(12-14-2021 10:18 PM)Milwaukee Wrote:  

(12-14-2021 01:10 PM)TOPSTRAIGHT Wrote:  I was against ten for a long time but now realize we need to add one for adequate FB game content. But I hope we STOP at ten. With ten you have five conference FB games each week/weekend. If you stay at nine that only gives you four with one team off or out of conference. Media wants content and availability--- having five games (ten teams) makes it more doable.

It could even be a FB only. Sadly, it is the only sport the media seems to care about.

Agree that it does seem essential for the CUSA to at least add a 10th FB school. There would also be many advantages in having a 10th full member. For example, a 10th full member in the CUSA West would facilitate a shift to divisional play in all sports.

However, the networks seem to prefer conferences with 12 or, increasingly, 14 members. The Big 12, AAC, and Sun Belt were all reluctant to add any new members, but (in the case of the AAC and SBC), ESPN pushed them to expand to 14. They also wanted the MAC to expand to 14.

It's kind of a "chicken or egg" type of question - - does the conference start out by adding a member to interest a network or start out by talking to a network and then figuring out how many and which members to add?

It could help to add a new member, and then initiate discussions with a network. Announcing a plan to add a school such as NDSU could be a game changer in that respect.

If there is any inclination to contact ESPN, that could be done in advance of making any decisions about new members, since ESPN has shown (in the case of the AAC, SBC, and MAC) that it likes to get involved in the details of which new members to add.

Another reason to consider contacting ESPN at this point is that they seem to have the deepest pockets, and signing up with ESPN would be a way to avoid being raided again by the AAC, SBC, or MAC in the years ahead.

For example, a lot of people thought the AAC would have added at least one Sun Belt, such as App. State or Louisiana, but they didn't because ESPN is the SBC's broadcaster and didn't want them to be touched.

.

ESPN pays for content. 9 members means only 4 games to broadcast per week. 10 gets you to 5 per week, but the real answer is 12-14. ESPN bumped up the Sunbelt deal to add the 4 new schools, they would likely do the same for CUSA..So staying at 9 or expanding to 12-14 isn't going to decrease or increase the "cut of the pie, it's just going to make the pie bigger..

CUSA already knows WKU has 1 foot out of the door. As soon as the MAC figures out another all sports addition, WKU will be off to the MAC..There is also a good chance that after Texas and Oklahoma announce a departure date that the Big 12 adds 2 more. Memphis is very likely going to get a Big 12 invite, which means the AAC steals from CUSA again, or takes a Georgia State from the Sunbelt, which will in turn make the Sunbelt steal another CUSA school. CUSA needs numbers that don't send them into panic mode if they lose 1 or 2 more schools, because they will probably end up losing a couple of more..

Also, I know CUSA people hate the word "Market ". But the reality exists that the AAC just took all of your markets..You don't have to make that the primary force of expansion, but adding a few good markets back to the conference surely won't hurt, especially when it's time to talk about a new TV deal..

Lot's of "IF" in the previous post. And WKU is not going anywhere unless something fairly big happens. UMASS is not budging and there is no other school to make a duo. Very, very unlikely they would take WKU w/o a fourteenth school.

(12-15-2021 09:10 AM)Tmac13 Wrote:  I know CUSA people hate the word "Market ". But the reality exists that the AAC just took all of your markets..You don't have to make that the primary force of expansion, but adding a few good markets back to the conference surely won't hurt...

Adding members/markets is probably one of the keys to boosting broadcasting revenue, and it would also help to ensure the long-term well-being of the conference.

(12-15-2021 09:10 AM)Tmac13 Wrote:  ...especially when it's time to talk about a new TV deal..

If the CUSA's current TV deal is set to expire in about a year, then the time to talk about a new TV deal is probably now, or at least, very soon.

.

(12-14-2021 10:28 AM)Tmac13 Wrote:  It is looking like CBS and Fox are aiming to get all the Big 10 rights. That could help CUSA to get scooped up by ESPN to gain the extra content..

Just out of curiosity, why in the name of Christmas would ESPN turn around and pay for a conference that they tried to kill?