Magnolialeague.com?

[Stallion]

HINT No. 1: the conference per team payouts for each BCS school per year are approaching TEN TIMES the yearly conference payouts per team for CUSA schools.

HINT No. 2: BSC teams play on national TV, while CUSA largely plays on computer internet connections and local independent affiliates or even on networks they play one weeknites;

HINT No. 3: BCS schools that win their conferences have an automatic chance to play in BCS National Championship Games or quality high profile bowls while CUSA teams play against the MAC, Sun Belt on other low paying bowls. Even the remote chance that these schools might play in a BCS Bowl enormous helps these schools recruiting;

It is a waste of time and really quite naive to think that any BCS private school would throw that away. Now get a map out and look at the remaining private schools and tell me how they would develop an economical conference with national TV contracts and bowl affiliations that would be more financially awarding than the Sun Belt conference. At least CUSA has affiliations with 6 bowl games and a TV contract on ESPN, cable and the internet. Finally, go check the attendance figures for SMU-Rice, SMU-Tulane and Rice-Tulane. Its not a pretty site.

[BrianTinBigD]

The only hope that the non-BCS schools have is to either file an anti-trust lawsuit or get congress to step in. The non-BCS conferences will have to band together and kick and scream and talk about how un-American the whole BCS process really is. Of course, that would require a leader and I am not sure that there is one in this group that can take the fight to the BCS. Start throwing around words like cartel and monopoly and you might get some traction. Of course, maybe the NCAA might actually step up to this cause as well since they are memeber institutions but they are too busy threatening schools with names that offend somebody, somewhere.

The other alternative is to work with the NCAA to create a D1 National Football Championship that includes a playoff. Sure the BCS guys can go to a bowl if they want but they would have to turn down the NCAA bid. I am sure that the NCAA could lean on CBS to broadcast the whole thing. The winner of the tourney is then declared NCAA National Champion. Let's see how long until the BCS becomes the NIT of college football.

[EastStang]

First, you have a problem. The BCS schools have enough votes in the NCAA Division 1-A football committee to squash any talk of a playoff. It won't happen absent regulatory intervention. Secondly, a combination of the Non-BCS schools to not play the BCS schools does two things. It violates federal anti-trust laws. Secondly, it hurts our pocketbook. And don't think they need us. They have the votes in the 1-A committee to make ALL games against 1-AA teams count toward bowl eligibility and to increase scholarship limits to 120. Why play SMU when you can play SE Missouri State and they count the same. A power play will just affirm how irrelevent we really are. Further, do OU, UT and A&M care if they add 30 more players to their roster? No they don't. Then see what kind of recruits are left for SMU, TCU, UH and Rice. So, you see its not that Turner and others are spineless, they just know that things could be even worse and are holding their powder for the day the BCS makes its power move.

[magnolialeague]

I agree with Eaststang...this game has not played itself out.

Once completed, I'll invite you back to MagnoliaLeague.com. I am looking for input from great fans like the ones on this board.

[Topper]

I was so proud of how our guys finished off the season. They are a hard working bunch of kids who don't know how to give up. The coaches, of whom I have been critical in the past, did a great job of keeping up morale and are also to be congratulated.

Now to the Magnolialeague. In essence that is where we are now. The breakup of the SWC really spelled doom for SMU in terms of attendance and national interest. Unless we regularly play the big dogs in the neighborhood the spectators won't come. Even when we were winning big back in the 80s we had trouble drawing 25K unless an SWC conference rival was in town.

Similarly, the coaches have an unbelievable disadvantage in recruiting being non-BCS. A national playoff is the only hope for building interest in the small private schools or non-traditional state schools.

[PonySnob]

Now to the Magnolialeague. In essence that is where we are now. The breakup of the SWC really spelled doom for SMU in terms of attendance and national interest. Unless we regularly play the big dogs in the neighborhood the spectators won't come. Even when we were winning big back in the 80s we had trouble drawing 25K unless an SWC conference rival was in town.

Similarly, the coaches have an unbelievable disadvantage in recruiting being non-BCS. A national playoff is the only hope for building interest in the small private schools or non-traditional state schools.

Why does TCU draw so well? The average well over 30,000 per game and many SMU fans thought that the MWC would hurt their attendance.

[Stallion]

exactly! Will the Dudley-Do-Rights please stay the hell away from SMU Football-you've done enough harm already.

[magnolialeague]

All but a few of the Magnolia League teams are located in major metropolitan areas.

What you haven't seen is how I have configured the schedule. Basically, a Magnolia League is ment to be a fan rejuvenation year. I would call for its formation once every four years and teams would basically represent themselves and their conference.

A Magnolia League season would include 12 games, 8 Magnolia League games, 1 local rivalry, and 3 BCS teams (picked from SEC/ACC/Big 12 based on proximity). This is a better arrangement than some of the schools now have financially and assures the possibility of post season play amongst these 16 schools. Also, this arrangement does not exclude the possibility of having teams not in the playoffs from playing an extra game through a bowl arrangement.

This season: (1) Navy and TCU are bowl bound and (2) Richmond and Furman are in Div 1AA playoffs. I'd argue that the Div1AA playoffs is more fun than a mid to low level bowl game.

[HixsontoLeVias]

......SMU, which I LOVE dearly, and we had some fun this weekend...probably needs to be in a league like this, but, is Vandy going to fumble on all that SEC $$$$? Others? NO, not until they are forced....and that would begin a series of lawsuits, etc., etc....I do, however, think the league would allow us to be more competitive, but it is not reality...so, no reason to get all freaked out, snippy...we need to figure out how to build football mo off of this season, and not pull a Rossely, who went 2-7-2, 1-9-1, 1-10 after his big "breakout" season of 1992, 5-6....remember?? Magnolia League....interesting.

[Dutch]

quote]Why does TCU draw so well? The average well over 30,000 per game and many SMU fans thought that the MWC would hurt their attendance.

First, they don't draw "well over" 30,000

But there are several reasons they have good attendance, the biggest being that there are no alternate sporting events in Ft.Worth. Most of the people who attend TCU games are TCU alums in FtW. It's not as if they had a lot of visiting fans from South Florida when they were in CUSA.

TCU alums tend to stick around DFW for the most part. and since they're really good the fans drive over from Dallas.

[Dutch]

All but a few of the Magnolia League teams are located in major metropolitan areas.

What you haven't seen is how I have configured the schedule. Basically, a Magnolia League is ment to be a fan rejuvenation year. I would call for its formation once every four years and teams would basically represent themselves and their conference.

A Magnolia League season would include 12 games, 8 Magnolia League games, 1 local rivalry, and 3 BCS teams (picked from SEC/ACC/Big 12 based on proximity). This is a better arrangement than some of the schools now have financially and assures the possibility of post season play amongst these 16 schools. Also, this arrangement does not exclude the possibility of having teams not in the playoffs from playing an extra game through a bowl arrangement.

This season: (1) Navy and TCU are bowl bound and (2) Richmond and Furman are in Div 1AA playoffs. I'd argue that the Div1AA playoffs is more fun than a mid to low level bowl game.

anone here think this magnolia league was created by someone from Furman or Richmond? just a hunch.

[Mustang75]

...or someone affiliated with the business school at William & Mary. Just another hunch! Maybe a little end of semester project.

[magnolialeague]

Weigh in at the Baylor Board on which helmet they should wear here:
http://www.baylorfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92322


Vanderbilt undergrad and William & Mary's Mason School of Business.

Good guess fellas...You fellas must clean up in the casinos.

When I started this I had no idea of the sociological experiment that so many people would argue against this for completely opposite reasons.

Some Baylor, Vanderbilt, Duke, and Wake Forest fans would rather face overwhelming odds to play in conferences that they repeatedly finish near the bottom so that they can continue to receive pay checks and play in sold out stadiums. Although the stadiums are 80% full with the opponents fans.

The Div1AA teams don't wish to move up because they are horrified at the thought of being a bottom dweller in any Div 1A conference.

TCU fans are ridiculed for being in the conference they are in. And, I have only heard back from one frog ever.

Rice is ridiculed for having no fans, and again no feedback whatsover.

SMU and Tulane harp on about the evils of the BCS.

Navy loves its independence.

Army just asks, "Who the hell are these guys?"

The interesting part is how each school thinks that they'd do well in this conference. Each sees its own team as good and the rest as patsies. All I know from watching both the SEC and A10 closely, you can never predict the outcome of inter-league play.

If the Magnolia League formed once every four years, I bet that fans would be looking forward to the spectacle. It would be like inter-league play in baseball, and the optimism riding into a Magnolia League season would be high.[url][/url]

[DixieTech]

The average well over 30,000 per game and many SMU fans thought that the MWC would hurt their attendance.

I think you should take a look at their recent season averages. I doubt they are "well over 30,000." Also, they are at their absolute zenith right now and have to tarp off parts of their 46,000 seat stadium - not a great sign. I bet if y'all went 10-1 and won your conference, you could get 30 grand at the Ford as well.

[LawSchoolPony]

Why does TCU draw so well? The average well over 30,000 per game and many SMU fans thought that the MWC would hurt their attendance.

Lets be honest, come on...30,000 fans isn't really "drawing well" in the whole scheme of college football. Its nothing compared to the big football schools.

To draw on my own knowledge, the Ole Miss v. Arkansas game in Oxford this year was 58,000 in attendance - 2 schools who had AWFUL years. Ole Miss has an enrollment of only 13,000, just 3k more than SMU, and similar to TCU's numbers probably. My freshman year at Ole Miss, we regularly had 55-60k at each game, and enrollment was at 11,000 that year. For schools comparable in size, the game attendance isn't even comparable.

30,000 is still kinda sad