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I thought realignment was all about FB and TV markets.

This is what I googled about Louisville, Cincinnati, Dallas and Houston.

In 2000, Louisville was the 26th-largest city in America with an adjusted population of 553,599. In 2009, Louisville was the 29th-largest city in America with an adjusted population of 566,503 according to 2009 population data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

New estimates released calculate that Cincinnati now has 296,223 residents, for a decline of 0.2 percent from April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2011. The 2010 Census showed Cincinnati lost more than 10 percent of its population from 2000, falling below 300,000 people for the first time in more than a century.

The three largest states -- California, Texas and New York -- are home to one of every four Americans. Texas ranked fifth in growth rate but first in raw numbers, increasing by 4.3 million, to 25.1 million people. The Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston metropolitan areas contain almost half of Texas' population.

US TV Market Rankings
Dallas - 5
Houston - 10
Cincinnati - 34
Louisville - 50

Just curious, are us and Houston even putting up a fight?

I think tv viewers is a more relevant metric than the size of the tv market where the school is located, unfortunately.

I suspect that is true to a degree, but the numbers are so overwhelming in our favor to make that argument IMO.

And just as importantly, look at the trends.

Dallas and Houston will be much bigger players 10 years from now than today. Louisville and Cincinnati will be about where they are today.

Really surprised we are at not at least in the conversation based on this fact alone. Oh, and we (SMU) have more $$$ than any of these schools.

We are in the conversation, the numbers don't lie. It's all about the money. We don't help the Big XII at all but the PAC 12 is a different story

LA_Mustang wrote:We are in the conversation, the numbers don't lie. It's all about the money. We don't help the Big XII at all but the PAC 12 is a different story

why would we not be in the conversation with ACC as well? 2 shrinking cities in the rust belt vs 2 largest cities in prosperous and growing Texas.

biggest argument against ACC is their lack of TV footprint, so their solution is Cincinnati and Louisville over Dallas and Houston?

just seems very odd that we (SMU and UH) are at not at least part of the conversation. seems we are non-existent.

Totally agree. If acc wants to get something relevant they would add 2 huge tv markets and biggest recruiting market in country to their footprint. Also two good basketball schools (now).

What Am Missing Here?

"I"

Check out the BE Forums.....

The BBall Catholic schools wanted "a private university with acadamic credentials in an urban area."

So I guess this is a bball conference now if they have so much power to invite the worst football team in the nation

OK CalallenStang, that was d**n funny. but back to the comparison.

The Dallas and Houston metropolitan areas had 12.3M people as of the 2010 census and were expected to grow by over 300,000 people per year for the foreseeable future.

Cincinnati and Louisville metropolitan areas had 3.1M people as of the 2010 census and were expected to grow by less than 20,000 people per year for the foreseeable future.

I think what you are missing is that we have not been to the NCAA tournament in 20 years, our football team was given the death penalty and 25 years later we are a .500 team in the worst division one conference, we have no fan base, average 18k for home games and for the most part are totally irrelevant on the nation scene in the two revenue sports' men's football and basketball. Sure, we are located in Dallas which helps, but that does not overcome all.

I understand what you are saying Dwan, but that doesn’t explain the very best NCAA conference selecting Rutgers, or for that matter, even Maryland. Rutgers past track record is hardly sterling, but the Big10 saw its potential, specifically its TV market, and offered them. Think of the number of schools that would have accepted a Big10 invite. Can anyone name even one ACC team that would not have?

You state our abysmal BB tourney record. Can’t disagree, but I also think our program, RIGHT NOW, is in better shape than most BCS schools. Moody and Crum will be top-notch and there is absolutely no reason we can’t be a Top 30 BB program for years to come. Not with the talent level here in the Metroplex, which will only get better over time. It was simply a matter of us getting into the right conference and showing a commitment.

Sure we stink at attendance, but I have always maintained that is a function of our crummy opponents as much as anything. Give us a better conference and marketing $$$ and we can certainly surpass our 20,000 attendance numbers. Given the size of Dallas, I think we can make it respectable.

Anyways, no need to argue, as the facts as we know it speaks volumes.

Looking forward to PAC expansion talks and how Colorado State and New Mexico St are on their short list, but no mention of dear old SMU.