DavidSt shows an almost odd "pro-Boise" and "anti-SMU" bent. But (and maybe I'm wrong), he does not seem the type to purposely troll (though many of us, myself included and maybe DavidSt, can unwittingly troll).

(02-19-2023 03:37 AM)BePcr07 Wrote:  Assumed but not rumored:

Massachusetts, Akron, Liberty, and Florida International are also not being considered by the PAC.

Sources?

(02-19-2023 11:21 AM)gosports1 Wrote:  

(02-19-2023 03:37 AM)BePcr07 Wrote:  Assumed but not rumored:

Massachusetts, Akron, Liberty, and Florida International are also not being considered by the PAC.

Sources?

Sources that they are assumed to be out of the running, or sources that they are not rumored to be out of the running?

I do indeed assume that PAC expansion will not entail an invite to a current MAC school. The source of that is "it is an assumption I make".

(02-19-2023 01:36 AM)TeamRamRod1 Wrote:  Shocking they don't want a school that's sucked at everything since the beginning of time

Well Rice does have a recent NCAA baseball title. They have been in the Cotton, Sugar and Orange Bowls. They were in one of the most memorable plays of all time in a game where they beat Alabama (Alabama player came off the bench to tackle a Rice runner. Rice was given the TD). They had a Super Bowl played in their stadium. It had 70,000 great seats. It was that big because before the NFL came to town, Rice was a big deal.

And academically, they are often referred to as the Harvard of the South.

(02-19-2023 11:34 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(02-19-2023 01:36 AM)TeamRamRod1 Wrote:  Shocking they don't want a school that's sucked at everything since the beginning of time

Well Rice does have a recent NCAA baseball title. They have been in the Cotton, Sugar and Orange Bowls. They were in one of the most memorable plays of all time in a game where they beat Alabama (Alabama player came off the bench to tackle a Rice runner. Rice was given the TD). They had a Super Bowl played in their stadium. It had 70,000 great seats. It was that big because before the NFL came to town, Rice was a big deal.

And academically, they are often referred to as the Harvard of the South.

What investments has Rice made in athletics over the past quarter century? Are they even trying to be competitive?

(02-19-2023 11:38 AM)World Wide Swag Wrote:  

(02-19-2023 11:34 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(02-19-2023 01:36 AM)TeamRamRod1 Wrote:  Shocking they don't want a school that's sucked at everything since the beginning of time

Well Rice does have a recent NCAA baseball title. They have been in the Cotton, Sugar and Orange Bowls. They were in one of the most memorable plays of all time in a game where they beat Alabama (Alabama player came off the bench to tackle a Rice runner. Rice was given the TD). They had a Super Bowl played in their stadium. It had 70,000 great seats. It was that big because before the NFL came to town, Rice was a big deal.

And academically, they are often referred to as the Harvard of the South.

What investments has Rice made in athletics over the past quarter century? Are they even trying to be competitive?

Lots of renovations to Rice stadium. Think they just renovated the track, but I'm not sure of that. Their baseball field was built during that time frame. Its one of the top college fields. They also renovated and renamed the basketball arena. Like SMU, they've moved up from WAC to CUSA to AAC. They had one of the top G5 budgets outside the AAC.

They've also doubled their student enrollment over the last 25-30 years.

(02-19-2023 12:07 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(02-19-2023 11:38 AM)World Wide Swag Wrote:  

(02-19-2023 11:34 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(02-19-2023 01:36 AM)TeamRamRod1 Wrote:  Shocking they don't want a school that's sucked at everything since the beginning of time

Well Rice does have a recent NCAA baseball title. They have been in the Cotton, Sugar and Orange Bowls. They were in one of the most memorable plays of all time in a game where they beat Alabama (Alabama player came off the bench to tackle a Rice runner. Rice was given the TD). They had a Super Bowl played in their stadium. It had 70,000 great seats. It was that big because before the NFL came to town, Rice was a big deal.

And academically, they are often referred to as the Harvard of the South.

What investments has Rice made in athletics over the past quarter century? Are they even trying to be competitive?

Lots of renovations to Rice stadium. Think they just renovated the track, but I'm not sure of that. Their baseball field was built during that time frame. Its one of the top college fields. They also renovated and renamed the basketball arena. Like SMU, they've moved up from WAC to CUSA to AAC. They had one of the top G5 budgets outside the AAC.

Thanks for the updated info about Rice athletics and noting the Rice national title in baseball (2003).

Rice athletics collectively (though not stellar by any means) are likely better than some on this board realize.

(02-19-2023 12:07 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(02-19-2023 11:38 AM)World Wide Swag Wrote:  

(02-19-2023 11:34 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(02-19-2023 01:36 AM)TeamRamRod1 Wrote:  Shocking they don't want a school that's sucked at everything since the beginning of time

Well Rice does have a recent NCAA baseball title. They have been in the Cotton, Sugar and Orange Bowls. They were in one of the most memorable plays of all time in a game where they beat Alabama (Alabama player came off the bench to tackle a Rice runner. Rice was given the TD). They had a Super Bowl played in their stadium. It had 70,000 great seats. It was that big because before the NFL came to town, Rice was a big deal.

And academically, they are often referred to as the Harvard of the South.

What investments has Rice made in athletics over the past quarter century? Are they even trying to be competitive?

Lots of renovations to Rice stadium. Think they just renovated the track, but I'm not sure of that. Their baseball field was built during that time frame. Its one of the top college fields. They also renovated and renamed the basketball arena. Like SMU, they've moved up from WAC to CUSA to AAC. They had one of the top G5 budgets outside the AAC.

We also built a new tennis facility, and indoor practice facility, and a new pool in that time frame.

Rice wasn’t under serious consideration.

(02-19-2023 04:42 AM)esayem Wrote:  This tells me Rice was under consideration, but no longer is.

David St: didn't you see the article posted earlier about how Boise has no shot?

My guess is that this all happened before the Pac12 Commish visited SMU! It would seem that the PAC is expanding by 2. (SMU & SDSU)

It must be crushing to Ore, Wash, Utah, etc that the potential new schools include Rice, Boise & Fresno. It can be really tough when you think you are part of the elite & then the only folks who will join your club are people you have always looked down on. I was impressed when the ACC admitted Louisville - Louisville sports are outstanding but I thought the ACC schools were too full of themselves. The ACC adapted and the conference is still alive. Pac is deciding if they will adapt.

The thing is that Rice has the two big positive attributes for the top levels of conference realignment that schools largely can’t control: large market location and elite academic reputation.

Of course, the athletic value still matters. I talk about academics as much as anyone, but rest assured I have never intimated at academics *alone* could get a school into a P5 level. Instead, low-rated academics are more of a first level disqualifier for the leagues that care about it - namely the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC - as opposed to leagues caring about getting the best academic schools possible. A school still needs a certain level of athletic value.

The question is whether Rice could get there. At least to me, there’s no reason why they *can’t* - they have money and a huge market location. There’s zero reason why Tulane could get to a NY6 bowl while Rice can’t based on institutional profile. Whether Rice *will* get there is another matter. IMHO, if Rice simply had the athletic budget and NIL commitments that SMU has (much less any actual high level accomplishments in football or basketball), I think they’d be almost a shoe-in for the Pac-12.

If I’m running Rice, I would think that I’d *want* that investment here. Putting aside competition for athletes, getting into a P5 league gets them into that rarefied air of super-elite academic schools that also are at the top level of athletics - Stanford, Duke, Northwestern, Vandy - and that’s worth a ton in this educational marketplace. We’ll see how Rice approaches this going forward.

(02-19-2023 01:36 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  The thing is that Rice has the two big positive attributes for the top levels of conference realignment that schools largely can’t control: large market location and elite academic reputation.

Of course, the athletic value still matters. I talk about academics as much as anyone, but rest assured I have never intimated at academics *alone* could get a school into a P5 level. Instead, low-rated academics are more of a first level disqualifier for the leagues that care about it - namely the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC - as opposed to leagues caring about getting the best academic schools possible. A school still needs a certain level of athletic value.

The question is whether Rice could get there. At least to me, there’s no reason why they *can’t* - they have money and a huge market location. There’s zero reason why Tulane could get to a NY6 bowl while Rice can’t based on institutional profile. Whether Rice *will* get there is another matter. IMHO, if Rice simply had the athletic budget and NIL commitments that SMU has (much less any actual high level accomplishments in football or basketball), I think they’d be almost a shoe-in for the Pac-12.

If I’m running Rice, I would think that I’d *want* that investment here. Putting aside competition for athletes, getting into a P5 league gets them into that rarefied air of super-elite academic schools that also are at the top level of athletics - Stanford, Duke, Northwestern, Vandy - and that’s worth a ton in this educational marketplace. We’ll see how Rice approaches this going forward.

Agreed. What they're lacking is relatively the easy part and within their control. Throw a bunch of money at it. Buy good coaches, upgrade facilities, work out the NIL and in 5-10 years they're likely on the PAC short list. It's a question of if their alums want it and if the leadership can focalize the energy in the right places.

(02-19-2023 11:34 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(02-19-2023 01:36 AM)TeamRamRod1 Wrote:  Shocking they don't want a school that's sucked at everything since the beginning of time

Well Rice does have a recent NCAA baseball title. They have been in the Cotton, Sugar and Orange Bowls. They were in one of the most memorable plays of all time in a game where they beat Alabama (Alabama player came off the bench to tackle a Rice runner. Rice was given the TD). They had a Super Bowl played in their stadium. It had 70,000 great seats. It was that big because before the NFL came to town, Rice was a big deal.

And academically, they are often referred to as the Harvard of the South.

20 years ago is recent? Also the stadium has been 47,000 for years now.