![]() ![]() To stay informed, refer to our college football odds, futures, and daily NCAAF picks from our experts at Action. “The AAC will see their College Football Playoff rankings drop in the Group of Five. “We will be much better without those six schools,” a C-USA source said. Despite the losses, the conference remains optimistic. One source suggested that the Sun Belt now could try to poach schools from Conference USA, such as Marshall or Southern Miss. With eight remaining members, Conference USA had to add at least two schools. The Sun Belt, once intrigued about the possibility of expanding beyond 10 schools, appears as if it may not explore new members now, sources said. The Flames will be a top target of C-USA and/or the Sun Belt. The biggest winner in the latest round of conference realignment musical chairs is independent Liberty. Liberty Flames: Biggest Winners from AAC Realignment? Since the dawn of time, the conferences that made more money have always been able to take teams from conferences that make less money. “A lot of us were thinking, ‘we’re actually paying for this?’ ”Ĭonference USA could have had Greg Sankey as commissioner, and nothing would have changed. “It was so basic, it was something a fourth-grader could have put together,” a source said. Multiple sources said the information provided by Delany and Weiberg was basically common knowledge: You know, Oklahoma and Texas are going to the SEC and the Big 12 added UCF, Houston, Cincinnati and BYU. Let’s just say, their audience was underwhelmed. They worked with C-USA officials and schools. ![]() Whoever thought the American would ever be interested in UT San Antonio? When they’re desperate, they come to different decisions.”Ĭonference USA even hired former Big Ten commish Jim Delany and former Big 12 commish Kevin Weiberg in a consulting role regarding realignment options for the league. “Institutional arrogance drives conference membership, but when they’re desperate, that arrogance is put aside. “Egos get in the way,” an industry source said. The Sun Belt wanted to restructure the schools and divide the schools into two leagues based on geography, but C-USA had no interest, sources said.Ĭ-USA rebuffed the Sun Belt’s offer in part because Louisiana Tech did not want to be aligned with UL Monroe, and some C-USA members that had just left the Sun Belt to join C-USA didn’t want to be associated with Sun Belt teams again, sources said. Ironically, several times (the latest in 2018), the Sun Belt approached Conference USA wanting to do the same thing. However, there was “absolutely no interest” from the AAC, sources said. Realizing several of its schools would be targets of the AAC or Mountain West, Conference USA recently contacted the American about combining the schools in both leagues and then dividing them into two new leagues geographically. Here’s the reality that fans don’t want to hear: The commissioners are powerless to stop realignment.Ī commissioner - whether its former Big East commissioners Mike Tranghese and John Marinatto, Big 12 commish Bob Bowlsby, AAC commish Mike Aresco or C-USA commish Judy MacLeod - can’t keep a school from leaving its league for another league where they will make more money. North Texas and Rice had the most serious discussions, but ultimately, the Mountain West decided to remain at 12 schools, sources said.ĭOWNLOAD NOW AAC Rebuffs Merger with C-USA The question was just how many.īefore the AAC news broke, sources told the Action Network that officials at North Texas, Rice, UTSA and UTEP had contacted the Mountain West about joining the conference. That’s 14 schools changing conferences in the past few months - and it’s not even Halloween.Ĭonference USA had no chance to ward off the other leagues because they earn the lowest media rights revenue. The Big 12 added four schools, the AAC is adding six schools, and C-USA will have to add at least two. The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 realized there were no Power Five schools available that would add more value to the conference’s media rights, so they stayed put and announced their mighty “Alliance.” Since Texas and Oklahoma announced they were leaving for the SEC, it has created a domino effect on an epic scale throughout college athletics. When those options didn’t work, it gutted C-USA.Ĭonference USA Couldn’t Fend Off Other Leagues The AAC also has had multiple discussions with Army through the years, but Army wants to remain an FBS independent. It tried - albeit unsuccessfully - to get the four best teams from the Mountain West (Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State and San Diego State). ![]() When the Big 12 added UCF, Cincinnati, Houston and BYU, the AAC did the smart thing: It went on the offensive. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |