SBC monitoring conference shifts

Harry · May 6, 2012

Presidents and chancellors of Sun Belt Conference schools will meet Monday "to discuss the next course of action" regarding its membership, the league revealed Friday.

That word came shortly before it was reported Friday afternoon that the Sun Belt could be at risk for losing a third member, in addition to North Texas and Florida International, to Conference USA.

It also came shortly ESPN.com, citing an unidentified source, reported Friday afternoon that "Texas Arlington plans to accept an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference, pending the approval of the school's board of regents."

The Sun Belt, of which UL is a member, is known to have had the University of Texas-Arlington, which does not field a football program, under consideration for quite some time.

The Sun Belt also is known to be considering whether to try to push its membership, which as of now will include 10 football-playing schools and one non-football-playing school (UALR) in 2013, to 12 football-playing members.

But now it could be in danger of losing Middle Tennessee, too.

read more: http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20120505/SPORTS/205050340/SBC-monitoring-conference-shifts

oldguystudent · May 6, 2012

The only image I ever want to have of Karl Benson is one of him in my rear view mirror. Whatever the opposite of the midas touch is, he's got it with conferences.

Eagle1855 · May 6, 2012

I hope ODU accepts and MTSU stays put. Distance. Distance. Distance.

UNT90 · May 6, 2012

I hope ODU accepts and MTSU stays put. Distance. Distance. Distance.

Would have preferred Middle over FIU, but your right, distance from the Benson-led Belt is a good thing. Hopefully no more SBC teams on this round of realignment.

PlummMeanGreen · May 6, 2012

North Texas just needs to act like we're the only game in town (the DFW Metroplex) and just let nature takes its course; not worrry ever again about what they're doing at either TCU or SMU. Has it ever helped us before?

We never need to schedule down again. We will have all the regional schools coming to Apogee Stadium that we need with C-USA (and maybe even the possible Alliance/ MWC) games.

If TCU taught us anything it was to stay exclusive without getting bogged down with too many other schools from the Lone Star State. I think that worked out quite well for TCU. Just sayin'...

GMG!

PS: Lordy, I just watched "We Are Marshall" (again) on TNT and still all choked up. Man oh man...

GrayEagle · May 6, 2012

North Texas just needs to act like we're the only game in town (the DFW Metroplex) and just let nature takes its course; not worrry ever again about what they're doing at either TCU or SMU. Has it ever helped us before?

We never need to schedule down again. We will have all the regional schools coming to Apogee Stadium that we need with C-USA (and maybe even the possible Alliance/ MWC) games.

If TCU taught us anything it was to stay exclusive without getting bogged down with too many other schools from the Lone Star State. I think that worked out quite well for TCU. Just sayin'...

GMG!

PS: Lordy, I just watched "We Are Marshall" (again) on TNT and still all choked up. Man oh man...

If we are going to continue to play an "opportunity" game as Rick suggested then we'll have to schedule down. We have Georgia, Texas, an maybe Tennessee on our future schedule post CUSA entry and I'd bet that none will schedule a home and home with us. That means that we'll likely have to schedule a FCS to replace the second home part of the money game. It's doubtful that we could get a SBC or MAC team to Apogee without reciprocating.

Gotta disagree with you on exclusivity, Jim. We've tried that (except for the Southland years) since the MVC days and I don't think that it worked. You can see the difference in attendance when there are no Texas teams on your home schedule.

It might've worked for TCU but I don't see it working for us.

PlummMeanGreen · May 6, 2012

If we are going to continue to play an "opportunity" game as Rick suggested then we'll have to schedule down. We have Georgia, Texas, an maybe Tennessee on our future schedule post CUSA entry and I'd bet that none will schedule a home and home with us. That means that we'll likely have to schedule a FCS to replace the second home part of the money game. It's doubtful that we could get a SBC or MAC team to Apogee without reciprocating.

Gotta disagree with you on exclusivity, Jim. We've tried that (except for the Southland years) since the MVC days and I don't think that it worked. You can see the difference in attendance when there are no Texas teams on your home schedule.

It might've worked for TCU but I don't see it working for us.

Jack, you and I probably won't be around to see our culture change in Denton, and I know (and you know) much of what I post is pie in the sky by and by too many times, but with almost 7 million in the Metroplex, I just have to think that we can very quickly do like UTSA and find our own 31,000 to fill Apogee Stadium even if we were playing Slippery Rock U.

I even have a different take on UTSA now. Free tickets or not, UTSA still had to have within their athletic dept. the machinery to get out that many people to their Alamo-Dome football games; in other words, someone had to get a massive amounts of tickets in their area's fans hands to get that many to show up each game last Fall for what is presently not a very good college football product. I contend that we don't have such machinery in our athletic dept.that could duplicate what UTSA did (no, not an RV attack here for those who think it is because I like most of what he has done for our alma mater) but RV cannot do it all by himself.

In hindsight, UNT should have allowed students, fans and alums to be at our CUSA announcement a la La Tech who made their announcement party with the C-USA Commish'.......... "An Event." I don't know why there still seems to be a subtle disconnect between UNT and our fans, but that seems to have been a problem during most my adult life and not with just this present group. Yet we don't grow your athletic support by keeping the UNT atlletic dept. email list the same size with the same names asking the same people to buy season tickets and join the MG Club each year. Like sales, one sometimes needs to dust off their shoes with the same old group and go to new prospects.

I DJ'ed a 50'th birthday party last night at a TCU alums huge ranch and to see Horned Frog Pride at that ranch party here in May is very refreshing. I know we are still a work in progress but we need to be a work in progress with many more new faces on the construction site (if you will) than to even use GMG.com as an example the usual 100 or more that regularly post on this forum and the same emal lists with too few additions added each year for a constituency our size. Sorry.............I digress (again).

GMG!

Edited May 6, 2012 by PlummMeanGreen

stebo · May 7, 2012

UTSA did an outstanding job of getting those free ticket fans into the stadium. I agree with you guys and my opinion of the Runners changed dramatically. They will not be able to count those tickets for "official" attendance this year because Div I schools cannot count free tickets as paid attendance. They were in transition for year 1 and their focus was on having a great first year, not turning a profit. I think that the rule is no general admission ticket can be more than half off the highest paid regular ticket. So if tickets on the 50 yard line are $20 bucks a game, no ticket under $10 can be counted toward official attendance. That is what the rule was the last time someone posted it at least. Will be interesting to see if they can keep up that momentum under Div I rules. Now that we are conference mates, we need them to succeed and become a marquee home game for us.