(06-25-2012 05:43 PM)jml2010 Wrote: (06-25-2012 03:26 PM)UTEPDallas Wrote: And what's Texas Tech going to do about it? Threaten to leave the conference? Make advances to another BCS conference? Texas Tech brings absolutely NOTHING to a BCS conference. They're in a part of the state (Panhandle) that's losing population and it's dying economically and politically. Unlike Texas A&M, Nebraska, Colorado and Missouri which had something to offer (new markets, storied FB programs, large fanbases, etc) to other BCS conferences, Texas Tech offers little. Texas Tech should thank their lucky stars politics played a big role in their Big XII inclusion back in the 90's and that they're not in the same boat (nonBCS world) as their public school FBS counterparts UTEP, Houston and North Texas. I would rather be Bevo's biatch and sit in the big boys table than giving Bevo the middle finger and be stuck in irrelevancy.
And before somebody says Texas Tech has good fan support, would the Red Raiders have the same support if they had a C-USA or MWC schedule? Having current or former Big XII schools like Texas, A&M, OU, Nebraska, etc on a regular basis on your schedule should be enough to sell tickets.
Tech won't go anywhere without UT and UT won't go anywhere without Tech, the UT president has said as much. Yes, we would have good support. We put 57K in the stands in 2010 against SMU. Can UTEP do the same? Since you went to school in El Paso, I'm not sure I would bash another part of the state considering the shape El Paso is in.
Where did I bash Lubbock in my post? All I stated was the fact that the Panhandle is losing people and it's dying economically and politically. Just look at statistics and see how much little growth the Panhandle had in the last decade according to the U.S. Census. Heck, even El Paso which has lagged the rest of the state for decades had a fast growth rate (economically and population wise).
Texas A&M leaving the Big XII for the SEC really killed any myth that the TX Legislature would never let any Texas schools in the Big XII split. Texas if it really wants to can leave Tech and Baylor (and now TCU) behind if it serves its interests, the only thing they have to say is if A&M got away with it why they can't. Only when that happens (it's a matter of when not a matter of if), there won't be a Bob Bullock type of politician saving Tech's arse.
As for UTEP's attendance, look at its attendance record. For a school that has a poor football history, it really has decent attendance considering the nonBCS conference schedule it plays and the crappy product on the field. If we had a Big XII conference schedule the Sun Bowl would be expanded from 52k seats to at least 65k but it is what it is, we just have to deal with what we have. I just find it hard to believe Texas Tech would even average more than 35k given the remote location they're in (and very small metro area) and if they had a C-USA or MWC schedule. I just can't see having UTEP, Rice, Tulsa, Houston and SMU or New Mexico, TCU, Colorado State, etc at home would excite the fanbase as much as having UT, OU, A&M, etc. The same goes for Baylor.
Just consider yourself lucky your school can biatch and whine about Bevo's bullying (which in return will get you $20 million a year) instead of having to worry about being outside the Big Five conferences and settle for table scraps.
One more thing, I'm not from El Paso but if I'm forced to choose to live in either El Paso or Lubbock, I would choose the former rather than the latter. There's nothing wrong with Lubbock for the most part but it's no different than Amarillo, Midland, Odessa, Abilene, Wichita Falls, Waco, Tyler, Beaumont, San Angelo, Laredo, Victoria, the Valley or Texarkana. In other words, small towns or small sized metro areas are not my thing. Once again, there's nothing wrong if you choose to live in those towns but at least to me El Paso has the feel of a city...... not like big city Dallas and Houston but more like mid sized towns like Albuquerque and Tucson.