UTSA to CUSA?

Harry · April 28, 2012

U. T. San Antonio: Authorization to accept invitation from Conference USA and to negotiate and finalize terms for athletic conference membership, including possible future membership in a new athletic conference

RECOMMENDATION

The Chancellor concurs in the recommendation of the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs ad interim, the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel, and President Romo that authorization be granted to The University of Texas at San Antonio to accept an invitation from Conference USA (CUSA) to become a member, and to negotiate and finalize terms for athletic conference membership. Approval of U. T. San Antonio's entrance in CUSA also includes approval of admittance to the potential new conference.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

On December 18, 2008, the U. T. System Board of Regents approved the U. T. San Antonio Athletic Initiative Business Plan. The Plan provided for 1) development of a Competitive Athletic Complex, 2) addition of a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) football program, and 3) advancement of the intercollegiate sports programs to position the University for an invitation to an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conference.

On July 26, 2011, U. T. San Antonio accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), an FBS conference. U. T. San Antonio is not scheduled to officially join the WAC until July 1, 2012. However, since U. T. San Antonio accepted the invitation to join, three member institutions have declared their intent to leave. As a result, the WAC will have only four remaining institutions that participate in FBS football.

Officials at CUSA contacted U. T. San Antonio in March 2012 to initiate a discussion about the possibility of U. T. San Antonio leaving the WAC to join CUSA. President Romo, Athletic Director Lynn Hickey, Head Football Coach Larry Coker, and several prominent community supporters visited with CUSA Commissioner Britton Banowsky on April 5, 2012, and discussed U. T. San Antonio's position regarding joining CUSA.

There is a possibility that CUSA members, including U. T. El Paso, will become members of a new athletic conference resulting from some form of consolidation between the CUSA and Mountain West Conference (MWC) institutions.

The current plan is that two conferences, CUSA and the MWC, will merge and form a conference ultimately expected to include 18 to 24 members. The 12 current members of the CUSA are: U. T. El Paso, Tulane University, University of Alabama Birmingham, University of East Carolina, Marshall University, Rice University, University of Southern Mississippi, University of Memphis, University of Tulsa, Southern Methodist University, University of

Houston, and University of Central Florida. Eight of these universities will be joining the new athletic conference. The four universities that are not joining the new athletic conference are the University of Memphis, Southern Methodist University, the University of Houston, and the University of Central Florida. Teams joining the new athletic conference from the MWC are: University of Nevada Las Vegas, University of New Mexico, Colorado State University, Air Meeting of the U. T. System Board of Regents - Academic Affairs Committee

Force Academy, and University of Wyoming. The following three universities that were planning on joining the MWC this year are also joining the new athletic conference: Fresno State, University of Nevada-Reno, and University of Hawaii (football only).

Joining CUSA (and potentially the new athletic conference) will provide greater national visibility and association with universities of similar enrollment, academic standing, and community size. U. T. San Antonio has determined that a move to this new conference is consistent with the University's strategic plan to increase its national prominence in support of its goal to become a national research university. Competing in the new conference would leverage U. T. San Antonio's efforts to upgrade the competitiveness of all 17 sports teams, particularly in football and men's and women's basketball.

There are no exit fees involved with U. T. San Antonio's departure from the WAC. The initiation fee payable to CUSA is $2,000,000, and will be covered through a combination of Athletic Department funds and conference revenues payable to U. T. San Antonio pursuant to the new member agreement. U. T. San Antonio reports that revenues generated by CUSA (and potentially the new athletic conference) from television and the NCAA are likely to be significantly greater than those earned by the WAC.

http://csnbbs.com/sh....php?tid=567360

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foutsrouts · April 28, 2012

UTSA simply because the startup plans on playing FBS games in the way off campus barn known as The Alamodome, and happens to be located on the fringe of a lower level big city media market that has shown no great love for college football. Pretty sad if you ask me. Go with San Marcos if you must.

Harry · April 28, 2012

It looks pretty legit... I have maintained that having San Antonio as a destination isn't a bad thing but this is still catching me as a surprise.

tlm0211 · April 28, 2012

This take me by surprise for many reasons. UTSA has shown some impressive numbers in their first year football attendance, but joining a conference like CUSA includes high expectations in all sports. WIll UTSA be as committed to sports like mens and womens basketball, softball , and other sports. I just don't understand how they will be competitive. Is there something I am missing ? Is it football only ?

PlummMeanGreen · April 28, 2012

IMHO, this is not about UTSA, but rather the San Antonio market and most likely a bowl game for CUSA in the Alamodome; that is, maybe a 2'nd bowl game in San Antonio (a la NO's Bowl) if the Alamodome bowl officilals don't want to immediately work with the Alliance.

SMU and North Texas garnered much interest for many of the same reasons as UTSA, but UTSA's road would have been dramatically easier if invited. Yet if UTSA is invited, its because CUSA needs its TV market and bowl game much more than the school at this point in time. If invited, CUSA (or maybe even the MWC) will hope for UTSA to be the USF of the Lone Star State and develop a football program with warp speed. Just sayin'...

:clapping: PS: Nice make-over of GMG.com, Harry & Company. (Is it possible to make the edit line correction notice with much smaller letters, though)?

GMG ! !

Edited April 28, 2012 by PlummMeanGreen

Got5onIt · April 28, 2012

I guess CUSA feel sthey need to replace the 2 Texas schools they lost to the BE with 2 more Texas schools. So what will they do now that UTEP is jumping to the MWC, invite TSU???

I'm very surprised by this. It's pretty obvious this is all about markets & TV contracts........

UNT 90 Grad · April 28, 2012

PS: Nice make-over of GMG.com, Harry & Company. (Is it possible to make the edit line correction notice with much smaller letters, though)?

GMG ! !

My iPhone isn't very happy with it so far.

Greenrex · April 28, 2012

Nice new look to the site but, when I select a new topic, I have to copy/paste the url...using iMac...sigh.

Mad Hatter · April 28, 2012

I'm confused. Did they get an invite? Or did they just authorize their folks to accept an invite? If the the latter, you now have 2 schools that have put themselves in a position to accept the CUSA invitation. I try to ignore all the MANY realignment discussions pertaining to other schools (if it's not UNT I don't care), so maybe I'm not up to speed with the process, but would we only take that step because we're anticipating the invite? Is there any chance that it's BETWEEN us and UTSA?

H-towngreen · April 28, 2012

I'm all about utsa. Great trip, plus it should be an easy conference victory for us for years to come.

mean green d · April 28, 2012

I'm all about utsa. Great trip, plus it should be an easy conference victory for us for years to come.

This wouldn't keep us from getting in would it?

greenjoe · April 28, 2012

UTSA simply because the startup plans on playing FBS games in the way off campus barn known as The Alamodome, and happens to be located on the fringe of a lower level big city media market that has shown no great love for college football. Pretty sad if you ask me. Go with San Marcos if you must.

Second largest city in Texas

greenjoe · April 28, 2012

Second largest city in Texas

RossDrapalski · April 28, 2012

The Roadrunners are one of four teams that C-USA will add for the 2013 season.
Conference USA also is looking to add North Texas and Florida International from the Sun Belt and Louisiana Tech from the WAC, sources told CBSSports.com from last week's BCS meetings in Hollywood, Fla.
Posted: 8:37 am April 28, 2012

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/brett-mcmurphy/18873583

GreenFlag · April 28, 2012

This take me by surprise for many reasons. UTSA has shown some impressive numbers in their first year football attendance, but joining a conference like CUSA includes high expectations in all sports. WIll UTSA be as committed to sports like mens and womens basketball, softball , and other sports. I just don't understand how they will be competitive. Is there something I am missing ? Is it football only ?

I checked out their commissioner cup standings or whatever they call it for the Southland. They seem to do pretty well every year.

Put me in the camp that think this is good for us.