Arkstfan

Colorado is to the Pac-10 what Arkansas is to the SEC (the team taken to clear the path to get Texas in). Utah is to the Pac-10 what South Carolina is to the SEC (the team taken when the first, second, third, and fourth choices backed out).

I feel hurt now.

That year, Boise State was an also-ran at 6-5 in the Big Sky. Fresno 6-6 and an also-ran in the Big West. Hawaii was in the WAC and parlayed NINE home games into a 7-4 record. Idaho was 6-5 in the Big Sky and capped the year with a 37-0 rout of Boise. Louisiana Tech was 10-5 in the Southland, only I-AA losses were to ULM and in the title game to Montana State. Nevada went 7-4 in the Big Sky and missed the playoffs. NMSU went winless in the Big West on the way to a 2-9 record. San Jose won their final three to finish 6-5 (two of those wins over now defunct Pacific and Long Beach). Utah State went 1-10 in the Big West.

I suspect that if the Big XII eventually loses UT, TAMU and OU that Kansas would rather align with schools from the Big East. If they have the opportunity to be travel buddy with those three they'll take it but that is out of their hands. What people fail to grasp with the Big XII is that UT, TAMU, OU and NU all ought to be making money like Big 10 and SEC schools because that is their peer group in support and national audience. Unbalanced sharing allows UT, TAMU, and OU to make the sort of money they would make if they were to leave. Since the share is unbalanced, the economic incentive to leave is removed or dampened. Tommy may not think it is fair, but I suspect his bosses like that option better than the option of TAMU and OU going to the SEC and UT going to the Big 10 and leaving Texas Tech and Baylor to survive on what they are capable of generating on their own while losing attractive home games against UT, TAMU, and OU.

Actually I think it argues in favor of joining the Southern. No conference has produced more BCS programs than the Southern. Or maybe the Missouri Valley, they catapulted a lot of teams to BCS. Why mess with a league that has only produced three?

Why does everyone keep acting like this is some shock given UNT and ULL said no thanks five years ago? The money doesn't work and the league is so small now it cannot reshape or reform in a meaningful manner if MWC makes a serious raid. While CUSA hasn't produced a nationally ranked at the end of the season program since 2004, they have numbers and a large pool if raided.

Translation. UNT ain't coming. Montana has developed cold feet. Cal Davis and Cal Poly can't afford to upgrade their 11,000 seat stadiums. Sac State ain't very good. Texas State will kill our power ratings and RPI if we let them in. UTSA hasn't played a game and come next summer, still won't have. UNT and Montana are the only schools off this purported list that are in the top 3rd of the nation in RPI. UTSA the only one in the middle third, and the rest are all 200+

Along those same lines. The Southern Conference has produced 21 BCS schools including winners of the last four BCS championships and another three FBS schools. The Missouri Valley has produced 10 BCS schools and another five FBS schools. The day finally arrived when those leagues were "tapped out" they eventually lost so much quality they function at a far lower level than they did at their peak. In the days of the dinosaurs the college football world looked a lot like this Upper Tier Eastern Independents Big 10 SEC SWC Big 8 Pac-10 Middle tier ACC (remember until the BCS their champ had no bowl guarantee and non-New Year games weren't unheard of for the champ) WAC Bottom tier Yankee Southern Southland MAC Missouri Valley Big West Today if you look at dollars and cents with the move to bigger leagues and reforming things have shuffled and you have: Upper Tier SEC Big 10 Pac-10 ACC Middle Tier Big East MWC Lower tier MAC CUSA Sun Belt WAC

When did FAU or Troy have a great season? 8-5 became great when? That's FAU's best. Troy has had several 8 win and a 9 but I'd love to see the last time a non-AQ was ranked with 9 wins. Colorado hasn't posted a winning season since 2005 but they are the dominant program in the largest TV market west of Dallas, they got there by default. Boise has won two BCS games and only advanced to the MWC, the 7th richest conference in the country with no AQ bid.

What proven coach did Boise get? Chris Petersen 1987–1988 UC-Davis (FR coach) 1989–1991 UC Davis (WR coach) 1992 Pittsburgh (QB coach) 1993–1994 Portland State (QB coach) 1995–2000 Oregon (WR coach) 2001–2005 Boise State (OC) 2006–present head coach Never a head coach at any level and never a coordinator any place except Boise prior to being hired. Before that, Dan Hawkins Division II position coach, Division II offensive coordinator, Division III head coach, assistant at Boise promoted when Koetter got hired away. Koetter High school head coach, several FBS OC jobs before being hired as head coach at Boise.

Fresno joined the WAC in 1992. They were ranked once in the Big West and twice in the WAC (first was the first season when they were playing with inferior Big West talent) and the last in 2004. Haven't won the WAC since 1999. Louisiana Tech joined in 2001. Won the league in 2001 with kids recruited playing against Sun Belt teams. Haven't finished closer than three games out since 2005. Nine seasons in the WAC and have posted a winning record 3 times, losing record 5 times and .500 once. Hawaii has been ranked three times, twice under June Jones once under Bob Wagner who finally got fired after consecutive losing seasons. Jones was the winningest coach since moving Division I and since joining the WAC have never played fewer than 7 home games and quite a few times have played as many as NINE. SJSU joined in 1996, in 14 seasons in the WAC have posted 2 winning records and one .500 I don't see that it has been a cure-all.

You've hired the right coach? What's his name and when does he start? How many games you played in a modern football facility that wasn't a road game. Call it a pep talk if you want, doesn't make it any less correct.

The answer isn't standing pat. The answer is choosing to not waste resources by losing money in the WAC and deploying those funds in a manner that advances the program (ie. the stadium is a fantastic start), unless something happens in football you are going to require funds to make a competitive head coach hire and invest in ass'ts.

Here is a comparison that ought to drive the point home 2008-09 Conference + NCAA Revenue Louisiana Tech $1.4 million North Texas $800,000 OK so moving to the WAC is a gain of $600,000 per year but with the same entry fee as last time, the first three years it is a gain of $350,000. BUT there is the travel difference Reported Travel Expenses Louisiana Tech $2.5 million North Texas $1.5 million So if you factor travel into the picture, UNT loses $400,000 net by going to the WAC. Factor in the admission fee and UNT loses $650,000 a year for the next three years. This assumes that 1) ESPN doesn't cut the rights fee and Commissioner Benson has already said he expects it to be cut and 2)the WAC's share of BCS revenue does not fall but anyone can go back and look at the numbers over the past few years and determine that WAC revenue is going to fall.

My observation is that too many of the "money guys" hired these days don't understand sports. When you get one who knows both, you can go to town.

The Little Rock paper fired a bunch of people last year to cost cut and fired the ASU beat writer. They replaced him with a stringer who would get turned down by Bleacher Report but the number of stories stayed the same. I opted to apply the money from my newspaper budget to my mixed drink budget and I seem much happier.

I really hated Salt Lake City on my visit there (freaking IHOP closes at 9pm on Sunday!) but the UU campus is really quite nice and the setting for the stadium is great. It is the easiest big city to drive in you'll ever find. MWC is quasi-stable in my mind. If the Big XII needs to expand, BYU has to be on the list being considered and TCU is potentially in the mix though they offer much less than BYU other than playing on Sunday and shorter trips. The good news for the MWC is that replacements are abundant. Houston would consider, UTEP would leap at it and Nevada, Fresno, and Hawaii would probably be willing to have a presidential mud wrestling match to get in.

From what I hear, Tech is the only thing stopping their membership. I've heard from two different places that Tech had contacted their school and told their presidents that if ULM were booted they would join immediately. I don't think the bodes well for the possibility of their joining. Tech had two opportunities to leave ULM twisting in the wind and passed on both. The first was when the football league formed (and I suspect internal Louisiana politics prevented them from blocking) and the second was when we had to go to 8 full members. If Tech had returned and said, we want to be full members end this business of two-year contracts making ULM a football member and we'll come back, it might have worked. That window is closed now.

Your four year average is $1.9 and ULL's is $1.2. However, it seems odd that you compare ULL who is 180 miles away and uses different airports and has a different set of schools that they can bus to. Why not look 35 miles down the road to ULM who would bus in a similar manner and use the same airports? If you look at their four year average, ULM spends $850,000. On average the past four years ULM has spent a million dollars less per year on travel than Tech has.

Louisville made the top 10 in CUSA just because they left doesn't mean it can't happen again. But it hasn't in the past 5 years. And no CUSA has cracked a final poll since. Marshall cracked the top 10 in the MAC. No MAC has made the top 20 since they left. Assuming someone steps into Boise's place flies in the face of history.

Personally I think the way the landscape has changed, Tech could find a better future in the Belt simply because the money is about to become more similar, the Belt bowls are more regional and Tech could be the tipping point to finally open the Ibowl doors and move the league up the BCS revenue chart.

I think Tech's national profile in football peaked in 2001 with the WAC title. After the run leading up to it, the Dogs were getting close to breaking out. Nothing like a politician AD who figured it'd all just work out, letting the air out of the tires.

Sun Belt North

Which WAC team were they hosting?

Guess I missed that.