(04-26-2013 04:04 PM)Cardiff Wrote:  

(04-26-2013 03:57 PM)bigblueblindness Wrote:  No way UCONN gets stuck in this conference long-term

you know this how?

They are at least 50% higher in revenue than every other AAC member, very good academically, have a major brand, and they are the furthest away from everybody, meaning they are not the hub in the middle where they get all the fringe benefits of membership (travel, championship locations, etc.). By long term, I mean not passed the next round of expansion for the big conferences. The GoR's may delay it until the end of this decade or a few years more, but UCONN has got to be the #1 or #2 most valuable remaining property along with BYU, depending on your goals, culture, location, etc. Maybe I am naive, but I see a long term member as one who would not jump ship the first chance they got. Do you seriously see UCONN saying no to the ACC, Big 10, SEC, or Big 12 to stay in the AAC? If you are going to have to travel to Texas and Oklahoma regardless, I'd much rather play the big boys and pocket about $20 mil. more.

(04-26-2013 12:05 PM)army56mike Wrote:  Can somone please fill in the teams that belong to these conferences in the year 2015.....

Big East

AAC

C-USA

Sun Belt

WAC

as TOGC would say

irrelevant
irrelevant
irrelevant
irrelevant
irrelevant
Memphis
irrelevant
irrelevant
irrelevant
irrelevant
not louisville
irrelevant

(04-26-2013 03:57 PM)bigblueblindness Wrote:  

(04-26-2013 02:38 PM)army56mike Wrote:  

(04-26-2013 01:36 PM)eagleriffic Wrote:  CUSA

Southern Miss, UTEP, UTSA, Rice, North Texas, La Tech, UAB, MTSU, Western Ky, FAU, FIU, Marshall, Old Dominion, UNC Charlotte

......depressing aint it.

Actually, I was thinking it looked pretty good. I think S. Miss should be in the AAC, but this conference looks alright to me. I think you will be surprised by how competitive it is. I know I will follow the success and growth of this conference.

No way UCONN gets stuck in this conference long-term, so Southern Miss just needs to bide their time. It is going to tick Mississippians off when they invite Rice first, though. Top flight academics and grosses about 10 mil more a year in athletics than Southern Miss, and doubling up in the city of Houston is not a killer. I would love to see a "Jr. SEC" conference that includes the top mid-tier team from each Southern state. We'll steal a name and call it the Southern Conference:

LA - Louisiana Tech
AR - Arkansas State
MS - Southern Miss
AL - UAB
TN - MTSU
KY - WKU
GA - Georgia State (I think they will get their act together. If not, Georgia Southern several years down the road or that spot goes to Jacksonville State or Troy.)
FL - FIU
SC - Coastal Carolina is not ready. UNC Charlotte gets their spot.
NC - Appalachian State
VA - Old Dominion
WV - Marshall

That is 12. I assume the Texas schools would want to stay together somehow with UTEP, but North Texas, UTSA, Texas State, and Missouri State would be a great 16. I just can't get my mind around a second tier conference where UTEP and Old Dominion travel to each other.

Not a lot of difference betrween this and the post-2014 version of CUSA. The major flaw with this concept is that is leaves out the most populated state in the SEC. Rice makes the most sense to add to your "mini-SEC" as a Texas representative. Rice has little interest in most of the other Texas schools that are not in the AAC. If you wanted 2 Texas teams, then 2 of Rice, N Texas, Texas State, or UTSA make the most sense as all are located on the eastern side of Texas and all 4 can claim major city DMA's. UTSA is too far away. I'd probably go with Rice and UTSA. That gives you 14, just like the real SEC or add all 4 and go to 16.

(04-26-2013 04:29 PM)bigblueblindness Wrote:  

(04-26-2013 04:04 PM)Cardiff Wrote:  

(04-26-2013 03:57 PM)bigblueblindness Wrote:  No way UCONN gets stuck in this conference long-term

you know this how?

They are at least 50% higher in revenue than every other AAC member, very good academically, have a major brand, and they are the furthest away from everybody, meaning they are not the hub in the middle where they get all the fringe benefits of membership (travel, championship locations, etc.). By long term, I mean not passed the next round of expansion for the big conferences. The GoR's may delay it until the end of this decade or a few years more, but UCONN has got to be the #1 or #2 most valuable remaining property along with BYU, depending on your goals, culture, location, etc. Maybe I am naive, but I see a long term member as one who would not jump ship the first chance they got. Do you seriously see UCONN saying no to the ACC, Big 10, SEC, or Big 12 to stay in the AAC? If you are going to have to travel to Texas and Oklahoma regardless, I'd much rather play the big boys and pocket about $20 mil. more.

You say a decade. What makes you believe that schools like UCF and Houston won't explode and even surpass UConn in this amount of time? I use these two schools because both are putting major $$$ into facilities, are located in prime markets for football, and have quality of programs that are already similar to that of UConn. 10 years with a level field is going to be interesting to see whether UConn will remain the clear frontrunner for the next round of realignment.

(04-27-2013 02:39 PM)Texas2Step Wrote:  

(04-26-2013 04:29 PM)bigblueblindness Wrote:  

(04-26-2013 04:04 PM)Cardiff Wrote:  

(04-26-2013 03:57 PM)bigblueblindness Wrote:  No way UCONN gets stuck in this conference long-term

you know this how?

They are at least 50% higher in revenue than every other AAC member, very good academically, have a major brand, and they are the furthest away from everybody, meaning they are not the hub in the middle where they get all the fringe benefits of membership (travel, championship locations, etc.). By long term, I mean not passed the next round of expansion for the big conferences. The GoR's may delay it until the end of this decade or a few years more, but UCONN has got to be the #1 or #2 most valuable remaining property along with BYU, depending on your goals, culture, location, etc. Maybe I am naive, but I see a long term member as one who would not jump ship the first chance they got. Do you seriously see UCONN saying no to the ACC, Big 10, SEC, or Big 12 to stay in the AAC? If you are going to have to travel to Texas and Oklahoma regardless, I'd much rather play the big boys and pocket about $20 mil. more.

You say a decade. What makes you believe that schools like UCF and Houston won't explode and even surpass UConn in this amount of time? I use these two schools because both are putting major $$$ into facilities, are located in prime markets for football, and have quality of programs that are already similar to that of UConn. 10 years with a level field is going to be interesting to see whether UConn will remain the clear frontrunner for the next round of realignment.

Its not the only front runner as is.

(04-27-2013 02:39 PM)Texas2Step Wrote:  

(04-26-2013 04:29 PM)bigblueblindness Wrote:  

(04-26-2013 04:04 PM)Cardiff Wrote:  

(04-26-2013 03:57 PM)bigblueblindness Wrote:  No way UCONN gets stuck in this conference long-term

you know this how?

They are at least 50% higher in revenue than every other AAC member, very good academically, have a major brand, and they are the furthest away from everybody, meaning they are not the hub in the middle where they get all the fringe benefits of membership (travel, championship locations, etc.). By long term, I mean not passed the next round of expansion for the big conferences. The GoR's may delay it until the end of this decade or a few years more, but UCONN has got to be the #1 or #2 most valuable remaining property along with BYU, depending on your goals, culture, location, etc. Maybe I am naive, but I see a long term member as one who would not jump ship the first chance they got. Do you seriously see UCONN saying no to the ACC, Big 10, SEC, or Big 12 to stay in the AAC? If you are going to have to travel to Texas and Oklahoma regardless, I'd much rather play the big boys and pocket about $20 mil. more.

You say a decade. What makes you believe that schools like UCF and Houston won't explode and even surpass UConn in this amount of time? I use these two schools because both are putting major $$$ into facilities, are located in prime markets for football, and have quality of programs that are already similar to that of UConn. 10 years with a level field is going to be interesting to see whether UConn will remain the clear frontrunner for the next round of realignment.

Because we are talking realignment, not football success. Say UCF takes off... at best, they become the 4th biggest draw in a good sized state behind UF, FSU, and Miami. Houston, at best, becomes the 4th biggest draw in a big state behind UT, TAMU, TT. TCU, Baylor, and SMU also would like to have a say in that conversation. I agree that UCONN will likely never deliver football like Houston or UCF over the long haul, but do you think Kansas was in the remote rumor mill for the B1G at one time because of their football prowess? How about Maryland? Again, UCONN has an established brand, is a major draw in a market area that is very under-served considering the population, is a top 70 school (Houston and UCF are 184 and 174, respectively), and is a historically top program in basketball. Plus, where do Houston and UCF go in the next decade? Their best possibilities are conferences that already have a huge presence in their respective markets, and if the last 3 years have taught us anything, it is that the biggest conferences are not doubling up in the same market. The Big 12 only did it for TCU because they were desparate, and TCU actually had a great football track record and is a top 100 school.