Chronicle: With A&M leaving, what is the future for BigXII?

[WordUpBU]

Its time to come to the realization that we are not in the mix at all for the Big 12. I've actually got someone that is about as "in the know" at SMU as one can be and I got a chance to ask him about this topic a couple of days ago. He told me that SMU put feelers out but was told that they are WAY down the list (like behind UTEP). So forget the Big 12.

The issue from the B12 perspective with SMU (or TCU despite their recent success) is that if the Big 12 has market penetration in any 2 markets... it is DFW and Kansas City. Texas, Tech, OU, OSU, and Baylor all have a lot of people loyal to them in the metroplex.

Houston is really UT with a small dash of TT & BU if A&M goes. Thats the only reason (besides being a state school) they are getting mentioned. I still think their bid is a longshot.

As I said above, if the B12 can survive well enough to add BYU + 2 teams from the BE... this would open up the most likely BCS path for SMU. It would give the BE 7 football members (and probably 6 when the ACC/SEC are done) and open the door for SMU to have a legit shot.

I know you guys may not like my Baylor Bears, but in this circumstance our interest in holding the B12 together and plucking a couple from the BE could very well serve SMU's interests indirectly.

[redpony]

And there went Baylors invitation to CUSA when the not so big12-2 implode. You don't want us and we don't want you. Enjoy playing UNT.

GO PONIES!!!

[Water Pony]

Louisville and Cincinnati would never consider Big 12 and vice-a-versa. These two schools are linked and will remain BE. Louisville's dream is SEC and won't switch for anthing less. And SEC won't happen either.

It is sad that a Baylor fan is providing us hope and a scenario which would never happen.

[smudubs]

Some of you on this board are absolute idiots. We have a fan from another school stop by who says nothing condescending or mean spirited. This poster makes as legitimate an argument as I have seen here for SMU's inclusion in a BCS conference and some of you attack him for no reason. Give it a break. Some here are as short sighted and ignorant as some of the posts I've read on the Aggie boards. Baylor has what we want--inclusion in an AQ conference. That may not last, but they are there now. Jealousy is not an attractive trait.

[leopold]

Some of you on this board are absolute idiots. We have a fan from another school stop by who says nothing condescending or mean spirited. This poster makes as legitimate an argument as I have seen here for SMU's inclusion in a BCS conference and some of you attack him for no reason. Give it a break. Some here are as short sighted and ignorant as some of the posts I've read on the Aggie boards. Baylor has what we want--inclusion in an AQ conference. That may not last, but they are there now. Jealousy is not an attractive trait.

Thank you. The guy wishes us luck and you act like a 4 year-old girls.
BUBear is right, too. UH isn't the Big XII's first choice and may have a ways to go if the Big XII expands. Nobody notices all this "UH has a chance at the Big XII" stuff is coming from the Chronicle? No, UH has a chance, behind at least BYU and possibly UL and UC. Jesus, even Memphis may have a shot before UH.

Louisville and Cincinnati would never consider Big 12 and vice-a-versa. These two schools are linked and will remain BE. Louisville's dream is SEC and won't switch for anthing less.

I don't know what UL and UC's people are thinking, but I am betting if the Big XII comes calling they listen. What, they would rather play Syracuse than Texas and UCF than Oklahoma? No. They may get better basketball, but as a whole UL has leapfrogged the rest of the BE in terms of overall health and strength of their athletic program.

[birddogger]

I've been a long-time lurker on this topic. From my view here in SEC-land, we really weren't in the mix for the Big 1(2). As many have pointed out--some more caustically than others--we have to win consistently against quality teams, then hope we get a seat at the Table of LXIV when the ultimate conference realignment occurs.

Let's hope the pace of realignment slows, and that we build a winning program (with or without a majority of TX players) in the meantime.

P.S. Keep recruiting Louisiana!

[San Antonio Mustang]

This same article was in the San Antonio Express News yesterday, with the addition of some more possible replacements. They ranked SMU as the eighth choice. The writer seems to think that Notre Dame will accept because they can keep their NBC deal. The main knock on us that I keep hearing and reading is our low attendance. According to this line of reasoning we simply do not bring enough new money to the mix, nor do we have much support from our alums.

[WordUpBU]

Louisville and Cincinnati would never consider Big 12 and vice-a-versa. These two schools are linked and will remain BE. Louisville's dream is SEC and won't switch for anthing less. And SEC won't happen either.

It is sad that a Baylor fan is providing us hope and a scenario which would never happen.

The issue with this is the fact that UL and UC in this scenario would be in a Big East league where:

A- Their tv deal takes a serious hit as the main football school in the league (WVU) is gone. Compare that to the kind of money that UT, OU, Mizzou, and potentially BYU bring as a nucleus and the pocketbook says go.
B- Syracuse, Rutgers, UConn, and Pitt would leave for Big Ten or ACC in a heartbeat so BE stability is not certain.
C- Even if the P16 happened they would still have as good of a fallback as in the BE with BYU, KU, KSU, ISU, BU, and each other to rebuild with. So rather than trying to get KU, KSU, or BYU to join later... they have their fallback ready to go.
D- Unless the ACC offers UL, neither has another BCS league coming for them. I feel if the SEC was going to add schools in their footprint they would go for Clemson, GT, FSU, or others before UL.

I can also say that as much fun as ridiculing our downfall may be if the B12 falls apart, that would certainly slam the BE door on you as KU, KSU, and ISU would take those last spots SMU could grab. They were prepared to offer those 3 + Mizzou last summer.

[WordUpBU]

And there went Baylors invitation to CUSA when the not so big12-2 implode. You don't want us and we don't want you. Enjoy playing UNT.

GO PONIES!!!

Believe it or not I would love to be in a league with you guys. I just don't see the B12 voting it that way though. Win or lose I am glad we are playing you, Rice, and TCU again.

[WordUpBU]

Some of you on this board are absolute idiots. We have a fan from another school stop by who says nothing condescending or mean spirited. This poster makes as legitimate an argument as I have seen here for SMU's inclusion in a BCS conference and some of you attack him for no reason. Give it a break. Some here are as short sighted and ignorant as some of the posts I've read on the Aggie boards. Baylor has what we want--inclusion in an AQ conference. That may not last, but they are there now. Jealousy is not an attractive trait.

Dubs, you're often calm, rational, and fair...all traits that are no fun!

Look, I'm not a fan of Baylor nor am I going to pretend. Point is, I don't need some Baylor fan coming by and patting me on the head as a SMU fan telling me that we might get sloppy seconds should the BE totally impload...to the benefit of their beloved Baylor team, of course. If you want to deal in fact, the fact is that no school in America has as much to lose from conference re-alignment as Baylor and I'm sick of their crybaby BS. They've had the chance to hide out in a conference that they don't belong in long enough. Coming to an SMU board and spewing a scenario that saves Baylor and might help SMU doesn't register very highly on my SMU support meter. I'm weird that way, I know.

Then again, perhaps I just had a really bad day...

1- None of that was intended as a pat on the head, I just like SMU when you guys aren't playing us and thought I would comment on a potential way that SMU would have a BCS option available where I would be shocked to see them not invited.

2- None of it is intended as sloppy seconds or anything. I was just thinking of scenarios that would get SMU to BCS aq and the only ones I see where SMU makes a lot of sense is either SMU helping to rebuild the BE or the BE getting decimated to the point that an AQ MWC gets SMU, UH, or UTEP or maybe all 3. The more I think of it, the more I think of the BE being the way it happens and here is why:

If the Big9 hold together, the rumor is they need to invite schools with new markets and large followings (BYU 65k, UL with 55k, etc) or OU will probably bolt somewhere and the thing falls apart. If that happens you can pretty much pencil in KU, KSU, and ISU into the BE as a package deal to get them to 12. Unless the BE wants more than 20 hoops schools or splits (and even if they split) it isn't likely they expand further IMO. Big 12 implosion would certainly lock up these BE spots with B12 refugees.

The BE on the other hand if raided would likely move on some combo of UCF, UH, Villanova, ECU, SMU, & Memphis and possibly more if they needed to. So if 4 spots open up I would give SMU/ECU/Memphis each an even shot. If 5 opened up I'd give it 2/3. If 6... I would be shocked to not see you in.

3- You can have your opinions of Baylor's handling of realignment. No problem.

4- I was just sharing the scenario I see as most likely for the BCS AQ status coming to SMU and it happened to help us too. I don't see why the existence of one invalidates the other.

I apologize for any misunderstanding. I am not trying to troll, I just like both schools and I hope the dominoes fall in favor of both.

[WordUpBU]

I can also say that as much fun as ridiculing our downfall may be if the B12 falls apart, that would certainly slam the BE door on you as KU, KSU, and ISU would take those last spots SMU could grab. They were prepared to offer those 3 + Mizzou last summer.

I think you're right. The only way SMU gets a BCS nod in the short-term is through severe attribution in the Big East (or possibly a UT league expanding to 16 teams). Since the former is more likely, let's hope for both Baylor and SMU that the UT 12-2-1 makes it. I just really wonder if we would want to join a severly impaired BE if all of the top teams leave and their BCS status comes under fire.

A league of TCU, USF, 1-2 NE schools, UCF, UH, SMU, etc would have enough BCS strength to hold off the MWC (esp if BSU and AFA get picked up by the B12). The MWC is held back by the horrific UNM, UNLV, and CSU resumes. The top of the league is BCS caliber, but they need the average ranking to stop being held back. The TCU invitation likely had a lot to do with taking the strength from the MWC to eliminate the threat of the MWC catching up if the bottom feeders ever produced well enough.

The reason why schools would leave is TV money but it would still be a significant upgrade over CUSA and the BE hoops contract will help that overall tv money more than any other league's hoops deal.