And The Best Recruiting Class in the WAC may be....

[boulevard bum]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">(Ark St & La-Lafayette?). [/B]</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think I'd put in UTEP before either of those. They bring large crowds in the Sun Bowl and that's a cool place to play. I'm right with you on your initial picks for a regional conference. I think New Mexico State would also fit better than Ark St and La-Lafayette. They are UNT's biggest rival at this point. I'd rather have New Mexico but I have a feeling they would stay in the MWC. Those teams seem to be satisfied. I agree that an Arkansas/Texas rivalry in the conference would be great but it wouldn't be great without Arkansas and they're not going anywhere. This idea of yours would be wonderful for SMU, TCU, UNT, Baylor, Tulsa, Rice, Houston, Utep, New Mexico State, Tulane, Louisiana Tech and if you want to include Arkansas State and La-Lafayette( you can't take them without Monroe though) I think there'd be room. Everyone would win from that conference. BUT...I would like to see us get into a conference with Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, and Oklahoma. That's probably too much to ask but I think that's what we need to restore the program to what it was. I think we should join the big twelve, drop the Big 12 north and take Arkansas, TCU, UNT, Rice, and Houston. That would restore all of Texas's old powerhouses. Maybe cut Oklahoma, Arkansas and Oklahoma State , add UTEP and call it the LONE STAR CONFERENCE. But, I'm only dreaming. You have some great ideas too but I'd love to see us get the old Longhorn/Mustang and Razorback/Longhorn and Razorback/Mustang rivalries fired up again. Let's get fired up.

[Charleston Pony]

I'm afraid that playing alongside UT and A$M again is a pipedream. The landscape of college athletics has changed and it's all about TV contracts and who has the largest followings. That's why I'd like to see us align with regional competition and schools with similar fan bases. UTEP and NMSU would be a decent alternative to Ark St & La-Lafayette, or could be added to make it a 12 school conference, but keep in mind those schools are 600 miles from Dallas, so even farther for the La schols and that adds to travel costs. With a 12 member east/west alignment, some of that travel could be reduced. Another problem with UTEP/NMSU is that they typically have avoided each other as conference mates, much the same as SMU/TCU/UNT. This would all take a recognition by school presidents and AD's that it might be best for the member schools in the long run and right now, everyone is jockying for the highest profile situation they can find.

[EastStang]

Why not just go down to 1-AA? I mean that's what the BCS wants all the TV money. You could play all those preppy schools in the East like Harvard and Yale and have it count toward a playoff at the end of the year. Instead I fear that we would create a conference that will have at best one bowl tie in. I am not ready to go down a notch to 1-AA, but I know from Brand's statements that he wants to "strengthen" 1-AA. I would like to have a Southwestern Ivy league. But not at the cost of dropping to 1-AA. However, unless a Division 1 playoff system shows up, the non-BCS conferences are relegated to the netherworld of "mid-major".