(01-13-2021 04:38 PM)Itinerant Texan Wrote:  

(01-13-2021 03:34 PM)OscarWildeCat Wrote:  

(01-13-2021 02:59 PM)Todor Wrote:  

(01-13-2021 02:02 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  

(01-13-2021 09:35 AM)LUSportsFan Wrote:  I guess it is apparently a bad thing for conference members to want to compete against other conference members??????? A statement like the bolded one makes no sense.

I understand where Todor is coming from. Under current NCAA rules, once the Texas 4 join the WAC any or all could choose to begin the process of reclassifying to FBS without any special exemption from the NCAA (because they'll be in a conference that "previously met the definition" of an FBS conference). After moving up they would function like NMSU, playing as FBS independents, because the WAC would almost certainly still be short of having the eight FBS full members it would need to be deemed an FBS conference. That would be fine for NMSU in the short run because it would make scheduling easier.

However by doing so one or more of the Texas 4 would also have positioned themselves to be potentially more attractive candidates than NMSU to join the Sun Belt or CUSA if either conference had a reason to expand in the next few years. This could happen if the Sun Belt decided to add a couple of Texas members to fill in the geographic gap between Louisiana Lafayette and Texas State, or if the MWC lost Boise State to the AAC and backfilled with one to three Texas CUSA members and CUSA wanted replacements, or if some other realignment earthquake came along.

While any WAC schools still playing FCS football wouldn't be affected, NMSU would be right back in the same position it is now, essentially having been leapfrogged in the contest to land an FBS conference membership. If I were an NMSU fan this prospect would also worry me.

Having said that, I wouldn't be worried that all of the Texas WAC members might leave en masse to join another conference or start their own conference. I can't imagine a realistic scenario under which any existing D1 conference would be in the market for all of them, and there are significant downsides to starting a new D1 conference under current NCAA rules.

HawaiiMongoose, you can see beyond your own nose and have foresight that extends beyond when you are due your next meal. That's why I like you. And you also know more about the WAC than any of these clowns who didn't even know who was in it until 3 months ago.

This Pollyanna attitude that this is all just happening randomly for no reason other than the most superficial explanation possible is fine for some people I guess. There is nothing pessimistic about my prediction. That would mean that these 4 teams joining is some gloriously fortuitous event. It isn't. Its simply a logical step in a plan that they cant yet see.

Assuming the Mountain West and Conference USA will remain off limits to New Mexico State in the future (unless they collapsed the way the WAC did when NMSU finally got in in 05, and in that scenario, why would we want in) then the Aggies will remain in the hunt for an FBS conference. Having potentially 4 new bottom feeding FBS programs with a big geographic advantage will not help us find a home either. If a conference needs members (like literally, any team with FBS status) like CUSA or the Sunbelt will at some point, they'll always take the schools 20_miles away because they won't care who they play, but they probably can't afford the extra travel to get to NMSU.

They are using the WAC as a stepping stone, with absolutely no interest other than what the WAC can do for them. The WAC can however, use the additional football schools in the meantime to get legit members like Southern Utah. None of it is good or bad, optimistic or pessimistic. It just is what it is.

Now, Tarleton and ACU may actually stick around. No one else would ever take either one. Their locations, short D1 histories, low funding and academics make them a poor fit for most conferences. They are poor fits for the WAC as well, but having them isn't as members is kind of like why we have Chicago State. We need the numbers, so literally nothing else matters... The other 3 are as good as gone. They'll never even have both feet in the door.

That comment takes a lot of nerve there sport. I mean your are a New Mexico State fan, right? Not Arizona State or Rice some other institution that’s actually earned the right to consider themselves superior in academics or athletics.

Don't even bother. Dude's a

I know, I felt dirty for dignifying him with a response. I should have just rolled my eyes and reminded myself that every fan base has a guy like him but I’m feeling cantankerous today.