OK so Mountain West AD's Meet in Dallas Next Week

[Harry]

Maybe RV has - by coincidence - a meeting with a company looking at purchasing suites/ club seats for their top employees. And at that meeting he just happens to walk into the Mountain West meeting room on accident.

Here's what he should say.

- TCU has reconfirmed their commitment to the Big East. They don't like having to go back and admit to their fan base they made a mistake joining in the first place. So you won't get them back.

- SMU has actively been politicking for the Big 12. They don't want to be seen as following TCU's footsteps and arguably have a better place in CUSA from a rivalry and travel perspective.

- It appears that Air Force is at the top of the list of expansion candidates for the Big East for football only. So you may lose one.

- Houston could also be a Big East candidate and may be wary of leaving a conference where they have three Texas schools Rice, SMU, UTEP to play and can dominate year in year out.

- You need a Texas presence for both recruiting and tv. TCU is leaving after this season. Do you really want to say goodbye to the Lone Star State? You need to be able to tell recruits parents from the DFW area that they will get to see their kids play in brand new Apogee stadium. Your travel arrangements to DFW and hotels etc could be easily fixed by adding UNT.

- UNT would be a plus for basketball right away.

I know, the Wyoming's will bitch because they are primarily interested in their own self preservation and fear what a school with the size and location, facilities of North Texas would do in a more competitive conference. If you are truly looking at the betterment of your conference as a whole you have to give consideration to a school that would allow you to reenter the Texas market AND be willing to commit to you for the future. If anything, TCU proved to you that a Texas based team is a good fit for both the Mountain West as a whole and their respective institutions. This is very similar to the Big East adding USF. USF didn't have a great long history and tradition but they had a great location, enrollment and the potential to become a powerhouse program because of the talent in their own backyard.

This post has been promoted to an article

[MDH]

I'd say the MWC Prez is about to Benson TCU into staying.

[ColoradoEagle]

I don't think we have to make much of a sale to the MWC. Either they want to remain in Texas, or they don't. If they do, then the only candidates are UNT, UH, and SMU. If you believe the rumor mills, UH and SMU already turned them down after CUSA signed the Fox Sports deal. That leaves one option.

I'm not sure how I feel above moving to the MWC anymore. It's obviously a step up from the SBC, but at the cost of being invisible to the sports world unless you're playing an OOC game. The Mtn means no ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, or even ESPN3. When was the last time you saw a MWC team on TV after September that wasn't nationally ranked? Is it worth joining a better conference if the majority of your out of town alums can never see your teams play?

Also, what if Air Force leaves for the Big East? The conference you're left with is Colorado State, Wyoming, Boise State, UNLV, Nevada, Fresno State, San Diego State, New Mexico, and Hawaii (football only). Are they really that far away from inviting Utah State and San Jose State and calling it a day? Could be one of the reasons behind La. Tech's sudden change in tone regarding the SBC.

Just a couple things to think about.

Edited September 22, 2011 by ColoradoEagle

[MootPoint]

Maybe RV has - by coincidence - a meeting with a company looking at purchasing suites/ club seats for their top employees. And at that meeting he just happens to walk into the Mountain West meeting room on accident.

Here's what he should say.

- TCU has reconfirmed their commitment to the Big East. They don't like having to go back and admit to their fan base they made a mistake joining in the first place. So you won't get them back.

- SMU has actively been politicking for the Big 12. They don't want to be seen as following TCU's footsteps and arguably have a better place in CUSA from a rivalry and travel perspective.

- It appears that Air Force is at the top of the list of expansion candidates for the Big East for football only. So you may lose one.

- Houston could also be a Big East candidate and may be wary of leaving a conference where they have three Texas schools Rice, SMU, UTEP to play and can dominate year in year out.

- You need a Texas presence for both recruiting and tv. TCU is leaving after this season. Do you really want to say goodbye to the Lone Star State? You need to be able to tell recruits parents from the DFW area that they will get to see their kids play in brand new Apogee stadium. Your travel arrangements to DFW and hotels etc could be easily fixed by adding UNT.

- UNT would be a plus for basketball right away.

I know, the Wyoming's will bitch because they are primarily interested in their own self preservation and fear what a school with the size and location, facilities of North Texas would do in a more competitive conference. If you are truly looking at the betterment of your conference as a whole you have to give consideration to a school that would allow you to reenter the Texas market AND be willing to commit to you for the future. If anything, TCU proved to you that a Texas based team is a good fit for both the Mountain West as a whole and their respective institutions. This is very similar to the Big East adding USF. USF didn't have a great long history and tradition but they had a great location, enrollment and the potential to become a powerhouse program because of the talent in their own backyard.

Love the argument, but in the end, I just don't see it. Still, it's early in the musical chairs game. It will be interesting to see if the BE can survive. Based on what I've been hearing, I see alot of potential for additional poaching of the BE leftovers (although it's still too early to say if anything more will actually happen). The ACC's move was long anticipated and they're probably going to slow play this next little bit to see if they can pull ND in. The ACC worked hard on ND in the last round of expansion and they kept going back to how are they going to explain to their donors why they finished fourth in their division

[All About UNT]

Could it be beneficial to have a mandatory GOMEANGREEN sign holding event outside of their facility?

[NorthTexan95]

If they need a place to meet we have a nice, new conference area built into our new stadium. I'm sure they could use our place for free.

[DeepGreen]

Could it be beneficial to have a mandatory GOMEANGREEN sign holding event outside of their facility?

Good idea! Put out a Facebook notice and you could possibly have 2,000 UNT'ers out there shouting "let UNT in".

[Green P1]

Give me the Sunbelt over anything but CUSA.

[NCMeanGreen]

Give me the Sunbelt over anything but CUSA.

Based on?

[untjim1995]

Give me the Sunbelt over anything but CUSA.

No way. Boise State coming here now would be light years ahead of what it was like in the old Big West days--and light years away from us hosting Troy. Fresno State, Nevada, Colorado State, Hawaii, New Mexico, UNLV, and SDSU all have major skins on the wall in the two major sports. There is no way that Arkansas State, Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana-Lafayette, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, or South Alabama could match up with those MWC schools in gaining the attention of fans.

[Eagle1855]

No way. Boise State coming here now would be light years ahead of what it was like in the old Big West days--and light years away from us hosting Troy. Fresno State, Nevada, Colorado State, Hawaii, New Mexico, UNLV, and SDSU all have major skins on the wall in the two major sports. There is no way that Arkansas State, Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana-Lafayette, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, or South Alabama could match up with those MWC schools in gaining the attention of fans.

I've got to agree. And I think we take a MWC slot yesterday, if offered.

[NM Green]

Harry,

Can you sneak into the meeting with Rick:)

Contrary to what many think, I believe the UNT stock is like gold right now. You want a program in the following:

Recruiting hotbed

Fantastic TV market

Easy travel destination East and West

Large alumni base

Commitment to athletics

Strong basketball program

Proven coaching staffs

Brand new stadium and athletic facilities

SMU and TCU to a degree do not see us as valuable and one has to wonder why. We have all the ingredients to jump into the expansion mix and I am glad many UNT leaders and conference commishes see the commitment and potential. We are a STEAL right now, and if I were the MWC I would invite us while we are still available.

The new world is about numbers and quality. We have 2 of the 3 covered in football and all three covered in the strongest secondary sport.

GMG

[Green P1]

I guess I'd just like to see if we're capable of being more than a lower rung Sunbelt team before begging the perceived next best conference to let us in. Are we? The teams all over the landscape of college football upgrading their conference are not their current conference's bottom dwellers.

[NM Green]

In the Mountain West we would enter in toward the bottom, but I believe we could beat New Mexico today and possibly Wyoming and CSU. Hawaii looked flat last week against an improving UNLV (they have the right coach and finally are about to take off.) I believe we would end up here:

Boise State

Air Force

San Diego State

Nevada

Hawaii

UNLV

Fresno State

Colorado State

North Texas

Wyoming

New Mexico

The next logical jump would be to compete with UNLV Fresno State and CSU. The premier group of BSU, AF, SDSU, Reno and Hawaii would be a couple of years away.

GMG

[UNTLifer]

Someone please tell me the difference in travel cost, game times, etc... in the MWC as compared to the WAC.

[untjim1995]

Harry,

Can you sneak into the meeting with Rick:)

Contrary to what many think, I believe the UNT stock is like gold right now. You want a program in the following:

Recruiting hotbed

Fantastic TV market

Easy travel destination East and West

Large alumni base

Commitment to athletics

Strong basketball program

Proven coaching staffs

Brand new stadium and athletic facilities

SMU and TCU to a degree do not see us as valuable and one has to wonder why. We have all the ingredients to jump into the expansion mix and I am glad many UNT leaders and conference commishes see the commitment and potential. We are a STEAL right now, and if I were the MWC I would invite us while we are still available.

The new world is about numbers and quality. We have 2 of the 3 covered in football and all three covered in the strongest secondary sport.

GMG

I still think the MWC will wait to take on any new schools until this all settles down, especially with the Bevo 9 and the Big East. If the MWC can get into Texas by getting Baylor, that would be an easy sell to the other programs in the MWC, because of their history. If they could somehow manage to add Texas Tech, that would be the coup for them, but it would Texas leaving them behind in some scenario. I also think that any of the remaining Bevo 9 northern schools would be strong fits for the MWC, like K-State or Iowa State.

As far as UNT goes, I will say this again, but it will take a strong conference commissioner to take us in on the merits of the potential we have to offer, being able to see that if North Texas got to play in a conference with our teams that they would see a huge jump in attendance, support, and success. But there is no proof at all that this would definitely happen, which is a tough sell to other schools who remember us from the Big West days or just see us a poor SBC team. It seems obvious to all of us that we would be a great fit, but no one else ever seems to agree with us.

[Harry]

Someone please tell me the difference in travel cost, game times, etc... in the MWC as compared to the WAC.

That's not a strength in the idea of being a part of the Mountain West...and I would say it is likely a wash against the WAC as a comparison when you look at game times and travel. However, the quality of programs is no comparison. I would also argue that the Mountain West offers more stability because of its Western footprint and the fact the Pac 10 appears set. I believe the WAC is one Wright Waters phone call away from losing UTSA or Texas State and I think La. Tech is teetering on the brink of moving as well.

Clearly the CUSA in its present form is where we would like to be, but that conference could end up changing. I also don't see a business need for CUSA to add us, especially with SMU in Dallas. I also would like to move away from the private schools that monopolize the decision making of CUSA. We're a public state university and need to be we other like institutions. The Mountain West is not a perfect scenario conference wise, in that it does not have other Texas schools.. but it is a step up from where we sit today. Just by virtue of having Boise, Colorado State, Fresno State and Air Force (if they stay) come to Denton you will see an immediate increase in interest and attendance. I know that many of us wouldn't mind a trip to Lost Wages every now and again and heck I even think the Hawaii card can be a plus for us if we play it right.

I think we fit the Mountain West footprint in terms of the enrollment and size of the remaining schools. Here's a Wiki link that outlines the enrollment of the participating schools: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_West_Conference

Note that on average (with Air Force and Wyoming being the outlier) the Mountain West Schools have very similar enrollment size and are all public universities with good academics.

What are we trying to accomplish in terms of realignment? I think we want to find a conference where we can grow our program. We also need to provide value to the conference we join, in other words it needs to be a win/win. I think the Mountain West offers this. In addition, I think with the Pac 10 holding firm the Mountain West could offer the most stability for us with the possible exception of Air Force who may leave to the Big East.

[NorthTexan95]

I don't think the MWC would be looking to add a team that would be at the bottom of their conference.

[Wag Tag]

That's not a strength in the idea of being a part of the Mountain West...and I would say it is likely a wash against the WAC as a comparison when you look at game times and travel. However, the quality of programs is no comparison. I would also argue that the Mountain West offers more stability because of its Western footprint and the fact the Pac 10 appears set. I believe the WAC is one Wright Waters phone call away from losing UTSA or Texas State and I think La. Tech is teetering on the brink of moving as well.

Clearly the CUSA in its present form is where we would like to be, but that conference could end up changing. I also don't see a business need for CUSA to add us, especially with SMU in Dallas. I also would like to move away from the private schools that monopolize the decision making of CUSA. We're a public state university and need to be we other like institutions. The Mountain West is not a perfect scenario conference wise, in that it does not have other Texas schools.. but it is a step up from where we sit today. Just by virtue of having Boise, Colorado State, Fresno State and Air Force (if they stay) come to Denton you will see an immediate increase in interest and attendance. I know that many of us wouldn't mind a trip to Lost Wages every now and again and heck I even think the Hawaii card can be a plus for us if we play it right.

I think we fit the Mountain West footprint in terms of the enrollment and size of the remaining schools. Here's a Wiki link that outlines the enrollment of the participating schools: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_West_Conference

Note that on average (with Air Force and Wyoming being the outlier) the Mountain West Schools have very similar enrollment size and are all public universities with good academics.

What are we trying to accomplish in terms of realignment? I think we want to find a conference where we can grow our program. We also need to provide value to the conference we join, in other words it needs to be a win/win. I think the Mountain West offers this. In addition, I think with the Pac 10 holding firm the Mountain West could offer the most stability for us with the possible exception of Air Force who may leave to the Big East.

I think u r dead on !! Will keep my fingers crossed . GMG

[GrayEagle]

Yes, it's a better conference and except for the team to be added you know what you are getting. Actually, two teams. Air Force is rumored to be a Big East invite.

Even if Air Force stays I'd like to know who they're inviting for the 12th member. There's not a lot available. If they were going to invite Utah State and San Jose State they would have already done so. At least one of those is unattractive and probably both. The only other acceptable choice in my opinion is Louisiana Tech, who seems hell-bent on CUSA. UTEP might leave if teams are added in the east or a Texas team is lost.

Conference USA has teams more familiar to us but when the Big 12 and Big East are done will all still be there? Obviously at least one would have to leave to create a spot. And it wouldn't be a cellar dweller. Furthermore, if you believe this board we will never be accepted as a member as long as SMU is a member. (Never is a long time and I don't believe it). So, CUSA could be attractive or it may not be.

As to time zones, four or five of those teams are in the Mountain Time Zone. If those in the Pacific Zone started games at 6PM they would be over here at 11-11:30. That works for me. We would also have the results of an afternoon game in Hawaii. I could live with not knowing the results of an evening once every four years. Remember, they're not included in any sport other than football.

Finally, didn't someone say that Boise coming here wouldn't be light years ahead of Big West days? Are you kidding me? Where has he been the last eight years? Top 10 finishes don't count for anything? How many have there been that were members of CUSA or the Sun Belt?

[SUMG]

If MWC considered Utah State....I've got to think they'd consider us.

And I know all the realignment stuff is mostly football driven....but in b-ball, the MWC has several teams better than anyone in the Belt: San Diego State, UNLV, New Mexico, Nevada. So it would be a major b-ball upgrade, as well.

[PlummMeanGreen]

Yes, it's a better conference and except for the team to be added you know what you are getting. Actually, two teams. Air Force is rumored to be a Big East invite.

Even if Air Force stays I'd like to know who they're inviting for the 12th member. There's not a lot available. If they were going to invite Utah State and San Jose State they would have already done so. At least one of those is unattractive and probably both. The only other acceptable choice in my opinion is Louisiana Tech, who seems hell-bent on CUSA. UTEP might leave if teams are added in the east or a Texas team is lost.

Conference USA has teams more familiar to us but when the Big 12 and Big East are done will all still be there? Obviously at least one would have to leave to create a spot. And it wouldn't be a cellar dweller. Furthermore, if you believe this board we will never be accepted as a member as long as SMU is a member. (Never is a long time and I don't believe it). So, CUSA could be attractive or it may not be.

As to time zones, four or five of those teams are in the Mountain Time Zone. If those in the Pacific Zone started games at 6PM they would be over here at 11-11:30. That works for me. We would also have the results of an afternoon game in Hawaii. I could live with not knowing the results of an evening once every four years. Remember, they're not included in any sport other than football.

Finally, didn't someone say that Boise coming here wouldn't be light years ahead of Big West days? Are you kidding me? Where has he been the last eight years? Top 10 finishes don't count for anything? How many have there been that were members of CUSA or the Sun Belt?

Agree....if it's not about ratings then what is it about?

We will need some special friends to help us with any of this re-alignment upgrade possibilities but whose to say we don't?

GMG!

[MeanMag]

I guess I'd just like to see if we're capable of being more than a lower rung Sunbelt team before begging the perceived next best conference to let us in. Are we? The teams all over the landscape of college football upgrading their conference are not their current conference's bottom dwellers.

We're capable, and we've proven it before. 4 times in a row, in fact.

Edited September 23, 2011 by MeanMag

[Green P1]

We're capable, and we've proven it before. 4 times in a row, in fact.

I remember very well. That was my heyday... but the Belt has improved quite a bit since then. Can you say that we have? With a straight face?

Edited September 23, 2011 by Green P1

[MeanMag]

I remember very well. That was my heyday... but the Belt has improved quite a bit since then. Can you say that we have? With a straight face?

The belt has improved, and we've regressed. Don't know that I'd say the belt has improved quite a bit until we have someone run the gamut without getting beaten. This may be the year.

Don't discount those Dickey teams. They played good football, and we had some of the top defenses in the nation during those years, so it can be done here is all I'm saying.