sometimes the arrogant programs are the most fun to have around. UT was a pill because of the leverage their money and influence gave them. they were not fun for anyone to be around. kansas is arrogant in terms of basketball. AZ is arrogant in terms of basketball. but neither of those schools can dominate a conference politically. i don’t think there is a program left that could enter the b12 and create instability.
that said, I’m not a big fan of Utah supporters as a group. if you look at rivalries (byu/utah) the dominant program is usually arrogant and usually that arrogance bleeds over into their other relationships. michigan, usc, bama are all schools who have traditionally dominated their in-state rivalries and they’re known for being arrogant nationally. the difference is any of those three would destabilize a conference like the b12. utah, for their part would not be capable of it.
but if they don’t get invited to the b12 it would be funny to see their reaction. epic even. i think they would go to war amongst themselves, laying blame for how they got in such a predicament.
But I wouldn’t misplace arrogance for value. SLC is the 5th fastest growing city in the nation and is a boon for tech companies. Californian’s are flocking there, so the west coast transplant angle could be good for Big12, because Arizona and ASU aren’t going to get you there.
Yeah, their fan base has been the most obnoxious and arrogant in the twitterverse, but I’m sure the regents, Prez, AD realize in order to get to B1G or SEC, they need the Big 12 life raft first.
You keep acting as if it must be pseudoscience if the alleged results cant be replicated by further experiments…oh wait, that literally is the definition of pseudoscience, isnt it?
As far as academics goes, Utah has a research advantage I think, but BYU’s admissions profile blows Utah’s out of the water.
87% of BYU admits have a 3.75 GPA vs 48% for Utah
Average BYU ACT score is 26-32, vs 22-30 for Utah
Utah doesn’t have SAT listed, but BYU’s average GPA is just a notch below that of Washington.
Acceptance rates are similar (67% vs 62%), but almost 80% of those accepted to BYU attend there indicating a different types of applicants.
See my thing about Utah is that although they are a strong program RIGHT NOW…there is no guarantee that they will be for long, and if we excluded them they ABSOLUTELY WOULD wither away and die…now likewise i think SDSU, while not at the moment having massive support, certainly has a good market and might be very similar to Houston in that POWER Conference inclusion could give them more attractive competition and drive up fan interest. Now honestly i can see good points on both sides of the SDSU v Utah debate and id be fine with either one IF they came in with Arizona, Arizona State, and Colorado.
Oregon is AAU, so fits the requirement. And people watch football and hoops, not the folks manning the Bunsen burners. As research dollars don’t get pooled like media rights do, I’m sure the big brains in the B1G can figure how to spin it, but they wouldn’t need to, because nobody who matters would care, not even the school presidents.
The B1G does in fact collaborate in research and the more research dollars they have at the disposal of that consortium, the more powerful it is and the more attractive they all become in securing more research grants…dont be a fool about how important this research consortium is to B1G presidents…its freaking MASSIVE.
And again, just being AAU is not a golden ticket into the B1G…they will take the very BEST of the AAU schools available. If a girl only dates a dude with a car, it does you and your mini van little good when the guy in the Lamborghini drives up next to her.
Show me the actual dollars that are shared within the B1G. I’m of the mind this is mostly a fiction, because nothing stops Michigan and Stanford from collaborating, sharing faculty, or sharing research. All these schools do business with each other regardless of athletics affiliations.
Thats true…its the relationships the faculty establish within the research industry.
Been around that business for almost 15 years and have seen situations where they try to establish a research collaboration on an institutional level only a few times with little funding.
Faculty come in with start up funding and the clock is ticking for them to get research established.
Its everyone out for themselves.
Subawards/collaborations are encouraged but to a certain extent. Institutions dont want to be awarded funds so that they can pass most of it to another one.
It is a great thing when a conference can boast it’s members are elite research schools with high academic standards. The B1G has built their brand, in part. GT would go to the B1G for the TV money, not the research partners, which they can already get if they want.
Reason Oregon is still AAU is due to their association with ucla, Stanford and ucla in the pac12. Would not be surprised if they are not stripped of the status in a year or so
Their G5 success was just that…G5 success, they wont be respected for beating Fresno State, or Wyoming. Houston fans should understand this…your competition in a power conference will be the life blood that brings in better recruits and increases fan interest…exclusion in G5 was not good for your program and honestly i dont think it would really be good for very many. So Utah may win 10 straight MWC titles, but its still only MWC titles. I guess it is better than sucking in the MWC, but not by that much.
I agree you don’t get much credit for winning a G5, but being the best in the best G5 gets you to a good bowl game. Utah’s success wasn’t so much winning the MWC as it was beating Alabama twice in BCS bowls. For sure I am glad that we are breaking out of the G5, but it’s not a “wither away and die” situation IMO.
Not sure what the playoff is going to do, but assuming they go beyond eight I think an undefeated PacWest team gets into the playoffs.
Not sure how some of their fans would handle the trauma of being on the outside while BYU is on the inside. Would make for some guilty-pleasure satisfaction on Twitter watching that happen…
The comparison is to demonstrate no one knows who the current MWC schools are and thus, don’t know who SDst is. Just say no to more g5’s. We just left that purgatory. Lets not bring it with us.
