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+---- Thread: Will the WAC will ever return to FBS? (/thread-920005.html)
Will the WAC will ever return to FBS? - SMUstang - 04-03-2021 08:31 AM
The WAC seems to be expanding at present. Given the timing, in 10 years, who knows what might happen?
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will overtake CUSA and the SBC in the future? - ChrisLords - 04-03-2021 08:38 AM
No. The WAC will never overtake CUSA or the Sunbelt.
Yes. They will probably have FBS football again before it's all over.
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will overtake CUSA and the SBC in the future? - ken d - 04-03-2021 08:46 AM
Yes, but not until it has been proven that pigs can fly.
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will overtake CUSA and the SBC in the future? - whittx - 04-03-2021 08:54 AM
It is possible. Anything is possible. It is, however, highly improbable to the point where short of half of CUSA and the Sun Belt losing accreditation, it's not happening.
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will overtake CUSA and the SBC in the future? - goodknightfl - 04-03-2021 09:16 AM
Not in the next 10 to 20 years.
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will overtake CUSA and the SBC in the future? - Bobcat2013 - 04-03-2021 09:25 AM
(04-03-2021 08:31 AM)SMUstang Wrote: A lot of low budget “move up” schools have had to or are considering dropping sports due to the pandemic. All schools are hurting financially. The WAC seems to be expanding at present. Given the timing, in 10 years, who knows what might happen?
Look at the schools. Tell me where you see the WAC having an advantage. ACU basketball is hot right now so they have that going for them but theyre more likely to return to the norm than keep up their current course.
Of course one could say that most of the school have potential, but there's probably a reason that potential has not bore fruit for any of the schools.
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will overtake CUSA and the SBC in the future? - BruceMcF - 04-03-2021 09:33 AM
Is it possible that what some would consider to be the second weakest conference in Division 1 after the MEAC can avoid catastrophes that happen to CUSA OR SBC? Sure, possible ... extremely long, under 99:1 odds, but possible.
But both? That seems like "unlikely, squared", because even if the same 99:1 or less odds catastrophe hits both of them at the same time, one will end up slightly better, and then it will emerge as the life raft for the survivors of the other, which would necessarily be the ones from the conference that collapses that were themselves in the best shape to weather the catastrophe.
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will return to FBS ever? - SMUstang - 04-03-2021 09:40 AM
They say that that is their goal in 10 years. I’d say that that is highly optimistic.
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will return to FBS ever? - Todor - 04-03-2021 10:56 AM
Most of the football playing members of the WAC will be gone in 10 years. Sam Houston, Stephen F Austin, and Lamar will be gone for sure, 3-5 years max, even though none have actually even joined yet. Abilene is iffy, but I'd lean more towards having moved on already. Tarleton has few options, so may be stuck.
That leaves Dixie State and Southern Utah as schools who will likely to be around. Neither could be FBS by then.
Through some major upheaval in membership, sure, I guess its possible. Maybe some conferences get too big and some members leave other conferences to take over the shell of the WAC as a structure to house their FBS football, maybe some unexpected move like that, but that's the only way I could possibly see it.
The schools saying they want to be FBS are either lying or dreaming, but they don't have the facilities, don't have the money, and are just blowing hot air. No amount of Texas tough talk and bravado can help them make this pipe dream real.
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will return to FBS ever? - SMUstang - 04-03-2021 11:05 AM
(04-03-2021 10:56 AM)Todor Wrote: Most of the football playing members of the WAC will be gone in 10 years. Sam Houston, Stephen F Austin, and Lamar will be gone for sure, 3-5 years max, even though none have actually even joined yet. Abilene is iffy, but I'd lean more towards having moved on already. Tarleton has few options, so may be stuck.
That leaves Dixie State and Southern Utah as schools who will likely to be around. Neither could be FBS by then.
Through some major upheaval in membership, sure, I guess its possible. Maybe some conferences get too big and some members leave other conferences to take over the shell of the WAC as a structure to house their FBS football, maybe some unexpected move like that, but that's the only way I could possibly see it.
The schools saying they want to be FBS are either lying or dreaming, but they don't have the facilities, don't have the money, and are just blowing hot air. No amount of Texas tough talk and bravado can help them make this pipe dream real.
Where will Sam Houston, Stephen F Austin, and Lamar go? Will they form a new FCS conference? If so, they will need at least 3 more to join them to have an autobid.
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will return to FBS ever? - Todor - 04-03-2021 11:09 AM
(04-03-2021 11:05 AM)SMUstang Wrote:(04-03-2021 10:56 AM)Todor Wrote: Most of the football playing members of the WAC will be gone in 10 years. Sam Houston, Stephen F Austin, and Lamar will be gone for sure, 3-5 years max, even though none have actually even joined yet. Abilene is iffy, but I'd lean more towards having moved on already. Tarleton has few options, so may be stuck.
That leaves Dixie State and Southern Utah as schools who will likely to be around. Neither could be FBS by then.
Through some major upheaval in membership, sure, I guess its possible. Maybe some conferences get too big and some members leave other conferences to take over the shell of the WAC as a structure to house their FBS football, maybe some unexpected move like that, but that's the only way I could possibly see it.
The schools saying they want to be FBS are either lying or dreaming, but they don't have the facilities, don't have the money, and are just blowing hot air. No amount of Texas tough talk and bravado can help them make this pipe dream real.
Where will Sam Houston, Stephen F Austin, and Lamar go? Will they form a new FCS conference? If so, they will need at least 3 more to join them to have an autobid.
I have no idea where they'll go. I don't really follow FCS.
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will return to FBS ever? - panite - 04-03-2021 11:26 AM
Is this a late April Fool's joke?
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will return to FBS ever? - 46566 - 04-03-2021 11:29 AM
It's possible but we would know more by 2025 when the CFP contract expires the next year. I would think any move starts then to try to get a cut of the CFP payout. I think if I remember seeing on the board that the WAC has some potential loophole they can use. Do I think any of the schools are ready no but it's potentially a thing. Any WAC football henges on New Mexico State being independent in football.
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will return to FBS ever? - jdgaucho - 04-03-2021 12:07 PM
(04-03-2021 11:29 AM)46566 Wrote: It's possible but we would know more by 2025 when the CFP contract expires the next year. I would think any move starts then to try to get a cut of the CFP payout. I think if I remember seeing on the board that the WAC has some potential loophole they can use. Do I think any of the schools are ready no but it's potentially a thing. Any WAC football henges on New Mexico State being independent in football.
Hard to get a piece of the payout when they don't sponsor the sport (yet). The other conferences will not oblige until the WAC officially returns to the table.
Will it be up and running? Looking that way, yes. But by 2025? Nope.
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will return to FBS ever? - SMUstang - 04-03-2021 01:11 PM
It would be difficult for all of the football schools in the WAC to expand their stadiums and sponsor more sports, on their limited budgets, in order to move the conference up to FBS. My guess is it will take closer to 20 years to do it. And even then the conference will have to make some moves.
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will return to FBS ever? - CitrusUCF - 04-03-2021 01:57 PM
If the WAC ever sponsors FBS football again, it will be with only a portion of its forthcoming football membership. Dixie State, Southern Utah, Tarleton State, and such are not FBS programs and will not be in the foreseeable future. Perhaps Sam Houston or Stephen F. Austin can get there, but I'm skeptical given that both are in small towns and Stephen F. Austin is on the small side for an FBS public in terms of enrollment.
If WAC FBS comes to fruition, it will be made up of breakaways from CUSA West & Sun Belt West along with a few current FCS members. But the forthcoming FCS lineup will not be moving to FBS en masse (nor will the A-Sun's despite those delusions of grandeur as well).
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will return to FBS ever? - Todor - 04-03-2021 02:35 PM
(04-03-2021 01:57 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote: If the WAC ever sponsors FBS football again, it will be with only a portion of its forthcoming football membership. Dixie State, Southern Utah, Tarleton State, and such are not FBS programs and will not be in the foreseeable future. Perhaps Sam Houston or Stephen F. Austin can get there, but I'm skeptical given that both are in small towns and Stephen F. Austin is on the small side for an FBS public in terms of enrollment.
If WAC FBS comes to fruition, it will be made up of breakaways from CUSA West & Sun Belt West along with a few current FCS members. But the forthcoming FCS lineup will not be moving to FBS en masse (nor will the A-Sun's despite those delusions of grandeur as well).
I believe you are exactly right. And how serious can LU, SHSU, and SFA be if they left an FCS for a new conference that doesn't even sponsor football yet. And isn't on track for an auto bid for about 4 more years.
Those 3 are 500 miles closer to Boston than they are Seattle. Same distance from Utah as they are New York City. Closer to Miami than Phoenix, not to mention Riverside CA. Riverside is the same as Washington DC for them. They dont want to be in the WAC. So now the WAC will play basketball in divisions to appease them, so the conference won't even be able to play half the conference twice per season. Negates the point of trying to raise the profile of your best teams may only play once a year.
Just like they threw such a fit that the Southland ended up expelling them all in heated fashion, I don't expect them to be any more able to bully the WAC. And just like they bash their former conference mates now, I expect them to be no more reasonable going forward. They will quickly become disillusioned with their short sighted, hasty decision, leave the WAC in a huff, and again start looking to blame someone else for their stupidity. They wont be FBS any time soon.
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will return to FBS ever? - Wedge - 04-03-2021 02:54 PM
Is is possible? Not very possible under the current NCAA rules relating to FBS and the current financial status of the FCS programs that the WAC will have. They would need a minimum of 7 full WAC members to find both the desire and the money to move to FBS, to join NMSU and reach the minimum of 8 full members in FBS.
It's slightly more possible that the NCAA rules would be changed, sometime in the future, in a way that would make it easier and a lot less expensive to move from FCS to FBS. (Example: If the NCAA eliminated the FBS requirements for minimum number of varsity sports and minimum number of total athletic scholarships, and also eliminated the "transition period" for a move, then that would substantially reduce the cost of an FCS to FBS move.)
P5 programs might be ok with that because if a lot of new "G" teams join the ranks, it would increase "supply" and become less expensive to buy home football games against G teams. If an influx of new FBS teams dropped the average buy game price from, say, $1.2 million per game to $700,000, that would be like giving P5 teams a $500,000 per year incentive to support a significant increase in the number of FBS teams.
I wouldn't say that kind of rule change is likely, but it's much less unlikely than all of the FCS programs in the WAC suddenly finding the millions upfront plus the ongoing increased revenue stream needed to move to FBS.
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will return to FBS ever? - Bobcat2013 - 04-03-2021 03:13 PM
(04-03-2021 01:57 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote: If the WAC ever sponsors FBS football again, it will be with only a portion of its forthcoming football membership. Dixie State, Southern Utah, Tarleton State, and such are not FBS programs and will not be in the foreseeable future. Perhaps Sam Houston or Stephen F. Austin can get there, but I'm skeptical given that both are in small towns and Stephen F. Austin is on the small side for an FBS public in terms of enrollment.
If WAC FBS comes to fruition, it will be made up of breakaways from CUSA West & Sun Belt West along with a few current FCS members. But the forthcoming FCS lineup will not be moving to FBS en masse (nor will the A-Sun's despite those delusions of grandeur as well).
The problem with SHSU and SFA is that their stadiums are dumps. I dont think there's enough lipstick for those pigs. And not sure about SFA but I remember reading that SHSU averaged like 4k people in 2019. You'd think they'd have a bigger fanbase given all the success that theyve had.
RE: Is it possible that the WAC will return to FBS ever? - SMUstang - 04-03-2021 04:11 PM
LU, SHSU, SFA and ACU and SUU of the WAC will be joined by affiliate football members UCA, EKU, and JSU of the ASUN this year to form an autobid conference. In 2022, Tarleton State and Dixie State will be eligible for autobids and another football member will likely be added. So the WAC, without the ASUN affiliates, will have an autobid. A move up to FBS in the future with this group is unlikely however. So the WAC either will remain FCS or will have to be able to attract western teams from current FBS conferences in order to move up. (UTEP, TSU, UTSA, UNT - possible but not likely)