(07-29-2020 02:01 PM)UTArlingtonMaverick Wrote:  

(07-16-2020 11:32 AM)Michael in Raleigh Wrote:  I do wonder about UTA and whether they would want to join such a new conference. They left the SLC about a decade ago for a WAC that was losing members rapidly

When UTA left the Southland for the WAC, it was not obvious or clear that the WAC composition would change so quickly.

UTA wanted out of the Southland because Southland schools are not peer institutions. After the WAC membership changed so drastically, the WAC also was not made-up of peer institutions.

There is no perfect fit, but the Sunbelt was/is composed of universities that are more peer-like compared to the Southland and present-day WAC. In fact, some Sunbelt universities are strong peers, such as Texas State, Georgia State, and perhaps Louisiana to a lesser degree.

Thanks for the explanation.

I think UTA and Little Rock are in the SB fir the long haul. UTA is not going to want to go back to a Southland Conference that it left about a decade ago. It's not going to want to go to a Summit Leafue that stretches to the Dakotas, as opposed to the SB which has several schools within driving distance. It's not going to go to the WAC. And I just don't see the MVC, if it decided to expand, reaching down to Texas over Murray State and/or Belmont.

Pretty much the same story for Little Rock. They have no reason to leave.