Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

[Tovarich]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

I think Cal Davis and Cal Poly have both been rumored to be thinking about moving up. I heard some rumors about Portland State too. If the guy meant BCS status...that's going to be more bout quality of the conference than number of teams I would think. They can get up to 8, 9, whatever. If none of the programs are good enough, they'll lose it anyway.

[TDenverFan]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

I wish Montana would just cut ties with the Cats and jump up into the WAC. They've been invited IIRC then turned it down because of Mt. St...

The WAC could invite them bot, if they needed too...

[Fredonia]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

The WAC could invite them bot, if they needed too...

They could do that now since MSU has actually started playing better. I'm just not sure the WAC wants to extend an invite to the both of them. You could revive some old rivalries between them and Idaho, though.

[Tovarich]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

They could do that now since MSU has actually started playing better. I'm just not sure the WAC wants to extend an invite to the both of them. You could revive some old rivalries between them and Idaho, though.

The WAC can't be too picky. If the MWC loses Air Force along with TCU, I assume the Mountain West is headed for another WAC school-likely Utah State. WAC will need more replacements. If any CUSA teams go to the Big East, I assume CUSA would look at Louisiana Tech. If someone is willing to join, the WAC better take it.

[TracerBullet]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

The WAC only has 7 next year, and no official 8th team set to join at any point. They haven't been demoted. They'll bend some rules I imagine. They re-did the automatic bid rule in basketball because as the rules were, the WAC would not have gotten a team in the basketball tournament next season.

I think he meant to keep BCS status. I believe you can go as low as 6 to keep fbs status.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

I think you can hit 5 and keep it, but must get up to 8 to stay. WAC needs to get some FCS team to go up. North Dakota State, perhaps?

He mean FBS, and it is necessary for them to have 8 teams. They get a two year grace period to invite other members though so that is why they haven't been demoted. The 5 team rule TDF mentions was abolished this year. Though if they hadn't have invited the basketball schools, they could have lost the ability to even invite FCS schools to the conference.

They'll find a school or two more at least imo.

[Fredonia]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

The WAC can't be too picky. If the MWC loses Air Force along with TCU, I assume the Mountain West is headed for another WAC school-likely Utah State. WAC will need more replacements. If any CUSA teams go to the Big East, I assume CUSA would look at Louisiana Tech. If someone is willing to join, the WAC better take it.

I'm with you up to the "If someone is willing to join..." That's where my skepticism begins about UM and MSU making the move up. The WAC has to invite both for them to take up and leave I believe. The question is, will they? Montana seems to be ready to move up tomorrow and MSU has just completed stadium renovations, so you'd think they'd be willing to move up as well.

With the MWC conference potentially losing AF I can see them taking in Utah State like you said, and the C-USA getting La. Tech who I assume are tired of cross-country travel. Who does that leave in the WAC? SJSU, Idaho and NMSU.* With the two newbies in UTSA and TSU. They'd HAVE to invite BOTH Montana and Montana State and potenially Cal Poly or Cal Davis and even Portland State to get to 8. I could even see EWU getting an invite over one of the Cal schools if they ever expand their stadium.


*I think I have the count right because aren't Hawai'i, Fresno and Nevada going to the MWC? That also counts Utah State going to the MWC.

If I'm wrong on any of this, feel free to correct me.

[TDenverFan]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

The MWC Could go for:

- Utah State
- UTEP
- Tulsa
- Montana (25k in attendance is better than many FBS teams...)
- SMU

[Redacted01]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

UT-Arlington isn't getting football ever again. They killed it the first time because no one showed up. Playing in the WAC isn't going to make people show up. It was just a black hole for money. Would be cool, but will never happen. Lamar is showing that it can be done, so maybe some day, but you're in the same region as SMU and TCU. Sure, Texas has a lot of recruits, but pretty sure the school doesn't want to spend the money for a team to go 3-9 every year.

[Aggies67]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

UT-Arlington isn't getting football ever again. They killed it the first time because no one showed up. Playing in the WAC isn't going to make people show up. It was just a black hole for money. Would be cool, but will never happen.

I'm not so sure about that. One of the reasons that no one showed up and they killed the program was that in the 80s, UTA was strictly a commuter school; hardly anyone lived on campus; there was no spirit. Now, a heck of a lot more people live on campus, and school spirit is definitely on the rise. Plus, the new basketball arena / events center should dramatically increase student interest in sports. And that new arena ties in with all the promotion of "downtown Arlington". I would not be surprised one bit to see football announced within 3-5 years.

[Bondgirl0072]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

Sources: TCU to accept Big 12 invite on Monday

http://espn.go.com/dallas/story/_/id/7083034/tcu-trustees-meeting-accept-big-12-invite-monday

[Perfect Zero]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

UT-Arlington isn't getting football ever again. They killed it the first time because no one showed up. Playing in the WAC isn't going to make people show up. It was just a black hole for money. Would be cool, but will never happen. Lamar is showing that it can be done, so maybe some day, but you're in the same region as SMU and TCU. Sure, Texas has a lot of recruits, but pretty sure the school doesn't want to spend the money for a team to go 3-9 every year.

I'm not so sure about that. One of the reasons that no one showed up and they killed the program was that in the 80s, UTA was strictly a commuter school; hardly anyone lived on campus; there was no spirit. Now, a heck of a lot more people live on campus, and school spirit is definitely on the rise. Plus, the new basketball arena / events center should dramatically increase student interest in sports. And that new arena ties in with all the promotion of "downtown Arlington". I would not be surprised one bit to see football announced within 3-5 years.

I'm quoting both of these because there is great merit to both. UT-Arlington's biggest problem is that when kids from this area go to school, nobody puts UTA on the top of their list. The biggest problem used to be that if you want to go to a commuter school, then Tarrant County College is the best option. UTA is finally realizing that you have to be more than a school in order to get kids to spend their money there. If what they put into the basketball and baseball programs pays off, that might change for the future.

That being said, football usually works when there is a community that supports it. The thing about Arlington is that this city was never designed to support a "downtown" feeling. Tom Vandergriff specifically wanted Arlington to be a spread out suburb with intermittent shopping malls everywhere. Now there's this turn toward wanting to create a downtown with all of Arlington participating, and it just isn't going to work. There are some parts of this town (including my part) that are so far flung that are closer to the centers of four different towns before Arlington proper.

I've said that to say this: If UT-Arlington fields a football team, I think it would be a great move to really bond the Maverick community. Heck, I might even consider becoming part of the alumni association if they did try to unite the University behind a football program. I just don't see it being a big draw though unless the students, faculty, and alumni get behind it 100%. These same people still have to actually show up at the games for this to work. If they can do this and travel with the team somewhat with support from the WAC, then it will work. If you take any one of these blocks out, then it's going to fail yet again.

[wildthing2022000]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

Today we have:

Big East to possibly have 12 members

http://brett-mcmurphy.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/29532522/32639227

SEC didn't vote on Mizzou, holds everyone up

https://twitter.com/#!/BryanDFischer/statuses/123438715816259584

[superjames1992]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

WVU Athletic Director Oliver Luck had this to say about the proposed Big East expansion...

http://dailymail.com/Sports/201110101839

Contacted later Monday about the Big East decision to seek 12 football members, West Virginia Athletic Director Oliver Luck said he would not comment on the proposed expansion issue.

So, he declined to comment. I take this to mean that WVU is getting out of the Big East as I am sure he would make a token comment about how he was looking forward to the future of the conference (among other BS token quotes) if WVU were in it for the long-term.

[Fredonia]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

The MWC Could go for:
- Montana (25k in attendance is better than many FBS teams...)

This. That's better than most of the MAC, half of the WAC, and parts of the MWC itself, isn't it? Their stadium holds roughly 30k IIRC...

EDIT: Superjames, I'm with you on seeing that as meaning WVU has a foot out the door, or at least is heading that way. In my mind, they're going to the SEC.

[sportzbro]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

Adding Navy, Army, Temple, Memphis, ECU, UCF to the Big East would be my course of action right now. Hopefully this is wrapping up soon...

That is if they plan on remaining a football conference.