I like UTEP, they're in a good college football town that they can support the Sun Bowl. So, I think the MWC should add UTEP and Rice. Rice's academic prestige and great recruiting area would be a welcome addition to the MWC. Once the deregulation of the championship games goes through, they should look at going to 14 teams with an 8 game conference schedule.

Also, you left out UTSA. They have to be a better candidate than Texas State since they were invited to CUSA and Texas State wasn't.

wait for AAC to implode
Hous, SMU, UTEP, Memphis
I think MWC waits awhile to see what happens
but if they had to pull the trigger now
UTEP, UTSA, RICE, LousT

Other than UTEP, would any C-USA schools even be interested? La Tech played in the WAC for years simply because they were too proud to go back to the sunbelt. Now that they are in C-usa, why deal with the travel hassles of the MWC? The MWC is just the old WAC with a few upgrades. UTSA, Rice, and North Texas would have the same issues.

I think the only viable Texas teams are UTEP and Texas state for MWC.

(06-17-2014 04:40 AM)goofus Wrote:  Other than UTEP, would any C-USA schools even be interested? La Tech played in the WAC for years simply because they were too proud to go back to the sunbelt. Now that they are in C-usa, why deal with the travel hassles of the MWC? The MWC is just the old WAC with a few upgrades. UTSA, Rice, and North Texas would have the same issues.

Good question. On one hand, if the Texas Four (UTEP, UTSA, Rice, and North Texas) came in together, the MWC would have logical divisional splits (put New Mexico, Air Force, Colorado State and Wyoming in the East with the Texas schools). I'd lean MWC, but only with all four Texas programs coming.

On the other hand, both the MWC and AAC have some low ceiling programs (as does C-USA). But C-USA has rolled the dice on the next Central Florida, and may have it several times over in upwardly mobile programs like Old Dominion, Florida Atlantic, and UTSA plus the Sunbelt stand-outs North Texas, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky. When I look at these C-USA programs (and of course Southern Miss and Marshall), I lean back to staying with C-USA.

UTSA, UTEP, Idaho and NMSU to the MWC

Rice, Texas State, USM and Louisiana to AAC

I think there's a reason UTEP isn't already in the MWC, and I remember reading something from UTEP's own athletics page about what happened after the WAC-MWC split where the writer made it known "being left behind" wasn't their choice.

Is that UNM holding them up? Residual bitterness from the Utah-BYU days?

Wow ESE84 If all of rice's fans are as out of step as you are I can understand why you all keep getting left behind. Lol

UTSA is really happy in CUSA with the other Texas schools and they have stated so. UTEP is also tied to the Texas schools. The AAC isn't going anywhere so SMU and Houston are not an option.
UNT is an unknown as they just moved from the Sunbelt are now playing against the Texas schools.

Texas St. is probably the only addition the MW could invite. Although they are in a small town outside of Austin, I believe they would be a great addition. It is a great up and coming university and they can set themselves apart in the MW just as TCU did.

UTEP doesn't really give you Texas as it is very isolated from most of the population. I'd say adding Rice and Texas St gives you a much better foothold in Texas. Rice, Texas St, and N Texas would give the MW access to the most populated portions of Texas. Texas State has 35K students and is located in the Austin DMA. It is also located less than 45 minutes from San Antonio. Texas St gives you access to two major metro areas. Rice gives you access to the Houston metro area and N Texas gives you access to the Dallas metro area. Maybe pick up UL-L as a 16th member and add access to a very rich recruiting area in Louisiana as well--or you could add a well supported UTSA that would add an excellent budding rivalry game to the MW.

I would guess UTEP + UTSA would be the move to 14 but going to 16 with North Texas and Rice could work to hit all the markets. I'm sure Rice would love to join the AAC but if not possible a 16 team MWC with 4 texas school's might be a good out + hanging out with AFA.

(06-17-2014 08:30 AM)Tigersmoke Wrote:  Wow ESE84 If all of rice's fans are as out of step as you are I can understand why you all keep getting left behind. Lol

On which part? Not jumping back into the MWC after experiencing the WAC-16?

Believing in the C-USA model and giving it a chance to work?

Thinking that Rice might be attractive to the MWC for the Houston market, if the University of Houston is not available?

Remember that Rice has our television revenues guaranteed near term by Memphis, Houston, UCF, et al, and we benefitted from all the C-USA exit and entrance fees. Rice also has a football conference championship, and we are in the hunt for another in a rebuilding year. How many of the AAC and MWC programs have not sniffed a conference championship in more than a decade?

Have you seen the Rice recruiting this year? That Rice has more 2014 television appearances than anyone else in C-USA? Being a relatively big fish in a relatively small pond might just work for us.

1. UTEP: Makes the most sense geographically. Would be a good fit the MWC. The problem is they will never come because they covet their access to the Houston and Dallas markets. Now if you can get one or more of them to come.....

2. UTSA (yeah I know they were not listed...): Another good fit for the MWC and a presence in the 3rd largest market in Texas. What they have done in such a short amount of time is impressive.

3. Rice: Houston Houston Houston market.... Great academics and solid baseball.

4. North Texas: "Dallas" "Dallas" "Dallas" market (well kind of....) new stadium and decent football.

5. Texas State: Revamped stadium and a presence in the shadow of Austin.

There does not appear to be a logical scenario in which any of the C-USA Texas teams would want to join the MWC. I don't believe any would choose to be cleaved away from the other three, and adding all four would expand the MWC too much, and diminish the payouts. Plus, the "Boise Policy", that creates an uneven distribution of money, is not enticing either. I believe North Texas, Rice, UTEP, and UTSA, will be together in C-USA for a long time.

Houston and SMU aren't leaving the AAC. The MWC can't offer them a deal that would make it worth it.

Texas State would jump in a heart beat, but right now that wouldn't help the MWC make a dent in Texas.

Right now, none of the 4 Texas schools would leave CUSA for the MWC. They just wouldn't. IMO, Texas State is the only realistic candidate...and they would join in a heartbeat. They'd be a great addition too. The question is, who do you add as a 14th.

(06-17-2014 10:11 AM)BullsFanInTX Wrote:  Right now, none of the 4 Texas schools would leave CUSA for the MWC. They just wouldn't. IMO, Texas State is the only realistic candidate...and they would join in a heartbeat. They'd be a great addition too. The question is, who do you add as a 14th.

I think the older schools would jump to the MW in a heartbeat. I could see Rice, Texas State, and UTEP jumping to the MW. The current income level for the CUSA is only guaranteed for a couple of more years. The MW level of income is already higher than CUSA (both in media income and in NCAA income). The TV exposure level is MUCH higher in the MW.

I could easily see Rice, Texas St, and UTEP accepting invitations to the MW. If those 3 are all heading for the MW--then there would be just one slot left in the MW. CUSA West would be severely weakened---and whoever didn't take the last available MW slot would be left as the only Texas program in a very wounded CUSA. My guess is that once the dam broke, N Texas and UTSA would be fighting each other tooth and nail for that last slot.

(06-17-2014 10:11 AM)BullsFanInTX Wrote:  Right now, none of the 4 Texas schools would leave CUSA for the MWC. They just wouldn't. IMO, Texas State is the only realistic candidate...and they would join in a heartbeat. They'd be a great addition too. The question is, who do you add as a 14th.

NMSU would be the only choice for #14.
Yet, the MW doesn't have any appetite for 14 schools.

There may be some hypothetical scenarios where Texas St is added but only to keep at 12.

The MWC won't be expanding unless BYU does some crazy about-face and wants to rejoin the conference. Which is very, very unlikely.

(06-17-2014 11:01 AM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  The MWC won't be expanding unless BYU does some crazy about-face and wants to rejoin the conference. Which is very, very unlikely.

Yeah, BYU has no desire to go back to the MW. However, on the other side of the coin, has Hawaii revisited if going Indy is a better option than paying the MW to be part of the conference?

(06-17-2014 10:56 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  

(06-17-2014 10:11 AM)BullsFanInTX Wrote:  Right now, none of the 4 Texas schools would leave CUSA for the MWC. They just wouldn't. IMO, Texas State is the only realistic candidate...and they would join in a heartbeat. They'd be a great addition too. The question is, who do you add as a 14th.

NMSU would be the only choice for #14.
Yet, the MW doesn't have any appetite for 14 schools.

There may be some hypothetical scenarios where Texas St is added but only to keep at 12.

Grabbing a solid foothold in Texas would increase the MW footprint by 40%. Adding the say Texas St, Rice, N Texas, and UTEP (or UTSA) would give the conference 2 8 team divisions, a massive presence in Texas, and increased leverage with multiple Texas Bowls.