want to expand and bring FCS football into the mix to stabilize themselves.
And Collegiate Consulting is a funny entity in the middle of everything. I know that I wasn’t aware of how integral outside groups like them are in the decisions that are driving what is happening along the D-II, FCS, and FBS movements. Particularly if you stop and ponder that Collegiate Consulting themselves have assisted three of the four programs currently in transition to the FCS right now (and Idaho on their move down from FBS to boot).
But there isn't going to be much I'll be able to prove on how Collegiate Consulting is or isn’t wrapped up in the WAC's business unless I were to do open records requests and find that there was communication requiring it. And that feels like WAY too much of a fishing exposition. In the end, I'm just happy to have been able to gain a bit of clarity on where the discrepancy appeared to stem from, and am hoping at least a couple of you might have found the journey of interest as well.

TL;DR

Colorado-Mesa likely received a casual offer to join the WAC, but after looking at it internally decided to turn it down. Collegiate Consulting—an outside group who has been involved in the transitions of the recent majority of schools to have moved to the FCS—called them out for claiming they received an invitation when it may have been informal at best.
The WAC won’t comment, but this outside group stand firm, opening up questions as to why they would be so adamant. In the end, the newest WAC member-to-be, Dixie State, is left planning a move to the FCS as an independent without a clear path forward and a lot of questions as to whether the WAC will be able to build an FCS conference for them to be in.
Edit: copy-editing clean up of mistypes of an/and, etc.

Greetings From /fcs!

Its likely that most of us who follow college football–even those that are fans of FCS teams–don’t know a lot about the lower subdivision. It doesn’t get a lot in the way of major-media attention after all. So despite having a robust history and large footprint, you may not hear much about the DI teams playing in your own backyard. And that’s a problem we want to help fix.
For the better part of the last 6 months this off-season, we’ve been running weekly info sessions/discussion threads detailing each FCS conference and their members. This is the last posting in that series, a conversation about the subdivision as a whole.
Following this intro will be a bit of information about the FCS and how it got to its current state. There will also be tables listing the current and former conferences, and in those tables are links to each conferences’ “Get to Know the FCS” posting.
Those posts touch mainly on basic stuff: a brief history of the particular conference and how it came to be, current and former teams, champions though history, things like that. Then in the comments there are the starts of discussion threads about each current team, with the top level comment being the team in question and some cursory information about them (stadium, current coach, all-time record, 2019 schedule, etc.)
Please feel free to visit each and learn a bit about a great part of Division I football. Until the threads ultimately get time-locked, you're encouraged to comment with any information you may think is relevant to a conference or team, ask questions, highlight traditions, etc. Our membership over at /fcs is roughly the same size as the number of people viewing /cfb at any one time during the off-season, so we’d love for you all to take a look at those playing in the subdivision and consider joining us!

Football Championship Series (FCS) Background

The Football Championship Series (FCS) is a subdivision of Division I football created by the NCAA in 1978, originally as a split in the division which designated the lower subdivision I-AA, and the upper subdivision I-A (now the FBS). Although people still use it informally, the I-AA naming convention was dropped by the NCAA in 2006 in favor of the current FCS designation.
The main difference between the two subdivisions are that in the FCS, teams are limited to 63 players on scholarship (compared to the 85 for FBS teams) and usually play an 11 game regular season schedule which ends the week before Thanksgiving. The exceptions to this are the Ivy League, who plays a ten game schedule, and the SWAC which holds a 12th conference championship game in December. Instead of a bowl system and paltry 4-team playoff, the FCS holds an NCAA sanctioned 24-team playoff to determine it’s national champion. As such, a team can play as many as 16 games in a season.
Despite being able to have up to 63 players on scholarship, not every FCS conference offers to that level. Both the Ivy League and Pioneer Football League prohibit members from offering scholarship to football players, while the Northeast Conference limits their members to 40 athletic scholarships (although, other equivalent aid can be provide up the FCS limit). The only other conference to limit scholarship is the Patriot League, which originally prevented members from offering scholarship, but now allows the equivalent of 15 scholarships for incoming players, and a total 60 scholarship equivalents. The Patriot League also prohibits the ability for athletes to red-shirt. Georgetown is the lone ember of the Patriot League to still not offer any scholarships.
The subdivision saw it’s first major growth in 1982, after the NCAA–in a move not explicitly but clearly aimed at the Ivy League–set new regulations for I-A membership that forced the reclassification of multiple programs. Under the rules, any team that failed to meet three criteria for Division l-A membership:

• Sponsor at least eight varsity sports, including football
  
• Play at least 60 percent of their games against Division l-A members
  
• Have averaged more than 17,000 paid attendance at home games for the past four years, or play in a stadium that contains at least 30,000 seats and have averaged 17,000 paid home attendance for at least one of the past four years
  

was required to reclassify to the I-AA subdivision. The move was forced by the College Football Association, a special-interest group of 61 of the country's most powerful teams, that was seeking a greater hand in shaping policy on network television contracts. Prior to the NCAA’s vote, the CFA schools had threatened to break from the traditional arrangement, going so far as to have began negotiating a contract of their own independent of the NCAA.
These were rules that half the Ivy League could not meet, and the conference chose as a group to all move down to I-AA. Overall, the rule relegated a total of 36 teams from I-A down to I-AA in the 1982 season, growing the subdivision to 86 teams. The rule would continue to contribute to shift in a number of programs over the next few years.
The other major sea change in the subdivision would come after a 1991 rule adopted by the NCAA requiring athletic programs to maintain all of their sports at the same division level by the 1993 season. As such, many Division I programs with football teams at the Division II and Division III levels were forced to upgrade their programs to the Division I-AA level. This would lead to a number of teams coming up as independents to later join various conferences, as well as contributed to the formation of a number of new conferences, including the American West Conference, MAAC Football League, the Pioneer Football League, and later the Northeast Conference.
Current Conferences
For the upcoming 2019 season, there will be 126 teams competing in the FCS. 125 124 of these teams will be playing in one of 13 conferences. One Two additional schools (the University of North Dakota and Merrimack College) will be playing as an independents as they complete their transition from the Big Sky to the MFVC and DII to DI-A in the NEC, respectively.

Logo/Flair	Conference	Also Known As	Year Established for Football	2019 Membership Count	FCS/I-AA Championships	Conference Write-up
Big Sky	Big Sky Conference	Big Sky, BSC	1963	13	6	Get to Know the Big Sky
Big South	Big South Conference	Big South	2002	8	0	Get to Know the Big South
CAA	Colonial Athletic Association Football Conference	CAA, CAA Football	2007	12	3	Get to Know the CAA
FCS	FCS Independents	same	1978	1 2	7	Get to Know the FCS Independents
Ivy League	Ivy League	same	1954	8	0	Get to Know the Ivy League
MEAC	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	MEAC	1970	9	0	Get to Know the MEAC
MVFC	Missouri Valley Football Conference	MVFC	1985	10	9	Get to Know the MVFC
Northeast	Northeast Conference	NEC	1996	9 8	0	Get to Know the NEC
Ohio Valley	Ohio Valley Conference	OVC	1948	9	2	Get to Know the OVC
Patriot	Patriot League	same	1986	7	0	Get to Know the Patriot League
Pioneer	Pioneer Football League	PFL, Pioneer	1993	10	0	Get to Know the PFL
SoCon	Southern Conference	SoCon	1921	9	8	Get to Know the SoCon
Southland	Southland Conference	Southland	1963	11	1	Get to Know the Southland
SWAC	Southwestern Athletic Conference	SWAC	1920	10	0	Get to Know the SWAC

Former Conferences
Since the formation of the I-AA in 1978, there have also been seven conferences to sponsor football in the subdivision before ultimately dropping support. In some instances, these conferences were short lived entities created to allow the transition of group of schools from DII or DIII football up to DI. In other instances, these were conferences with rich histories that found themselves in a position unable to justify continuing sponsoring football as the landscape changed.

Logo/Flair	Conference	Also Known As	Years as Football Conference	Total Membership Count	FCS/I-AA Championships	Conference Write-up
American West	American West Conference	American West, AWC	1993-1996	5 (4 in the FCS/I-AA subdivision)	0	Get to Know the American West
AMCU	Association of Mid-Continent Universities	AMCU	1978-1984	7 (4 in the FCS/I-AA subdivision)	0	Get to Know the AMCU
Atlantic 10 / Yankee	Atlantic 10 Conference / Yankee Conference	A-10 / Yankee	1947-2006	16 (14 in the FCS/I-AA subdivision)	3	Get to Know the Atlantic 10
Great West	Great West Conference	Great West, GWC	2004-2011	8	0	Get to Know the Great West
Gulf Star	Gulf Star Conference	Gulf Star	1984-1986	6	0	Get to Know the Gulf Star
MAAC	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League	MAAC, MAAC Football	1993-2007	10	0	Get to Know the MAAC
MVC / Missouri Valley	Missouri Valley Conference	MVC, The Valley	1907-1985	29 (5 in the FCS/I-AA subdivision)	1	Get to Know the MVC

Additionally, in the subdivision's inaugural 1978 season, Florida A&M was the lone I-AA member of the otherwise Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). The Rattlers would go on to earn an at-large bid for the fourth spot in the playoffs, and would subsequently end up winning the 1978 National Championship. So despite never truly being a I-AA/FCS conference, the SIAC does hold claim to the first I-AA championship.

Playoffs and Championships

The FCS determines its national champion through an NCAA-sanctioned single-elimination bracket tournament. Since the 2013 season, the tournament has started with with 24 teams; 10 conference champions that received automatic bids, and 14 teams selected at-large by an NCAA sanctioned selection committee. The top 8 teams, as determined by the committee, are seeded and receive byes past the first round.
You may have noted that I said 10 conference champions despite there being 13 conferences in total. This is because three of the conference, the Ivy League, the MEAC, and the SWAC abstain from sending their champion to the tournament. Despite qualifying for an autobid, the Ivy League has not played any post-season games since becoming a conference in 1956, citing academic concerns.
As for the two HBCU conferences, they send their champions to play against each other in mid-December in the Celebration Bowl, a de facto Black College Football National Championship. Furthermore, the SWAC has its own championship game in mid-December prior to the Celebration bowl, and three of its member schools traditionally do not finish their regular seasons until Thanksgiving weekend: Grambling State and Southern play each other in the Bayou Classic, and Alabama State plays Tuskegee (of Division II) in the Turkey Day Classic. Both MEAC and SWAC teams are eligible to accept at-large bids if their schedule is not in conflict.
The tournament traditionally begins on Thanksgiving weekend in late November. Every game except for the title game is played at the higher ranking team’s stadium, providing a strong incentive in the regular season to play for home field advantage. The championship game is then played at a pre-determined site, which since 2010 has been (what is now) Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
Prior to Frisco, the game has been played in a total of 9 other locations. From 1997-2009 the championship game had been held at Finley Stadium (home of the Chattanooga Mocs) in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This was preceded by five seasons in Marshall’s stadium in Huntington, West Virginia, from 1992 to 1996. For 1989 through 1991 it was held on Georgia Southern’s campus in Statesboro, Georgia, and the 1987 and 1988 games were played in Idaho State’s stadium in Pocatello, Idaho. In 1985 and 1986, Tacoma, Washington, hosted the game, which the NCAA branded as the Diamond Bowl. Prior to that, the game was played in Charleston, South Carolina for the 1983 and 1984 seasons. The 1981-1982 games were played in Wichita Falls and known as the Pioneer Bowl. Wichita Falls was also the host of the inaugural 1978 championship game, and the only city to host multiple times in non-consecutive years. Finally, the 1980 game was held in Sacramento, California and known as the Camellia Bowl, and the 1979 games was hosted in Orlando, Florida at the then D-III UCF Knight’s stadium.
When the I-AA subdivison was formed in 1978, the playoffs included just four teams for its first three seasons. This was double to eight teams for the 1981 season, and raised again to 12 teams from from 1982 to 1985. Further expansion to 16 teams lasted from 1986 through 2009, and then in 2010 was grown again to 20 teams. This jump to 20 teams shifted the championship game from December to early January of the following year. The latest expansion, to 24 teams, occurred in 2013.
Over the last 41 seasons, 21 different teams have won the National Championship. The reigning champions from the 2018 season are the NDSU Bison, who won a record 7th FCS National Championship this past year.
I-AA/FCS Champions

Team	National Championships	Season of National Championship(s)	Additional Championship Game Appearances	Season of Additional Championship Game Appearance(s)
North Dakota State North Dakota State	7	2011*, 2012*, 2013*, 2014*, 2015*, 2017*, 2018*	0	N/A
Georgia Southern Georgia Southern	6	1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1999, 2000	2	1988, 1998
Youngstown State Youngstown State	4	1991, 1993, 1994, 1997	3	1992, 1999, 2016*
Appalachian State Appalachian State	3	2005, 2006, 2007	0
Montana Montana	2	1995, 2001	5	1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2009
Marshall Marshall	2	1992, 1996	4	1987, 1991, 1993, 1995
Eastern Kentucky Eastern Kentucky	2	1979, 1982	2	1980, 1981
James Madison James Madison	2	2004, 2016*	1	2017*
Delaware Delaware	1	2003	3	1982, 2007, 2010*
Furman Furman	1	1988	2	1985, 2001
UMass UMass	1	1998	2	1978, 2006
Boise State Boise State	1	1980	1	1994
Eastern Washington Eastern Washington	1	2010*	1	2018*
Florida A&M Florida A&M	1	1978	0	N/A
Idaho State Idaho State	1	1981	0	N/A
ULM Northeast Louisiana (now Louisiana-Monroe)	1	1987	0	N/A
Montana State Montana State	1	1984	0	N/A
Richmond Richmond	1	2008	0	N/A
Southern Illinois Southern Illinois	1	1983	0	N/A
Villanova Villanova	1	2009	0	N/A
WKU Western Kentucky	1	2002	0	N/A
McNeese McNeese State	0	N/A	2	1997, 2002
Sam Houston State Sam Houston State	0	N/A	2	2011*, 2012*
Arkansas State Arkansas State	0	N/A	1	1986
Colgate Colgate	0	N/A	1	2003
Illinois State Illinois State	0	N/A	1	2014*
Jacksonville State Jacksonville State	0	N/A	1	2015*
Lehigh Lehigh	0	N/A	1	1979
Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech	0	N/A	1	1984
Nevada Nevada	0	N/A	1	1990
Northern Iowa Northern Iowa	0	N/A	1	2005
Stephen F. Austin Stephen F. Austin	0	N/A	1	1989
Towson Towson	0	N/A	1	2013*
Western Carolina Western Carolina	0	N/A	1	1983

*Championship games played in January of the following calendar year
NCAA Division I FCS Mid Major National Football Champions
The NCAA Division I FCS Mid Major National Football Championship was a label that began in 2001 and ended after the 2007 season. The teams that were ranked in the poll came from three conferences, the Pioneer Football League, the Northeast Conference, and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. These were three of the six Division I FCS football conferences that did not receive automatic bids to the FCS football tournament thus were essentially unable to compete for the FCS championship. The NEC wouldn’t receive an autobid until 2010, the PFL wouldn’t receive one (or any bid at all) until 2013, and the MAAC never would before ceasing to play in the subdivision.
The Sports Network Cup was awarded annually to the winner. Like the Stanley Cup, the Sports Network Cup was a traveling trophy, spending the year at the winning school and then passed on to the next winner annually.
Beginning with the 2008 season, corresponding to the MAAC discontinuing sponsorship of football, the Sports Network ceased the mid-major poll and began including the teams previously ranked in the mid-major poll into more serious consideration for the full Division I FCS poll.

Year	Champion	Conference
2001	Sacred Heart Sacred Heart	Northeast Conference
2002	Dayton Dayton	Pioneer Football League
2003	Duquesne Duquesne	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
2004	Monmouth Monmouth	Northeast Conference
2005	San Diego San Diego	Pioneer Football League
2006	San Diego San Diego	Pioneer Football League
2007	Dayton Dayton	Pioneer Football League

Black College Football National Champions
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have a rather rich history of naming a national champion. During segregation, predominantly white schools refused to play HBCUs, leaving them with limitations in scheduling. Black colleges began playing football against each other in 1892 (the first game being between Johnson C Smith vs. Livingstone College, which Johnson C Smith won 5-0). But it wasn’t until the 1948 Fruit Bowl (between Southern and San Fransisco State) that an HBCU played a predominantly white school (sidenote, Southern won that game 30-0).
But because of the long time frame where they were only allowed to play each other, systems quickly (well, relatively quickly) developed to try and name an HBCU national champion. The first attempt to designate an HBCU national champion team came in 1920, by the Pittsburg Courier. As I alluded to when I said quickly, this was already 28 years after the first game had been played between two black colleges.
Over time, th designation by the Pittsburg Courier has evolved into what is now called the Sheridan Poll. The Sheridan Poll awards the Jake Gaither National Championship trophy to this day, and is currently run by the American Urban Radio Networks.
In 1921, another group aligned with many of the schools themselves emerged, calling itself the Champion Aggregation of All Conferences (CAAC). The CAAC existed from 1921-1949, and was promoted in Spalding’s Intercollegiate Football Guide.
Like other college football championship claims, over the years (from 1921 to now) a number of other polls or championship designators have come and gone. I think there are something like 20-25 that have existed at some point. There have also been a number of attempts to name an HBCU champion through a final championship game. This includes:

• Colored Championship (1920 and 1923) - only included members of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association conference
  
• Chocolate Bowl (1935)
  
• Steel (1940) and Vulcan Bowl (1941)
  
• National Bowl (1947)
  
• National Football Classic (1954)
  
• Pelican Bowl (1972, 1974-1975) - only between champions of the MEAC and SWAC
  
• Heritage Bowl (1991-1999) - only between champions of the MEAC and SWAC
  
• Celebration Bowl (2015-current) - only between champions of the MEAC and SWAC
  

The Celebration Bowl is the current incarnation within the FCS, a championship game held in mid-December between the winners of the SWAC and MEAC conferences. But especially with the later bowls like the Celebration Bowl, because not all HBCUs are eligible to play in the bowl games (such as Tennessee State in the OVC and now Hampton in the Big South), they aren’t able to act as true HBCU championship games, although they tend to serve as such de facto.
Partly because of the lack of full inclusion, even now there are a number of HBCU National Champion designating polls and organizations, at both DI and the below divisions. Beyond the Celebration Bowl and the Sheridan Poll, there are other fun ones like the BOXTOROW Coaches and Media polls, Black College Sports Page poll, and Dr. Cavil’s Classic Cuts poll.
Since the formation of the I-AA/FCS subdivision, 18 different HBCUs have been named a Black College Football National Champion by at least one poll:

School	HBCU National Championships	Seasons
Grambling Grambling State	9	1980, 1983, 1992, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2016
Hampton Hampton	6	1985, 1994, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2006
Tennessee State Tennessee State	6	1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 2012, 2013
North Carolina A&T North Carolina A&T	5	1990, 1999, 2015, 2017, 2018
South Carolina State South Carolina State	5	1981, 1982, 1994, 2008, 2009
Southern Southern	5	1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2003
Bethune-Cookman Bethune–Cookman	4	2002, 2010, 2012, 2013
Florida A&M Florida A&M	3	1978, 1998, 2001
Howard Howard	3	1987, 1993, 1996
Alabama State Alabama State	2	1991, 2011
Alcorn State Alcorn State	2	1984, 2014
Jackson State Jackson State	2	1985, 1996
NCCU North Carolina Central	2	2005, 2006
UAPB Arkansas–Pine Bluff	1	2012
Delaware State Delaware State	1	2007
Norfolk State Norfolk State	1	2011
Prairie View A&M Prairie View A&M	1	2009
Texas Southern Texas Southern	1	2010

Individual Awards

Walter Payton Award
The Walter Payton Award (named in honor of the NFL legend Walter Payton, who had played for Jackson State University in the early 70s) is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the FCS. The award was first given in 1987 to the most outstanding player in the division, much like the Heisman. In 1995, after the inauguration of the Buck Buchanan Award for defensive players, eligibility for the Walter Payton Award was restricted to offensive players only.
The award is chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports information directors. In it’s 32 year history, 21 different schools have had a player win the award. In 2009, Armanti Edwards from Appalachian State became the first player to receive the award twice. This feat was repeated in 2017 when Jeremiah Briscoe from Sam Houston Stat won his second Walter Payton Award.

Year	Winner	School	Position
1987	Kenny Gamble	Colgate Colgate	Running back
1988	Dave Meggett	Towson Towson State	Running back
1989	John Friesz	Idaho Idaho	Quarterback
1990	Walter Dean	Grambling Grambling	Running back
1991	Jamie Martin	Weber State Weber State	Quarterback
1992	Michael Payton	Marshall Marshall	Quarterback
1993	Doug Nussmeier	Idaho Idaho	Quarterback
1994	Steve McNair	Alcorn State Alcorn State	Quarterback
1995	Dave Dickenson	Montana Montana	Quarterback
1996	Archie Amerson	Northern Arizona Northern Arizona	Running back
1997	Brian Finneran	Villanova Villanova	Wide receiver
1998	Jerry Azumah	New Hampshire New Hampshire	Running back
1999	Adrian Peterson	Georgia Southern Georgia Southern	Running back
2000	Louis Ivory	Furman Furman	Running back
2001	Brian Westbrook	Villanova Villanova	Running back
2002	Tony Romo	Eastern Illinois Eastern Illinois	Quarterback
2003	Jamaal Branch	Colgate Colgate	Running back
2004	Lang Campbell	William & Mary William & Mary	Quarterback
2005	Erik Meyer	Eastern Washington Eastern Washington	Quarterback
2006	Ricky Santos	New Hampshire New Hampshire	Quarterback
2007	Jayson Foster	Georgia Southern Georgia Southern	Quarterback
2008	Armanti Edwards	Appalachian State Appalachian State	Quarterback
2009	Armanti Edwards (2)	Appalachian State Appalachian State	Quarterback
2010	Jeremy Moses	Stephen F. Austin Stephen F. Austin	Quarterback
2011	Bo Levi Mitchell	Eastern Washington Eastern Washington	Quarterback
2012	Taylor Heinicke	Old Dominion Old Dominion	Quarterback
2013	Jimmy Garoppolo	Eastern Illinois Eastern Illinois	Quarterback
2014	John Robertson	Villanova Villanova	Quarterback
2015	Cooper Kupp	Eastern Washington Eastern Washington	Wide receiver
2016	Jeremiah Briscoe	Sam Houston State Sam Houston State	Quarterback
2017	Jeremiah Briscoe (2)	Sam Houston State Sam Houston State	Quarterback
2018	Devlin Hodges	Samford Samford	Quarterback

Buck Buchanan Award
The Buck Buchanan Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding defensive player in the FCS, and was first given in 1995 after the Walter Payton Award was designated solely for offensive players. It was named in honor of the late NFL legend Junious "Buck" Buchanan, who starred at Grambling State University in the early 60s.
Like the Walter Payton Award, the Buck Buchanan Award is chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports information directors. In it’s 24 year history, 17 different schools have had a player win the award. Dexter Coakley of Appalachian State University is the only player to win the award twice.

Year	Winner	School	Position
1995	Dexter Coakley	Appalachian State Appalachian State	Linebacker
1996	Dexter Coakley (2)	Appalachian State Appalachian State	Linebacker
1997	Chris McNeil	North Carolina A&T North Carolina A&T	Defensive end
1998	James Milton	Western Illinois Western Illinois	Linebacker
1999	Al Lucas	Troy Troy State	Defensive tackle
2000	Edgerton Hartwell	Western Illinois Western Illinois	Linebacker
2001	Derrick Lloyd	James Madison James Madison	Linebacker
2002	Rashean Mathis	Bethune-Cookman Bethune-Cookman	Cornerback
2003	Jared Allen	Idaho State Idaho State	Defensive end
2004	Jordan Beck	Cal Poly Cal Poly	Linebacker
2005	Chris Gocong	Cal Poly Cal Poly	Defensive end
2006	Kyle Shotwell	Cal Poly Cal Poly	Linebacker
2007	Kroy Biermann	Montana Montana	Defensive end
2008	Greg Peach	Eastern Washington Eastern Washington	Defensive end
2009	Arthur Moats	James Madison James Madison	Defensive end
2010	J. C. Sherritt	Eastern Washington Eastern Washington	Linebacker
2011	Matt Evans	New Hampshire New Hampshire	Linebacker
2012	Caleb Schreibeis	Montana State Montana State	Defensive end
2013	Brad Daly	Montana State Montana State	Defensive end
2014	Kyle Emanuel	North Dakota State North Dakota State	Defensive end
2015	Deon King	Norfolk State Norfolk State	Linebacker
2016	Karter Schult	Northern Iowa Northern Iowa	Defensive end
2017	Darius Jackson	Jacksonville State Jacksonville State	Defensive end
2018	Zach Hall	Southeast Missouri Southeast Missouri State	Linebacker

Edit: Due to Merrimack not playing a full NEC schedule in 2019 (despite being a member of the conference otherwise) I've taken the advice of others and decided to remove them as an NEC member for this season, and instead include them as an Independent. They are attempting to have a full NEC schedule for the 2020 season.