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I don't think there is any way the AAC will cut an existing member. They will either stay at 11 or go to 14 in my opinion. And that would depend on ESPN sweetening the pot. Adding only Boise makes no sense from a travel standpoint.

I could be wrong. The SWC/Big XII did that and also the WAC/MWC, when the MWC was formed. And it could be beneficial for the AAC to just add Boise if they wanted to come.

SMUstang wrote:I don't think there is any way the AAC will cut an existing member. They will either stay at 11 or go to 14 in my opinion. And that would depend on ESPN sweetening the pot. Adding only Boise makes no sense from a travel standpoint.

I could be wrong. The SWC/Big XII did that and also the WAC/MWC, when the MWC was formed. And it could be beneficial for the AAC to just add Boise if they wanted to come.

Conferences don't "cut" existing members, with the sole exception of the Big East and Temple a long time ago, and I believe there was a specific clause allowing that to occur (Temple had agreed to upgrade certain things about its athletics as a condition of joining, and they weren't doing all of what they had promised).

In the formation of the Big XII and the MWC, the departing schools simply depart. Connecticut has shown that the penalties for departing can be weathered, and the left-behinds would have no leverage. I have no hate for ECU, Tulsa, and Tulane, but I'd rather they never have joined what became the AAC and I don't think anyone at SMU should view them as indispensable for the next phase. They would leave SMU behind in a heartbeat. Just like TCU did--remember the first announcements of TCU leaving the WAC for what was then a CUSA that looked a lot like today's American had both TCU *and* SMU going. It's long been rumored that TCU even had a hand in changing that to TCU-only.

True, I forgot about the Big East and Temple. I knew that there was a reason why I disliked/distrusted TCU. But SMU’s administration at the time wasn’t very supportive of Mustang football either. Remember Pye?

I’ve got to believe that adding Boise, BYU and AFA to the conference, and being a true power conference, will help our recruiting. What say you?

Money that P-5 conferences share will improve recruiting and everything else. We need to continue to position ourselves for the next re-alignment.

The AAC is a great place to start...but it is not and will not be a "P-6". There is little incentive for the Big 12 to expand around us, but we have to be viable to other conferences (ACC to note) when that time comes.

Boise adds something. BYU has value as well. AFA? Not so much IMO

The AAC will expand if ESPN wants it and pays for it. If the NCAA denies an 11 team CCG, then we will have to expand or play uneven divisions. IMO, getting in a P5 is a huge long shot. I can't see the BIGXII taking any more Texas teams unless UT, TTU, OSU and OU leave, then they might, but the league would not be much better financially than the AAC at that point. Bottom line, our hope lies with the expanded AAC and the P6 narrative with an invitation to the AAC to the expanded CFP. Sad, but true.

Take out UT, OU, TTU, and OSU and the Big 12 becomes a more localized version of the AAC. Probably worth joining get to play traditional opponents and because travel costs would be so much lower. But I doubt the TV payout will be much larger than what we currently get.
I'd be for joining the left over Big 12 for those reasons.

In my opinion, per 247 Sports, 82nd out of 130 teams, and 7th out of 11 in conference is not very stellar, am I missing something?

If you are talking recruiting, then look at the average per recruit. SMU was 2nd to Cincinnati in that category for all the non-P5 Conferences. Pretty good.
BTW, looks like Boise is back in the MWC fold. Lawsuit dropped. Negotiations ongoing. Maybe an unhappy SDSU is available...if needed.

Boise State has agreed no to drop the lawsuit against the MWC. But money and exposure talk. As Trump says “we will see what happens.” BSU is still not a happy camper. We are still waiting to see if ESPN is willing to pony-up and add BYU, BSU, and AFA or someone else to the AAC. This would give everybody a lot more national exposure especially in major media markets. And give ESPN the mountain zone. And the conference would live up to it's name, The American Athletic Conference. This comes down to a contest between ESPN and Fox. And how valuable an asset is BSU and potentially AFA to ESPN?

AusTxPony wrote:If you are talking recruiting, then look at the average per recruit. SMU was 2nd to Cincinnati in that category for all the non-P5 Conferences. Pretty good.

Add to that our world class transfer program and we are doing very well as far as incoming and existing talent.

ponyboy wrote:

AusTxPony wrote:If you are talking recruiting, then look at the average per recruit. SMU was 2nd to Cincinnati in that category for all the non-P5 Conferences. Pretty good.

Add to that our world class transfer program and we are doing very well as far as incoming and existing talent.

We won't be able to judge this recruiting class until we get to the Fall.

Improved the roster across the board, and a nice average rating. If we have highly regarded transfers at RB, DT, LB, CB and S, then we will have knocked the class out of the park.

Yep, fair. This class.

Charleston Pony wrote:...I'm not wild about playing in a western division of the American where games at SDSU would start at 10:00 eastern time, or even later...

In addition to it being a crummy experience for EST/CST fans, those late start times hurt the opportunity for additional media exposure after the game is played. You don't get a chance for highlights on the late local news, SportsCenter, etc., plus for those that still read the print Sunday paper, a lot harder to get our team coverage in the DMN.

AusTxPony wrote:The AAC will expand if ESPN wants it and pays for it. If the NCAA denies an 11 team CCG, then we will have to expand or play uneven divisions. IMO, getting in a P5 is a huge long shot. I can't see the BIGXII taking any more Texas teams unless UT, TTU, OSU and OU leave, then they might, but the league would not be much better financially than the AAC at that point. Bottom line, our hope lies with the expanded AAC and the P6 narrative with an invitation to the AAC to the expanded CFP. Sad, but true.

I have to think that Big12 is wishing for WVU to leave for the ACC in another alignment. It has to be absolutely brutal for them to travel there and WVU is always on a long road trip as well. From the Big12 fans I know, none of them care about or even talk about WVU.