CougarCorner

As a sports fan I want a conference. Yes, there are pros and cons and probably we'll never find (or be offered) the perfect spot, but being in a conference is part of sports. I think it's okay to be indy if you are a Notre Dame and you can be in the conversation for the national championship at least once a decade. I'm not saying that it wasn't the right choice for us to go indy. I believe it was. I believe BYU is much more relevant than they ever would have been staying status quo in the MWC.

But while I enjoy the tough games on the 1st half of our schedules, the 2nd half has not been adequate. I don't know anyone that would like a schedule like ours. Yes, It appears that we probably make more money as an independent, but frankly, I don't believe that money should be the main motivation. You need to make enough to sustain your athletic department, but once again, purely as a fan, I could do with less if that is what it takes to get into a conference.

As an indy, we're not in a position to make it into the national championship. We can still make it to a NY6 bowl, but it's more difficult than if we were in a conference.

I say we convince Boise to come with us to the AAC. Less than that, then a Notre Dame type agreement with the AAC.

http://realtimerpi.com/college_football ... f_Men.html

According to this the AAC is not that far behind the P5. Getting rid of one of their worst teams will help.

Rank American Athletic Conf All Index SOS Rk SOS

West Division
22 Memphis 5-4 8-6 32.80 96 51.16
64 Navy 2-6 3-10 21.12 20 56.50
68 Houston 5-3 8-5 20.89 117 49.70
71 SMU 4-4 5-7 20.59 68 52.86
78 Tulane 5-3 7-6 20.08 28 55.99
128 Tulsa 2-6 3-9 15.72 59 53.44

East Division
6 UCF 9-0 13-1 46.02 53 53.79
23 South Florida 3-5 7-6 31.04 177 46.80
63 Cincinnati 6-2 10-2 21.13 51 53.94
65 Temple 7-1 8-5 20.95 77 52.45
105 East Carolina 1-7 3-8 17.44 15 56.70
122 Connecticut 0-8 1-11 16.23 67 52.93

Add a 26 Army, and 21 BSU and they are about there. Tulsa and ECU need to do better. Us at 115 is not a help currently. They could also add 27 FSU and 45 SDSU. Go to 16 teams. ESPN would have to be onboard and give a bigger contract.

scott715 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 25, 2019 4:04 pm Us at 115 is not a help currently. They could also add 27 FSU and 45 SDSU. Go to 16 teams. ESPN would have to be onboard and give a bigger contract.

Hopefully no one ever evaluates adding someone to a conference based on where they are currently.

Convince Boise State and San Diego State to move with us and convince the AAC to replace UConn with 3 teams in the West as a 14-team conference. THEN, make it an all sports move that also includes Gonzaga and Saint Mary's (and VCU in the East).

We get a football schedule that includes annual games with Boise State and San Diego State, plus SMU, Houston, Tulsa, and Memphis - the occasional games with Navy, UCF, South Florida, ECU, Temple and Cincinnati. I would actually prefer to develop some rivalry embers with schools like Houston and Memphis as part of a conference schedule, than occasionally play exhibition-type games against Baylor or Minnesota or Arkansas or Virginia. And Tulsa and SMU, as conference mates, are better than UMass and Liberty as independent exhibitions.....

With 4 OOC games, we could still schedule 4 great OOC opponents each year - I'd keep Utah, any P5 games already scheduled in October and November (Virginia, Arkansas, Missouri, USC, Stanford, etc.), and the P5 games in Provo that are part of the back-end of the series (like Michigan St. in '20, Tennessee in '23).

Those would still be good schedules, but add the conference championship element. Still good money and good exposure via ESPN (about $7M/year under new AAC deal, which might increase with the BYU, Boise, SDSU, Gonzaga additions.....). A game in Texas every year, California most years, and Eastern games at select spots up and down the East Coast from Florida to Philly.

FWIW, I think the expanded AAC with BYU, Boise State, and San Diego State could land either the Holiday Bowl or new Los Angeles Bowl against the PAC 12 #4/5 team. That would be a decent landing spot after a good season. The AAC will have other bowl affiliations with Fenway Bowl (ACC), Military Bowl (ACC), Birmingham Bowl (SEC), Gasparilla Bowl (SEC) and likely the Armed Forces or First Responder Bowl (Big 12). Plus, actual access to the Fiesta, Cotton and Peach bowls. That's a much better bowl lineup than BYU could ever get on its own.

For basketball, BYU gets annual home-away games with Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, Boise, and SDSU, plus more of Houston, SMU, Tulsa, Wichita, and Memphis and less of ECU, UCF, USF, VCU, and Tulane....that's a great basketball schedule in a high-major conference, usually worthy of 4-6 NCAA bids....

Oh boy. It is summer and here we are again with conference talk that never seems to go anywhere for us.

EM_Puma wrote: ↑Tue Jun 25, 2019 7:08 pm Oh boy. It is summer and here we are again with conference talk that never seems to go anywhere for us.

10 more weeks...

Gunk wrote: ↑Tue Jun 25, 2019 10:58 pm

EM_Puma wrote: ↑Tue Jun 25, 2019 7:08 pm Oh boy. It is summer and here we are again with conference talk that never seems to go anywhere for us.

10 more weeks...

It’s better than no posts at all.

Jarhead wrote: ↑Wed Jun 26, 2019 8:25 am

Gunk wrote: ↑Tue Jun 25, 2019 10:58 pm

EM_Puma wrote: ↑Tue Jun 25, 2019 7:08 pm Oh boy. It is summer and here we are again with conference talk that never seems to go anywhere for us.

10 more weeks...

It’s better than no posts at all.

Touche

How about Heaps vs Riley? That's always a good one.

My impression after hearing AAC Commish Michael Aresco (what a fireball of a guy that I liked) is that BYU hasn't and won't make any attempt at this time to join the AAC. I think the money is too much of a consideration. I agree that it's not opportune, but as I said, I'm in this because I like sports and sports involving conferences is above being independent. Yet I understand.

One item that was brought forward this week that I had never heard before or yet considered. We always talked of BYU and the TV ratings they bring in. That used to mean more to the footprint of a conference when TV markets equaled subscriptions sold on cable/satellite. That individual said, and I'd have to agree, that that element of what a school brings is no longer relevant because cable is slowly fading away. Yes, BYU can still bring in people to stream probably more than all non-P5's and better than a score of them. That continues to be relevant, but I don't think if the Big 10 had it to do over again knowing now how things have progressed, they never would have added Rutgers. They wanted the NY market based on that old thought of cable, but Rutgers is not worth the value of their cut of the piece of BIG10 pie. People these days are getting more and more protective of their pie.

I think BYU is going to continue in this mode until at least 2026 to see if the landscape of college football has changed and there possibly could be an avenue into the big boy's club. Yet to me, I don't think there will ever be an invitation simply because we're "different" from all the rest. Didn't say better--didn't say worse, but distinct and the way of society is not going to ever embrace our "uniqueness". In a way, that is why I believe we ought to take a chance if we could to get into the AAC now. I don't think the further we get down the road that our position will get any better and can get worse, and I really, really want the feeling of being in a conference for football--not because of the money--only because of the enjoyment of the sport.