(06-25-2019 08:32 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(06-24-2019 07:47 PM)Pervis_Griffith Wrote:  

(06-24-2019 06:43 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  The top choice is ODU with a larger tv market, better recruits for basketball, and is a new state.

UAB is out of the picture. Nobody wants them because of the BoT are too much tide into U. of Alabama. BoT will try and kill all of UAB's sports so that they do not climb up to the next level.

Time to compare UAB and Old Dominion.


1. FOOTBALL STADIUM

Old Dominion football facility ... seats 22,480.

UAB just broke ground on a new downtown football stadium, set to open in time for the 2021 season, seating 45,000.

Advantage UAB.


2. ALABAMA TRUSTEES

Supposedly, this is a weak spot for UAB. Well ... read the press release:

Bonds to support the $300 million BJCC stadium and renovation of the existing arena were priced and sold on Tuesday, clearing the way for the new 45,000 seat stadium and upgrades to the BJCC campus. The bond sale is scheduled to close Aug. 7.

The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees unanimously approved the lease agreement between the UAB Department of Athletics and the BJCC that is set to begin during the 2021 football season. The stadium will be located in the Uptown district as part of this $300 million project being taken on by the BJCC to renovate the arena and build a state-of-the-art, open-air football facility.


So ... UNANIMOUS ... ALABAMA BOARD OF TRUSTEES ... $300 million dollar project to build a new stadium .... your assertion about Alabama trustees yanking the rug out from under UAB appears to be pretty weak.



3. ON THE FIELD PLAY

The two years they have shared a conference, they haven't played head-to-head (they do this fall though). Here are the standings in those two years:

2018 - UAB 7 - 1 in conference, and champs. 11 - 3 overall.
2018 - ODU 2 - 6 in conference, and 4 - 8 overall.

2017 - UAB 6 - 2 in conference, 8 - 5 overall
2017 - ODU 3 - 5 in conference, 5 - 7 overall

https://conferenceusa.com/standings.aspx?standings=71


UAB has clearly been the better team the past two years.


4. MARKET SIZE

Birmingham Alabama ... ranks 43rd
Norfolk - Portsmouth - Newport News .... ranks 44th

https://newsgeneration.com/broadcast-res...o-markets/

Negligible difference ... they're the freakin' same.


5. SCHOOL SIZE - ENDOWMENT

UAB - 21,193 - $495.3 million
ODU - 24,670 - $240.9 million

Again .. negligible differences. Although university presidents like those endowments as a testament to university strength.


6. HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL RECRUITING

This map shows % of high school football players recruited by division I programs ... Alabama comes in at 5%. Virginia 5.6%.

https://twitter.com/NCAAResearch/status/...97/photo/1

This stat shows Alabama with 14 blue chip recruits, to Virginia's 11.

https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...e-rankings


So ... call it another wash. They are about the same. UAB is in the most populated part of it's state. ODU is in a bigger state, but doubtful it has the recruiting reach into the most dense parts of it.




In the end though ...

... UAB is building a bigger football stadium.
... UAB is geographically in the center of the AAC footprint.
... UAB is playing better football, having just won the conference championship.
... UAB re-signed their football coach for the next couple of years. He's never coached outside the state of Alabama ... and may be waiting for the Auburn gig to open up.



UAB is just a better option -- right now -- than Old Dominion.

What do you see in UAB or ODU that says "P6 Brand" to you?

I mean you've got a school that took $1.3 million to go to Liberty and a school that was once audited by the city because they thought they were getting shorted on ticket revenue.

God bless Birmingham for rallying after they got screwed but unless something changes UAB is under a hard cap by the university system for athletic spending. Two good programs but they sure don't fit the P6 branding effort of AAC, in fact outside of BYU, Army and the upper part of MWC, their ain't no P6 branding compatible candidates in 2019.

"P6 Brand" ..... really? There's like 6 schools total, that fit the P6 Brand. That's still a punch line to the rest of the country.

We're talking about replacing a crap-tastic football program in UConn.

No Mountain West School will jump to join the AAC.
BYU will not jump to join the AAC.
Army will not join ANY conference. They tried that, and discovered it doesn't fit them ... at all.

Of the remaining G5 conferences, CUSA, Sun Belt, and MAC .... take the highest rated champion that fits the rest of the AAC best.

That's UAB. Throw in ... Brand spanking new football stadium being constructed right now. 45,000 seats. In the heart of Alabama in a city that watches college football more than any other in the country. Rivalry with Memphis. Former conference mate with several in the AAC.

AAC should add UAB and be happy they can. It's an instant upgrade over UConn.

And don't discount the University of Phoenix or Southern New Hampshire University either - both fit the AAC profile to a tee and, unlike UConn, they're in the business of making money.

Rice should be a lock to get in when Houston gets out otherwise can’t see them getting a bid. Pretty easy fix with UAB add:

Temple, Cincinnati, ECU, UAB, USF, UCF

Navy, Tulsa, smu, Houston, Tulane, Memphis

I would have open invites to army, Air Force and BYU for football only with VCU, St. Louis and Dayton being the offset. At most you could need 1 more all sports to get to 16, ODU ?

(06-25-2019 12:46 PM)Pervis_Griffith Wrote:  "P6 Brand" ..... really? There's like 6 schools total, that fit the P6 Brand. That's still a punch line to the rest of the country.

We're talking about replacing a crap-tastic football program in UConn.

No Mountain West School will jump to join the AAC.
BYU will not jump to join the AAC.
Army will not join ANY conference. They tried that, and discovered it doesn't fit them ... at all.

Of the remaining G5 conferences, CUSA, Sun Belt, and MAC .... take the highest rated champion that fits the rest of the AAC best.

That's UAB. Throw in ... Brand spanking new football stadium being constructed right now. 45,000 seats. In the heart of Alabama in a city that watches college football more than any other in the country. Rivalry with Memphis. Former conference mate with several in the AAC.

AAC should add UAB and be happy they can. It's an instant upgrade over UConn.

I say this as someone who donated to a UAB fund after the disbandment happened, you can not trust that the Alabama BOT won't try to pull some nonsense again in the future. The fact that they even made it back as a program and have had the success they've had is amazing, but the number of times they've tried to pull nonsense to kill UAB athletics is too numerous to count. Whenever I think that the UNC BOT has it out for ECU I always think to myself at least it's not as bad as what UAB deals with. As for who the AAC is going to add it's probably no one. I think there are slightly better odds than you do of one of the group of BYU, Army, or Air Force joining, but gun to my head I say none join, and no one else moves the needle at all. I don't see any reason ESPN wants to pay any school from the MAC/Sun Belt, who's content they pretty much own for nothing, near 7 million a year just to change patches on the jersey. I also don't see ESPN having any urge to pay near 7 million a year for any current C-USA school when their entire TV deal isn't worth that per year in total.

(06-25-2019 12:38 PM)esayem Wrote:  

(06-25-2019 12:28 PM)bluesox Wrote:  Yeah espn will tell them what to do and pay for it. I’d start with kicking the tires on :

Army football only
Air Force football only maybe wcc for others
BYU football only

Accept all 3 if they will jump

As for all sports, I’d start and finish with UAB. New football stadium, university fit and strong football ratings market

Army - no, they prefer to play against student athletes and would have to cancel a ton of games

Air Force - no, they like their regional identity and aren't sacrificing their Olympic sports

BYU - no, they would have to cancel a ton of games and independence suits them

UAB wouldn't be bad, and they are actually located in a central position.

BUT BUT BUT, who is an academic heavyweight (Tulane, SMU, Navy, and Tulsa's collective ears perk up), has three Trophy Games with current members (Houston, SMU, and Tulsa are listening intently), and brings an elite, national title winning baseball program???

And who’s living alumni base fits inside their stadium? (When the tarps are off)

(06-25-2019 01:28 PM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote:  

(06-25-2019 12:46 PM)Pervis_Griffith Wrote:  "P6 Brand" ..... really? There's like 6 schools total, that fit the P6 Brand. That's still a punch line to the rest of the country.

We're talking about replacing a crap-tastic football program in UConn.

No Mountain West School will jump to join the AAC.
BYU will not jump to join the AAC.
Army will not join ANY conference. They tried that, and discovered it doesn't fit them ... at all.

Of the remaining G5 conferences, CUSA, Sun Belt, and MAC .... take the highest rated champion that fits the rest of the AAC best.

That's UAB. Throw in ... Brand spanking new football stadium being constructed right now. 45,000 seats. In the heart of Alabama in a city that watches college football more than any other in the country. Rivalry with Memphis. Former conference mate with several in the AAC.

AAC should add UAB and be happy they can. It's an instant upgrade over UConn.

I say this as someone who donated to a UAB fund after the disbandment happened, you can not trust that the Alabama BOT won't try to pull some nonsense again in the future. The fact that they even made it back as a program and have had the success they've had is amazing, but the number of times they've tried to pull nonsense to kill UAB athletics is too numerous to count. Whenever I think that the UNC BOT has it out for ECU I always think to myself at least it's not as bad as what UAB deals with. As for who the AAC is going to add it's probably no one. I think there are slightly better odds than you do of one of the group of BYU, Army, or Air Force joining, but gun to my head I say none join, and no one else moves the needle at all. I don't see any reason ESPN wants to pay any school from the MAC/Sun Belt, who's content they pretty much own for nothing, near 7 million a year just to change patches on the jersey. I also don't see ESPN having any urge to pay near 7 million a year for any current C-USA school when their entire TV deal isn't worth that per year in total.

I think ESPN wants the full 12 team AAC. The more teams, the more fan bases, the more ESPN+ subscriptions. My guess is they tell the AAC---add a 12th or get your deal cut. Im sure they have a list of teams that they would prefer....lol----and Im sure the AAC will do as its told.

(06-25-2019 01:36 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(06-25-2019 01:28 PM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote:  

(06-25-2019 12:46 PM)Pervis_Griffith Wrote:  "P6 Brand" ..... really? There's like 6 schools total, that fit the P6 Brand. That's still a punch line to the rest of the country.

We're talking about replacing a crap-tastic football program in UConn.

No Mountain West School will jump to join the AAC.
BYU will not jump to join the AAC.
Army will not join ANY conference. They tried that, and discovered it doesn't fit them ... at all.

Of the remaining G5 conferences, CUSA, Sun Belt, and MAC .... take the highest rated champion that fits the rest of the AAC best.

That's UAB. Throw in ... Brand spanking new football stadium being constructed right now. 45,000 seats. In the heart of Alabama in a city that watches college football more than any other in the country. Rivalry with Memphis. Former conference mate with several in the AAC.

AAC should add UAB and be happy they can. It's an instant upgrade over UConn.

I say this as someone who donated to a UAB fund after the disbandment happened, you can not trust that the Alabama BOT won't try to pull some nonsense again in the future. The fact that they even made it back as a program and have had the success they've had is amazing, but the number of times they've tried to pull nonsense to kill UAB athletics is too numerous to count. Whenever I think that the UNC BOT has it out for ECU I always think to myself at least it's not as bad as what UAB deals with. As for who the AAC is going to add it's probably no one. I think there are slightly better odds than you do of one of the group of BYU, Army, or Air Force joining, but gun to my head I say none join, and no one else moves the needle at all. I don't see any reason ESPN wants to pay any school from the MAC/Sun Belt, who's content they pretty much own for nothing, near 7 million a year just to change patches on the jersey. I also don't see ESPN having any urge to pay near 7 million a year for any current C-USA school when their entire TV deal isn't worth that per year in total.

I think ESPN wants the full 12 team AAC. The more teams, the more fan bases, the more ESPN+ subscriptions. My guess is they tell the AAC---add a 12th or get your deal cut. Im sure they have a list of teams that they would prefer....lol----and Im sure the AAC will do as its told.

That only makes sense if it's a team from a league ESPN doesn't already own. MAC and Sun-Belt they already have whatever ESPN+ subscriptions there are from those fan bases under contract for nothing. Don't see what benefit there is for ESPN to move a team from one wholly owned league to another. That leaves you C-USA schools, MWC schools, or the Independents. I highly doubt ESPN has the urge to pay the AAC that much per school to add any C-USA team. Maybe I'm wrong and they think UAB/ODU/whoever would generate enough ESPN+ subscribers to make it worth paying them more per year than all of C-USA currently gets, but I find that doubtful. I'm not saying the AAC won't "do what it's told" just that I can't imagine that ESPN values any of C-USA enough to tell them to take a team from there. Now what follows the ESPN realignment playbook perfectly is to take from a league who's TV deal is about to expire and thinks they are about to get a raise, put them in a league who they already have under contract, and crush the other leagues value. That's ESPN expansion 101 right there.

(06-25-2019 01:33 PM)1845 Bear Wrote:  

(06-25-2019 12:38 PM)esayem Wrote:  

(06-25-2019 12:28 PM)bluesox Wrote:  Yeah espn will tell them what to do and pay for it. I’d start with kicking the tires on :

Army football only
Air Force football only maybe wcc for others
BYU football only

Accept all 3 if they will jump

As for all sports, I’d start and finish with UAB. New football stadium, university fit and strong football ratings market

Army - no, they prefer to play against student athletes and would have to cancel a ton of games

Air Force - no, they like their regional identity and aren't sacrificing their Olympic sports

BYU - no, they would have to cancel a ton of games and independence suits them

UAB wouldn't be bad, and they are actually located in a central position.

BUT BUT BUT, who is an academic heavyweight (Tulane, SMU, Navy, and Tulsa's collective ears perk up), has three Trophy Games with current members (Houston, SMU, and Tulsa are listening intently), and brings an elite, national title winning baseball program???

And who’s living alumni base fits inside their stadium? (When the tarps are off)

Um, who cares? I don't think the AAC shares gate revenue, bub.

(06-25-2019 03:20 PM)esayem Wrote:  

(06-25-2019 01:33 PM)1845 Bear Wrote:  

(06-25-2019 12:38 PM)esayem Wrote:  

(06-25-2019 12:28 PM)bluesox Wrote:  Yeah espn will tell them what to do and pay for it. I’d start with kicking the tires on :

Army football only
Air Force football only maybe wcc for others
BYU football only

Accept all 3 if they will jump

As for all sports, I’d start and finish with UAB. New football stadium, university fit and strong football ratings market

Army - no, they prefer to play against student athletes and would have to cancel a ton of games

Air Force - no, they like their regional identity and aren't sacrificing their Olympic sports

BYU - no, they would have to cancel a ton of games and independence suits them

UAB wouldn't be bad, and they are actually located in a central position.

BUT BUT BUT, who is an academic heavyweight (Tulane, SMU, Navy, and Tulsa's collective ears perk up), has three Trophy Games with current members (Houston, SMU, and Tulsa are listening intently), and brings an elite, national title winning baseball program???

And who’s living alumni base fits inside their stadium? (When the tarps are off)

Um, who cares? I don't think the AAC shares gate revenue, bub.

1- It was meant tongue in cheek (although it is accurate)
2- Living alumni can impact television viewership as fewer diehards are likely to be there if you aren’t a historical brand beyond a certain point. Basically fewer that tune in when the chips are down and more reliant on the bandwagon.

(06-25-2019 03:37 PM)1845 Bear Wrote:  

(06-25-2019 03:20 PM)esayem Wrote:  

(06-25-2019 01:33 PM)1845 Bear Wrote:  

(06-25-2019 12:38 PM)esayem Wrote:  

(06-25-2019 12:28 PM)bluesox Wrote:  Yeah espn will tell them what to do and pay for it. I’d start with kicking the tires on :

Army football only
Air Force football only maybe wcc for others
BYU football only

Accept all 3 if they will jump

As for all sports, I’d start and finish with UAB. New football stadium, university fit and strong football ratings market

Army - no, they prefer to play against student athletes and would have to cancel a ton of games

Air Force - no, they like their regional identity and aren't sacrificing their Olympic sports

BYU - no, they would have to cancel a ton of games and independence suits them

UAB wouldn't be bad, and they are actually located in a central position.

BUT BUT BUT, who is an academic heavyweight (Tulane, SMU, Navy, and Tulsa's collective ears perk up), has three Trophy Games with current members (Houston, SMU, and Tulsa are listening intently), and brings an elite, national title winning baseball program???

And who’s living alumni base fits inside their stadium? (When the tarps are off)

Um, who cares? I don't think the AAC shares gate revenue, bub.

1- It was meant tongue in cheek (although it is accurate)
2- Living alumni can impact television viewership as fewer diehards are likely to be there if you aren’t a historical brand beyond a certain point. Basically fewer that tune in when the chips are down and more reliant on the bandwagon.

Yeah, well none of that matters in this situation because any difference between UAB fans and Rice fans or ODU fans or USM fans is negligible. Rice is the best school with the most money. Just my educated guess. Plus, they're in the state the conference office is.

1. BYU
2. Army
3. Stay at 11 teams

(06-25-2019 03:50 PM)ArmoredUpKnight Wrote:  1. BYU
2. Army
3. Stay at 11 teams

Good call.

(06-25-2019 01:28 PM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote:  I say this as someone who donated to a UAB fund after the disbandment happened, you can not trust that the Alabama BOT won't try to pull some nonsense again in the future. The fact that they even made it back as a program and have had the success they've had is amazing, but the number of times they've tried to pull nonsense to kill UAB athletics is too numerous to count. Whenever I think that the UNC BOT has it out for ECU I always think to myself at least it's not as bad as what UAB deals with. As for who the AAC is going to add it's probably no one. I think there are slightly better odds than you do of one of the group of BYU, Army, or Air Force joining, but gun to my head I say none join, and no one else moves the needle at all. I don't see any reason ESPN wants to pay any school from the MAC/Sun Belt, who's content they pretty much own for nothing, near 7 million a year just to change patches on the jersey. I also don't see ESPN having any urge to pay near 7 million a year for any current C-USA school when their entire TV deal isn't worth that per year in total.

I could see this.

(06-25-2019 01:36 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  I think ESPN wants the full 12 team AAC. The more teams, the more fan bases, the more ESPN+ subscriptions. My guess is they tell the AAC---add a 12th or get your deal cut. Im sure they have a list of teams that they would prefer....lol----and Im sure the AAC will do as its told.

I could see this too.

Who knows what will happen.

I'm just shocked that UConn quit like this. 5 years ago, they were right there for membership in the ACC. It's crazy.

But this move ..... dooms football. Absolutely dooms it. Playing as an independent? Can't see that improving things to the point the Big Ten finally comes calling.

So not only is UConn giving up on football ...... they're giving up on EVER finding their way to a P5 conference.

(06-25-2019 12:46 PM)YNot Wrote:  I'm in with the following:

BYU, Boise State, and Sand Diego State for all sports; Gonzaga (and VCU) for Olympic sports.

WEST: BYU, Boise, SDSU, Tulsa, SMU, Houston, Memphis
EAST: Temple, Navy, Cincinnati, ECU, UCF, USF, Tulane

8-game schedule using the 6-2 format.

I'd rather BYU play Houston and Memphis rather than Baylor and Minnesota anyway, and especially if those are conference games.

I think this 14-team expanded AAC could solidify the following bowl lineup:

Fenway Bowl v. ACC
Holiday Bowl v. PAC [or Los Angeles Bowl v. PAC]
Birmingham Bowl v. SEC
Military Bowl v. ACC
Gasparilla Bowl v. SEC
Armed Forces or First Responders Bowl v. B12
Hawaii Bowl v. MWC
Cure Bowl v. CUSA/MAC
Frisco Bowl v. Sun Belt/CUSA/MWC


Olympic sports:
BYU, Boise, SDSU, Gonzaga, Wichita, Tulsa, SMU, Houston
Memphis, Tulane, UCF, USF, VCU, ECU, Cincinnati, Temple

Regional scheduling for annual home-away opponents. No more than one 2-game East-West road trip for any team per season. 4-6 bid conference.

Don't think the NCAA and ESPN want to kill off the Mountain West Conference.

Lol

Rinse,. Repeat
..a.LOT

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

(06-25-2019 03:58 PM)Pervis_Griffith Wrote:  Who knows what will happen.

I'm just shocked that UConn quit like this. 5 years ago, they were right there for membership in the ACC. It's crazy.

But this move ..... dooms football. Absolutely dooms it. Playing as an independent? Can't see that improving things to the point the Big Ten finally comes calling.

So not only is UConn giving up on football ...... they're giving up on EVER finding their way to a P5 conference.

To be fair, they never really had much of a chance to begin with. This is just them finally accepting reality.

(06-25-2019 03:55 PM)Pervis_Griffith Wrote:  

(06-25-2019 01:28 PM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote:  I say this as someone who donated to a UAB fund after the disbandment happened, you can not trust that the Alabama BOT won't try to pull some nonsense again in the future. The fact that they even made it back as a program and have had the success they've had is amazing, but the number of times they've tried to pull nonsense to kill UAB athletics is too numerous to count. Whenever I think that the UNC BOT has it out for ECU I always think to myself at least it's not as bad as what UAB deals with. As for who the AAC is going to add it's probably no one. I think there are slightly better odds than you do of one of the group of BYU, Army, or Air Force joining, but gun to my head I say none join, and no one else moves the needle at all. I don't see any reason ESPN wants to pay any school from the MAC/Sun Belt, who's content they pretty much own for nothing, near 7 million a year just to change patches on the jersey. I also don't see ESPN having any urge to pay near 7 million a year for any current C-USA school when their entire TV deal isn't worth that per year in total.

I could see this.

Not an expert on this but I believe when a new school comes into a conference it doesn't get a full share for a few years.

For example:
Year 1---new school doesn't get anything
Year 2---new school gets 2 million
Year 3---new school gets 3.5 million
etc

(06-25-2019 01:36 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(06-25-2019 01:28 PM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote:  

(06-25-2019 12:46 PM)Pervis_Griffith Wrote:  "P6 Brand" ..... really? There's like 6 schools total, that fit the P6 Brand. That's still a punch line to the rest of the country.

We're talking about replacing a crap-tastic football program in UConn.

No Mountain West School will jump to join the AAC.
BYU will not jump to join the AAC.
Army will not join ANY conference. They tried that, and discovered it doesn't fit them ... at all.

Of the remaining G5 conferences, CUSA, Sun Belt, and MAC .... take the highest rated champion that fits the rest of the AAC best.

That's UAB. Throw in ... Brand spanking new football stadium being constructed right now. 45,000 seats. In the heart of Alabama in a city that watches college football more than any other in the country. Rivalry with Memphis. Former conference mate with several in the AAC.

AAC should add UAB and be happy they can. It's an instant upgrade over UConn.

I say this as someone who donated to a UAB fund after the disbandment happened, you can not trust that the Alabama BOT won't try to pull some nonsense again in the future. The fact that they even made it back as a program and have had the success they've had is amazing, but the number of times they've tried to pull nonsense to kill UAB athletics is too numerous to count. Whenever I think that the UNC BOT has it out for ECU I always think to myself at least it's not as bad as what UAB deals with. As for who the AAC is going to add it's probably no one. I think there are slightly better odds than you do of one of the group of BYU, Army, or Air Force joining, but gun to my head I say none join, and no one else moves the needle at all. I don't see any reason ESPN wants to pay any school from the MAC/Sun Belt, who's content they pretty much own for nothing, near 7 million a year just to change patches on the jersey. I also don't see ESPN having any urge to pay near 7 million a year for any current C-USA school when their entire TV deal isn't worth that per year in total.

I think ESPN wants the full 12 team AAC. The more teams, the more fan bases, the more ESPN+ subscriptions. My guess is they tell the AAC---add a 12th or get your deal cut. Im sure they have a list of teams that they would prefer....lol----and Im sure the AAC will do as its told.

EXACTLY! Some folks seem to think ESPN wont stick their nose in like they haven't been paying attention to any college realignment for the last 15 years.