JHG722
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I Root For: Temple
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RE: An SEC with partial members
(08-05-2018 02:42 PM)AllTideUp Wrote: (08-04-2018 11:54 PM)JRsec Wrote: (08-04-2018 11:03 PM)AllTideUp Wrote: Another thread got me thinking...
What if the SEC embraced the notion of partial members? I think this could actually be beneficial if executed correctly.
While ideally every member of the league would have strong performers in the revenue sports, this may never be the case for some lesser funded schools.
Vanderbilt has yet to commit to a new football stadium or major upgrades to the current facility. Perhaps a well funded football program is not a realistic endeavor for them and in this day and age when money is still growing and the big boys keep getting bigger, it's entirely possible the window for Vandy to alter their dynamics has closed.
So what if we asked Vanderbilt to remove their football program from SEC competition?
I'm not saying Vandy should drop football. Actually, if a school can afford to field a team at the D1 level without heavy subsidies then you should probably do it because it's still the best promotional tool for a university as far as athletic squads go.
If this were to happen then pay them commiserate with the media value a member would have without football in the fold. This saves everyone a little money and it gives Vandy a good excuse not to spend much on their football program and they clearly don't want to do that anyway.
They could play an independent schedule which would allow them to win more games against comparable competition. We could give them a 5 game agreement similar to what Notre Dame gets. That way, Vandy is taken care of as they are still a valued member, but their removal from football competition would open up a very valuable spot for another strong program to enter and ultimately boost everyone's bottom line.
In the aftermath of a decision like this, what if we made a move to add Texas, Texas Tech, and Kansas?
We would have made room for both TX schools, keeping Texas Tech safe in the process, while also allowing a regional rival for Missouri. We get Kansas' basketball prowess, a new market, and an AAU school while not forcing a strained relationship in the TX capital.
In this scenario, we've got 17 members. I would propose adding Tulane and Rice and giving them the same deal offered to Vanderbilt. One thing this does is add to our academic credibility, but from an athletic standpoint it also allows less travel for minor sports. At that, road games for football would allow visiting fans not to have to travel so far for "non-conference" match-ups against these schools. These "cupcakes" would be built into the schedule, but the money would be remaining in house if you think about it.
I'll even throw this out there...with an eye towards expanding our sports offerings with lacrosse and hockey, I would say even up our membership numbers with a school like Denver. I think you could see schools like Vandy and Tulane add lacrosse as well to help our TV content.
Now, we've got 20, but 4 of them are partials.
I've always liked the idea but never really saw a great way to pull it off until now. Think about how easy it would be to have the ACC essentially merge with us if we could have the SEC, and the SEC/PSC.
That's right the SEC Private School Conference (16 privates or service academies).
Boston College, Pittsburgh (quasi private), Syracuse, Temple
Duke, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Tulane
Baylor, T.C.U., Rice, S.M.U.
Air Force, Army, Navy, Tulsa
Then the regular SEC could consist of these schools (yes 30):
North Carolina, N.C. State, Notre Dame, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia
Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, South Carolina
Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, Tennessee
Arkansas, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Texas A&M
Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech
Now that would be a heckuva group with which to leverage rights and set up an academic consortium.
The main SEC advances 5 schools for the conference playoff and the Privates advance 2 while 1 at large school is selected.
The 8 schools play down to 1 and that one plays in the National Championship game.
I believe Temple is public, but they would probably go for it.
For all intents and purposes, we're a state school.
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