More Bad News for the WAC

by bluesyourdaddy on Apr 14, 2011 10:24 AM PDT in Conference Expansion

Earlier this week the Terry Ford show on the radio in Boise mentioned that Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson was in Ruston, Louisiana talking with Louisiana Tech officials after rumors were starting to float that they might be leaving the WAC. Stories around the country are saying the Sun Belt Conference is looking to add another member or two. And the schools whose names are being mentioned are Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State. Both schools were reported here a few days ago by Tower Power as possible FBS expansion candidates. The Louisiana school would make sense, being another warm-weather FBS school in the Sunbelt footprint. Adding the New Mexico State Aggies could be an afterthought.

The Sun Belt will add the Southern Alabama Jaguars in 2012 to get them to 10 members. They are seeking to go to a 12 team league and the word is that the SBC wants to add two FBS schools within the next two months. A raid on the WAC is their most likely route to get them there.

http://atlantacitypaper.com/04/12/2011/sun-belt-conference-expansion-louisiana-tech-new-mexico-state-reported-targets/

But a Sun Belt invite does not mean the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs would follow Boise State, Hawaii, Nevada and Fresno State out the door just yet. They have been seeking membership in Conference USA for years and any thought of leaving the WAC would not be made until the Big East expansion question is settled and they are sure the door to C-USA is still closed. Their inclusion right now into C-USA is a long shot.

One person who is against the Bulldogs moving their program to the SBC is former NFL quarterback Terry Bradshaw. He says that for Louisiana Tech to leave the WAC for the Sun Belt is not going forward, but "dropping back."

But that is not to say a move to the SBC won't happen for the Louisiana school even though some like Bradshaw are against it. Both the Bulldogs and the Aggies were members of the Sun Belt until 2001 when they left the conference for the WAC. But now their fortunes have changed. While the WAC has taken a sudden turn for the worse, the Sun Belt has been steadily improving. The SBC has a better TV deal now, and one that could get a lot better with a 12 team conference playoff similar to the deal C-USA inked in January with Fox Sports. And a move to the Sun Belt would be a better fit for the 'Dogs with geographic rivals. The school has to know that if they continue to hold out for a C-USA invite, they might find the SBC door closed as well once the two expansion teams are added.

Fortunately, if a formal invitation is forthcoming from the Sun Belt Conference it appears the schools will have a few weeks to think about it.

But for the Bulldogs at least, you would think it would be a no brainer.

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face it , the wac is going to ge whacked.

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by wolfmanshowlforever on Apr 14, 2011 10:41 AM PDT reply actions

get

by wolfmanshowlforever on Apr 14, 2011 10:41 AM PDT up reply actions

typing fail ;)

by TowerPower on Apr 14, 2011 12:05 PM PDT up reply actions

A sliver of hope

CUSA could be in trouble too depending on what the Big East does. CUSA might loose up to 3 schools to the Big East and possibly 2 more to the MWC.

At that point you would have a weak CUSA and WAC, and then who knows???

by Smoove V on Apr 14, 2011 12:30 PM PDT up reply actions

hmm

That seems like a long shot, but who knows. I think La. Tech should make the move to the SBC becauseb if the WAC dies then La. Tech could be forced to go as an indy which wont last or even worse drop to FCS.

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by Jeremy Mauss on Apr 14, 2011 3:35 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions

do yall think if...

the SB takes both LA Tech and NM St then the MWC would reconsider taking Utah St and San Jose St to put them out of business? Even if they would I assume they would wait until the last minute in case CUSA gets raided….again. If that happens Boise fans will be laughing so hard at Idaho as they go crawling back to the FCS and join the Big Sky.

by TowerPower on Apr 14, 2011 3:52 PM PDT up reply actions

It's a good question

but I would say “probably not”.

Like you said, the MWC has eyes for Texas and wants some combo or UTEP, SMU, or Houston first and foremost. If they aren’t available then I think the MWC is better off long term by keeping the WAC alive. Why not use the WAC as a “farm system” so to speak and see if another Boise St can emerge in a few years?

by Smoove V on Apr 14, 2011 4:53 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm still pretty iffy on the MWC taking two weak FB schools

plus I dont see the benefits for the MWC as a whole if they kill off the WAC, they only save a smallish amount of money by not having to help NV and FSt.

by pack_fan on Apr 14, 2011 6:34 PM PDT up reply actions

I agree but then again.

Let’s pretend for a moment it is still April 2010. What if I wrote a post predicting that by April 2011, the MWC would have lost Utah, TCU and BYU (to independence no less!) but added Boise St, Fresno, Nevada and Hawaii.

What would have you said back then?

by Smoove V on Apr 14, 2011 4:30 PM PDT up reply actions

Check this out

Wrote in Winter 2010: http://www.mwcconnection.com/2010/1/23/1266561/would-the-big-12-invite-byu-if-the

Not exactly the same scenario as what actually happened, but it’s pretty darn close.

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by rebelfan1 on Apr 15, 2011 5:30 AM PDT up reply actions

I wouldn't call it that close

Not that I blame you, it was hard to predict.

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by daedalus17 on Apr 15, 2011 3:07 PM PDT up reply actions

Three schools? If the Big East goes to 12 Houston and UCF are likely two of them but there’s pretty much no way that a third CUSA team heads over. Memphis just doesn’t deliver anything.

by HawkeyedFrog on Apr 14, 2011 6:24 PM PDT up reply actions

Memphis=Bball and big market but ya that’s it

by TowerPower on Apr 14, 2011 6:54 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions

Yes, the Big East needs another basketball team. Pretty much the entire reason there was ever hesitation to add TCU is the Big East is already unwieldy on the B-ball side. Memphis isn’t going to be considered, I can virtually guarantee it.

by HawkeyedFrog on Apr 14, 2011 9:02 PM PDT up reply actions

if there is a split i bet they would reconsider...

by TowerPower on Apr 15, 2011 6:34 AM PDT up reply actions

I listened to the Terry Ford Interview

with Karl Benson. He seemed pretty confident that La Tech viewed the Sun Belt as a step down. Its kinda interesting that La Tech see s the belt as a step down but North Texas refuses to accept a Wac invitation, I wish Terry would have asked him how that works. As far as Wac Expansion goes Karl said that the University Presidents are meeting on May 5th to discuss and recommend expansion candidates. Karl claims to have 4 schools that are willing to make the move if they are invited. He better not wait too long though it would be very interesting if La Tech and New Mexico State jumped ship prior to the vote. That might change the opinion of future members. Last time I checked no one was jumping on the Titanic while it was sinking

by BoiseState78 on Apr 14, 2011 1:55 PM PDT reply actions

Nice summation...

basically the conference prestige is always comparative people like Bradshaw are still associating the WAC with Boise St/Fresno/Nevada/Hawaii until they’ve had a season or two without them people will perceive the WAC is still better than the SB but we all know that it is not an apt assumption I can’t wait to see what happens with their bowl tie-in after the Hawaii, New Mexico, and possibly even the Humanitarian drops them. I can’t imagine the Kraft/Poinsettia Bowl will renew their tie-ins since those consider themselves to be some of the better bowls.

Just look…

Pts- WAC v Sun Belt
3-Acceptable: LA Tech v Troy/MTSU
2-Adequate: Utah St/Idaho v UNT/Arky St
1-Craps Shoot: NMSt/SJSU v ULL/ULM/FIU/FAU
0-Who the hell knows:TXSt/UTSA v WKU/SoBama
0-Other options: Lamar/UTA/SHSt/SFA/McNeese St v AppSt/Richmond/FL A&M/Charlott/GASt/James Madison/Jacksonville St/GA Southern/and all the ones the WAC is looking at in TX/LA

Total: WAC=9 v SunBelt=14 move LA Tech and NM St over and its 5/18 SunBelt=winning

by TowerPower on Apr 14, 2011 3:17 PM PDT up reply actions

Why is Rice never in the mix for MWC?

Just asking, but if a conference is looking at Houston, why not Rice? Smaller school, football not usually as good, but also former SWC, same town, better pedigree (can I say that?), very good baseball, and great academics. Hell, if the 16-team thing ever comes to pass, I don’t think Rice would even be a bad add for the SEC depending on who else is available, and they’d pair well with Vandy for a protected rival game.

by Mirabeau Lamar on Apr 15, 2011 2:24 AM PDT reply actions

because it’s tiny, they’re often really really bad at football and basketball and the alums just don’t really care about the sporting teams. SMU would be a much better get (and they’re not a good fit for the MWC either).

by HawkeyedFrog on Apr 15, 2011 2:40 AM PDT up reply actions

Yeah, that sounds like Vandy all right. Point taken, though. SMU gets them back into the DFW area, and I actually think they would be a good fit for the MWC IF they go to 12 teams one day, and schools like Houston are no longer available.

by Mirabeau Lamar on Apr 15, 2011 3:07 AM PDT up reply actions

Would probably suit the ponies, they’ve been angling to follow in our footsteps since we first shared the WAC championship. I think SMU and the MWC could be good for eachother, but UTEP is the one with the history with the MWC so I think if it’s just one, it’ll be the miners.

by HawkeyedFrog on Apr 15, 2011 5:13 AM PDT up reply actions

I actually like Rice a lot...

they have great academics and are very good at baseball like TCU, I think however they will always be overshadowed by UH, who has a bigger fanbase/alumni and more recent success at fb and bball. If I had to rank the remaining non AQ schools that the MWC could look at in the Texas area Rice would only beat the recent upgrades and even thats not a sure thing once they get established (I think UTSA could be a sleeping giant SA has wanted a fb team for a long time).

by TowerPower on Apr 15, 2011 6:47 AM PDT up reply actions

No question they have great academics, one of my cousins is there right now. They are tiny though, about half the size of SMU, less than a tenth of the size of Houston. If the MWC is going to make another move it needs to be a school that even those who aren’t Texans like us will be intimately familiar with, or one with rivalry history or significant upside. Houston fits that bill, as does SMU, I’m not convinced Rice does.

I’d love to play Rice every year like you guys do, even if just for the halftime performances.

by HawkeyedFrog on Apr 15, 2011 7:19 AM PDT up reply actions

agree but...

I would avoid UH, I feel they would just use the MWC to get enough attention to then get invited to the Big East with you guys, UTEP/SMU/Rice/UNT would all be better long term options. Like I’ve said many times I hope the MWC goes after UTEP, after that I’m indifferent between SMU and Utah St. Both would be good for the conference but I think Utah St would be the better long term option between the two and would give the conference a more distinct footprint less resembling the SuperWAC…

by TowerPower on Apr 15, 2011 7:36 AM PDT up reply actions