"Trusted Memphis poster".

Its entirely possible that the Memphis State President met with the B12. It would also be entirely possible that the Presidents of Uconn, Cincy, San Diego State, BYU, UCF, USF, ECU, Boise, Houston, and USF met with the B12.

Smart conferences keep up with teams.

But that being said, I'd put Memphis behind Uconn, Boise, Cincy, SDSU, BYU, Houston, UCF, and USF in the race for the B12. Lets review.

Football success? Two good (but not great) seasons recently after a decade of mid-Sun Belt level football. Not the best candidate. Not the second best candidate either. They aren't Boise. They aren't TCU.

Basketball success? Historically great. But Uconn is better. Cincy isn't bad either. Maybe number 2 there.

Growing population that adds to the conference? Adds a moribund metro to the league. Good recruiting though (Although the SEC currently does and will continue to own that Metro). But Memphis falls behind Uconn, UCF, USF, Houston, Cincy, SDSU, etc. in this analysis.

Reputation fit? Nope. Boise, Uconn, and Cincy would probably do more for the league.

---

(02-09-2016 01:35 PM)UHJDC Wrote:  Announcement will be this Friday at 3:30 PM.

Rule #1 of realignment---its always on a Tuesday.

(02-09-2016 11:13 AM)TforTempleU Wrote:  

(02-09-2016 08:56 AM)Wilkie01 Wrote:  Adding Memphis and Cincinnati makes perfect sense to get to 12. If 14 is a goal then add Houston and East Carolina, also.

What in the world makes ECU more valuable than UConn, USF, UCF or Temple?

The fan base is much better than some of them. UConn is the least valuable on the fan base part for football.
Temple is not used to have the fan base that they draw now. They need a few more years to grow their football to get where the others are at.

UCF, Cincinnati, Memphis, Houston and East Carolina are the better teams with fan support in football. Navy is up there with them. USF have been a yo-yo the last few years.

(02-09-2016 01:41 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  Its entirely possible that the Memphis State President met with the B12. It would also be entirely possible that the Presidents of Uconn, Cincy, San Diego State, BYU, UCF, USF, ECU, Boise, Houston, and USF met with the B12.

Smart conferences keep up with teams.

But that being said, I'd put Memphis behind Uconn, Boise, Cincy, SDSU, BYU, Houston, UCF, and USF in the race for the B12. Lets review.

Football success? Two good (but not great) seasons recently after a decade of mid-Sun Belt level football. Not the best candidate. Not the second best candidate either. They aren't Boise. They aren't TCU.

Basketball success? Historically great. But Uconn is better. Cincy isn't bad either. Maybe number 2 there.

Growing population that adds to the conference? Adds a moribund metro to the league. Good recruiting though (Although the SEC currently does and will continue to own that Metro). But Memphis falls behind Uconn, UCF, USF, Houston, Cincy, SDSU, etc. in this analysis.

Reputation fit? Nope. Boise, Uconn, and Cincy would probably do more for the league.

---

You omitted location, which is probably UofM's strongest asset. Memphis, along with Cincinnati are the perfect fits to fill the footprint gap toward WVU (and, as a pair, they bring a 50-year old rivalry).

(02-09-2016 05:26 PM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  

(02-09-2016 01:41 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  Its entirely possible that the Memphis State President met with the B12. It would also be entirely possible that the Presidents of Uconn, Cincy, San Diego State, BYU, UCF, USF, ECU, Boise, Houston, and USF met with the B12.

Smart conferences keep up with teams.

But that being said, I'd put Memphis behind Uconn, Boise, Cincy, SDSU, BYU, Houston, UCF, and USF in the race for the B12. Lets review.

Football success? Two good (but not great) seasons recently after a decade of mid-Sun Belt level football. Not the best candidate. Not the second best candidate either. They aren't Boise. They aren't TCU.

Basketball success? Historically great. But Uconn is better. Cincy isn't bad either. Maybe number 2 there.

Growing population that adds to the conference? Adds a moribund metro to the league. Good recruiting though (Although the SEC currently does and will continue to own that Metro). But Memphis falls behind Uconn, UCF, USF, Houston, Cincy, SDSU, etc. in this analysis.

Reputation fit? Nope. Boise, Uconn, and Cincy would probably do more for the league.

---

You omitted location, which is probably UofM's strongest asset. Memphis, along with Cincinnati are the perfect fits to fill the footprint gap toward WVU (and, as a pair, they bring a 50-year old rivalry).

Memphis is 7 hours from Cincy and at least that far from every single Big XII school.

(02-09-2016 05:34 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(02-09-2016 05:26 PM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  

(02-09-2016 01:41 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  Its entirely possible that the Memphis State President met with the B12. It would also be entirely possible that the Presidents of Uconn, Cincy, San Diego State, BYU, UCF, USF, ECU, Boise, Houston, and USF met with the B12.

Smart conferences keep up with teams.

But that being said, I'd put Memphis behind Uconn, Boise, Cincy, SDSU, BYU, Houston, UCF, and USF in the race for the B12. Lets review.

Football success? Two good (but not great) seasons recently after a decade of mid-Sun Belt level football. Not the best candidate. Not the second best candidate either. They aren't Boise. They aren't TCU.

Basketball success? Historically great. But Uconn is better. Cincy isn't bad either. Maybe number 2 there.

Growing population that adds to the conference? Adds a moribund metro to the league. Good recruiting though (Although the SEC currently does and will continue to own that Metro). But Memphis falls behind Uconn, UCF, USF, Houston, Cincy, SDSU, etc. in this analysis.

Reputation fit? Nope. Boise, Uconn, and Cincy would probably do more for the league.

---

You omitted location, which is probably UofM's strongest asset. Memphis, along with Cincinnati are the perfect fits to fill the footprint gap toward WVU (and, as a pair, they bring a 50-year old rivalry).

Memphis is 7 hours from Cincy and at least that far from every single Big XII school.

Well, that may be true. But you can't underestimate the value of filling footprint gaps. The pilot of their charter can point out Memphis from the left side of the plane as it flies over it on the way to Austin. That's important. Right?

It's a done deal

The XII is a plains conference. None of WV, Memphis or Cincy (or UConn) belong there.

Nothing wrong with preserving a little regionalism in college football!!

Yeah, right. Says a friend of a friend of a friend who knows the Memphis president's secretary that this all happened.

(02-10-2016 10:02 AM)MplsBison Wrote:  The XII is a plains conference. None of WV, Memphis or Cincy (or UConn) belong there.

Nothing wrong with preserving a little regionalism in college football!!

The "plains conference" and "regionalism" went out the window when West Virginia was added. If you want to consider cultural compatibility, there wouldn't be a Texas if it weren't for Crockett and his followers who crossed the river at Memphis headed for the Alamo (while pasty-faced shop-keepers and mechanics in Connecticut sat at home).

(02-09-2016 05:34 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  Memphis is 7 hours from Cincy and at least that far from every single Big XII school.

Average Distance to current Big 12 schools:
BYU 1,182
USF 1,248
UCF 1,226
Cincinnati 826
Uconn 1,516
Memphis 588
Houston 588 (but already inside the footprint)
Tulane 766

588 miles is close enough to occasionally travel to an away game and close enough to have a reasonable chance in recruiting most local players.

(02-10-2016 10:34 AM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 10:02 AM)MplsBison Wrote:  The XII is a plains conference. None of WV, Memphis or Cincy (or UConn) belong there.

Nothing wrong with preserving a little regionalism in college football!!

The "plains conference" and "regionalism" went out the window when West Virginia was added. Come to think of it, former member Colorado wasn't in "the plains" either.

Have you ever been to Colorado?

Yes, Boulder isn't the plains, but the plains don't stop until I-25. If you look east, you would swear the Denver airport was in Kansas.

GA,

So what if WV isn't in the plains, that's how it *should* be! You take the remaining Big 8 schools and the remaining SWC schools, and you call it a day.

(02-10-2016 10:44 AM)MplsBison Wrote:  GA,

So what if WV isn't in the plains, that's how it *should* be! You take the remaining Big 8 schools and the remaining SWC schools, and you call it a day.

As I said, "should be" went out the window with the addition of WVU. Furthermore, conference networks became a factor. The Big XII will not last unless a conference network (which needs more TV markets) is formed. Neither market size nor regionalism should be totally disregarded. Memphis and Cincinnati, besides being perfect geographic fits, provide a compromise between those needs.

The AAC and MWC exist just fine without a conference network.

Perhaps if a XIIN isn't created, OU, Texas and Kansas will leave the conference. But that in no way, shape or form automatically guarantees that the rest of the XII schools will find a place in another P conference.


Therefore, why not stay in the XII, keep the tourny credits and continue to receive a tier I payout from the CFP and take schools from the AAC and MWC?

B is our fisherman.

(02-10-2016 10:34 AM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 10:02 AM)MplsBison Wrote:  The XII is a plains conference. None of WV, Memphis or Cincy (or UConn) belong there.

Nothing wrong with preserving a little regionalism in college football!!

The "plains conference" and "regionalism" went out the window when West Virginia was added. If you want to consider cultural compatibility, there wouldn't be a Texas if it weren't for Crockett and his followers who crossed the river at Memphis headed for the Alamo (while pasty-faced shop-keepers and mechanics in Connecticut sat at home).

Ouch

(02-10-2016 12:26 PM)shere khan Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 10:34 AM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 10:02 AM)MplsBison Wrote:  The XII is a plains conference. None of WV, Memphis or Cincy (or UConn) belong there.

Nothing wrong with preserving a little regionalism in college football!!

The "plains conference" and "regionalism" went out the window when West Virginia was added. If you want to consider cultural compatibility, there wouldn't be a Texas if it weren't for Crockett and his followers who crossed the river at Memphis headed for the Alamo (while pasty-faced shop-keepers and mechanics in Connecticut sat at home).

Ouch

(02-10-2016 11:00 AM)MplsBison Wrote:  The AAC and MWC exist just fine without a conference network.

Perhaps if a XIIN isn't created, OU, Texas and Kansas will leave the conference. But that in no way, shape or form automatically guarantees that the rest of the XII schools will find a place in another P conference.


Therefore, why not stay in the XII, keep the tourny credits and continue to receive a tier I payout from the CFP and take schools from the AAC and MWC?

I wouldn't say that the AAC and MWC are doing just fine. Both conferences are actually in a lot of trouble, and you can see that by how AAC members want out and how MWC members are pissy about their TV deal.