Seems to me it would be a good idea. I’d like to see GCU and NMSU in the MW with all sports including football.
I’d think UNM and NMSU would profit recruiting-wise with MW footprint including Phoenix area.
Forget WCC. Start football and bang on Hair Thompson’s door with NMSU as 14th football member.
A feasibility study was completed back in the D2 days & it has been a consistent "hard pass" on football from University leadership ever since. Football would require too much capital to launch, too much time to reach financial break-even, and necessitate blowing up an otherwise stable and healthy athletic department. Very little has changed since
this 2016 article, where Pres. Mueller expressed where GCU stands on starting football:
"We are not in the place that we want everything else to sacrifice to have that one thing (i.e. football),” Mueller said. “There are a lot of schools that have done really well without football like the Big East schools like Marquette, Seton Hall, Villanova. (Also) Gonzaga, St. Mary’s. They are all schools that have built really good athletic programs without football.”
Coupled with the long-term outlook for the game as a whole, which isn't very good given declining youth and high school participation rates, a new football start-up just doesn't make a lot of sense. GCU is more than content with its current 21 Division I varsity teams and thriving club sports program.
(06-22-2019 03:08 AM)gleadley Wrote: [ -> ]A feasibility study was completed back in the D2 days & it has been a consistent "hard pass" on football from University leadership ever since. Football would require too much capital to launch, too much time to reach financial break-even, and necessitate blowing up an otherwise stable and healthy athletic department. Very little has changed since this 2016 article, where Pres. Mueller expressed where GCU stands on starting football:
"We are not in the place that we want everything else to sacrifice to have that one thing (i.e. football),” Mueller said. “There are a lot of schools that have done really well without football like the Big East schools like Marquette, Seton Hall, Villanova. (Also) Gonzaga, St. Mary’s. They are all schools that have built really good athletic programs without football.”
Coupled with the long-term outlook for the game as a whole, which isn't very good given declining youth and high school participation rates, a new football start-up just doesn't make a lot of sense. GCU is more than content with its current 21 Division I varsity teams and thriving club sports program.
Good to know. Thanks. And you killed my thread in one swoop. LOL