This whole duscussion is dumb. Neither Memphis are Cincy are anywhere near worthy of this discussion.
This whole duscussion is dumb. Neither Memphis are Cincy are anywhere near worthy of this discussion.
Football drives the bus of all of this conference realignment business. So why would the Big 12 look at Memphis to add as a member?
If the Big 12 ultimately decides to add 2 members, I believe they will have to be consistent top 75 football programs, bring a new tv market (they would like to chip away at some of the SEC market) and be within the current footprint of the conference. They might make an exception for the right program (Boise St.). Anyone else will have to meet these criteria & will probably also have to agree to a lesser share of conference revenues. Or UT & OU might bolt somewhere else. Who knows? Knowing that UT is so greedy, I believe they will seek a waiver from the NCAA to be allowed to play a championship game without the 12 required members. Hopefully the waiver will not be granted.
For starters, what makes anyone think that the AAC is the dominant G5 conference? SMU? Houston? ECU? Tulane? Give me a break! The upper crust of the AAC is no better than the upper crust of MWC, C-USA, and arguably the MAC. The AAC is simply riding the coattails of what use the be the Big East BCS conference. From a totally unbiased prospective, I really do believe Boise is the best G5 team and I firmly believe they deserve the bowl they got. Furthermore, they have a long history of consistent success, unlike La Tech, Marshall, Utah State, Fresno, Houston, Northern Illinois, and Nevada. Boise deserves to move up.
HD,
So who is? And keep in mind, no school is leaving the Big 10 or SEC, and the ACC schools have signed away Grant of Rights until 2031. I agree with you about Memphis. They are a commuter school with academics almost as bad as Boise.
But Cincy is another story. They are in the middle of a renovation and expansion of Nippert Stadium, and their basketball can compete in the Big 12. They have the academic reputation, as well. BYU? That would extend the league from Provo to Morgantown. USF and/or UCF? Is it really worth expanding into Florida for them? And if it came to it I would be surprised if Houston is not a part of this. With what the Cougars have done with their facilities and academics, they would be hard to leave out. The Big 12's TV model would favor them as well.
I don't see the big 12 taking either Memphis or Cincy.
I can imagine a scenario where they invite Tulane. Tulane sucks at everything, but they are filthy rich, excellent academics, good TV area, and great recruiting area. A decade in the Big XII and they may be competing with LSU.
You can't coach filthy rich.
Boise State may be the most worthy program, but academics have not yet become completely irrelevant. If they expand, and I consider it unlikely, it would be Cincy and (one of) Memphis, BYU, Connecticut, Houston, USF, or UCF.
I would give Colorado State or Air Force a shot, but they won't take two western schools and if they take one it'll be BYU. I guess it's possible that the Sunday/TV thing would prevent BYU so that they go to one of those two, but I doubt it.
UCF continues to soar upward
Can we please move this conference realignment speculation to the conference realignment forum? Let's talk about football on the football forum.