NM Green

This is not the same Sun Belt they didn't want to join a few years ago. New stadiums under construction, consistent multiple bowl appearances by league members and wins. Still no top 25 team but that has to end sometime, right! They might be able to sell to their fans that the startup league is indeed a league on the rise. Really how much difference is there in CUSA and the SBC right now? It is still a notch below but not the gap it use to be. Throw in CUSA instability with Memphis, UCF targets for Big East and continually disgruntled East Carolina and Marshall and I think the gap creeps closer. I predict CUSA to make some moves in the coming years to stay ahead of an emerging Sun Belt. This is the next MWC/WAC shuffle, just watch. Back to La Tech, not a bad place to hang out for awhile and compete for the CUSA reconfiguration to come. GMG

Adler's scenario below would also make me think twice about a Mountain West invite. We would have a regional league to build upon and might not be so quick to join a far-flung Western Conference. I've got to be honest this might not be a bad group to move forward with. It is fan friendly, offers natural rivalries, would eliminate the WAC, and could compete with an MWC when a Troy, North Texas, La Tech and FIU emerge from the pack. You get a couple of programs to separate from the pack and beat up CUSA and MAC teams and now you have some credibility. The MWC is going to fall back perception wise without a WAC. It will be way behind the Pac 12. The conference that should be worried of a strong SBC is CUSA, especially with their internal strife. They could cherry pick for sure, but they would have to get their house in order first. What we don't have in the SBC are programs that fight over expanding East and West (yet). Be smart about these moves and we could align ourselves into a very nice position. My only thing is I would want joining programs to bring their entire portfolio. Don't want to be a disjointed Big East. West Arkansas State New Mexico St Louisiana North Texas UTSA Texas St La Tech East MTSU Troy Florida Atlantic Florida International UL-Monroe South Alabama Western Kentucky GMG

The fact that Butler has scored 6 points this half and we have a little over 10 minutes to play is CRAZY! GMG

Agreed. The announcers hated the game but I found it entertaining. My roomie said its low scoring and ugly because they are both good! I would love UNLV to go after Brad Stevens but he is good for Butler and probably wouldn't leave. You could always ask though. The Rebels will probably end up with Reggie Theus or Rice from BYU. I think they should go bring the fat man Majerus back to the Mountain West. GMG

Open the mind Eppy. Ladies sports are not as thrilling all of the time, but those 2 games yesterday were really good. Hearing the Aggie coach say, "this is what woman's basketball needs" is absolutely correct. The domination by UCONN and TN was not good for the game. I still believe it is a different game and don't equate UCONN's run to UCLA's back in the day, but the athletes put in just as much work as the men do. I also believe cheerleaders are athletes with the amount of work they put in. Very proud of my neice from San Antonio O'Connor who received a scholarship to Penn State for Women's Volleyball. She starts PSU in the fall, and I will be tuning into the Big 10 Network to see her play. What is really cool is that if the defending national champion Nittany Lions can get back to the final four later this year, she would get to play in front of tons of family and friends in the Alamodome. My cousin is tall, strong, smart and athletic and her hard work is going to reap some benefits. So go TAMU! Even if it is only to see the female Charles Barkley on the court, it is worth a tune in. She is a beast! Bring back another championship to Texas! GMG

Excellent article about how Butler's runs have brought them a heck of a lot of free publicity over the past 2 years. I am so glad our administration has changed it's tune towards athletics over the past 20 years. We use to be known only as a music school. Can you imagine how much pub will come our way when we make that magical run all of us Mean Green fans dream of. A dream I know the teams are working on each and every year. http://www.butlersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/2010-11/releases/040111aab Go Bulldogs! GMG

Sweet victory for the Aggies and they have chance with that monster upset in game 2. Way to go TAMU! GMG

They basically doubled his salary. He also has roots in the KS, OK area. He will be missed here in Las Vegas that is for sure - bummer day in Sin City. GMG

Still no MWC team past the sweet 16. Let's join the league and break the streak! I had AZ playing for the NC! Go Wildcats!!!!! GMG

Metzler's seem Mean Green proud. Is this a place the diehards can go for a post victory celebration come fall? I love Lucky Lous but if there was a Mean Green bar/restaurant must after the game my crew and I would be there for sure. GOMEANGREEN!!!!!

I listened to that epic Mean Green win over NMSU for another trip to New Orleans from Buenos Aires then celebrated in the streets of where the tango was born until the morning. Enjoy Spain and take a pic of the claw or a piece of Mean Green gear in some place truly unique! I am off to China this weekend and if I find that market where the crazy eats are I am going to put a Mean Green hat on one of the vendors for a photo. Mean Green and fried scorpians - sweeeeeeet! gmg

I remember those battles back in the 80's and the Bobcats brought a good crowd to Denton. I agree it would be a fun series to set up. GMG

Yes to TN. Went to Knoxville in December and that town looks crazy on gameday. Where else in the world can you cheer for the Mean Green drenched in sherbert orange. Peace to other fans coming on our board to talk sports. I welcome UTA TSU and the cartoons to come talk about sports. Can we play the cartoons in basketball soon, please. Very soon! GMG

That was crazy! UCLA is lucky they didn't only lead by 20 with 8 minutes left. Florida is seated high and will cruise until the 8 or 4. That was a tv seating if I have ever seen one. This year's seating was a joke. GMG

It really is tragic. Is our league really that bad that not even 1 team could emerge? I know speaking out loud here. Couldn't even make it to Thursday, wild! GMG

Gear question. Sorry this is a bit misplaced but I was hunting for a UNLV Rebel watching party today and came across the site rebelswag.com. As I was looking at the gear I like it a lot because I feel like UNLV has a really difficult logo and branding to overcome. I find a lot of their stuff boring. But the swag gear is pretty cool and I was wondering if we have anything like that in Mean Green land? I can't imagine it wouldn't be ultra cool for the students and never wanna grow up fans like me. Seeing Johnny Jones face on a shirt with a tagline, seeing some old school historic gear (that crazy worm), and just cool in your face gear would be easy for us to work with. Lord knows we have a slew of logos, shades, slogans and eagles to work with. Check it out: http://shop.rebelswag.com/ GMG

That is nice becuase Pitino is not one of my favorites. I also have Vandy going pretty far. Very nice. My final four: Kentucky, UNLV (homer), Kansas State & Arizona - stretches for sure but would love it! GMG

What is the goal for this team next year. Listening to Fisher his goal was to get SDSU their first win ever in the tournament. That was BYU's goal last year. The time is now for this program to have explicit goals expressed. Maybe we did have that goal expressed and I missed it, but two realistic goals for this program in my opinion are to: 1. break into the top 25 and 2. win a tournament game (NCAA, NIT, CBS (whatever the heck it is). We are leap years ahead of programs like TCU and SMU and because of that we must express goals. Maybe our goal is to win the Sunbelt. With wins come expectations and the foundation is laid. I am hoping we play with a clear goal and purpose in 2011-2012. I would also like to see our football team do this in the fall. How about a goal of 6 wins or an undefeated home slate. GMG

The Utah State fans are amazing and the student section was out of control - definitely one of the best I have seen in a long long time. That is why I think they are a natural selection for the MWC. They will bring the house to Las Vegas at tourney time and they have built a strong program. With no presence in Utah after this year, I just don't see them staying in the WAC for long. They are in the MWC footprint and bring some solid goods to the table. GMG

This is crazy talk. I hope JJ stays with us for a long time because winning in Texas is not easy and JJ has us positioned very nicely. Had we won the tourney I really doubt we would be in a play in game. I would loved to have seen us against a San Diego State or Notre Dame. This tourney is way more open than ever before! I saw what happened at NM after Bliss left for Baylor. Though ticked about another 8 seeded UNLV Rebel team I don't want to run Kruger out of town. Hoops are too much fun when you are competing at the top of the league and for tourney bids each year. GMG

But it helps you make friends! How about the joy of beating a bitter rival into the ground:) How about some great national recognition! Helps me make friends? GMG

I had free tickets to the WAC Championship game at the Orleans Arena, and it turned out to be a good game between the Broncos and Aggies. Utah State students traveled in force to Las Vegas, and the small contingent of BSU fans made a lot of noise. However, I sat back and looked up at the rafters realizing just how the WAC was gutted. When you pull down the Hawaii, Nevada, Boise State and Fresno State banners you are left with Idaho, NM State, La Tech, Utah State and San Jose State. Then you look into the crowd and realize that there were handfuls and only handfuls of NM State fans that I saw at that final game. The Idaho, NM State, La Tech and SJSU fans either didn't travel to Las Vegas or they didn't go to the final game. I'm spoiled watching the MWC tourney and seeing fans from all the programs except TCU represented well throughout the entire tourney. Back to the WAC. You cannot just throw UTSA, Denver and Texas State banners up there and have the same league - name recognition or not. The WAC is a dying conference and I don't say that lightly because they have survived a lot of hits. But I have never felt more comfortable stating that I am glad we did not jump on that ship. We have our own goals to tackle and programs to progress. The bitterness Utah State fans had towards Boise for leaving the conference was uncomfortable. Utah State will be in the MWC before long and that may very well be the end of the league for good. So prepare for a couple of storied programs to be looking for a home sometime sooner than later, in my opinion (Bulldogs and Aggies). Hearing Karl take one final slam at Boise during the trophy presentation was just what I expected from a desperate commish. It was an interesting trip to the Orleans to say the least. GMG

I think not going to bowl games of your member institutions while you are Commissioner is just wrong. They are yours buddy until they move on. Be a professional already because these schools and paths will cross again. Now they are sending out covert reps from the WAC office to lure North Texas. This morning at Dunkin Donuts, Molly saw me watching Stony Brook and Boston U. She asked if I was in town for the MWC tournament. I told her I tried for 2 hours to scalp a ticket the night before before buying some beer and heading home to watch it on tv. I asked her if she was in town for the tournament and she said, "Yes, I work for the WAC offices." She asked, "Who do you follow?" I stated, "North Texas and UNLV." She said, well I have extra tickets to the WAC championship game tonight if you would like to go to the game. She said, Utah State should have a good crowd here. I excitedly accepted the tickets and ironically was given a Boise State t-shirt over Christmas by a friend who called me a bandwagon fan for rooting for the Broncs so hard all season. So I actually get a chance to wear the gag gift, drink some beers in the front rows and see what's left of the WAC up close and personal. Agent Molly was probably on the her phone telling Karl - North Texas fan living Las Vegas - they want to go West, NOW! GMG

I always enjoy seeing Texas schools on the national stage, but with the way the Ruderunners run their mouths I almost subconsciously want UTSA to get pummeled. However, the stronger they are the better addition they would to a strengthening Sun Belt or the new SWC. If they get in the tourney I am confident they will begin trumpeting their chances of throttling Duke. GO MEAN GREEN!

I think we have a winner:) I like the idea of UTA for hoops only. No to ORU. Let's leave that 12th spot open and available for NMSU or La Tech and have them bring their entire portfolio. GMG