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Amid countless rumors and rampant speculation, if you had the only vote, in what conference would you want to see SMU end up?

ACC is the only stable of the three conferences. Get TCU and Baylor to jump with us and that would give them a good Texas market.

I like the idea of west coast road trips more

B12 is ideal for attendance/rivalries, but i see little chance of an invite.

Best case scenario is SMU to the PAC-12, where we are deemed a valuable component of an eventual PAC-ACC merger.

Personally prefer PAC-ACC over B12 due to academics.

Given the reality of what is to come, I would rather be in a depleted ACC than a depleted PAC 12. Oregon and Washington are not invited to the BIG yet but they will be. Once that happens, the four corner schools will hop over to the Big12 along with possibly Cal and Stanford. What would be left of the PAC 12 would be a glorified Mountain West. I think that the ACC is more likely to survive with a core of decent, established football programs and some outstanding hoops once North Carolina, Clemson and Florida State go elsewhere for bigger money. We won't see Big12 membership unless TCU and Baylor decide that they aren't too good for us. I'm sick of their condescension anyway.

ACC is the easy choice with the best long-term growth (it has the population centers). The bad ACC contract is still great for SMU and it provides 10 years of stability to give us a chance to build our brand. Pac-12 is most probable if we get a chance to move up. I don't see either conference going away and each will retain marquee brands.

If SMU is the only Texas school in either the ACC or Pac-12, does that provide us a strategic recruiting advantage?

There's a report that the Big 10 is looking to raid another 4 which has to be Oregon, Oregon state, Washington and Washington state. Maybe drop the states and it's two others but it's going to be a death blow and the big 12 will pick up Arizonas, Colorado and Utah thus ending officially the PAC. We have to go to the ACC if we want something.

ACC is the best fit culturally, IMO, and that includes the B12. And, sure, we’re a small private and all that. But we really do deserve better than we’ve gotten since the demise of the SWC. (Well, at least since the Pye effect has worn off). It’s time.

Big XII as that is the closest thing to a revamped SWC with some other previous conference mates including BYU, Cincinnati, and UCF. Those schools would give us the best in-game atmosphere. If not, I'd be happy with either the Pac or ACC. Just get us out of the American!!!

stlpony wrote:ACC is the easy choice with the best long-term growth (it has the population centers). The bad ACC contract is still great for SMU and it provides 10 years of stability to give us a chance to build our brand.

Bingo

Mustangs35SMU wrote:

stlpony wrote:ACC is the easy choice with the best long-term growth (it has the population centers). The bad ACC contract is still great for SMU and it provides 10 years of stability to give us a chance to build our brand.

Bingo

Yes and No

If the GOR truly keeps the ACC intact for the next decade, what exactly is their motivation to add us?

Seems the most likely pathway out of the AAC is the PAC.

And it is critical that the PAC & ACC schools that don’t get a P2 invite hang together.

SoCal_Pony wrote:

Mustangs35SMU wrote:

stlpony wrote:ACC is the easy choice with the best long-term growth (it has the population centers). The bad ACC contract is still great for SMU and it provides 10 years of stability to give us a chance to build our brand.

Bingo

Yes and No

If the GOR truly keeps the ACC intact for the next decade, what exactly is their motivation to add us?

Seems the most likely pathway out of the AAC is the PAC.

And it is critical that the PAC & ACC schools that don’t get a P2 invite hang together.

I agree with all of your statements. I don't see the motivation either, but this post is merely a reply to a hypothetical poll.

If rumors are true that the Big 10 (16) are interested in also taking Washington, Oregon, Stanford and Cal, then the Pac 12 is a dead conference walking. The Big 12 will then add Arizona State, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. That would leave Washington State and Oregon State to be subsumed into the Mountain West. If we get added to the Pac 12 and the above happens after we leave AAC we will be back in the WAC basically and playing a bunch of teams in the Mountain and Pacific time zones.

The only way I see us getting an ACC invite is for the SEC and/or Big 10 taking a few teams from that conference. Without that happening, the ACC will probably stand pat.

I suffer from an over 50 year case of BPS, so I see us getting screwed in this whole deal. It is imperative that we make a stellar run this season in football to have an outside shot at moving into a better conference neighborhood.

Caballo wrote:If rumors are true that the Big 10 (16) are interested in also taking Washington, Oregon, Stanford and Cal, then the Pac 12 is a dead conference walking. The Big 12 will then add Arizona State, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. That would leave Washington State and Oregon State to be subsumed into the Mountain West. If we get added to the Pac 12 and the above happens after we leave AAC we will be back in the WAC basically and playing a bunch of teams in the Mountain and Pacific time zones.

The only way I see us getting an ACC invite is for the SEC and/or Big 10 taking a few teams from that conference. Without that happening, the ACC will probably stand pat.

I suffer from an over 50 year case of BPS, so I see us getting screwed in this whole deal. It is imperative that we make a stellar run this season in football to have an outside shot at moving into a better conference neighborhood.

Aye

The only motivation I can see for the ACC to expand is the danger of inaction. If the PAC had been aggressive a year ago, and poached the best Big 12 schools that were left, they might not be in this situation. If the ACC looks like it does today when their GOR runs out, I think they are dead the minute the GOR ends.