University Of Texas At Arlington Expected To Join The WAC July 14
by Jeremy Mauss on Jul 10, 2011 9:19 AM PDT
in Conference Expansion
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You have to give Karl Benson credit, he is not giving up. Less then one month ago, Benson added Seattle University as a non-football member to join the WAC and now it seems that it will only be a formality that the University of Texas at Arlington will join the WAC. The University of Texas System Board of Regents will have vote on Thursday July, 14 to vote and approve a move from the Southland Conference to the WAC.
School officials are being mum about the move, but according to reports Karl Benson extended offered an offer to Texas-Arlington back on June 5 and visited the campus on June 29. Also on the agenda is the vote to leave the Southland to the WAC which is to be taken place at 12:20 p.m. CT.
With the expected move, UTA will be forced to pay a $300,000 penalty to the Southland Conference for not giving the league two years notice.
One odd thing about this move is because along with Benson extending an invite on June 5 to UTA, the WAC presidents unanimously agreed to add UTA to the league, because why not add them when they added Seattle just three weeks ago. The only assumption could be that UTA needed time to figure out how to come up with the buyout penalty or there needed to be an official vote by the Board and July 14 is the next vote.
UTA is set to join the WAC July 1, 2012 along with Denver University, Seattle University, UT-San Antonio and Texas State. This move to add UTA still leaves the WAC with seven football playing members with Idaho, Utah State, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, San Jose State, Texas State and UT-San Antonio. Even though there are no requirement for UTA to add football, the school is looking into restarting their football program to begin play in 2016.
This move also gives the WAC a nice round 10-member basketball conference, but if I were Utah Valley University I would be upset since they were passed over for yet another basketball only team for a second time. UVU also is considering adding football about the same time UTA is expected to start up their team. An 11-team basketball league could be an issue with scheduling, but UVU is in the footprint with most of the WAC and would make sense.
The WAC still needs to add an eighth football member because that is where the leagues viability will come from. If UTA does start a program the WAC will have eight playing members, but they will be on the same level as the Sun Belt Conference -- possibly being even worse then the SBC.
Montana and Montana State are the two best schools that the WAC is going after, but the two schools have rebuffed the offers to join the WAC on multiple occasions. However, the move to add three more Texas schools is an incentive for Louisiana Tech to stay in the fledging WAC, but if C-USA does decide to offer Louisiana Tech to join their league they will be done with the WAC. Plus, outside of the Big Sky Conference only the Southland provides viable football schools that are within the WAC's footprint.
It looks like the WAC is going to make it as a division one conference, but barely.
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Good move by Karl
UTA is the only 30K+ school not in a FBS conference, add in the DFW media market, UTSA rivalry, and the possible enticement for North Texas now that they would have a travel partner, and you can see that it’s a Smart decision. Utah Valley doesn’t do anything for the conference that Utah St can’t, and Lamar and SHSU don’t help much either. The smart move is to give Lamar, SHSU, and SFA time to prepare to move up while allowing Montana, Cal Poly and the other Big Skyers every opportunity to join before the league moves further East and either sets up a future split or the WAC turns into the SWC 2.0.
by TowerPower on Jul 10, 2011 10:45 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
didnt realize
That UTA was that large. As for UVU they would be a good fit geographically and are decent at hoops, but if I were their school president or AD and was told no when UTA was brought in as a hoops only member I would be ticked.
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by Jeremy Mauss on Jul 10, 2011 10:50 AM PDT up reply actions
It might be large, but...
If I were to guess only a minuscule part of that student body cares about sports. Heck their basketball team as of a few years ago and maybe still played their games on a converted theater stage.
Also, I don’t think you can say they carry the DFW market. No one in DFW sees them as anything more than Dallas Baptist and probably has as much support here as Sam Houston, Lamar, etc in DFW.
Ron Washington...giving hope everywhere to the kids who eat lead paint chips of being a big league manager when they grow up since 2007.
by rangers85 on Jul 10, 2011 11:02 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
they are renovating
and will have a new facility for basketball and volleyball finished in 2011. So that should help there.
Their main reason for an invite is to keep La. Tech happy and add schools that are willing to join their league.
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by Jeremy Mauss on Jul 10, 2011 12:11 PM PDT up reply actions
Dallas Baptist is no where near UTA is...
UTA has a bit of local support, but no where near TCU/SMU but probably similar to what UNT has. People who went there care (and there are quite a few of them) and people in Arlington care. The problem with UTA is that they are perceived as a commuter school like UTSA, TX St, and Houston. Hopefully joining the WAC will give them some more interest and allow them to attract more students than just DFW natives and UT Austin Cap students.
His Job
Karl Benson has a nice cushy job, which I am sure pays well. Heck, he is springing big time bread for his daughter’s tuition at USC – a point he made unnecessarily and abundantly clear at last year’s WAC press conference when UN-Reno and Fresno State were jumping ship.
Therefore the WAC won’t go down until there are no more viable schools to add.
Rumor that...
both Montana and Montana St are working hard in preparation of jumping to the FBS and joining the WAC but will wait to announce until after this year so they can participate in the FCS playoffs…per the Bobcat Report
Makes sense, the idea that i always heard is the the state legislature had pressured Montana into not leaving unless State came too.
Go Nevada Wolf Pack!
by BacksThePack on Jul 10, 2011 6:01 PM PDT up reply actions
Makes sense, and that would put the WAC at 12 teams, 9 with football by 2013.
Which is pretty ideal.
Montana has been in the top 2 in the nation in FCS attendance the past two years at ~25K per game. Montana State hovers around 14-15K, but that will probably go up with an FBS move. And even if doesn’t, the NCAA allows San Jose State and other middling programs to skate by with similar attendance figures.
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by notsellingjeans on Jul 10, 2011 6:11 PM PDT up reply actions
Also worth noting that no one else in the Big Sky is even close to the two Montana schools in football attendance.
Cal Poly and Davis hover at about 9K. Most of the other schools in the Big Sky draw about 5K per game.
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by notsellingjeans on Jul 10, 2011 6:26 PM PDT up reply actions
North Dakota will be an even more odd fit once Montana and MSU leave.
ND will be the 11th team in an 11-team conference with no other conference member within one state of them. Awkward.
Big Sky should dump ’em and go with an even 10 if the Montanas leave. (12 football members, since CP and Davis play football there).
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by notsellingjeans on Jul 10, 2011 6:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Montana and Montana St going FBS? Crazy...
… where do they each plan to find and recruit 85 D1-quality football players?
Right now...
They are the Kings of FCS recruit wise and get the pick of the liter with players transferring and such. Think they would have a difficult time transitioning from contending every year, to bottom of the heap.
Go Nevada Wolf Pack!
by BacksThePack on Jul 11, 2011 1:00 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm glad to see the WAC
recovering and becoming a stable conference once again.
Teamwork is what the Green Bay Packers were all about. They didn't do it for individual glory. They did it because they loved one another.---Vince Lombardi
I wouldn't call it recovery. The WAC is slipping
After Nevada, Hawai’i and Fresno State, who’s the best team left? You want Louisiana Tech to carry your conference’s banner? Is it really that much better than the Sun Belt Conference at that point?
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Do I sense a subtle hint of sarcasm?
I still say this was a good move by the WAC but it totally sets them up for a split down the road, with the Southland/Southwest Conference area schools leaving the WAC/Big Sky schools once Lamar/SHSU/SFA all upgrade.
From the WAC: UTA, UTSA, TX St, and LA Tech (possibly NMSU)
From the SBC: UNT, ULL, ULM and Ark St
Still Upgrading: Lamar, SHSU, SFA, and McNeese St
Pretty balanced, 2 from North Texas, 2 from Central Texas, 3 from TX/LA coast, 2 from East Texas, 2 from Northern Louisiana, and a random school from Arkansas (or NM).
I think Arkansas State is the best fit, not that far out of the way compared to NMSU. No West Texas schools leaves them isolated.
Go Nevada Wolf Pack!
by BacksThePack on Jul 11, 2011 8:55 AM PDT up reply actions
if they added Central Arkansas from the SLC...
then it’d be Ark St for sure, if not I don’t know…
While these schools would probably want Ark St they would have established a relationship with NMSU after a couple of years of play in the WAC. I think NMSU would be more likely to join knowing the league would be less spread out than the WAC/Big Sky 2.0. I think Ark St (in the Far North East of the state) would be less likely to join since they would rather play with MTSU and WKU who are more similar to them, but like I said if Central Arkansas upgrades then I’d bet money that Arkansas St joins with the TX/LA schools.
Not at all
No sarcasm intended. I appreciate what the WAC did for Boise State. They gave us a platform and Benson supported the Broncos all the way. No, I hope they continue to recover and that our former WAC mates continue to have a home. I would like to see them get Montana and Montana State and get to 12 with a playoff.
Besides, we need another FBS conference out West here to schedule games with, otherwise it will be Big Sky or MAC teams if the PAC12 can’t or won’t play us.
Teamwork is what the Green Bay Packers were all about. They didn't do it for individual glory. They did it because they loved one another.---Vince Lombardi
by bluesyourdaddy on Jul 11, 2011 12:06 PM PDT up reply actions
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