RE: Just an idea: Rice as an independent
I speak only for myself, but I think CUSA isn't all that bad. I was at Rice in SWC days, and coming from Minnesota, I thought the SWC was the bomb, with its history and mix of very different privates and publics, all in close proximity. Unfortunately, that's all gone, with the Big 12 being the closest thing to it remaining, but I'm not sure even I - as a fairly-big sports fan - wants Rice in that, given the commercial turn that college athletics have taken. So I want Rice in an athletics conference that: a) will improve student life at Rice, and b) will be interesting for alums, in that order.
I like the MWC; there are some fun schools there. As an alum, I'd like to tell the guys are work: Yeah, we're going to play Boise St. this weekend, you know them. Or have Rice make a regular visit to the Bay Area, where we've got a million (on a Rice scale) alumni. The problem is, ALL those schools are so far away. If I had a friend on the track team and I wanted to see him run, I'd make a drive to Dallas or Austin, or New Orleans ... nobody's heading out to San Diego. I like the MWC and I think it would decent for alums, but I think it would kind of suck for students.
The AAC is logical. I think we could compete there. Tulane is a no-brainer match for Rice. Once again, as an alum, I could see the conversation: " Yeah, we play Tulane this weekend. Great school. New Orleans. We drove out sophomore year for the game. Fun time, pretty campus. We lost by 2." SMU - history. Always considered them the closest match in SWC, but I'm down on them now, taking some of the blame for the demise of the SWC. But, hey, it's still family at some level. Houston - I'm from Minnesota so this has always been a friendly rivalry for me. I'm a fan of Houston the city, so I want Houston the university to do well on all levels.
Anyway, that doesn't seem to be happening, so looking at CUSA, it's not perfect ... but it's not that bad. UTSA? I like them as a partner. First, they might develop into something sports-wise in the future, but even the present is OK. What a great road trip, driving out to see a soccer match at UTSA and checking out the city afterwards. Same with North Texas. See the game and check out the Metroplex afterwards (probably visiting some Rice friend's family). The whole CUSA West is solid, and - hey - those East schools are a long ways away, but they're OK too. ECU - ODU? What's the difference? I can see how an all-Texas league isn't going to make it today, but I really have no desire to see Rice flying to Connecticut for a conference game (no disrespect to Connecticut - great school, sister-in-law went there, basketball power ... but neither of us is going to play in the Rose Bowl, at least in our lifetimes).
So I'm OK with CUSA for the moment, and I'd have no desire to see us go independent.
(This post was last modified: 09-13-2017 10:19 PM by allerretour.)
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