(06-08-2021 12:31 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(06-08-2021 10:37 AM)SMUstang Wrote:  

(06-08-2021 09:46 AM)whittx Wrote:  But the most viable school from an institutional standpoint (Buffalo) is still on its own island. An Ohio MAC school would be more ideal but even a Toledo or Directional Michigan school wouldn't fit institutionally.

As much as I hate to admit it, Buffalo would be a good choice for the AAC number 12 for these reasons:

1. Location - reasonably close to the departed UCONN
2. Does not increase the conference footprint
3. Excellent football
4. Excellent mens basketball
5. Excellent academics (AAU Research University) with over 32,000 students enrolled. (Most, if not all, college presidents would favor them)
6. Buffalo population over 260,000

In nearly every aspect, probably a better choice than Boise.

Excellent football? Excellent basketball? You do realize college sports is more than just last year? Buffalo football is 377-493 over its history. Buffalo football has been around since 1894 and has ONE conference championship in the sport during that entire span of time. Buffalo Basketball isn much better. It has been to the NCAA tournament just 4 times in its entire history. Its won a total of 2 NCAA tournament games in its entire basketball history.

Excellent university for sure---but excellent football and basketball? C'mon. Zero brand value. Besides, the reality is UConn was an outlier. No real need to replace an outlier---especially given that the for northeast doesnt really care much about college football in general---and cares even less about Buffalo football specifically. If they are the pick---it will be entirely due the quality of the school---as their athletics programs have zero brand value are as far from "value adding" as you can get.

That said--you can throw them in with UAB as a school that COULD develop over the next 5 to 10 years and be viable choice in the future. Honestly---virtually ANY G5 has the potential to develop into a viable option in a decade or so----or none of the G5 might develop to that point. Impossible to know---which is why its not really a good idea to add any school based entirely on "potential". Thats "potential" is simply little more than a crap shoot. What Buffalo does have is the academic chops to be an easy yes if they just had some quality brand value.

I agree to some extent. Guess I was putting them in the same category as Tulane. Though they do have a recent history of excellent sports unlike Tulane. A football game between Buffalo and Tulane would be about as exciting as a Princeton vs Dartmouth game.