UNT TO AAC

[laxtonto]

So it looks like we have a few open dates to fill in the future... what is the AAC policy on non-conference schedules? We now need like 5 games in the next 5 years

 

[ntmeangreen11]

Holy shit this is our best conference since what the MVC? 

We should all be pumped. ESPN games, exposure, TV money, what this could mean for keeping McCasland around etc.

The thing I am most excited about is this has to at least slightly expand our pool for head coaching candidates. You can't tell me if we have the money a top candidate wouldn't come here.

[Jonnyeagle]

I for one am SUPER excited about this.  What a fantastic league this will be and so many close roadies.  Real rivalries and some great fanbases to boot.  Love that Rice is coming and even though we hate UAB and UTSA they are solid additions as well.  GREAT DAY to be Mean and Green! 

[ColoradoEagle]

Where do I go to get my apologies? Or at least see some crow eating? 😂

In all seriousness, very excited for this news. Bonus is that the only thing that would’ve caused more of a meltdown at ponyfans than us joining the MWC is us joining the AAC. 

Edited October 19, 2021 by ColoradoEagle

[ColoradoEagle]

2 hours ago, laxtonto said:

So the real question is did the AAC go to 14 knowing that they will eventually lose 2 or to lock out the MWC from Texas to hopefully shake loose AF and CSU?

The M. Night Shyamalan here would be that spots 15 and 16 are for Colorado State and Air Force…

[Green Otaku]

2 hours ago, NorthTexasSportsNetwork said:

I just want a different conference that doesn't use a curtain at the basketball tournament and has a real leader

 

Conference tourney in Las Vegas would have been a lot of fun. 

 

[outoftown]

If true NT has to take this. Is this conference much better than current C-USA? Only marginally so. But if you wonder if UNT has to do this, consider the alternative of being left behind while the others move on. Imagine being La Tech or USM in this scenario. Its about to get real lonely for UTEP.

Also: If I am a coach recruiting against SMU, I just managed to close the gap. Its the first step of overtaking SMU the way UCF overtook USF (remember how UCF really stank for a whole while there).

One more thought: I'll be interested to watch the financials: These might simple be UTSA plus the only schools that were able to find exit and entry fees. Hwever I don't think it is a done deal. Some real push back might come from fans and donors of the current AAC schools.

 

Edited October 19, 2021 by outoftown

[ChristopherRyanWilkes]

I get we are whipped dogs around here, but this is happening. It said the voting at this stage is a formality. They don’t ask teams to apply to reject them anymore (if that ever was a thing). SMU AD was on the committee that invited us. 

[ChristopherRyanWilkes]

5 hours ago, outoftown said:

If true NT has to take this. Is this conference much better than current C-USA? Only marginally so. 

 

The money alone should answer this question. Reportedly our TV deal will be 4 times higher than what it is currently.

[UNTexas]

10 hours ago, techdawg88 said:

except they didn't destroy CUSA, outside of UAB & UNT, the AAC took a lot of our dead weight

I do agree. I am actually very surprised they haven’t contacted y’all. I don’t get Some of the other teams. UTSA is a good TV market and doing well this season and Rice is a big TV market and academically amazing. Not so sure if the others. 

[VideoEagle]

This certainly looks very good from NT's point of view. In Texas we're trading UTEP for SMU - I don't care how much you might hate SMU that is a very clear upgrade! In the rest of the west we're trading La Tech and Southern Miss plus losing UAB in the division for Memphis, Tulane and Tulsa. Again, there is no way that's not an upgrade. 

As for the dollars, I heard of total media dollars thru the CUSA were actually a little under $750k - the $500k doesn't include all of it. The new AAC will get us a starting amount of $2MM that will "grow substantially of the course of the current media contract." Meanwhile, the current AAC members will still average $7MM a year thru the end of the deal in 2032. I think the difference is our entry fee into the conference. Generally, schools don't actually write a check for entry fees, they are paid thru delays in conference revenue. 

As for the Mountain West really wanting to expand into Texas or anywhere in the Central Time Zone, I've got to ask why? Remember why the Mountain West was formed in the first place - the BYU, Utah, CSU, Wyoming and AFA big donors wanted to play each other every year and didn't care about any thing else the WAC16 had to offer. They walked away from more money then. It appears AFA and CSU listened to the offer from the AAC, but decided they still liked the MWC better. I don't think any school would join the MWC without at least one other team with the possible exception of UTEP. But there is no pair of teams in CUSA or the AAC that would add enough to the revenue pie to keep it equal to what it is now. Plus, any AAC team would be paying fees and reduced revenue for a few years for what is at best a lateral move that multiple sports writers point out would significantly increase their travel costs and time. 

Will the Big XII poach two more in a couple of years? Maybe, but if there were two more schools that clearly moved the needle the Big XII would already have taken them. And if the Big XII decided to take two more, are Memphis and SMU a better fit than Boise and SDSU? It's far from a certainly that the AAC would take the full hit. That is IF there actually is one which based on everything I read is far from certain. 

This is a great deal folks and better than some offer from the MWC that is extremely unlikely to come anytime soon. 

[MeanGreenTexan]

9 hours ago, wardly said:

In a perfect world the MWC would add UTEP and NMSU but not in my lifetime.[or not soon , which at nearly 79 is the same thing as "not in my lifetime."

Why?   What do either of those schools bring to the MWC?

If the MWC can't find enough value in us & UTSA to offer, what on Earth would UTEP & NMSU provide?

[MGNation92]

2 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Why?   What do either of those schools bring to the MWC?

If the MWC can't find enough value in us & UTSA to offer, what on Earth would UTEP & NMSU provide?

A mountain time zone

[MeanGreenTexan]

6 minutes ago, MGNation92 said:

A mountain time zone

Izzat it?   That's the reason all of the existing schools would decide to split the pie with them?

[meaniegreenie]

12 hours ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Do you guys not realize what this means?!?!?

The bidding war for UNT is about to begin!!!!

This leaked news will no doubt make its way to Craig Thompson’s desk.   If MWC wants into Texas, they’re gonna have to act quickly and kick NT a sweet deal, before this AAC move shakes out!!!

The move to the AAC is not guaranteed!   I bet something like this leaks out from the MWC by Friday targeting NT & UTSA!

Exciting times for our beloved Mean Green!

Just fire Littrell already so we can be even more excited!

Nah, we tell AAC that the only way we join them is if they force smuT to hire Littrell as their HFC!

[wardly]

4 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Why?   What do either of those schools bring to the MWC?

If the MWC can't find enough value in us & UTSA to offer, what on Earth would UTEP & NMSU provide?

Only geography . This reorganization is probably NMSU's last gasp at hanging on to 1A status, otherwise they may drop football. According to their administration a drop to 1AA would cost more than remaining a punching bag at 1A because they would lose nearly all their money games. I had a home in Ruidoso for 15 years and the Aggies became a program that I began to follow. Regarding UTEP. they are SOL because of location . I realize that in realignment, just like musical chairs ,someone gets left out but to me its a shame.

[keith]

Assuming this all goes down as reported, Altimore is now furiously redoing his presentation so that he can say the move by the AAC made perfect sense all along (hahaha).   It also goes to show how wrong and uninformed various fan boards can be in the conference realignment era.

[MeanGreenTexan]

11 minutes ago, meaniegreenie said:

Nah, we tell AAC that the only way we join them is if they force smuT to hire Littrell as their HFC!

NT is in a position of power right now, but not quite that much power! 🤣

[southsideguy]

the big plus is we say good bye to Judy!

[MeanGreenTexan]

15 minutes ago, wardly said:

Only geography . This reorganization is probably NMSU's last gasp at hanging on to 1A status, otherwise they may drop football. According to their administration a drop to 1AA would cost more than remaining a punching bag at 1A because they would lose nearly all their money games. I had a home in Ruidoso for 15 years and the Aggies became a program that I began to follow. Regarding UTEP. they are SOL because of location . I realize that in realignment, just like musical chairs ,someone gets left out but to me its a shame.

If C-USA implodes, UTEP needs to get buddy-buddy with TXSt quickly, because they'll be their only lifeline to remain in any kind of conference at all.  UTEP is staring an independent life, like their neighbors in Las Cruces, squarely in the face.   They're in a very precarious spot... thanks to years of apathy towards athletics.  They only have their leadership to blame.

Edited October 19, 2021 by MeanGreenTexan

[laxtonto]

So this may be dumb question, but I haven't really seen an answer for this...

What happens to the playoff payout structure if all of the sudden if there is one less G5 conference?

Does the change in payout get split up among all conferences or split among the remaining G5? If they are going to increase the split for the G% into a G4, there is a huge incentive to go ahead and axe the CUSA before they can back fill more with FCS schools and further dilute the distribution pool.

[UNTcrazy727]

9 minutes ago, keith said:

Assuming this all goes down as reported, Altimore is now furiously redoing his presentation so that he can say the move by the AAC made perfect sense all along (hahaha).   It also goes to show how wrong and uninformed various fan boards can be in the conference realignment era.

I kept saying the DFW market is so big it wouldn't automatically eliminate us from AAC expansion. I was told by many people I didn't understand how these things worked and we had no chance with SMU already a member. Well...who's smiling now? 

[keith]

2 minutes ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

I kept saying the DFW market is so big it wouldn't automatically eliminate us from AAC expansion. I was told by many people I didn't understand how these things worked and we had no chance with SMU already a member. Well...who's smiling now? 

Right there with you.  I always found it interesting that the same pundits that said there was no need to add UNT to the AAC since SMU was already in market have no issues declaring that the B12 will likely add SMU even though TCU is already in market.  

[meangreen11]

9 minutes ago, UNTcrazy727 said:

I kept saying the DFW market is so big it wouldn't automatically eliminate us from AAC expansion. I was told by many people I didn't understand how these things worked and we had no chance with SMU already a member. Well...who's smiling now? 

You were absolutely right.  I think a lot of the SMU hate and misunderstanding comes from our elders that dealt with a different SMU in a different era.  

[MGNation92]

11 minutes ago, meangreen11 said:

You were absolutely right.  I think a lot of the SMU hate and misunderstanding comes from our elders that dealt with a different SMU in a different era.  

SMU isn't stupid. There are plenty on here that think they look down on us as the inferior blue collar commuter school. The reality is we fill their stadium, and give an organic rival 30 minutes down the road that's now a conference game.

It's all about money at this point, and SMU makes more with us than without us. SMU knows this and we know this.