Talk of those "Super Conferences" just won't go away

[Charleston Pony]

Who knows where this could lead:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-footb ... alignment/

[PonySnob]

Who knows where this could lead:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-footb ... alignment/

Death rattle for us

[gostangs]

Who knows where this could lead:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-footb ... alignment/

Death rattle for us

I disagree. We are in the death rattle now. IF they separate into "cares about academics and doesn't" we would at least have more company in our small football world. There is no way half the ACC goes the big football route - their boards just wont let them in todays world. This is just another idea for having the big state schools peel off the private school leeches from the Big 5 so that they get more dough.

Long live the magnolia league!

[SMU_Alum11]

While I'll stay optimistic that we won't be (with others) shovelled into the pseudo Div-2 (even though sadly we kind of are). However, if it becomes official that we are Div-2 and we can't play the "big schools" except like one game of the season, I say we just close up football. Nobody will watch us play Tulane and similar for life. I wish football minds were more like basketball minds where the "small schools" have access to be the national champs and even play big teams during the regular season. There's alot more fun and interest.

Simultaneously, if we are put in that Div-2, I would stop watching college football altogether. No reason to give ratings to schools that did that to the small schools for a buck.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Nobody will watch us play Tulane and similar for life.

We have been doing it since 1996.

[SMU_Alum11]

Nobody will watch us play Tulane and similar for life.

We have been doing it since 1996.

The P5 at the moment is allowed to schedule games like when we had A&M, Tech and TCU (if I remember correctly) all in one year. In my example, we are only allowed to play once just like we are currently only allowed to play FCS once otherwise we would be disqualified from a bowl game.

[ponyboy]

Do you stop watching college because the NFL exists, high school because college exists, pee wee because high school football exists? I still want to be one of the big boys, but there could still be great and exciting football if we ended up on the outside of a super conference situation. In the end it would just mean that we'd be in a conference with better not worse rivals to choose from, regional rivals rather than artificial matchups, would mean we'd trade out a UCF for a Baylor or a TCU. We'd get better rather than worse attendance and interest. I'd take that trade.

[friarwolf]

It is not going to be "Super Conferences" but rather a Super Conference. The day is soon coming when the top 20 to 24 teams will break away and form their own alliance with one or two networks. They'll thumb their nose at the NCAA and start paying money to the players they recruit. I'm not smart enough to figure out the scheduling but figure on the top 16 advancing to the playoffs. It would
be 4 weeks of playoffs instead of the 3 we have now (conference championship game and 2 playoff games to crown a national champ. They'll do the same in basketball.......

[Stallion]

its likely headed for 64 which I've been saying for a decades but not a chance it goes to 24-too much Congressional power backing all those state schools. Also at some point most of the economic legal arguments as to whether College football is a sport or a business would be voided if Congress were to pass an anti-trust exemption for university providing educational opportunities. NCAA ought to just allow players to make a decision prior to each year as to whether to turn pro or not to get rid of the hypocracy

[Pony81]

I agree. Let them go pro whenever they want and I bet this pay issue will die down. The NBA now will pay an elite high school player $125,000/year to play. I bet most offered this deal turn it down .... why because college gives them so many things like training, luxury facilities, chance to live away from home in a place that is going to look after your every need, and oh yeah, an education.

Letting them go pro at any time will expose the myth that colleges are ripping these kids off by not paying them.

[SMU_Alum11]

Yep totally agree. Baseball, you can go into the minors and then majors. Just do the same with football.

[Stallion]

basically if you think you can earn a living as a professional then good luck Hoss-but you don't get to define and pervert the mission of some of the great universities in the country when you're not good enough yet to make it in the League. That's not our problem. We offer a great education, housing, free food, books, cost-of-living allowance, outstanding facilities etc worth in excess of $100,000 per year and we do it for 16+ sports per year and about 300 student/athletes regardless of whether you're the first or last off the bench or you are a male or female. There are a lot of kids (and parents) begging for that opportunity

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

basically if you think you can earn a living as a professional then good luck Hoss-but you don't get to define and pervert the mission of some of the great universities in the country when you're not good enough yet to make it in the League. That's not our problem. We offer a great education, housing, free food, books, cost-of-living allowance, outstanding facilities etc worth in excess of $100,000 per year and we do it for 16+ sports per year and about 300 student/athletes regardless of whether you're the first or last off the bench or you are a male or female. There are a lot of kids (and parents) begging for that opportunity

Exactly!!!!!

[SMU_Alum11]

Not sure if it was directed at me, but I agree that colleges already "pay players" with giving them the opportunity to go to a great school, have all, if not most, expenses covered all on someone else's dime. A private university like us cost what somewhere around $250k for 4 years most the time 5 years to be here. That's a pretty sweet deal. Paying players in college on top of scholarship is silly and as Stallion said undermines the mission of the university. I can understand upping medical coverage but if they want a paycheck and not care about education then go straight to the minor and pros.

[SMU Pom Mom]

basically if you think you can earn a living as a professional then good luck Hoss-but you don't get to define and pervert the mission of some of the great universities in the country when you're not good enough yet to make it in the League. That's not our problem. We offer a great education, housing, free food, books, cost-of-living allowance, outstanding facilities etc worth in excess of $100,000 per year and we do it for 16+ sports per year and about 300 student/athletes regardless of whether you're the first or last off the bench or you are a male or female. There are a lot of kids (and parents) begging for that opportunity

Are you under the impression that athletes in equivalency sports are getting scholarships valued at $100,000 per year? I guarantee you that most SMU student athletes are getting far, far less. For example, the NCAA allows 20 scholarships in rowing. SMU has 49 women on the roster. If they give even two fulls a year to top recruits, that leaves an average of under 30% partial scholarships to everyone else, or about $21,000. And that's if SMU funds the limit, which I can't tell you for sure they do.