(01-04-2021 01:20 PM)TexasTerror Wrote:  

(01-04-2021 02:59 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  Interesting in retrospect. I’m really curious how this is going to work because it sure looks like a travel budget busting nightmare with pretty limited upside. It’s still a one bid league for basketball and none of the top Southland football programs seemed to have trouble getting slots in the FCS playoff. Given the Covid situation—it seems like a potentially expensive scheme with marginal upside at best. From a fan standpoint, the motivation driving this far flung alignment seems ill defined and nebulous.

I think travel issues are being overstated which I have covered elsewhere.

You can keep travel relatively confined to the 'Texas Division' which is all bus rides for the schools in it. The WAC is likely going to modify its scheduling to really keep the travel limited with there really being two separate divisions in most sports featuring true 'conference play' that comes together for a conference championship.

In football, your flying for one conference football game a year to Utah. Most of our schools were flying for a non-conference game or two in football. In most respects, I can see the non-conference games being bus trips to former Southland foes.

As a SHSU fan...

1) I am excited about new opportunities

2) I think there's schools that look & feel more like ours

3) There's a better road from WAC to other conferences, FBS

4) Significant upside in a sport like men's basketball where you are more likely to get a #12 or #13 seed on an annual basis - better chance for wins, advancement, exposure

5) A league that seems to value access through broadcasting (all the Texas schools have in-house broadcast that can be shown on ESPN3/+; not true of the rest of the SLC)

6) Can still maintain the rivalries with the SLC schools (look for Battle of Chief Caddo between SFA/NWST, plus the Lamar/McNeese rivalries to remain in place in football)

7) SHSU / SFA do not need Houston Baptist for Houston exposure. Arguably, both schools get more exposure in Houston without them and the BOTPW will remain in Houston for the forseeable future. SHSU baseball also is routinely playing in Minute Maid Classic (2021 will be the third time if it holds)

8) The Texas 4 are not recruiting student-athletes OR students in general from Louisiana. Playing more games in Texas and parts of Texas will help.

9) I think we'll know more when the dominoes fall and this is finalized that will add more to the argument

10) It's not the same old, same old

Its not football thats going to hit the travel budget. Its all the other sports. Flying volleyball, softball, baseball, womens basketball, mens basketball (etc) to California, Seattle, and Utah adds up. My sense is it just trades one set of problems for another equally troubling set of new issues. I mean---just to get the football league going the WAC expansion is having to cobble together existing member schools in far flung Utah with D2 moveup schools in Texas---is that really a "big" exciting step upwards? That said, I suspect your point about better ability to follow the league due to more consistent quality viewing options (ESPN+/digital networks) is quite valid. We'll just have to see how it goes, and what devices they intend to deploy in an effort to minimize travel expenses.

As for the expansion---I thought it was more about keeping costs down and increasing the pentration in the footprint. I never saw it as giving schools like SFSU and SFA Houston exposure---it woudnt. HBU is invisible here. Heck--for that matter---SHSU is as well. SHSU gets a quick snippet if they are in the playoffs or tournament--but thats about it. None the less---schools like SFA and SHSU are still seen as top recruiting options for local kids with no FBS options or kids who wish to stay home and who's only FBS options are far away or not appealing.