Conference Shake Up (My Take)

[MustangKurt20]

Well its starting to get a little desperate over in the Big East (especially w/ trying to put Miami in a moral corner by the remarks by their commissioner) and the dominoes are gonna start to fall. After talking to several people very close to SMU and the SMU family they seem hopeful of a shakeup. EastStang is quite right in his C-USA scenerio where Cinci,Louisville,Marquette, and maybe Memphis will head off to the BE and Army could be on its way out as well. In which case SMU has a CHANCE to be aligned w/ C-USA. Again, there is the possibility of the rehashed SWC but I honestly feel like the C-USA scenerio is both more likely and better for SMU. Your thoughts?

Kurt

[Nacho]

Talk to LA Mustang. He's got all the answers. lol

[untgrad88]

Hear me out here fellows and please don't laugh me off your board. If several CUSA schools do get the call to go to the Big EAST and then several WAC schools (including SMU) is asked to join the CUSA, suffice it to say that CUSA would be a much weaker conference than it currently is.

Given the fact that Tulane is likely to cancel football, thus leaving another open slot, is there a remote chance that UNT gets the call from a weakened CUSA. I say weakened because, I don't think UNT (or SMU) would ever be considered for the current CUSA.

The question is: Do you think that SMU or TCU would try to block UNT from an invitation to join a new CUSA?

[Nacho]

I can only speak for myself but if the numbers dictate it I am all for including UNT into a regional conference with EWAC and WC-USA schools. I used to oppose having UNT in our conference but it makes too much sense to avoid UNT. They are a natural and importantly close rival. In this day travel expenses must be a major concern. UNT has proven itself in the SBC and is deserving of an invitation.

[93Mustang]

I doubt it. If a shake up occurs and its ramifications affect the WAC (ie, MWC cherry-picking the WAC's best members out west), then SMU will be fighting for D1 survival and probably won't have too much time or leverage to worry about UNT. While I think most of our fans would be opposed to us joining a league like the Sun Belt, a league with the right mix that included UNT may get some support. Let's face it, we're currently in a league with San Jose St. so joining a league with UNT may make sense. Of course, if the predicted shake up occurs and we're left with the option of joining a Sun Belt type league, I think the big money guys who float our program might pull the plug on D1 football. I hope I'm wrong.

[Nacho]

I didn't say we would join the SBC. I said we would consider UNT in a conference of eastern WAC schools and western C-USA schools such as:

SMU
TCU
UNT
Rice
Houston
UTEP
USM
Tulsa
La Tech

[This message has been edited by Nacho (edited 05-20-2003).]

[EastStang]

You know one of Tranghese's comments bothered me and that was the statement that Virginia Tech would no longer be eligible to participate in a BCS bowl for the National Championship. Does that mean that this conference would lose its BCS status if these three teams leave no matter whether they are replaced or not? If that is the case, then I suspect that CUSA would be doing the raiding of the BE and not the other way around in which case, there may not be many crumbs on the ground to pick up.

[Nacho]

BE stays BCS through 2005.

[MeanGreenGem]

UNT's only interest in any WAC arrangement should all the stars align with Jupiter, actually was invited to join the WAC and then chose to join would simply be because of the economics of the thing; that is, the economics of playing the WAC East schools, many of which our fans/alums/students (& marching band) can travel to anywhere from 40 minutes away (Fry Street to Mockingbird Lane), a few hours automobile drive (Tulsa and LaTech) and up to a day's travel (UTEP).

The WAC WEST schools UNT has already been a league with (more or less) and that was the old Big West Conference and (honestly) some of us Mean Greeners worried we'd win that league's football championship and have to go 2 time zones away to a bowl game which may have had our our most loyal fans saying, "is this all their is to this bowl business?"

Nothing against the Boise folks who I understand put on a great bowl game; but bowl games in that part of the USA leave much to be desired by anyone whose school is another time zone east of the Rocky Mountains.

A few of you may have read my post on this forum's "The New SWC" thread about a poll on GoMeanGreen.com which the consensus was that with the momentum we (finally) have going with our own football program, that we feel we would travel anywhere from 8-12,000 fans to Ford Stadium for a football game with the SMU Mustangs. If both SMU and UNT really have it going with 2 good football teams playing, that traveling number of UNT fans could go up . (With a 1 & 2 W/L record last Fall, we took over 5,000 to Amon Carter and with our star QB out for the year to boot).

The Roy Kramers and Jim Delaneys of the BCS have taken the money out of all of our league's TV packages. They have really let the air out of the non BCS balloon. We are all going to have to adust to that and regionalizing leagues to cut back on travel costs is a huge way to do it. Selling more tickets to opposing school's fans who are geographically close is another.


Its mostly about economics as anything on all this from the UNT standpoint, but as some on this board have said, it could now be more about a natural rivalry that could put "BIS", but my take on this is that is would put the Big 12 (UT & aTm) on Page 2 of the Dallas Morning News SportsPage the day after the Mustangs of SMU and the Mean Green of UNT have played a football game and thus command the DMN's front page (with a nice half page color action photo of the game).

<>*<> Why the increased media coverage for a Mustang/Mean Green football game? Because our 2 school's total enrollments and total Metroplex alumnus numbers would demand it, that's why. This is when we let "OUR" numbers do the talking with the local media. Screw the Big 12!

The aforementioned newspaper coverage scenario is not speculation on my part because I've seen that happen most anytime the 2 schools have played since 1974. There is more demand for press credentials for an SMU/UNT game than if we were both playing out of state schools with lesser profiles.

How all this shakes out no one knows, but there are a few things non-BCS schools can do to make up for the budget shortfalls we all have due to BCS greed. Both our university's Chancellors (UNT's is an SMU alum BTW) have to answer to those budgets with each of their bosses, that is, each school's Board of Trustees.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Nacho:
<B>I can only speak for myself but if the numbers dictate it I am all for including UNT into a regional conference with EWAC and WC-USA schools. I used to oppose having UNT in our conference but it makes too much sense to avoid UNT. They are a natural and importantly close rival. In this day travel expenses must be a major concern. UNT has proven itself in the SBC and is deserving of an invitation.</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>




[This message has been edited by MeanGreenGem (edited 05-20-2003).]

[EastStang]

The Big East meeting broke up a day early. No golf or anything. Does not bode well for Miami, etc. staying.

[JayM]

Just curious, what happens if this senario develops?

ACC goes to 12 with inclusion of Miami, BC and Syracuse.

CUSA is able to attract VT and WV to form a 12 team conference (Army drops to Indy).
NORTH
VT
WV
Louisville
Cincy
ECU
Memphis
SOUTH
TCU
USM
Houston
USF
UAB
Tulane

MWC follows the ACC lead and expands to 12 taking Boise, Fresno, Hawaii and Nevada from the WAC. The Hawaii and H-Bowl would also go.

Where would this leave San Jose, Rice, Tulsa, Louisiana Tech and SMU? This could happen if the MWC decides to play hardball & cut western TV competition to themselves & the PAC 10.

[EastStang]

Don't forget UTEP. That makes six, we keep our NCAA basketball slot, but we would need to add two to keep a 1-A football conference, although we could have an unofficial six team conference for football to allow Oct/Nov dates and a "Champion". But - SJS might drop down to 1-AA. We might get a small TV contract and no bowl opportunities. That would be bleak.

[PK]

SJS would no doubt drop down or out as opposed to playing all it's road games 1500+ miles away.

[EastStang]

Just to add grist to the mill the VT folks are in denial and hold out hope that VT and A&M will be asked to join the SEC. Won't happen but it shows where their folks are hoping. TCU is hoping VT, WVA and Pitt join CUSA. A lot of wishin going on.

[Charleston Pony]

While all the realignment talk is football driven, don't forget the bball connection. One thing that did come out of the Big east meetings was a desire expressed by the Big East schools to "stick together". If Tranghese can sell his "Big East Alliance" on the bball side, you're likely to see the 5 remaining BE schools entice Louisville, Cincy & Memphis to join them in an all-sports league that might align somehow with the original Big East bball schools. Remember that Big East bball group will swoop down on DePaul & Marquette. The TV contracts will be better for a BE Alliance than for what S.Miss, UAB, ECU & TCU can deliver. Don't lose sight of the fact this is all about revenue and that starts with BCS inclusion and TV contracts. While football is driving the bus, bball plays a role also.