AAC Expanding To 14

Football
62

Should have gone with Southern Miss, Marshall, UNT, and Texas St.

3 Likes
63

If this is real I had 3 (UTSA, UNT, FAU). Missed on the others. The more I think about it I’m starting to see why they wanted Rice. They get the Houston market whatever that’s worth. Every team in the new league will get to play in Houston every other year and in the Dallas area every year (recruiting plus). Also I think it’s a plus for SMU. Makes their North Texas rivalry more interesting and will force them to step up all their programs in order to stay ahead of UNT. All in all pretty smart move by Aresco.

1 Like
64

Best line, from a Tulane fan:

I am starting to think we never should have left the Southeastern Conference

19 Likes
65

It’s difficult to make sense out of this move. Going to 14 and the Texas centric nature . Will the pac12 grab two big12 schools, one in DFW area. Rethinking this and its hard to rationalize what Aresco did here.

66

I had UAB, UTSA, and Rice as serious candidates (those three plus Marshall seemed like a very distinct possibility). UNT I didn’t see coming at all, just because of SMU (I seem to remember they killed UNT membership into Conference USA to replace TCU).

67

Lolololol

Quote of the decade!!!

Lol

1 Like
68

So if you could form a true P6 conference. The top12 of the G5, who would you take?
Memphis (American)
SMU (American)
Navy (American)
Army (Indy)
App State
Boise State (MWC)
San Diego State (MWC)
San Jose State?
Air Force (MWC)
UTSA (C-USA)
UAB (C-USA)
Coastal (SunBelt)
Georgia State (SunBelt)
FAU (C-USA)
LaTech
Louisiana
ArkyState
Tulsa?
Tulane?
S.Miss?
ECU?
Temple??
??
who else would even be in considertation? (by the way, Rice wouldn’t even be on the list)

69

No it’s not. It’s all about money. Networks wants to give money to G5 schools in large TV markets. Aresco is not making this decision without consulting with ESPN. We should know that by now.
:wink:

Aresco is taking all of CUSA big TV markets. That’s a boss move.

3 Likes
70

On the hoop side.
Some of these teams will get better but a NIL jacked up Memphis should put up Gonzaga type in conference records vs whats left/coming in. Couple of losses per season.

“This year’s kenpom
UAB - 71
North Texas - 135
Rice - 144
FAU - 194
Charlotte - 201
UTSA - 237”
From

I should add:
What we think Memphis will become in the NIL era. Haven’t seen it yet.

71

How much were those markets worth to Conference USA, exactly? (When Conference USA took Sun Belt’s market teams, Sun Belt’s value actually went up
)

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72

Woof 
.

Thank goodness UH got a spot on the life raft.

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73

MWC not expanding.

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74

^^^^^^^^^^^

Aresco kneecapped.them

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75

Well their conference payout is going way down now without their big TV markets.

76

I don’t think they get paid enough for their networks to bother renegotiating. For all the markets they had, they were one of the lowest paid conferences out there.

77

Maybe not six after all?

https://twitter.com/dennisdoddcbs/status/1450278303265402883?s=21

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78

Yes. Aresco said:
What schools to keep the $ @ the same?

Apparently ESPN was willing.
" Incumbent AAC members are still expected to average about $7 million annually over the course of the current ESPN television deal, which runs through 2031-32.

The exit fee for the six schools expected to depart is roughly $3 million per school, which will give Conference USA a nice nest egg to build on when the schools depart."

“There are still some final details to work out. There is expected to be a significant boost in television money for the six schools, but they are not expected to get the same share of the TV revenue that the established eight schools currently get.”

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80

If the AAC retains this value, then they will certainly retain the title as the G5 big dawg.

4 Likes
81

I think with the 12-team playoffs, all of the G5 are probably undervalued to some degree. Their games are going to be playoff-relevant. It wouldn’t surprise me too much if ESPN just didn’t want to open the door to negotiations.

The good news for the MWC is that their contract comes up sooner, and (especially if BSU is still on board) they may reap the big payout way before the AAC does.

OTOH, it looks like one of the factors here is that CBS and Fox didn’t want to pay more for expansion, which suggests I may be wrong about all that.

One of the lessons of all of this, though, is that ESPN is the partner you want. The conferences not aligned with them (MWC and CUSA) are either getting pilfered or barely hanging on. If reports are right, the AAC is still just humming along reasonably well, all things considered.

82

Aresco: I think I’ll take 4 MWC schools
MWC: I don’t think so
Aresco: How do you like my new border wall around the State of Texas? Your move.
MWC: Damn you

The AAC’s move comes on the heels of a thwarted effort to lure four Mountain West schools into the league. While the AAC never technically offered Boise State, Air Force, Colorado State and San Diego State, there was an extended courtship that was followed by a vocal commitment to staying in the Mountain West Conference. This move would limit the ability of the Mountain West to enter Texas, as it gives the AAC four schools in the state and no obvious options for the Mountain West to add.

4 Likes