Jump to content

AAC Relocation


UNTexas

Recommended Posts

So a move to their Western most city is a better fit? Maybe they are planning ahead to the day the Big 12 splits.

I would love it if we could get past the point where it is perceived that SMU would never allow us in a conference with them.

Not really sure how much pull they have, but I worry with the coming ability for athletes to be "paid" if some on the old money boosters might try for one last push to stack their team. 

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

54 minutes ago, SMUleopold said:

We don't have any more pull than any other school.  

It's simple:  

Win and you're in.  

TV markets rule the day for conference affiliation. It’s not the SWC, WAC, or CUSA dayS when TCU and SMU and UH and Rice would be in the same conference. Today, the networks drive conference affiliation by eyeballs their market will drive and they don’t duplicate them. If you can’t bring new cities or states to a conference, you ain’t moving up. Look at the Big XII. ESPN and Fox paid the ten teams even more NOT to take any of the AAC teams that wanted to move up. 
 
It’s why I advocate for the MWC if we ever could miraculously get an invite. But that doesn’t seem very likely anytime soon. 
 

The only logical move for the SBCUSA is to realign and make travel cheaper and get more butts in seats from visiting fans.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel Leopold speaks some truth. The Mean Green continue to demonstrate commitment, vision and a strong desire to rise above our current arrangement.

Many SMU alums realize the benefit of playing each other and cultivating another city rivalry. You have rich private school in major metro and massive state school in one of the country’s most coming regions. We add value in our profile and naturally developing attributes. Inject enthusiastic leadership and success and we will look even more attractive as a program to many.

Programs want to be surrounded by other attractive programs. The AAC has some deadwood as does CUSA and the Sun Belt. This unexpected situation we have been thrusted into can benefit some programs.  All of a sudden you have a Pure reason to reset everything, including conference affiliation and peer program alignment.  

I believe in Wren and Dr. Smastrek. As a fan I can support home and away, recruit fans, donate and encourage tv social media ratings. Sound familiar?  Let’s start again this fall.

GMG

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, SMUleopold said:

For the record, I don't disagree with you.  Rutgers and Maryland aren't in the Big Ten because of their gd football teams. 

But I'm telling you as plainly as I can tell you, and I'm having this argument on the AAC boards: 

The AAC needs a football team. 

If 'P6' is the goal, and we say it is, then the conference has to win on the football field - has to.  The conference media deal has just been signed, and isn't going to change significantly over the next decade,  so in the meantime the biggest step forward has to be on a football field.  As a result a team could exist in a city or state that 'brings' 5M to the TV sets, but if they lose on the football field nobody cares or wants to watch them and nobody takes the conference seriously in the most important field, so that school is dead weight; UConn fit this description to a T.  

So you can take this for whatever it's worth, but I say whichever program can show that they can be a consistent top-25 presence is the answer.  App State went 12-1 last year and beat two respected P5 programs, so they're on peoples radar.  ECU may not like it, but if ASU does it again the next few years (I know their schedule this year includes Wisconsin) then they make a compelling case, and the pirates may get voted down.   

If you could triple the TV contract the next time around, like the AAC did a year ago, by letting in a local competitor then you need to do it.  If anyone tells you otherwise, they're a fool.  I'm not being funny, or cute, or anything - if you dangle $25M/year in media rights in front of SMU then I'm willing to bet we'd happily go along with it, regardless of the addition. 

 

I agree with you about a huge TV contract being a reason for SMU to accept UNT as a conference mate. But I also know that will never happen because of the current way TV contracts are setup by the networks.

The AAC might add a 12th football team--but it will only make that decision if the networks allow them to add someone they deem worthy of that value. I still feel like that would be Army as a football only member because of the national brand and their rivalry with Navy. But beyond that, my next guess would be someone who wins a lot from the SBCUSA and represents a big market that hasn't been duplicated. So the obvious targets would be FAU, FIU, Georgia State, MUTS, ODU, UAB, UTSA, UTEP, or Texas State. It won't include teams from zero market schools, such as Marshall, WKU, Georgia Southern, Appalachian State, Southern Miss, Troy, La Tech, ULM, Ark State, or ULL. Those who duplicate markets are gonna be out--which is us and Rice. Charlotte is a possibility because they used to be in the old CUSA with Cincy, Memphis, Tulane, Houston, and USF for hoops, but football would really have to take a huge leap upwards very quickly to even imagine that occurring in the years ahead. 

My guess is that the AAC will eventually make a deal with Army for football only, probably within the next couple of years.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, untjim1995 said:

I agree with you about a huge TV contract being a reason for SMU to accept UNT as a conference mate. But I also know that will never happen because of the current way TV contracts are setup by the networks.

The AAC might add a 12th football team--but it will only make that decision if the networks allow them to add someone they deem worthy of that value. I still feel like that would be Army as a football only member because of the national brand and their rivalry with Navy. But beyond that, my next guess would be someone who wins a lot from the SBCUSA and represents a big market that hasn't been duplicated. So the obvious targets would be FAU, FIU, Georgia State, MUTS, ODU, UAB, UTSA, UTEP, or Texas State. It won't include teams from zero market schools, such as Marshall, WKU, Georgia Southern, Appalachian State, Southern Miss, Troy, La Tech, ULM, Ark State, or ULL. Those who duplicate markets are gonna be out--which is us and Rice. Charlotte is a possibility because they used to be in the old CUSA with Cincy, Memphis, Tulane, Houston, and USF for hoops, but football would really have to take a huge leap upwards very quickly to even imagine that occurring in the years ahead. 

My guess is that the AAC will eventually make a deal with Army for football only, probably within the next couple of years.

If you are Army you have only one choice and that is to stay independent. Their CUSA experience was a disaster. Right now they can schedule smart, have a pre-determined bowl waiting for them and keep their tv deal with CBSSN. There isn’t one benefit from joining the AAC. 

Look at their 2020 schedule. They’re almost guaranteed to make a bowl and they have OU coming to Michie. 

Having said that, look at BYU’s schedule. If you want to make your coach’s life miserable and NOT make a bowl, that’s how you do it. 

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, SMUleopold said:

For the record, I don't disagree with you.  Rutgers and Maryland aren't in the Big Ten because of their gd football teams. 

But I'm telling you as plainly as I can tell you, and I'm having this argument on the AAC boards: 

The AAC needs a football team. 

If 'P6' is the goal, and we say it is, then the conference has to win on the football field - has to.  The conference media deal has just been signed, and isn't going to change significantly over the next decade,  so in the meantime the biggest step forward has to be on a football field.  As a result a team could exist in a city or state that 'brings' 5M to the TV sets, but if they lose on the football field nobody cares or wants to watch them and nobody takes the conference seriously in the most important field, so that school is dead weight; UConn fit this description to a T.  

So you can take this for whatever it's worth, but I say whichever program can show that they can be a consistent top-25 presence is the answer.  App State went 12-1 last year and beat two respected P5 programs, so they're on peoples radar.  ECU may not like it, but if ASU does it again the next few years (I know their schedule this year includes Wisconsin) then they make a compelling case, and the pirates may get voted down.   

If you could triple the TV contract the next time around, like the AAC did a year ago, by letting in a local competitor then you need to do it.  If anyone tells you otherwise, they're a fool.  I'm not being funny, or cute, or anything - if you dangle $25M/year in media rights in front of SMU then I'm willing to bet we'd happily go along with it, regardless of the addition. 

 

Might be the first SMU fan I have ever agreed with!

Edited by bstnsportsfan3
  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, All About UNT said:

Quoner ALSO moved from Providence to Irving (professionally) and THEN we got in the CUSA...and he worked across the street from the VERY SAME building (1 min walk) that they are moving into.

We got this!!

 

 

  • Upvote 3
  • Haha 2
  • Eye Roll 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

The AAC might add a 12th football team--but it will only make that decision if the networks allow them to add someone they deem worthy of that value. I still feel like that would be Army as a football only member because of the national brand and their rivalry with Navy. But beyond that, my next guess would be someone who wins a lot from the SBCUSA and represents a big market that hasn't been duplicated. So the obvious targets would be FAU, FIU, Georgia State, MUTS, ODU, UAB, UTSA, UTEP, or Texas State. It won't include teams from zero market schools, such as Marshall, WKU, Georgia Southern, Appalachian State, Southern Miss, Troy, La Tech, ULM, Ark State, or ULL. Those who duplicate markets are gonna be out--which is us and Rice. Charlotte is a possibility because they used to be in the old CUSA with Cincy, Memphis, Tulane, Houston, and USF for hoops, but football would really have to take a huge leap upwards very quickly to even imagine that occurring in the years ahead. 

My guess is that the AAC will eventually make a deal with Army for football only, probably within the next couple of years.

Army has said 'no' a couple of times.  We'll see if they change their minds.  I don't think they are worth waiting around for. 

The networks want someone who will move the needle.  There really isn't any undiscovered markets out there, and every available G5 team, even in the AAC, plays second fiddle in their own markets, so you have to have someone who can compete on the field - it's the closest thing to a fair shot as we can find.  As a result, UNT, App State, UAB, or whomever is going to have to punch their way into the top 25, allowing the AAC to make the case for them.  If somehow a Boise State emerges from the Southeast/Texas region, that will be the easiest possible sell to the networks.  

4 hours ago, MrAlien said:

while many people focus on football, I think basketball might be our ticket to a better conference

Avoid this trap.  UConn has four  national titles in men's basketball in the last twenty years alone, not to mention their powerhouse women's team, and they are the 'butterface' of college realignment.  Basketball means little to nothing, as mean as that sounds. 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, SMUleopold said:

Army has said 'no' a couple of times.  We'll see if they change their minds.  I don't think they are worth waiting around for. 

The networks want someone who will move the needle.  There really isn't any undiscovered markets out there, and every available G5 team, even in the AAC, plays second fiddle in their own markets, so you have to have someone who can compete on the field - it's the closest thing to a fair shot as we can find.  As a result, UNT, App State, UAB, or whomever is going to have to punch their way into the top 25, allowing the AAC to make the case for them.  If somehow a Boise State emerges from the Southeast/Texas region, that will be the easiest possible sell to the networks.  

Avoid this trap.  UConn has four  national titles in men's basketball in the last twenty years alone, not to mention their powerhouse women's team, and they are the 'butterface' of college realignment.  Basketball means little to nothing, as mean as that sounds. 

I would hope that in addition to success, which we have been trending up, our massive investments in facilities would be a benefit when the time comes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Please review our full Privacy Policy before using our site.