The swami sees the things to come

[Sam I Am]

The Great Carnack forecasts that the BE and
C-USA will undergo great changes in the years to come. Both conferences are unstable because of their separate BB and FB schools. Their future depends upon 12 FB schools joining together (probably under BE auspices) in a BCS eligible association that has a playoff game. The BB schools should go their own way and form a separate conference membership for themselves. The SEC and Big 12 are the model for FB conferences. The Big 10 and PAC 10 lack true conference champions since they don't play a full round robin schedule nor have a playoff game. The Big 10 should add a 12th school, either Notre Dame or Pittsburg. The PAC 10 probably has no place to grow and will stay the same size. The MWC is stable as is and has no real need to expand for now. The 10 team WAC is unstable with membership in three time zones. They are not strong enough to attract and keep 12 teams in order to divide into two divisions. SMU will evolve toward the private schools and service academies affiliation. The vision is complete. That will be $2 please.

[Stallion]

the problem the BE faces is that to make it a FB conference they would have to dilute the REAL value of their brand which is BB-perhaps the makings of the greatest BB conference ever. They will make more money by retaining the BB schools than they could by reforming into a FB conference. I don't see the BE schools lightly giving up the valuable and intense rivalries with the BB schools for what's availiable in forming a FB conference.

[Charleston Pony]

Assuming Miami & Va Tech accept these offers, I agree it's not likely the remaining fball schools will turn their backs on BE bball. Like the ACC, that's where their bread is buttered. The Big East can actually improve their standing in Bball by adding Louisville and either keeping Temple, bringing in Cincy of going to the alliance of 16 that has been discussed. There isn't a program in CUSA that wouldn't jump on the opportunity to join the eastern media's crown jewel. The Big East will survive. They just might be the force that brings about a 16 team fball playoff that includes all qualifying I-A champions.

[MeanGreenGem]

Beggin' some pardons from you on the Hilltop, but such a league (as described in the quote at the bottom of this post) for SMU would be fine until the novelty of it wore off, which would take about 1 to 2 years, then I think your football program would be in a pickle of a mess and in a conference that you'd rarely see what your conference mates fans look like or what kind of unis their marching band wears.

I don't understand why so many of you see being in any league with TCU as being your panancea to all your athletic problems because it is not. TCU enjoys their distinction of not being in a league with SMU as much as you all do UNT. All this supposed to be some giant advantage or something over area schools? We're talking non BCS here, folks, the stakes aren't as high as they'd be if we were all in the BCS. (When I am partying on Bourbon Street this December with about 20,000 other Mean Green fans and then sitting in the SuperDome for the New Orleans Bowl, I'll give this theory some real deep thought).

The 3 Metroplex schools in many ways all sit as 3 separate islands yet within driving distance for each school's fans to get a close-in home type of OOC game but in a different environment, but we prefer to take the more difficult route for the majority of our students, fans and alums as it seems we prefer they take 3-4 hour air flights to get to our nearest, uh, "conference rivals" now don't we?

UNT right now is winning football games, playing good OOC football schools on TV (and being competitive with them) and now adding bowl games to the mix. So why should we be so concerned about leaving any arrangement that gives us all that PLUS the added bonus of having a stable "conference owned" bowl setting each year we don't have to worry about losing to some BCS league? Personally, I still know of no other non BCS bowl destination that fits the bill for UNT better than the one it plans on making a "three-peat" to this December. <M>*<> Mores Super Bowls have been played in New Orleans and the Super Dome than any other USA city, so I guess the NFL knows a few things about the Big Easy themselves?

TCU really and truly believes they have a recruiting edge over SMU because of your WAC East affiliation, because of TCU's CUSA membership (without SMU) and with SMU having no bowl proximity to your campus when the Mustangs becomes bowl elgible down the road. TCU has bowl game opportunities that their fans can even drive to by auto.

Now TCU will give the usual and expected lip service about supporting you all to come to CUSA (if that league survives) but do their posters seem to be expressing that same view? Some of their more solid posters do not because I have read Frog Fan Forum for 2-3 years now and have never seen the "anti being in a league with SMU attitude" prevail as much as I now see on the TCU board. Some of you have expressed your own thoughts on this within the last 2 weeks on this forum.

It surprises even an unbiased outsider who attended neither school to see this attitude, but nothing surprises me much anymore among schools in NCAA Division 1-A, absolutely nothing.

Egos and false pride will take some football programs to their final resting place. It's really sort of sad in many ways.

QUOTE from SMU poster: "SMU will evolve toward the private schools and service academies affiliation. The vision is complete. That will be $2 please."




[This message has been edited by MeanGreenGem (edited 06-26-2003).]

[EastStang]

Actually, SMU, TCU, Rice, UH, Tulane, La. Tech, Tulsa, Army and Navy would be fine with me for a conference. We would get up to five OOC games to schedule some name teams or even a stray game with an SunBelt team if need be. You could travel to all conference games by car. Remember that SMU/TCU/Rice go back almost a century together. UH goes back almost 30 years. Tulane is in NO. Army and Navy are known gates and have similar programs. I have no problem with this conference if the WAC cannot be reconfigured properly, or CUSA implodes and doesn't invite us.

[Mexmustang]

EStang, how would we get 13 scheduled games? Refresh my memory, what are the Cotton Bowls invitation requirements or commitments--I still dream of play a 7-5 UT on New Years Day (or whenever it ends up being played).

[gostangs]

What would our day be without another fillibuster from Meangreengem? - his strategy must be to type us to death until we play them.

[Sam I Am]

The Swami never said that TCU would be in the mix for SMU, and neither is UNT. Tulsa, Rice, Tulane, Army, Navy, and perhaps others later on have been the Pony contacts for the future. This reading is free for the crimson and navy. All other colors pay $2 more.