Aresco Says AAC Will Expand

[SMU_Alum11]

What would make sense in my view is break up both MWC and AAC and take the top 6 in each and call themselves P6. Maybe that's why things are quiet. Very disappointing for sure but if Aresco goes to the other conferences then I would be onboard for leaving to the MWC and convince Memphis to do the same.

[Water Pony]

Mountain West Conference could recreate P6 aspirations or at least the best of the rest Group of Five. Take Memphis, Rice, SMU and Tulsa for all sports, plus Wichita and Gonzaga.

MWC would get better in FB and have a great BB Conference with these schools, plus the likes of San Diego State. Memphis wants a strong BB conference and this might keep them happy.

SMU is in a difficult position geographically. Do we look East, where any eastern additions, beyond Army and possibly UAB, will not get anyone excited? If we look West, any Pacific Time Zone game will be late.

This is why they pay Hart, Aresco and Thompson the big bucks.

[MV pony]

Um, IMHO, SMU pays Turner and Hart the big bucks to make stupid decisions. And since Turner is still here, I have no faith in the BOT.

[redpony]

Mountain West Conference could recreate P6 aspirations or at least the best of the rest Group of Five. Take Memphis, Rice, SMU and Tulsa for all sports, plus Wichita and Gonzaga.
:

NO on tiny Tulsa. I would rather see them add UTSA. Or just add SMU and Memphis.

[SMUstang]

SMU is going nowhere unless it's the Big 12. This team deserves to be in the same conference with TCU, Baylor, Tech, Ok State, and BYU, UCF, Cincy, and Houston. Their athletic budget, and academics are far superior to most of those schools.

[SMUstang]

SMU is going nowhere unless it's the Big 12. This team deserves to be in the same conference with TCU, Baylor, Tech, Ok State, and BYU, UCF, Cincy, and Houston. Their athletic budget, and academics are far superior to most of those schools.

[Mustangs35SMU]

Yea I can't see SMU leaving the AAC unless it's for a P5 conference (still including B12 in that). Moving to the MWC would be such a lateral move.

Even so, they don't seem to be that aggressive in expansion. If Gonzaga was added to the MWC for basketball, that would definitely be a plus to go out that way, but I just don't get the draw of anyone from the MWC other than Boise tbh.

Shame Air Force doesn't want to come over to the American.

[35straight]

Anything other than being added to a current P5 conference is a bust, and we(along with everyone else not included) will forever be the née DII football league. It’s Hart/Turners job to make sure that doesn’t happen. If we’re left without a chair when the music stops it’s over. There’s no such thing as P6.

[redpony]

It’s Hart/Turners job to make sure that doesn’t happen. If we’re left without a chair when the music stops it’s over. There’s no such thing as P6.

surely you jest. If we are expecting a president who for over 20+yrs was more interested in building fountains than effective sports programs and an AD whose claim to fame is driving off as many fans as he could with his re-seat programs plus running off the best bball coach we have had in many years then we had better forget sports and shut down all of the programs.
We do not need a lateral move to the MWC. If we can't move up in the short term then we are in real trouble as the AAC is dropping like a rock.

[35straight]

It’s Hart/Turners job to make sure that doesn’t happen. If we’re left without a chair when the music stops it’s over. There’s no such thing as P6.

surely you jest. If we are expecting a president who for over 20+yrs was more interested in building fountains than effective sports programs and an AD whose claim to fame is driving off as many fans as he could with his re-seat programs plus running off the best bball coach we have had in many years then we had better forget sports and shut down all of the programs.
We do not need a lateral move to the MWC. If we can't move up in the short term then we are in real trouble as the AAC is dropping like a rock.

Oh, I’m not saying it’s happening until after Turner’s next shrine to himself.

[SMU_Alum11]

Yea I can't see SMU leaving the AAC unless it's for a P5 conference (still including B12 in that). Moving to the MWC would be such a lateral move.

Even so, they don't seem to be that aggressive in expansion. If Gonzaga was added to the MWC for basketball, that would definitely be a plus to go out that way, but I just don't get the draw of anyone from the MWC other than Boise tbh.

Shame Air Force doesn't want to come over to the American.

With the AAC gutted, it's really hard to say that SMU and Memphis is superior to SDSU and BSU. That's why honestly if the schools could come up with 8 other top schools and go to their own conference that would make more sense. Right now just picture our next schedule if they were to leave next year:

Lamar
Unt (fbschedules show but smu doesn't interesting)
Maryland
Tcu
USF
Tulane
Tulsa
Navy
ECU
Temple
Memphis
??? (Need to add 1)

This is not remotely close to P6 scheduling. We would need to see who they add (at least 1) but honestly need to drop Lamar and find either old conference mate like Houston to replace to make a decent schedule.

[Comet]

The word now is that Air Force and Colorado St. have decided to stay in the Mountain West since Boise St. and San Diego St. have no interest in moving.

Now, the rumors being thrown around is that SMU and Tulsa will join the Mountain West as full members and Wichita State and Gonzaga would join for Basketball.

Technically, would be a good move for SMU, but would not be excited about the lack of exposure the Mountain West gets, although, if they pull off all those adds, you figure it would get better.

I actually really like this. The new AAC is not good or exciting at al but the top of the MWC song with Wichita and Gonzaga would fire me up.

[redpony]

Aresco has been rebuffed several times now. Obviously AAC is in decline and we don't want lower quality teams just to fill numbers.. IMO we must move or become 'left overs' in DII. Perhaps ESPN could encourage ACC to accept us and another conference mate to bail us out.

Sadly RGT was more interested in building fountains than building top level sports teams years ago when it really mattered in developing our image.

[AfricanMustang]

I really believe no one will court us until we make a couple of NY6 bowl games and create a t-shirt fan base. We don't move the needle much otherwise. Our time in the AAC, where we have a realistic shot at conference championships, is the best way to get noticed and promoted.

Obtaining AAU status or Top 50 status would also help, but this has been discussed before at length. At least it wouldn't give the BIG or PAC an excuse not to invite us.

Plus, University Presidents do look at a school's endowment. As of June 2020, our endowment was an estimated $2bm. Our newest fund raising campaign targets an additional $1.5bn. That's some serious cash and places us well within the Top Hundred School endowments.

SMU Ignited / Boldly Shaping Tomorrow

https://www.smu.edu/ignited

Our Endowment was $1.664 as of May 31st 2020. We had reason as high as $1.3 billion in 2008, because the financial crisis pushed us back to barely above $1 billion.

[Comet]

Aresco has been rebuffed several times now. Obviously AAC is in decline and we don't want lower quality teams just to fill numbers.. IMO we must move or become 'left overs' in DII. Perhaps ESPN could encourage ACC to accept us and another conference mate to bail us out.

Sadly RGT was more interested in building fountains than building top level sports teams years ago when it really mattered in developing our image.

ACC nor the PAC are going to look at SMU any time soon. They're still much more apt to poach BIG XII teams, let's be real.

SMU is currently set up, along with Memphis, as the top team for conference realignment outside of the P5. Winning now, and winning consistently has been great timing. The goal for SMU is to find a spot that puts them at the best chance of moving up.

Option 1: Stay in the new AAC - this conference just lost Houston, UCF, and Cinci. The teams that most excited me as a fan whenever SMU would play. They also make up 40% of the viewership for the conference. That's all gone now. AAC now has rumors of looking at Liberty, UAB, and other CUSA teams. Whether they backfill by getting 2 or 4, the replacements are diluting the brand and the tv revenue significantly. The silver lining here is that SMU would have absolutely NO excuse to not consistently tear up this conference and win it. This is a conference that you can remain in the top 25 in football and also get an NCAA basketball berth. However, the tv revenue will suck and the prestige of this conference will likely be less than the MWC (assuming the MWC continues to have Boise, SDSU, Fresno competing well for football - and that's not always the case).

Option 2: Move "laterally" to the MWC - if SMU were to move to the MWC AND this conference finds a way to get Wichita and Gonzaga in for basketball, then you're looking at a conference which has very good basketball and easily the best football in the G5. The downside here is that the markets of the MWC are hot garbage and the tv revenue will be significantly less than the current deal the AAC has (and maybe even less than a new deal the AAC could mint?). If SMU were to move here and compete, there would be a bit more of a national eye on that level of success. The MWC is a conference which has seen multiple of its teams move into the P5 via Utah, BYU, TCU. There could be an argument that succeeding well in the MWC might get more eyes on SMU than succeeding in a diluted AAC.

Those are really the only two real options. Regardless of what happens, the time to win is now. SMU can not take its foot off the gas. You do that, and you risk being left behind forever. There's a chance here for SMU to get invited into the Big XII if it goes to 14 (and definitely 16). The chance of SMU being invited into the ACC/PAC is not good at all, and only something which is viable after all the other major conferences have made major moves AND if SMU were to continue to dominate in football and become relevant in basketball again. Otherwise, it's a dream guys.