More from the meeting: http://www.conferenceusa.com/genrel/061113aac.html
More from the meeting: http://www.conferenceusa.com/genrel/061113aac.html
Good. I still want to see a merger with the MWC or AAC, toward a mega conference and playoffs, instead at some point.
Last edited by TYLERTECHSAS; 06-12-2013 at 08:40 AM.
The Big XII had conversations with Tulane about a year or so ago. Tulane isn't experiencing any success right now, and they don't have any support. But Tulane does have a lot of other good things going for them that conference commissioners, athletic directors, and university presidents value. Any additions to the "money" conferences will come from the American, Mountain West, or BYU. They aren't inviting anybody from C-USA and certainly won't consider anyone from the Belch.
I don't think that the CUSA presidents will ever go to 16. Its much more likely that we will go back down to a membership of 12 if we lose any members to further realignment. ULL is going to be stuck in the Sun Belt with ULM for quite a while. Thank goodness it is them instead of us. Can you imagine what they'd be saying at ULL if the circumstances were reversed and it was us that was stuck in the SBC with ULM?
More from Fowler and CBS Sports: http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoot...xpansion-pause
Like what? Tulane really doesn't even belong in FBS football anymore. Anybody with half a brain can see that Tulane has zero fan base, and isn't competitive in anything but baseball. Their basketball arena is a joke.....somewhat on par with a good 3A high school in Texas.
And don't give me the "New Orleans" thing. The city of New Orleans is not near what it used to be. Hell, New Orleans can't even keep a daily newspaper in business down there these days. Last year the Times Picayune laid off 200 people and announced they were cutting back publications to only 3 days per week! So, don't tell me Tulane offers a "media market"......unless you're talking about a PART TIME media market.
http://www.nola.com/business/index.s...ff_more_t.html
More the fault of the media company that owns the Times Picayune (Advance). Syracuse Post Standard (also owned by Advance) only prints 4 days a week.
Cleveland Plain Dealer also prints seven days but only home-delivers three days now.
The Times Picayune has announced a TPStreet tabloid that will print Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.
http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/m...on-print-days/
I'll start with Tulane's trump card: Tulane is an AAU member. No school in Louisiana has academic credentials in Tulane's realm.
FBS AAU schools not in big money conferences:
- Rice
- Tulane
- Buffalo
New Orleans isn't the biggest market, but in the words of UCF's president, New Orleans is an "important" market. New Orleans hosts up to three bowl games per season including the BCS Championship every fourth year. New Orleans has hosted MBB and WBB Final Fours, and if they aren't hosting the Final Fours, New Orleans is usually a regional or sub-regional host site. New Orleans can host any conference event. New Orleans is rich in recruiting talent. New Orleans is a tourist destination 365 days a year that fans from all over the country enjoy traveling to.
Tulane's president Scott Cowen has very powerful voice in college athletics and academics. He took on the BC$ to fight for the non-AQ schools, and he's president of the AAU.
$150 million in athletic facilities improvements since Katrina
Brand new football stadium: In progress
Total renovation of basketball arena: Check
Brand new baseball stadium: Check
Brand new basketball/volleyball practice facility: Check
Brand new "athletics village": In the works
Brand new indoor practice facility: In the works
And the list goes on...
Before Hurricane Katrina hit, Tulane won more C-USA championships than any other school in the conference. Tulane's excuse for their lack of competitive success is that they are still in recovery mode from the hurricane.
And Tulane is in the American. The Big XII won't take a school from C-USA, and they certainly won't take one from the Belch. Any additions to the big money conferences will come from the Mountain West, American, or BYU.
Plus Tulane's endowment is over a billion dollars and growing
I never knew Buffalo was right up there with Rice & Tulane when it comes to academics
Way up there but not quite that high. Buffalo is the flagship of the State University of New York System. A local businessman and gubernatorial candidate (Tom Golisano) has offered millions for the school to be renamed New York State University. Coach White's brother is their current AD, and he's aggressively trying a re-branding initiative as the "New York Bulls." Don't be surprised if Rice and Buffalo are the next targets of The American if they ever decide to expand.
More MACtion... Miami University in Ohio is known as a "Public Ivy" institution.
And more MACtion... Ohio University, founded in 1804, is the oldest university in what was the Northwest Territory (Great Lakes region) and the ninth oldest public university in the United States.