SMU to PAC12?

[MeanGreenDadx2]

14 hours ago, Rudy said:

"Texas Tech is hard to travel to"

 

I didn't realize Lubbock closed it's airport. 

I didn't know Lubbock had an airport.

[keith]

36 minutes ago, keith said:

Several schools left out....not sure what the Tier 1 qualification means.

I guess it's the Carnegie Categorization for Research (R1) status....with the assumption it's important to PAC schools/presidents.  That's why SMU is left off.  I didn't think Baylor had R1 status yet as apparently Fresno State, SDSU, SJSU, Boise St do not either.

[keith]

7 of the remaining 10 PAC schools are AAU members.  If that's important, then you have KU, Iowa St, Rice and Tulane to choose from.  Buffalo is also AAU, but I'm going to assume that AAU status is not important enough to stretch the conference into western New York.

There is also a designation from the New America Foundation called "New AAU."  Schools of interest in the New AAU include:

UNT, FIU, UAB, UTSA, UNM, CSU, Hawaii, USF, UCF, Houston, Cinn, Texas Tech, OSU.

Edit: the other 3 PAC schools (ASU, Oregon St and Washington St) are also New AAU schools.

Schools of interest not in the New AAU include:

SMU, Baylor, TCU, Memphis, Tulsa, KSU, NMSU, ULL, UTEP, Boise St, Fresno, Nev, SDSU, SJSU, UNLV, Utah St, Wyoming

No clue if any of this factors in if it's all about money and eyeballs.

Edited July 13, 2022 by keith

[El Paso Eagle]

IF SMU got into the PAC12 or ACC hard to imagine how they would spin a school the Big12 passed over repeatedly was good enough for their conference?

[UNTLifer]

I know Tech is fun to make fun of, but they have a lot of cash and are about to start construction on a $200 million end zone complex.  Also, Lubbock just was designated as a major hub for the Pony Express and many major stagecoach lines including Wells Fargo Staging & Banking in the Old West, The Overland Mail and The Deadwood Stage.

https://www.si.com/college/texas-tech/news/red-raiders-football-investment-womble-center-stadium-expansion-update

https://texastech.exposure.co/footballfacilityinvestment

Edited July 13, 2022 by UNTLifer

[El Paso Eagle]

1 minute ago, UNTLifer said:

I know Tech is fun to make fun of, but they have a lot of cash and are about to start construction on a $200 million end zone complex.  Also, Lubbock just was designated as a major hub for the Pony Express and many major stagecoach lines including Wells Fargo Staging & Banking in the Old West, The Overland Mail and The Deadwood Stage.

https://www.si.com/college/texas-tech/news/red-raiders-football-investment-womble-center-stadium-expansion-update

With the money in play no location is any longer out of the way.

[NT80]

PAC has three (3) choices:

1) I believe the PAC will first attempt to merge into (with) the ACC for a coast-to-coast Super Conference with East/West divisions.  

2) Next best option to remain viable is expansion a) from select invitees from the western Big12, then if turned down, b) offers off the G5 list.  This will involve media valuations on which pieces add the most value plus time-zone new market considerations.   Do they stay with academic criteria or go for new markets and Central Time Zone coverage?

3) Loss of more defectors or poor media valuation results in seeking whole merger with or into the Big12, instead of losing select schools.

[Rudy]

6 hours ago, MeanGreenDadx2 said:

I didn't know Lubbock had an airport.

Even the town of 8k in the panhandle I lived in had an airport. I'm sure Lubbock has one. It may be a combo Sears tire, hair care, and lawn center with a runway attached, but I'm sure they have an airport. 

[southsideguy]

what no conference jumps in a week, wow things are slowing down.  

[GrandGreen]

I think NT has more fans that care what SMU does, than  SMU  has that care about their own program. 

Edited July 15, 2022 by GrandGreen

[untphd]

40 minutes ago, GrandGreen said:

I think SMU has more fans that care what they do at NT than they do at SMU.

It seems they have more to talk about here.

[untjim1995]

On 7/13/2022 at 4:22 PM, texx2818 said:

We had 30K for LaTech. If we are good, people show. DFW is a bunch of bandwagoners.

I don’t mean 6-6 good, I mean like if it looks like we are ACTUALLY a solid team.

The problem with that is that we are RARELY good enough for that kind of following. 9 wins has been this program's ceiling since the late 70s. Fry's team got there twice, Dickey's once, McCarney once, and Littrell twice. So in the last 50 years of football, the program has basically given fans a reason to come watch a frontrunner in Denton a whopping 6 times. Even if you want to add 8 win seasons to the mix, that adds in an additional 1 season. 

 

[RBP79]

Cali Governor Newsome sez he may step in to the fray of these two schools leaving to go into B10...this may get more interesting.

Sorry..left out he was referring to UCLA.

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by RBP79

[southsideguy]

USC is a private school, he may be able to stop UCLA though.   Maybe he will tax USC for playing in out of state of conference?

 

[wardly]

Texas targets appear to be SMU and Houston. SDSU is also under consideration from what I read. What makes sense to me is for the Big 12 and PAC to merge creating the " United Athletic Conference" with two divisions. The PAC Division adds SDSU and BYU moves west to have 12 programs. The Big 12 Division adds either Memphis or USF for another dozen. Initially the PAC makes more money per school that they would as a separate conference while the Big 12 will make less but they can survive and thrive. Each team could play 3 occ games, 6 divisional, and 3 inter divisional including 1 permanent opponent. For example, Oregon and Baylor would play annually. The bottom line is that ESPN is calling the shots which hurts the PAC 12 as from what I gather FOX apparently is not interested in their conference since UCLA and USC are gone.

[MCMLXXX]

On 7/13/2022 at 8:40 PM, Rudy said:

Even the town of 8k in the panhandle I lived in had an airport. I'm sure Lubbock has one. It may be a combo Sears tire, hair care, and lawn center with a runway attached, but I'm sure they have an airport. 

So, what airport would you use?

   

 

[Mean Green 93-98]

3 hours ago, wardly said:

Texas targets appear to be SMU and Houston. 

If I'm Houston, I choose the Big XII over the PAC.  As inconceivable as it would have sounded just a couple of months ago, the Big XII is the far more stable of the two.  It is clear that Washington and Oregon are looking to bolt, and probably Stanford and anyone else in that conference, if a B1G invite comes their way.

[wardly]

21 hours ago, Mean Green 93-98 said:

If I'm Houston, I choose the Big XII over the PAC.  As inconceivable as it would have sounded just a couple of months ago, the Big XII is the far more stable of the two.  It is clear that Washington and Oregon are looking to bolt, and probably Stanford and anyone else in that conference, if a B1G invite comes their way.

If the BIG 10 wanted Oregon and Washington they would have invited them when USC and UCLA joined. They will wait on Notre Dame but the ACC members tv rights go to conference until mid 2030's should they leave. In addition Notre Dame has a legal contract with the ACC that if the Irish join a conference for football it must be them. I am not an attorney but looks like Notre Dame is bound to the ACC for the next 10 plus years. If the PAC wants to be considered one of the "bigger boys" [SEC & Big 10 are the only two "Big Boys" ] then they need to merge with the Big 12. Their tv value is hampered by their time zone and adding SDSU and SMU, doesn't get them on equal footing with the BIg 12. On the other hand if there is no merger and PAC stays firm  the BIG 12 still needs a travel partner for BYU and UCF. Boise or Colorado State work for the Cougars as Memphis and USF do for the Knights. However with the exception of Boise none of them bring the eyeballs that UCF, Cincy, BYU, and Houston did. The existing Big 12 members would need to play the long game and accept less tv revenue with new additions short term, but since they are taking about a 20% pay cut with loss of Teas and OU that would be a tough pill to swallow.

[Mean Green 93-98]

3 hours ago, wardly said:

If the BIG 10 wanted Oregon and Washington they would have invited them when USC and UCLA joined. They will wait on Notre Dame but the ACC members tv rights go to conference until mid 2030's should they leave. In addition Notre Dame has a legal contract with the ACC that if the Irish join a conference for football it must be them. I am not an attorney but looks like Notre Dame is bound to the ACC for the next 10 plus years. If the PAC wants to be considered one of the "bigger boys" [SEC & Big 10 are the only two "Big Boys" ] then they need to merge with the Big 12. Their tv value is hampered by their time zone and adding SDSU and SMU, doesn't get them on equal footing with the BIg 12. On the other hand if there is no merger and PAC stays firm  the BIG 12 still needs a travel partner for BYU and UCF. Boise or Colorado State work for the Cougars as Memphis and USF do for the Knights. However with the exception of Boise none of them bring the eyeballs that UCF, Cincy, BYU, and Houston did. The existing Big 12 members would need to play the long game and accept less tv revenue with new additions short term, but since they are taking about a 20% pay cut with loss of Teas and OU that would be a tough pill to swallow.

There's still so much to be sorted out, it's impossible to know where this will all be in 5 years.  Evidently, the B1G does not feel a compelling interest to add Oregon and Washington at the present.  But Notre Dame can always get out of their contract with the ACC if they want the B1G enough and if they're willing to pay dearly for it.  I personally don't see why they would, but not very long ago I would have predicted that Notre Dame would be far more likely to join the B1G than USC.

As for the Big XII, I don't see them adding any more teams who don't add value.  I expect them to circle the PAC like vultures, waiting to devour the carcass should any more teams defect.