(03-21-2021 11:21 PM)CW Fishman Wrote:  I don't think any current FBS school or conference is going to support another FBS conference. Their are already too many mouths to feed. Why should A&M or UT want to cut the pie more ways. I am not saying that WAC cannot eventually go FBS, but I would not expect any help from the big boys. TV money get divided (not equally) amongst all of the conferences. More conferences just dilutes the share each one gets. FBS football is big business. I get that these schools are flush with money, but that doesn't matter. These schools that hold the monopoly are greedy and are not likely to do any favors.

There will be major obstacles to overcome and the big boys are not going to want this to happen no matter what they say publicly. I think some of the fans of the schools that recently moved up are blissfully naïve about this process. It is a much bigger jump from FCS to FBS than it is from D2 to FCS. I think getting FBS members to support a new conference while possible, will be an uphill climb. I also do not think the WAC is grandfathered in, because those schools (except NMSU) are long gone. But that is just my opinion. Then last couple of decades the WAC has been a transitional conference where schools "park" their programs until a better deal comes along. Maybe this time it will be different

I think you either didn’t read my earlier post or you were just thinking on a solo university basis only. This more about getting your name brand or trademark out there. Who is going to be THE FLAGSHIP system in Texas? At this point, both universities are pushing their little brothers to move up at every chance it’s feasible. Examples, UTSA -FBS. Study at UTRGV by UT stated FBS or bust basically. A&M needs more schools up in D1 to compete and they could care less if they are FCS or FBS. The proposed merger of TAMUK /TAMUCC would have given A&M a student body of over 23000 and definitely a bigger slice of PUF. So, those two are eyeing a much larger prize than what FBS doles out.

All that being said, I personally think FBS is long term not short term. As I have seen in college sports most things don’t come to fruition over night. Tarleton is a perfect example. Look how long it took to become D1 after first meeting with SLC more than a decade ago. But, I do think that is the long term goal of many of these institutions. Maybe not all.