(11-18-2017 12:18 PM)Usajags Wrote: (11-18-2017 12:00 PM)ark30inf Wrote: (11-18-2017 11:41 AM)Rik Flair Wrote: (11-18-2017 10:50 AM)Bigtom12 Wrote: (11-18-2017 09:21 AM)Rik Flair Wrote: Correct, my point was that a conference game in LR every other year against UALR would be beneficial to stAte. And, a home game in Jonesboro against UALR in football would garner more interest. Than playing UNLV or even most of our other conference foes
I agree it’s benecial to stAte and Little Rock. Plus I think it would piss off Arkansas, plus you have a stadium that holds 50,000 people not being used! All we need to do is get UTA in the mix and we are done stick with 12.
West
stAte
Louisiana
ULM
UALR
TxSt
UTA
East
CCU
GaSt
GASo
App St
Troy
S. Alabama
Only problem I have with this is that the Western side of the conference would not be as strong as the Eastern side of the conference. East could have up to 5 strong teams on any given year. I could see no more than 3 strong teams on the Western side in any given year.
If we did add both UTA and UALR they would have to bring it. I see growth potential for UALR I don’t see it with UTA the Dallas market is over saturated as is. Dallas already has 3 Division I-A schools around the Dallas area. UALR is a different animal with them being only one in Little Rock.
Dallas market
TCU
SMU
N.Texas
I suppose this is all just wishful thinking, but for it to really happen, it will take the Razorbacks exiting the LR market for good and Little Rock putting together a plan similar to what USA and Georgia State have done. In the end, they could have a decent program that would draw 15 to 20k per game to War Memorial. Long term, having a football program could reverse the course at their school of losing enrollment and being considered just a city college. Now I have to leave, got a 2 hour drive to Jboro to watch stAte put an a$$ whipping on the Bobcats!
I suppose its possible, but Little Rock drawing 15K to 20K consistently is hard to picture. Little Rock is just not a sports town.
We have a very weird sports dynamic in this state that outsiders often can't quite grasp.
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Yeah, I see it the same way. UTA is a school of nearly 40k students in a metroplex that has more then twice the population of the state of Arkansas. And it's hard to think of a Texas area being over saturated in football. Also, UTA does have a history, some of those folks, families, will return. UALR will have to create a following that has never existed.
I'm gonna encompass all the UTA talk into this one response.
As far as the Western side not being good, don't know that I agree there. Looking at UTA's success in all sports, some teams should oppose UTA starting a team. Our Athletic Department has shown it can run a successful and ethical sports team. We have twice missed the all-sports trophy by two points to a team that had three more sports. We have a desirable area to go to school and a high academic profile. Our main flaw is a lack of sports following, but...
We are a large school, so it appears less attended by the total enrollment. But our volleyball team is the second best attended program in the conference, our men's team has been in various points of the top three in the conference. Baseball and softball are top half, though there is a clear delineation between the top four programs and the rest in baseball. If we are top half in every team sport we play, why would football be different. Because there's TCU, SMU and the Dallas Cowboys?
In case people have missed it, there has been a huge resurgence of college basketball. SMU has been ranked in the top 25, TCU won the NIT, and UTA has been doing what we have in garnering attention. Our media profile has grown as we have gotten more competitive. And as for the Cowboys, no one rationally thinks UTA will compete for the same fans. I think people forget that the NFL is expensive. $25 might get you standing room on the "party deck" but there isn't much to be had below $100. Plus the Cowboys attract all across the state. UTA is looking for alums, current students and nearby residents.
Back in the day, Arkansas State, North Texas and UTA had similar attendance figures. The Red Wolves increased a lot due to winning and Mohajir. North Texas stays in the 18,000 range. I see no reason UTA wouldn't be better or on par with ULM, GSU, NMSU, Idaho, Coastal Carolina or even South Alabama.
The main drawback as I see it isn't competitiveness overall, but I don't believe UTA brings enough to the table to overcome the loss of the CFP money. At one million per team up to ten teams, I don't believe UTA would consistently keep the SBC at third place or better.