Karl Benson new Sun Belt Commish

LakeTravis · February 14, 2012

well, he finally has us. Oh Dear Lord

"WAC commissioner Karl Benson is expected to take the same position with the Sun Belt Conference, CBSSports.com has learned.

Benson, 60, has been in his current position since 1994. The recent instability of the league may have led to his decision to pursue the Sun Belt job. Current Sun Belt commissioner Wright Waters is retiring later this year.

Under Benson's watch both Boise State and Hawaii played in BCS bowls since 2007. But conference realignment has cost him both of those schools. The WAC currently consists of eight schools in 2012. However, Hawaii, Nevada and Fresno State are leaving for what will be the new Mountain West/Conference USA conglomerate in 2013.

In the late 1990s, Benson oversaw the first super conference when the WAC expanded to 16 teams. The arrangement quickly became too unwieldy. In 1999, eight schools broke off to form the Mountain West.

Benson is a proud former shortstop at Boise State. He is expected to take office at the New Orleans-based Sun Belt on April 1, the week the city is hosting the Final Four. "

CBSSports

Will he bring along UTSA,TX State, NMSU?

Will this kill the WAC?

How does this effect the pursuit of the new MW/CUSA merger to get Utah State/LA Tech from the WAC

Edited February 14, 2012 by LakeTravis

Mean Green 93-98 · February 14, 2012

Will this kill the WAC?

At the very least, it makes it official that the WAC is worse than the Belt.

WE'RE NOT THE WORST!

El Paso Eagle · February 14, 2012

At the least you have to give KB credit for everything the WAC has gone through. My guess at this point …. Look for a Sun Belt/WAC merger very quickly. On the "wild" side, a Belt-WAC-MAC merger???? Then you end up with the AQ conferences and two large non-AQ conferences

Edited February 14, 2012 by El Paso Eagle

GrayEagle · February 14, 2012

I don't know his demeanor; whether he is harsh and grating or fairly soft-spoken but I do think that he'll do a good job for the Sun Belt.

I think that it's in his genes to have a large conference because he's seen what can happen if you have barely enough teams to operate. I look for there to be 12-16 teams in the Sun Belt in the not-too-distant future. Who knows how many will be from the WAC? Probably none early. If he brought in UTSA and Texas State he'd be doing a great disservice to UTA. San Jose and Idaho are simply too far. Denver would be almost as isolated as they were in the Sun Belt. He'd probably like to take them all...and he may figure out a way to do it.

On second thought maybe the Belt becomes the next 16-24 team conference. Twenty four teams? Really? It has a familiar ring.

Mean Green 93-98 · February 14, 2012

If he brought in UTSA and Texas State he'd be doing a great disservice to UTA.

If he still considers himself beholden to the WAC schools, he is definitely a terrible hire for the Belt.

UNT90 · February 14, 2012

Am I the only one who has great pause in hiring a guy who a) led a conference to the verge of extinction, and c) is now attempting to jump ship from that very same conference before the break up.

Kind of like a captain abandoning a sinking ship.

Edited February 14, 2012 by UNT90

El Paso Eagle · February 14, 2012

If he still considers himself beholden to the WAC schools, he is definitely a terrible hire for the Belt.

His job is to make the Belt the best it can be. If somehow that includes UTA, so be it. If it does not include UTA, so be it.

glick1980 · February 14, 2012

His first order of business should be to vote ULM out.

Eastwood Eagle · February 14, 2012

I hope he brings over La Tech, UTSA and Texas St.

*then I hope we go to the new MTNUSA conference.

Edited February 14, 2012 by Eastwood Eagle

UNT90 · February 14, 2012

Think it's pretty obvious that the Sun Belt and WAC are on the path to a merger. Oh boy!

We can't get outta here fast enough

UNTLifer · February 15, 2012

This is like hiring that Italian ship captain to lead your new cruise line.

meangreenbob · February 15, 2012

Pathetic. So this is the best the presidents of institutions of higher learning can do?

You know the schools in the wac are breathing a lot easier today about their future.

Unbelievable.

Please get us out of the Belt!!

NorthTexan95 · February 15, 2012

I really have a lot of respect for what Bensen has done over the years. It has always seemed that the WAC was dealing with a short deck and I think he made the best of it. I certainly don't think you can blame him for the situation the WAC finds itself in today.

He wouldn't have been my first choice for the Sun Belt but I'm hopefully it will work out. That said, I hope our time in the Sun Belt is short.

meangreenbob · February 15, 2012

Wondering? Did Benson just pull off the biggest move yet for the wac? Hell, he just took over the Sun Belt for the wac. The wac just took over the Belt?

WOW!!

Edited February 15, 2012 by meangreenbob

Rudy · February 15, 2012

This is like hiring that Italian ship captain to lead your new cruise line.

My thoughts exactly. Is there a way to know who voted for Bensen to be hired? It would be nice to know who to blame when this backfires.

Green Mean · February 15, 2012

His first order of business should be to vote ULM out.

Can leagues even do that? I wonder if ULM can sue if that actually happened.

Got5onIt · February 15, 2012

So TxSt & UTSA will be coming along with every other WAC school left out of the new Alliance? Are we looking at an old 16 team WAC like conference with the Belt?

VideoEagle · February 15, 2012

Can leagues even do that? I wonder if ULM can sue if that actually happened.

They can, but don't except in extreme circumstances. Temple was kicked out of the Big East for basically refusing to fund their football program at a D1 level. They have since started to support the program more.

UT-Pan Am was kicked out of the Sun Belt after being put on NCAA probation then trying to use that as an excuse to not fund their basketball and/or their baseball at a D1 level.

ULM is an interesting case. They aren't really funding at a level to produce a competitive teams in all sports at once. They are putting money into one sport at a time while reducing it to others. But, they didn't really want in the Sun Belt to begin with and joined as football only when La Tech tried to kill the idea of the Sun Belt sponsoring football. When NCAA rules required the Belt to have one more full member, again ULM stepped up when no one else would. Now that they are in, of course they don't want to go back down and I certainly don't blame them for that. They did what they were asked to do and now many want to punish them for stepping up when they weren't really ready.

And yes, I'm sure they could bring a suit. I'm not sure how far that would get or what the kind of publicity it would bring. Suits can cost far more than just money!

VideoEagle · February 15, 2012

So TxSt & UTSA will be coming along with every other WAC school left out of the new Alliance? Are we looking at an old 16 team WAC like conference with the Belt?

Does anyone have any substantiation for this "merger" other than the suggestion of the people who started this thread?

greenminer · February 15, 2012

LakeTravis · February 15, 2012

I bet he is looking at pictures of North Texas and thinking dirty thoughts

Arkstfan · February 16, 2012

At the least you have to give KB credit for everything the WAC has gone through. My guess at this point …. Look for a Sun Belt/WAC merger very quickly. On the "wild" side, a Belt-WAC-MAC merger???? Then you end up with the AQ conferences and two large non-AQ conferences

If that happens we have terrible presidents at the helms of our schools.

Arkstfan · February 16, 2012

They can, but don't except in extreme circumstances. Temple was kicked out of the Big East for basically refusing to fund their football program at a D1 level. They have since started to support the program more.

UT-Pan Am was kicked out of the Sun Belt after being put on NCAA probation then trying to use that as an excuse to not fund their basketball and/or their baseball at a D1 level.

ULM is an interesting case. They aren't really funding at a level to produce a competitive teams in all sports at once. They are putting money into one sport at a time while reducing it to others. But, they didn't really want in the Sun Belt to begin with and joined as football only when La Tech tried to kill the idea of the Sun Belt sponsoring football. When NCAA rules required the Belt to have one more full member, again ULM stepped up when no one else would. Now that they are in, of course they don't want to go back down and I certainly don't blame them for that. They did what they were asked to do and now many want to punish them for stepping up when they weren't really ready.

And yes, I'm sure they could bring a suit. I'm not sure how far that would get or what the kind of publicity it would bring. Suits can cost far more than just money!

We actually did that with UNO and Denver passing membership standards and setting a deadline to meet them. UNO opted to drop down and Denver had the chance to go to the WAC before the deadline.