(06-05-2017 10:38 AM)NoDak Wrote:  

(06-05-2017 10:22 AM)jacksfan29 Wrote:  

(06-04-2017 04:48 PM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(06-04-2017 03:11 PM)NoDak Wrote:  GCU has the resources to offer travel allowances to the Horizon. Horizon teams would be able to travel once to Phoenix in the dead of winter and what Midwest team doesn't want that? Also would give the Horizon a small part of a big market. Overall, a GCU/NMSU pair offers some sort of promise of higher RPI than a pair of IPFW/IUPUI or Omaha/UMKC. Doubt the Horizon would get two bids, but it may be worth the shot.

GCU and NMSU won't be in the Horizon for long, so it's not a long term commitment, which is normally the case with conferences. NMSU only stays until it gets an FBS bid. GCU will be fully eligible now and they aren't going to waste the opportunity, as it wants to be a Gonzaga and has the money to do it.

So you think GCU is going to pay travel subsidies, increased travel expenses and a $1.1 million entry fee to join a league that is not any better than the WAC? So they can take longer trips? Do you think that would be in anyway attractive to a public school like NMSU?

Exactly. Why would a school, with over 60% of graduates coming from AZ, CA, TX pay millions for subsidized travel to move to a one bid league in the Great Lakes?

The smartest thing GCU can do is build the WAC (which they are doing) and utilize their new eligibility to take a few NCAA tournament trips. They also need get back on the non-profit route. They do that and they will have a shot at the WCC. The Horizon League does nothing for GCU or NMSU. The WAC is as good a league today as the HL are without Valpo. The WAC is getting stronger while the HL is getting weaker. Pretty easy decision.

GCU isn't tied to in-state tuition, that's why. If more Midwesterners enroll, GCU stock goes up. Pretty simple, but many don't understand. California is already covered by advertising, not in the form of the WAC.

Not saying it happens, but there are legitimate business reasons to switch.

They are already in the Midwestern market. GCU can advertise and recruit students from across the country, and they do. One of the biggest states providing graduates at GCU is Florida. Maybe they should push for the SBC. It would be a better move for them then the HL. GCU don't need exposure in the Midwest, they already have it. What they need now is to back up all the hype with two or more trips to the NCAA tournament. That, and going non-profit could very well get them an invite into the WCC.

The HL is a one bid league with very little shot at becoming a two bid league anytime soon. The WAC is a one bid league but has stronger programs at the top. GCU is going nowhere.