If Offered, Should We Join The Mountain West Conference?

[NT71]

I voted No because in looking at the economics the travel costs will be astronomical. Next will be the coverage in the East which will be almost none existent because of the timezone. If we are to go up in the polls people must see the scores in the Sunday paper back east. Third, what about coverage of the various teams a separate network that does not cover squat (MWC network). On ESPN at least right now I can at times get the NT games on ESPN3.

Take a look at LaTech in the WAC in terms of what travel costs are doing to their athletic budget which even though it is MWC the travel costs would kill our athletic budget.

My thought is with all the unsettling of conference shifting there may be an emerging conference. Remember it was President Rawlins that worked with Chuck Neinas to form the CUSA.

My vision would be a more regional conference be formed because of economics/travel and given the current state of the economy it is better to be frugal during these financial troubling times.

GMG

[Side Show Joe]

I'm glad to vote yes. The teams that will be in the MWC are still far better then what we have in the Sun Belt. Boise St. and Nevada were both ranked this season. I think our fan base would get more excited about teams like Air Force, Boise, Nevada, Fresno St, Colorado St., and Wyoming coming to Denton, verses teams like ULL and ULM. I think the jump in the level of competition would also improve recruiting. I was not a fan of the McCarney hire, but in light of a possible opening for a DFW team in the MWC, the additon of Urban Myer's assistant head coach can't hurt our chances of getting an invite.

The report I saw on ESPN Dallas read that the MWC has started contacting possible replacements. Does anyone know if we have been contacted?

[shaft]

A 12 team SBC or CUSA would be in the school's best interest.

Geography is everything when you don't have BCS cash to offset the travel expenses.

[eulessismore]

A 12 team SBC or CUSA would be in the school's best interest.

Geography is everything when you don't have BCS cash to offset the travel expenses.

+1 from a geography major, and I wish that those who actually put conferences together would look at a map while doing it (electronic or paper, I don't care).

[NT80]

Air Force

San Diego State

Colorado State

Wyoming

New Mexico

Does that excite anyone?

Ah, YES. Over the SunBelt?...heck YES! Instant double upgrade, where do we sign?

[ColoradoEagle]

Like laxtonto said on the SBC board, both CUSA and the MWC will have to decide whether or not they want to give up on the DFW market. Just looking at Colorado State, Wyoming, and New Mexico, all have quite a few players from Texas and several from DFW. Can they afford to give up this area? CUSA's based out of Dallas. Can they give up here?

I'm really starting to think that by the time all is said and done, we'll be in one of the two conferences simply because there are only two schools left for two conferences to pick from.

[wardly]

I voted No because in looking at the economics the travel costs will be astronomical. Next will be the coverage in the East which will be almost none existent because of the timezone. If we are to go up in the polls people must see the scores in the Sunday paper back east. Third, what about coverage of the various teams a separate network that does not cover squat (MWC network). On ESPN at least right now I can at times get the NT games on ESPN3.

Take a look at LaTech in the WAC in terms of what travel costs are doing to their athletic budget which even though it is MWC the travel costs would kill our athletic budget.

My thought is with all the unsettling of conference shifting there may be an emerging conference. Remember it was President Rawlins that worked with Chuck Neinas to form the CUSA.

My vision would be a more regional conference be formed because of economics/travel and given the current state of the economy it is better to be frugal during these financial troubling times.

GMG

+1

[yyz28]

I can't believe anyone would vote NO on this. Stay in the 'belt over MWC?!? No. Bad move.

I agree my first choice is CUSA (with or without SMU) but this is a no brainer.

[wardly]

my question is why would north texas, smu or houston consider a move to mwc? it reminds me of our experience with big west, and smu's with wac. at this point, all 3 schools appear to be trying to become a regional football power, as opposed to tcu who is on the national stage. i would probably want to stay in the belt with an eye on cusa. what say ye?

[houstonmeangreen]

I don't understand the love affair with Rice, Tulane, SMU and Tulsa. I know they close and bring some fans but we not like those institutions. The smaller private schools do not thrill me because they will never have those big fanbases to lean upon when they are great. If you get Boise or Air Force or Reno rolling football you will get good amounts of traveling fans. Reno and Boise are already rolling. I know we are not a basketball states but you step outside of Texas and you have a passionate and different ballgame, especially in the highly competitive MWC. UNLV has already beaten Virginia Tech and Wisconsin this season with a looming trip to Louisville on the horizon. New Mexico beat Tennessee I believe and know they recently played out in Berkley. Last year UNLV beat down Arizona and Louisville in the Thomas and Mack.

Again I am going to stick to my argument about UNT and us beginning to think of ourselves in a better light than some of us do. You are right, we are not TCU. We are North Texas and joining a league that recently lost teams to the Big East and Pac 10 makes me wonder what UNT can do on a bigger stage.

Not to mention the MWC is about to settle down. All of the current members are not going anywhere. The ancy ones left in BYU, Utah and TCU. A stable MWC or a stable Sun Belt not even close. Now if CUSA calls they better call quick because I just cannot see the MWC not sniffing around the 5th largest media market soon.

Go Bold. Go Quality. GO Mean Green!

I don't understand the love affair with Rice, Tulane, SMU and Tulsa. I know they close and bring some fans but we not like those institutions. The smaller private schools do not thrill me because they will never have those big fanbases to lean upon when they are great

I agree...never did understand why UNT would want to be assoc with those schools...SMU is a loser school that is just trying to buy their way into success...did you look at the picture posted earlier this season of the "sellout crowd" at Ford stadium....maybe 3000-4000 people...it looked pretty bad...guess buffy and Todd couldn't makeit that day.

Anyway, we need to be in a conf without all the little private schools....would love to see us in a conf like the MW, esp with UofH going also. Maybe MW should try to expand to 12 teams.

In the near future it is ALL going to be about TV market share...this you can count on.

[cdizzle86]

my question is why would north texas, smu or houston consider a move to mwc? it reminds me of our experience with big west, and smu's with wac. at this point, all 3 schools appear to be trying to become a regional football power, as opposed to tcu who is on the national stage. i would probably want to stay in the belt with an eye on cusa. what say ye?

Because that is the conference that teams are more likely to get cherry picked for a BCS conference next time that happens. It's time we make some moves!!

[TIgreen01]

I voted yes, simply b/c it's a step up from where we are, even though I think that would not be the ideal situation for us. Ideally, we wouldn't get asked by the MWC and SMU would go instead, leaving a door open for us in CUSA. With no SMU around to blackball us, only Houston would be opposed to us joining. I have my doubts that SMU would make that move, though...

1) They look like they are just following TCU around by doing that. Kind of a kid brother, if you will. Isn't their ego too big for that?

2) What does June Jones think of being in a conference with Hawaii?

As far as the debate on which conference is better (CUSA or MWC), it really all comes down to geography for me. I'd much rather play teams from Texas and east of Texas than anyone out west. I think the MWC has slightly better teams and competition than CUSA....but the pool of teams we need to be aligned with, should further expansion/realignment occur, are the teams that currently comprise the Sun Belt and CUSA.

[GoMeanGreen1999]

That's a no-brainer. Now choosing between C-USA and a TCU-less MWC would take a little more deliberation.

Agree.

[NM Green]

The one weapon SMU has is June Jones. He wields so much more power than I have ever seen a head coach wield at any destination. Living in Hawaii he single handedly was able to change their entire marketing and brand program. They went from the Rainbow Warriors (except for basketball and he would have changed that too with more time) to the Warriors, he integrated a pro style experience via music he had created by his friends in Hollywood for kickoffs and throughout the stadium. He got the band to stop playing Hawaii Five O because it was old school Hawaii at the time. He made a lot of enemies and fans because he won. Now that he is having success in football you better believe is strongly recommending some shots on the hilltop and one of them you better believe will be to get into the Mountain West. He would love nothing more than to return to the islands, Fresno, Reno, Boise, San Diego, Las Vegas and Air Force with his high flying program. SMU would not be interested in going west in my opinion if June were not there and he may be putting them over the barrel with threats to leave if they don't make the right selection.

I want MWC but I have a feeling SMU goes there and we go to CUSA. Not bad but not as strong and not as high profile as the MWC. I don't see Houston going MWC so if we go to CUSA and keep H-town that is not bad. At least the Cougars are another large state program that we can compete with to make some waves.

GMG

[wardly]

I don't understand the love affair with Rice, Tulane, SMU and Tulsa. I know they close and bring some fans but we not like those institutions. The smaller private schools do not thrill me because they will never have those big fanbases to lean upon when they are great

I agree...never did understand why UNT would want to be assoc with those schools...SMU is a loser school that is just trying to buy their way into success...did you look at the picture posted earlier this season of the "sellout crowd" at Ford stadium....maybe 3000-4000 people...it looked pretty bad...guess buffy and Todd couldn't makeit that day.

Anyway, we need to be in a conf without all the little private schools....would love to see us in a conf like the MW, esp with UofH going also. Maybe MW should try to expand to 12 teams.

In the near future it is ALL going to be about TV market share...this you can count on.

mwv has 10 football schools now that tcu has left[this includes hawaii], and has stated they plan to go to 12 and 2 divisions with playoff. question is, do they stick to their roots, and add utah st. and utep, or come back to dfw market with us or smu. you are right, its about tv market. however, as long as mwc is contracted with versus they won't get much exposure.i don't think houston has much interest in mwc now that tcu has left, buy i could be wrong. i do expect mwc to move fast and get this done by years end.

[houstonmeangreen]

mwv has 10 football schools now that tcu has left[this includes hawaii], and has stated they plan to go to 12 and 2 divisions with playoff. question is, do they stick to their roots, and add utah st. and utep, or come back to dfw market with us or smu. you are right, its about tv market. however, as long as mwc is contracted with versus they won't get much exposure.i don't think houston has much interest in mwc now that tcu has left, buy i could be wrong. i do expect mwc to move fast and get this done by years end.

Isn't that 9 schools now without TCU?

[ColoradoEagle]

Isn't that 9 schools now without TCU?

AFA, Colorado St., New Mexico, San Diego St., UNLV, Wyoming, Boise St., Nevada, Fresno St., and presumably Hawaii.

[untjim1995]

All good points. I just believe C-USA provides better regional matchups, which creates natural rivalries and enables better fan travel. I think fans would be every bit as excited about playing Houston, Tulsa, and SMU as playing Colorado State, Air Force, and Boise State. MWC is a better conference than C-USA, but for one of the weaker Sun Belt teams (speaking football) to jump into a conference that strong may create obstacles that would be better for us to work our way up to. Either way, I doubt the MWC and C-USA come calling at the same time, and I'm all for jumping at whichever comes first.

My personal order of preference for UNT, for now:

1. C-USA

2. MWC

3. Sun Belt

4. WAC

The Big XII would be nice, but that's a ways down the road.

1.) The MWC will continue to be MUCH BETTER in football and men's hoops than CUSA for a looooonnnnngggg time.

2.) We will never be in a conference with SMU. They wield too much power because of their allinace with the other private schools and they aren't going to give us a hand to move up when it would really hurt them.

3.) If the MWC adds Hawaii (as expected) that gives them 10. They may be content with 10. If they want in the Texas market, which I believe they still would like to be, the question will be which two of these markets do they want to add--Houston, Dallas, and El Paso.

4.) The Big XII - II will never have another Texas team in it as long as Texas or A&M are in it. TCU's AD said as much yesterday on the Ticket during an interview with The Hardline. His exact words were, "We bring a new TV market to the Big East. We are never going to be able to do that with the Big XII. That is why the Pac-10 wanted the Texas market so badly, because it is now all about the TV markets and what they bring to the conference."

[Chrisattsu]

The one weapon SMU has is June Jones. He wields so much more power than I have ever seen a head coach wield at any destination. Living in Hawaii he single handedly was able to change their entire marketing and brand program. They went from the Rainbow Warriors (except for basketball and he would have changed that too with more time) to the Warriors, he integrated a pro style experience via music he had created by his friends in Hollywood for kickoffs and throughout the stadium. He got the band to stop playing Hawaii Five O because it was old school Hawaii at the time. He made a lot of enemies and fans because he won. Now that he is having success in football you better believe is strongly recommending some shots on the hilltop and one of them you better believe will be to get into the Mountain West. He would love nothing more than to return to the islands, Fresno, Reno, Boise, San Diego, Las Vegas and Air Force with his high flying program. SMU would not be interested in going west in my opinion if June were not there and he may be putting them over the barrel with threats to leave if they don't make the right selection.

I want MWC but I have a feeling SMU goes there and we go to CUSA. Not bad but not as strong and not as high profile as the MWC. I don't see Houston going MWC so if we go to CUSA and keep H-town that is not bad. At least the Cougars are another large state program that we can compete with to make some waves.

GMG

If SMU goes to the MWC, and UH goes with TCU to the Big East, would you still be interested in CUSA?

[VideoEagle]

If SMU goes to the MWC, and UH goes with TCU to the Big East, would you still be interested in CUSA?

Yes, definitely.

[PlummMeanGreen]

The one weapon SMU has is June Jones. He wields so much more power than I have ever seen a head coach wield at any destination. Living in Hawaii he single handedly was able to change their entire marketing and brand program. They went from the Rainbow Warriors (except for basketball and he would have changed that too with more time) to the Warriors, he integrated a pro style experience via music he had created by his friends in Hollywood for kickoffs and throughout the stadium. He got the band to stop playing Hawaii Five O because it was old school Hawaii at the time. He made a lot of enemies and fans because he won. Now that he is having success in football you better believe is strongly recommending some shots on the hilltop and one of them you better believe will be to get into the Mountain West. He would love nothing more than to return to the islands, Fresno, Reno, Boise, San Diego, Las Vegas and Air Force with his high flying program. SMU would not be interested in going west in my opinion if June were not there and he may be putting them over the barrel with threats to leave if they don't make the right selection.

I want MWC but I have a feeling SMU goes there and we go to CUSA. Not bad but not as strong and not as high profile as the MWC. I don't see Houston going MWC so if we go to CUSA and keep H-town that is not bad. At least the Cougars are another large state program that we can compete with to make some waves.

GMG

We just need some common sense type thinking people doing studies on which Metroplex school (UNT or SMU) has the biggest upside if the MWC is still interested in a DFW presence. I would think the MWC would have such a study if they have a problem making a choice. I think Chuck Neinas could (again) be a MVP for UNT during this latest re-alignment shuffle. Everyone just seems to know the guy.

I think many of us know what any unbiased study would come up with for an answer between SMU or UNT, too.

With SMU's "Fill Ford" promotion getting out (an announced) 17,000 fans for a bowl bound Stang' program, June Jones probably will soon want to coach before much larger audiences than the one he's presently at. To say this in a nice way, but many NCAA BCS/FBS coaches are like divas inasmuch as they like to play before large and/or sold out audiences.

GMG!

Edited November 30, 2010 by PlummMeanGreen

[Eagle1855]

It would do the MWC well to grab UH and UNT and place a large stake in the State of Texas. But that's just my opinion, which smells like whiskey.