AAC strikes out AGAIN

Jonnyeagle · October 1, 2021

Mean Green Matt · October 1, 2021

This is, unfortunately for us, a fantastic decision by AFA and CSU. They were already in the best remaining non-power conference. Leaving would have been massively silly.

RBP79 · October 1, 2021

AAC was trying to avoid picking up CUSA&SBC schools to keep that P6 thing going.....this will now get real interesting.

Jonnyeagle · October 1, 2021

We will just need to work to make the best out of either CUSA or the Belt as we will be in either one of those for the time being. Will always wish we had done more with football but it is what it is.

Mean Green Matt · October 1, 2021

4 minutes ago, Jonnyeagle said:

Will always wish we had done more with football but it is what it is.

Or something. Done something with football.

wardly · October 1, 2021

14 minutes ago, Mean Green Matt said:

This is, unfortunately for us, a fantastic decision by AFA and CSU. They were already in the best remaining non-power conference. Leaving would have been massively silly.

Agreed

akriesman · October 1, 2021

Smart move by CSU and AFA. Unfortunate news for UNT.

UNTcrazy727 · October 1, 2021

29 minutes ago, Mean Green Matt said:

This is, unfortunately for us, a fantastic decision by AFA and CSU. They were already in the best remaining non-power conference. Leaving would have been massively silly.

The best decision for the MWC would now be to expand to Texas by adding UNT and UTSA. However, I'm afraid they'll decide to stay put at 12 teams.

MeanGreenTexan · October 1, 2021

42 minutes ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

The best decision for the MWC would now be to expand to Texas by adding UNT and UTSA. However, I'm afraid they'll decide to stay put at 12 teams.

Right. This, in anticipation of Boise St & SDSU leaving eventually... which, it's not a matter of "if", but "when". Get ahead of this and grab the 2 Texas schools with the most potential.

untjim1995 · October 1, 2021

55 minutes ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

The best decision for the MWC would now be to expand to Texas by adding UNT and UTSA. However, I'm afraid they'll decide to stay put at 12 teams.

So currently, the AAC has: Temple, Navy, East Carolina, South Florida, Tulane, Memphis, SMU, and Tulsa. Its feasible they could stay at eight, add 1 to get to 9, add 2 to get 10, or add 4 to get to 12. Nobody really knows--since they have been Heisman'd by anyone with a pulse in the MWC, their choices are pretty much relegated to Army and a bunch of SBCUSA teams. Just guessing here, but they will want Army, UAB, Charlotte, and UTSA. Let's say that's who they get. Now CUSA has this lineup: Old Dominion, Marshall, Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Southern Mississippi, Rice, North Texas, and Texas-El Paso. Then, the question becomes a simple one for the SBC. Who do you want from CUSA? Since Judy McLeod ain't going anywhere soon, Marshall and USM have strong interest in going that direction, so that leaves us with 8. Would we stick at 8? Or does Judy go talk to Sam Houston and SFA, as well as Jacksonville State and Grambling to follow the SBC model of pulling up FCS teams to the conference? That's the reality we are facing if we get left out in the cold during all of this.

I never imagined a day that North Texas would leave the Sun Belt Conference and watch it zoom past both CUSA and the MAC as the best of the Lower G5's. There is absolutely nothing that could've convinced me that even had a chance of happening.

NorthTexasWeLove · October 1, 2021

2 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

So currently, the AAC has: Temple, Navy, East Carolina, South Florida, Tulane, Memphis, SMU, and Tulsa. Its feasible they could stay at eight, add 1 to get to 9, add 2 to get 10, or add 4 to get to 12. Nobody really knows--since they have been Heisman'd by anyone with a pulse in the MWC, their choices are pretty much relegated to Army and a bunch of SBCUSA teams. Just guessing here, but they will want Army, UAB, Charlotte, and UTSA. Let's say that's who they get. Now CUSA has this lineup: Old Dominion, Marshall, Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Southern Mississippi, Rice, North Texas, and Texas-El Paso. Then, the question becomes a simple one for the SBC. Who do you want from CUSA? Since Judy McLeod ain't going anywhere soon, Marshall and USM have strong interest in going that direction, so that leaves us with 8. Would we stick at 8? Or does Judy go talk to Sam Houston and SFA, as well as Jacksonville State and Grambling to follow the SBC model of pulling up FCS teams to the conference? That's the reality we are facing if we get left out in the cold during all of this.

I never imagined a day that North Texas would leave the Sun Belt Conference and watch it zoom past both CUSA and the MAC as the best of the Lower G5's. There is absolutely nothing that could've convinced me that even had a chance of happening.

It's not so much what the SunBelt has done. Granted, they have marketed that gimmick of FunBelt very well. But the rise of App State and Coastal Carolina into FBS football has helped them tremendously all the while Billy Napier has been able to Keep LaLa the consistent bellcow of the conference. They have timing on their side, 0 doubt.

Hunter Green · October 1, 2021

24 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

It's not so much what the SunBelt has done. Granted, they have marketed that gimmick of FunBelt very well. But the rise of App State and Coastal Carolina into FBS football has helped them tremendously all the while Billy Napier has been able to Keep LaLa the consistent bellcow of the conference. They have timing on their side, 0 doubt.

We should have gone after Liberty when we had the chance.

TIgreen01 · October 1, 2021

Why are you guys jumping to doom and gloom? For weeks everyone here has switched to clamoring to go west. Going to a watered down MWC was never a good option. So this means that if we do go MWC that it is not just the old Big West.

I, also, agree with the poster who mentioned smu as an option for MWC. It is clearly the better conference now. I would think schmoo would have interest in joining the strongest possible conference. It wouldn’t surprise me to see schmoo and Tulsa go MWC…Then at least UNT, UTSA, UAB leave for AAC. Or maybe schmoo and Tulsa stay put, and UNT and UTEP go MWC? Who knows…but UNT is in a good position regardless.

Edited October 1, 2021 by TIgreen01

Arkstfan · October 1, 2021

41 minutes ago, Hunter Green said:

We should have gone after Liberty when we had the chance.

Liberty will still be available unless the departure of Falwell matters to Sun Belt.

Flew private jet to each school to lobby. Offered to pay double the admission fee and was rumored to have offered to secure donations in the mid six figure range to president/chancellor’s choice of athletics or academics.

Sure presidents weren’t wild about faculty and student backlash over Liberty faculty having to sign oath that they believe the earth is a few thousand years old, no tenure for faculty, and being gay is grounds for expulsion.

If they were willing to move past that, the Arab oil sheik act would have been enough to kill their bid.

DeepGreen · October 1, 2021

5 hours ago, Mean Green Matt said:

Or something. Done something with football.

Which tells everyone how important Coach McCasland is to our BB program.

greenminer · October 1, 2021

39 minutes ago, Arkstfan said:

Liberty will still be available unless the departure of Falwell matters to Sun Belt.

Flew private jet to each school to lobby. Offered to pay double the admission fee and was rumored to have offered to secure donations in the mid six figure range to president/chancellor’s choice of athletics or academics.

Sure presidents weren’t wild about faculty and student backlash over Liberty faculty having to sign oath that they believe the earth is a few thousand years old, no tenure for faculty, and being gay is grounds for expulsion.

If they were willing to move past that, the Arab oil sheik act would have been enough to kill their bid.

Woah! I knew about the tenure thing, but the rest of this stuff is news to me. Wild.

Mean Green 93-98 · October 1, 2021

6 hours ago, akriesman said:

Smart move by CSU and AFA. Unfortunate news for UNT.

I don't know...it might or might not close the door on us going to the MWC. But it at least cracks the door on our going to the American Conference.

RBP79 · October 1, 2021

MWC will infiltrate the Texas market....sooner than later.

Jonnyeagle · October 1, 2021

5 minutes ago, RBP79 said:

MWC will infiltrate the Texas market....sooner than later.

Perhaps even as a defensive move.

Mean Green Matt · October 2, 2021

10 hours ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Right. This, in anticipation of Boise St & SDSU leaving eventually... which, it's not a matter of "if", but "when". Get ahead of this and grab the 2 Texas schools with the most potential.

Why is this a foregone conclusion?

Arkstfan · October 2, 2021

What AAC ought to do and what it will do probably aren’t the same thing.

If I were advising them I’d say 10 is fine right now. You can have a championship game, anyone in MAC, CUSA, SBC is going to hop on board. You don’t have to do anything today except add at least one to get your 8 full FBS members (Navy doesn’t count as football only) and two to get your title game.

I’d snag UAB and Buffalo then wait for a year or two and see how things shake out.

What I expect to happen is AAC to be in panic mode. You may see Tulsa, SMU, Tulane in a snit and block expansion unless Rice is invited. UAB gets picked. There are rumors/speculation that ECU and Temple are lobbying for Charlotte and may have other support because Charlotte has a basketball “name” (never mind they’ve been nothing special lately). You’ve got rank speculation that one of the F_U’s gets grabbed and similar speculation about UTSA.

This smells like CUSA great six team grab where taking one or two becomes taking six to smooth al the feathers.

AAC ought to take two. Maybe consider bolstering hoops, it’s almost assured St. Louis would join, question is can Dayton be peeled off? If so add two football two hoops.

But I think they panic and go twelve. If they really believe Big XII is going to add two more at a later date (odd strategy, why not do it at once?) then a panic reaction is go to 14 to try secure a bigger presence and not feel compelled to add more after losing two (but likely adding if losing one).

So far the weirdest and wildest idea tossed is a very dubious claim (probably some poster thinking of it in the shower) is MWC pursuing Army and Navy and setting it up so neither plays the other in league play, swapping divisions every two years and letting them keep the Army-Navy game as a non-conference game and keep the TV rights.

southsideguy · October 2, 2021

I bet AAC goes after UAB, Marshall

PlummMeanGreen · October 2, 2021

There is no consolation in saying this as the deck chairs continue to be shuffled, but no where do I see that anyone has escaped being a G5 school in all this re-alignment drama.
Any G5 conference with the right group of quality coaches can have a 3-4 year run of success unless there’s an exodus of portal transfers whose departures kicks said league’s schools in the butt. That can happen overnight since that’s how quickly it can all happen with no need to sit out a year with that kind of transfer.

I still don’t like the trend & direction this present NCAA rules committee is taking college football. It ultimately seems destructive, but one merely has to consider the times we live.

🦇

Edited October 2, 2021 by PlummMeanGreen

ChiefTenBeers2015 · October 2, 2021

Well, until CFP expansion there’s no incentive to jump ship. Secure the conference revenue you can now.
FYI - If the CFP had expanded to 12 teams beginning in something like 2012, per an ESPN article I read no team from the CUSA would have been included. That is an issue.
GMG