Matt Baca is done waiting for a Division I scholarship offer. The Ayala quarterback committed Jan. 21 to the University of Northern Colorado, a Division I-AA (or FCS – Football Championship Subdivision, if you want to get technical) school in Greeley, Colo.
“I’m not worried about what everybody else thinks. I know I made a good decision,” Baca said. “Northern Colorado is an ideal place for me.”
Baca helped transform an Ayala team fresh off an 0-10 season into a 7-4 playoff team this season by completing 55 percent of his passes for 2,398 yards with 18 TD’s and 10 interceptions.
There was talk about Baca being worthy of a Division-I scholarship, but the offers never came. Baca thought the 0-10 season may have hampered his recruitment, something the Ayala coach Tom Inglima initially disagreed with but later gathered from scouts to have been a factor.
“The bottom line is you get what you pay for,” Inglima said. “If you’re good enough, you can make it anywhere. I’m not talking about the NFL, but I am. If he would’ve gotten (Division I) offers he would have taken them but you’ve got to fit the program too.”
Baca took his official recruiting trip last weekend to Northern Colorado, which went 1-9 last season in the Big Sky Conference. The only other school he visited was Division-II Minnesota State University at Moorhead.
“Division I-AA is a higher level, so I had to go with that,” Baca said. “Plus I have family in Colorado so it’ll make it easier for my family to travel. Northern Colorado was always my first choice.”
