Confernce Realignment Chaos is Here!!!!!! (maybe ... probabbly not) (Rumor Texas and OK reach out to SEC about joining)

[goldengophers]

They could but I feel like that would be a pretty big jump. The Mountain West is better than the MAC or Sun Belt. The facilities would probably need a pretty big upgrade.

I've never been there but that dome does seem small time.

 

[MplsGopher]

James Madison can easily slide into the Sun Belt. The only conference that makes sense for NDSU IMO is the MAC. Would the MAC accept them?

And strictly from a geographic standpoint, it makes little sense at all for the MAC to add Dakota schools.

Chicago being the far Western outpost of the MAC ... then another 11-12 hours drive from there further West to Fargo/Sioux Falls? Yuck

 

[MplsGopher]

JMU does benefit from proximity, NDSU could be a Mountain West option when Boise and SDSU move into the Big 12.

IF seems like a more appropriate word, for that move.

What is the Big 12 waiting for, then? Why not add those two at the same time as BYU?

 

[Some guy]

James Madison can easily slide into the Sun Belt. The only conference that makes sense for NDSU IMO is the MAC. Would the MAC accept them?

NDSU wouldn’t be a terrible fit in the mountain division of the mountain west

I know I know, they’re really flat


it didn’t go well for Idaho trying to compete with a small indoor stadium

 

[MplsGopher]

I've never been there but that dome does seem small time.

They don't sell it out consistently. They will for bigger games, but again you're talking that 19k people showing up is a huge crowd for them. Guessing they average more like 17k's for the teams that most people could not care less about .... which is a lot of the MVFC teams quite frankly. Indiana State? yawn

The Fargodome is pretty much a perfect situation for what their fanbase is. It would take a very pretty penny to add any kind of significant seats to the place ... almost where you might just build a new one somewhere. But there's just not a whole lot wrong with it, as is.


I doubt averaging even 19k flat per game would put them anywhere near last place in the FBS.

 

[noamfromm]

Western Kentucky looking lonely with nothing lined up

 

[disco]

I've never been there but that dome does seem small time.

I've been to a few games there. It's a very odd atmosphere. Imagine playing football in a dimly lit warehouse. The problem with the Fargodome, is that it was built in the early 1990's, so it lacks amenities, and because it's a giant brick rectangle, there's no real way to modify or expand it.

Plus, NDSU doesn't own it, so they don't really have any control over changes to the facility.

 

[disco]

They don't sell it out consistently. They will for bigger games, but again you're talking that 19k people showing up is a huge crowd for them. Guessing they average more like 17k's for the teams that most people could not care less about .... which is a lot of the MVFC teams quite frankly. Indiana State? yawn

The Fargodome is pretty much a perfect situation for what their fanbase is. It would take a very pretty penny to add any kind of significant seats to the place ... almost where you might just build a new one somewhere. But there's just not a whole lot wrong with it, as is.


I doubt averaging even 19k flat per game would put them anywhere near last place in the FBS.

They did sell out consistently for years, at least in terms of tickets sold. The only time it wasn't full was during hunting openers and such. But boredom kind of set in. When your team wins every game by 40 points or so, It becomes less interesting. The tailgating scene there is pretty big, but then when November hits and it's 25 degrees in the windiest place on earth, that becomes less fun as well.

NDSU does out draw a number of FBS schools. If I recall, the attendance at some of the directional Michigan schools is really abysmal.

 

[disco]

The Sun Belt has been better than CUSA for a few years now it seems.

 

[MplsGopher]

The Sun Belt has been better than CUSA for a few years now it seems.

The CUSA has been absolutely depleted by the treadmill that is conference realignment. The Big East started it off by taking South (not Central!) Florida, Louisville, and Cincinnati, along with non-football members Marquette and DePaul. (St Louis and Charlotte went to the A10, and TCU to the Mountain West).

The American took seven more CUSA teams over 2013 and 2014. And now taking six more, with (so far) Southern Miss also to the Sun Belt.

This hasn't been updated yet, but still quite a lot of yellow/orange lines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conference_USA#Membership_timeline

As someone put it well, pretty much similar to what happened to the WAC back in the day.

 

[MplsGopher]

Western Kentucky looking lonely with nothing lined up

Hoping for the MAC, I guess.

So the remaining five are: UTEP, Louisiana Tech, Florida International, Western Kentucky, and Middle Tennessee.

Could add: Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville (Alabama) State, and one other FCS move up that is interesting and at least reasonably geographic to this area and with aspirations. Maybe Missouri State? Central Arkansas?

 

[MplsGopher]

If they can't knit together a conference (the NCAA rule for being a "FBS confernece" .... not that that actually amounts to a hill of beans, since no NCAA post-season exists in the FBS ... is you need eight FBS football members), then UTEP is probably banding together with New Mexico State, ala UMass/UConn, and I have no idea what FIU is going to do. LA Tech will be forced to beg the Sun Belt, and WKU/MTSU will beg the MAC.

 

[MplsGopher]

The CFP has 11 owners, with CUSA being one of them.

If CUSA ceases to exist ... well, I suspect not much will change, other than the CFP will have 10 votes instead of 11.

 

[noamfromm]

Hoping for the MAC, I guess.

So the remaining five are: UTEP, Louisiana Tech, Florida International, Western Kentucky, and Middle Tennessee.

Could add: Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville (Alabama) State, and one other FCS move up that is interesting and at least reasonably geographic to this area and with aspirations. Maybe Missouri State? Central Arkansas?

UTEP -- MW
LaTech -- SunBelt
FIU -- Takes their Internationality seriously and goes Ind. playing Canadian and Mexican universities

 

[FormerFatOL]

I've been to a few games there. It's a very odd atmosphere. Imagine playing football in a dimly lit warehouse. The problem with the Fargodome, is that it was built in the early 1990's, so it lacks amenities, and because it's a giant brick rectangle, there's no real way to modify or expand it.

Plus, NDSU doesn't own it, so they don't really have any control over changes to the facility.

That place gets loud but it's absolutely terrible if you like natural light at all. It's a giant block mausoleum inside the arena. Yuck.

 

[MaxyJR1]

TCU or Houston the potential options for the Texas School

 

[MplsGopher]

UTEP -- MW
LaTech -- SunBelt
FIU -- Takes their Internationality seriously and goes Ind. playing Canadian and Mexican universities

I believe Brett McMurphy, for whatever it's worth, has already reported (maybe a couple weeks ago?) that "sources" said there's no chance of UTEP to the MW. But that would be the obvious place for them. El Paso is actually in the Mountain timezone.

LaTech, feel bad for them. Like so many of the CUSA schools, they saw the Sun Belt as "beneath them".

 

[MplsGopher]

TCU or Houston the potential options for the Texas School

Nope and nope. Neither are anywhere near good enough in research.

This Twitter account literally throws crap against the wall. Has no actual inside info.


I doubt Kansas + Iowa State moves the needle enough.


I vote for no divisions. They serve no purpose, if the rules are updated to allow the conf to just pick the two teams for the champ game.

 

[noamfromm]

I believe Brett McMurphy, for whatever it's worth, has already reported (maybe a couple weeks ago?) that "sources" said there's no chance of UTEP to the MW. But that would be the obvious place for them. El Paso is actually in the Mountain timezone.

LaTech, feel bad for them. Like so many of the CUSA schools, they saw the Sun Belt as "beneath them".

LaTech just seems like a competent enough team that they can find a home. I hadn't heard the Brett McMurphy report. Every conference needs a cellar dweller and UTEP just feels right for MW (though the are competent this year)

 

[MplsGopher]

LaTech just seems like a competent enough team that they can find a home. I hadn't heard the Brett McMurphy report. Every conference needs a cellar dweller and UTEP just feels right for MW (though the are competent this year)

They were in the WAC with all the Mountain West schools, decades ago. They didn't get a MW invite, when it was created. Not sure if New Mexico blackballed them or what.

 

[forever a gopher]

TCU or Houston the potential options for the Texas School

Houston? That's comical. The B1G could go poach anybody from the remaining B12 schools, or probably a number of PAC or ACC schools....and they'd go after Houston? Right. Not even 10 years ago when it was a race to accumulate TV markets does that make sense. TCU and Houston would be taking a much larger piece of the revenue pie than they'd be contributing to the conference. So what would be the point? And that's completely ignoring the academics/research side of the equation.

 

[disco]

So occasionally I go over and read the forums on Bisonville.com, where hicks debating NDSU going to FBS is a constant source of entertainment. Seems this C-USA news has them all lathered up. With FCS schools JMU, Sam Houston, Missouri State and Tarleton State all being discussed as getting C-USA invites, and nobody mentioning the Bison, some of them are quite upset.

 

[swelna]

TCU or Houston the potential options for the Texas School

At first I questioned the move back to 8 if they got rid of divisions, but then I realized with 3 permanent rivals you can play all of the rest of the B10 teams both home and away in 4 years, which would be nice.

 

[Dano564]

At first I questioned the move back to 8 if they got rid of divisions, but then I realized with 3 permanent rivals you can play all of the rest of the B10 teams both home and away in 4 years, which would be nice.

I believe what they mean by the 8 game schedule is you would play your 3 non-conference, schedule 8 conference games.
Then you could take top 4 for a Big Ten playoff to make 12 games while the lower 12 (non-playoff) teams play a peer cross over. (5v6, 7v8, 9v10, 11v12, 13v14) but ensuring no duplicate games are played.

Then the playoff winners would advance to the Big Ten Final.
Home teams for the week 12 if still in divisions would alternate east/west, or would just be predetermined as best as possible.

 

[swelna]

I believe what they mean by the 8 game schedule is you would play your 3 non-conference, schedule 8 conference games.
Then you could take top 4 for a Big Ten playoff to make 12 games while the lower 12 (non-playoff) teams play a peer cross over. (5v6, 7v8, 9v10, 11v12, 13v14) but ensuring no duplicate games are played.

Then the playoff winners would advance to the Big Ten Final.
Home teams for the week 12 if still in divisions would alternate east/west, or would just be predetermined as best as possible.

I see, it still has the nice benefit of seeing every big ten team at least twice in 4 years

 

[Some guy]

TCU or Houston the potential options for the Texas School

Nobody in the west division should vote for option 1 or 2. Purdue especially. Ohio State and Michigan probably wouldn’t vote for number 1 as it would diminish their game

Adding Kansas and TCU doesn’t make the conference more money per team

 

[FormerFatOL]

Houston? That's comical. The B1G could go poach anybody from the remaining B12 schools, or probably a number of PAC or ACC schools....and they'd go after Houston? Right. Not even 10 years ago when it was a race to accumulate TV markets does that make sense. TCU and Houston would be taking a much larger piece of the revenue pie than they'd be contributing to the conference. So what would be the point? And that's completely ignoring the academics/research side of the equation.

TCU produces about the same athletic revenue as Minnesota, is in a great market and has good academics. Houston? That would have to be for gaining entry into one of the largest U.S. media markets. Nebraska's academics are probably better. The athletic department isn't in the top 50 revenue producers.

 

[goldengophers]

TCU produces about the same athletic revenue as Minnesota, is in a great market and has good academics. Houston? That would have to be for gaining entry into one of the largest U.S. media markets. Nebraska's academics are probably better. The athletic department isn't in the top 50 revenue producers.

Houston is an upside play, it's not that difficult to see them surpassing TCU in terms of prominence.

 

[Goldmember]

TCU produces about the same athletic revenue as Minnesota, is in a great market and has good academics. Houston? That would have to be for gaining entry into one of the largest U.S. media markets. Nebraska's academics are probably better. The athletic department isn't in the top 50 revenue producers.

Don’t think about it too hard.
He’s just making stuff up.

 

[PMWinSTP]

I believe what they mean by the 8 game schedule is you would play your 3 non-conference, schedule 8 conference games.
Then you could take top 4 for a Big Ten playoff to make 12 games while the lower 12 (non-playoff) teams play a peer cross over. (5v6, 7v8, 9v10, 11v12, 13v14) but ensuring no duplicate games are played.

Then the playoff winners would advance to the Big Ten Final.
Home teams for the week 12 if still in divisions would alternate east/west, or would just be predetermined as best as possible.

With the alliance, it will be four non-conference games, with two from the other conferences.

Alliance's Future Could Feature Season-Long Matchups

Warren and Kliavkoff believe Oregon–Ohio State is just the beginning of the new agreement’s scheduling potential.

www.si.com