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Lets face the following realities as they are 100% certain. Then we can discuss the realistic possibilities:

1. BIG 12, BIG 10, ACC, SEC, AND PAC 12 ARE NOT INVITING SMU TO JOIN.
2. Big East will be raided by other conferences.
3. TV deal for remaining Big East will be marginally, if any, better than what we have now in CUSA.
4. The athletic department needed this payday. BAD.

OK. Now that that is out of the way. What are SMU's realistic options? What gives SMU the best chance to compete against and with the best possible competition? To me the answer is simple.

GO INDY.

Create a schedule of opponents that the casual sports fan in Dallas can get excited about. The marginal TV revenue generated from being in a conference would be offset by having a top-tier schedule with a packed Ford Stadium. Agree to play a few games at JerryWorld against Notre Dame, USC, Michigan, etc. Do whatever you have to do to keep the program alive.

Maybe its absurd. Maybe its a financial disaster. But its the only way I can see SMU staying alive.

StallionsModelT wrote:Lets face the following realities as they are 100% certain. Then we can discuss the realistic possibilities:

1. BIG 12, BIG 10, ACC, SEC, AND PAC 12 ARE NOT INVITING SMU TO JOIN.
2. Big East will be raided by other conferences.
3. TV deal for remaining Big East will be marginally, if any, better than what we have now in CUSA.
4. The athletic department needed this payday. BAD.

OK. Now that that is out of the way. What are SMU's realistic options? What gives SMU the best chance to compete against and with the best possible competition? To me the answer is simple.

GO INDY.

Create a schedule of opponents that the casual sports fan in Dallas can get excited about. The marginal TV revenue generated from being in a conference would be offset by having a top-tier schedule with a packed Ford Stadium. Agree to play a few games at JerryWorld against Notre Dame, USC, Michigan, etc. Do whatever you have to do to keep the program alive.

Maybe its absurd. Maybe its a financial disaster. But its the only way I can see SMU staying alive.

No. 1 is not 100% certain. Not as long as a Baylor and a TCU are in the Big 12.

With expansion, the major conferences are also heading towards 9 conference games, meaning they have less room for non-conference. If we went independent, we would be looking at a schedule something like this:

Army
Navy
TCU
Tulane
Rice
Sam Houston St.
Texas St.
New Mexico St.
Dallas Baptist
Highland Park

You might be right. But I think the exposure of playing a game in Dallas would be attractive for a lot of high profile programs. Plus it would be perceived as an easy win!

Its either that or the football program dies over the next decade.

StallionsModelT wrote:You might be right. But I think the exposure of playing a game in Dallas would be attractive for a lot of high profile programs. Plus it would be perceived as an easy win!

Its either that or the football program dies over the next decade.

Perceived as or actually would be?

I think independence would be the death knell for us in terms of relevance. We're better being attached at the hip with schools like USF, UCF, and Houston. It's not ideal, but it's not the worst alternative

Also, we're not getting marquee opponents to play us at Jerry World now- why would independence change that?

Also, we're not getting marquee opponents to play us at Jerry World now- why would independence change that?

Indy would have worked if the other conferences stayed at 12 or 14. Maybe if we went indy we could play alot of the PAC teams and hopefully beating them to earn a spot there. Again, not being serious, but what real serious option is there.

Exactly. It might be absurd, but its the least absurd realistic option we have.

StallionsModelT wrote:Exactly. It might be absurd, but its the least absurd realistic option we have.

What about bowl affiliations, though? How are we going to get to the Hawaii Bowl?

East Coast Mustang wrote:

StallionsModelT wrote:Exactly. It might be absurd, but its the least absurd realistic option we have.

What about bowl affiliations, though? How are we going to get to the Hawaii Bowl?

exactly. That can be the bcs bowl for the d-1aa league thats starting to form.

SMU_Alumni11 wrote:

East Coast Mustang wrote:

StallionsModelT wrote:Exactly. It might be absurd, but its the least absurd realistic option we have.

What about bowl affiliations, though? How are we going to get to the Hawaii Bowl?

exactly. That can be the bcs bowl for the d-1aa league thats starting to form.

No kidding. There's football independence because you can make money marching to the beat your own drum (BYU, ND, Penn State befor BIG) and there's independence where you're scrambling for a conference because nobody wants you (everyone else.)

Guess which camp we'd be in?

High profile teams getting to play in Dallas. You mean like Arkansas which got a game at Jerry World. Or perhaps Baylor that got a game at Jerry World. Or Notre Dame which snubbed one of its alums to schedule a game in DFW against a team other than SMU. Fact is no major program wants to play in a 32,000 seat stadium in Dallas against SMU. UT certainly hasn't been back in about 20 years. We need a conference, our choices watered down BE, really watered down CUSA, more watered down MWC, or what's left of the Sunbelt/WAC. The BE still gives us great hoops money. Plus we'll have probably leftover, Louisville, Cincy, Boise, SDS, USF, UCF, UH, Navy. I suspect UConn will end up in ACC. ACC wants nothing to do with Louisville or Cincy. The only other possibility is that the ACC private wing (WF, Duke, Miami, Syracuse, plus UVA and UNC) push hard to get another private school in there. However, Clemson, FSU and GT will be eyeing the SEC. FSU/FL, GT/GA, and Clemson/USC games will take on a lot more meaning in the months to come.

If UCONN or Louisville go to the ACC then the basketball side of the BE will start to get watered down.