Is SMU about to be left behind once again?

[mustangxc]

Our best bet is that ESPN nudges the Big XII to become a 16 team conference. At that point you add:

BYU
Cincinnati
UCF
Houston

Memphis
USF
Boise State
SMU

East:
West Virginia, Cincinnati, Memphis, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, UCF, USF
West:
BYU, Boise State, Oklahoma State, SMU, TCU, Texas Tech, Baylor, Houston

[Topper]

The Little 8 holds a lot of cards because of their current TV deal. TCU and Baylor dont want us.. TCU will argue that they lay claim to the DFW tv market and that we add no value. ESPN will decide

[stlpony]

Let's go 14-0 this year and change the conversation. Realignment is far from settled. Similar to recruiting, we need to take another big step forward on the field (and butts in the seats; which might be too much to ask).

[fan]

If those schools go to the little 8 then the AAC should try and get the best of the MWC. That would leave us in the best possible position if the playoff goes to 12. If we can get Boise, AF and SDSU along with Colorado State to get to 12 as long as we win the conference championship we'd go to the playoff more often than not. With the AAC lineup of us, Tulsa, Memphis, USF, Boise, AFA, CSU, Tulane, Tulsa, Navy, ECU, Temple.

That'd be a strong football lineup and something on par with the AAC as not many of us care much more about UCF vs Boise, SDSU vs CSU. Obviously Houston is a loss for us.

We should win that conference year in and year out which should elevate our brand.

[NTXCoog]

Sam Khan reporting Bowlsby was on UH campus Thursday.
https://mobile.twitter.com/skhanjr/status/1433655535820328960?s=21

Houston Chronicle reporting "UH has emerged as a leading contender to join a reconfigured 12-team Big 12 with a formal vote planned for next week, two people with knowledge of the talks said Thursday."
(Chronicle page is behind paywall. I have a link to bypass, but dont know if that violates ponyfans rules)

I'll believe it after a Big 12 and/or UH press conference announcing it. Too many times things change or reports are wrong. But legit news publications are putting out stories with details that sound like more than rumors or conjecture.

[EastStang]

You might consider adding a MAC team like Northern Illinois to AAC. They at least are in Chicago area and matches our urban university concept. Add in Boise, AF, SDS and either UNLV or NI.

[SMU_Alum11]

OMG.

Do you not remember a couple of months ago when the Big 12 leaked that they were in talks with the PAC 12 about a merger? Then the Pac 12 had to come out and say they had one conference call and then had to announce that they were not interested.

The Big 12 is telling everyone that they have come to a final list. So what. It doesn't say they have talked to anyone, or that anyone is considering an offer. It is like the SWAC coming out and stating that they are thinking about inviting Alabama, UT, and OU to join.

Nothing is going to happen until a final decision is made on the UT and OU exits and FOX and ESPN decide what to do with their contracts.

I agree that the PAC12 was just a desperate plea but this feels way more real. UCF, Houston and Memphis would jump in a second to the Big12. It's not like we have a band of brothers in the AAC. It's more like the Reject11 looking for any possible way to relevancy.

I hope Turner and Hart are actually doing something. It's been said every year but Sonny right now has SMU in that fork in the road. If he can pull the impossible maybe he can get us in the top 25 every year to hopefully market us enough to the big 12 by 2025.

[Dukie]

Is Fertitta somehow driving UH into the conversation via state politics, and money? Can anyone do that for SMU?

[PerunaPunch]

Early reports that Houston, UCF and CIN front runners for B12 . . .

I find this interesting in light of the fact that The Athletic has the frontrunner BYU preseason ranked at #42 and SMU at #43 nationally -- well ahead of Houston. I know I'm obviously biased, but I don't see a reason for Houston over SMU. I guess they have larger enrollment, but no other advantage I can see.

[EastStang]

Senator Menendez is on the Texas Senate Education Committee and he's a Mustang. I don't know if we have any other Senators or house members who can weigh in. Unfortunately, the Aggies, Longhorns and Bears seem to be in charge.

[PonyTime]

Senator Menendez is on the Texas Senate Education Committee and he's a Mustang. I don't know if we have any other Senators or house members who can weigh in. Unfortunately, the Aggies, Longhorns and Bears seem to be in charge.

UH has 4 TX State Senators. We have one. Couldn't hurt to email Senator Menendez at following link:

https://www.senate.texas.gov/memberform.php?auth=tBDm7R0Gln2wt70S7uMi%2BzOOhU5zf2RIlZWguSUdRaQ6XzpfOtDFeF1ZCqVe7xb1DPnL7bvqucbCCeqSorhA4xXpgfFcGoZ%2FOnw6fDosjsN1gMRtZX85ejkgZhWX&lang=en

or Morgan Meyer:

https://www.house.texas.gov/members/member-page/email/?district=108&session=87

[Ccolley68]

Maybe I'm crazy here, but I think the schools the Big XII claims are interested in joining would actually be going to a downgrade from their current situations. Yes, the Big XII has a bigger dollar value to offer RIGHT NOW, but that number is based off having TX and OU in the conference. When they leave, ESPN will quickly move to get that number lowered. The 4 schools mentioned dont do anything to move the needle to replace what those two take with them. The AAC is a better conference right now than the Big XII is, and is at least an equal conference to what the Big XII would be by adding those schools. Iowa State is a nice story right now, but historically would be middle of the pack in the AAC. Kansas is a great basketball school, but that doesnt mean squat in all of this, this is all about football (and Kansas would be fine wherever they land because BB is all they care about and conference affiliation doesnt keep them out of anything in BB). Kansas St has some decent teams occassionally, but nothing spectacular. WV was good a decade or so ago, but nothing great. Baylor is a mess, and traditionally one of the worst teams in whatever conference they have been in. They had a couple of good years but coupled with their rampant scandals will put them right back at the doormat of their conference. TCU is a fun little story of the small school that plays big sometimes, and they are really the bellcow of the conference right now, with little to nothing to show for it. TTU and OkSt are large state schools, who throw the ball all over the yard, put up a ton of points, have some really good players, but still never really compete for even a conference championship. The AAC should be putting a full court press of their own to get the top of the Big XII (TTU, OkSt, TCU, KU) convinced that joining the AAC is the best thing for them, and be ready to show why the dollars fit, and that the AAC will be the Big XII's replacement at the big boy table. SMU isnt going to get invited when the dominos start falling, there just arent enough eyeballs in the alumni base. SMU's best hope is that the AAC is able to supplant the Big XII as the best option and let the Big XII die on the vine. WV will end up ACC where they probably should have been anyways geographically. And with this move, leaves Baylor out in the desert where they should have been when the Big XII formed anyways, and where they deserve to be now. I hate Baylor.

[DC-Pony]

Let's go 14-0 this year and change the conversation. Realignment is far from settled. Similar to recruiting, we need to take another big step forward on the field (and butts in the seats; which might be too much to ask).

Things change pretty quickly in life and college sports is no different. If we control what we can control - winning - our situation will continue to improve. The articles written about B12 expansion prior to yesterday, focused on speculating who would be good teams for the B12 to add, almost all mentioned SMU as a possibility. That was not the case 3-4 years ago. And 10 years ago people would have laughed at that prospect. We win the AAC this year (no small feat but reasonable to set as a goal) and conferences will look even more favorably upon SMU.

The other piece here is that an expanded playoff is coming. So, while I’d prefer SMU to be in a “P5” conference, actually getting into the playoff could be easier as a G6 conference member. We get into the playoffs next year (again, no small feat but not an insane goal) our brand will jump yet again.

And we can hope basketball maximizes it’s talent in its performance this season. Agree football drives things, but basketball is #2 and if you have a good story there that helps.

[PlanoStang]

Add a 10 million dollar exit fee to leave the AAC to go to a vastly degraded B12 - 4 which will be at
best just a little better than a united AAC might make the invitees think a little.

[Topper]

If my math is correct the remaining Big 12 schools will get about 17.5 M each minus whatever the conference office keeps if UT and OU leave right now. I can only assume that when UT and OU are gone ESPN will immediately re-negotiate the Big 12 tv contract if the lawyers who drew the thing up knew what they were doing. Take out the UT and OU viewers and the Little 8 probably don't draw that many more viewers nationwide than the combined average of the AAC. How much of an advantage does that payout money give the Big 12 over the AAC? If Kansas and ISU manage an invite from the Big 10, the Big 12 becomes much less attractive than the AAC. I think that the schools being targeted (Cincy, UCF, Memphis, Houston) should be patient and wait to see how many more Big 12 jump ship.