Has anyone noticed

[echothat1]

that no one from SMU has publicly confirmed that it will be joining C-USA? All we've gotten so far is that Rice's president has said we will make the move along with Rice and Tulsa...uh, something just isn't right...

[PK]

Pay attention. The Board of Trustees has given approval to accept the offer when it is presented. C-USA is not making any offers until the BE has extended their offers to the chosen C-USA teams and those teams accept. C-USA can't extend anyone an offer until there is room in the conference for new teams. Again...our Board of Trustees has given approval for the move when the time comes and this was reported in the media.

<small>[ 10-22-2003, 02:53 PM: Message edited by: PK ]</small>

[Mustangs35SMU]

Actually this past Saturday I was talkin with my mom and I forgot the name of the other guy but I know he works for the SMU Athletic Department *I sit up in the club level if anybody wanted to know* And he stated some stuff about Conference USA and told my mom and I that Hopefully this new conference will bring us some more fans or something of that sort dont quite remember cause Ive slept since then and had test so lol

[Diehard Pony]

SMU has signed the contract with C-USA, as has Tulsa and Rice. However, the contract is contingent on the departure of certain C-USA members, which should happen when the BE addresses this during the first week of November.

I have this info from a high credibility insider.

[PlanoStang]

AKA The Dallas Morning News.

[Pony_Fan]

I spoke to Copeland on the Blvd. He said Nov 4th was the official date.

[Diehard Pony]

Originally posted by PlanoStang:
AKA The Dallas Morning News.

No, it is a Board Trustee member who is a friend. I don't believe the DMN ever reported that SMU had signed a contract with C-USA

<small>[ 10-22-2003, 05:51 PM: Message edited by: Diehard Pony ]</small>

[PlanoStang]

Well anyway, I read somewhere, and not on this board that it was a signed, sealed, and delivered deal CONTINGENT on the schools leaving the CUSA.

I guess its pretty well set in concrete that all or most of the schools will leave the CUSA, but who of our WAC 3 gets in if something happens, and they don't all leave?

<small>[ 10-22-2003, 06:25 PM: Message edited by: PlanoStang ]</small>

[PonyTales]

Originally posted by PK:
Pay attention. The Board of Trustees has given approval to accept the offer when it is presented....

Close. The Board has given approval to accept the offer IF it is presented. All indications are that an offer is forthcoming, but remember, many of us thought the same thing last time around, and we were left on the outside looking in. I'm confident we'll get in, but the idea of C-USA encountering circumstances (not all their expected departing teams actually leaving) that prevent them from offering a bid, plus the addition of the other teams to the WAC, leaves me very nervous that we somehow might get left out of everything. If that were to happen, we'd experience a new level of humility.

[FloridaMustang]

PT - it's a done deal.

[EastStang]

We haven't officially announced we're leaving the WAC either. If for example Louisville or South Florida decided to stay in CUSA, and if CUSA decided it wanted Rice and Tulsa and if Rice and Tulsa accepted, we will still be in the WAC with only La. Tech and us in the east. Actually last night's game helped us more than you know. The Big East is concerned it might not be able to hold its BCS status after next year. West Virginia showed that it could be a team next year that might make the top 15. The concern has been that Syracuse and Pitt might be looking at other options besides the Big East. With W. Va. showing that there will still be quality football teams in the Big East, it should make it easier for the conference to follow its plan to create a strong basketball/football conference by adding Louisville, Cincy, DePaul and Marquette (and maybe South Florida). Once that happens we should go to CUSA. The other question mark is of course Notre Dame. The BE might be trying to lure them into some sort of limited membership deal which could impact how many teams they ask.

[TUfan]

Here's the Benson statement:

October 22, 2003


Statement from WAC Commissioner Karl Benson


Statement from WAC Commissioner Karl Benson

"We are disappointed in the expected departure of Rice, SMU and Tulsa, effective July 1, 2005, however, their announcement does give the Western Athletic Conference a head start in working to replace these three schools. We have already had meetings with the WAC Board of Directors and the athletics directors and will continue to do so in the upcoming weeks. A plan has been put in place to begin evaluating the pool of schools that have interest in becoming WAC members. We feel that the core of remaining seven schools under the WAC banner gives us a tremendous foundation to build upon. I expect that this will only be a slight road block for the WAC and we will be able to overcome this to continue to compete at the highest levels."

[The PonyGrad]

Haven't you noticed how really quiet this whole thing is (except for uninformed speculation.) All the signs are that the ducks are in a row and everyone is just waiting for the key dates to pass.