(06-10-2015 11:26 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 10:50 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 10:34 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 06:39 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  Being nationwide severely hurts the odds of this happening. Barring special circumstances (i.e. Miami, UNC, ND, etc.), t's hard to passionately hate a school that's 3,000 miles away, but it's really, really easy to hate one that's 200 miles away.

This is a point that's too easily overlooked. Coog said in one of his responses that MWC schools that came over to an expanded AAC could expect to see higher ticket sales and booster contributions. I don't think that can be assumed. Rivalries like Boise State-Nevada, Colorado State-Wyoming and Fresno State-SJSU have been intense over the years. They sell. I don't think games against any but the top AAC teams would sell better.

Yes. I will concede there will be little help from traveling fans from far away---but that's largely the case in both the AAC and MW anyway due to distances. The teams are not all that close together.


That said, the divisions I have proposed would at least allow for some relatively close games. The thing about traveling fans is that it seems to not really be much of a factor. The conference with the most drivable games for traveling fans (MAC) also has the lowest attendance in all of FBS---by a fairly large margin. I know we get very few traveling fans in the AAC. SMU and Tulane bring a few. Just guessing, but given the distances in the west, I doubt traveling fans make much of a difference in MW ticket sales as it is.

Being "too concentrated" is not the MAC's problem. It has other problems. For instance, schools like ECU are almost literally in Michigan's shadow, MACtion often occurs on weekdays, the conference lacks an established power (I know NIU is good, but they haven't been good for long), and so on.

That said, and I think that you're touching on the great flaw of the AAC. It's WAY to spread out and doesn't have a strong identity. It's the opposite of what built BIG EAST basketball, ACC basketball, SEC football, B1G football. All of those conferences have historically had very tight regional footprints with incredibly heated rivalries - to the point where virtually every game was a rivalry game with a lot on the line (I'm being slightly dramatic, but I'm not in left field). That inspires fans (not just visiting fans) to attend games, donate to schools,a nd demand excellence.

You mean Eastern Michigan, not East Carolina.

(06-10-2015 08:46 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  The only team that would consider the AAC is Air Force if Navy and Army were in the same conference.

Air Force is NOT happening without Wyoming. They will demand a travel partner, so AFA is a non-starter without them.

Here is a better question: Since you would have to take everyone(nobody will get left behind, the NCAA will make sure of that), do you guys really believe that the Basketball-Centered schools would go for that? I don't think so.

(06-11-2015 11:32 AM)lance99 Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 08:46 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  The only team that would consider the AAC is Air Force if Navy and Army were in the same conference.

Air Force is NOT happening without Wyoming. They will demand a travel partner, so AFA is a non-starter without them.

Here is a better question: Since you would have to take everyone(nobody will get left behind, the NCAA will make sure of that), do you guys really believe that the Basketball-Centered schools would go for that? I don't think so.

No. Air Force would consider a fb only invite to the AAC only if Navy and Army were in the same conference. They have stated so. Would they actually do it is a different story. Having all 2 of them in the same conference frees up the AF OOC option in which they could schedule CSU or Wyo as OOC games.

(06-11-2015 11:53 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  

(06-11-2015 11:32 AM)lance99 Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 08:46 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  The only team that would consider the AAC is Air Force if Navy and Army were in the same conference.

Air Force is NOT happening without Wyoming. They will demand a travel partner, so AFA is a non-starter without them.

Here is a better question: Since you would have to take everyone(nobody will get left behind, the NCAA will make sure of that), do you guys really believe that the Basketball-Centered schools would go for that? I don't think so.

No. Air Force would consider a fb only invite to the AAC only if Navy and Army were in the same conference. They have stated so. Would they actually do it is a different story. Having all 2 of them in the same conference frees up the AF OOC option in which they could schedule CSU or Wyo as OOC games.

Where do AFA's Olympic sports go if they leave the MWC? Perhaps the MWC would allow AFA to stay as an MWC Olympic sports member? If not, does the AAC make sense for AFA's Olympic sports? WAC??

(06-11-2015 10:50 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  Actually, Im surprised there are any rivalries at all in the AAC. Its largely a marriage of convenience. Its not based on geography. Its not based on long history of playing one another--UConn and Houston? This year is first time we've even played them. So yeah, not much history there.

Its more based upon commitment to athletics (as evidenced by the athletic budgets) and the common trait of being upwardly mobile (in terms of P5 conference affiliation).

We'll see about that "upwardly mobile in terms of P5 affiliation" part. I sure hope it applies to USF.

(06-11-2015 12:01 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(06-11-2015 10:50 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  Actually, Im surprised there are any rivalries at all in the AAC. Its largely a marriage of convenience. Its not based on geography. Its not based on long history of playing one another--UConn and Houston? This year is first time we've even played them. So yeah, not much history there.

Its more based upon commitment to athletics (as evidenced by the athletic budgets) and the common trait of being upwardly mobile (in terms of P5 conference affiliation).

We'll see about that "upwardly mobile in terms of P5 affiliation" part. I sure hope it applies to USF.

Doesn't mean you'll get the promotion. It just means you are generally considered to be part of the group of teams being looked at.

(06-11-2015 11:56 AM)YNot Wrote:  

(06-11-2015 11:53 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  

(06-11-2015 11:32 AM)lance99 Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 08:46 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  The only team that would consider the AAC is Air Force if Navy and Army were in the same conference.

Air Force is NOT happening without Wyoming. They will demand a travel partner, so AFA is a non-starter without them.

Here is a better question: Since you would have to take everyone(nobody will get left behind, the NCAA will make sure of that), do you guys really believe that the Basketball-Centered schools would go for that? I don't think so.

No. Air Force would consider a fb only invite to the AAC only if Navy and Army were in the same conference. They have stated so. Would they actually do it is a different story. Having all 2 of them in the same conference frees up the AF OOC option in which they could schedule CSU or Wyo as OOC games.

Where do AFA's Olympic sports go if they leave the MWC? Perhaps the MWC would allow AFA to stay as an MWC Olympic sports member? If not, does the AAC make sense for AFA's Olympic sports? WAC??

WAC. They fit very well geographically and competition wise. They have a few sports as an affiliate in the WAC.

(06-11-2015 12:44 PM)MWC Tex Wrote:  

(06-11-2015 11:56 AM)YNot Wrote:  

(06-11-2015 11:53 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  

(06-11-2015 11:32 AM)lance99 Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 08:46 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  The only team that would consider the AAC is Air Force if Navy and Army were in the same conference.

Air Force is NOT happening without Wyoming. They will demand a travel partner, so AFA is a non-starter without them.

Here is a better question: Since you would have to take everyone(nobody will get left behind, the NCAA will make sure of that), do you guys really believe that the Basketball-Centered schools would go for that? I don't think so.

No. Air Force would consider a fb only invite to the AAC only if Navy and Army were in the same conference. They have stated so. Would they actually do it is a different story. Having all 2 of them in the same conference frees up the AF OOC option in which they could schedule CSU or Wyo as OOC games.

Where do AFA's Olympic sports go if they leave the MWC? Perhaps the MWC would allow AFA to stay as an MWC Olympic sports member? If not, does the AAC make sense for AFA's Olympic sports? WAC??

WAC. They fit very well geographically and competition wise. They have a few sports as an affiliate in the WAC.

In a mega conference, the NCAA would force all sports for all members expect Hawaii if they are included.

Sent from my Z987 using Tapatalk

(06-11-2015 11:28 AM)lance99 Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 11:26 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 10:50 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 10:34 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 06:39 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  Being nationwide severely hurts the odds of this happening. Barring special circumstances (i.e. Miami, UNC, ND, etc.), t's hard to passionately hate a school that's 3,000 miles away, but it's really, really easy to hate one that's 200 miles away.

This is a point that's too easily overlooked. Coog said in one of his responses that MWC schools that came over to an expanded AAC could expect to see higher ticket sales and booster contributions. I don't think that can be assumed. Rivalries like Boise State-Nevada, Colorado State-Wyoming and Fresno State-SJSU have been intense over the years. They sell. I don't think games against any but the top AAC teams would sell better.

Yes. I will concede there will be little help from traveling fans from far away---but that's largely the case in both the AAC and MW anyway due to distances. The teams are not all that close together.


That said, the divisions I have proposed would at least allow for some relatively close games. The thing about traveling fans is that it seems to not really be much of a factor. The conference with the most drivable games for traveling fans (MAC) also has the lowest attendance in all of FBS---by a fairly large margin. I know we get very few traveling fans in the AAC. SMU and Tulane bring a few. Just guessing, but given the distances in the west, I doubt traveling fans make much of a difference in MW ticket sales as it is.

Being "too concentrated" is not the MAC's problem. It has other problems. For instance, schools like ECU are almost literally in Michigan's shadow, MACtion often occurs on weekdays, the conference lacks an established power (I know NIU is good, but they haven't been good for long), and so on.

That said, and I think that you're touching on the great flaw of the AAC. It's WAY to spread out and doesn't have a strong identity. It's the opposite of what built BIG EAST basketball, ACC basketball, SEC football, B1G football. All of those conferences have historically had very tight regional footprints with incredibly heated rivalries - to the point where virtually every game was a rivalry game with a lot on the line (I'm being slightly dramatic, but I'm not in left field). That inspires fans (not just visiting fans) to attend games, donate to schools,a nd demand excellence.

You mean Eastern Michigan, not East Carolina.

Good catch. The Big House has a long shadow, but it's not *that* long!

(06-11-2015 12:47 PM)lance99 Wrote:  

(06-11-2015 12:44 PM)MWC Tex Wrote:  

(06-11-2015 11:56 AM)YNot Wrote:  

(06-11-2015 11:53 AM)MWC Tex Wrote:  

(06-11-2015 11:32 AM)lance99 Wrote:  Air Force is NOT happening without Wyoming. They will demand a travel partner, so AFA is a non-starter without them.

Here is a better question: Since you would have to take everyone(nobody will get left behind, the NCAA will make sure of that), do you guys really believe that the Basketball-Centered schools would go for that? I don't think so.

No. Air Force would consider a fb only invite to the AAC only if Navy and Army were in the same conference. They have stated so. Would they actually do it is a different story. Having all 2 of them in the same conference frees up the AF OOC option in which they could schedule CSU or Wyo as OOC games.

Where do AFA's Olympic sports go if they leave the MWC? Perhaps the MWC would allow AFA to stay as an MWC Olympic sports member? If not, does the AAC make sense for AFA's Olympic sports? WAC??

WAC. They fit very well geographically and competition wise. They have a few sports as an affiliate in the WAC.

In a mega conference, the NCAA would force all sports for all members expect Hawaii if they are included.

Sent from my Z987 using Tapatalk

Not true. The NCAA would not care as long as at least 8 were all-sports members. However, my preference is that everyone would be all-sports members (unless they prefer not to be).

Great news for MTN West Schools!!

(06-11-2015 12:47 AM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 11:26 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 10:50 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 10:34 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 06:39 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  Being nationwide severely hurts the odds of this happening. Barring special circumstances (i.e. Miami, UNC, ND, etc.), t's hard to passionately hate a school that's 3,000 miles away, but it's really, really easy to hate one that's 200 miles away.

This is a point that's too easily overlooked. Coog said in one of his responses that MWC schools that came over to an expanded AAC could expect to see higher ticket sales and booster contributions. I don't think that can be assumed. Rivalries like Boise State-Nevada, Colorado State-Wyoming and Fresno State-SJSU have been intense over the years. They sell. I don't think games against any but the top AAC teams would sell better.

Yes. I will concede there will be little help from traveling fans from far away---but that's largely the case in both the AAC and MW anyway due to distances. The teams are not all that close together.


That said, the divisions I have proposed would at least allow for some relatively close games. The thing about traveling fans is that it seems to not really be much of a factor. The conference with the most drivable games for traveling fans (MAC) also has the lowest attendance in all of FBS---by a fairly large margin. I know we get very few traveling fans in the AAC. SMU and Tulane bring a few. Just guessing, but given the distances in the west, I doubt traveling fans make much of a difference in MW ticket sales as it is.

Being "too concentrated" is not the MAC's problem. It has other problems. For instance, schools like ECU are almost literally in Michigan's shadow, MACtion often occurs on weekdays, the conference lacks an established power (I know NIU is good, but they haven't been good for long), and so on.

That said, and I think that you're touching on the great flaw of the AAC. It's WAY to spread out and doesn't have a strong identity. It's the opposite of what built BIG EAST basketball, ACC basketball, SEC football, B1G football. All of those conferences have historically had very tight regional footprints with incredibly heated rivalries - to the point where virtually every game was a rivalry game with a lot on the line (I'm being slightly dramatic, but I'm not in left field). That inspires fans (not just visiting fans) to attend games, donate to schools,a nd demand excellence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_We...#Rivalries

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_At..._rivalries

There's no comparison. The MWC has at least half a dozen rivalries that exceed 50 games played.

The closest thing to a long-time rivalry in the AAC is Houston-Tulsa, which has been played 39 times. Navy-SMU has been played 16 times, ECU-UCF has been played 13 times, and UCF-USF has been played 6 times.

Anyone who wants to research further can go here:

http://football.stassen.com/records/opponent.html

This is a very good observation. The MWC has 9 "rivalries" that have played 50 or more games, and mostly, it's more. (Link) They have 6 that are 60 or more and Colorado State/Wyoming are 105 or 106, depending who saying. A lot of history there. The best the ACC can do is 5 series in the 30s. (Link) The Big East never designed for football and the jumble of teams plus the instability of expansion has left the AAC with a hodge podge of teams who haven't established much history yet.

(06-10-2015 11:26 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 10:50 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 10:34 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 06:39 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  Being nationwide severely hurts the odds of this happening. Barring special circumstances (i.e. Miami, UNC, ND, etc.), t's hard to passionately hate a school that's 3,000 miles away, but it's really, really easy to hate one that's 200 miles away.

This is a point that's too easily overlooked. Coog said in one of his responses that MWC schools that came over to an expanded AAC could expect to see higher ticket sales and booster contributions. I don't think that can be assumed. Rivalries like Boise State-Nevada, Colorado State-Wyoming and Fresno State-SJSU have been intense over the years. They sell. I don't think games against any but the top AAC teams would sell better.

Yes. I will concede there will be little help from traveling fans from far away---but that's largely the case in both the AAC and MW anyway due to distances. The teams are not all that close together.


That said, the divisions I have proposed would at least allow for some relatively close games. The thing about traveling fans is that it seems to not really be much of a factor. The conference with the most drivable games for traveling fans (MAC) also has the lowest attendance in all of FBS---by a fairly large margin. I know we get very few traveling fans in the AAC. SMU and Tulane bring a few. Just guessing, but given the distances in the west, I doubt traveling fans make much of a difference in MW ticket sales as it is.

Being "too concentrated" is not the MAC's problem. It has other problems. For instance, schools like ECU are almost literally in Michigan's shadow, MACtion often occurs on weekdays, the conference lacks an established power (I know NIU is good, but they haven't been good for long), and so on.

That said, and I think that you're touching on the great flaw of the AAC. It's WAY to spread out and doesn't have a strong identity. It's the opposite of what built BIG EAST basketball, ACC basketball, SEC football, B1G football. All of those conferences have historically had very tight regional footprints with incredibly heated rivalries - to the point where virtually every game was a rivalry game with a lot on the line (I'm being slightly dramatic, but I'm not in left field). That inspires fans (not just visiting fans) to attend games, donate to schools,a nd demand excellence.

Great point. Obviously, you meant EMU and not ECU. Prying away MWC schools is harder then some AAC fans get. New Mexico, Colorado St and Wyoming and even a Utah St probably have a century of playing each other. Air Force adds another 50 years at least....not sure why people are so quick to think they'd throw that away just because 18 year old Division 1 program Boise St wanted to move after 1 year in the MWC. The old guard, MWC, WAC, MSC, Border conference schools are as excited to play ECU as we are to play them. (Not excited)

(06-13-2015 02:09 PM)billybobby777 Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 11:26 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 10:50 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 10:34 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 06:39 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  Being nationwide severely hurts the odds of this happening. Barring special circumstances (i.e. Miami, UNC, ND, etc.), t's hard to passionately hate a school that's 3,000 miles away, but it's really, really easy to hate one that's 200 miles away.

This is a point that's too easily overlooked. Coog said in one of his responses that MWC schools that came over to an expanded AAC could expect to see higher ticket sales and booster contributions. I don't think that can be assumed. Rivalries like Boise State-Nevada, Colorado State-Wyoming and Fresno State-SJSU have been intense over the years. They sell. I don't think games against any but the top AAC teams would sell better.

Yes. I will concede there will be little help from traveling fans from far away---but that's largely the case in both the AAC and MW anyway due to distances. The teams are not all that close together.


That said, the divisions I have proposed would at least allow for some relatively close games. The thing about traveling fans is that it seems to not really be much of a factor. The conference with the most drivable games for traveling fans (MAC) also has the lowest attendance in all of FBS---by a fairly large margin. I know we get very few traveling fans in the AAC. SMU and Tulane bring a few. Just guessing, but given the distances in the west, I doubt traveling fans make much of a difference in MW ticket sales as it is.

Being "too concentrated" is not the MAC's problem. It has other problems. For instance, schools like ECU are almost literally in Michigan's shadow, MACtion often occurs on weekdays, the conference lacks an established power (I know NIU is good, but they haven't been good for long), and so on.

That said, and I think that you're touching on the great flaw of the AAC. It's WAY to spread out and doesn't have a strong identity. It's the opposite of what built BIG EAST basketball, ACC basketball, SEC football, B1G football. All of those conferences have historically had very tight regional footprints with incredibly heated rivalries - to the point where virtually every game was a rivalry game with a lot on the line (I'm being slightly dramatic, but I'm not in left field). That inspires fans (not just visiting fans) to attend games, donate to schools,a nd demand excellence.

Great point. Obviously, you meant EMU and not ECU. Prying away MWC schools is harder then some AAC fans get. New Mexico, Colorado St and Wyoming and even a Utah St probably have a century of playing each other. Air Force adds another 50 years at least....not sure why people are so quick to think they'd throw that away just because 18 year old Division 1 program Boise St wanted to move after 1 year in the MWC. The old guard, MWC, WAC, MSC, Border conference schools are as excited to play ECU as we are to play them. (Not excited)

Could the western AAC schools break away and create a new SWC, but make it like the old Big 12?

Houston
SMU
Tulsa
Tulane
Memphis

Invite
UTEP
UTSA
Wichita State (adds football)
Northern Iowa
South Dakota State
North Dakota State
Montana


Then AAC can expand with U. Mass. and some others out in the east. They could add some CAA schools.

(06-13-2015 02:28 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  

(06-13-2015 02:09 PM)billybobby777 Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 11:26 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 10:50 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 10:34 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  This is a point that's too easily overlooked. Coog said in one of his responses that MWC schools that came over to an expanded AAC could expect to see higher ticket sales and booster contributions. I don't think that can be assumed. Rivalries like Boise State-Nevada, Colorado State-Wyoming and Fresno State-SJSU have been intense over the years. They sell. I don't think games against any but the top AAC teams would sell better.

Yes. I will concede there will be little help from traveling fans from far away---but that's largely the case in both the AAC and MW anyway due to distances. The teams are not all that close together.


That said, the divisions I have proposed would at least allow for some relatively close games. The thing about traveling fans is that it seems to not really be much of a factor. The conference with the most drivable games for traveling fans (MAC) also has the lowest attendance in all of FBS---by a fairly large margin. I know we get very few traveling fans in the AAC. SMU and Tulane bring a few. Just guessing, but given the distances in the west, I doubt traveling fans make much of a difference in MW ticket sales as it is.

Being "too concentrated" is not the MAC's problem. It has other problems. For instance, schools like ECU are almost literally in Michigan's shadow, MACtion often occurs on weekdays, the conference lacks an established power (I know NIU is good, but they haven't been good for long), and so on.

That said, and I think that you're touching on the great flaw of the AAC. It's WAY to spread out and doesn't have a strong identity. It's the opposite of what built BIG EAST basketball, ACC basketball, SEC football, B1G football. All of those conferences have historically had very tight regional footprints with incredibly heated rivalries - to the point where virtually every game was a rivalry game with a lot on the line (I'm being slightly dramatic, but I'm not in left field). That inspires fans (not just visiting fans) to attend games, donate to schools,a nd demand excellence.

Great point. Obviously, you meant EMU and not ECU. Prying away MWC schools is harder then some AAC fans get. New Mexico, Colorado St and Wyoming and even a Utah St probably have a century of playing each other. Air Force adds another 50 years at least....not sure why people are so quick to think they'd throw that away just because 18 year old Division 1 program Boise St wanted to move after 1 year in the MWC. The old guard, MWC, WAC, MSC, Border conference schools are as excited to play ECU as we are to play them. (Not excited)

Could the western AAC schools break away and create a new SWC, but make it like the old Big 12?

Houston
SMU
Tulsa
Tulane
Memphis

Invite
UTEP
UTSA
Wichita State (adds football)
Northern Iowa
South Dakota State
North Dakota State
Montana


Then AAC can expand with U. Mass. and some others out in the east. They could add some CAA schools.

Well there are a few schools on the list I can speak of. Wichita st had a d-1 football program until the late 70's/early 80's. I remember hearing from fans out there that the football stadium was hazed so they wouldn't try to add again after they dropped football. Northern Iowa is too small. My parents and grandparents are from there (Waterloo and CF) I know that school very well and have been to many games and wrestling meets. Montana is a program that has a nearly 30k stadium that sells out, but they won't move up after years and years of invites from the WAC. ND or ND St wants to move up, but no conference will sponsor the move. It's required to from FCS to FBS.--those two and the two SD schools are all somewhat interested I've heard.
The old SWC was great but after arky and the big 12 four left, the remaining 4 couldn't agree to add eastern or western schools. They decided to end the conference forever after that. Houston went east to CUSA and TCU, SMU and Rice went west to the WAC with Tulsa. I think that they should have stayed together by adding a couple from the east and a couple from the west, I think the eastern Indys like Memphis, Tulane and Louisville were down, but the WAC had some clout back then and BYU, Utah, Air Force etc weren't interested. JMO and memories. Cheers

(06-13-2015 04:03 PM)billybobby777 Wrote:  

(06-13-2015 02:28 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  

(06-13-2015 02:09 PM)billybobby777 Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 11:26 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  

(06-10-2015 10:50 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  Yes. I will concede there will be little help from traveling fans from far away---but that's largely the case in both the AAC and MW anyway due to distances. The teams are not all that close together.


That said, the divisions I have proposed would at least allow for some relatively close games. The thing about traveling fans is that it seems to not really be much of a factor. The conference with the most drivable games for traveling fans (MAC) also has the lowest attendance in all of FBS---by a fairly large margin. I know we get very few traveling fans in the AAC. SMU and Tulane bring a few. Just guessing, but given the distances in the west, I doubt traveling fans make much of a difference in MW ticket sales as it is.

Being "too concentrated" is not the MAC's problem. It has other problems. For instance, schools like ECU are almost literally in Michigan's shadow, MACtion often occurs on weekdays, the conference lacks an established power (I know NIU is good, but they haven't been good for long), and so on.

That said, and I think that you're touching on the great flaw of the AAC. It's WAY to spread out and doesn't have a strong identity. It's the opposite of what built BIG EAST basketball, ACC basketball, SEC football, B1G football. All of those conferences have historically had very tight regional footprints with incredibly heated rivalries - to the point where virtually every game was a rivalry game with a lot on the line (I'm being slightly dramatic, but I'm not in left field). That inspires fans (not just visiting fans) to attend games, donate to schools,a nd demand excellence.

Great point. Obviously, you meant EMU and not ECU. Prying away MWC schools is harder then some AAC fans get. New Mexico, Colorado St and Wyoming and even a Utah St probably have a century of playing each other. Air Force adds another 50 years at least....not sure why people are so quick to think they'd throw that away just because 18 year old Division 1 program Boise St wanted to move after 1 year in the MWC. The old guard, MWC, WAC, MSC, Border conference schools are as excited to play ECU as we are to play them. (Not excited)

Could the western AAC schools break away and create a new SWC, but make it like the old Big 12?

Houston
SMU
Tulsa
Tulane
Memphis

Invite
UTEP
UTSA
Wichita State (adds football)
Northern Iowa
South Dakota State
North Dakota State
Montana


Then AAC can expand with U. Mass. and some others out in the east. They could add some CAA schools.

Well there are a few schools on the list I can speak of. Wichita st had a d-1 football program until the late 70's/early 80's. I remember hearing from fans out there that the football stadium was hazed so they wouldn't try to add again after they dropped football. Northern Iowa is too small. My parents and grandparents are from there (Waterloo and CF) I know that school very well and have been to many games and wrestling meets. Montana is a program that has a nearly 30k stadium that sells out, but they won't move up after years and years of invites from the WAC. ND or ND St wants to move up, but no conference will sponsor the move. It's required to from FCS to FBS.--those two and the two SD schools are all somewhat interested I've heard.
The old SWC was great but after arky and the big 12 four left, the remaining 4 couldn't agree to add eastern or western schools. They decided to end the conference forever after that. Houston went east to CUSA and TCU, SMU and Rice went west to the WAC with Tulsa. I think that they should have stayed together by adding a couple from the east and a couple from the west, I think the eastern Indys like Memphis, Tulane and Louisville were down, but the WAC had some clout back then and BYU, Utah, Air Force etc weren't interested. JMO and memories. Cheers

Wichita State stills have their stadium from what I read. They are using it for Soccer.