[TH Spangler]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/aac-commis ... 20159.html

AAC commissioner: 'It looks like' some members will leave for Big 12

[LUGrad2000]

Just a thought I had. I am NOT advocating this, but I thought of one reason for FBS independence. Yes, I know there are 99 reasons why we shouldn't wouldn't couldn't.

I am a teacher. Students are changing by leaps and bounds over the past couple years. (In good ways, but also bad). They don't care about consistentsy. I could see an independent schedule be very attractive to them in the coming years. I could see them getting bored playing the same conference teams year after year. They don't care about the things we do, but that is something for another thread. Just a thought.

[Purple Haize]

Just a thought I had. I am NOT advocating this, but I thought of one reason for FBS independence. Yes, I know there are 99 reasons why we shouldn't wouldn't couldn't.

I am a teacher. Students are changing by leaps and bounds over the past couple years. (In good ways, but also bad). They don't care about consistentsy. I could see an independent schedule be very attractive to them in the coming years. I could see them getting bored playing the same conference teams year after year. They don't care about the things we do, but that is something for another thread. Just a thought.

But when you can't schedule anyone and have a slim chance at a Bowl.....

[alabama24]

I could see them getting bored playing the same conference teams year after year. They don't care about the things we do, but that is something for another thread. Just a thought.

Yeah. Rivalries are overrated.

[TH Spangler]

For the G5 schools that are pushing for an invite to the Big 12, August 2016 will be the most important month in the histories of their respective athletic departments. Once the door closes on Big 12 expansion, the power conferences will be set in place for the next generation.

https://frankthetank.me/

[rmiller1959]

This is a good article from the perspective of the conference that stands as the most likely to be poached by the Big 12.

From USA Today

AAC kicks off season with speculation boiling over

http://usat.ly/2ariDY9

NEWPORT, R.I. — The clambake is an annual tradition, going back to before the American Athletic Conference was a thing. It’s a very cool way to kick off the league’s media days, football coaches and players, athletic directors and league officials and yeah, even media mingling over a feast against the spectacular backdrop of Narragansett Bay.This year, you might have heard, uncertainty looms over the future of the league. The Big 12 is expanding, and at this point, it might be shorter to list the American schools that are not candidates, real or perceived.Given all of that, commissioner Mike Aresco knows just what Monday’s event needs:

[Sly Fox]

The speculation that I am hearing here in Texas is that Texas State is cold stone lock to move up to C-USA if AAC poaches anyone from that league. But I am also hearing that CUSA may reach down to FCS to find the right fits for the rest of their roster or they could hold steady at 12. C-USA has essentially become Sun Belt 2.0 under a more familiar name if schools like Rice, Marshall & Southern Miss are gone as many expect. I honestly believe we might be a very legitimate candidate now for C-USA if things fall they way they are looking at the moment. If USM doesn't get a call up to AAC, they might even flip over to Sun Belt considering the lack of quality C-USA schools in the remnants.

The key remains how many AAC schools the Big XII takes. BYU & Colorado State don't really help our cause at all. The more AAC schools taken the better. UH & UC would be great starts from our perspective, but if they took four AAC schools it would be a huge opportunity for us. I don't expect that to happen in the next few weeks but anything is possible.

In case you are wondering, there currently is a $4M entrance fee to join C-USA. That seemed reasonable back when the league had some more recognizable teams on its roster. But it might be tough for some schools to justify a hefty price tag to join a very down lineup. That could play heavily into our favor.

[rmiller1959]

The speculation that I am hearing here in Texas is that Texas State is cold stone lock to move up to C-USA if AAC poaches anyone from that league. But I am also hearing that CUSA may reach down to FCS to find the right fits for the rest of their roster or they could hold steady at 12. C-USA has essentially become Sun Belt 2.0 under a more familiar name if schools like Rice, Marshall & Southern Miss are gone as many expect. I honestly believe we might be a very legitimate candidate now for C-USA if things fall they way they are looking at the moment. If USM doesn't get a call up to AAC, they might even flip over to Sun Belt considering the lack of quality C-USA schools in the remnants.

The key remains how many AAC schools the Big XII takes. BYU & Colorado State don't really help our cause at all. The more AAC schools taken the better. UH & UC would be great starts from our perspective, but if they took four AAC schools it would be a huge opportunity for us. I don't expect that to happen in the next few weeks but anything is possible.

In case you are wondering, there currently is a $4M entrance fee to join C-USA. That seemed reasonable back when the league had some more recognizable teams on its roster. But it might be tough for some schools to justify a hefty price tag to join a very down lineup. That could play heavily into our favor.

I've been worried about the attention CSU is getting as well. Since I expect BYU is a lock, I am hoping for Houston, Cincinnati, and UConn to be plucked from the AAC. We'll see what happens, hopefully sooner rather than later -- some are speculating that they want to make a decision fairly quickly so the expansion issue isn't hanging over them during the season.

[Sly Fox]

BYU is far from a lock. The Sundays issue and frankly the discomfort with the LDS aspect keeps them from being the shoe-in their their athletic department probably merits.

[Purple Haize]

BYU is far from a lock. The Sundays issue and frankly the discomfort with the LDS aspect keeps them from being the shoe-in their their athletic department probably merits.

But Mormons have $$$$

[rmiller1959]

BYU is far from a lock. The Sundays issue and frankly the discomfort with the LDS aspect keeps them from being the shoe-in their their athletic department probably merits.

Maybe calling them a lock is too strong, but they are certainly the top candidate. Here's a typical news report on their chances for being invited:

Two weeks ago, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby was given clearance by the conference's 10 members schools to begin researching the league's expansion candidates and begin negotiations with those which best suited a criteria that included overall athletic department strength, fan base size, academic profile, reputation and media market size.

BYU quickly jumped to the top of the list, if it wasn't there already, according to most national college football observers.

A story published Monday by ESPN.com detailed Oklahoma president David Boren's role in the situation and noted, the "Sooners have long believed to have had their eye on BYU, which has the strongest football brand of any non-Power 5 school. The Cougars also have a national following through the Mormon Church, and operate near Salt Lake City, a top-35 TV market."

I'm curious about your comments regarding their Mormon ties because I have always assumed that their LDS affiliation wouldn't have any more of an impact on their chances of joining a Power 5 conference than the Roman Catholic Church affiliation has for Notre Dame. As for the Sunday ban, they've been full members in other conferences and have always figured out a way to make it work. I've seen a couple of comprehensive reviews that says it's an inconvenience but it's not insurmountable.

[TH Spangler]

American Athletic Conference eyes membership in a "P6"

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jerrybarca/ ... 5b3e7c5e2f

[rmiller1959]

Looks like the TV networks aren't too thrilled with the expansion idea.

Sports Business Journal: Big 12 expansion not sitting well with Fox, ESPN
http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.co ... -fox-espn/

[rmiller1959]

Now Temple wants in, and they appear to have a case to make.

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/col ... nsion.html

[Purple Haize]

Now Temple wants in, and they appear to have a case to make.

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/col ... nsion.html

They got rejected by the MAC.

[TH Spangler]

I'm curious about your comments regarding their Mormon ties because I have always assumed that their LDS affiliation wouldn't have any more of an impact on their chances of joining a Power 5 conference than the Roman Catholic Church affiliation has for Notre Dame. As for the Sunday ban, they've been full members in other conferences and have always figured out a way to make it work. I've seen a couple of comprehensive reviews that says it's an inconvenience but it's not insurmountable.

http://www.sltrib.com/sports/4182085-15 ... v-partners

[TH Spangler]

The Netflix factor .....

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/8656 ... ision.html

[Sly Fox]

The LDS component unquestionable determined why Utah was selected to Pac-12 over BYU. It also was whispered heavily during the last major round of realignment when the Big XII also passed over the Cougars. There is a general unease in academia toward Mormonism just like there is toward us. No one will speak out loud about this bias but it most certainly impacts their decision-making process. Catholics are considered mainstream by academia while Mormons and Evangelicals are considered from an antagonistic perspective by many in leadership in academia.

The impact on relations with the networks as referenced in the SBJ is being eclipsed by the realization that there is unlikely to be massive cable contracts forthcoming once current contracts end. Here is the link to the SBJ article referenced by the NBC Sports story linked above:

Click Here

[adam42381]

The Netflix factor .....

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/8656 ... ision.html

Not much chilling going on at BYU.

[LUDad]

BYU is far from a lock. The Sundays issue and frankly the discomfort with the LDS aspect keeps them from being the shoe-in their their athletic department probably merits.

Maybe calling them a lock is too strong, but they are certainly the top candidate. Here's a typical news report on their chances for being invited:

Two weeks ago, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby was given clearance by the conference's 10 members schools to begin researching the league's expansion candidates and begin negotiations with those which best suited a criteria that included overall athletic department strength, fan base size, academic profile, reputation and media market size.

BYU quickly jumped to the top of the list, if it wasn't there already, according to most national college football observers.

A story published Monday by ESPN.com detailed Oklahoma president David Boren's role in the situation and noted, the "Sooners have long believed to have had their eye on BYU, which has the strongest football brand of any non-Power 5 school. The Cougars also have a national following through the Mormon Church, and operate near Salt Lake City, a top-35 TV market."

I'm curious about your comments regarding their Mormon ties because I have always assumed that their LDS affiliation wouldn't have any more of an impact on their chances of joining a Power 5 conference than the Roman Catholic Church affiliation has for Notre Dame. As for the Sunday ban, they've been full members in other conferences and have always figured out a way to make it work. I've seen a couple of comprehensive reviews that says it's an inconvenience but it's not insurmountable.

ND has faced stiff religious discrimation. The school was rejected by various conferences, including the Big 10, even though they were in the mist of winning a string of national championships. The advent of tv ratings was the change factor. Only then did ND become attractive to conferences. They could place tons of eyeballs in front of the tv sets.

[LUDad]

Ditto for all the old mainline "christian" colleges.

[ATrain]

Now Temple wants in, and they appear to have a case to make.

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/col ... nsion.html

They got rejected by the MAC.

That's because they only wanted to join for football, like UMass did

[rmiller1959]

In the midst of all the expansion talk, some are declaring this to be the last gasp of the Big 12.

http://www.outkickthecoverage.com/big-1 ... sec-080316

[rmiller1959]

Looks like there's going to be a lot of wheeling and dealing to get eight votes for any of the teams angling for inclusion in the Big 12:

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.co ... nsion-yet/

The one report mentions BYU's "stance on LGBT issues" as a drawback, but doesn't Baylor have a similar stance? It also makes me wonder if that is going to be the one thing that keeps us out of consideration in the minds of the other schools should openings in C-USA or the Sun Belt come up.

[Old Red]

Not sure that would be the "one thing", but it wouldn't surprise me if was used by those trying to block our entry to a conference.
Hopefully those who the make decisions will take everything we can offer into account, not just the perceived liabilities.
It's gonna be an interesting few weeks.