(06-03-2021 10:49 PM)Stugray2 Wrote:  

(06-03-2021 09:14 PM)solohawks Wrote:  

(06-03-2021 06:39 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(06-03-2021 05:56 PM)solohawks Wrote:  To answer the original question, I bet they get another waiver (attributed to COVID) or the CCG becomes deregulated and round robin divisons aren't required

Frankly, thats what I think will happen. I also think the AAC will be at 11 for some time. That said---as a fan of an existing AAC western division team, I think its less of a hassle to take Boise by itself in "all sports" than it is to add an entire western wing including 3 MT/PT time zone teams. Just take Boise in all-sports and be done with it. Im not saying the western wing concept cant work---but I think it will put a lot of unneeded strain on the budgets of existing western division AAC schools.

M Basketball is the only inconvenient Men's sport

Women's sports are the real burden as in addition to Basketball you have softball, Volleyball and soccer.

Boise sponsors beach volleyball which is independent and only needs one other women's team sport per NCAA rules. They could drop the women's team sports causing travel conflicts and reallocate those scholarships to non team sports or team sports like Acrobatics and Tumbling, Field Hockey, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse, Rowing, Rugby, and Water Polo.

Make it where M/W Basketball is the only travel burden

It's 3 sports only. They tell Boise State to park Softball somewhere else, and that any future Olympic team sport they decide to sponsor (e.g., Baseball) does not get automatic admission. There are landing spots that work for Boise State softball as an associate.

Soccer is not a big deal. It's one Saturday in the Fall every other year. No lost class time. As is schools are often playing one or two cross country games anyway, Boise just becomes that game every other year. Impact is pretty minimal.

All the other sports (Tennis, Track, Cross Country, Swimming) are zero impact, as the only conference scheduled event is the championship meet. That is not going to be held in Boise, the Broncos will have to fly to the same city everyone else is going to, whether Orlando or New Orleans or Memphis or Houston or Philadelphia. There is ZERO extra expense to AAC schools.

You get down to it, just three sports involve any significant travel issues for the AAC schools: Men's and Women's Basketball and Women's Volleyball. Boise State is top 100 in Basketball pretty much every year, which will help NET. They were one of those borderline NIT or NCAA teams this year. But it's a long trip to Boise and every other year schools will get the dreaded Thursday game losing two days of class time (well one and a half); the other years they get a Saturday game. This can be mitigated by pairing Men's and Women's games so that it's a single day. Also two of the five home weeks can be placed on school holidays or breaks to reduce the impact.

It's doable if you want Boise State football and that near lock on the G5 spot. And they don't hurt your basketball at large chances, even help. It's more a question of money. And I think ESPN would provide enough to make it worthwhile.

What is left is the psychological resistance, the "we can't do that" mentality that permeates.

As I have said which do you value more Football and the needs of the Football coaches, or Women's Volleyball and Basketball, and even grumbling Women's Soccer and their coaches needs. So far the answer seems to be those Women's teams are more important to your identity that the football. I'd have never thought that UCF Women's Volleyball coach and Cincinnati's Women's Soccer coach were more important than the Football team. But what do I know?

Or just drop Women's volleyball and replace it with another women's team sport like Women's Acrobatics and Tumbling. Boise already sponsors a Women's Gymnastics team so Acrobatics and Tumbling would be a natural fit with that.

If softball and soccer have a west coast home or can be accommodated without issue, keep it. If not replace them with Lacrosse and Water Polo, both of which can be accommodated with West Coast conferences.

Make basketball the only issue