I would certainly like UNT to stay so we could go to 12 and have a West division with a strong Texas presence. But if UNT is gone I don't see a point in even having 12 teams anymore.

I say we invite Ga St and stick with ten.

(03-03-2012 11:11 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  I would certainly like UNT to stay so we could go to 12 and have a West division with a strong Texas presence. But if UNT is gone I don't see a point in even having 12 teams anymore.

I say we invite Ga St and stick with ten.

There's going to be a push for 12...with or without UNT.

(03-03-2012 11:27 PM)trojanbrutha Wrote:  

(03-03-2012 11:11 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  I would certainly like UNT to stay so we could go to 12 and have a West division with a strong Texas presence. But if UNT is gone I don't see a point in even having 12 teams anymore.

I say we invite Ga St and stick with ten.

There's going to be a push for 12...with or without UNT.

As much as I have opposed the idea of expansion for expansion sake, the conference needs to protect itself from defections. If UNT and FIU go, I'd much rather see a move to the east and get to 12, but I suspect the texas twins and latech get the focus.

(03-03-2012 11:27 PM)trojanbrutha Wrote:  

(03-03-2012 11:11 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  I would certainly like UNT to stay so we could go to 12 and have a West division with a strong Texas presence. But if UNT is gone I don't see a point in even having 12 teams anymore.

I say we invite Ga St and stick with ten.

There's going to be a push for 12...with or without UNT.

I'm sure there is but I'm not thrilled at adding 3 eastern FCS teams just to have 12.

Hey greeting to all frequent posters here! I firmly believe you guys are zealots for the Sun Belt conference. I am like most of you here, beleiving that if the current members of the belt stay put, especially with the newest recruiting ASU and Malzahn, the belt may emerge as the top-tier of mid-majors.

Now that i've greeted everyone. I am really curious as to how FIU got suck into this thread with UNT.

I think most FIU posters are very cordial and mean no harm.

The new BCS will be top four champions.

Looking at the past five years (using membership at the time):
2011 SEC, Big XII, Pac-12, Big 10 (MWC missed thanks to TCU winning)
2010 SEC, Pac-12, MWC, Big 10
2009 SEC, Big 12, Big East, MWC
2008 Big XII, SEC, Pac-12, MWC

Busting will still be possible but you have to produce a team that can run the table, and you can't add a team just to get to a number, you have to add quality.

To me that's the flaw of the thinking behind the Alliance. The western side (unless Boise changes their mind) is a group of schools that collectively finished below the Sun Belt in the 2011 BCS rankings. The odds of a potential buster getting knocked out in the title game or worse getting stuck playing a team that is so weak that they hurt a buster in the title game makes it risky.

La.Tech rarely posts a season that is going to hurt the Belt in the BCS, most years they are going to be at the median or above helping the league overall. After Tech all we have is a generally harmful NMSU and a big who knows in the form of UTSA, Tex St, and Georgia State.

(03-03-2012 10:59 PM)WinstonTheWolf Wrote:  

(03-03-2012 10:49 PM)Green Menace Wrote:  I have mixed feelings regarding North Texas leaving the Sun Belt for another "undetermined conference". Like several have mentioned, UNT was on the ground floor of adding football to the SBC. We were successful for four straight conference championships and four straight New Orleans Bowl appearances. In the event UNT does move to another conference, I do not expect any UNT fan snubbing their noses at the SBC. And no UNT will call the Sun Belt by that other name coined by the La Tech crowd, Sun B__ch.

Honestly, with or without UNT, I look for the Sun Belt to get stronger and stronger in all sports. We have good teams in the Belt and I expect to see them knock off some of the "name" programs very soon.

While I respect your stance, people on gomeangreen.com already bash the Sun Belt on a semi-regular basis.

Every conference member has there group of village idiots.

(03-03-2012 10:57 PM)Tiguar Wrote:  For UNT, its not so much about "moving up" as it is maintaining a separation between themselves and the start-up FBS schools. To maintain pecking order they have to move on. I respect UNT and its administration for pursuing the best possible avenue for their school. Good luck if this indeed comes to fruition.

There is virtually no animosity between North Texas and the two so called "start-up FBS schools" Texas State and UTSA. Sure there are a couple of outspoken UNT fans who haunt the WAC board but the overwhelming majority of North Texas fans see the potential and the value of those two programs, and wish them nothing but the best.

I can't believe that UTSA waited this long to add football, and Texas State, well they've been ready to make the transition to FBS football for the last 20 years and their administration kept putting it off for whatever reason.

(03-03-2012 01:43 PM)MG61 Wrote:  

(03-03-2012 01:31 PM)BlueRaiderFan. Wrote:  I think this would be a good move for UNT (assuming it's not the WAC). The Sun Belt will survive this if it's true.

We've tried to be a good conference member, so go or stay, UNT folks want the Belt to not only survive but to prosper as well.

Count me in with this conviction. I am not convinced in the accuracy of the rumors, but am in no position to discount their possibility. I have incredible respect for so many of the Sun Belt institutions. I will always be a fan of the Arkansas State, Louisiana, and Middle Tennessee teams as I have visited those schools, interacted with their fans, and watched their programs evolve to where they are today. I have watched the five eastern SBC schools each emerge from unheralded FCS football to become FBS bowl eligible teams and know that South Alabama has that same potential.

So, going forward whether North Texas is a part of the Sun Belt or not, I wish absolutely nothing but the best for the Sun Belt and it's member institutions.

I think joining MWCUSA makes sense for North Texas as they would have Tulsa and Rice nearby, along with either UTEP or Tulane, depending on how the divisions end up configured.

The Sun Belt could maintain a Lone Star presence, and actually shore up travel for Olympic sports, by adding Texas State and UTSA as a package deal. It should work just out fine.

What would not make sense is a team like FIU going to MWCUSA. The closest opponent would be UAB unless they also add Georgia State. Birmingham and Atlanta are both far away.

The rest of the league would be better off -- in the event of a North Texas move -- adding Texas State, UTSA, Louisiana Tech, and a 14th basketball school. Your future is bright.