(12-04-2021 11:52 PM)Digi368 Wrote:  I can only speak to UTSA but I feel like the antagonists to the merger idea were following the proven path. UTSA has outright stated that they modeled their program after a UCF or Memphis and want to emulate them and their path in FBS advancement as much as possible. Nothing against the Sunbelt here but those schools in smallish markets dont have a major growth expectancy. Again that is not a knock on the quality of the product just the overall growth from a school in a rural area. There is likely a larger growth expectancy some of the detractors see being in Dallas, San Antonio, Birmingham, Charlotte etc.

I noted the shout-out to UTSA during the AAC championship game that supported this model. The AAC, with backing by ESPN that C-USA never had, is a platform for a big city school to catch fire like UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston did. The message seemed to be that the AAC platform was still stocked with plenty of schools who will be “next” including specifically naming UTSA and UAB.