Eagle1855

I know. There goes my self-esteem for the day.

I'd guess Texas Tech...

"Together We Rise" seems appropriate, though perhaps a little too honest, given the conference is essentially a layover from FCS until a better FBS conference comes calling. Which was basically our experience. I don't really mind the logo change as I felt the old one was outdated. This one has a West Coast feel to it (which could be called incongruent, given its geographical location). But using a design like this will all but guarantee they'll be changing it again in 10 years, as it isn't a "timeless" look like the Big XII and ACC... or even C-USA. In short, I think they over-thought it.

I think I read somewhere that Jerry likes Dunbar. That seems to be all you need to become - and remain - a Cowboy. The Eagles will have a lot of speed, this next season, and they'll have a coach that loves to use it. Whether or not any of it remains healthy or translates to any greater success is another question entirely. But any failure certainly won't be for a lack of quickness.

It's all so rare and novel, let's just celebrate the whole thing.

The end of that video is one of my favorite things ever.

I think Cincy is the first move they make. If you go to 14, it gets interesting. Tulane, Memphis, and Houston all make sense, geographically, but each come with a list of drawbacks. BYU makes sense from a prestige perspective- which I think the Big XII would (and should) find very compelling. Though that's a hell of a haul from Morgantown to Provo. I don't know if UH is a real consideration or not, but I will say this: if Houston ever DOES get into the Big XII, they have the potential to be very successful. People DID support the team on the way to their almost-undefeated season. Not UT- or A&M-level support, of course, but the conference sells itself to recruits - and that's a good thing in talent-rich place like Houston. "Want to play major college football? You don't need to travel to that strange town an hour to the north, you can play for the hometown team. Your parents can come to every home game, as well as the many conference games in this very state. You'll be lining up against UT and OU every year. We plan to play for a National Championship." Pretty easy sell. I think the Big XII missed their shot at making themselves into an SEC-caliber power conference when they didn't jump on a Florida State/Clemson/Georgia Tech/Va Tech alliance. And that may not have been possible. But it was definitely their best bet at sticking it to the SEC.

THIS. As for CougarKing's assessment, I fail to see how "UT has lost a great share of footing" in Houston by A&M leaving. Perhaps the Big XII, yes. But UT lost nothing that was already held by A&M and LSU. I think the real discussion is if UT has a larger hold on Houston than the University of Houston. Which is absolutely possible.

It would be Rice. Or UTSA. Or Texas State. But you are correct: it won't be us.

Hell yeah, congrats ladies!

Which I think is smart. Grab Texas State and ULL and call it a conference.

Oh come on, no worse so than losing to Southwest Texas River College.

I feel like ESPN is driving the bus. They just gave the SEC an insane TV deal... and have lucrative deals with several other conferences as well as the Longhorns. I don't know why ESPN would care at all. But I do think the anti-trust issues are valid. Though I'm not a lawyer.

I think there's no chance of SMU nor Tulsa making it to the Big XII. Memphis, Cincy, and BYU, however, will likely be on their short-list. Houston is a wildcard. And they're a good, strategic fit for the Big XII, but there are pride issues with other member schools. We have zero shot at the Big XII. Our best bet would have been the Big East (Now AAC, which likely won't exist by 2016). Our academic profile isn't such that we'd be invited to a Big 10, Pac 12, nor the ACC. And our athletic profile isn't even on the SEC's radar. In short, we're out of the equation no matter which variables you plug in.

La Tech has a big alumni base in Dallas, right? I imagine that had a lot to do with it. I'd love to see the La Tech-NT game played at a neutral site every year. That could create a fun rivalry. Ok State is playing in Reliant Stadium to open the season against Miss St. Reliant will start featuring marquee match-ups (similar to what Jerry's done in Arlington) each year. As an aside: why the Aggies and LSU haven't been playing each other at Reliant since its opening is beyond me. Now that they are conference mates, I fully understand it. But that used to be a good rivalry in the 90s. And both have substantial fanbases in Houston.

I think it's going to happen. And I think we'll (obviously) be left out of the 70 or 80 (depending on 14- or 16-team conferences). There may be lawsuits as a result and state legislatures may block such initiatives. But to tell you the truth, I don't really care anymore. While I don't blame any university for "getting theirs", TV money has all but ruined college football. It has divided rivalries and ripped apart conferences. It's created an arms race for extravagant resources that could easily be scaled down and devoted to something more worthwhile (you know, like educating students). The whole thing just sucks. Of course, I may be wrong, and that's okay: these are just my opinions. College football has been my favorite sport for as long as I can remember (sitting side-by-side with good ole faithful baseball). It's just getting harder and harder to rationalize what's going on in higher education and this "amateur" NCAA sport in an allegedly cash-strapped nation. There's nothing like game day on a college campus - the tailgating, the pageantry, the pride, the memories - and that's about all I need anymore.

“I’m for five conferences – everybody playing everybody in those five conferences,” the Alabama coach said Thursday night before speaking at a Crimson Caravan stop. “That’s what I’m for, so it might be 70 teams, and everybody’s got to play ’em. …” .... “I mean, strength of schedule is important, but also, how about the fans? Don’t they want to see good games and all that? “And the better the games – maybe you don’t have to win every game to be in the championship game. You know? The Giants won the Super Bowl, and what did they lose? Six or seven games a couple years ago? It’s called competition.” http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2013/05/see_what_nick_saban_thinks_of.html

I don't know what this means.

I'm going to buy my tickets through UNT for the Georgia game, as I have done for most "big" away games over the past decade. I will likely drive vs fly, because I can make it a part of a larger business trip.

This actually makes even more sense for UH, who will be racking up the travel miles in the Freedom Fries Conference.

Where do you live/family: Houston Degree/Year attended/graduated UNT: 2003 BBA Economics Favorite NT Memory: I have so many, and they all seem to come flooding back every time I set foot on campus. Being involved in on-campus organizations of all kinds facilitated many of them. Also, $2 blasters at the Fry Street Tavern. Favorite NT Sports Memory: Riding a hotel luggage cart down Canal Street after a New Orleans Bowl win over Cincinnati.

At first it may seem odd to to hear a La Tech board projects their school to have the most TV games. But I've heard that conferences and TV execs alike are falling all over themselves to get into Ruston, LA and will stop at nothing to nail down the nation's #241st media market.

VERY excited about the 12 years with SMU. I hope we pack their stadium out and embarrass them like Tech does every time they play there.

I'd definitely buy up some of that. But it may cost more to preserve those pieces in the demo process than they'd reasonably expect to make back in the sale.

Per AD, Tech won't play us anymore. I'm not really concerned with the "two money games" thing. If Mac does what he set out here to do, we've got two opportunities for a marquee win in one season. The 5 home games, however, is disappointing. But I'm already looking forward to these road trips. Knoxville is a great town. And I've always wanted to attend a game at Iowa.