UConn, Cincy, BYU, Boise St.

[HartbeatHusky]

The problem with this is that 6 of the 8 schools you mentioned in your OP are schools that have been mixed with various rumors about jumping up to the big boy table. No network in their right mind would shell out more then we are getting in the AAC to carry those games. Let's not even start to talk about what that basketball schedule might look like. Ugh....I'm a FB fan at heart but you need to look at both sides here. That might work as a FB conference in fantasy land but not as a bball conference. Plus, the second the Big12 decides it wants Cincy and BYU, you're screwed even harder then we currently are in the AAC should the same happen.

Plus, as Fishy stated so eloquently, we'd lose all the real money we need to stay alive from the old BE.

It would probably have to be a short term contract. I'd swap out basketball games with Tulane and ECU for BYU and UNLV anyday.

 

[The Funster]

The problem with this is that 6 of the 8 schools you mentioned in your OP are schools that have been mixed with various rumors about jumping up to the big boy table. No network in their right mind would shell out more then we are getting in the AAC to carry those games. Let's not even start to talk about what that basketball schedule might look like. Ugh....I'm a FB fan at heart but you need to look at both sides here. That might work as a FB conference in fantasy land but not as a bball conference. Plus, the second the Big12 decides it wants Cincy and BYU, you're screwed even harder then we currently are in the AAC should the same happen.

Plus, as Fishy stated so eloquently, we'd lose all the real money we need to stay alive from the old BE.

The only way it could work is if this conference could force it's way in as "P6"

 

[itgoeslike]

The only way it could work is if this conference could force it's way in as "P6"

If we use history as our guide, any version of a conference that has a chance of being a P6 would be picked apart. The P5 would rather absorb 2-4 schools than share the loot.

 

[pnow15]

Yes, that is what I would do if I BYU and Boise. Tie my football program to the power house program in Ct.

 

[Jimdish255]

Is this the first year that Army - Navy is an official AAC Conference game?

 

[Kolumbo]

Is this the first year that Army - Navy is an official AAC Conference game?

What? Are you saying that the AAC will have out of conference "Conference" games while the ACC will have in conference "Non-Conference" games? Oh boy.

 

[SportsPageMike]

It's time for UConn to lead the charge in creating a new conference with the other most valuable FBS schools that are not in a P5 conference. Take a page out of the Big 12 playbook and realize that smaller can be more valuable. We need to be on the phone with Cincy, BYU, and Boise St. right now. Don't even talk about travel not being idea. We really can't worry about that right now. Fat needs to be trimmed. We can't afford to associate with certain schools that we are stuck with now. Our best bet, considering no more P5 Expansion for a while:

UConn
Cincinnati
BYU
Boise St.
Memphis
SMU
UCF
UNLV

UConn, Cincy, BYU, Boise St. and UCF have appeared in BCS, or equivelent, bowl games with Boise and UCF both winning the ones they played in. BYU has a legit National Title and SMU has a really old one and 2 claimed. In hoops, the conference is no slouch. UConn has 4 NCAA championships, UNLV has 1, Cincy is recognized with 2. Really, the only 2 weak hoops programs are UCF and Boise St., and Boise is improving. We need to do something. I think this is one option that I haven't really seen proposed before. We can start over and try to negotiate a more valuable TV deal with a more focused product. I think these are the 8 most marketable brands left outside the P5.

Add it San Diego State, Houston, Tulane and USF and we can start a new 12 team conference called: The CTC or Coast to Coast another name can be the SSSL or Sea to Shining Sea League.

 

[MattMang23]

Or we could call it the AAC.

 

[Broman]

You are going to want 12 games plus championship game if you want anyone to have a chance at the playoff. That's the problem...no 12-0 school is going to make it into the playoff over 11-1 Texas or 12-1 USC etc.

But yes, there really needs to be a best of the rest...

East:
Cincinnati (both)
UConn (basketball)
Memphis (basketball...let's see about football)
UCF (football)
Temple (basketball)
Northern Illinois (football)

West:
BYU (both)
Boise State (football)
San Diego State (basketball)
Houston (they have been historically better in both football and basketball...sleeping giant)
UNLV (basketball)
Colorado State (both, they have been pretty decent at ball for the past bit and historically have had good football)

Other than BYU and Cincinnati, no teams really provide oomph in both sports (in recent history going back 5 years), but it at least raises the level of competition...you'd think this conference could at least get 7-8 million per year and I think Cincy and UConn receiving old big east money is why they haven't pushed harder yet for a monster conference...that and the hope that they will get into a P5 and screw the intermediate safety step.

When Larry Brown leaves SMU they are going back in the gutter.

 

[tzznandrew]

This isn't going to happen.

But, if it were, it would make most sense to have 8 or 9 in the "east" and 8 or 9 in the "west" and have minimal crossover. Share maybe 1-2 football games across divisions, and maybe 2 basketball games. Make it more like an "association" and have round-robins within divisions.

East
UConn
Cincy
Temple
Memphis
UCF
ECU
USF
(8. UMass?)
(9. Buffalo?)

West
BYU
Boise State
San Diego State
Houston
UNLV
Colorado State
SMU
Tulsa
(9. New Mexico?)

Fiddle around with those however you want. Round-robins basketball and play everyone in your division in football. Crossover games in each are minimal. Share a conference tournament for basketball (cross-seeding--1E v. 8W) and a championship game for football.

 

[HartbeatHusky]

I've had a few days to get over being in the AAC all over again. It's kind of been a recurring cycle of the stages of grief for me. I still think it would be better to have a smaller conference and don't have much positive to say about sharing a conference with Tulsa or Tulane, or even ECU really. Not thrilled about having a service academy come in next year. Could do without USF as well. Oh well. I'll just keep watching and attending UConn games regardless.

 

[Redding Husky]

Just add a few western schools to get to 16:

EAST ***

UConn
Temple
Cincinnati
ECU
UCF
USF
Tulane
Memphis

WEST ***

Tulsa
SMU
Houston
Colorado State
Navy
Air Force
Boise
BYU

Schools east of the Mississippi in the east, schools west of the Mississippi in the west (except for Navy, which wants to be in the west). Travel is extensive, but cross-division games would be rare. This would be miles ahead of the G5 conference directly below us in the food chain.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Add it San Diego State, Houston, Tulane and USF and we can start a new 12 team conference called: The CTC or Coast to Coast another name can be the SSSL or Sea to Shining Sea League.

Or, just go with SOL!

 

[pj]

Just add a few western schools to get to 16:

EAST ***

UConn
Temple
Cincinnati
ECU
UCF
USF
Tulane
Memphis

WEST ***

Tulsa
SMU
Houston
Colorado State
Navy
Air Force
Boise
BYU
SDSU

Schools east of the Mississippi in the east, schools west of the Mississippi in the west (except for Navy, which wants to be in the west).

I was wondering how you added 5 western schools to a 12 school conference to get a 16 school conference, then I realized you have 9 teams in the West.

 

[Redding Husky]

I was wondering how you added 5 western schools to a 12 school conference to get a 16 school conference, then I realized you have 9 teams in the West.

It's hard to do this on a phone with a broken screen. Take out SDSU. I had several versions I was playing with.

 

[Stinger92860]

Since this is crazy conference realignment week, I would keep SDSU as their basketball team is pretty good.

 

[storrsroars]

Yes, that is what I would do if I BYU and Boise. Tie my football program to the power house program in Ct.

But that's not really what they'd be doing. What they'd really be doing is hitching their wagon to one of the most marketable Universities not currently in a P5. UConn's value is worth considerably more than the current AAC contract because of the breadth of content. The thing that is consistently missed in CR discussions is that football does not move the needle in the Northeast. What UConn needs is association with other programs that are more valuable than the bottom 4-5 of our current league.

 

[Towney007]

Glad we're talking in Narnia here so I don't come off dumber than I already am.

What i'd do is try to beef up the hoops with as many name-coaches as you can get and going with a 'best of the rest' formula with football.

I'd add:

San Diego St.
UNLV
BYU

...in a heartbeat. All three of those schools help you a ton in terms of building depth to the conference.

On the hoops side, BYU's had a lot of recent success while UNLV obviously has history of their own. Steve Fisher's a nice name to add along with Calvin Sampson, Larry Brown, Kevin Ollie and the like. On the football side, you're adding a lot of the same. To me - those three are no brainers.

Where you go from there is where it gets kind of interesting. To me - the three you'd look at the hardest would be UMass, Boise State and Buffalo.

Buffalo would be interesting with Bobby Hurley coaching there on the hoops side, although their football hardly brings anything worth getting excited about. That being said - they have a lot of depth in other sports - especially baseball - that could make them an interesting fit. Not sure they're a big money mover in the way others are, but there's some potential there.

Boise State is purely a football move - although I'd argue that they really hurt you in every other way. Football's king though.

UMass I'm kind of ambivalent to. They kill you in football, but the hoops def. brings up that middling group in your conference. Add them to a conference where you have UConn, Cinncinnati, Temple, SMU, San Diego State, BYU UNLV, Tulsa and a hopefully rising soon Houston, and you've got yourself a surprisingly decent hoops conference. Obviously the geographic rivalry with UConn is nice, but it gets Temple back on the hoops side as a rivalry game for them. They've played BYU in years past and that's always been a fun game. In Football they're just... they are what they are. I'm sure a geographic rivalry with UConn doesn't HURT, but it's not a money maker in any meaningful sense.

But in a world where we can talk in impossibilities, this is probably the direction i'd head in. I'd also flirt with the possibility of Boise State in football only and adding Gonzaga in hoops only as something worth discussing... Sure - football drives the dollars, but the American needs to build brand and rep. Whichever path you can get to the fastest is the one you should take.

 

[Towney007]

Not that it moves money or means anything to anyone around here- but holy smokes would the AAC be a scary baseball conference:

UConn
San Diego State
Houston
UNLV
Memphis
Cincinnati
East Carolina
Tulane

Yikes.

 

[huskymedic]

Not that it moves money or means anything to anyone around here- but holy smokes would the AAC be a scary baseball conference:

UConn
San Diego State
Houston
UNLV
Memphis
Cincinnati
East Carolina
Tulane

Yikes.

You missed UCF (top 10 most polls this week)

 

[Towney007]

Yes ^ thanks.

 

[Kolumbo]

Interesting.
If realignment is dead, it's a nice outside conference but will never enjoy the fruits of the P5.
If realignment starts up, it gets picked apart.
It always seems like a no win.

 

[Redding Husky]

As long as we're just thinking out loud ...

Big 10 East

UConn
Rutgers
Penn State
Maryland
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Indiana

Big 10 West

Purdue
Illinois
Northwestern
Wisconsin
Iowa
Minnesota
Nebraska
Kansas

The Big 10 wants to improve basketball and they take the Huskies and Jayhawks.

 

[pnow15]

But that's not really what they'd be doing. What they'd really be doing is hitching their wagon to one of the most marketable Universities not currently in a P5. UConn's value is worth considerably more than the current AAC contract because of the breadth of content. The thing that is consistently missed in CR discussions is that football does not move the needle in the Northeast. What UConn needs is association with other programs that are more valuable than the bottom 4-5 of our current league.

There was a time when the Yale-Harvard game was the most important game of earth. The audience is there. The teams are not.
The same fans that love the Pats, Celts, Sox and Bruins would embrace a UMass football team playing Ohio State in Foxboro for !st place in the B1G. One of the best arguments for UConn in the B1G is the possibility of capturing rooting interest of 6 states. UMass and UConn to
B1G has to be a consideration.

 

[Stinger92860]

As long as we're just thinking out loud ...

Big 10 East

UConn
Rutgers
Penn State
Maryland
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Indiana

Big 10 West

Purdue
Illinois
Northwestern
Wisconsin
Iowa
Minnesota
Nebraska
Kansas

The Big 10 wants to improve basketball and they take the Huskies and Jayhawks.

The B1G may have 2 teams in the final 4.