Memphis Hires Consultant - Wants New Conference

[MeanGreen61]

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/...nference-quest/

[the real grad88]

Hmmm, so they think they can get into the Big East. I wish them luck, because then UNT might just be in the position at that time to get an invite to CUSA. Getting the new stadium at this time could just be the ticket.

[stebo]

And they think that they can buy their way in with $120K a year salary? That is comical. This is one buddy helping out another that is not "quite" ready for full retirement and isn't a candidate to do tv work. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Guest GrayEagleOne]

And they think that they can buy their way in with $120K a year salary? That is comical. This is one buddy helping out another that is not "quite" ready for full retirement and isn't a candidate to do tv work. Nothing more, nothing less.

What do you want to bet that there's probably something like a million dollar bonus if he can pull it off? UofM has one great ally that the rest of us don't....FedEx. That's big advertising dollars and the FedEx Liberty Bowl would follow to that conference as well.

The basketball teams could break off and form their own conference and do very well. I don't believe that they receive any football money anyway so they might add a couple more Catholic schools and have a good, competitive, evenly-matched league.

Personally, I believe that every conference should have at least nine members.

[NT80]

I'm all for any school leaving CUSA. That helps NT's chances of moving up the food chain.

Memphis was a good candidate to be Louisville's Big East travel partner back when it's football and basketball were both good 2-5 years ago. Now, their football is not so good and their basketball is on the NCAA probation watch list.

Perhaps we could hire Wright Waters to help NT get a bid to ..... oh, wait, no, never mind.

[KingDL1]

And they think that they can buy their way in with $120K a year salary? That is comical. This is one buddy helping out another that is not "quite" ready for full retirement and isn't a candidate to do tv work. Nothing more, nothing less.

Don't kid yourself a guy like this has the power and friends to help get it done, we know the BCS conferences all plan to have 12 teams with two divisions and a conference championship. That means there will be some opportunities.

[oldschoollefty]

I could have sworn conference reallignment talk was an off season pastime.

[UNT_playmaker]

Conference Alignment is the biggest thing for UNT right now....

Actually Rick Villareal is a good friend of the CUSA commish, they go way back, from what I read... I always thought it would help us get into CUSA.... But once again Damn You SMU for screwing that up.

[stebo]

Don't kid yourself a guy like this has the power and friends to help get it done, we know the BCS conferences all plan to have 12 teams with two divisions and a conference championship. That means there will be some opportunities.

If he had the power to get it done - he would have got it done in 2004 when they added THREE schools. These guys are lifelong friends but he couldn't get Memphis in during a THREE school sddition? Sure - they wanted a Florida Market - but why would they take Cinci over Memphis? If this guy had any pull, he would have done this already. And if they really thought he could pull it off, they would be paying him a LOT more than $100 grand a year. It's worth MILLIONS a year to be in one of those conferences. IDK about the all conferences going to 12. There are some conferences that have 12 that are regretting that Championship Game because an upset can happen and someone can get left out of the big game. The money is good but the BCS money is better. Memphis is a good school but they are not a BCS school. BYU, Utah, Boise - maybe. Memphis - well, they have not even been able to get into a BCS game as a bubble buster. They got spanked by the MUTS last week. All the elements are in place for Memphis to go to a BCS bowl right now - all they have to do is finish ranked #12 or more. But they haven't finished anywhere close to that... Have they even been a top 25 team this decade? Yes, their basketball is very very good - but BCS is about football, not basketball.

[houstonmeangreen]

"And he also wanted me to objectively critique where I thought Memphis was structurally, in terms of other programs across the country, and that's what I'm in the process of doing for him right now."

How bout ...you just got your A kicked by Sunbelt memeber Midd Tenn, so now where do you think you are 'structurally"?

[Guest GrayEagleOne]

Conference Alignment is the biggest thing for UNT right now....

Actually Rick Villareal is a good friend of the CUSA commish, they go way back, from what I read... I always thought it would help us get into CUSA.... But once again Damn You SMU for screwing that up.

I assume that you're being facetious because SMU hasn't kept us out of any conference...yet. But they haven't helped us get in one either. Supposedly, they supported Louisiana Tech at the last expansion but that must not have worked since UTEP was admitted instead.

We have a lot more going for us this time around. Maybe, just maybe, we can elicit some help instead of bad-mouthing those who don't/won't help us.

[jimmyjames_99]

Though this probably means very little... I was watching a DirecTV commerical for their college game day package. It made a comment about showing all these great conferences and flashed up a screen with about 8-9 names. Your typical conferences were there, SEC ACC Big 12 etc. but what I noticed was the SunBelt was listed and CUSA wasn't. Again, doesn't mean much, but I thought it was interesting.

[greenminer]

Why can't we just pass these guys up instead of following them up the ladder?

[houstonmeangreen]

Why can't we just pass these guys up instead of following them up the ladder?

Maybe what we need is leadership....say Dr. B and RV, etc get together and talk with some Pres of other universities about the forming of a new SWC. Maybe there is no leadership in making this happen....or maybe no one really cares about doing this...could be a big feather for Dr. B !

[untjim1995]

I assume that you're being facetious because SMU hasn't kept us out of any conference...yet. But they haven't helped us get in one either. Supposedly, they supported Louisiana Tech at the last expansion but that must not have worked since UTEP was admitted instead.

We have a lot more going for us this time around. Maybe, just maybe, we can elicit some help instead of bad-mouthing those who don't/won't help us.

Two things about this regarding SMU. First, why would they support Louisiana Tech over UNT as a conference mate? Its not for TV or travel cost. So Why? The answer is without a doubt that they want nothing to do with us in a conference with them, which is similar to how TCU feels about them. Of course, TCU and SMU still play all the time because their fans want that rivalry to continue. Maybe we get there one day with one or both of them, but it won't be in the same conference. Secondly, as far as CUSA goes, I have gotten the vibe from the non-Texas schools that they may want to expand, but not to here. I would imagine that WKU, MTSU, or FAU will get the invite(s) for their next expansion. I think the Sunbelt is just going to be our home for a long time unless we win so much that our attendance and TV ratings finally make someone realize that TCU and SMU aren't the programs of the Metroplex for increased image. The good thing to me about the SBC, though, is that we are in a conference with schools like ourselves, public schools that aren't the name school of the state. To me, if a new conference got formed, I wouldn't include the private schools. It would look like this:

UTEP, NM State, UNT, UH, ULL, La Tech

Ark State, MUTS, UAB, USM, Troy, WKU

UCF, Marshall, South Alabama, FIU, FAU, ULM, East Carolina could probably get a MAC team to join them in a conference as well.

If TCU still is good then the MWC will keep them--maybe they could throw a bone to SMU to help with their affiliation? On second thought, they probably would just support Tulsa instead. That would be sweet justice.

[KingDL1]

If he had the power to get it done - he would have got it done in 2004 when they added THREE schools. These guys are lifelong friends but he couldn't get Memphis in during a THREE school sddition? Sure - they wanted a Florida Market - but why would they take Cinci over Memphis? If this guy had any pull, he would have done this already. And if they really thought he could pull it off, they would be paying him a LOT more than $100 grand a year. It's worth MILLIONS a year to be in one of those conferences. IDK about the all conferences going to 12. There are some conferences that have 12 that are regretting that Championship Game because an upset can happen and someone can get left out of the big game. The money is good but the BCS money is better. Memphis is a good school but they are not a BCS school. BYU, Utah, Boise - maybe. Memphis - well, they have not even been able to get into a BCS game as a bubble buster. They got spanked by the MUTS last week. All the elements are in place for Memphis to go to a BCS bowl right now - all they have to do is finish ranked #12 or more. But they haven't finished anywhere close to that... Have they even been a top 25 team this decade? Yes, their basketball is very very good - but BCS is about football, not basketball.

Steve I understand your gripe but it is irrelevant for the future, when all is done there will be several new teams in the BCS conferences. There is more to it then just winning or being ranked. Location & viewing market, I understand we have been looked at quite a bit for this. Many of the BCS conferences don't really want a SMU or a TCU because they are private and small. I understand our location and TV market makes us a great choice. I don't know how Memphis compares or what their pros are but this guy obviously has the right friends to help Memphis, and being proactive is not a bad direction to go. I wish we were doing it, because that spot in the Big 12 north would be a great place for us.

Edited September 16, 2009 by KingDL1

[VideoEagle]

Maybe what we need is leadership....say Dr. B and RV, etc get together and talk with some Pres of other universities about the forming of a new SWC. Maybe there is no leadership in making this happen....or maybe no one really cares about doing this...could be a big feather for Dr. B !

Or perhaps do it by having the teams in the SBC get better. That seems a LOT easier!

[stebo]

Steve I understand your gripe but it is irrelevant for the future, when all is done there will be several new teams in the BCS conferences. There is more to it then just winning or being ranked. Location & viewing market, I understand we have been looked at quite a bit for this. Many of the BCS conferences don't really want a SMU or a TCU because they are private and small. I understand our location and TV market makes us a great choice. I don't know how Memphis compares or what their pros are but this guy obviously has the right friends to help Memphis, and being proactive is not a bad direction to go. I wish we were doing it, because that spot in the Big 12 north would be a great place for us.

Ok- so let's say that the Big East somehow expands by 4 teams to get a championship football game - in the process they lose their 8 strong basketball members. The amount that the game brings in will not be worth the dilution of the BCS share. Plus - they have now lost their basketball units and most of the strong basketball teams that bring in those units. They lose in every way, you know? There is a reason why the Big East kept put at 8 football teams and dumped Temple - they don't want crap. Memphis is proposing that a BCS conference take them on because they want to "will" it... Well, that is just not logical. And not for $120K a year for a consultant. Remember when Stallings "consulted" for NT? He came in and told us what we needed to do in order to be a viable Div I program. Tranghese will do the same thing - he wll tell them that they need to spend more, get more donations, win more games, and have higher attendance. For the small price of $10K, I would be willing to tell them the same thing. That is essentially what Stallings told NT and we have been working on it ever since. In fact - Stallings told us to not even consider replacing Fouts until we started filling it consistently - well, we are now somewhat filling it consistently - he was 100% right.

Also - if you are a Memphis fan - right about now you are calling for your AD's head. They just lost to MTSU and got beat by former CUSA member (#6 out of 8 in the Big East) USF in their bowl game last year - a team that they used to handle easily. Well, this is a nice distraction for him. He can make it look like he is trying to meet their wishes. And then someone ELSE can tell the fans what he has probably wanted to SCREAM at them for the last couple of years - "You are not good enough for a BCS conference yet - you need to do x, y, and z to get there!"

Just my opinion

And what spot would be open in the Big 12 North? I am very open to that - but have never heard it as a realistic expectation. I believe that if the Big 12 were to expand, TCU would be the likely target - despite being a private.

Edited September 17, 2009 by stebo

[ColoradoEagle]

Arkansas doesn't want anything to do with the former SWC schools, and is plenty happy in the SEC. If something crazy were to happen like Iowa State to the Big Ten or Colorado to the Pac 10, and the Big XII did want to bring someone in to replace them, it seems like NT, TCU, or Colorado State would be the choices (just because there's really nothing else out there unless they go way out of their footprint).

Against TCU I like our chances, because we bring newer facilities and a larger alumni base. Colorado State I think would be taken before us without question (if and only if Colorado moved to the Pac-10). Of course you never know what goes on behind closed doors, and my timeline for NT becoming part of an AQ conference is more like 20 years.

Edited September 17, 2009 by ColoradoEagle

[untgeorge]

Smut voted against us for SWC admission and against us for CUSA admission.... Smut is the

Not so, our being admitted to SWC never came to a vote, was never even on the agenda. SMU may not have wanted us, Arkansas did not want another Texas state school, but the big thing is we had no sponsor.

As to CUSA, the next choice after UTEP was .... none. Stay at eleven. SMU may not have wanted us, but they had little influence, and no one wanted us.

[Guest GrayEagleOne]

untgeorge is right regarding the SWC issue and SMU. The only statement that I might disagree with (and only slightly) is in regards to a sponsor. Had we been able to move toward being on the agenda, I was told that UT would sponsor us.

[MeanGreen61]

untgeorge is right regarding the SWC issue and SMU. The only statement that I might disagree with (and only slightly) is in regards to a sponsor. Had we been able to move toward being on the agenda, I was told that UT would sponsor us.

Darrell Royal was alledgely in our corner.

[buff64]

It seems to me that the Sun Belt and Conf. USA are pretty close to being equal in terms of strength, both have a few weak teams and on the other hand there are some strong teams. The only plus, in regards to UNT joining the USA would be the in state rivalries that would be created. Then there is the reduced travel $$. If Memphis were to leave the conference, the conference would lose strength , especially in BB.

[Guest GrayEagleOne]

Two things about this regarding SMU. First, why would they support Louisiana Tech over UNT as a conference mate? Its not for TV or travel cost. So Why? The answer is without a doubt that they want nothing to do with us in a conference with them, which is similar to how TCU feels about them. Of course, TCU and SMU still play all the time because their fans want that rivalry to continue. Maybe we get there one day with one or both of them, but it won't be in the same conference. Secondly, as far as CUSA goes, I have gotten the vibe from the non-Texas schools that they may want to expand, but not to here. I would imagine that WKU, MTSU, or FAU will get the invite(s) for their next expansion. I think the Sunbelt is just going to be our home for a long time unless we win so much that our attendance and TV ratings finally make someone realize that TCU and SMU aren't the programs of the Metroplex for increased image. The good thing to me about the SBC, though, is that we are in a conference with schools like ourselves, public schools that aren't the name school of the state. To me, if a new conference got formed, I wouldn't include the private schools. It would look like this:

UTEP, NM State, UNT, UH, ULL, La Tech

Ark State, MUTS, UAB, USM, Troy, WKU

UCF, Marshall, South Alabama, FIU, FAU, ULM, East Carolina could probably get a MAC team to join them in a conference as well.

If TCU still is good then the MWC will keep them--maybe they could throw a bone to SMU to help with their affiliation? On second thought, they probably would just support Tulsa instead. That would be sweet justice.

I believe that the Sun Belt and the WAC are the only FBS conferences that do not have a private university in their membership. You wouldn't get anywhere leaving Tulsa, Rice, SMU and Tulane without a conference. Nor should you. They've been been playing at the highest level for nearly a hundred years and I sure don't see changing that now. I think that any realignment or expansion plans would have to include them.

Where did we get our disdain for SMU?

From some arrogant little snip that has talked trash to us? Come on. We've got our share of trash talkers and we're mostly not little rich kids. How many other universities do we praise or have nice things to say about? There really isn't a winner when talking about the universities. They have some strengths that we can't touch because they can be more selective and have deep pockets. We also have a lot of advantages with our size, which enables us to offer programs that they can't touch. There is no winner, except mainly on the athletic fields.

Was it because they cheated to remain competitive in the Southwest Conference? A despicable act, but how did that affect us? We weren't in the Southwest Conference. They weren't a recruiting threat and vice versa. That fiasco was orchestrated by about a dozen people, or less, and the SMU student body has suffered for nearly thirty years over it. In many ways, it is still suffering. But again, that really didn't involve us.

Is it because they won't play us? No, that's not it either. They are in a virtual tie with Texas State and New Mexico State for most games played against each other. If you consider all sports then I believe that they are clearly the winner. Compare that to TCU who won't even give us the time of day. We have another six game series in football beginning in 2014 with SMU but it's not in TCU's interest to schedule us. Where's our disdain for TCU?

I know, it's because they have blocked us from two conferences. Not exactly. In the SWC case there never was a vote. They supposedly were against our admittance but so were the other three private schools as well as the University of Arkansas. As to CUSA, they didn't come out in opposition to us, only in support of Louisiana Tech. Since La Tech didn't get in apparently they have no real power to sway the conference. I don't think that we would have made it if we'd had their support.

Can someone explain to me what we have done to earn their support?

[untgeorge]

Darrell Royal was alledgely in our corner.

UT had actively promoted UH which is how UH got into the conference.. Pushed hard for them.

No one was actively promoting UNT. "In our corner" is not the same as "pushing for".