...that being Houston & D-FW (UNT) & do all we can to gain admission to the more prestigious Mountain West Conference. CUSA has become a Sun Belt 2.0.

The MWC commissioner talks about bringing in the "Tex-4" ( Rice, North Texas, UTEP & UTSA) for a MWC expansion.

Re-alignment will happen & our 4 Texas CUSA schools don't need to be left at the train station when it does. Rice officials would be most vital in making this MWC scenario happen.

• My first college football game ever to attend was at Rice Stadium with Jess Neely's Rice Owls hosting Baylor. Been hooked on college football ever since!

Sure, sounds like an upgrade to me.

12 of the 13 current members are former conference mates of ours. Half of those left us to form the MWC.
The other half we left to join C-USA.

We've always had a conference mate in DFW area and as a DFW area fan I've enjoyed the games at UNT.

Sounds like a great idea. Get the four schools to pitch it as a unit. The Texas four plus New Mexico, Air Force, Colo St, and Wyoming in one division, the Utah, Idaho, Nevada, California, and Hawaii schools in the other. Other than maybe getting to Laramie, travel wouldn't be bad. The other division would clearly be the West, not sure we'd really fit the Mountain label. Since the dividing line would pretty much be the continental divide, perhaps we could call them Atlantic and Pacific.

Failing that, I would favor CUSA and Sunbelt realigning along geographic lines. The Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and perhaps Alabama schools in one conference, the eastern schools together in the other. Call one CUSA and the other Sunbelt. For NCAA basketball tournament purposes, might have to set it up so that each keeps at least six of its old members. Saves travel and gives an opportunity for more natural rivalries to grow.

Have to do one of these ideas or AAC. Current CUSA conference situation is unsustainable.