Michael in Raleigh
All American
Posts: 3,633
Joined: Jul 2014
Reputation: 325
I Root For: App State
Location:
|
Stunning Conference Moves
Life kept me away from this site for a lot of the past many months. I had a hard time keeping up with the moves by the WAC and the ASUN and am just now gathering which schools made the moves.
Both leagues' abilities to lure in new members from within D1 were stunning to me. They struck me as basically the rock-bottom, least desirable leagues in D1. New members, recents years suggested, always came from either D2 or from the defunct Great West, and schools jumped at any opportunity to move anywhere else. The WAC and the ASUN were two of the smallest D1 conferences, and having only 8 or 9 members these days is only a sign of strength if your name is Ivy.
Boy was I wrong.
I should have seen it coming that things aren't always what they seem. The MEAC, a league consisting of members with loyal fanbases, long lasting history, commonality, and affinity for each others' traditions, managed to be all but brought to its knees last year. I had assumed they were a pretty stable league even after Hampton left a few years ago.
So I guess it turns out that the WAC and ASUN weren't at the bottom of the totem pole after all. Does that mean the Southland is? Or the OVC?
Anyway, the moves this year by the schools that left their longtime homes for what I thought were super unstable leagues don't generate the same headlines as P5 realignment in the past 20 years or so, but they're at least as stunnin because of how they turned the hierarchy upside down.
|
|
06-02-2021 08:43 PM |
|
BePcr07
All American
Posts: 4,899
Joined: Dec 2015
Reputation: 342
I Root For: Boise St & Zags
Location:
|
RE: Stunning Conference Moves
The Southland, MEAC, and possibly the OVC are riding the struggle bus. I’m not confident about the OVC but it’s close. The SWAC is looking even more stable and was already considered very stable. The WAC and ASUN look the part. I’m suspicious of the Texas schools in the WAC and expect they’ll split off at some point but I could be wrong.
I’d be interested to see how the next couple years play out. If the XII gals apart, I wonder how that may domino down the conference food chain.
|
|
06-02-2021 09:23 PM |
|
VCE
1st String
Posts: 1,158
Joined: Jul 2019
Reputation: 158
I Root For: Tradition
Location:
|
RE: Stunning Conference Moves
Howard has great alum support, decent academics and a fantastic endowment. There are perhaps a few other D1 HBCUs who can say the same. Alabama State and Jackson State both had good gameday environments when I saw them.
Southern and Grambling both have sub $10mm endowments despite having a nationally televised game every year and supposed great fan support. Neither has any place fleecing taxpayers to pretend to be D1.
Money is fungible, before anyone complains about that point.
|
|
06-02-2021 09:38 PM |
|
DFW HOYA
Heisman
Posts: 5,407
Joined: May 2004
Reputation: 265
I Root For: Georgetown
Location: Dallas, TX
|
RE: Stunning Conference Moves
(06-02-2021 09:38 PM)VCE Wrote: Howard has great alum support, decent academics and a fantastic endowment. There are perhaps a few other D1 HBCUs who can say the same. Alabama State and Jackson State both had good gameday environments when I saw them.
Howard has advantages no other HBCU has, including an annual check of $220 million each and very year from the U.S. Congress.
https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budge...howard.pdf
However, that doesn't translate to alumni support. Its alumni giving rate is 7%.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answ...niversity/
|
|
06-02-2021 09:58 PM |
|
IWokeUpLikeThis
Hall of Famer
Posts: 13,726
Joined: Jul 2014
Reputation: 1434
I Root For: NIU, Chicago St
Location:
|
RE: Stunning Conference Moves
(06-02-2021 08:43 PM)Michael in Raleigh Wrote: So I guess it turns out that the WAC and ASUN weren't at the bottom of the totem pole after all. Does that mean the Southland is? Or the OVC?
Yes, right now the bottom of the D1 pecking order is:
- OVC
- Southland
- MEAC
The current state of these leagues, until proven otherwise, cannot poach other D1 leagues. (WIU likely ends up in the OVC, but that’s not a poaching - just a geographic no brainer.)
A year ago, the bottom of the D1 pecking order would’ve been:
- WAC
- ASUN
- MEAC
The WAC and ASUN commissioners pulled off a historically rare feat - flipping the hierarchy upside down.
|
|
06-02-2021 10:02 PM |
|
IWokeUpLikeThis
Hall of Famer
Posts: 13,726
Joined: Jul 2014
Reputation: 1434
I Root For: NIU, Chicago St
Location:
|
RE: Stunning Conference Moves
(06-02-2021 09:38 PM)VCE Wrote:
Southern and Grambling both have sub $10mm endowments despite having a nationally televised game every year and supposed great fan support. Neither has any place fleecing taxpayers to pretend to be D1.
If you draw 17k fans per game like Southern, your fan support absolutely belongs in D1.
|
|
06-02-2021 10:07 PM |
|
VCE
1st String
Posts: 1,158
Joined: Jul 2019
Reputation: 158
I Root For: Tradition
Location:
|
RE: Stunning Conference Moves
(06-02-2021 09:58 PM)DFW HOYA Wrote: (06-02-2021 09:38 PM)VCE Wrote: Howard has great alum support, decent academics and a fantastic endowment. There are perhaps a few other D1 HBCUs who can say the same. Alabama State and Jackson State both had good gameday environments when I saw them.
Howard has advantages no other HBCU has, including an annual check of $220 million each and very year from the U.S. Congress.
https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budge...howard.pdf
However, that doesn't translate to alumni support. Its alumni giving rate is 7%.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answ...niversity/
I had no clue. That’s probably the most stunning stat in the thread. Good for Howard, I guess.
|
|
06-02-2021 10:15 PM |
|
BruceMcF
Hall of Famer
Posts: 13,098
Joined: Jan 2013
Reputation: 760
I Root For: Reds/Buckeyes/.
Location:
|
RE: Stunning Conference Moves
(06-02-2021 10:07 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote: (06-02-2021 09:38 PM)VCE Wrote:
Southern and Grambling both have sub $10mm endowments despite having a nationally televised game every year and supposed great fan support. Neither has any place fleecing taxpayers to pretend to be D1.
If you draw 17k fans per game like Southern, your fan support absolutely belongs in D1.
That does seem to be more relevant to whether they belong in D1 than how many alumni end up dying with enough money to leave money to their alma mater in their will.
|
|
06-04-2021 12:19 AM |
|
HyperDuke
Hall of Famer
Posts: 10,437
Joined: Jan 2013
Reputation: 191
I Root For: JMU
Location:
|
RE: Stunning Conference Moves
(06-02-2021 10:07 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote: (06-02-2021 09:38 PM)VCE Wrote:
Southern and Grambling both have sub $10mm endowments despite having a nationally televised game every year and supposed great fan support. Neither has any place fleecing taxpayers to pretend to be D1.
If you draw 17k fans per game like Southern, your fan support absolutely belongs in D1.
First, I strongly disagree with VCE’s characterization of Southern “fleecing taxpayers to stay D1”. That said, about 15k of those 17k are at the game for the Human Jukebox experience.
|
|
06-04-2021 07:57 AM |
|
GreenHornet33
All American
Posts: 2,621
Joined: Jul 2008
Reputation: 105
I Root For: Jackson State Tigers
Location: Arlington,Tx
|
RE: Stunning Conference Moves
(06-04-2021 07:57 AM)HyperDuke Wrote: (06-02-2021 10:07 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote: (06-02-2021 09:38 PM)VCE Wrote:
Southern and Grambling both have sub $10mm endowments despite having a nationally televised game every year and supposed great fan support. Neither has any place fleecing taxpayers to pretend to be D1.
If you draw 17k fans per game like Southern, your fan support absolutely belongs in D1.
First, I strongly disagree with VCE’s characterization of Southern “fleecing taxpayers to stay D1”. That said, about 15k of those 17k are at the game for the Human Jukebox experience.
Which is also false. Southern has a loyal football following, The Juke is simply the frosting on the cake.
|
|
06-04-2021 09:11 AM |
|
HyperDuke
Hall of Famer
Posts: 10,437
Joined: Jan 2013
Reputation: 191
I Root For: JMU
Location:
|
RE: Stunning Conference Moves
IMO, the two are tightly intertwined. Football following benefits from the band following. Way more than just frosting.
|
|
06-08-2021 05:30 AM |
|