Rice, UTEP Mentioned in Mountain West Expansion Discussion

Ben Gooding · December 12, 2015

Let's just go independent and call our own shots. What are the payouts for CUSA? I can only imagine they are not so great to walk away from and set ourselves up by ourselves for the time being or at least someone sees us materializing into something respectable and wants to invite us.

Cerebus · December 12, 2015

Let's just go independent and call our own shots. What are the payouts for CUSA? I can only imagine they are not so great to walk away from ...

Well let's see, we get a $1.2M check from CUSA for our tv rights every year, and the last CFP check each CUSA member received was $1.3M. Of course we'll start out without those 4 guaranteed home games, so we'll need to buy those...

So I guess as soon as you can sign over that $4M check, and write a new one every year, going independent makes a lot of sense.

Just make sure you enjoy those regular seasons since no independent not named Notre Dame, BYU or Army is ever going to get a bowl invite.

Ben Gooding · December 12, 2015

Well let's see, we get a $1.2M check from CUSA for our tv rights every year, and the last CFP check each CUSA member received was $1.3M. Of course we'll start out without those 4 guaranteed home games, so we'll need to buy those...
So I guess as soon as you can sign over that $4M check, and write a new one every year, going independent makes a lot of sense.
Just make sure you enjoy those regular seasons since no independent not named Notre Dame, BYU or Army is ever going to get a bowl invite.

OK, so just to clear it up it's a bad idea.

eulessismore · December 12, 2015

Let's just go independent and call our own shots. What are the payouts for CUSA? I can only imagine they are not so great to walk away from and set ourselves up by ourselves for the time being or at least someone sees us materializing into something respectable and wants to invite us.

It worked out so well before.

rcade · December 12, 2015

Let's just go independent and call our own shots.

RV can't schedule four OOC games a year without sticking us with teams like Bethune Cookman and Incarnate Word. You want him to schedule 12? It would be a disaster of biblical proportions.

Ben Gooding · December 12, 2015

RV can't schedule four OOC games a year without sticking us with teams like Bethune Cookman and Incarnate Word. You want him to schedule 12? It would be a disaster of biblical proportions.

Very true. Going independent takes a very strong administration. I better hush-hush and not give anyone any ideas.

Side Show Joe · December 12, 2015

I hate that RIce and UTEP are looking to leave. For me, they are the two biggest draws in C-USA for North Texas.

If they leave, I can't blame them. They are just trying to improve their standing in college football landscape. This season, C-USA couldn't fill their bowl slots, and some of that is on North Texas (and Mac). When we post a 1-11 record, including the ugliest loss ever to an FCS program, it has ramifications. Rice and UTEP could have been reaching out to the MWC for years, but what we and some of the other teams in C-USA have done recently, hasn't exactly given them a reason to change their minds.

If they leave, I will be very disappointed, and find it hard to get excited about the possibility of a restructured C-USA that would look even more like the Sun Belt Conference we left.

I know Smatresk still has connections at UNLV and the MWC. He must know something about this.

Arkstfan · December 12, 2015

Scuttlebutt is that Rice and UTEP approached MWC and the MWC doesn't have the needed 9 votes to expand yet.

Unless the new CUSA TV deal is a dandy, can't see why CUSA would want to go back to 14 if the UTEP/Rice escape plan works.

UAB gets their act together, back at 12 and the West can be UNT, UTSA, Tech, USM and either WKU+MTSU or WKU+UAB or MTSU+UAB.

Mike Jackson · December 12, 2015

Travel west to play MWC team would be more expensive. Fresno State is not going to drop down, too much money can be made there with winning team. Just look at the top notch QB they were able to recruit in the past. Until we actually start consistently winning in CUSA I think this is moot discussion. I could see UTEP going with Texas State maybe if other teams leave MWC to keep it at 12. And I don't think it the Mean Green best interest to have our games start 8:00 pm or later when the primetime best P5 match up are on TV and entering crunch time/OT in many cases. What I am hoping for is NCAA conference standardization to 12 team conferences. I hated the super conference when the WAC started this garbage and hate even more now. We should be careful. I don't want UNT to end up like La Tech was in the WAC with there nearest conference foe almost a 1000 miles away. I don't think that is sustainable even at the P5 level. I don't think West Virginia will stay in the Big 12 for long without another team in the Eastern Time zone being added soon.

Arkstfan · December 12, 2015

Travel west to play MWC team would be more expensive. Fresno State is not going to drop down, too much money can be made there with winning team. Just look at the top notch QB they were able to recruit in the past. Until we actually start consistently winning in CUSA I think this is moot discussion. I could see UTEP going with Texas State maybe if other teams leave MWC to keep it at 12. And I don't think it the Mean Green best interest to have our games start 8:00 pm or later when the primetime best P5 match up are on TV and entering crunch time/OT in many cases. What I am hoping for is NCAA conference standardization to 12 team conferences. I hated the super conference when the WAC started this garbage and hate even more now. We should be careful. I don't want UNT to end up like La Tech was in the WAC with there nearest conference foe almost a 1000 miles away. I don't think that is sustainable even at the P5 level. I don't think West Virginia will stay in the Big 12 for long without another team in the Eastern Time zone being added soon.

West Virginia

Edited December 12, 2015 by Arkstfan

Cerebus · December 13, 2015

West Virginia

LOL.

For those not getting the reference:

Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)

NM Green · December 14, 2015

Just in, MWC not expanding.

Crush the pic and fry the rice.

Green white coming!

GMG

Ben Gooding · December 14, 2015

Just in, MWC not expanding.
Crush the pic and fry the rice.
Green white coming!
GMG

Maybe not now, but this should at least concern our incompetent administration that people want out regardless of the origin of this report. Either way, Rice or UTEP sees themselves as superior to CUSA or the MWC sees its conference and Rice and UTEP as superior to CUSA. A plan must be in place to bail if people start bailing.

ColoradoEagle · December 14, 2015

The most important thing right now is for the conference to get on board with the new commissioner's basketball initiative. CUSA basketball now actually seems worse than SBC ball was, and we're a huge contributor to that. We've gotta get back to being a 2-3 bid league.

untjim1995 · December 14, 2015

I think ArkState Fan has it right--those schools have probably made it known that they would be interested in moving their way to the MWC, since the AAC probably isn't adding either of them anytime soon. But the MWC TV deal probably isn't getting reworked anytime soon, so there isn't anything pressing about adding two members for a while. But when the time comes for a new TV deal for the MWC to get drawn up, just know that TV sets in Texas would attract some dollars that they wouldn't get normally. Nothing outrageous, but if enough, the league would jump on Rice and UTEP for several reasons--big TV markets, bowl cities, UTEP history in hoops, and Rice academics and baseball.

I don't know who we would replace those two with if they left. Since UTSA would still be here, Texas State won't get approval from anyone in the East because of market overlap. It might be just as he noted earlier, that CUSA just may stay at 12. You move UAB and MUTS to the West with USM, La Tech, UTSA, and us, leaving the East with Marshall, WKU, ODU, Charlotte, and the F_Us. Almost amazingly, the biggest winner in this hypothetical would be the Sun Belt Conference, which wouldn't lose anyone and have to run down to FCS to talk a few more schools into moving up to their league.

Ben Gooding · December 14, 2015

The most important thing right now is for the conference to get on board with the new commissioner's basketball initiative. CUSA basketball now actually seems worse than SBC ball was, and we're a huge contributor to that. We've gotta get back to being a 2-3 bid league.

Crazy logic here, but better football as a conference will improve the perception of basketball. Also, MTSU can't carry the torch in any one sport. Their name alone is a conference eye sore.

southsideguy · December 14, 2015

UTEP was in the old was with most of the MW conference and got left out when they started the new MW conference. UTEP and new mexico are rivals on the basketball court. Plus UTEP is in the mountain time zone. I am not sure of the Rice connection.

untjim1995 · December 14, 2015

Crazy logic here, but better football as a conference will improve the perception of basketball. Also, MTSU can't carry the torch in any one sport. Their name alone is a conference eye sore.

On this, I completely agree. Same with the Florida Airport schools, too. People can handle directional schools being good, when they involve one (and only one) direction that is actually on a map. "Middle" certainly doesn't fit this definition.

MeanGreenTexan · December 14, 2015

On this, I completely agree. Same with the Florida Airport schools, too. People can handle directional schools being good, when they involve one (and only one) direction that is actually on a map. "Middle" certainly doesn't fit this definition.

Except that from the minute they entered the conference their WBB has put the smackdown on everyone. They're competitive in just about everything else as well...

Also, Tennesseans recognize that area of Tennessee as "Middle Tennessee". Maybe everyone else would call it "Central Tennessee", but they don't. It's quirky and it's cool.

Ben Gooding · December 14, 2015

Except that from the minute they entered the conference their WBB has put the smackdown on everyone. They're competitive in just about everything else as well...

Also, Tennesseans recognize that area of Tennessee as "Middle Tennessee". Maybe everyone else would call it "Central Tennessee", but they don't. It's quirky and it's cool.

Agree to disagree, apparently. That area of Tennessee is irrelevant when speaking of national perception.