Texas State officially is gone in 2026 to the Pac uhm...whatever number it is now.
That leaves 13 schools for the SBC currently.
Lots of discussions on who they should take. LT is terrible but a geographically sensible fit.
WKU has gained some steam and despite it being said they're a package deal with MTSU, I'm sure they'd still bolt at the first sign of an offer.
If we had to fill one spot, I'd try to lure ECU...they're bottom of the barrel for football in AAC and leaving there to the SBC would put them near the top for money/resources, etc.
Someone said on a other board, the SBC should consider just gutting the top teams from CUSA so it won't be competitive enough to get an access spot, while elevating the SBC to a higher competitive status than the AAC or Pac-12?? As it seems unlikely the Pac is going to retain its Power Conference status.
So there's been talks of adding Liberty. Despite the insane political and social beliefs that school has, their football program and financial resources can't be ignored.
They made an Access Bowl game not too long ago and are very energetic about their sports.
They would definitely be favored over everyone else if they showed interest and were wanting in the first go around to the tune of $25 million to join.
It was also said, the SBC should just go for broke and add 3 more programs to lock itself up at 16 teams...with the 3 best available G5 programs.
I like this idea (not stated anywhere it's going to happen).
If the SBC decided to go to 16 teams, which they should, they'd need 3 more spots to fill.
They'd lock up a pretty secure and notably well equipped conference status if they took:
ECU
Liberty
And I'm going to add a complete longshot but a damn good choice if possible...
Memphis.
I don't think the AAC could get any better than it is, and everyone in the SBC seems content where they are.
Memphis would be (like ECU) top dog in a conference already very competitive.
Geographically they fit decently well...they have a good location overall and a decent AD.
But if that absolutely doesn't happen,
WKU
LT
Liberty
That's enough to take CUSA out of any competitive conference picture for a very long time.
What are your thoughts?