P5 Conferences Are Getting Autonomy

elig57 · August 7, 2014

I think we've expected this to happen for a while. This could be pretty huge for college football.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/08/sports/ncaafootball/ncaa-votes-to-give-greater-autonomy-to-richest-conferences.html?_r=0&referrer=

pastorgrant · August 7, 2014

Booooo!

cdizzle86 · August 7, 2014

RIP College Football. You'll never be the same.

TheFranchise · August 7, 2014

All the more reason to issue a butt-whoopin' in Austin on 8/30. I've never wanted to see us win so badly.

Well, I did want us to win the Heart of Dallas Bowl pretty badly but still. This is different.

elig57 · August 7, 2014

Just from seeing this, I actually would be really happy if some FCS school beat a P5 school the first week. That would be really nice.

Stan R · August 7, 2014

I honestly didn't see much earth shattering news in the proposal. Maybe I'm missing something? CUSA has already voted to increase scholarships to "full cost" levels, etc.

Eagle1855 · August 7, 2014

I thought this was a good article on the subject:

Autonomy 101

Q: Won’t this cause an even bigger gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’?

That depends on whom you ask. On the one hand, it seems a no-brainer that if the big boys are able to offer recruits extra scholarship money and other perks it will be prohibitively more difficult for the rest of FBS to compete. On the other hand, the entire autonomy movement is based on the premise that the playing field is already uneven.

“There’s already a line in terms of economics on the football side,” said Sun Belt commissioner Karl Benson. “The University of Louisiana-Lafayette is more than likely not going to out-recruit LSU for a player, so as long as LSU isn’t going to go from 85 to 95 scholarships, I don’t think the recruiting landscape is necessarily going to change whether or not Louisiana-Lafayette adopts the same level of additional student benefits as LSU does.”

However, the NCAA will now be formalizing a stigma that coaches in the Sun Belt or MAC already struggle to overcome. If choosing between playing right away at a Mountain West school that does not provide cost of attendance or riding the bench for three years at a Pac-12 school that does, “What choice do you have?” Hawaiicoach Norm Chow said to SI.com. FCS schools, for one, are hoping to take advantage of lower-level FBS conferences’ diminished status. “We think we’ll have a chance to put our teams alongside theirs,” said Big Sky commissioner Doug Fullerton.

elig57 · August 7, 2014

One of my biggest problems with this whole thing is that if they decide to actually split the division, G5 schools will end up like FCS schools, with people not even knowing who they all are in 20 years or so. I kind of doubt that it will happen like that but who knows. It could be a only matter of time until players are getting paid.

cdizzle86 · August 7, 2014

I say we give them what they want. Boycott scheduling them anymore. Let them beat each other up, then we will see how the Texas Tech's, Baylors, TCU's, etc. like their decisions. I bet they change their mind pretty damn quick when they go 3-10 every year.

Edited August 7, 2014 by cdizzle86

elig57 · August 7, 2014

I saw we give them what they want. Boycott scheduling them anymore. Let them beat each other up, then we will see how the Texas Tech's, Baylors, TCU's, etc. like their decisions. I bet they change their mind pretty damn quick when they go 3-10 every year.

Agreed.

Travis · August 7, 2014

I saw we give them what they want. Boycott scheduling them anymore. Let them beat each other up, then we will see how the Texas Tech's, Baylors, TCU's, etc. like their decisions. I bet they change their mind pretty damn quick when they go 3-10 every year.

They might have that kind of record... but they will still take it as part of the 'haves' than be us as a 'have-not'.

Baylor was quite happy being the bitch of the Big 12 the years they were the bitch of the Big 12. They didn't care to be a big fish in a smaller pond.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Travis

cdizzle86 · August 7, 2014

And how do we pay the bills without a money game?

Surely we can find some extra funding from the state of Texas.

forevereagle · August 7, 2014

Maybe the other conferences should consider redrawing lines to make travel easier and less expensive to allow for everyone to save and get more fans to games.

Eagle1855 · August 7, 2014

Maybe the other conferences should consider redrawing lines to make travel easier and less expensive to allow for everyone to save and get more fans to games.

At a detriment to TV contracts, I'm sure. Which bring in far more than a slight bump in attendance.

HoustonEagle · August 7, 2014

Remember this day. It's the day we became 1-AA all over again.

BillySee58 · August 7, 2014

Remember this day. It's the day we became 1-AA all over again.

Yup. Unless we can pull off a couple 11+ win seasons and be invited to the big 12.

forevereagle · August 7, 2014

At a detriment to TV contracts, I'm sure. Which bring in far more than a slight bump in attendance.

Maybe, but will we get another lucrative TV contract in the new system? I guess we wait and see what the next round looks like and go from there.

elig57 · August 7, 2014

Yup. Unless we can pull off a couple 11+ win seasons and be invited to the big 12.

It puts more pressure on this game, but... If we beat Texas, that becomes a little bit more likely.

BillySee58 · August 7, 2014

It puts more pressure on this game, but... If we beat Texas, that becomes a little bit more likely.

It has become almost a necessity. If we don't beat Texas, we need to keep it close and win every other game.

elig57 · August 7, 2014

Damn, August 30th just can't get here soon enough! Only 23 more days!

Eagle1855 · August 7, 2014

It puts more pressure on this game, but... If we beat Texas, that becomes a little bit more likely.

Not to be a downer, but moving to the Big 12 is all but an impossibility. We've got a better chance of getting into the SEC than we do the Big XII (and I'd put that at close to zero, too).

The Big XII has absolutely no use for another Dallas-area school. If they expand again, the only Texas schools with an honest shot is UH. The Houston market will be in contention at some point, and the SEC already has a strong hold on it, with LSU and A&M fanbases well-represented.

This is a bad day for UNT sports. But I do hope we kick the fire out of Texas on the 30th. For some reason, that feels like our best response.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Eagle1855

elig57 · August 7, 2014

I don't think it's very likely we'd get into the Big 12. I know SMU was really trying to get in a while ago, and, well, look where they are now.

BillySee58 · August 7, 2014

Not to be a downer, but moving to the Big 12 is all but an impossibility. We've got a better chance of getting into the SEC than we do the Big XII (and I'd put that at close to zero, too).

The Big XII has absolutely no use for another Dallas-based school. If they expand again, the only Texas schools with an honest shot is UH. The Houston market will be in contention at some point, and the SEC already has a strong hold on it, with LSU and A&M fanbases well-represented.

This is a bad day for UNT sports. But I do hope we kick the fire out of Texas on the 30th. For some reason, that feels like our best response.

Actually, the chance is still not good at all, but it's better than you think.

The big 12 has two choices for expansion.

1. Add two more non-Texas schools. This would be hard, but probably ideal for them. That way they could keep the 4 Texas schools and the 2 Oklahoma schools in the same division. BYU wants in, but finding another school may be hard, with all the other legitimate North Division candidates in the B1G (Big10) and Pac 12. Also, not entirely sure WVU wants to stay in the Big12 longterm.

2. Add two more Texas schools. If you add just one more Texas school and a non-Texas school for the Northern Division, then you'd have to split up the Oklahoma schools. Putting 1 in the North and 1 in the south. By adding 2 Texas schools they could create a Texas division with 6 schools and a North Division, with the 2 Oklahoma schools, Iowa State, K-State, Kansas, and WVU. This scenario would leave the door open for us. If we could pass up SMU, Rice, and UTSA, then we could have a shot. Fortunately we play all those schools.

Creating a Texas division and a North Division would allow Texas and OU to play each other every year, with each school having a cross-division rival they play every year, and potentially play against each other twice a year in the Big12 conference championship game. It may be more appealing for the Big12 to do it that way and take two more Texas teams.

Edited August 7, 2014 by BillySee58

UNT90 · August 7, 2014

The next step is P5 teams increasing scholarship limits from 85 to around 100. Why? To complete their real agenda: separating from the G5 and gaining every competitive edge to ensure they are never equal again.

Why?

As the Wayans brothers would say... Mo Money, Mo Money, Mo Money

Edited August 7, 2014 by UNT90

Cerebus · August 7, 2014

Surely we can find some extra funding from the state of Texas.

I know your probably joking, but for those that don't know. You can't use state money in Texas to finance athletics. This was passed through the legislature by the SWC schools after they had used state money to build their own facilities, to prevent non SWC schools from competing with them.