(10-16-2021 10:11 AM)theATLDawg Wrote:  El Paso is the 23 largest city in the US. It is a huge market. I am very surprised MWC doesn’t want them.

Its in the middle of nowhere and is not easy to get to. In the end, if they had a chance at a team from the Dallas or Houston market, I could understand why they'd go for that. You can fly easily to Dallas or Houston. El Paso? Not so much.

(10-17-2021 08:21 PM)WARDAWG93 Wrote:  

(10-17-2021 08:14 PM)Troy_Fan_15 Wrote:  

(10-17-2021 07:59 PM)Usajags Wrote:  

(10-17-2021 07:56 PM)Michael in Raleigh Wrote:  

(10-17-2021 07:49 PM)WARDAWG93 Wrote:  With the exception of maybe UTEP I have a hard time believing that any of the Texas schools would be all that excited about moving west.

The AAC or SB would probably be preferred, but if those options are off the table, any C-USA school in Texas would be foolish not to accept a MW invitation.

No matter what conference UTEP is in, they should be in a conference NMSU. They are 30 minutes apart and would be perfect travel partners.

UTEP and NMSU are perfect travel partners. If UTEP and NMSU would have been the duo interested in the SBC instead of Idaho and NMSU I would have been cool with that addition.

Wouldn't be the most thrilling of additions but it would make some sense. The real question is; do either of those programs really bring anything to the table that is of real benefit to the SBC.

I'm not advocating on behalf of them for membership now. Don't need to stretch that far. I'm saying if UTEP and NMSU both were looking for homes back when we were figuring out membership it would have been way easier to invite NMSU if UTEP was their travel partner over having Idaho and NMSU on islands by themselves. That would have given us 12 fb / 14 overall. However when NCAA made 10 teams in 2 divisions or a full round robin the rule for a conference championship game it mattered not anymore. Still though I have a soft spot for NMSU and wouldn't have hated them in the SBC.

The MWC should definitely take UTEP and NMSU. It would be the feel good story of the year a d give everyone the warm fuzzies inside.

(10-17-2021 07:49 PM)WARDAWG93 Wrote:  With the exception of maybe UTEP I have a hard time believing that any of the Texas schools would be all that excited about moving west.

. . . yup, I look at the MW line up, and I like the teams that I see there . . .

But the travel, coupled with the time zone changes. . . think I’d rather be in the Belt.

(10-17-2021 08:54 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(10-16-2021 10:11 AM)theATLDawg Wrote:  El Paso is the 23 largest city in the US. It is a huge market. I am very surprised MWC doesn’t want them.

Its in the middle of nowhere and is not easy to get to. In the end, if they had a chance at a team from the Dallas or Houston market, I could understand why they'd go for that. You can fly easily to Dallas or Houston. El Paso? Not so much.

Yes, it’s in the middle of nowhere, not easy to get to, I disagree . . . they’ve got a nice airport . . . real planes land and take off from there all the time. Flying to El Paso ain’t that hard, and FWIW it’s a nice town.

(10-15-2021 03:20 PM)Reverend Wrote:  The two schools the MWC was talking too was North Texas and Tulsa. Not sure why we were talking to Tulsa. Don't know if they are unhappy with the AAC, just decided to listen to what the MWC had to offer.....don't know.
NMSU and UTEP isn't getting an invite. It's not happening. UTEP was told there was no chance.
It's about markets this time. UTSA has been linked to the AAC for a while and Rice is a better fit for the AAC with other private schools.
If the MWC does expand my money goes on North Texas and either UTSA or Texas State. I'd prefer Texas State because they have a good basketball arena and decent programs and an on campus football stadium with modern amenities. Their facilities like locker rooms and weight rooms are legit. UTSA does nothing for me.

I’m guessing you haven’t seen our new RACE facility at UTSA?? Google it when u gotta second. It’s pretty legit. And a new basketball arena and new softball and baseball fields are in the works too.

(10-16-2021 09:44 AM)Bobcat87 Wrote:  

(10-16-2021 09:11 AM)runamuck Wrote:  

(10-16-2021 08:52 AM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(10-16-2021 08:20 AM)Vobserver Wrote:  

(10-15-2021 06:25 PM)Michael in Raleigh Wrote:  Texas residents, please correct me if I am way off...

But UTEP just seems soooooooo far from the population centers and those places in the eastern half of Texas where people, ya know, have careers, that it is more like New Mexico than it is like eastern and middle Texas. Without trying to be the MaRkEtZ guy, I think the MW, and for that matter, the AAC or SB, wants to have at least some degree of proximity to where the people live, and El Paso just doesn't seem like that's it. As isolated as Boone is , it's still only 87 miles from Winston Salem and 100 miles from Charlotte.

I just don't see either the MW, or the AAC, or the SB going for UTEP.

Again, correct me if I am wrong.

Population of metro El Paso is 2.2 million. Unfortunately 1.5 million of those live in Juarez and watch futbol instead of football.

UTEP should move some home games to Juarez so more people can see them play…

El Paso IS more like a new mexico city. by all rights they should be in the MWC. they are a good basketball school and the sun bowl stadium gets the conference a nice potential bowl site. the level of football in that conference better suits them too. as for NMSU, it just stands to reason that they be in the MWC even tho they would most of the time be the weak sister in sports they could bring in basketball credits at tournament time and would be a cheap trip for most of the conference. I dont know why smu would want to join and I dont see any value to the conference to add untexas. they would not even be a lateral add and dont have much of a following here in the metro area. also, as for folks from Juarez coming over for games, it has always been ok along the border towns for those folks to come over for shopping and events until our current brainiacs in washington blocked them from coming over.

Hey, Runamuck . . . When y’all gonna break down and restart your football program?
I know y’all have the resources . . . Is it the over saturated market that has your admin leery?

that may weigh into the conversation..how hard will it be to generate interest, but the problem as I see it has been for many years the school's leadership has not been very pro sports. they have been willing to do bits and pieces..fully funding support staff for the sports we do have..upgrading baseball/softball fields, but not interested in football. there is not even any pressure to be the best at the sports we do sponsor. meanwhile leaders at other small regional schools all around the state have been busy adding football or moving up to D1. with nearly 50,000 students and over 200,000 alumni, if the school had the motivation to, they should be able to compete at a high level. maybe now that they have reached Tier one university level they can divert a little more attention to sports. back when SMU had the death panaly put on their football program there were a few folks saying they should drop it and I remember the president of the school saying no self respecting university would not have a football team. I wish we had a guy like that running thing at UTA.

(10-16-2021 10:11 AM)theATLDawg Wrote:  El Paso is the 23 largest city in the US. It is a huge market. I am very surprised MWC doesn’t want them.

Marketzzzz do not matter for college football. Never have and never will.

(10-15-2021 01:06 PM)Usajags Wrote:  Y’all remember when the AAC was going to add Big XII schools, and then lost 3 schools to the Big XII. Then the AAC was going to take teams from the MW, and now...........

If the AAC losses more teams, who will they be attractive to??? We may all get our chance at the AAC.

This is what I said would happen.

Aresco only went after schools from those two conferences to try to keep his schools intact. Then it didn't work because the programs he was trying to poach only wanted relationships with the schools they are now choosing.

(10-18-2021 08:14 AM)runamuck Wrote:  

(10-16-2021 09:44 AM)Bobcat87 Wrote:  

(10-16-2021 09:11 AM)runamuck Wrote:  

(10-16-2021 08:52 AM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(10-16-2021 08:20 AM)Vobserver Wrote:  Population of metro El Paso is 2.2 million. Unfortunately 1.5 million of those live in Juarez and watch futbol instead of football.

UTEP should move some home games to Juarez so more people can see them play…

El Paso IS more like a new mexico city. by all rights they should be in the MWC. they are a good basketball school and the sun bowl stadium gets the conference a nice potential bowl site. the level of football in that conference better suits them too. as for NMSU, it just stands to reason that they be in the MWC even tho they would most of the time be the weak sister in sports they could bring in basketball credits at tournament time and would be a cheap trip for most of the conference. I dont know why smu would want to join and I dont see any value to the conference to add untexas. they would not even be a lateral add and dont have much of a following here in the metro area. also, as for folks from Juarez coming over for games, it has always been ok along the border towns for those folks to come over for shopping and events until our current brainiacs in washington blocked them from coming over.

Hey, Runamuck . . . When y’all gonna break down and restart your football program?
I know y’all have the resources . . . Is it the over saturated market that has your admin leery?

that may weigh into the conversation..how hard will it be to generate interest, but the problem as I see it has been for many years the school's leadership has not been very pro sports. they have been willing to do bits and pieces..fully funding support staff for the sports we do have..upgrading baseball/softball fields, but not interested in football. there is not even any pressure to be the best at the sports we do sponsor. meanwhile leaders at other small regional schools all around the state have been busy adding football or moving up to D1. with nearly 50,000 students and over 200,000 alumni, if the school had the motivation to, they should be able to compete at a high level. maybe now that they have reached Tier one university level they can divert a little more attention to sports. back when SMU had the death panaly put on their football program there were a few folks saying they should drop it and I remember the president of the school saying no self respecting university would not have a football team. I wish we had a guy like that running thing at UTA.

. . .. don’t really know what’s going to happen with this round of realignment. . . .. don’t know how serious The Belt proposal of moving forward with football members is . . . would hate to see y’all end up somewhere else (unless somewhere else is where you want to be), as we’ve had some pretty good basketball/baseball games over the years.

We’ll be pullin’ for you . . .

Unless something changes, we add another Texas school or TxSt heads somewhere else, I think UTA stays in the conference as a travel partner for all the sports that need a travel partner.