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NMSU is about to be bounced from the sunbelt (again) so there's that

RGV Pony wrote:NMSU is about to be bounced from the sunbelt (again) so there's that

One of the hardest jobs in all of D1A. Terrible location, facilities, academics, and finances.

Las Cruces is great (own a business there) and one of my all time favorite game experiences was at the Pan American Center there.. Of course that was 25 years ago

RGV Pony wrote:Las Cruces is great (own a business there) and one of my all time favorite game experiences was at the Pan American Center there.. Of course that was 25 years ago

It is a great town but its a horrible location for recruiting football players.

Enjoy, basketball fans https://youtu.be/1asL704ne7E

New Mexico, NMSU and UTEP can fight over the 5 prospects every year from New Mexico

When they were good in hoops NMSU got Chicago UNM got Cali and NM and UTEP got whatever Haskins found. Football? Not happening. UNMs all time player's Urlacher (who played the 'star' which they called the lobo) went there because Tech didn't offer. NMSU best player not named JJ McDermott was Fred Dean in early 80s. UTEP? No idea.

RGV Pony wrote:UTEP? No idea.

Seth Joyner, Tony Tolbert, and Chris Jacke probably their most notable players.

Yeah Tolbert came to mind after I posted that

I thought this thread was about BYU? If the AAC was to expand to 14 football members, I'd like to see BYU in the West and Navy move to the Eastern Division. Of course, we would then have to find one more member for the West. If BYU can get by as a football independent, I don't see any way they would get interested in the AAC for other sports...too much travel. If they needed to come in as a football only member, they could compliment Navy well but that would still leave us needing another full member in the west.

AAC should jump in before B12 and get BYU and Boise in that conference.

Pony Boss wrote:AAC should jump in before B12 and get BYU and Boise in that conference.

Boise has the biggest sweetheart TV deal you could imagine for a G5 school. It is insane. No way they leave the MWC. BYU, they have a better TV deal and better flexibility with their indy status. Neither are legit expansion candidates for the AAC.

The best thing the AAC can do is grow organically. You are seeing the league develop a bit of depth.

Temple - Looks very good and in a great TV market.

Memphis - Borderline Top 25 team that is making tremendous facility upgrades.

Houston - Not too far off from Memphis. Will get better as Herman is recruiting very well.

Cincinnati - Very solid program with a proven track record.

Navy - A great addition to the conference. Team looks very competitive.

SMU - We're young but you can already see the Chad Morris vision. This is a team you won't want to play by 2017.

UCF - Another proven commodity but you wonder if the wheels fall off after O'Leary.

USF - Not sure where this program is headed but Taggart has recruited well.

Tulane - Dead in the water

Tulsa - Montgomery is doing well there already. Their rebuild looks to be coming all very well.

East Carolina - Tough break w/ the QB going down but they were Top 25 last season. Typically a good mid-major program with a great fan base there in Greenville.

UConn - Not sure what to make of them but I do like their coach. At least they are 2-0 but I don't know if they are going to be a factor in the conference moving forward.

The conference as a whole seems to be trending up. The best thing would be for this conference to continue to elevate its status and get a couple of teams in the Top 25.

StallionsModelT wrote:

Pony Boss wrote:AAC should jump in before B12 and get BYU and Boise in that conference.

Boise has the biggest sweetheart TV deal you could imagine for a G5 school. It is insane. No way they leave the MWC. BYU, they have a better TV deal and better flexibility with their indy status. Neither are legit expansion candidates for the AAC.

The best thing the AAC can do is grow organically. You are seeing the league develop a bit of depth.

Temple - Looks very good and in a great TV market.

Memphis - Borderline Top 25 team that is making tremendous facility upgrades.

Houston - Not too far off from Memphis. Will get better as Herman is recruiting very well.

Cincinnati - Very solid program with a proven track record.

Navy - A great addition to the conference. Team looks very competitive.

SMU - We're young but you can already see the Chad Morris vision. This is a team you won't want to play by 2017.

UCF - Another proven commodity but you wonder if the wheels fall off after O'Leary.

USF - Not sure where this program is headed but Taggart has recruited well.

Tulane - Dead in the water

Tulsa - Montgomery is doing well there already. Their rebuild looks to be coming all very well.

East Carolina - Tough break w/ the QB going down but they were Top 25 last season. Typically a good mid-major program with a great fan base there in Greenville.

UConn - Not sure what to make of them but I do like their coach. At least they are 2-0 but I don't know if they are going to be a factor in the conference moving forward.

The conference as a whole seems to be trending up. The best thing would be for this conference to continue to elevate its status and get a couple of teams in the Top 25.

Agree AAC is trending upwards, but Boise and BYU deals are with ESPN, and I am sure if they pull those 2 in, they will keep making that revenue until contract renegotiation time in which the American increases its per school amount. I could see it being at least as good as what BYU makes per school and possibly more if the conference keeps trending upwards.

If anything happens I could see an AAC/MWC merger of the "best of the rest" to maximize the chances of a playoff spot and potential TV deals. 14 team league across the country would be pretty interesting.

West - SDSU, Fresno State, Colorado State, Air Force, Boise State, SMU, Houston

East - UConn, Temple, Navy, Cincinnati, Memphis, UCF, USF

That is a competitive football conference and a really competitive basketball conference. Lots of moving parts but I could see it happening. It rids both conferences of some dead weight and would truly elevate that conference above that of the non Power 5 conferences.

That is what a lot thought would happen when the Big East disintegrated, but it never materialized.

The AAC is going to have to clearly establish itself as the best non-P5 conference before it happens. It will take a couple of years. But I think if it does happen, it could become the P6.