UCONN to Rejoin Big East

[horsemanx]

I don't understand the service academy love. Playing Navy regularly is enough of a triple option beating - not to mention the knees.

Army does absolutely nothing for me.

[Charleston Pony]

I don't understand the service academy love. Playing Navy regularly is enough of a triple option beating - not to mention the knees.

Army does absolutely nothing for me.

Agree about option teams being tough on the knees, but our conference is called the "American Athletic Conference" so who more appropriate than Army & Navy as members? Not to mention there is plenty of interest in those programs nationally.

[mrydel]

There are a lot of other schools in America besides the service academies.

[Vitale]

Maybe there's some value in Connecticut staying as a football school, since it's a beatable opponent and the Big East doesn't have football.

[sadderbudweiser]

Why add another team? SMU should simply volunteer to play in BOTH football divisions. All problems solved.

[redpony]

Redpony has a new school to [deleted] about

94-Why the smartarse comment? I agree that I am critical in areas that need to be criticized. However, I think our school should be doing much better than it is, both in academics and sports. It just seems we have an admin. that is only here to collect their paychecks and get to retirement instead of making us a top university.
In fact I just read an article on MSN about the top 50 private schools in the U.S. and we are nowhere to be found. Don't you think that after 20+ years at the helm our 'leadership' should have us in the top 50 private schools?

[Lefty]

Add Rice - small, private academics-first school, beatable in all sports but not an anonymous cupcake school, based in fertile recruiting area and has a long history with SMU. To me, Rice should be on the non-conference football and basketball schedules now.

[Lefty]

Also, I hate Tulsa, but booting them doesn't make sense - same reasons as Rice (also each is within driving distance of Dallas).

[SoCal_Pony]

Red, I will take it a step further.

If your criteria is the 2 most popular sports in a particular country (for America that would be FB & BB) and if you factor in intangible advantages we have, I would argue that absent a brief LB run that SMU itself helped destroy, SMU is probably most inept sports brand in America, possibly the world. Sounds hyperbolic, I realize, but hear me out.

Over the past 30 years, SMU has been ranked a Top 60 national university in America (reputation, but not so academic as to be a hindrance), a Top 60 school worldwide in terms of endowment (financial resources) and probably THE Top location nationwide for FB & BB HS talent.

Yet given these advantages, what exactly has SMU achieved??

for FB:
winning % is 114 out of 119 D1-A schools.
0-56-1 vs. Big12 South, the 1 criteria diehard fans truly care about.

for BB:
2-54 vs ranked teams pre-LB for the Men.
4 NCAA tourney wins total in over 60 years of MenΓÇÖs & WomenΓÇÖs combined participation. IΓÇÖm sure you are aware, every year some 10 to 15 schools accomplish this or more in less than 3 weeks.

IΓÇÖm not a sports fanatic, but I follow it somewhat. I really canΓÇÖt think of anyone as inept as SMU.

For our men....
0-56-1, 2-54 & 1 tourney win in 30 years....who can possibly match that.

[shadowman]

Also, I hate Tulsa, but booting them doesn't make sense - same reasons as Rice (also each is within driving distance of Dallas).

I would be cool with Rice. Great academics and a long history with SMU. I could actually see Rice reinvesting in Football and Basketball if they could make a conference upgrade.

Would probably be hard to convince Houston to agree to it though, and they hold plenty of sway.

[Mustangsabu]

Red, I will take it a step further.

If your criteria is the 2 most popular sports in a particular country (for America that would be FB & BB) and if you factor in intangible advantages we have, I would argue that absent a brief LB run that SMU itself helped destroy, SMU is probably most inept sports brand in America, possibly the world. Sounds hyperbolic, I realize, but hear me out.

Over the past 30 years, SMU has been ranked a Top 60 national university in America (reputation, but not so academic as to be a hindrance), a Top 60 school worldwide in terms of endowment (financial resources) and probably THE Top location nationwide for FB & BB HS talent.

Yet given these advantages, what exactly has SMU achieved??

for FB:
winning % is 114 out of 119 D1-A schools.
0-56-1 vs. Big12 South, the 1 criteria diehard fans truly care about.

for BB:
2-54 vs ranked teams pre-LB for the Men.
4 NCAA tourney wins total in over 60 years of MenΓÇÖs & WomenΓÇÖs combined participation. IΓÇÖm sure you are aware, every year some 10 to 15 schools accomplish this or more in less than 3 weeks.

IΓÇÖm not a sports fanatic, but I follow it somewhat. I really canΓÇÖt think of anyone as inept as SMU.

For our men....
0-56-1, 2-54 & 1 tourney win in 30 years....who can possibly match that.

I agree with you. But I'm shocked at the notion that we are a top 60 school worldwide in terms of endowment and yet, according to the last Times ranking of world universities, we are in the "350-400" bracket.

[One Trick Pony]

https://youtu.be/ojydNb3Lrrs

[WordUpBU]

Stinks for Temple losing their closest rival for both sports, but would like to see Navy move to the east for football and maybe invite BYU for football only in the west? Could leave hoops at 11 members and AAC could play 20 conference games so you get everyone home/home. That would mean top 5 finishers get 1st round bye in conference tourney as bottom six play their way into the 2nd round.

I agree 100%.

BYU makes more money with its own TV deal than the AAC can offer, and plane trips east probably have limited interest in Provo.

How much money do they currently make and how does it compare with the new AAC deal?

As for plane trips east, count how many they have in their current and future schedules. https://fbschedules.com/ncaa/byu/

1- BYU has a variable payout depending on how many of their games hit ABC (higher pay), ESPN/ESPN2, ESPNU (lowest), or BYUtv (ESPN doesnΓÇÖt pay for these they chose not to pick up)

Annual estimate ranges from 3.5M to 6M from ESPN for football tv alone depending on which ESPN networks pick up home games but itΓÇÖs about to renegotiate so expect it to outpace that as all these deals are averages that are backloaded. I see 7 as their floor on the next deal lifetime average. This doesnΓÇÖt include pay from BYU tv for the 1-2 games annually, other pay from neutral site games, bowl pay, independent playoff money splits, or other game contract stipulations.

2- Football travel isnΓÇÖt an issue really. Non-FB is where it adds up which is why regional additions like WSU (driveable to/from Tulsa) help so much.

I doubt BYU would come. Their goals are exposure & bigger matchups.

Playing more P5ΓÇÖs while cherry picking g5 games gets the matchup part while ESPN or BYUtv gives them almost perfect visibility nationally.

[Cheesesteak]

By WordUpBU ΓÇ£Playing more P5s while cherry picking g5 games gets the matchup part while ESPN or BYUtv gives them almost perfect visibility nationally.ΓÇ¥

The comments above are incorrect.

For example, in 2019 BYU football has four P5 opponents. All 4 games will be played before September 22nd. BYU has a unappealing schedule and no conference title to compete for during October and November.

[WordUpBU]

By WordUpBU ΓÇ£Playing more P5s while cherry picking g5 games gets the matchup part while ESPN or BYUtv gives them almost perfect visibility nationally.ΓÇ¥

The comments above are incorrect.

For example, in 2019 BYU football has four P5 opponents. All 4 games will be played before September 22nd. BYU has a unappealing schedule and no conference title to compete for during October and November.

1- Joining the AAC would replace two of those P5ΓÇÖs if not three. Right now the majority of their home slate is de-facto P5 in terms of matchup quality as you have Boise, USC, Washington, and Utah paired with two weak matchups. One of those P5s and one weaker matchup paired with a rotating AAC slate isnΓÇÖt assured to be that good as inevitably half of any division will be in an up year or down year.

2- They also cherry pick regional MWC schools that are among the most appealing in that league with obviously good matchup Boise State as well as San Diego St and Utah St who are among the better MWC teams who they have long history with.

3- In addition they get USF and Toledo who were solid G5 teams.

4- ItΓÇÖs certainly front loaded but overall a more high profile slate and with tons of visibility on ESPN, ABC, or BYUtv carrying it where the entire country sees them without needing ESPN+.