MeanGreen61

Off the CUSA board. Posted today by MinerInWisconsin http://csnbbs.com/showthread.php?tid=565091 UT System BOR approval for UTEP conference change 2/24/12 I was checking for the agenda for the BOR meeting this Thursday since it has been speculated that UTSA athletics might be on the agenda. The agenda was just posted and nothing on it related to athletics at all. The minutes of the Feb 24 meeting are interesting though. UTEP received approval to be part of the formation of a new conference. Similar to what the UAB approval was, I'm sure. In this case the UTEP president specifically mentions replacing the DFW market with new additions and also associating UTEP with the western schools along with an expected increase in TV revenue. Here is an excerpt from the minutes: "Dr. Natalicio discussed the expected revenue growth, primarily due to an enhanced television contract, and increased stability in conference membership as the result of joining with institutions in the Mountain West Conference and the Conference USA to form a new athletic conference. She noted a downside of the transaction has already occurred with the departure of Southern Methodist University and the University of Houston from Conference USA, which took U. T. El Paso out of the Dallas television market and partially out of the Houston media market. She noted these media markets, especially the Dallas market, might return with the addition of new members to the conference. Dr. Natalicio discussed the expected reduction in team travel costs and travel time for students if U. T. El Paso joins the western division of the new athletic conference. She spoke about the enthusiasm of fans and the support of the local community for a new conference and about the hope for competition and stability to allow new and old rivalries to flourish." This post has been promoted to an article

Someone posted that a group from CUSA was on campus some time back. During the meeting in Dallas at the time the Tulane AD or Prez came to see Apogee.

Isn't it also part of his job ?

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/brett-mcmurphy/18265934

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/college_sports/college_football/article/UTSA-to-pursue-C-USA-MWC-bid-3454274.php

Freshman wide receiver Chaz Sampson had one of the best catches of the day during 7-on-7 drills, as he used his 6 foot-5 frame to pull down a touchdown catch. The catch made up for a drop Sampson had earlier in practice while alone in the end zone. http://www.meangreensports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1800&ATCLID=205406272

By InsideRunnerSports Staff March 28, 2012 "The State of Texas and Florida are very important for the future of the Sunbelt. Whether it's retaining existing members that currently reside in those states or adding new schools from either or both states. That is still a priority," said Benson. As for UTSA and any other school that could be eyeing the Sunbelt, Benson did give an idea of when things could possibly unfold, "June first is a realistic date to have the plan executed." One final tidbit that Benson added was to address more speculation about the Sunbelt and his former conference the WAC, possibly joining forces, "There have been no discussions on a Sunbelt/WAC merger." ARTICLE http://www.insiderunnersports.com/other/articles/as-the-sunbelt-turns-karl-benson-speaks

UTEP's 2012 recruit class. 17 of 22 are from Texas, mostly from the Houston or DFW areas. Appears that Houston & DFW are prime recruiting areas as well as having quite a few UTEP alumni.

Part of a post by Arkstfan on the Belt board. "Third. I said previously, CUSA needs to watch their back because I felt there was a good chance the merger would fail but that MWC might well raid UTEP and maybe others out before it was all said and done. If I'm Bankowsky, I'm on the phone right now with Tulsa, Rice and Tulane to make sure Thompson isn't trying to take them with UTEP. CUSA has options. MWC has USU, Idaho, NMSU, SJSU in their footprint and that is it. MWC is liable to declare Texas remains in their footprint and head that way."

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/18061858/merging-or-sharing-either-way-cusa-and-mwc-working-together

Why would anyone want to keep up with them ?

Florida Atlantic President Mary Jane Saunders said FAU will remain in the Sun Belt Conference after not receiving an invitation from the new conference made up of members of Conference USA and the Mountain West “I can tell you we have not been invited to another conference,” Saunders said. “I think those decisions have already been made. I think it's finished now. ...We're staying in the Sun Belt.” FULL ARTICLE http://www.fauowlaccess.com/articles/183/fau-to-remain-in-sun-belt.aspx This post has been promoted to an article

Belt/WAC scheduling alliance possible ? Mercury News http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2012/03/20/fbs-realignment-m-day-approaches-for-mountain-west-cusa-and-what-that-means-for-the-wac-sun-belt-and-others/

"North Texas seems to be on Benson's priority list, as he appears to have been head over heels in love with the school since his early days as WAC commissioner. In an interview he did for North Texas, Benson has been keeping an eye on the Mean Green since 1999: "It goes all the way back to 1999, which was the first time that I was on the North Texas campus. I was on the campus a year ago at this time, trying to convince North Texas to come to the WAC. I've seen the new stadium, I've seen the unbelievable growth of the university. "To look at the University of North Texas today and to see the 30,000-plus students, the new stadium, the commitment that starts at the top with President Rawlins, the fact that there has been continuity with Rick Villarreal, and the fact that it is 35 miles from Dallas and Ft. Worth, those are all components that make it attractive. "As I said before, North Texas has been attractive to the WAC for the last 10 years and is currently on the radar for Conference USA. It is one of the premiere programs in the Sun Belt and I'm looking forward to finally being able to work with Rick and President Rawlins and the outstanding group of coaches that are there. "Everyone always talks about 'Who is the next Boise State' and I can honestly say 'why not North Texas?'" READ MORE http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1073448-sun-belt-conference-athetics-moving-forward-and-expanding-with-karl-benson

Actually we've played far more games with UTEP in our history than Tech, Houston and Rice. Games vs. UTEP 21 Houston 13 Tech 8 Rice 3

http://www.rgj.com/section/blogs16?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&U=cf54a7c3-6850-4148-9710-effa04ad5005&plckPostId=Blog%3acf54a7c3-6850-4148-9710-effa04ad5005Post%3a67dd25b0-719a-4a94-a338-95b5799960e3&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest

Several UNT threads on the CUSA board. This one started by a Middle Tennessee poster. Interesting comment by ricefansite. Tulsa would be happy too. I would welcome them in. I truly feel their upside is way more than SMU and about equal to Houston (maybe just a bit below that since the DFW area has a few more D1 schools than its Houston counterpart) http://csnbbs.com/showthread.php?tid=558652

Not talking or not talking ON THE RECORD ? "UNT officials are not talking on the record, but we know that officials from schools that are going to be in the Alliance have visited UNT and Apogee Stadium"

Interesting that the Muts sports writer seems to be more on top of what's happening than Vito.

New SBC commish said departures were "not imminent" but also it's a compliment to SBC if schools move on. I'm not convinced UNT/FIU staying http://twitter.com/#!/adamsparks

You know, the guy who is alledgely the local sports reporter. Looks like he's been scooped again.

Where's Vito ?

Las Vegas Review Journal Could TV deal sway defectors ? http://www.lvrj.com/sports/tv-deal-could-sway-defectors-140120003.html