Pac 10 Commish to Expand Conference

[mr. pony]

Another kitten dies. Expansion threads kill kittens. I personally have no desire to be in the MWC especially without BYU (which is a guaranteed sell out - the Mormon Notre Dame). Right now we are in good shape to weather any realignments. CUSA west if very stable. That means Tulane, SMU, UTEP,UH, Rice, Tulsa are a solid block. Add in USM and UAB and that's a stability, even if ECU, Memphis, UCF, or Marshall go elsewhere.

I dont' think SMU is looking to sit tight or is content with C-USA "stability." Orsini and Jones are looking to move us up - WAY up.... Think Big 10, Big 12, ...

[Samurai Stang]

Not really sure what you guys are thinking but PAC 10 is going to go after Colorado and Utah FIRST if expansion happens-and quite frankly the rest are all afterthoughts that for one reason or not do not fit.

GIven that the conference is entirely made up of regional rivals, it seems less likely that they would take these two.

USC-UCLA
Stanford-Cal
Washington-Washington State
Oregon-Oregon State
Arizona-Arizona State

I firmly expect this trend to continue in any expansion for the Pac-10.

In the end, however, the result is the same for SMU. If the Big 10 takes Missourit, then the Big 12 would still need to replace two teams. The most likely choices would be BYU (reasons provided earlier) and Colorado State (respectable in football, makes geographical sense, preserves the conference geography, maintains a market in Colorado).

It quickly becomes a question of whether or not the MWC can still make a claim that it should be a BCS conference with the addition of successful WAC and C-USA programs.

[Samurai Stang]

Another kitten dies. Expansion threads kill kittens. I personally have no desire to be in the MWC especially without BYU (which is a guaranteed sell out - the Mormon Notre Dame). Right now we are in good shape to weather any realignments. CUSA west if very stable. That means Tulane, SMU, UTEP,UH, Rice, Tulsa are a solid block. Add in USM and UAB and that's a stability, even if ECU, Memphis, UCF, or Marshall go elsewhere.

I dont' think SMU is looking to sit tight or is content with C-USA "stability." Orsini and Jones are looking to move us up - WAY up.... Think Big 10, Big 12, ...

Please, do not think Big 10 or Big 12. It makes my brain hurt for your brain. There are rumors that Texas is looking to create a new athletic conference, but SMU's odds of joining such a hypothetical conference seem equally remote.

[mr. pony]

Another kitten dies. Expansion threads kill kittens. I personally have no desire to be in the MWC especially without BYU (which is a guaranteed sell out - the Mormon Notre Dame). Right now we are in good shape to weather any realignments. CUSA west if very stable. That means Tulane, SMU, UTEP,UH, Rice, Tulsa are a solid block. Add in USM and UAB and that's a stability, even if ECU, Memphis, UCF, or Marshall go elsewhere.

I dont' think SMU is looking to sit tight or is content with C-USA "stability." Orsini and Jones are looking to move us up - WAY up.... Think Big 10, Big 12, ...

Please, do not think Big 10 or Big 12. It makes my brain hurt for your brain. There are rumors that Texas is looking to create a new athletic conference, but SMU's odds of joining such a hypothetical conference appear to be equally remote.

Does a full Ford Stadium and Moody Coliseum - week after week - and better recruiting make your brain hurt, Grasshopper?

[Samurai Stang]

I dont' think SMU is looking to sit tight or is content with C-USA "stability." Orsini and Jones are looking to move us up - WAY up.... Think Big 10, Big 12, ...

Please, do not think Big 10 or Big 12. It makes my brain hurt for your brain. There are rumors that Texas is looking to create a new athletic conference, but SMU's odds of joining such a hypothetical conference appear to be equally remote.

Does a full Ford Stadium and Moody Coliseum - week after week - and better recruiting make your brain hurt, Grasshopper?

I am certainly in favor of improving our own standing, but I fail to understand how SMU could change so drastically in a few short years as to be considered a realistic option by any existing BCS conference.

[EastStang]

BYU is the 300 lb gorilla. They rank ahead of most Pac 10 team in attendance at 64,102 at home and they travel better than many teams in the Country because they are the Mormon version of Notre Dame. Colorado certainly fits. Utah attendance is lower than either 45,542 which is about Pac 10 average. I don't see the Whorns in the Pac 10. I'm sure that Orsini and Jones have sights set higher and of course if any BCS conference comes calling the answer would be "yes". But the only way the Big XII comes calling is if they had significant defections. Look at the geography. If Missou and Colorado left then the openings would be in the Big XII north. Also, they have TV market issues to look at. They would lose the St. Louis market, the Denver Market, and to some degree the Kansas City Market by Missouri Leaving. Replacing them with teams from DFW or Houston don't really help since they already have a footprint there. They might look at Utah if they're passed over by the Pac 10. Salt Lake City is a growing market. They would certainly take a run at Arkansas who would in my opinion say "no", because they would be stuck in the north and would not have an annual autogame with Texas. I see the Big XII as the most fragile of the BCS conferences. It could splinter in all sorts of directions. If Missou and Colorado split, NE would certainly be anxious to get an annual game back with OU which could be the fracture of the conference. As I said, we're in a stable situation which could allow us to be selective in what comes along.

[Stallion]

Samurai-in the 21st Century it is better to attack and control 2 nation-states in a single conquest to expand TV domination over the world. Therefore, the PAC 10 will attempt to seize Utah and Colorado which are the two Flag bearers of their nation-states in hopes that the rest of the state surrenders. BYU is Mormon-there are problems there with regard to institutions and schedules etc. that most PAC 10 fans will go on and on about. BYU is not the 300 Pound Gorilla in this equation unless Colorado and Utah don't jump. BTW keep this in mind-the PAC 10 expansion vote must be unanimous-which I think further hurts BYU's chances

[Samurai Stang]

Samurai-in the 21st Century it is better to attack and control 2 nation-states in a single conquest to expand TV domination over the world. Therefore, Utah and Colorado which are the two Flag bearers of their nation-states. BYU is Mormon-there are problems there with regard to institutions and schedules etc. that most PAC 10 fans will go on and on about. BYU is not the 300 Pound Gorilla in this equation unless Colorado and Utah don't jump.

In your own opinion, then, how would the Big 12 and MWC respond? Is there any scenario in which the MWC can gain AQ status? For example, if the Cotton Bowl became a BCS bowl, as has been the rumor.

[Stallion]

BYU for one would likely go to Big 12 North to replace Colorado. Its anybody's guess with any more options but assuming Missouri goes to Big 10 then it could be a mad scramble for the 12th spot.

[Dooby]

Given who the PAC-10 is, they don't care that BYU is unwilling to play on Sundays. If this were a non-bcs confernce that might be an issue, but not for the PAC-10.

According to the combined PAC-10 schedule, they did not play one football game on a Sunday this year:
http://www.pac-10.org/sports/m-footbl/s ... -full.html

I concede that for other sports, not schedule on Sundays can be a pain in the butt.

[RGV Pony]

Not really sure what you guys are thinking but PAC 10 is going to go after Colorado and Utah FIRST if expansion happens-and quite frankly the rest are all afterthoughts that for one reason or not do not fit.

If so then I guess Boise to MWC, BYU to Big XII and we don't go anywhere

[Mestengo]

SMU is CUSA and will be for a long time.

[Samurai Stang]

Not really sure what you guys are thinking but PAC 10 is going to go after Colorado and Utah FIRST if expansion happens-and quite frankly the rest are all afterthoughts that for one reason or not do not fit.

If so then I guess Boise to MWC, BYU to Big XII and we don't go anywhere

In your scenario the MWC will be at 8 teams.

With the loss of BYU and Utah, the MWC would work quickly to expand to 12. BYU and Utah were always the most powerful schools in the conference. Only by expanding could the MWC hope to make up for a certain financial loss and keep its BCS dreams alive.

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

Bottom line in all of the scenarios that have been mooted so far is that SMU and TCU get left out of any current AQ conference.

The MWC without BYU and/or Utah is a non-starter in my opinion. Who wants to be a conference with SDSU, UNLV, and Air Force. We tried that before. It stunk.

[The PonyGrad]

Not really sure what you guys are thinking but PAC 10 is going to go after Colorado and Utah FIRST if expansion happens-and quite frankly the rest are all afterthoughts that for one reason or not do not fit.

GIven that the conference is entirely made up of regional rivals, it seems less likely that they would take these two.

USC-UCLA
Stanford-Cal
Washington-Washington State
Oregon-Oregon State
Arizona-Arizona State

I firmly expect this trend to continue in any expansion for the Pac-10.

In the end, however, the result is the same for SMU. If the Big 10 takes Missourit, then the Big 12 would still need to replace two teams. The most likely choices would be BYU (reasons provided earlier) and Colorado State (respectable in football, makes geographical sense, preserves the conference geography, maintains a market in Colorado).

It quickly becomes a question of whether or not the MWC can still make a claim that it should be a BCS conference with the addition of successful WAC and C-USA programs.

In this scenario the MWC may not be a desired place for TCU and they may see that the CUSA would then be the next likely conference to have a chance to upgrade to BCS especially with TCU in it.