(02-03-2013 04:44 PM)NJRedMan Wrote: (02-03-2013 08:51 AM)johnbragg Wrote: No. About the only FBS schools we'd consider are UConn and Cincinnati, and that's if they asked nicely as conference bros. (Some would consider Notre Dame, but that would be a temporary thing which I would vote No on.)
Your basketball resume in isolation is worthy of Big East consideration with the other candidates. HOWEVER:
1. You're an FBS school. That's a headache we don't need. A school that will hire Bobby Petrino is a school that would leave us for the Aresco League given the chance, or even for full MAC membership if they demanded it. Either way, you don't bring enough to the table to make that worth our while.
2. You're in a 100-150,000 metro.
I respect what the Hilltoppers have done in basketball, but you are absolutely not a fit.
I'm with you John. I enjoy the Hill Toppers and their awesome mascot, but we are not inviting FBS schools.
Thanks guys, Big Red is a beast. I respect the direction that you guys are going.
I want to make a few points real quick, not pimping just discussing. as for the aresco league Memphis and Cinn will make sure that does not happen. both schools have been in a pact to lock out western a long as they have been affiliated with Louisville. this goes back to the metro days.
As far as the MAC, I would never set foot in diddle if they painted M A C on John Oldham Court. The mac, while obviously a good mid major football conference is a joke with the orange, round, ball. Let's face it WKU is in KY, that orange ball is what we all care about.
I do not see the petrino hire as a desperate grasp at straws. Someone was going to hire him, probably a sun belt/cusa school. If we cannot beat him, hire him (for next to nothing I might add).
I for one would be all for dropping fball back to FCS for the sake of joining the number one basketball conference in the land, it would absolutely kill the fans of that school in Lexington.
as for our market size. this is a hotly debated issue, mainly among fans trying to smear our good name for the sake of advancing their own school...
WKU is situated in the BG market. approx. 140k I believe in the metro. What no one wants to admit is that good basketball in Kentucky always wins out. meet our new 4.4m market share. BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE: wku is also full of out of state students from music city usa. We have a hotbed of alumni living in the Athens of the south. Nashville has a metro of >1.5m.
We also claim to have a good sector in Evansville in, which is a metro of 300k. I do not know about that so I wont count it. I will say that I know we have good representation and respect across the state and in Nashville.
All of our bball games are broadcast live locally in bg and in Louisville. We also play a basketball game in Bridgestone arena in Nashville every other year as a home game. we also have played the blue team in Nashville in football twice.
I do not know if this would ever work because of the football thing, but from a basketball perspective we match up very well. from a tv market perspective we bring a potential 5.9m subscribers in 2-4 major metropolitan areas.