(10-15-2021 10:07 PM)Dr. Isaly von Yinzer Wrote:  OK, so I think you’re making a better case against UTSA than you are for Rice. Rice definitely has more than enough money to do whatever the hell it wants to do. Again though, that’s been the case for the past 30 years and what has that led to?

The other way to look at it is Rice has proven that it does not really need a thriving athletic department to be a thriving university. It doesn’t need to use athletics as a loss leader like so many of its peers do.

For me, I just can’t get over the tiny undergraduate enrollment and the really sparse home crowds over multiple decades now. i’m trying to imagine a scenario in which a Rice team playing under the banner of the American Athletic Conference suddenly starts to thrive and I just can’t fathom that ever happening.

It would be about them pouring more money into the program and getting better exposure from ESPN/ABC. No reason SMU and Tulsa can be competitive and Rice cant. That said---if we assume the AAC adding a Texas school is a MUST (and we really dont know that it is), does the AAC really care which Texas G5 steps up to the plate and indicates it is willing to expand its athletic budget to meet the 45-50 million it will take to be consistently competitive in the AAC? I mean---if UTSA and N Texas (or N Texas and Rice) decide they can accept a MW invite and not have to meet the AAC higher budget requirements---does that really matter to the AAC?

It may very be that it doesnt matter at all. Its not like any of the available G5's in the Texas have been power football programs---all three look to be a gamble on future potential. So---if the MW wants to take two or three Texas teams that the AAC has vetted and already knows are not willing to spend at the level required to compete in the AAC (or MW--as those two conferences have similar budget ranges)--thats basically the MW adding teams to that are likely to rarely ever climb out of the MW cellar. Meanwhile, if the AAC is taking the one available Texas G5 committed to spending what it takes to compete in the AAC---I dont think the AAC will really care which one of the 4 it is (even if its say--Texas St.---the program thats the least successful in the bunch)---as it would be the one program thats financially committed to competing. I suppose---if they could have thier druthers---it would be nice if the school with the best brand and AAU academics was the school that was willing to spend the money.

That said---if your having to choose from 4 programs that simply cant seem to consistently field decent teams---maybe you should just add 2 teams for now or--if thats not an option---at least widen the search beyond Texas.