Conference Realignment thread

[SalinasSpartan]

On 2/29/2024 at 3:17 PM, bigd said:

I'm surprised that Delaware chose C-USA over the MAC, but maybe the recruit a lot more in the south?

It does seem that there's some smoke for WKU. Previously, they wanted to join the MAC but the MAC would only take them with MTSU who wasn't interested. 

I haven’t seen any reports that the MAC was interested in Delaware when CUSA invited them, so I don’t think they had a choice. But I think if any school actually does end up with a choice between the MAC and CUSA the MAC is clearly the better option because of the stability, even though the two are comparable in terms of on the court/field product. 

[Someone Else]

I'll just leave this here:

https://www.si.com/college/2024/03/01/gluttony-by-the-big-ten-and-sec-would-be-catastrophic-for-college-sports

Might want to read it 

[jdgaucho]

On 2/25/2024 at 7:10 AM, Brew_Poke said:

Why call it an Ivy League if it would be nothing like it in any way, shape, or form?

 

UC Berkeley, Davis, Santa Barbara, Irvine and San Diego boast high rankings in research and typically rate well.  They're called "Public Ivies" because they can provide an overall college experience that compares favorably to the Ivy League.  Academics, social life, the whole bit. 

A new league with those five UCs (and maybe Stanford?) would be as close to a west coast public version of the Ivy League as you can get. Athletically too, with their emphasis in other sports besides basketball.  But it would still need at least two more members to sign up.

[Did I hear a WOOSH?]

On 2/29/2024 at 7:40 PM, SalinasSpartan said:

I haven’t seen any reports that the MAC was interested in Delaware when CUSA invited them, so I don’t think they had a choice. But I think if any school actually does end up with a choice between the MAC and CUSA the MAC is clearly the better option because of the stability, even though the two are comparable in terms of on the court/field product. 

In terms of ambition, CUSA has proven to be a better source of upward mobility.  Not sure about the specifics of their respective media deals but I do anecdotally see more CUSA games on than MAC personally.

[Did I hear a WOOSH?]

On 3/1/2024 at 12:35 AM, Someone Else said:

I'll just leave this here:

https://www.si.com/college/2024/03/01/gluttony-by-the-big-ten-and-sec-would-be-catastrophic-for-college-sports

Might want to read it 

I’ve read that the going plan is for top 4 seeds to be byes, not just the top 2.  Not sure where they’re getting that from.

[since1670]

B1G and SEC cannot implement play-off plans without votes from others. Big-12, ACC, and G5 should resist. Will they vote to kill themselves?

An effort was made to kill the Big-12 using the AAC to take Big-12 schools. ESPN was to provide money as part of that effort. Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby stopped that by quickly offering UC, UCF, UH, and BYU.

B1G and Big12 killed the PAC. ESPN facilitated it by low-balling the money for a new PAC contract and providing money to the Big-12 when taking the 4-corner schools.

The Big-12 or ACC may be next.

B1G and SEC do not have to exit anything. They and ESPN can get what they want by killing first one and then the other of the B-12 and ACC.

[SalinasSpartan]

On 2/29/2024 at 11:30 PM, Did I hear a WOOSH? said:

In terms of ambition, CUSA has proven to be a better source of upward mobility.  Not sure about the specifics of their respective media deals but I do anecdotally see more CUSA games on than MAC personally.

Well there really isn’t any need to speculate on this. Whether or not the MAC is able to poach a CUSA school will tell us all we need to know in terms of how the conferences stack up against each other.

[Spaztecs]

On 2/24/2024 at 3:33 PM, ---I GREEN INFECTION I--- said:

 

You're kidding, right?

If serious, do you think Utah Tech & Friends have the resources to meet the D-1A requirements for FB?

 

 

No.

They couldn't compete in the Big Sky and they're not competitive in the WAC.

[Spaztecs]

On 2/26/2024 at 3:47 PM, jdgaucho said:

Lights, camera, MACtion for UMass

 

 

 

It's about time they found a home. They had a Tourney run a couple decades back and believed they were big time.

I've got to wonder how much unnecessary cash they have blown through trying to prove they are an FBS program ?

[Spaztecs]

On 2/26/2024 at 5:13 PM, 818SUDSFan said:

The B1G might not be as uppity as the Pac-12 was, but it's plenty uppity. As such, there's no way the B1G would ever want a red neck military school like A&M.

A&M is a perfect fit in the SEC on so many levels.

[Spot50B]

On 2/29/2024 at 11:31 PM, jdgaucho said:

 

UC Berkeley, Davis, Santa Barbara, Irvine and San Diego boast high rankings in research and typically rate well.  They're called "Public Ivies" because they can provide an overall college experience that compares favorably to the Ivy League.  Academics, social life, the whole bit. 

A new league with those five UCs (and maybe Stanford?) would be as close to a west coast public version of the Ivy League as you can get. Athletically too, with their emphasis in other sports besides basketball.  But it would still need at least two more members to sign up.

Yeah, but no. Every place has regional bias when it comes to "good schools" in their area and there are plenty of places to get a great education. When it comes to the Ivy League, that is as much about NATIONAL prestige and perception as anything. Berkeley and Stanford have that. None of the others on your list do. That doesn't mean they aren't great schools though.

[818SUDSFan]

On 2/29/2024 at 10:31 PM, jdgaucho said:

UC Berkeley, Davis, Santa Barbara, Irvine and San Diego boast high rankings in research and typically rate well.  They're called "Public Ivies" because they can provide an overall college experience that compares favorably to the Ivy League.  Academics, social life, the whole bit. 

A new league with those five UCs (and maybe Stanford?) would be as close to a west coast public version of the Ivy League as you can get. Athletically too, with their emphasis in other sports besides basketball.  But it would still need at least two more members to sign up.

You know that and I know that and many others here know that. However, news doesn't travel very fast in that other guy's neck of the backwoods.

[Headbutt]

On 2/29/2024 at 10:35 PM, Someone Else said:

I'll just leave this here:

https://www.si.com/college/2024/03/01/gluttony-by-the-big-ten-and-sec-would-be-catastrophic-for-college-sports

Might want to read it 

Somebody needs to tell WSU/OSU that the powers that be aren't interested in some new power conference.  Can't blame them for trying, but they should know by now what their fate is.

[LKGates]

On 3/1/2024 at 1:21 PM, Headbutt said:

Somebody needs to tell WSU/OSU that the powers that be aren't interested in some new power conference.  Can't blame them for trying, but they should know by now what their fate is.

Go over to Bennyshouse.com and go to "the rotating tap".  They are still deeply in denial.  They still expect to either be picked up by the ACC when the SEC takes FSU, or cobble together a P4 equivalent from bits and pieces of the ACC, AAC, and MWC.

[Brew_Poke]

On 2/29/2024 at 11:31 PM, jdgaucho said:

 

UC Berkeley, Davis, Santa Barbara, Irvine and San Diego boast high rankings in research and typically rate well.  They're called "Public Ivies" because they can provide an overall college experience that compares favorably to the Ivy League.  Academics, social life, the whole bit. 

A new league with those five UCs (and maybe Stanford?) would be as close to a west coast public version of the Ivy League as you can get. Athletically too, with their emphasis in other sports besides basketball.  But it would still need at least two more members to sign up.

So in other words, completely unlike the Ivy League.

[Brew_Poke]

On 3/1/2024 at 12:24 PM, 818SUDSFan said:

You know that and I know that and many others here know that. However, news doesn't travel very fast in that other guy's neck of the backwoods.

You want to put together west coast "Ivies" and you're not even talking about Claremont Colleges or CalTech. Whatever, bozos.

[NorCalCoug]

On 3/1/2024 at 7:45 AM, since1670 said:

The Big-12 or ACC may be next.

B1G and SEC do not have to exit anything. They and ESPN can get what they want by killing first one and then the other of the B-12 and ACC.

There are 33 schools (+ Notre Dame) between the ACC and BigXII.  The B1G and SEC aren’t going to kill both - at least not via expansion. That’s just a silly take.

And besides, who is attractive and/or valuable enough in the BigXII to merit addition to either conference?  Most are small market schools in overlapping markets outside of the new PAC additions and debatably Kansas.  None of the schools in the BigXII would be additive money-wise to either P2.  Even if those conferences took a couple (Kansas? One of Arizonas?  Colorado?) the BigXII would weather it just fine.

[Claremont McKenna Bronco]

On 3/1/2024 at 10:32 PM, Brew_Poke said:

You want to put together west coast "Ivies" and you're not even talking about Claremont Colleges or CalTech. Whatever, bozos.

Davis, UCSD, Irvine, and UCSB are great schools. Some are top 10 in the nation in academics for a public school, but they are definitely a tier below Berkley and UCLA for academics. Those four schools aren’t top 10 academically in the state let alone comparable in anyway to an Ivy. Cal Tech, Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Stanford, and Harvey Mudd are tier 1 academic prestige in the state. USC, UCLA, and UCB are a close second and can be reasonably argued for tier 1.  Saying that the UC System compares anywhere near an Ivy is embarrassing. It’s cringe when people or publications throw around terms like “public ivy”. 

The UC schools are some of the best LARGE PUBLIC universities, but no where near the prestige of the smaller Ivy’s, many private universities, or private liberal arts schools/engineering schools.  I will give you the closest thing most UC’s have in common with the Ivy’s is they don’t care about being competitive at a national level in sports. I do believe that not playing FBS football DOES hurt many of the UC’s from a national perspective with ‘Joe Average’ that cares more about the football team then how many people the university is sending to med school a year. 

*I went to both Claremont McKenna and got my masters at UCD

** Didn’t include UCSF due to their narrow focus, no sports, and lack of undergrad population.

[818SUDSFan]

On 3/1/2024 at 9:32 PM, Brew_Poke said:

You want to put together west coast "Ivies" and you're not even talking about Claremont Colleges or CalTech. Whatever, bozos.

Lol. Have you ever seen the Claremont football stadium? It's smaller than any community college stadium I've ever been to. I just checked and their highest attendance in 2023 was less than 1,900 and that was probably standing room only. Caltech? Caltech dropped football after the 1993 season in which it lost to the University of San Diego's JV teams and others of that ilk by a cumulative score of 229-25. 

[818SUDSFan]

On 3/2/2024 at 8:41 AM, Claremont McKenna Bronco said:

Davis, UCSD, Irvine, and UCSB are great schools. Some are top 10 in the nation in academics for a public school, but they are definitely a tier below Berkley and UCLA for academics. Those four schools aren’t top 10 academically in the state let alone comparable in anyway to an Ivy. Cal Tech, Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Stanford, and Harvey Mudd are tier 1 academic prestige in the state. USC, UCLA, and UCB are a close second and can be reasonably argued for tier 1.  Saying that the UC System compares anywhere near an Ivy is embarrassing. It’s cringe when people or publications throw around terms like “public ivy”. 

The UC schools are some of the best LARGE PUBLIC universities, but no where near the prestige of the smaller Ivy’s, many private universities, or private liberal arts schools/engineering schools.  I will give you the closest thing most UC’s have in common with the Ivy’s is they don’t care about being competitive at a national level in sports. I do believe that not playing FBS football DOES hurt many of the UC’s from a national perspective with ‘Joe Average’ that cares more about the football team then how many people the university is sending to med school a year. 

*I went to both Claremont McKenna and got my masters at UCD

** Didn’t include UCSF due to their narrow focus, no sports, and lack of undergrad population.

With due respect, you're taking this much too seriously.

Everything I've said is a TIC dig at Cal football which is a total embarrassment to my dad and other alumni. Dad got his MBA there the last year Cal went to the Rose Bowl, which was 1958 and IIRC, Cal's athletic department is now something like $177M in arrears. Cal may still be a large public school with top-notch academics but it no longer belongs in an FBS conference.