(09-24-2021 09:36 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 08:28 PM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 07:43 PM)GoOwls111 Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 07:04 PM)First Family Forever Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 06:50 PM)Sactowndog Wrote:  My guess is CSF and AFA are using you all to renegotiate the term sheet which came about after Boise used you to negotiate it. I’m not sure who is unbuttoning whom in these instances.

Really. I disagree . I believe is the start of a AAC/MWC merger. A 16 team conference will be the end result.

That I can Support, I've been pushing for it all along as the primary goal.

If it’s only 16, then it’s not a merger. Merger implies that we add all 12 of them and go to 20.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Correct. With a merger (and I could get on board with that), no existing AAC or MWC programs would be "expelled."

The chances of a merger are modest at best.

History has shown that efforts toward a 16 team conference didn’t work out. The SEC has a plan to go to 16, and now everyone changes their mind on that being the norm. I think the SEC can pull off 16 just because of their value. Who cares if teams ever play each other. Us being the guinea pigs for 20, however, might be a bridge too far.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

(09-25-2021 07:21 AM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 09:36 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 08:28 PM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 07:43 PM)GoOwls111 Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 07:04 PM)First Family Forever Wrote:  Really. I disagree . I believe is the start of a AAC/MWC merger. A 16 team conference will be the end result.

That I can Support, I've been pushing for it all along as the primary goal.

If it’s only 16, then it’s not a merger. Merger implies that we add all 12 of them and go to 20.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Correct. With a merger (and I could get on board with that), no existing AAC or MWC programs would be "expelled."

The chances of a merger are modest at best.

History has shown that efforts toward a 16 team conference didn’t work out. The SEC has a plan to go to 16, and now everyone changes their mind on that being the norm.

The trend does seem to be toward larger conferences. ACC, Big Ten, CUSA, and SEC have all proven that 14-member conferences are workable, and it's not a big jump to 16. The ACC has 15 BB/olympic schools.

The days of 10 and 11-school FBS conferences may be nearly over. The new P5 minimum is 12, and the AAC has decided 11 isn't enough. The SBC will probably expand to 12 in the next few years.

(09-25-2021 08:27 AM)Milwaukee Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 07:21 AM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 09:36 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 08:28 PM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 07:43 PM)GoOwls111 Wrote:  That I can Support, I've been pushing for it all along as the primary goal.

If it’s only 16, then it’s not a merger. Merger implies that we add all 12 of them and go to 20.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Correct. With a merger (and I could get on board with that), no existing AAC or MWC programs would be "expelled."

The chances of a merger are modest at best.

History has shown that efforts toward a 16 team conference didn’t work out. The SEC has a plan to go to 16, and now everyone changes their mind on that being the norm.

The trend does seem to be toward larger conferences. ACC, Big Ten, CUSA, and SEC have all proven that 14-member conferences are workable, and it's not a big jump to 16. The ACC has 15 BB/olympic schools.

The days of 10 and 11-school FBS conferences may be nearly over. The new P5 minimum is 12, and the AAC has decided 11 isn't enough. The SBC will probably expand to 12 in the next few years.

The American will be at 14-16 teams when all is said and done and the Sun Belt will be at 12-14 very soon if I were to guess (Marshall and USM seem to be locks, while La Tech, FAU, UTSA and Charlotte could all be approached).

(09-25-2021 10:27 AM)Ned Low Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 08:27 AM)Milwaukee Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 07:21 AM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 09:36 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 08:28 PM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  If it’s only 16, then it’s not a merger. Merger implies that we add all 12 of them and go to 20.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Correct. With a merger (and I could get on board with that), no existing AAC or MWC programs would be "expelled."

The chances of a merger are modest at best.

History has shown that efforts toward a 16 team conference didn’t work out. The SEC has a plan to go to 16, and now everyone changes their mind on that being the norm.

The trend does seem to be toward larger conferences. ACC, Big Ten, CUSA, and SEC have all proven that 14-member conferences are workable, and it's not a big jump to 16. The ACC has 15 BB/olympic schools.

The days of 10 and 11-school FBS conferences may be nearly over. The new P5 minimum is 12, and the AAC has decided 11 isn't enough. The SBC will probably expand to 12 in the next few years.

The American will be at 14-16 teams when all is said and done and the Sun Belt will be at 12-14 very soon if I were to guess (Marshall and USM seem to be locks, while La Tech, FAU, UTSA and Charlotte could all be approached).

No skin off of my back, but Sunbelt might be best served by maintaining their current footprint, that might mean no to UTSA.

Again, no skin off of my back.

UAB plays Liberty in their first game at Protective Stadium Saturday night. Will be interesting to see how many butts they put in their new 41,000 seat stadium.

UAB faces Liberty in first game at Protective Stadium

(09-28-2021 10:17 PM)mikeinoki Wrote:  UAB plays Liberty in their first game at Protective Stadium Saturday night. Will be interesting to see how many butts they put in their new 41,000 seat stadium.

UAB faces Liberty in first game at Protective Stadium

...pretty reliable sources have noted that about 37-38k tixs have been sold thus far... and the stadium is actually 47,000 seats - ****check that - 45,000 seats per the stadium website (Lordy, you think we would know by now... )**** ... traffic in downtown B'ham will be interesting on Saturday...

(09-25-2021 07:21 AM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 09:36 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 08:28 PM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 07:43 PM)GoOwls111 Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 07:04 PM)First Family Forever Wrote:  Really. I disagree . I believe is the start of a AAC/MWC merger. A 16 team conference will be the end result.

That I can Support, I've been pushing for it all along as the primary goal.

If it’s only 16, then it’s not a merger. Merger implies that we add all 12 of them and go to 20.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Correct. With a merger (and I could get on board with that), no existing AAC or MWC programs would be "expelled."

The chances of a merger are modest at best.

History has shown that efforts toward a 16 team conference didn’t work out. The SEC has a plan to go to 16, and now everyone changes their mind on that being the norm. I think the SEC can pull off 16 just because of their value. Who cares if teams ever play each other. Us being the guinea pigs for 20, however, might be a bridge too far.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The 14- and 16-team models do not work longterm unless you have Power Conference money. There isn't a single conference at the Division 1-A level that has lasted more than 10 years with that many full members, who sponsor football or a coupling with 4+ non-football members.

The MAC, WAC, and Big East FBS/Catholic 7 basketball have all been casualties of that arrangement. Conference USA is about to be another one.

So it depends. If you're looking to park your teams for 5 years with the full expectation of going somewhere else, then a 16-team conference might get by in the Gang of 5.

(09-25-2021 10:27 AM)Ned Low Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 08:27 AM)Milwaukee Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 07:21 AM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 09:36 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 08:28 PM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  If it’s only 16, then it’s not a merger. Merger implies that we add all 12 of them and go to 20.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Correct. With a merger (and I could get on board with that), no existing AAC or MWC programs would be "expelled."

The chances of a merger are modest at best.

History has shown that efforts toward a 16 team conference didn’t work out. The SEC has a plan to go to 16, and now everyone changes their mind on that being the norm.

The trend does seem to be toward larger conferences. ACC, Big Ten, CUSA, and SEC have all proven that 14-member conferences are workable, and it's not a big jump to 16. The ACC has 15 BB/olympic schools.

The days of 10 and 11-school FBS conferences may be nearly over. The new P5 minimum is 12, and the AAC has decided 11 isn't enough. The SBC will probably expand to 12 in the next few years.

The American will be at 14-16 teams when all is said and done and the Sun Belt will be at 12-14 very soon if I were to guess (Marshall and USM seem to be locks, while La Tech, FAU, UTSA and Charlotte could all be approached).

Louisiana Tech would never join a conference with Louisiana-Monroe. They even preferred the 16-team member WAC over the Sun Belt when they had an opportunity to join then. They will go Independent before joining a conference with the Warhawks.

If those conferences expand to more than 12 they won't stay that way very long. When you expand beyond the market share, you eventually hit diminishing returns. It might last for one 5-year TV contract, but after that it's more likely to change.

(09-28-2021 10:41 PM)All4One Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 10:27 AM)Ned Low Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 08:27 AM)Milwaukee Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 07:21 AM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 09:36 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  Correct. With a merger (and I could get on board with that), no existing AAC or MWC programs would be "expelled."

The chances of a merger are modest at best.

History has shown that efforts toward a 16 team conference didn’t work out. The SEC has a plan to go to 16, and now everyone changes their mind on that being the norm.

The trend does seem to be toward larger conferences. ACC, Big Ten, CUSA, and SEC have all proven that 14-member conferences are workable, and it's not a big jump to 16. The ACC has 15 BB/olympic schools.

The days of 10 and 11-school FBS conferences may be nearly over. The new P5 minimum is 12, and the AAC has decided 11 isn't enough. The SBC will probably expand to 12 in the next few years.

The American will be at 14-16 teams when all is said and done and the Sun Belt will be at 12-14 very soon if I were to guess (Marshall and USM seem to be locks, while La Tech, FAU, UTSA and Charlotte could all be approached).

Louisiana Tech would never join a conference with Louisiana-Monroe. They even preferred the 16-team member WAC over the Sun Belt when they had an opportunity to join then. They will go Independent before joining a conference with the Warhawks.

If those conferences expand to more than 12 they won't stay that way very long. When you expand beyond the market share, you eventually hit diminishing returns. It might last for one 5-year TV contract, but after that it's more likely to change.

To be fair---I think it had less to do with ULM and more to do with the fact that he 16 team WAC was a massively superior conference.

(09-29-2021 02:43 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(09-28-2021 10:41 PM)All4One Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 10:27 AM)Ned Low Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 08:27 AM)Milwaukee Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 07:21 AM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  History has shown that efforts toward a 16 team conference didn’t work out. The SEC has a plan to go to 16, and now everyone changes their mind on that being the norm.

The trend does seem to be toward larger conferences. ACC, Big Ten, CUSA, and SEC have all proven that 14-member conferences are workable, and it's not a big jump to 16. The ACC has 15 BB/olympic schools.

The days of 10 and 11-school FBS conferences may be nearly over. The new P5 minimum is 12, and the AAC has decided 11 isn't enough. The SBC will probably expand to 12 in the next few years.

The American will be at 14-16 teams when all is said and done and the Sun Belt will be at 12-14 very soon if I were to guess (Marshall and USM seem to be locks, while La Tech, FAU, UTSA and Charlotte could all be approached).

Louisiana Tech would never join a conference with Louisiana-Monroe. They even preferred the 16-team member WAC over the Sun Belt when they had an opportunity to join then. They will go Independent before joining a conference with the Warhawks.

If those conferences expand to more than 12 they won't stay that way very long. When you expand beyond the market share, you eventually hit diminishing returns. It might last for one 5-year TV contract, but after that it's more likely to change.

To be fair---I think it had less to do with ULM and more to do with the fact that he 16 team WAC was a massively superior conference.

100% correct. NLU/ULM was not even in the realm of consideration for Sunbelt football at the time that Louisiana Tech replaced TCU in the WAC.

The Sunbelt Conference was a non-football playing conference, best known for some darn good basketball and pretty darn good baseball back in the late 90's. The Sun Belt started talking about sponsoring football as early as 1991, but little interest was shown by most...there were only like 3 SBC-affiliated schools who were playing football at the time ... UL Lafayette, LaTech and Arkansas State...part of the time in the Big West, later as Independents. Part of the process was to convince South Alabama, maybe UNO...and others to start it up. But Northeast Louisiana (at the time...now ULM) was not in the conference, and not part of the discussion.

It was during this time realignment rumors started and an opportunity for Tech to replace TCU in the WAC came up...this was also when the WAC-16 experiment basically crumbled, creating the Mountain West.

It was a no-brainer (at the time) for Tech to raise its profile athletically and academically to be affiliated with Rice, SMU, UTEP, and Tulsa. This left several of the older members of the Sun Belt scorned, and left scrambling to find football-playing regional schools. Enter, Northeast Louisiana University.

They were supported for membership to the Sunbelt ONLY if they agreed to change their name to University of Louisiana-Monroe. By state law, this would be the only way Southwestern Louisiana could rename itself "University of Louisiana" --- a name it coveted for decades. As soon as NLU said "I will" they were admitted to the Sunbelt.

(09-28-2021 10:41 PM)All4One Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 10:27 AM)Ned Low Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 08:27 AM)Milwaukee Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 07:21 AM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  

(09-24-2021 09:36 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  Correct. With a merger (and I could get on board with that), no existing AAC or MWC programs would be "expelled."

The chances of a merger are modest at best.

History has shown that efforts toward a 16 team conference didn’t work out. The SEC has a plan to go to 16, and now everyone changes their mind on that being the norm.

The trend does seem to be toward larger conferences. ACC, Big Ten, CUSA, and SEC have all proven that 14-member conferences are workable, and it's not a big jump to 16. The ACC has 15 BB/olympic schools.

The days of 10 and 11-school FBS conferences may be nearly over. The new P5 minimum is 12, and the AAC has decided 11 isn't enough. The SBC will probably expand to 12 in the next few years.

The American will be at 14-16 teams when all is said and done and the Sun Belt will be at 12-14 very soon if I were to guess (Marshall and USM seem to be locks, while La Tech, FAU, UTSA and Charlotte could all be approached).

Louisiana Tech would never join a conference with Louisiana-Monroe. They even preferred the 16-team member WAC over the Sun Belt when they had an opportunity to join then. They will go Independent before joining a conference with the Warhawks.

If those conferences expand to more than 12 they won't stay that way very long. When you expand beyond the market share, you eventually hit diminishing returns. It might last for one 5-year TV contract, but after that it's more likely to change.

Revisionist history update*
LT was never in the 16 team WAC.
They joined after all the best schools of the WAC left to form the MWC.

(09-28-2021 10:28 PM)GreenFreakUAB Wrote:  

(09-28-2021 10:17 PM)mikeinoki Wrote:  UAB plays Liberty in their first game at Protective Stadium Saturday night. Will be interesting to see how many butts they put in their new 41,000 seat stadium.

UAB faces Liberty in first game at Protective Stadium

...pretty reliable sources have noted that about 37-38k tixs have been sold thus far... and the stadium is actually 47,000 seats... traffic in downtown B'ham will be interesting on Saturday...

Yeah, many thousands of tickets have been bought just in the last couple days. May not reach a hard sellout but it will likely be close by game time. UAB and Birmingham have historically been a big walk up town in terms of tickets. I’m betting around 45-46K.

(09-29-2021 08:18 AM)Blazer85 Wrote:  

(09-28-2021 10:28 PM)GreenFreakUAB Wrote:  

(09-28-2021 10:17 PM)mikeinoki Wrote:  UAB plays Liberty in their first game at Protective Stadium Saturday night. Will be interesting to see how many butts they put in their new 41,000 seat stadium.

UAB faces Liberty in first game at Protective Stadium

...pretty reliable sources have noted that about 37-38k tixs have been sold thus far... and the stadium is actually 47,000 seats... traffic in downtown B'ham will be interesting on Saturday...

Yeah, many thousands of tickets have been bought just in the last couple days. May not reach a hard sellout but it will likely be close by game time. UAB and Birmingham have historically been a big walk up town in terms of tickets. I’m betting around 45-46K.

I’m very interested in seeing your new digs. Is it on tv?

(09-29-2021 08:20 AM)billybobby777 Wrote:  

(09-29-2021 08:18 AM)Blazer85 Wrote:  

(09-28-2021 10:28 PM)GreenFreakUAB Wrote:  

(09-28-2021 10:17 PM)mikeinoki Wrote:  UAB plays Liberty in their first game at Protective Stadium Saturday night. Will be interesting to see how many butts they put in their new 41,000 seat stadium.

UAB faces Liberty in first game at Protective Stadium

...pretty reliable sources have noted that about 37-38k tixs have been sold thus far... and the stadium is actually 47,000 seats... traffic in downtown B'ham will be interesting on Saturday...

Yeah, many thousands of tickets have been bought just in the last couple days. May not reach a hard sellout but it will likely be close by game time. UAB and Birmingham have historically been a big walk up town in terms of tickets. I’m betting around 45-46K.

I’m very interested in seeing your new digs. Is it on tv?

CBS Sports this Saturday evening

(09-29-2021 08:20 AM)billybobby777 Wrote:  

(09-29-2021 08:18 AM)Blazer85 Wrote:  

(09-28-2021 10:28 PM)GreenFreakUAB Wrote:  

(09-28-2021 10:17 PM)mikeinoki Wrote:  UAB plays Liberty in their first game at Protective Stadium Saturday night. Will be interesting to see how many butts they put in their new 41,000 seat stadium.

UAB faces Liberty in first game at Protective Stadium

...pretty reliable sources have noted that about 37-38k tixs have been sold thus far... and the stadium is actually 47,000 seats... traffic in downtown B'ham will be interesting on Saturday...

Yeah, many thousands of tickets have been bought just in the last couple days. May not reach a hard sellout but it will likely be close by game time. UAB and Birmingham have historically been a big walk up town in terms of tickets. I’m betting around 45-46K.

I’m very interested in seeing your new digs. Is it on tv?

CBSSN

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

(09-29-2021 08:17 AM)billybobby777 Wrote:  

(09-28-2021 10:41 PM)All4One Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 10:27 AM)Ned Low Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 08:27 AM)Milwaukee Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 07:21 AM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  History has shown that efforts toward a 16 team conference didn’t work out. The SEC has a plan to go to 16, and now everyone changes their mind on that being the norm.

The trend does seem to be toward larger conferences. ACC, Big Ten, CUSA, and SEC have all proven that 14-member conferences are workable, and it's not a big jump to 16. The ACC has 15 BB/olympic schools.

The days of 10 and 11-school FBS conferences may be nearly over. The new P5 minimum is 12, and the AAC has decided 11 isn't enough. The SBC will probably expand to 12 in the next few years.

The American will be at 14-16 teams when all is said and done and the Sun Belt will be at 12-14 very soon if I were to guess (Marshall and USM seem to be locks, while La Tech, FAU, UTSA and Charlotte could all be approached).

Louisiana Tech would never join a conference with Louisiana-Monroe. They even preferred the 16-team member WAC over the Sun Belt when they had an opportunity to join then. They will go Independent before joining a conference with the Warhawks.

If those conferences expand to more than 12 they won't stay that way very long. When you expand beyond the market share, you eventually hit diminishing returns. It might last for one 5-year TV contract, but after that it's more likely to change.

Revisionist history update*
LT was never in the 16 team WAC.
They joined after all the best schools of the WAC left to form the MWC.

Oh, yes. That's right. Thanks for the correction

(09-29-2021 08:17 AM)billybobby777 Wrote:  

(09-28-2021 10:41 PM)All4One Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 10:27 AM)Ned Low Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 08:27 AM)Milwaukee Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 07:21 AM)CoastalJuan Wrote:  History has shown that efforts toward a 16 team conference didn’t work out. The SEC has a plan to go to 16, and now everyone changes their mind on that being the norm.

The trend does seem to be toward larger conferences. ACC, Big Ten, CUSA, and SEC have all proven that 14-member conferences are workable, and it's not a big jump to 16. The ACC has 15 BB/olympic schools.

The days of 10 and 11-school FBS conferences may be nearly over. The new P5 minimum is 12, and the AAC has decided 11 isn't enough. The SBC will probably expand to 12 in the next few years.

The American will be at 14-16 teams when all is said and done and the Sun Belt will be at 12-14 very soon if I were to guess (Marshall and USM seem to be locks, while La Tech, FAU, UTSA and Charlotte could all be approached).

Louisiana Tech would never join a conference with Louisiana-Monroe. They even preferred the 16-team member WAC over the Sun Belt when they had an opportunity to join then. They will go Independent before joining a conference with the Warhawks.

If those conferences expand to more than 12 they won't stay that way very long. When you expand beyond the market share, you eventually hit diminishing returns. It might last for one 5-year TV contract, but after that it's more likely to change.

Revisionist history update*
LT was never in the 16 team WAC.
They joined after all the best schools of the WAC left to form the MWC.

Boise State and La Tech both joined the "new" WAC in 2001.

WAC East ca. 2001: SMU, Rice, Tulsa, UTEP, La Tech
WAC West ca. 2001: Hawaii, Fresno State, Boise State, San Jose State, Nevada-Reno