Pac-12 Conference presented by Allstate
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Pac-12 Conference presented by Allstate
The Belch has no presence in Florida and now none in Texas. Probably not a big deal, especially anymore, but those two are 2 of the top 5 states for high school football recruits.
I don't get all the hate of the Sunbelt. I know we have a lot of bad blood that goes back for decades against ULM and UL-LLLLLL, but renewing those old rivalries should be looked at as an opportunity to show 'em who's boss. I'm fairly young (35), and can only remember playing ULM once or twice in football (I think we won both games if I remember right), but definitely look back fondly to our (fairly) recent stompings of UL-LLLLL. Would love an opportunity to try to do so twice a year. Travel arrangements would be superior to our current C-USA situation.
And don't get me started on the state of C-USA right now. It's become the laughingstock of the G-5 conferences under Judy's leadership. Think about this, if WKU gets the nod to the Belt instead of us, then C-USA loses yet another one of its (arguably) best programs, and we are left in an even worse conference.
On top of that, look at the media deals for CUSA compared to Sunbelt:
CUSA - $750,000 per school.
Sunbelt - $2 Million per school.
That alone makes a move to the Sunbelt pay for itself very quickly, not to mention better travel and we get old rivalries back with ULM, UL-LLLLLL, Ark St, and So. Miss.
The only argument I can possibly come up with against this is that we wait this out hoping that we can get into the American Athletic Conference, instead of the Belt. But if Memphis and one or two others depart from the AAC, I don't see that option being any better than the Sunbelt. I for one do appreciate that the Belt is one of the few conferences that is actively focusing on regional rivalries as a conference, which to me is one of the key elements that makes college athletics so special.Originally Posted by BioMajor2013
Welcome to the board, BioMajor.
As for our moving to the Belt or not, that decision will rest with Henderson and some inner circle of his advisors. Umm, provided that invitation comes.
Personally, I'm on the "apathy train" and don't really care. Our biggest problems are internal and changing conference patches on the uniforms will not address those issues.
Apparently one of our old AD's made the comment YEARS back that Sunbelt was beneath us and it has caused some schools to seemingly be butt hurt. He should not have said it no matter how true it may have been at the time.
ULL, ULM, USM, Arkansas State and South Alabama will be great rivalry games.
JMU, Troy, ODU and Marshall will also be fun games in each sport. I dont know alot about Ga State but I know Ga Southern is always competitive in football and honestly I think this team for team is an improvement from CUSA.
It may bring back some rivalry games, but it puts us on the same level with recruiting, as well. As for national recognition, neither conference has it right now. If we had the slightest chance at the American Conference, it would be a step up. In my opinion, we always need to be looking up/forward, not stepping back.
All this speculation about which conferences are good or better is just a guessing game. The American Conference is in the same position as CUSA was before Tech joined. And how did that turn out for us? It is ripe for raiding. The conference re-alignment is not over. The ACC is the next to fall and when they do, they will raid the American. Going forward, I'm afraid Tech and other programs like it (can you say Sunbelt) are going to struggle for relevance. It's time to face the reality that Tech will NEVER be invited to a better conference mainly because other than the big 2 or 3 conferences, there really are no better conferences. Personally, I think the Sunbelt will be the best option for Tech for at least the next 10 years. There's just not going to be a better option for us. College football ain't what is used to be.
We've built our nest along the way. Our builders have been faltering lately and makes our progressing "upward" unlikely unless we turn it around, regardless of the conference we find ourselves in. Personally, if we are going to remain middle-of-the-pac-ish," I'd rather we not be in such a woke organization (CUSA). I still get a nauseous thinking of those (well meaning) commercials.
7 mill for the whole conference divided by 14 does not come to 2 mill per team. That is a hoax. Tech actually made over a mill more than ULL last year. They just released their actual media deal and it was literally just dollars more than CUSA
That comes to 500k per team.
where we will save is an additional mill in travel savings
For the Sunbelt to add Tech would be like them having a second ULM, another perennial loser in their ranks. Why would they do that? Tech sucks at football, is backsliding in baseball and our nearest marketing area is ULM’s backyard. Tech’s leadership is more inclined to coast along as has-beens than do anything forward moving. Yes, it’s possible that Tech will get invited but it won’t be because we earned it in any way. It’ll be because we’re an easy win in most sports and we do what we’re told.
@RossDellenger: Sun Belt executives held meetings today over expansion, but no decision is imminent, sources tell @YahooSports.
The league will continue discussions on adding a member or staying at 13 schools. Several possible expansion targets were discussed, most notably Louisiana Tech.
While remaining at 13 schools means a slight increase in revenue distribution with Texas State's exit, the decision comes with complications, including the potential elimination of divisions in football, the reconfiguration of schedules and higher travel expense for schools.
Sun Belt expansion targets in Conference USA would be faced with a large price tag to leave.
Exiting CUSA schools owe two years of distribution and must buy out of the conference's grant-of-rights - a total expected to be at least $5 million and as much as $10 million.
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