Big12 to expand by 4 teams

[RhinoD]

ESPN is saying the Big12 is headed toward adding UCF, BYU, Houston and Cincinnati, possibly making it official during the season this year.

Our leadership needs to be on the phone with the AAC daily from here on out. Ask ECU to advocate for us, whatever needs done.

I'd love to see the AAC add Marshall, App State, Liberty and UAB.

 

[herdfan06]

It was so much simpler when the Big 10 had 12 teams and the Big 12 had 10 teams.

 

[GoHerdMarshallYes]

ESPN is saying the Big12 is headed toward adding UCF, BYU, Houston and Cincinnati, possibly making it official during the season this year.

Our leadership needs to be on the phone with the AAC daily from here on out. Ask ECU to advocate for us, whatever needs done.

I'd love to see the AAC add Marshall, App State, Liberty and UAB.

ECU has to worry about not getting crushed by App State before they can even care about who joins the AAC.

 

[Herdmeister]

I would assume that the AAC will take only 3 teams to replace UC, UCF and UH. Then maybe add a 4th to get back to 12. It could be a REAL challenge for us to get in. I believe that UAB is a lock. Location of App State and Marshall will be against us. ECU went through that when they joined the league. Not particularly easy to get to Boone or Huntington

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

But wait! I thought the AAC was going to raid the B12? lol!!!!

 

[BleedsGreen33]

I'll believe BYU when I see it. In years past their religious practices have kept them out of conferences because they are unwilling to play on certain nights. It wasn't a problem for football, but from what I read it would have caused a ton of conference scheduling issues for all other sports in order to accommodate BYU.

 

[Shark19]

I would assume that the AAC will take only 3 teams to replace UC, UCF and UH. Then maybe add a 4th to get back to 12. It could be a REAL challenge for us to get in. I believe that UAB is a lock. Location of App State and Marshall will be against us. ECU went through that when they joined the league. Not particularly easy to get to Boone or Huntington

I would think Marshall has a real good shot of being 1 of 4 if that is what the school wants.

 

[The Real SamC]

But wait! I thought the AAC was going to raid the B12? lol!!!!

Six of one, half dozen of the other.

What we are seeing is, is a return to the era of the Big East 2.0, or "Leastleftovers". Clearly four major conferences, and then an in-betweener, given (at least for a while) a status it clearly does not really deserve, based on teams that are no longer members.

As to where this leaves MU, there are still moves to make. The AAC profile, of which ECU is an outlier, is a combination of richy-rich private schools, and over-grown commuter colleges in, but not significant in, big cities. That makes UAB a lock, providing they can get the $7M buy out. The AAC isn't dumb enough to go for our fan-less directional Floridas, so the other schools that fit the profile are ODU, which isn't any good; and UNCC, which isn't any good. Or they could go for Rice, one of the most expensive schools in the country. ECU probably wants ASU, and that makes some sense.

I doubt we have a shot. Too many issues. No baseball field. No AD. Crappy basketball program. Bad airports. Low enrollment. Dying state economy. Population loss.

 

[RhinoD]

It could come down to what the AAC is actually looking for... Do they want football value/legitimacy, rivalries and regional fits? Do they want media markets?... Those two sets of teams are very different.

If it's a football decision MU, App, UAB and either Coastal or Liberty make the most sense.
If it's about media markets then it would be Rice, UAB, and the CUSA South Florida teams.

 

[Red Dragon Coog]

From C-USA to Big 12 in just 10 years. Crazy.

 

[Rock98Dog]

From C-USA to Big 12 in just 10 years. Crazy.

From CUSA to a conference that is about as good as the AAC was when you joined it 10 years ago.

 

[Shark19]

From CUSA to a conference that is about as good as the AAC was when you joined it 10 years ago.

No, the only changes were Rutgers and Louisville moving on in year two, and neither have been very good since. There are much better programs in the little 8 right now.

 

[caliherd]

Conference moves are all about football. 100% period anything else is not worth mentioning. In the previous realignment Kansas which is one of the blue blood basketball programs of all time and a school that is awash with money, stood a good chance of losing their P5 status because of how horrible their football program is.

If the AAC indeed loses UCF, Cincinnati and Houston the teams they choose to replace them will be based solely on their football abilities. It won’t hinge on not having a baseball stadium or having a national champion soccer team. It will be can they add football programs that can equal what they had in the previous mentioned 3 schools.

I saw in another post someone mention Marshall, Boise and Appy. I think that based purely on football that would be as close to an even trade as you can get for the schools that are leaving.

So in a decision based on football alone which I really think all of this alignment is solely about we have as good of a shot as any G5 program out there not named Boise.

 

[The Real SamC]

If the AAC were based "100%" on football, explain Tulsa, Tulane, Temple, Memphis, and, in the past UConn, and Rutgers.

Like it or not, we are in a place we find ourselves very rarely. In the same boat as WVU. For both demographics is destiny. Which is why WVU will remain in the mid-major Big 12 3.0; and why MU will either remain in CUSA, or in a rejiggered mix of the SBC east and CUSA east. If you want to be a Marshall fan, learn to LOVE it.

 

[GoHerdMarshallYes]

Conference moves are all about football. 100% period anything else is not worth mentioning. In the previous realignment Kansas which is one of the blue blood basketball programs of all time and a school that is awash with money, stood a good chance of losing their P5 status because of how horrible their football program is.

If the AAC indeed loses UCF, Cincinnati and Houston the teams they choose to replace them will be based solely on their football abilities. It won’t hinge on not having a baseball stadium or having a national champion soccer team. It will be can they add football programs that can equal what they had in the previous mentioned 3 schools.

I saw in another post someone mention Marshall, Boise and Appy. I think that based purely on football that would be as close to an even trade as you can get for the schools that are leaving.

So in a decision based on football alone which I really think all of this alignment is solely about we have as good of a shot as any G5 program out there not named Boise.

I agree.
As I have said,
The G5 is going to be about football ability and how good a program is.
Some G5's actually have a lot of money but are still light years behind the P5 and don't get treated nearly as equally.
That won't change anytime soon.
The P5 is going to be about money. Football records be damned, if you can generate revenue for a conference, you're in.

My question is, if MU and others joined when AAC's 4 left, do they renegotiate the TV deal or is it in place till it expires?

 

[caliherd]

Sam do you ever read anything or do you just read the first sentence and say oh oh oh I gottem!!!!

I’m talking about this round of conference realignment.

Texas and Oklahoma were about football. The Big 12 took 3 of the best football teams in the AAC and a nationally known G5 independent. That was about Football not TV markets. The AAC has been far and away the best G5 conference for the last few years lead by UCF and Cincinnati.

The AAC cannot afford to replace those programs with crap programs. They have got to go out and replace those 3 programs with strong G5 programs in football. If they go for market share and pick Charlotte or somebody like that for “market share” they will return to the G5 pack and will lose any national notoriety they have been building.

Appy, Boise and Marshall make the most sense to replace those 3 and you will see very little drop off in production.

 

[caliherd]

I agree.
As I have said,
The G5 is going to be about football ability and how good a program is.
Some G5's actually have a lot of money but are still light years behind the P5 and don't get treated nearly as equally.
That won't change anytime soon.
The P5 is going to be about money. Football records be damned, if you can generate revenue for a conference, you're in.

My question is, if MU and others joined when AAC's 4 left, do they renegotiate the TV deal or is it in place till it expires?

That’s actually a really good question about the tv contract. That would totally suck if we got in the AAC and finding get them 7 million a year TV rights.

 

[The Real SamC]

Boise State and Western Michigan say “hi”.

Fact is the only people that think the AAC is “far and away” anything but just another G5 really gets 100% of their sports from the ESPN mind controlers. Reality is that ESPN engineered Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC for $$, and Texas and Oklahoma bit because the experiment of a Big 2 and Little 8 just did not work. The mid-major B12 3.0 took some mid majors to field fill, whatever. The mid-major AAC 2.0 will probably will as well. At the end of the day, the number of people that will care about either league in five years is tiny, and the number of people who will will think more or less about the AAC because this or that program is in it is tinier still. Marshall’s role in all of this is to sit and watch.

 

[RhinoD]

When it comes to Marshall... The questions are what they have always been when switching conferences... Does it benefit us financially? Is it a positive move for the football program?

I don't know the answer to #1.

As for #2, would you rather have this schedule in 2024 --
at Virginia Tech
Western Michigan
Random FCS
at Liberty
Old Dominion
Charlotte
FIU
Western Kentucky
FAU
MTSU
Rice
Southern Miss

Or this "possible" schedule --
at Virginia Tech
Western Michigan
Random FCS
at Liberty
East Carolina
Memphis
App State
Navy
South Florida
Temple
Tulane
SMU

 

[greengeezer]

When I was growing up, there was a nice little clothing store on the main street of the town where I lived. They sold good products and the people of the town supported them.
The first mall went in at the edge of town, and the store decided to go to the expense of building a fancy new store. Later, when an even bigger mall was constructed, the store moved again.
Eventually, the little clothing store took on so much expense that they went bankrupt.
Unlike the clothing store, Marshall needs to stay put, give the millions in exit fees to the proposed baseball field, and work on being the best in the league we are in.

 

[The Real SamC]

When Memphis, Temple and Tulane are among your selling points, you are peddling snake oil.

 

[wvkeeper(HN)]

Marshall needs to lobby the CUSA and Sun Belt to combine their west divisions into a new C-USA and their east divisions into a new Sun Belt. That's the best of both worlds.

 

[GoHerdMarshallYes]

Sam do you ever read anything or do you just read the first sentence and say oh oh oh I gottem!!!!

I’m talking about this round of conference realignment.

Texas and Oklahoma were about football. The Big 12 took 3 of the best football teams in the AAC and a nationally known G5 independent. That was about Football not TV markets. The AAC has been far and away the best G5 conference for the last few years lead by UCF and Cincinnati.

The AAC cannot afford to replace those programs with crap programs. They have got to go out and replace those 3 programs with strong G5 programs in football. If they go for market share and pick Charlotte or somebody like that for “market share” they will return to the G5 pack and will lose any national notoriety they have been building.

Appy, Boise and Marshall make the most sense to replace those 3 and you will see very little drop off in production.

I would say the Big 12 took the most money generating programs, because Big 12 doesn't want to lose their coveted P5 status (which they could still lose), and thats based heavily on how much money you can make and not necessarily how good your football program is.
Hence why Texas got invited, their football team isn't nearly as good, and not even near the level of the SEC.
But money? Absolutely, they far outsell the SEC...or anyone for that matter.

2 programs in OU and UT were carrying the weight/value of a WHOLE CONFERENCE. Let that sink in for a moment.
Big 12 has to replace that, with programs that didn't hold the value before (hence no expansion), and likely may not even today, but they'll hope to come close.

As for us and the AAC?
If I'm not mistaken, ECU is the lowest in terms of spending money...and they have very little to show for it.
Their spending far exceeds ours, so what makes you think MU can keep up?
MU isn't exactly a desireable destination for a long term HC.
App State, same question.
App had the luck of having good coaches, but will that last? Look at a G5 who had a good HC and they couldn't find a good replacement (WMU and that boaty mcboatface trend anyone?).
Boise being part of the AAC, isn't even a sure thing and is it worth it for them, to increase travel expenses going as far away as Tampa, FL when they are usually top dog in the MWC?

I do agree, MU has remained consistent enough to be considered and be a strong candidate for the AAC, but going there will require some major changes MU must make, and is the school and are the fans, prepared for what that means?

 

[GoHerdMarshallYes]

Marshall needs to lobby the CUSA and Sun Belt to combine their west divisions into a new C-USA and their east divisions into a new Sun Belt. That's the best of both worlds.

What makes you think MU has any power to do that?
What makes you think the Jeff Dunham puppet that is Judy, is going to listen?

 

[bbneutralfan]

I would assume that the AAC will take only 3 teams to replace UC, UCF and UH. Then maybe add a 4th to get back to 12. It could be a REAL challenge for us to get in. I believe that UAB is a lock. Location of App State and Marshall will be against us. ECU went through that when they joined the league. Not particularly easy to get to Boone or Huntington

If you look on the ECU site they are pulling for Appalachian State - not Marshall. The current President and acting AD need to up whatever leverage they have with all the AAC teams.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

I would assume that the AAC will take only 3 teams to replace UC, UCF and UH. Then maybe add a 4th to get back to 12. It could be a REAL challenge for us to get in. I believe that UAB is a lock. Location of App State and Marshall will be against us. ECU went through that when they joined the league. Not particularly easy to get to Boone or Huntington

No easy to get to Greenville, NC , Tulsa or Annapolis. All require some leg work if the teams don't take direct charters.

 

[wvkeeper(HN)]

BWI is only 30 minutes from Annapolis.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

BWI is only 30 minutes from Annapolis.

Yep. Some posters think that if you can't get the town direct without some type of drive, schools won't play us. Most AAC schools and many others fly charters. I don't think Huntington is that hard to get to. I mean do teams fly to Pittsburgh or Clarksburg to get to Morgantown?

 

[ru4_mu2]

Yep. Some posters think that if you can't get the town direct without some type of drive, schools won't play us. Most AAC schools and many others fly charters. I don't think Huntington is that hard to get to. I mean do teams fly to Pittsburgh or Clarksburg to get to Morgantown?

Pretty sure wvu charters out of Clarksburg. Have seen the buses escorted down 79 plenty of times

 

[herdalicious]

A fun question I've been asking Mountaineer fans is which conference they would rather be a part of: 2024 Big 12 or the 2011 Big East.

The expression on their face that they make when they automatically say "2024 Big 12, hands-down" tells you everything you need to know about what this ultimately means for them.

 

[The Real SamC]

Airplanes - How big the airport is really doesn’t matter. For football, or basketball if you can afford to fly charters in basketball. Where it matters is everything else. It is pretty much impossible to connect through Charlotte during the winter and not run into the Marshall something team on its way to or from some place.

WVU - AS PREDICTED, we have now come full circle. Spamites will now argue you that somehow the Big 12 3.0 is not a mid-major conference. Just as they spewed the same idiocy relative to various versions of the Lambert Least, the “Big” Least, and the Leastleftovers. As predicted.