(02-02-2025 08:24 AM)Yosef181 Wrote: (02-01-2025 11:23 PM)bill dazzle Wrote: I can see the first six you list, particularly given geographic proximity. However — and since I'm not an App fan — I can't fully understand the inclusion of Georgia Southern on your top six list; if I were an App fan, I might rather enjoy seeing the team play Army and/or Navy.
On that theme (and to your "Army, Navy, and Tulane are military academies and a private schools that aren't peer institutions" point) ...
Gonzaga (a private Catholic school located in the Pacific Northwest) is not a peer institution to Memphis, but I would strongly like the Tigers to play the Zags home and away every year in hoops. Brigham Young (LDS, private, in Utah, etc.) is not a peer institution of Memphis but I would strongly like the Tigers to play the Cougars every year in football. Boise is not a peer institution of Memphis (located in Idaho, small Black student population, etc.) but I would strongly like the Tigers to play the Cougars every year in football.
You seem to put (and I respect your right to do so) major emphasis on "shared geography/culture." In contrast, and with Memphis, I put more emphasis on "sexiness/quality of opponent."
Thanks for responding.
Georgia Southern is our biggest rival. "Deeper Than Hate." We've played each other for the last 31 seasons. We moved up from the SoCon to the Sun Belt with them, which was a big FBS selling point for fans of both schools. These are still two of the most successful programs in FCS history, with Georgia Southern ranked 2nd in most FCS National Championships (only behind North Dakota State), and App State ranked 4th on the same list.
The stakes of this game were often massive. For example, the visiting team came into the 2010 and 2011 games ranked #1 in FCS, only to lose to the home team. Pile games like that up over decades, and you have a rivalry. Imagine if the Clemson-Alabama games from 2016-2019 were played 30 years in a row with conference championships on the line.
As for Army, Navy, and Tulane (and Gonzaga, BYU, Liberty) not being peer institutions, I'm talking about how the finances flow at those institutions. They have different processes to obtain money for their programs than public state universities do, and there are certain advantages that come with that. I want to be on a more even playing field with other conference members when it comes to financing, and that includes having NIL, something Army and Navy don't have.
Very interesting about Georgia Southern. I recall the GSU football program being a power on the FCS level but did not realize the depth of the rivalry with App. Now your listing makes full sense.
As to the "even playing field" and financial structure component you note, I can kind of see that, too, as it relates to App.
To be fair to you, it's hard for this Vanderbilt and Memphis fan to fully understand your mindset (and that is on me and not a criticism of you). You (and many other pro-Sun Belt posters) place significant emphasis (and understandably so given the circumstances/histories of the schools you support) on rivalries, geography and shared institutional/athletics approaches/funding/culture.
In contrast, Vanderbilt has very little of that with its SEC brethren. We have no true rival. Our fans get excited to see the Commodores beat the SEC's big boys (which is not as frequent as we would like). But, for example, most Tennessee and Kentucky fans don't consider Vanderbilt a true rival.
Similarly, Memphis no longer shares a conference with its two main "rivals" (Louisville and Cincinnati) and a key peer (Houston). So, if Memphis is not going to have an AAC rival (other than, to a modest extent, Tulane and UAB), this Memphis fan places strong importance on programs that offer "cache," "national notoriety," and, to an extent, "sexiness" — even if those programs are with schools that are highly different than Memphis. In football, the two key AAC examples are Army and Navy. Located far from Memphis. No NIL. Military academies. Basically nothing in common with Memphis. But I'd rather the Tigers play those two than most of the AAC members. Army and Navy have names, reputations and histories.
Same thing with Temple in hoops. Temple is located in the Northeast (UM in the mid-South). TU and UM never played in basketball on an annual basis until 2013. So there is not that shared history/culture/geography/rivalry. However, Temple is No. 7 in all-time wins in college hoops (almost 2,000 wins) and is a "known quantity" that college hoops fans respect. So I'm thankful Memphis shares a league with Temple.
On this theme, one reason I'm open to Memphis moving to the PAC is that each of the eight future PAC members brings an element of "cache" in football, basketball and/or name recognition due to location and/or long-standing sports history. That is not fully evident in the AAC, Sun Belt, C-USA or future MWC.
In short, and compared to the PAC, Memphis "makes more sense" overall in the AAC (or even, hypothetically, in your Sun Belt). But in some ways, I'd rather have Memphis a member of the future PAC.