The Dallas market and SMU’s willingness to not accept any money for it for a period of years may be needed to make the math work.
Obviously there are still many ways this could go, and the most probable probably IS that WSU and OSU get at least temporarily stranded. I’m just reading the history books that show that anytime there is an advancement by the unchosen ones, the clique will take it back pretty quickly. After they have successfully devalued the Pac 4, they may find it much preferable to let them through the gates than to have them somehow hang onto an A5 slot that impacts future playoff politics.
(08-28-2023 01:07 PM)KevMo4UAB Wrote: I can’t but feel embarrassed for SMU.
Yeah, real embarrassed. They managed to go from Conference USA to the ACC, associated with Georgia Tech, Cal, and Stanford while UAB is going to be exceptionally over the moon if we don't get left behind in Conference USA 3.0 with Memphis et al bailing on the AAC in the next year or two
(08-28-2023 01:07 PM)KevMo4UAB Wrote: I can’t but feel embarrassed for SMU.
Yeah, real embarrassed. They managed to go from Conference USA to the ACC, associated with Georgia Tech, Cal, and Stanford while UAB is going to be exceptionally over the moon if we don't get left behind in Conference USA 3.0 with Memphis et al bailing on the AAC in the next year or two
I’ve been reading where they are virtually prostituting themselves to get to the ACC. Yes, they will likely end up in high cotton, but they have lost all dignity doing it.
SMU offering to be a sacrificial lamb is just wild to me. They're offering to self-fund the $30-40M ACC TV revenue, which sounds impressive, but that's just the starting point for every other team in the conference. Every school has rich boosters, and SMU is putting itself in such a deep hole. This move probably moves them back to 1990s irrelevance.
I kept saying that they should dump that money into their program in the AAC and they'd easily qualify for the CFP each season. If they've got boosters willing to put that much money in, at least the payouts from CFP & NCAAT advancement would bring in a sizable chunk of change. But then an SMU fan pointed out that they already have a top-10 NIL. So they've already been doing it! They're just that incompetent!
Adding Stanford, California and SMU makes too much sense for the ACC right now just from $$$ alone. Their contract with ESPN says the ACC gets a pro-rata for each team added, and all of these teams are willing to take 1/3 or less of the usual payout. It also helps lock in the TV deal as ESPN is able to renegotiate if the ACC falls below 15 members.
Sorry for the long post, this move is just crazy. I'm guessing Aresco leaves the AAC at 13, or swings for the fences with some west coast teams, but I'd like to see us take a swing at Georgia State. Giving UAB a 4th team within 5 hours would be great.
(08-28-2023 01:07 PM)KevMo4UAB Wrote: I can’t but feel embarrassed for SMU.
SMU going into the ACC for free is the most Dallas thing ever. They're depending on their deep pocketed boosters to get them through the next few years, and they actually do have guys who can and will do it. We'll see how long that lasts.
The other side of the coin is that they saw one of the last open spots in the P5 and did whatever it took to grab that chair before the music stopped. They might get stripped away in a Premiere league style consolidation of the top teams, but they also might stick in some version of the power schools.
We may end up envying their foresight before it's all over.
(08-28-2023 01:07 PM)KevMo4UAB Wrote: I can’t but feel embarrassed for SMU.
Yeah, real embarrassed. They managed to go from Conference USA to the ACC, associated with Georgia Tech, Cal, and Stanford while UAB is going to be exceptionally over the moon if we don't get left behind in Conference USA 3.0 with Memphis et al bailing on the AAC in the next year or two
I’ve been reading where they are virtually prostituting themselves to get to the ACC. Yes, they will likely end up in high cotton, but they have lost all dignity doing it.
This is the last warning. Keep ALL political opinions and commentary off of the main board. I don't care which side you lean towards. It is not about the message it is about the fact that this is a sports oriented forum and I am not going to spend my time moderating the mess that political statements stir up. There are other places for that.
Going forward any political comments on this board will be met with an immediate Extreme flaming warning.
I still feel like SMU is expendable. They averaged 24k in Fball last year and that number is inflated because TCU brought folks cross town. They drew less than 16k in November when Memphis visited them.
The only reason they’d be taken is because they are a free add and the ACC hopes they can steal some viewers if they send a top 25 team to Dallas to play them. It’s the same reason Vandy pops numbers when certain teams come to town.
It’s comical and undeserving that they’ve forced their way into the discussion. I know what our record is h2h with them, it ain’t good.
Still, it needs to be acknowledged they’ve done nothing of relevance since long before we even had a club team.
No titles of any kind since ‘83 or ‘84.
(This post was last modified: 08-29-2023 12:25 PM by UABFAN23.)
(08-29-2023 12:22 PM)UABFAN23 Wrote: I still feel like SMU is expendable. They averaged 24k in Fball last year and that number is inflated because TCU brought folks cross town. They drew less than 16k in November when Memphis visited them.
The only reason they’d be taken is because they are a free add and the ACC hopes they can steal some viewers if they send a top 25 team to Dallas to play them. It’s the same reason Vandy pops numbers when certain teams come to town.
It’s comical and undeserving that they’ve forced their way into the discussion. I know what our record is h2h with them, it ain’t good.
Still, it needs to be acknowledged they’ve done nothing of relevance since long before we even had a club team.
No titles of any kind since ‘83 or ‘84.
They're an anchor in basketball as well. If the AAC were able to add Army/VCU in SMU's place, that'd be a net positive I think.
(08-29-2023 11:40 AM)UAB Band Dad Wrote: SMU going into the ACC for free is the most Dallas thing ever. They're depending on their deep pocketed boosters to get them through the next few years, and they actually do have guys who can and will do it. We'll see how long that lasts.
The other side of the coin is that they saw one of the last open spots in the P5 and did whatever it took to grab that chair before the music stopped. They might get stripped away in a Premiere league style consolidation of the top teams, but they also might stick in some version of the power schools.
We may end up envying their foresight before it's all over.
I doubt that. The whole environment has a "Last Days of Pompeii" feel to it. It's the crapification of everything, as even passion for your school's teams is financialized. SMU is like the guy on the left stealing the brazier or whatever just before the ash-cloud and lava waves hit . . . good luck with that:
(08-29-2023 02:41 PM)UAB Band Dad Wrote: If it happens, SMU will get shut out, same as us.
I keep remembering various off-brand pro leagues claiming they would be successful, because they would be "a feeder league to the NFL" and not a competitor. Like that American World Football League, they were just awful. Boring to watch, with announcers claiming players "Dallas Cowboys" and "Atlanta Falcons" because the dude spent 48 hours in camp and got cut.
The Penn/ESPN deal is, to me, the future. You'll be able to place bets interactively in the course of a game, like, put down $500 that bammer will score a TD on the next play.
This future doesn't excite me. I'd rather see UAB play non-scholarship, D3-style ball than be part of a "feeder league to the NFL."
/
Good take on realignment.
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