MeanGreenGlory

My concern is that if they rebuild the PAC, they’ll poach multiple AAC schools. If it’s just SMU, that’s fine. But if it’s more, we could be in CUSA 3.0, and that’s not great.

The MWC poach would happen in a couple years when their exit fees drop.

Very talented. His Army/Navy deliverables in particular are impressive: https://aaronbota.myportfolio.com/2022-army-navy Can’t wait to see what he does at UNT! Also, I love the recent investment in marketing and sales within the AD. Keep it up, Mosley! It’ll take time to truly penetrate the market, but consistent marketing and sales efforts over time will be worth their weight in gold after a handful of years.

$10M to the Scholarship fund $25M to the Athletic Center fund $25M to the new basketball arena fund Then I’d use $3M to start a brewery and brew a Mean Green beer Great interview! Thanks for doing this. Mosely & Co. are working hard to make UNT athletics a massive success.

This. This guy is just a fan, but he’s advocating for Oregon State and Washington State to the American. If those two come, I could easily see the top MWC schools joining when their exit fees drop in a couple years. I’d personally hold on Louisiana and Coastal Carolina to see if anyone of note from the ACC needs a home if/when that conference is poached.

I heard they’ve also agreed to: - Continue to generate mediocre results while fostering a “fan base” that publicly proclaims they’re superior to everyone else and God’s gift to earth

SMU’s pitch to the ACC: “We’re not great at anything we do athletically…and we don’t really have fans…but we have money! How about we pay YOU to be in the ACC? Deal?!” EDIT: I just saw this and realized my spoof pitch isn’t too far off.

Looks like SMU is still trying to crawl over glass and shake their money maker to go anywhere with a “power” label. If SMU goes to the ACC with Stanford and Cal, and the AAC picks up Oregon State and Washington State, I’d consider it a net win for the AAC.

Yeah, I agree. Unfortunately, it’s about remaining relevant at this point and whoever gets some/all of the PAC-4 will have a better shot at remaining relevant over the next decade and beyond. I also agree to just go full-steam ahead for Oregon State and Washington State. They seem more willing to join a league and seem to favor the AAC over the MWC. Finalize Oregon State and Washington State joining the league, and then if the ACC doesn’t take Cal and Stanford, the AAC has additional leverage to land them. From there, the AAC would have the prestige to add the top couple of schools from the MWC when their exit fees decrease and solidify a position as a top five conference Just like the BIG12 did with Colorado first followed by AZ, ASU, and Utah. Execute one piece at a time.

Glad to hear this scenario isn’t happening. Of all the options I’ve heard discussed, that one probably would have been the worst case scenario for us.

This 100%.

It’s not guaranteed that any will land in the AAC right now. If anything, it seems like Oregon State and Washington State joining the AAC while Cal and Stanford do their own thing is a realistic possibility at the moment. However, I find it challenging to believe that if Cal and Stanford actually joined the AAC as this guy suggests is a possibility in point #2, that Washington State and Oregon State would go to the MWC instead of tagging along to the AAC. Knowing that Cal and Stanford are the ones playing hardest to get, if they’re on board with the AAC, why wouldn’t all four want to consolidate their “power” into a single, stable media deal for better revenue and prestige? Either way, I’m rooting for Aresco to pull this off and at least get Oregon State and Washington State. If he can get Cal and Stanford as well, the American will be in a fantastic position. Getting all four would also open the door to realistically poach the best of the Mountain West when their exit fees drop to create more regional travel.

Wow. The ACC is reportedly in the beginning stages of dismantling like the PAC12 just did. Why join the next most unstable conference where you know the best teams are leaving and you’ll have to fly all the way across the country for every road conference game?

Aresco did an interview this morning with a Memphis sports radio station where he addresses a lot of questions. He said he didn’t want to talk about specifics because so much is in motion right now and anything can change, but here are a few takeaways: 1. He doesn’t seem to think the PAC4 have much leverage. He acknowledges AAC schools could decide to go to a revived PAC, but makes the point: Why risk it? You have great National exposure that pays well in a stable conference with major markets. You would leave that to go to an unknown streaming-only deal? 2. Offers up that the AAC would be a great landing spot for the forgotten four and that the AAC would work with ESPN to make something appealing happen there *if* the four schools are interested. 3. Said P5 will probably become P4. Still wants to eliminate this nomenclature. 4. Says football is driving all of this. Full stop. Travel is less of a factor than it has been in the past because flights, charters, etc. make travel easier. 5. His ability to articulate reality and continually strive to make the conference better is refreshing. 6. Said rumors spread like crazy about this stuff and a lot of it is made up. 7. He sounded more tired than usual. Makes me think he was working long hours over the weekend. Full interview here: https://sports56whbq.com/shows/sports-56-mornings/657-mike-aresco-on-sports-56-mornings

Aresco has a new list of numbers to call!

It’s going to be a wild week. Additional ESPN money could be the deal maker or deal breaker.

Agree that the CFP structure will change now to favor the P2, which sucks. My hope is that they keep the top 6 highest ranked conference champions because the AAC, MWC, Sun Belt, and occasionally the MAC all field strong teams that could do well and provide a Cinderella story here or there which everyone loves in college sports. Then, just expand the playoff number to the next 10 highest ranked teams or something to add four more from (most likely) the P2. College sports becomes a lot less interesting without the Cinderella stories, IMO. If they favor the P2 too strongly in the playoffs, they’ll lose fans and therefore media dollars. I’m unsure about the WAC/FBS status.

One thing that I haven’t seen discussed but is specific to UNT in all this… A) What is the Mosely & Smatresk approach to this round of realignment? B) What would you hope is the Mosely & Smatresk approach to this round of realignment if different than above? Yes, we just entered the American, but that doesn’t mean the American will stick around in its current form so they should always be watching out for UNT’s best interests. Are they taking a passive approach and seeing where the AAC naturally goes? Are they back channeling with other university presidents and ADs? If so, which ones? Have they submitted an “application” to the PAC?

This is probably best case scenario for us at this point. I don’t love the travel…but it strengthens the AAC’s power and further separates it from the other G5s. Then, work to add a couple of the best from MWC and whatever makes sense from the pending ACC implosion to get to 24 and you manage to at least keep pace with what the BIG10, BIG12, and SEC are doing to remain relevant.

My understanding is that in this merger scenario, the MWC schools would vote to abolish exit fees and join the PAC to maintain the A5 status. I saw one report that the PAC and MWC leadership are meeting Monday to discuss this. Stanford reportedly not happy, but entertaining the idea.

This guy Ben makes a good counter argument to this scenario which I hadn’t thought about before. Given the previous Apple deal was reported to have a tiered structure based on the number of subscribers, having small private schools isn’t good for revenue at all.

There are a lot of rumors circling on Twitter/X. The one that is gaining traction is that the PAC schools realize they still have the A5 status which is very valuable. Rumor is the PAC is considering merging with the top MWC schools and some AAC schools to maintain the name and A5 status. Apple is reportedly still in the hunt for content so *a* deal of some sort is reportedly still on the table. I *really* hope that Aresco is being aggressive here to get this deal instead of the MW and, subsequently, the A5 status for the American schools. If ESPN is as angry as reports suggest about not having west coast content, and Aresco has a good relationship with them as it appears he does, maybe they’ll come into the mix and provide the dollars necessary to make this deal go the AAC’s way. With where we are today, UNT either comes out of this in an even better position with a strong conference and A5 status, or in CUSA 3.0. Hopefully it’s the former.