I can't figure out which thread has actual conference re-alignment discussion given the amount of ULL back-and-forth trash talk. I wanted to start a fresh thread to have some open discussion on Tech's options moving forward. I don't want to blow the re-alignment out of proportion, but it feels like the next couple of months are extremely important to the long-term health of our athletics program. The below breakdown assumes that Marshall, Old Dominion, and James Madison join the Sun Belt conference.
As it currently stands, C-USA is likely down to 5 teams:
- Louisiana Tech
- Florida International
- Middle Tennessee
- Western Kentucky
- UTEP
The other non-Power 5 conferences have the following numbers (given the assumptions listed above):
- AAC: 14 teams
- MAC: 14 teams
- Sun-Belt: 12 teams
- Mountain West (MWC): 12 teams
I can only assume that Tech would have already received an invitation to join the Sun-Belt and AAC if an invitation was going to be extended. Additionally, the MAC and MWC do not make geographic sense, and the MWC also appears to be content with 12 teams.
Given those assumptions, we have the following options:
- Stay in a depleted C-USA, with the best possible additions being UConn, NMSU, UMass, and an outside shot at Liberty, to get to 8+ teams.
- Go independent in football and remain in C-USA for all other sports
Am I missing something in the above discussion? Regardless, what is the general consensus on the best option moving forward?