When are Cincy and UConn moving to the ACC?
Sounds like there may be an AAC-BYU scheduling alliance or possibly another discussion about BYU joining as football-only. BYU continues to struggle to get home games toward the end of the season. Last year, they had Idaho State and then three road games to finish the year, and with some of the conferences going to 9 conference games, they're having more trouble getting games in general. AAC put out a press statement highlight the series between several AAC schools and BYU, and I've heard that there is more to come in that regard.
I won't say it doesn't make sense, but it made more sense for them to actually join when you had potentially Boise and SD State joining the Big East and the TV deal hadn't been signed. Where does BYU stand in regards to access to the playoff bowls? Are they in the pool of teams for the G5 bowl?
Sure, but who's #14 then? Army for football only?UMass football to AAC. Book it.
Why in the hell would we (or anyone else) want UMass football?
BYU wants to be able to play in parts of the country where their fans are. The AAC is more accommodating than the SEC, for example, in certain parts of the country.
Wooly, BYU has gotten several PAC-12 teams on the schedule, even in November, because the PAC-12 doesn't want someone having a bye at the end of the year when USC is playing Notre Dame. It hurts them in the middle of the year maybe, but they are getting PAC-12 teams on the schedule. Maybe Cal isn't a quality team for this upcoming season, but there are others. And they did just sign Arizona State to some September games down the road, too.
Isn't JMU going to CUSA?Yeah, the MAC is the more likely landing spot for schools like Delaware and JMU.
Isn't JMU going to CUSA?
Also, I don't even get the point of the MAC expanding their footprint. It's not going to help their TV contract, and is just gonna increase travel costs.
Isn't JMU going to CUSA?
Also, I don't even get the point of the MAC expanding their footprint. It's not going to help their TV contract, and is just gonna increase travel costs.
Old Dominion is off to CUSA. JMU is still in the Colonial at this point.
As to the MAC, I think they're trying to figure out what will help their TV deal. It's a bunch of schools in Ohio and Michigan with 3 outliers, and it's obviously not working on the money angle. So diversifying their viewing audience could be worthwhile.
They have a big alumni base. Presence in Boston. Huge football budget. Evidently Robert Craft is a booster or into the program. Good at basketball (AAC is a joke of a basketball league especially with Louisville leaving… half the league was 140 RPI or lower). Doesn't make the AAC just C-USA 2.0.Why in the hell would we (or anyone else) want UMass football?
They have a big alumni base. Presence in Boston. Huge football budget. Evidently Robert Craft is a booster or into the program. Good at basketball (AAC is a joke of a basketball league especially with Louisville leaving… half the league was 140 RPI or lower). Doesn't make the AAC just C-USA 2.0.
I think it's smart to not join the MAC and basically sink your other sports if you're UMass. MAC is a bad football league and a bad basketball league. Might as well just be only in a bad football league.
I always thought the old Big East at least had a chance of appeasing the Catholic 7 by adding UMass as opposed to some of the other teams they did. Not that they really had a chance to "save" the league once WVU, Syracuse, Pitt all left.
I can't tell that UMass gets any play in Boston, and if they have a big football budget, they need to spend it on their on-campus stadium. And Robert Kraft may be a supporter, but he's got them bent over with them required to play half their home games in Foxborough for like 4 more years. And UMass basketball has made one tourney in 15 years. It's not a basketball school...Cal and Camby are long gone.
UMass was smart to not join the MAC, that I agree with; but they'll be joining the Sun Belt for FB-only unless BYU or maybe Army decides to join the American.
They don't get any play in Boston, but on the other side, if the AAC does eventually go to 14, besides BYU and Army as football only, they make the most sense as they do have a large enrollment and are a flagship state university as opposed to any of the other teams the AAC would consider adding.
Well you could've written the same thing about TCU when they joined the Big XII. Yes, they're in Texas and Boise is in Idaho but there are enough teams in Texas that doesn't matter much. Boise is the only team out there that moves the needle in any way from a ratings and national respect level standpoint. The committee obviously respected them a lot with the rankings they gave them. I think they'd prefer the Big Sky to the Big West too.I really don't think Boise or BYU are candidates. BYU had their chance, and Boise just have the TVs. Their ratings on ESPN are good...people love the Smurf Turf on Thursday nights, but Boise is a huge gamble. If they quit being a 10-win team, you've got a real albatross not adding much to the conference. Basically Iowa State with fewer fans and eyes and without the decent roundball ISU typically puts on the court.
Memphis + Cincy is easy. You get some NCAA basketball credits and you add two football programs that can be decent but probably not great in the B12 structure. There's not too much danger of Memphis challenging Texas or OU like TCU is doing. Cincy might perform at a slightly higher level based on what they've done in the Big East, but the ceiling isn't as high as UCF. TCU is evidence of what a well coached team in a rich recruiting area can do if given the opportunity on the big stage, and I think UCF could easily become a top team in the B12, and I'm not sure UT/OU want that. They just need to bandaid the champ game issue and move on.
pretty please? doubt we will get any serious consideration. we dont really fit geographically. Orlando is a fairly large travel distance($$$$$$$) for most of the existing teams. especially when you bring into account the rest of the sports programs we would be bringing.Alright Big 12, the number is 407-823-1000. Ask for Dr. John Hitt.
Big XII shouldn't expand.
It's not worth each time losing out on $5 million per year just to add a program for the sake of adding one.
The playoff will expand in the future so I say ride it out.
Besides the biggest complain was the conference not naming a real champion. Institute a head to head clause and avoid that in the future. It's now hard, unless you're Bowlsby, I guess.
pretty please? doubt we will get any serious consideration. we dont really fit geographically. Orlando is a fairly large travel distance($$$$$$$) for most of the existing teams. especially when you bring into account the rest of the sports programs we would be bringing.
on the other hand we have a humungous student body that isnt getting any smaller, which can turn into a very large fanbase in the future(more $$$$$$). Our school has the stuff to co-exist in the big conferences. I hope we get our shot. the non power 5 schools are only nominally included in this playoff, and unless we get to a point where a group of 5 school has a guaranteed bid in an expanded playoff, the AAC is a dead end football conference.
It's not about flying, it's about the expense. It's expensive to have to fly a 20+ person team that makes no money around the country. Soccer, volleyball, etc. require a lot of seats. I'm guessing those sports would rack up at least half a million dollars just in travel, which would completely blow their budgets.
Soccer is really the killer - they'd need like 30 seats for everybody I'd guess. But really any sport that has to travel by plane is going to be super expensive.