(05-30-2020 09:39 PM)Itinerant Texan Wrote:  So WAC Headquarters is in Denver, Englewood to be exact, and there is not a single Colorado team in the WAC.
Oddity/Anomaly, whatever you wanna call it, it's just weird.
Who could possibly change that? NOCO? MSU-Denver? CSU-Pueblo? CO-Mesa? Maybe UC-CO Springs could take a quantum leap? All I know is somethings gotta give. Would certainly help Hurd & Co. as he goes out to other schools and tries to sell the WAC vision.

Colorado Mesa not interested in leap to Div. I
https://www.gjsentinel.com/sports/cmu/co...f6eda.html

Colorado Mesa is just fine as a Div. II school
https://www.gjsentinel.com/opinion/edito...f6eda.html

MSU Denver reaffirms commitment to NCAA Division II athletics
https://www.msudenver.edu/early-bird/201...vote.shtml

(05-30-2020 10:16 PM)joeben69 Wrote:  

(05-30-2020 09:39 PM)Itinerant Texan Wrote:  So WAC Headquarters is in Denver, Englewood to be exact, and there is not a single Colorado team in the WAC.
Oddity/Anomaly, whatever you wanna call it, it's just weird.
Who could possibly change that? NOCO? MSU-Denver? CSU-Pueblo? CO-Mesa? Maybe UC-CO Springs could take a quantum leap? All I know is somethings gotta give. Would certainly help Hurd & Co. as he goes out to other schools and tries to sell the WAC vision.

Colorado Mesa not interested in leap to Div. I
https://www.gjsentinel.com/sports/cmu/co...f6eda.html

Colorado Mesa is just fine as a Div. II school
https://www.gjsentinel.com/opinion/edito...f6eda.html

MSU Denver reaffirms commitment to NCAA Division II athletics
https://www.msudenver.edu/early-bird/201...vote.shtml

Moving forward, any school, in Colorado or elsewhere, that gets an invitation from the WAC should have football. Period. So scratch Metro, Denver and UC CO Springs. Leaves only Mesa, CSU-Pueblo, or NOCO.

Mesa is uninterested, which is unfortunate, as they would match up well with Dixie. CSU-Pueblo has a solid D2 football program, but that's about it. Leaves only NOCO or a D2 move-up as a possibility. NOCO would have to make a lateral move from the Big Sky, but Colorado Mines has a winning football program, Denver market and plenty of cash.

Colorado School of Mines was ranked No. 3 Best NCAA D2 school in the U.S. for student-athletes, according to Next College Student Athlete's 2018 NCSA Power Rankings. The NCSA Power Rankings recognize the best colleges and universities in the U.S. for student-athletes. Colorado school of mines athletics also ranked No. 2 in Football, No. 3 in Men's Soccer, No. 4 in Women's Soccer, and No. 5 in Women's Volleyball, among all NCAA D2 schools.

(05-30-2020 10:16 PM)joeben69 Wrote:  

(05-30-2020 09:39 PM)Itinerant Texan Wrote:  So WAC Headquarters is in Denver, Englewood to be exact, and there is not a single Colorado team in the WAC.
Oddity/Anomaly, whatever you wanna call it, it's just weird.
Who could possibly change that? NOCO? MSU-Denver? CSU-Pueblo? CO-Mesa? Maybe UC-CO Springs could take a quantum leap? All I know is somethings gotta give. Would certainly help Hurd & Co. as he goes out to other schools and tries to sell the WAC vision.

Colorado Mesa not interested in leap to Div. I
https://www.gjsentinel.com/sports/cmu/co...f6eda.html

Colorado Mesa is just fine as a Div. II school
https://www.gjsentinel.com/opinion/edito...f6eda.html

MSU Denver reaffirms commitment to NCAA Division II athletics
https://www.msudenver.edu/early-bird/201...vote.shtml

At least he has a point on the WAC being based in Colorado and not having Colorado schools is odd. Not every D2 wants or even should move up to D1.

(05-31-2020 09:37 AM)Itinerant Texan Wrote:  

(05-30-2020 10:16 PM)joeben69 Wrote:  

(05-30-2020 09:39 PM)Itinerant Texan Wrote:  So WAC Headquarters is in Denver, Englewood to be exact, and there is not a single Colorado team in the WAC.
Oddity/Anomaly, whatever you wanna call it, it's just weird.
Who could possibly change that? NOCO? MSU-Denver? CSU-Pueblo? CO-Mesa? Maybe UC-CO Springs could take a quantum leap? All I know is somethings gotta give. Would certainly help Hurd & Co. as he goes out to other schools and tries to sell the WAC vision.

Colorado Mesa not interested in leap to Div. I
https://www.gjsentinel.com/sports/cmu/co...f6eda.html

Colorado Mesa is just fine as a Div. II school
https://www.gjsentinel.com/opinion/edito...f6eda.html

MSU Denver reaffirms commitment to NCAA Division II athletics
https://www.msudenver.edu/early-bird/201...vote.shtml

Moving forward, any school, in Colorado or elsewhere, that gets an invitation from the WAC should have football. Period. So scratch Metro, Denver and UC CO Springs. Leaves only Mesa, CSU-Pueblo, or NOCO.

Mesa is uninterested, which is unfortunate, as they would match up well with Dixie. CSU-Pueblo has a solid D2 football program, but that's about it. Leaves only NOCO or a D2 move-up as a possibility. NOCO would have to make a lateral move from the Big Sky, but Colorado Mines has a winning football program, Denver market and plenty of cash.

Colorado School of Mines was ranked No. 3 Best NCAA D2 school in the U.S. for student-athletes, according to Next College Student Athlete's 2018 NCSA Power Rankings. The NCSA Power Rankings recognize the best colleges and universities in the U.S. for student-athletes. Colorado school of mines athletics also ranked No. 2 in Football, No. 3 in Men's Soccer, No. 4 in Women's Soccer, and No. 5 in Women's Volleyball, among all NCAA D2 schools.

Does Colorado Mines have any interest or ability to move to D1? Why would Northern Colorado leave a conference with football for a conference without?

(05-31-2020 09:40 AM)Vulpes88 Wrote:  

(05-31-2020 09:37 AM)Itinerant Texan Wrote:  

(05-30-2020 10:16 PM)joeben69 Wrote:  

(05-30-2020 09:39 PM)Itinerant Texan Wrote:  So WAC Headquarters is in Denver, Englewood to be exact, and there is not a single Colorado team in the WAC.
Oddity/Anomaly, whatever you wanna call it, it's just weird.
Who could possibly change that? NOCO? MSU-Denver? CSU-Pueblo? CO-Mesa? Maybe UC-CO Springs could take a quantum leap? All I know is somethings gotta give. Would certainly help Hurd & Co. as he goes out to other schools and tries to sell the WAC vision.

Colorado Mesa not interested in leap to Div. I
https://www.gjsentinel.com/sports/cmu/co...f6eda.html

Colorado Mesa is just fine as a Div. II school
https://www.gjsentinel.com/opinion/edito...f6eda.html

MSU Denver reaffirms commitment to NCAA Division II athletics
https://www.msudenver.edu/early-bird/201...vote.shtml

Moving forward, any school, in Colorado or elsewhere, that gets an invitation from the WAC should have football. Period. So scratch Metro, Denver and UC CO Springs. Leaves only Mesa, CSU-Pueblo, or NOCO.

Mesa is uninterested, which is unfortunate, as they would match up well with Dixie. CSU-Pueblo has a solid D2 football program, but that's about it. Leaves only NOCO or a D2 move-up as a possibility. NOCO would have to make a lateral move from the Big Sky, but Colorado Mines has a winning football program, Denver market and plenty of cash.

Colorado School of Mines was ranked No. 3 Best NCAA D2 school in the U.S. for student-athletes, according to Next College Student Athlete's 2018 NCSA Power Rankings. The NCSA Power Rankings recognize the best colleges and universities in the U.S. for student-athletes. Colorado school of mines athletics also ranked No. 2 in Football, No. 3 in Men's Soccer, No. 4 in Women's Soccer, and No. 5 in Women's Volleyball, among all NCAA D2 schools.

Does Colorado Mines have any interest or ability to move to D1? Why would Northern Colorado leave a conference with football for a conference without?

Exactly. Or make a lateral conference move that increases travel for all sports, which isn't likely.
My point is this: by process of elimination, it's clear we may never see a Colorado school in the WAC, as weird as that is. The only schools that would check all the boxes for the WAC would be CO Mesa and Colorado Mines. Mesa already said no (for now), and I have no idea if Mines is even interested.

The WAC is not the only conference with no members in the state of the HQ location. The chances of any other RMAC school going D1 is slim at best. The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference has 7 members in TX, 2 members in CO, and 1 member in LA with 1 affiliate in TX and 1 affiliate in AR while the HQ is located in GA. Like the WAC, the SCAC previously had members and HQ in the same state. There are probably more important concerns than having a member share a state with HQ.

(05-31-2020 12:21 PM)AZcats Wrote:  The WAC is not the only conference with no members in the state of the HQ location. The chances of any other RMAC school going D1 is slim at best. The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference has 7 members in TX, 2 members in CO, and 1 member in LA with 1 affiliate in TX and 1 affiliate in AR while the HQ is located in GA. Like the WAC, the SCAC previously had members and HQ in the same state. There are probably more important concerns than having a member share a state with HQ.

The SCAC is a Division III very selective private school conference. Different scenario, to say the least. But thanks for digging deep to find that one.
I didn't say it was incredibly important. I said it was weird and unusual. And Hurd must agree, as he's recently invited Metro and Mesa. I'm sure he'll keep trying to bring in at least one CO school to bridge the geographical gap.
NoCo + Mesa + Mines would be ideal, but unlikely.

I think if the WAC is going to continue to grow while at the same time creating a potential FCS level conference, the future full members need to come from areas where it doesn't further expand the WAC footprint. West Texas A&M is the next obvious choice. Maybe Azusa Pacific could be another future member if they are willing to make the move. After that, it is slim pickings at the D2 level. Although Central Oklahoma looks like like they have all the prerequisites to make the jump to the FCS level.

(05-31-2020 02:41 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  I think if the WAC is going to continue to grow while at the same time creating a potential FCS level conference, the future full members need to come from areas where it doesn't further expand the WAC footprint. West Texas A&M is the next obvious choice. Maybe Azusa Pacific could be another future member if they are willing to make the move. After that, it is slim pickings at the D2 level. Although Central Oklahoma looks like like they have all the prerequisites to make the jump to the FCS level.

Wouldn't it make more sense to go FBS as opposed to FCS or would your hypothetical FCS conference be short term until member schools are FBS ready?

(05-31-2020 02:41 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  I think if the WAC is going to continue to grow while at the same time creating a potential FCS level conference, the future full members need to come from areas where it doesn't further expand the WAC footprint. West Texas A&M is the next obvious choice. Maybe Azusa Pacific could be another future member if they are willing to make the move. After that, it is slim pickings at the D2 level. Although Central Oklahoma looks like like they have all the prerequisites to make the jump to the FCS level.

Actually, no they don't. UCO has only five men's sports. Baseball, Basketball, Football, Golf, and Wrestling.

(05-31-2020 03:36 PM)AZcats Wrote:  

(05-31-2020 02:41 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  I think if the WAC is going to continue to grow while at the same time creating a potential FCS level conference, the future full members need to come from areas where it doesn't further expand the WAC footprint. West Texas A&M is the next obvious choice. Maybe Azusa Pacific could be another future member if they are willing to make the move. After that, it is slim pickings at the D2 level. Although Central Oklahoma looks like like they have all the prerequisites to make the jump to the FCS level.

Actually, no they don't. UCO has only five men's sports. Baseball, Basketball, Football, Golf, and Wrestling.

Obviously, UCO would need to adds more sports. Heck NMSU only has six men's sports. What is was referring to is infrastructure. UCO is located in Edmond, OK as part of the Oklahoma City Metro. Also, their student body is solid at 16,910 enrollment. And, finally, their sports facilities appear to be comparable to Tarleton State and Dixie State.

I'd love to see the Bronc-hos step up. Their football team has fallen off the face of the Earth lately, but they have a very respectable and competitive D2 athletic program overall. Busting at the seems as far as enrollment. Former Lone Star member, so Tarleton knows them well. If the WAC did decide to bring in an Oklahoma school, might as well go up the road into Kansas and try to get Pitt State to move up. If they did that, a Colorado school would tie it all together quite nicely geographically.

Augustana is too far out of the WAC footprint (or to be more precise, too far out of the WAC footprint that will exist once Chicago State leaves or is pushed out).

Future WAC expansion should target Texas.

I think trying to put a WAC FCS league together is only going to happen if the WAC can recruit a few schools from rival FCS leagues. Maybe an Abilene Christian would be interested in the WAC. A school like Northern Colorado could be interested. UTRGV might decide to start football. San Diego could be interested. Azusa Pacific, the only D2 football school left in California, might find it easier to schedule at D1. Maybe UC Davis and Cal Poly could be convinced to join as football only schools. There would be a lot of moving parts to coordinate to make a WAC FCS league work.

(05-31-2020 09:16 PM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  I think trying to put a WAC FCS league together is only going to happen if the WAC can recruit a few schools from rival FCS leagues. Maybe an Abilene Christian would be interested in the WAC. A school like Northern Colorado could be interested. UTRGV might decide to start football. San Diego could be interested. Azusa Pacific, the only D2 football school left in California, might find it easier to schedule at D1. Maybe UC Davis and Cal Poly could be convinced to join as football only schools. There would be a lot of moving parts to coordinate to make a WAC FCS league work.

The Big Sky is bloated. Because of that, they currently have no other FCS conference to schedule games with west of the Mississippi. If you look at a WAC and Big Sky coverage map, it becomes clear a partnership could be very benificial to both parties. BSC has what the WAC is lacking in a Colorado, Arizona (football), Idaho, Montana and presence. And the WAC now again has Texas roots with its fertile recruiting grounds and access to Texas LSC D2 programs that are more than ready for D1. In all honesty I see a few Big Sky schools "shifting" to the WAC (NoCo, NAU, SUU), and the WAC adding a few more Texas LSC D2 moveups (WTAMU, ASU?) and/or SLC defectors (ACU, Sam? Lamar?)...This would make the BSC more manageable, and the WAC more viable. Ulimtately it would mean stability for each conference. Both would be able to schedule a full D1 schedule within region, and would also have free slots for an FBS money game or two each season. Win-Win.

(05-31-2020 10:05 PM)Itinerant Texan Wrote:  

(05-31-2020 09:16 PM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  I think trying to put a WAC FCS league together is only going to happen if the WAC can recruit a few schools from rival FCS leagues. Maybe an Abilene Christian would be interested in the WAC. A school like Northern Colorado could be interested. UTRGV might decide to start football. San Diego could be interested. Azusa Pacific, the only D2 football school left in California, might find it easier to schedule at D1. Maybe UC Davis and Cal Poly could be convinced to join as football only schools. There would be a lot of moving parts to coordinate to make a WAC FCS league work.

The Big Sky is bloated. Because of that, they currently have no other FCS conference to schedule games with west of the Mississippi. If you look at a WAC and Big Sky coverage map, it becomes clear a partnership could be very benificial to both parties. BSC has what the WAC is lacking in a Colorado, Arizona (football), Idaho, Montana and presence. And the WAC now again has Texas roots with its fertile recruiting grounds and access to Texas LSC D2 programs that are more than ready for D1. In all honesty I see a few Big Sky schools "shifting" to the WAC (NoCo, NAU, SUU), and the WAC adding a few more Texas LSC D2 moveups (WTAMU, ASU?) and/or SLC defectors (ACU, Sam? Lamar?)...This would make the BSC more manageable, and the WAC more viable. Ulimtately it would mean stability for each conference. Both would be able to schedule a full D1 schedule within region, and would also have free slots for an FBS money game or two each season. Win-Win.

The BSC has 13 football schools and 11 basketball schools. So, Northern Colorado leaving gives the BSC 12 football schools and 10 basketball schools. So that is plausible. Northern Colorado already has baseball and woman's swimming & diving in the WAC. UC Davis and Cal Poly are in the BSC for football only. They could make the switch as well. That leaves the BSC at 10 & 10. NAU and SUU would leave the BSC at 8 & 8. That is not going to happen.

The SLC is at 13 basketball schools and 11 football schools. ACU leaving the SLC leaves them at 12 basketball schools and 10 football schools. They could live with that. All you are trying to do is make a WAC football league with schools that would not be missed in their current leagues. The BSC could still play a nine game football schedule conference and an 18 game conference basketball schedule. The SLC scheduling would not change. Lamar, Sam Houston State and Houston Baptist should stay in the SLC. No one wants to travel to Beaumont.

(06-01-2020 12:59 AM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(05-31-2020 10:05 PM)Itinerant Texan Wrote:  

(05-31-2020 09:16 PM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  I think trying to put a WAC FCS league together is only going to happen if the WAC can recruit a few schools from rival FCS leagues. Maybe an Abilene Christian would be interested in the WAC. A school like Northern Colorado could be interested. UTRGV might decide to start football. San Diego could be interested. Azusa Pacific, the only D2 football school left in California, might find it easier to schedule at D1. Maybe UC Davis and Cal Poly could be convinced to join as football only schools. There would be a lot of moving parts to coordinate to make a WAC FCS league work.

The Big Sky is bloated. Because of that, they currently have no other FCS conference to schedule games with west of the Mississippi. If you look at a WAC and Big Sky coverage map, it becomes clear a partnership could be very benificial to both parties. BSC has what the WAC is lacking in a Colorado, Arizona (football), Idaho, Montana and presence. And the WAC now again has Texas roots with its fertile recruiting grounds and access to Texas LSC D2 programs that are more than ready for D1. In all honesty I see a few Big Sky schools "shifting" to the WAC (NoCo, NAU, SUU), and the WAC adding a few more Texas LSC D2 moveups (WTAMU, ASU?) and/or SLC defectors (ACU, Sam? Lamar?)...This would make the BSC more manageable, and the WAC more viable. Ulimtately it would mean stability for each conference. Both would be able to schedule a full D1 schedule within region, and would also have free slots for an FBS money game or two each season. Win-Win.

The BSC has 13 football schools and 11 basketball schools. So, Northern Colorado leaving gives the BSC 12 football schools and 10 basketball schools. So that is plausible. Northern Colorado already has baseball and woman's swimming & diving in the WAC. UC Davis and Cal Poly are in the BSC for football only. They could make the switch as well. That leaves the BSC at 10 & 10. NAU and SUU would leave the BSC at 8 & 8. That is not going to happen.

The SLC is at 13 basketball schools and 11 football schools. ACU leaving the SLC leaves them at 12 basketball schools and 10 football schools. They could live with that. All you are trying to do is make a WAC football league with schools that would not be missed in their current leagues. The BSC could still play a nine game football schedule conference and an 18 game conference basketball schedule. The SLC scheduling would not change. Lamar, Sam Houston State and Houston Baptist should stay in the SLC. No one wants to travel to Beaumont.

Would you want Incarnate Word to come to WAC with ACU since they're on the I-35 corridor? I can't imagine SLC would not like to keep some presence in San Antonio, but it's not like SLC has a big TV football contract.....its traditionally been an I-45 and LA/AR based conference.

(06-01-2020 12:59 AM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(05-31-2020 10:05 PM)Itinerant Texan Wrote:  

(05-31-2020 09:16 PM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  I think trying to put a WAC FCS league together is only going to happen if the WAC can recruit a few schools from rival FCS leagues. Maybe an Abilene Christian would be interested in the WAC. A school like Northern Colorado could be interested. UTRGV might decide to start football. San Diego could be interested. Azusa Pacific, the only D2 football school left in California, might find it easier to schedule at D1. Maybe UC Davis and Cal Poly could be convinced to join as football only schools. There would be a lot of moving parts to coordinate to make a WAC FCS league work.

The Big Sky is bloated. Because of that, they currently have no other FCS conference to schedule games with west of the Mississippi. If you look at a WAC and Big Sky coverage map, it becomes clear a partnership could be very benificial to both parties. BSC has what the WAC is lacking in a Colorado, Arizona (football), Idaho, Montana and presence. And the WAC now again has Texas roots with its fertile recruiting grounds and access to Texas LSC D2 programs that are more than ready for D1. In all honesty I see a few Big Sky schools "shifting" to the WAC (NoCo, NAU, SUU), and the WAC adding a few more Texas LSC D2 moveups (WTAMU, ASU?) and/or SLC defectors (ACU, Sam? Lamar?)...This would make the BSC more manageable, and the WAC more viable. Ulimtately it would mean stability for each conference. Both would be able to schedule a full D1 schedule within region, and would also have free slots for an FBS money game or two each season. Win-Win.

The BSC has 13 football schools and 11 basketball schools. So, Northern Colorado leaving gives the BSC 12 football schools and 10 basketball schools. So that is plausible. Northern Colorado already has baseball and woman's swimming & diving in the WAC. UC Davis and Cal Poly are in the BSC for football only. They could make the switch as well. That leaves the BSC at 10 & 10. NAU and SUU would leave the BSC at 8 & 8. That is not going to happen.

The SLC is at 13 basketball schools and 11 football schools. ACU leaving the SLC leaves them at 12 basketball schools and 10 football schools. They could live with that. All you are trying to do is make a WAC football league with schools that would not be missed in their current leagues. The BSC could still play a nine game football schedule conference and an 18 game conference basketball schedule. The SLC scheduling would not change. Lamar, Sam Houston State and Houston Baptist should stay in the SLC. No one wants to travel to Beaumont.

Traveling to and from Beaumont is not too bad. It's easier to get to than a lot of places. You would have your choice of three airports fiying commercial (four, if for some reason, you wanted to use Lake Charles Regional airport). For commercial scheduled air, the university is a 10 minute drive from the regional airport with daily flights to and from DFW. For more flexibility, the drive to and from the two big Houston airports is about 1 hour 20 minutes on very good highways. Not bad! For comparison, it took me from 45 minutes to 1 hour to get to the Houston airports when I lived in west Houston. For charters, the regional airport can handle planes the size of the old 727's and planes like Southwest Airlines flies (737's).

For Tarleton State, the drive to and from Beaumont is an hour less than it is to Edinburg, TX (UTRGV) and the same as to Canyon, TX (West Texas A&M).

If someone was looking for something to do for the weekend, there are several things once you are there. There is good food. The area is close enough to Louisiana, that there are a lot of really good Cajan Cuisine restaurants. It is close enough to the Gulf, there are several very good seafood restaurants. If you like casinos, they are across the state line about 25-30 miles away. If you like deep sea fishing, that is about 30 minutes to the south. If you like big lake fishing, Lake Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend Reservoir are about 1 hour away. If you like canoeing, there are outfitters that can take you on trips on the wild part of the Neches River and the local bayous. If you like cultural stuff and history, especially about the oil industriy, there are several museums downtown including a very good energy museum. Spindletop-Glady City Boomtown Museum is on Lamar's campus. If you like touring old homes, there are several in town. My favorite is the McFaddin-Ward House. If you like nature, the Big Thicket National Preserve is just north of Beaumont. There are miles of trails through pristine heavy forested areas with a wide range of plant growth. There is a really nice botanical garden, Shangri-La Gardens, and more really nice touring homes in Orange, about 25 miles away. If you like the big city, Houston is a little over an hour away. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros) is just over an hour away. NRG Stadium (Houston Texans) is 1 hour 30 minutes away. BBVA Compass Stadium (Houston Dynamos) is a little over an hour away. You're out of luck if you like mountains, but there are plenty of those in the WAC. Other than that, there's nothing to do once you get there. :-)

(06-01-2020 09:36 AM)LUSportsFan Wrote:  

(06-01-2020 12:59 AM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(05-31-2020 10:05 PM)Itinerant Texan Wrote:  

(05-31-2020 09:16 PM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  I think trying to put a WAC FCS league together is only going to happen if the WAC can recruit a few schools from rival FCS leagues. Maybe an Abilene Christian would be interested in the WAC. A school like Northern Colorado could be interested. UTRGV might decide to start football. San Diego could be interested. Azusa Pacific, the only D2 football school left in California, might find it easier to schedule at D1. Maybe UC Davis and Cal Poly could be convinced to join as football only schools. There would be a lot of moving parts to coordinate to make a WAC FCS league work.

The Big Sky is bloated. Because of that, they currently have no other FCS conference to schedule games with west of the Mississippi. If you look at a WAC and Big Sky coverage map, it becomes clear a partnership could be very benificial to both parties. BSC has what the WAC is lacking in a Colorado, Arizona (football), Idaho, Montana and presence. And the WAC now again has Texas roots with its fertile recruiting grounds and access to Texas LSC D2 programs that are more than ready for D1. In all honesty I see a few Big Sky schools "shifting" to the WAC (NoCo, NAU, SUU), and the WAC adding a few more Texas LSC D2 moveups (WTAMU, ASU?) and/or SLC defectors (ACU, Sam? Lamar?)...This would make the BSC more manageable, and the WAC more viable. Ulimtately it would mean stability for each conference. Both would be able to schedule a full D1 schedule within region, and would also have free slots for an FBS money game or two each season. Win-Win.

The BSC has 13 football schools and 11 basketball schools. So, Northern Colorado leaving gives the BSC 12 football schools and 10 basketball schools. So that is plausible. Northern Colorado already has baseball and woman's swimming & diving in the WAC. UC Davis and Cal Poly are in the BSC for football only. They could make the switch as well. That leaves the BSC at 10 & 10. NAU and SUU would leave the BSC at 8 & 8. That is not going to happen.

The SLC is at 13 basketball schools and 11 football schools. ACU leaving the SLC leaves them at 12 basketball schools and 10 football schools. They could live with that. All you are trying to do is make a WAC football league with schools that would not be missed in their current leagues. The BSC could still play a nine game football schedule conference and an 18 game conference basketball schedule. The SLC scheduling would not change. Lamar, Sam Houston State and Houston Baptist should stay in the SLC. No one wants to travel to Beaumont.

Traveling to and from Beaumont is not too bad. It's easier to get to than a lot of places. You would have your choice of three airports fiying commercial (four, if for some reason, you wanted to use Lake Charles Regional airport). For commercial scheduled air, the university is a 10 minute drive from the regional airport with daily flights to and from DFW. For more flexibility, the drive to and from the two big Houston airports is about 1 hour 20 minutes on very good highways. Not bad! For comparison, it took me from 45 minutes to 1 hour to get to the Houston airports when I lived in west Houston. For charters, the regional airport can handle planes the size of the old 727's and planes like Southwest Airlines flies (737's).

For Tarleton State, the drive to and from Beaumont is an hour less than it is to Edinburg, TX (UTRGV) and the same as to Canyon, TX (West Texas A&M).

If someone was looking for something to do for the weekend, there are several things once you are there. There is good food. The area is close enough to Louisiana, that there are a lot of really good Cajan Cuisine restaurants. It is close enough to the Gulf, there are several very good seafood restaurants. If you like casinos, they are across the state line about 25-30 miles away. If you like deep sea fishing, that is about 30 minutes to the south. If you like big lake fishing, Lake Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend Reservoir are about 1 hour away. If you like canoeing, there are outfitters that can take you on trips on the wild part of the Neches River and the local bayous. If you like cultural stuff and history, especially about the oil industriy, there are several museums downtown including a very good energy museum. Spindletop-Glady City Boomtown Museum is on Lamar's campus. If you like touring old homes, there are several in town. My favorite is the McFaddin-Ward House. If you like nature, the Big Thicket National Preserve is just north of Beaumont. There are miles of trails through pristine heavy forested areas with a wide range of plant growth. If you like the big city, Houston is a little over an hour away. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros) is just over an hour away. NRG Stadium (Houston Texans) is 1 hour 30 minutes away. BBVA Compass Stadium (Houston Dynamos) is a little over an hour away. You're out of luck if you like mountains, but there are plenty of those in the WAC. Other than that, there's nothing to do once you get there. :-)

You would actually want Lamar to be a part of this amalgam?

(06-01-2020 10:06 AM)Bobcat2013 Wrote:  

(06-01-2020 09:36 AM)LUSportsFan Wrote:  

(06-01-2020 12:59 AM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(05-31-2020 10:05 PM)Itinerant Texan Wrote:  

(05-31-2020 09:16 PM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  I think trying to put a WAC FCS league together is only going to happen if the WAC can recruit a few schools from rival FCS leagues. Maybe an Abilene Christian would be interested in the WAC. A school like Northern Colorado could be interested. UTRGV might decide to start football. San Diego could be interested. Azusa Pacific, the only D2 football school left in California, might find it easier to schedule at D1. Maybe UC Davis and Cal Poly could be convinced to join as football only schools. There would be a lot of moving parts to coordinate to make a WAC FCS league work.

The Big Sky is bloated. Because of that, they currently have no other FCS conference to schedule games with west of the Mississippi. If you look at a WAC and Big Sky coverage map, it becomes clear a partnership could be very benificial to both parties. BSC has what the WAC is lacking in a Colorado, Arizona (football), Idaho, Montana and presence. And the WAC now again has Texas roots with its fertile recruiting grounds and access to Texas LSC D2 programs that are more than ready for D1. In all honesty I see a few Big Sky schools "shifting" to the WAC (NoCo, NAU, SUU), and the WAC adding a few more Texas LSC D2 moveups (WTAMU, ASU?) and/or SLC defectors (ACU, Sam? Lamar?)...This would make the BSC more manageable, and the WAC more viable. Ulimtately it would mean stability for each conference. Both would be able to schedule a full D1 schedule within region, and would also have free slots for an FBS money game or two each season. Win-Win.

The BSC has 13 football schools and 11 basketball schools. So, Northern Colorado leaving gives the BSC 12 football schools and 10 basketball schools. So that is plausible. Northern Colorado already has baseball and woman's swimming & diving in the WAC. UC Davis and Cal Poly are in the BSC for football only. They could make the switch as well. That leaves the BSC at 10 & 10. NAU and SUU would leave the BSC at 8 & 8. That is not going to happen.

The SLC is at 13 basketball schools and 11 football schools. ACU leaving the SLC leaves them at 12 basketball schools and 10 football schools. They could live with that. All you are trying to do is make a WAC football league with schools that would not be missed in their current leagues. The BSC could still play a nine game football schedule conference and an 18 game conference basketball schedule. The SLC scheduling would not change. Lamar, Sam Houston State and Houston Baptist should stay in the SLC. No one wants to travel to Beaumont.

Traveling to and from Beaumont is not too bad. It's easier to get to than a lot of places. You would have your choice of three airports fiying commercial (four, if for some reason, you wanted to use Lake Charles Regional airport). For commercial scheduled air, the university is a 10 minute drive from the regional airport with daily flights to and from DFW. For more flexibility, the drive to and from the two big Houston airports is about 1 hour 20 minutes on very good highways. Not bad! For comparison, it took me from 45 minutes to 1 hour to get to the Houston airports when I lived in west Houston. For charters, the regional airport can handle planes the size of the old 727's and planes like Southwest Airlines flies (737's).

For Tarleton State, the drive to and from Beaumont is an hour less than it is to Edinburg, TX (UTRGV) and the same as to Canyon, TX (West Texas A&M).

If someone was looking for something to do for the weekend, there are several things once you are there. There is good food. The area is close enough to Louisiana, that there are a lot of really good Cajan Cuisine restaurants. It is close enough to the Gulf, there are several very good seafood restaurants. If you like casinos, they are across the state line about 25-30 miles away. If you like deep sea fishing, that is about 30 minutes to the south. If you like big lake fishing, Lake Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend Reservoir are about 1 hour away. If you like canoeing, there are outfitters that can take you on trips on the wild part of the Neches River and the local bayous. If you like cultural stuff and history, especially about the oil industriy, there are several museums downtown including a very good energy museum. Spindletop-Glady City Boomtown Museum is on Lamar's campus. If you like touring old homes, there are several in town. My favorite is the McFaddin-Ward House. If you like nature, the Big Thicket National Preserve is just north of Beaumont. There are miles of trails through pristine heavy forested areas with a wide range of plant growth. If you like the big city, Houston is a little over an hour away. Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros) is just over an hour away. NRG Stadium (Houston Texans) is 1 hour 30 minutes away. BBVA Compass Stadium (Houston Dynamos) is a little over an hour away. You're out of luck if you like mountains, but there are plenty of those in the WAC. Other than that, there's nothing to do once you get there. :-)

You would actually want Lamar to be a part of this amalgam?

In the right circumstances, I think it could be fun. As far as the WAC, looking east of St. George and toward Texas for football would simplify things for Lamar and probably Tarleton State, New Mexico State and UTRGV if they added the sport. If the ultimate goal is to reinstate FBS sponsorship, adding schools on that side of the WAC's area would make football travel requirements similar to the way the Sun Belt is now. The Sun Belt has moved eastward. When Lamar and UTPA were Sun Belt members, the eastern most school was Western Kentucky (except for Central Florida's very short time in the conference). Also, the Sun Belt was non-football then, It is heavily weighted toward the east now with football.

Just for grins, here are the scheduled flight times and round-trip costs from Beaumont (or Houston if noted) per Google Maps. Getting to St. George would be the worst. It's 13 hrs and 30 minutes and $376 airfare from Beaumont. From Houston to Las Vegas, its 3 hrs 5 min and $412. St. George is 120 miles from the Las Vegas airport. It would be about 1 hr 20 minutes from Beaumont to the Houston airport.

No football
California Baptist 5 hr 50 min $270.00 or From HOU 3 hr 30 min $184 Add 2 hrs drive ( Travel to IAB or HOB and travel from John Wayne Airport)
Chicago State 4 hr 45 min $216.00 or From HOU 2 hr 40 min $101 Add 2 hrs drive (Travel to IAH or HOB and travel from O'hare)
Grand Canyon from HOU 2 hr 35 min $236.00 Add 1 hr 34 min drive (Travel to IAH or HOB travel from Phoenix Skyharbor)
Seattle University from HOU 4 hr 40 min $154.00 Add 1 hr 40 minutes (Travel to IAH or HOB travel from SEA-TAC)
Utah Valley from HOU 2 hr 55 min $158.00 Add 2 hrs drive (Travel to IAH or HOB travel from SLC)

Football
Dixie State from HOU to Las Vegas 3 hr 5 min $412.00 Add another 4 hours drive time (Travel to IAH or HOB travel from McCarran Intl)
UTRGV Edinburg 4 hr 15min $476.00 Drive - 421 miles 6 hr 19min
Tarleton State Stephenville, TX Drive - 333 miles 5 hr 30 min
New Mexico State 1 hr 45 min from HOU to ELP $167.00 Add 2 hr 30 minutes drive time (Travel to IAH or HOB Travel from ELP)

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For comparison, here's a look at the Sun Belt destinations from Beaumont unless otherwise noted using the same source.

No football
UALR Little Rock, AR 1 hr 20 min $182.00 air (406 miles drive 6 hrs 31 min) probably drive
Texas Arlington drivetime 302 miles 4 hr 50 min

Football
Appalachian State HOU to Charlotte 2 hr 20 min $205.00 Add 3-4 hours drive time
Coastal Carolina 6 Hrs+ $456.00
Georgia State 1 hr 50 min $125.00
Georgia Southern Savannah, GA 4 hr 40 min $281.00 Add 1 hr+ to Statesboro
South Alabama drivetime 385 miles 5 hr 33 min
Arkansas State Jonesboro, AR HOU to Memphis 1 hr 25 min $107.00 add 3 hrs drive or drivetime 533 miles 8 hr 25 min
Troy University drivetime 549 miles 8 hr 7 min
ULL drivetime 134 miles 2 hr 3 min
Texas State drivetime 248 miles 3 hr 50 min
ULM drivetime 252 miles 4 hr 15 min