So you want to select a school to be added to your conference.
The first decision should be what criteria will be used. Suppose
a conference will invite a school and the choice has been narrowed to
Appalachian State or Georgia State. Which one will be invited?
The Appalachian State Mountaineers are "hot". Their 2018 season
football record was 11–2, 7–1 in Sun Belt. The 2019 season record
was 13–1 (7–1 Sun Belt).
Georgia State Panthers are not "hot". Their 2018 record was 2–10
(1–7 Sun Belt) and their 2019 record was 7-6 (4-4 Sun Belt). The
football team never won more than seven games in the seven seasons
ending in 2019.
Many football fans would say the choice is obvious. But App State
would be the wrong choice. The primary criteria should be which
school will have enduring support. Revenue comes from ticket sales,
TV viewership, merchandise sales, and student FEES.
GSU enrollment of 53,000+ has huge potential in enduring fee revenues
compared to App State's 20,000+.
The second criteria should be potential. Setting in Atlanta GSU has
huge potential growth in enrollment, attendance, TV viewers,
and recruiting.
There is a high probability App State will lose its coach soon. Then
it will be a small school in a remote location with mediocre performance.
Jump for the "hot" one at your own risk.
So, the wise choice might be to take the one that is not "hot" but
has enduring support and demand a commitment from it.
Does BSU fit as a "hot" program in a remote location and one coach
away from mediocre performance?
The same criteria can be applied to other sports.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/sch...index.html
https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/a-glanc...enrollment
https://em.appstate.edu/