(09-08-2021 07:28 PM)billybobby777 Wrote: I’m not hearing anything from Navy fans about this. Even our favorite Navy poster has been vague on this subject—and he’s extremely PRO AAC.
Does Navy want to stay in the AAC or go independent now?
I'm scratching my head here -- are you serious?
There was an entire thread titled "If UCF, Cincy & UH join the Big 12 does Navy go Indy?" here on the realignment board.
I answered the question...with a post I had already put in ANOTHER thread here on the realignment board.
(09-01-2021 11:48 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote: Some thoughts on Navy going independent.
The original poster had it as a question; it seems like every subsequent poster took Navy independence as an assumption - that assumption is flawed.
Navy absolutely COULD go independent.
Navy didn't sign up for the Big East in 2012 because of a lack of success as an independent. In some ways, the environment today is better for an independent than it was a decade ago.
So Navy could go independent IF the AAC got TOTALLY blown up. Honestly, I don't know that losing 4 teams would hit that threshhold. 5 or 6 teams leaving, sure, but if there is a core or 7 AAC teams to whom we've committed for a decade, that might be enough to stick with.
Navy would definitely NOT be interested in a smaller, regionalized conference. The expanded coast to coast Big East (SDSU, Boise, TCU) that we signed on to in 2012 fit our national program and our national stature - going smaller and regional is counter to Navy's interests. A rebuilt AAC that still had a broader footprint would still be in Navy's interests.
Timelines factor in. I'm impressed with what UConn AD Benedict did to build schedules on SHORT timelines. But if things move fast, like less than five years lead time, it's a lot harder to get teams to schedule Navy than to schedule a UConn automatic win.
Bowl tie-ins factor in. In the AAC, Navy has gotten bowl bids and wins against three contract-bowl-conference teams; Army's independent outlook is Independence Bowl or "pool"...I prefer our AAC options.
But the biggest point comes down to "know your why" When Navy joined the BigEast, we had bowls arranged five years out but the next bowl arrangements were a big question; scheduling was getting harder. But the strategic reason Navy is in the AAC today was to be in the right place to remain relevant at the highest level of college football. We signed on to a BCS-auto-qual conference. That rug got pulled out and Navy has been all-in on the AAC P6. That effort looked great when a 6+6 playoff seemed imminent.
There are several worst-case scenarios for the AAC as a conference. But staying in a "weak 6th" AAC -- rather than the P6 AAC we helped build -- may still be better than being the best of an increasingly irrelevant group of independents.
Don't assume that Navy will go independent instead of remaining with the #6 conference.
To pull in some of the thoughts that surfaced here.
Navy loves Texas - it's the top state represented on our roster with 21 players. However, it's more important to think "national program" - 30 states (and DC) are listed on that football roster. SMU, bowls (Armed Forces Bowl specifically), and occasional other visits might fill the "Texas" bin within the "National" requirement.
Navy loves SMU, Tulane, and Tulsa for "institutional fits"...don't know that we need to pile Rice on top of that. I don't see Rice as a Navy must-have.
Rather, Navy's voice in the AAC expansion war room will be for those strategic goals that Navy shares with the "P6" agenda -- access and exposure at the very top level of college football...so football brand (part but ONLY a part of which is on-field success), access to the expanded playoff, bowl tie ins. The AAC isn't just about money for Navy...but the same things that will keep the ESPN money as good as possible are the things that will serve Navy's objectives.
With the luxury of all sports in the Patriot League (almost Ivy, bluesox), travel is zero issue for football-only Navy. National, coast-to-coast would be a positive for Navy. Regional, bus league, and "easier" would all be negatives for Navy.
Independence today probably means less relevance -- even Army (miles ahead of UConn, UMass, Liberty et al) is essentially out of the expanded playoff - Navy could be in the conversation of a 6+6 (and the CFP money is 7x as much in the CURRENT CFP). So it doesn't advance us to the strategic goals. If the AAC is SO diminished that the "P6" GOALS are IMPOSSIBLE, AND it morphs into something that doesn't feed our national program, then maybe we go independent -- but again, it is independence that doesn't advance our strategic goals, so it would be a survival move, not a win.
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Will Navy stay or go Independent?
