SMU named potential Group of 5 Power

[Webmaster]

In the Athletic today, a reader asked, "Which G5 team is positioned to be the next Boise State / TCU / UCF?"

That's amusing, first because the question makes it sound like TCU is in a G5 conference. Secondly because SMU was one of the first teams mentioned in Chris Vannini's response.

SMU has found consistent success under Chad Morris and Sonny Dykes, and Rhett Lashlee steps into a good situation, taking over a program that has reached the AP top 20 in each of the past three years — though it still hasn’t finished ranked since 1984. It’s also become a transfer destination in a hotbed for talent, as seen with quarterbacks like Shane Buechele and Tanner Mordecai. There’s plenty of money, with a recent announcement of facilities upgrades. But the Mustangs need to prevent the late-season collapses that came under Dykes and finally contend for the AAC title.

You can read the rest here:
https://theathletic.com/3242772/2022/04/11/college-football-group-of-5-realignment-predictions/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983

[ponyboy]

I wonder if this is still a valid conversation with Dabo’s comments regarding his preference for the creation of a new super tier of football schools. I guess that even then we would rightly belong in whatever tier is immediately below that.

[EastStang]

I still think some sort of relegation system would be great. Does Kansas really deserve to be a P5 football team? Does Vanderbilt? Maryland? Rutgers? Wake Forest? In Premier League soccer, if you're in the last couple of spots you go down. And in the lower league if you win, you go up. Usually the same few teams bounce up and down, but it gives the lower teams a taste of the big money. Think about it, the top 5 ranked G5 teams go up and the lowest 5 ranked P5 teams get relegated. Then they figure out which conference they get to join.

[Charleston Pony]

It was almost 30 years ago the talk of football "super conferences" started with the idea being 64 teams competing at the highest level with four 16 team conferences geographically separated (North, South, East, West. "Earn" your spot and allow otherwise traditional rivals to remain in conference affiliations to compete against each other in all other sports. I think the football number should be reduced to as few as 36 schools with four 9 team conferences. Balanced schedules (4 home, 4 road games) with each conference winner advancing to football's "Final Four". That would allow 4 "non-conference" games against regional rivals to fill schedules.

Everyone outside that Top 36 could compete for spots in a 16 school playoff (like the FCS schools do today) for that "next tier" championship and schools could play their way in or out of that group of 36 to compete at the highest level. Would be fun but would probably jeoparize the current bowl system which has gotten a little out of control in my opinion.

[Paladin]

It was almost 30 years ago the talk of football "super conferences" started with the idea being 64 teams competing at the highest level with four 16 team conferences geographically separated (North, South, East, West. "Earn" your spot and allow otherwise traditional rivals to remain in conference affiliations to compete against each other in all other sports. I think the football number should be reduced to as few as 36 schools with four 9 team conferences. Balanced schedules (4 home, 4 road games) with each conference winner advancing to football's "Final Four". That would allow 4 "non-conference" games against regional rivals to fill schedules.

Everyone outside that Top 36 could compete for spots in a 16 school playoff (like the FCS schools do today) for that "next tier" championship and schools could play their way in or out of that group of 36 to compete at the highest level. Would be fun but would probably jeoparize the current bowl system which has gotten a little out of control in my opinion.

....Or, we could just watch NFL and forget about college athletics

[Charleston Pony]

NCAA Division I football and basketball played at it's highest level is basically semi-pro already and has been for years. The majority of high draft picks have served their apprenticeship in college by staying the required 3 years in football or one year in hoops

[DallasMustang11]

I still think some sort of relegation system would be great. Does Kansas really deserve to be a P5 football team? Does Vanderbilt? Maryland? Rutgers? Wake Forest? In Premier League soccer, if you're in the last couple of spots you go down. And in the lower league if you win, you go up. Usually the same few teams bounce up and down, but it gives the lower teams a taste of the big money. Think about it, the top 5 ranked G5 teams go up and the lowest 5 ranked P5 teams get relegated. Then they figure out which conference they get to join.

I absolutely love this idea but not sure this could ever happen. Is moving up and down only based on football because you look at teams like Kansas, Duke, Vandy, etc. that are dominant in other sports. Not sure schools like this would ever support a relegation system that damaged their other sports because of how bad their football programs are.

[ponyboy]

Was thinking that if for whatever reason we don’t make it to P5 in football, could we not join a Big12 in hoops so at least we’d be a real boy in one major sport?