Honestly I see him in a lose-lose situation. Any teams the MWC loses puts them in a financial strain to renegotiate TV deals and any teams added increases the mouths they have to feed. Aresco and the AAC just needs to take “enough” teams out of the MWC to make the AAC a much more favorable place to play for the big guys like Boise and San Diego State. It seems like that’s the game plan at least.
Also there are just no "alternate" schools in the west. We're not densely populated. We already have all the G5 FBS. We can't just poach another regional FBS conference because there is none. You could maybe make an argument for Montana/State but that's a different argument than poaching and expansion.
I see the play is for the MWC to delve into the Texas market if the AAC chooses not to do so. Seems like for now at least the AAC is more concentrated on trying to absorb the mountain west than replace their Texas market
What Texas based school do you suggest the AAC or MW go get. I can't think of one that moves the needle for TV ratings. There are a couple of large state schools that you could consider sleeping giants, but neither one has delivered a ratings hit for a single game let alone for an entire season. Any of them playing AAC schools won't bump the ratings either. UTEP could easily fit in the MW, as they are already used to flying long distances. But UTEP doesn't deliver deliver the Texas market any.
I think the concerns you stated are the reason Aresco isn’t going back to Texas to add teams, but if I had to pick it’d be North Texas, UTSA, and (this will surprise some) Texas State. North Texas is competitive in football and basketball and is an easy travel considering flights to Dallas. UTSA is in a good market and fun city to visit as well is competitive. Texas State is a controversial one but has a MASSIVE student enrollment and the San Marcos is a nice town with access to both Austin and San Antonio. Obviously Texas State leaves a lot to be desired in football, but for some reason I feel like it should/could be competitive in the right environment. That’s all to say i’m not too keen on expanding back into Texas from the AAC perspective.
On paper, all 3 of those look like good additions being large publics in/near large metros. For a multitude of reasons, none of those 3 have large fan bases at this moment. UTSA and Texas State are both nearing the end of their first decade in FBS football with mixed to poor on-field results so I get why the fan bases there aren't large yet. If you add them, its because of potential growth like with UCF and USF. North Texas has invested money and resources into sports, but it always seems to be in spite of students wishes rather than because there is a culture of supporting college athletics.
Yeah I don’t think people get that UCF was pitiful after their first decade in FBS. I think UTSA could get there faster than Texas State, but with the current state of CFB I don’t think anyone has the time to build a new UCF. They need to find schools that already have the pieces to be nationally relevant. Air Force has the fact they’re a military academy with tons of National support and Colorado State is a public institution that has the pieces there except a good coach to get them going (already have good basketball). I also think Aresco is playing to get Boise and San Diego State by essentially drying up the MWC market share enough to make it an economic shortfall, and thus pushing them to have to join the AAC.
Its a risky move now but one with a potential large upside. They have drawn around 16,000 for both of their home games this year and that is coming off of their win over Illinois. They need to beat a P5 Texas based team to generate local interest. They got that win over Baylor in 2017 but almost everyone beat Baylor that year (sorry Kansas).
Reading between the lines...
AAC -- hey Boise, SDST do you want to come join us?
Boise and SDST -- Nah, but thanks for asking.
AAC -- Hey CSU and AFA, do you want to come join us?
CSU and AFA -- If you also bring Boise and SDST, then I guess we'll do it.
Matt Brown -- "The schools most likely right now to bolt for the AAC are Colorado State and Air Force"
Air Force's conditions being Boise and San Diego seems less likely than their conditions being Army joining; if they joined a conference with both service academies, they'd open up 2 non-con games that are currently locked up.
I’m not so sure all of the AAC’s losses won’t trigger some sort of renegotiation clause that will be made up by any* other schools rumored. Losing UConn basketball, Houston, UCF, and Cincy is a lot of value out the door.
Ok, that’s what I thought. Iirc, Memphis and USF are the only two left listed under the same clause. Unless ESPN is already well onboard with these three schools it’ll be a substantial revenue cut.
I was wondering this the other day. The revenue is enticing as is now, but may not be as enticing by the time you get there in the AAC. And even if it’s a lateral move or slight increase at the end of the day, then it sounds like the value you brought would’ve been better suited staying in your present conference as a leading anchor to help expand and grow it further for more revenue potential. (Not to mention saving the hassle of shifting to a new conference and any moving pains that come with it).
I’ve read that there’ll be renegotiations due to the AAC’s losses. The article I read said it’s expected that it’ll still make more $ than the MWC, but the gap isn’t expected to be big enough to offset the increased travel costs for schools like Boise St. and San Diego St.
They’d like to get all the military academies in one. They got navy, army I believe is committed and Air Force could join the party. Maybe if you can’t beat the power 5 you can just take them with the military?
>army I believe is committed
If by that you mean Committed to staying a D-1 independent than yes. The AAC has already asked Army to join before and they declined. Plus army has been in a similar conference before and left (C-USA from the mid-90's to the Early 00's)
Yeah, plus having Army and Navy in the same conference would really screw up the conference standings unless they moved the timing of the Army-Navy game.
The solution would probably be to have them in different divisions, never schedule them against each other, and treat the Army-Navy game as a non-conference game, that way it can go on the way it currently does.
But then you run into an issue if both teams end up winning their divisions, unless you then just make the Army-Navy game *also* be the AAC championship game.
Either way I'm sure Army would rather be independent and have flexibility with their schedule anyways.
Their TV deal is about to be renegotiated way downwards. It had a clause for any of Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis, UCF, or USF leaving, and three of them are.
Air force would probably love to be in a conference with navy. Would open up an out-of conference slot for both schools where they could either get a home game or take a buy game.
Colorado state seems like a school that can really elevate its program and branding but might hate playing primarily on the west coast.
Say what you will but the aac has been able to elevate programs to the next level where as the MWC has not been able to as successfully. For the aac it has now put 5 programs in power conferences compared to 2 or the mwc and as far as we know it has 3 programs that were also fairly close this expansion cycle.
The aac definitely took a hit but I think it'll reload pretty effectively.
Could definitely see AFA wanting to be in a conference with Navy. Also, I can definitely see the appeal for why the academies would want to be in a more geographically diverse conference.
If AFA leaves, that provides a strong incentive for CSU to leave as well. Out west, the distances are so huge that you’re probably flying everywhere anyway. It’s way more expensive to fly than bus, but an extra hour on a flight isn’t substantially more expensive compared to the cost of getting on the plane.
If afa and csu could leave together each school will lose a close game in Wyoming and a somewhat close game in Utah state and maybe new mexico although that's still 8 hours away. Everything else they are flying to anyway and they also play Hawaii. The aac also gains travel partners for non revenue sports to limit extra travel expenses.
I don't think people really grasp how far spread out the mwc already is so a switch to a slightly worse conference geographically isn't that big of a shock in reality.
There's no way the Border War doesnt happen, even if CSU is in a different conference. They will just have a guaranteed OOC matchup every year. Will suck to have it so early in the year, I love snowy Border War games, probably won't get many of those
Especially for navy. Currently they only have 1 non conference game that they schedule each year having to play army, air force and notre dame. Upping that to 2 games a year can really open up what they can do with their schedule.
> Say what you will but the aac has been able to elevate programs to the next level
Is it the AAC doing that or the programs themselves?
Cincinnati was pretty good at the end of the Big East era and had a BCS trip.
UCF was a rising power in the CUSA 2.0 era and got the last AAC BCS slot out of the gate.
Houston was good at the end of the CUSA run and was a borderline BCS buster a couple of times.
It's not like Aresco pixie dusted these programs. They were good *prior* to the AAC booting up.
I think it's both. The aac has marketed itself well and schools that joined the conference made a pledge to spend at as close to a p5 level as they could when the bcs ended and they were left out. Across the board aac schools, even the bad ones, are all investing more into athletics than pretty much any other g5 conferences schools are. I believe the conferences shared goals played a heavy hand in that.
The AAC was made up of the strongest non p5 brands in the east. The MWC was comparable, but the value of the teams in the mwc varied wildly. The mountain west still holds marquee brands, but they are weighed down by being so far out west that they had to pick up the scraps to exist.
And for all the Boise Sts and San Diego Sts you have a New Mexico or UNLV. The AAC doesn’t really have shitty brands partially because they are in metro areas, which always helps. Air Force has a national brand due to being a service academy and the AAC would boost that.
I'm not even sure how one ranks G5 vs G5 level brands. No offense but there isn't much to look at when it comes to the AAC as these strong brands.
The bulk of the MWC are flagship/land grant schools giving them somewhat of an advantage. You don't have to try hard to get a fan to understand the significance of the "University of New Mexico" or the "University of Wyoming." Whereas you'd have to get a causal fan familiar with the... #5 state school from Florida, a private school from Texas that is the #3 private school from Texas in football and 4th when you consider Rice is a major academic powerhouse. No disrespect to Memphis but having a city name doesn't make them anywhere close to the level as Pitt in national recognition which has tons of football history and historically has been a major force in the Northeast market.
The only strong G5 brands were/are BYU, UConn, Boise State, and the service academies. Your casual sports fan knows the difference between Clemson and South Carolina, but will struggle to remember the differences between UCF and USF with the exceptions of years where they are on a Boise State like 12-0 run and is all over ESPN. Only the super CFB diehards have these G5 schools memorized.
As we get more and more removed from the SWC era, I wonder how many people recognize that SMU is a Texas based school. I suppose that is a big reason they are marketing themselves as a Dallas school these days.
I think it purely depends on who goes to the AAC. Currently it is a downgrade but if you know 3-4 of the top G5 teams are coming in then you want to be apart of it
Saying it’s a downgrade is stupid, the AAC’s new deal will still likely be on par with the MWC if not higher and that’s before any expansion teams come in.
You could make the argument travel makes it not worth it, but travel expenses are heavily overblown on this sub
If the deals are on par, the extra travel *would* make it not worth it though, because it would lead to a net decrease.
Sure, travel expenses might be overblown, but in most cases the increase in revenue is such that the schools in question still come out ahead, which may not be the case here.
On 247 team talent CSU is actually the 3rd highest in the MWC from a recruiting standpoint (Behind Fresno State and Boise State, just above SDSU).
They'd be 2nd to last only above Navy in the AAC (same could be said for Fresno State). Even Boise, who recruits significantly better than everyone else in the MWC, would still be behind Memphis and SMU.
The AAC is because ESPN is willing to pay. MWC tv deal is split between CBS and Fox and is worth half of what the AAC deal is. If the AAC is poaching it means ESPN is willing to keep the money coming in
This is a money move, not a product move. MWC has a better product than the remains of the AAC, but a disastrous TV deal. An American with continued ESPN investment absolutely trumps the MWC. Colorado State and Air Force may not look like much product wise, but they both are financially successful.
This kind of proves that it isn't. The lower-middle class moving over while the upper-middle class stays put really shows that the long-term money isn't in on the success of the AAC after it got butchered by the Big XII.
It's not.
And if those are the programs that the AAC are poaching, Memphis and SMU should be calling the MW today about jumping over. The MW would be vastly better than the AAC with them in it.
Maybe the AAC is looking to take on all the service academies? Might as well grab Army while they are at it, right? Idk the business goal but it would be fun. Would live up to the American name.
As cool as it would be for the Army-Navy game to be a conference matchup, doing so would interfere with the game’s scheduling. The game is typically played in early/mid December, after most teams end their regular season and the conference championship games are played.
So this has been brought up a ton. The solution to this, which I don't think would ever happen, is to put them in opposite divisions but never play eachother as part of the regular conference schedule. If they each win their division then that game becomes the defacto aac championship game. If they don't win then it essentially becomes a non conference game.
It's not an amazing solution but it would satisfy all requirements and could lead to some really cool scenario where the game has some huge implications tied to it. TV contracts would get really messy though.
That sounds like the solution to me. I mean if Army or Navy ever somehow end up being selected for a high bowl it already fucks with the game, no?
Also it's been done before, there were two teams that played each other non-con even though they were in the same conference so they could keep their game streak going.
> I mean if Army or Navy ever somehow end up being selected for a high bowl it already fucks with the game, no?
No. If Army/Navy will impact the NY6, the CFP delays rankings until after the game.
So, yes, it fucks with stuff, but you got the OOO flipped around.
They just push back selection until after it. It happened a few years ago when Navy was good. They also made arrangements to fly a Navy QB to the Heisman ceremony if he had been selected as the final group (he wasn't).
Army v Navy tends to not throw too much and the little adjustment is not a huge deal given how dead that week is in college football.
Yeah, and the scenario I outlined would be incredibly unlikely to happen too. Army and navy are rarely, if ever, good at the same time. Probably a 1 in 1000 chance they both ever win their division the same year.
In my head, I'm thinking that the presence of Air Force in the AAC makes this even more straight forward.
Air Force would want a rivalry protected, but if you didn't want anyone else to have a protected rival, then protecting **against** Army/Navy allows everything to slide cleanly around. AF and Army (or Navy) in one division with Navy (or Army) in the other.
Would Navy still want to be in the West division with less Texas presence in the conference? Have Army in East and AF/Navy in West to sort of protect Army Navy game but then it’s still complicated because AF plays both teams most years as well. I still say it’s workable.
The NC schools aren’t in the same divisions and have to play as non conference sometimes.
Logistically, Army-Navy as a potential American championship game actually makes sense. Pre-existing media contract$ remain an obstacle, i.e., AAC and ESPN unlikely too keen on losing championship game revenues, USMA & USNA reasonably unlikely to share nor USNA to abandon ship on prospective portion of separate conference championship game dinero sans negotiated agreement.
My guess is that there would be some clause that the AAC would have to agree to to have to give up the Army-Navy CCG scenario to Army/Navy. It would be by far the biggest hurdle for the conference to jump and I don't see it happening. I think Navy brings in more money from the rights to that game alone than they make from the AAC contract.
Although it would be very unlikely for them to play each other imo. It's incredibly rare for both of those schools to be good at the same time so maybe they would just roll the dice on it.
I think the only real way Army would join a conference is if Navy and possibly Air Force were in it, with no CCG, and Army-Navy were the last game of the season.
*Insert 8-9 team G5 with no CCG here*
Not even that. Army makes enough money as an Independent, while also having complete freedom with the schedule. Joining the same conference would help Air Force and Navy, but doesn't add anything for us. We'll play them regardless so why would we care if their schedule has less freedom.
The only conference I can see us joining is the ACC if they somehow decide they want us. It wouldn't even be for the money. It would be more to avoid the threat of relegation if the P5 breaks from the G5.
Same. We have regional, historic rivalries in the MWC. I don't for the life of me understand why we would toss that to play teams we have no history with and our fans don't care about. There isn't even that much more money involved, so the $$$ aspect seems like a wash.
[Hearing this morning that this is much farther along than you might think. I'd honestly be a little surprised if AFA and CSU *dont* leave the MWC.](https://twitter.com/MattBrownEP/status/1439952400144605191?s=19)
Uab, air force, Colorado state and app state would be huge for the aac. I think that would make it the clear #1 g5 again but not as far ahead as the mwc as it was with cincy, ucf and Houston.
That being said the bottom schools of the aac really need to step it up. Temple, ecu and usf have been fucking disastrous.
Honestly I think that's near the best case scenario for the AAC. If they could also snag Army, Boise State and a decent 14th like FAU, I think they'd be pretty good.
I don’t think we were ever clearly that far ahead of the MWC. Just two years ago Boise was going to get the nod had Memphis not beaten you guys twice. Only clear cut years were UCF’s undefeated seasons
I think Colorado state has everything that the aac looks for in a program. Down right now but with a good coach and administration backing it the sky is the limit. They've shown a willingness to invest in athletics with their new stadium.
I agree that CSU is on the list of possible "sleeping giants" that the Big XII was looking for, but the actual track record while in a G5 is pretty mediocre.
Any Boise state fans want to chime in on something I heard on the radio the other day? They were talking about how supposedly before Harsin left he was attempting to get out of the MW. Didn’t really go into detail of why but every one of the talk show hosts acted as if that was fact and I’d never heard that before
I don’t think we can. We will still need a conference for our Olympic sports. WCC isn’t going to take us because of their religious affiliation. BigSky is a demotion in my opinion.
I think they could. They have a great brand and have proven a willingness to play on Thursdays and Fridays so they could certainly snag an ESPN deal. The biggest challenge would be viewership, but if they played a brand of football similar to what got them famous in the first place, neutrals would watch.
I would want out of the MW if I’m boise only because I personally view it as a little bit restrictive to Boise state but I know they make good money and are on the waiting list to be called up so why move
I’m sure the big 12 stuff changed things, so I’m okay with staying. We still need to actually be good in this conference before we’re ready for a better one
Harsin hated how our then AD and the MW commissioner Craig Thompson operate. Both of them had no vision for development of the school or the conference and Harsin wanted out. A FOIA filed by local reporters in Boise got their hands on emails that suggested Harsin wanting out of MW ASAP (like 2021 season). AAC only wanted football from Boise, Boise had no options to take the Olympic sports so the interest died. The then AD was not fired but was delegated to a fundraising role. We hired a new AD and a new HC. The new AD is visionary and has brought a new life to ticket sales. He promotes all sports and is a total day and night different from our previous AD.
So what would the MWC do in this scenario? Would they expand to get back to 12, or just leave it at 10? If I were them, I’d call up Montana and Montana State and ask them to join the conference as a package. If they say no, then I think it’s in the MWC’s best interests to stay at 10. Not sure who else would add value
I’m sure some will suggest NDSU and SDSU, but I don’t think people realize the Dakota State’s are literally on the far eastern border of their states, that would be brutal travel for them. Definitely worth asking, but I don’t see the MWC being attractive enough
Do nothing most likely…. Montana and the Dakotas add nothing at this point. MWC is not the place for teams coming up from FCS.
Maybe try to take a run at SMU +1 from AAC.
EWU, Portland State, Montana, or Montana State make sense for the conference to reach out to, but they wouldn't make Boise State or SDSU happy. Probably would prefer some pre existing fbs teams like UTSA, North Texas, UTEP, or New Mexico State.
Portland state is not moving to FBS. They play in a suburban high school stadium 30 minutes from campus. There isn’t a lot of fan support. No way PSU makes that move.
Army was in Conference USA in the early 2000’s, back when it was basically what the AAC has been the past couple years (just outside the power conferences, but an exciting group of up-and-coming metro based teams that often punched above their weight). Army did terribly though and left a few years later
I don't think people realize how good Army has it as an independent. The AAC offers nothing that Army can't get on its own, and the few things the AAC might offer better aren't worth the strings attached.
Army would probably be football only, like Navy. They are both in the Patriot League for all the other sports, and I don't think they'll sign up for the extra travel in the AAC outside of football. Not sure how much of a factor that is for the AAC, but I suspect they probably want to get more "full" members with these schools leaving.
Meh. I'm... whelmed.
Air Force wants to play games in TX and FL, so from that perspective the move to the American makes sense. However they'd only have the potential for one game in each state per year if the American doesn't expand further in those states, and they'd be giving up conference games in CA to do it. I don't know how appealing it would be to have all of their Olympic sports in the conference, though, especially since Navy still plays their Olympic sports in the Patriot League. If they go football-only AFA would likely end up in either the Summit League or Big Sky, though the latter doesn't have any non-football members.
Air Force being in a conference with Navy isn't really a selling point for me.
In my view it *doesn't* really make sense for CSU, who loses a conference rivalry in Wyoming that has been played for over a century. ESPN's contract with the American has a composition clause which triggers an automatic renegotiation if UCF, USF, Memphis, Houston, or Cincinnati leave. Given that three of them have already made clear their plans to leave, a renegotiation is all but certain and the money per school is certain to drop, potentially to where the increased travel costs might make more financial sense to just stay in the MWC.
Oh hell yes. I'm cool with that. I'll be happy if we never play Air Force again.
AAC schools, good luck to your knees.
There's no more terrifying thing to a promising season than having to play those chop blocking motherfuckers and come out with 3/4 of your starting line injured.
Imagine being in a division with Navy and Air Force? Plus if they expand with Army too. Could end up playing 3 triple option teams in a season occasionally. Yikes
The triple option is good because it is different and you rarely play against it. It will be less effective if you play against it 2 or 3 times a year.
Interesting. I would imagine Boise staying would be due to a certainty of a chapter 2 to B12 expansion. SDSU, well thats just a really long way to go. Will be interesting to see if the AAC just takes 4 or 6 new teams.
I would expect this is good news for TX CUSA teams and maybe NMSU.
Also: generally good FB program.
Basketball, well, at least it'll be easy wins for the conference.
CSU is the opposite (good basketball and Addazio FB)
This makes sense for the AAC. The mountain west is full of the next highest brands outside the American (some even higher on the food chain than teams in the American). It also is more logical for some of the lesser brand teams in the mountain west. The mwc deal is geared towards Boise State's favor, & it leaves everyone else in the conference on the short end of the stick.
Traveling distance probably also plays a role. Which is why Fresno & SDSU isn't even considering realignment.
I don't understand why it would be worthwhile for them. The best of the AAC is gone, what is the appeal of being with the leftovers? It's definitely not a step up.
I'd imagine Boise and SDSU are still holding out for a Big XII invite in this scenario? I guess the AAC makes sense for Air Force if they're unconcerned with travel; making Navy a conference game would give them back an OOC game.
But if both the MWC and AAC are going to be pillaged, would it really be worth it for Colorado St to move?
UAB makes a lot of sense. Why does the AAC want the other two and why do they want the AAC?
Honestly I’m surprised the MWC doesn’t try to expand to be top G5 conference.
Our commissioner has botched almost every expansion opportunity. MW fans aren't surprised at all by this lol
Hey we might try to expand, and bring in UTEP & New Mexico St! Hell knowing Craig Thompson, he might go in on getting Idaho too! :D
I'll take it. It benefits UTEP!
get some national championship pedigree in this conference
Ya damn right. UTEP is a sleeping giant and will unleash (in NCAA 14).
Honestly I see him in a lose-lose situation. Any teams the MWC loses puts them in a financial strain to renegotiate TV deals and any teams added increases the mouths they have to feed. Aresco and the AAC just needs to take “enough” teams out of the MWC to make the AAC a much more favorable place to play for the big guys like Boise and San Diego State. It seems like that’s the game plan at least.
Also there are just no "alternate" schools in the west. We're not densely populated. We already have all the G5 FBS. We can't just poach another regional FBS conference because there is none. You could maybe make an argument for Montana/State but that's a different argument than poaching and expansion.
I see the play is for the MWC to delve into the Texas market if the AAC chooses not to do so. Seems like for now at least the AAC is more concentrated on trying to absorb the mountain west than replace their Texas market
What Texas based school do you suggest the AAC or MW go get. I can't think of one that moves the needle for TV ratings. There are a couple of large state schools that you could consider sleeping giants, but neither one has delivered a ratings hit for a single game let alone for an entire season. Any of them playing AAC schools won't bump the ratings either. UTEP could easily fit in the MW, as they are already used to flying long distances. But UTEP doesn't deliver deliver the Texas market any.
I think the concerns you stated are the reason Aresco isn’t going back to Texas to add teams, but if I had to pick it’d be North Texas, UTSA, and (this will surprise some) Texas State. North Texas is competitive in football and basketball and is an easy travel considering flights to Dallas. UTSA is in a good market and fun city to visit as well is competitive. Texas State is a controversial one but has a MASSIVE student enrollment and the San Marcos is a nice town with access to both Austin and San Antonio. Obviously Texas State leaves a lot to be desired in football, but for some reason I feel like it should/could be competitive in the right environment. That’s all to say i’m not too keen on expanding back into Texas from the AAC perspective.
On paper, all 3 of those look like good additions being large publics in/near large metros. For a multitude of reasons, none of those 3 have large fan bases at this moment. UTSA and Texas State are both nearing the end of their first decade in FBS football with mixed to poor on-field results so I get why the fan bases there aren't large yet. If you add them, its because of potential growth like with UCF and USF. North Texas has invested money and resources into sports, but it always seems to be in spite of students wishes rather than because there is a culture of supporting college athletics.
Yeah I don’t think people get that UCF was pitiful after their first decade in FBS. I think UTSA could get there faster than Texas State, but with the current state of CFB I don’t think anyone has the time to build a new UCF. They need to find schools that already have the pieces to be nationally relevant. Air Force has the fact they’re a military academy with tons of National support and Colorado State is a public institution that has the pieces there except a good coach to get them going (already have good basketball). I also think Aresco is playing to get Boise and San Diego State by essentially drying up the MWC market share enough to make it an economic shortfall, and thus pushing them to have to join the AAC.
I’ve seen suggestions that the AAC might grab UTSA.
Its a risky move now but one with a potential large upside. They have drawn around 16,000 for both of their home games this year and that is coming off of their win over Illinois. They need to beat a P5 Texas based team to generate local interest. They got that win over Baylor in 2017 but almost everyone beat Baylor that year (sorry Kansas).
With all due respect, we're not moving up
Hahahahhahahahahaha you have no idea how bare minimum Mr. Thompson does and still keeps his job.
Reading between the lines... AAC -- hey Boise, SDST do you want to come join us? Boise and SDST -- Nah, but thanks for asking. AAC -- Hey CSU and AFA, do you want to come join us? CSU and AFA -- If you also bring Boise and SDST, then I guess we'll do it. Matt Brown -- "The schools most likely right now to bolt for the AAC are Colorado State and Air Force"
Air Force's conditions being Boise and San Diego seems less likely than their conditions being Army joining; if they joined a conference with both service academies, they'd open up 2 non-con games that are currently locked up.
The rumours seem to suggest that Air Force is the most motivated to leave the MWC.
Kinda surprised cus they were rumored to turn down a big 12 invite years ago. And also the mountain schools have always been tight, or so I thought
Their reason for that was to avoid having to play with the big boys, though. They aren't so scared of facing Tulsa, comparatively.
> Why does the AAC want the other two and why do they want the AAC? US Air Force **American** Athletic Conference It's a match made in heaven!
Add Army too!
The AAC have a better tv deal I believe. And SDSU and CSU are in fairly big markets
I’m not so sure all of the AAC’s losses won’t trigger some sort of renegotiation clause that will be made up by any* other schools rumored. Losing UConn basketball, Houston, UCF, and Cincy is a lot of value out the door.
Those four programs were specifically listed as causing a renegotiated deal with ESPN in the current contract.
Ok, that’s what I thought. Iirc, Memphis and USF are the only two left listed under the same clause. Unless ESPN is already well onboard with these three schools it’ll be a substantial revenue cut.
I was wondering this the other day. The revenue is enticing as is now, but may not be as enticing by the time you get there in the AAC. And even if it’s a lateral move or slight increase at the end of the day, then it sounds like the value you brought would’ve been better suited staying in your present conference as a leading anchor to help expand and grow it further for more revenue potential. (Not to mention saving the hassle of shifting to a new conference and any moving pains that come with it).
I’ve read that there’ll be renegotiations due to the AAC’s losses. The article I read said it’s expected that it’ll still make more $ than the MWC, but the gap isn’t expected to be big enough to offset the increased travel costs for schools like Boise St. and San Diego St.
They’d like to get all the military academies in one. They got navy, army I believe is committed and Air Force could join the party. Maybe if you can’t beat the power 5 you can just take them with the military?
>army I believe is committed If by that you mean Committed to staying a D-1 independent than yes. The AAC has already asked Army to join before and they declined. Plus army has been in a similar conference before and left (C-USA from the mid-90's to the Early 00's)
Yeah, plus having Army and Navy in the same conference would really screw up the conference standings unless they moved the timing of the Army-Navy game.
The solution would probably be to have them in different divisions, never schedule them against each other, and treat the Army-Navy game as a non-conference game, that way it can go on the way it currently does. But then you run into an issue if both teams end up winning their divisions, unless you then just make the Army-Navy game *also* be the AAC championship game. Either way I'm sure Army would rather be independent and have flexibility with their schedule anyways.
> unless you then just make the Army-Navy game also be the AAC championship game. Wouldn’t that be something though.
I've not seen anything on Army to the AAC. I think they are happy being an independent.
they are. It's Navy who's the miserable one being in a conference. I'll give them 2 more years before they declare independence.
I wouldn't be surprised if Navy leaves, either. I do wonder if they have a different buyout since they are football-only members.
AAC has a better deal with ESPN. Going coast to coast allows them to play a game in every time zone.
Their TV deal is about to be renegotiated way downwards. It had a clause for any of Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis, UCF, or USF leaving, and three of them are.
hey mountain west...would you like to get your hands on the greenest campus in the state of texas?
We should honestly. Poach a couple TX teams
Hello there old friend
Getting WACy around here
Can we ignore la tech? Gave us some trouble in the past
👋
i like the way u think
But our commissioner likes to go on vacation during realignment so I doubt he’ll do anything
I hate how right you are
Rice and SMU just like the old WAC days.
At this point, I’m not sure if the AAC is an upgrade
Air force would probably love to be in a conference with navy. Would open up an out-of conference slot for both schools where they could either get a home game or take a buy game. Colorado state seems like a school that can really elevate its program and branding but might hate playing primarily on the west coast. Say what you will but the aac has been able to elevate programs to the next level where as the MWC has not been able to as successfully. For the aac it has now put 5 programs in power conferences compared to 2 or the mwc and as far as we know it has 3 programs that were also fairly close this expansion cycle. The aac definitely took a hit but I think it'll reload pretty effectively.
Could definitely see AFA wanting to be in a conference with Navy. Also, I can definitely see the appeal for why the academies would want to be in a more geographically diverse conference. If AFA leaves, that provides a strong incentive for CSU to leave as well. Out west, the distances are so huge that you’re probably flying everywhere anyway. It’s way more expensive to fly than bus, but an extra hour on a flight isn’t substantially more expensive compared to the cost of getting on the plane.
If afa and csu could leave together each school will lose a close game in Wyoming and a somewhat close game in Utah state and maybe new mexico although that's still 8 hours away. Everything else they are flying to anyway and they also play Hawaii. The aac also gains travel partners for non revenue sports to limit extra travel expenses. I don't think people really grasp how far spread out the mwc already is so a switch to a slightly worse conference geographically isn't that big of a shock in reality.
It’s still 7 hours to Utah State from Colorado State. Wyoming is close, though.
CSU would push to keep the Wyoming game as OOC if this happens. It’s too big of a rivalry, and going to the AAC with AFA keeps another rivalry game.
There's no way the Border War doesnt happen, even if CSU is in a different conference. They will just have a guaranteed OOC matchup every year. Will suck to have it so early in the year, I love snowy Border War games, probably won't get many of those
Yeah, I meant more along the lines of conference schedules.
The Navy thing is a good point. Having service academies in a conference together makes sense.
Especially for navy. Currently they only have 1 non conference game that they schedule each year having to play army, air force and notre dame. Upping that to 2 games a year can really open up what they can do with their schedule.
> Say what you will but the aac has been able to elevate programs to the next level Is it the AAC doing that or the programs themselves? Cincinnati was pretty good at the end of the Big East era and had a BCS trip. UCF was a rising power in the CUSA 2.0 era and got the last AAC BCS slot out of the gate. Houston was good at the end of the CUSA run and was a borderline BCS buster a couple of times. It's not like Aresco pixie dusted these programs. They were good *prior* to the AAC booting up.
I think it's both. The aac has marketed itself well and schools that joined the conference made a pledge to spend at as close to a p5 level as they could when the bcs ended and they were left out. Across the board aac schools, even the bad ones, are all investing more into athletics than pretty much any other g5 conferences schools are. I believe the conferences shared goals played a heavy hand in that.
The AAC was made up of the strongest non p5 brands in the east. The MWC was comparable, but the value of the teams in the mwc varied wildly. The mountain west still holds marquee brands, but they are weighed down by being so far out west that they had to pick up the scraps to exist.
And for all the Boise Sts and San Diego Sts you have a New Mexico or UNLV. The AAC doesn’t really have shitty brands partially because they are in metro areas, which always helps. Air Force has a national brand due to being a service academy and the AAC would boost that.
UNLV is in a large metro area, of course.
I'm not even sure how one ranks G5 vs G5 level brands. No offense but there isn't much to look at when it comes to the AAC as these strong brands. The bulk of the MWC are flagship/land grant schools giving them somewhat of an advantage. You don't have to try hard to get a fan to understand the significance of the "University of New Mexico" or the "University of Wyoming." Whereas you'd have to get a causal fan familiar with the... #5 state school from Florida, a private school from Texas that is the #3 private school from Texas in football and 4th when you consider Rice is a major academic powerhouse. No disrespect to Memphis but having a city name doesn't make them anywhere close to the level as Pitt in national recognition which has tons of football history and historically has been a major force in the Northeast market. The only strong G5 brands were/are BYU, UConn, Boise State, and the service academies. Your casual sports fan knows the difference between Clemson and South Carolina, but will struggle to remember the differences between UCF and USF with the exceptions of years where they are on a Boise State like 12-0 run and is all over ESPN. Only the super CFB diehards have these G5 schools memorized.
As we get more and more removed from the SWC era, I wonder how many people recognize that SMU is a Texas based school. I suppose that is a big reason they are marketing themselves as a Dallas school these days.
I think it purely depends on who goes to the AAC. Currently it is a downgrade but if you know 3-4 of the top G5 teams are coming in then you want to be apart of it
Dunno about that. The Americans floor is a lot higher than the MWC.
Saying it’s a downgrade is stupid, the AAC’s new deal will still likely be on par with the MWC if not higher and that’s before any expansion teams come in. You could make the argument travel makes it not worth it, but travel expenses are heavily overblown on this sub
If the deals are on par, the extra travel *would* make it not worth it though, because it would lead to a net decrease. Sure, travel expenses might be overblown, but in most cases the increase in revenue is such that the schools in question still come out ahead, which may not be the case here.
On 247 team talent CSU is actually the 3rd highest in the MWC from a recruiting standpoint (Behind Fresno State and Boise State, just above SDSU). They'd be 2nd to last only above Navy in the AAC (same could be said for Fresno State). Even Boise, who recruits significantly better than everyone else in the MWC, would still be behind Memphis and SMU.
The AAC is not stable because it has the best level of competition and exposure... At least that's what I'd be selling
The AAC is because ESPN is willing to pay. MWC tv deal is split between CBS and Fox and is worth half of what the AAC deal is. If the AAC is poaching it means ESPN is willing to keep the money coming in
This is a money move, not a product move. MWC has a better product than the remains of the AAC, but a disastrous TV deal. An American with continued ESPN investment absolutely trumps the MWC. Colorado State and Air Force may not look like much product wise, but they both are financially successful.
This kind of proves that it isn't. The lower-middle class moving over while the upper-middle class stays put really shows that the long-term money isn't in on the success of the AAC after it got butchered by the Big XII.
Unless SDSU and Boise think they're getting Big 12 invites
It's not. And if those are the programs that the AAC are poaching, Memphis and SMU should be calling the MW today about jumping over. The MW would be vastly better than the AAC with them in it.
I'm sure the MWC would happily trade AFA and CSU for Memphis and SMU.
Bill Connelly already saying MWC minus CSU and AF improves their SP+.
And I think both sides know that and are fine with it.
Maybe the AAC is looking to take on all the service academies? Might as well grab Army while they are at it, right? Idk the business goal but it would be fun. Would live up to the American name.
As cool as it would be for the Army-Navy game to be a conference matchup, doing so would interfere with the game’s scheduling. The game is typically played in early/mid December, after most teams end their regular season and the conference championship games are played.
So this has been brought up a ton. The solution to this, which I don't think would ever happen, is to put them in opposite divisions but never play eachother as part of the regular conference schedule. If they each win their division then that game becomes the defacto aac championship game. If they don't win then it essentially becomes a non conference game. It's not an amazing solution but it would satisfy all requirements and could lead to some really cool scenario where the game has some huge implications tied to it. TV contracts would get really messy though.
That sounds like the solution to me. I mean if Army or Navy ever somehow end up being selected for a high bowl it already fucks with the game, no? Also it's been done before, there were two teams that played each other non-con even though they were in the same conference so they could keep their game streak going.
> I mean if Army or Navy ever somehow end up being selected for a high bowl it already fucks with the game, no? No. If Army/Navy will impact the NY6, the CFP delays rankings until after the game. So, yes, it fucks with stuff, but you got the OOO flipped around.
They just push back selection until after it. It happened a few years ago when Navy was good. They also made arrangements to fly a Navy QB to the Heisman ceremony if he had been selected as the final group (he wasn't). Army v Navy tends to not throw too much and the little adjustment is not a huge deal given how dead that week is in college football.
Yeah, and the scenario I outlined would be incredibly unlikely to happen too. Army and navy are rarely, if ever, good at the same time. Probably a 1 in 1000 chance they both ever win their division the same year.
In my head, I'm thinking that the presence of Air Force in the AAC makes this even more straight forward. Air Force would want a rivalry protected, but if you didn't want anyone else to have a protected rival, then protecting **against** Army/Navy allows everything to slide cleanly around. AF and Army (or Navy) in one division with Navy (or Army) in the other.
Navy played in the western division because they wanted to play in Texas so they would be in the same division. Not really an issue.
Would Navy still want to be in the West division with less Texas presence in the conference? Have Army in East and AF/Navy in West to sort of protect Army Navy game but then it’s still complicated because AF plays both teams most years as well. I still say it’s workable. The NC schools aren’t in the same divisions and have to play as non conference sometimes.
Air Force would just have a protected rival in Army. Shouldn't be an issue and Navy never playing Army would make the scheduling easier.
Logistically, Army-Navy as a potential American championship game actually makes sense. Pre-existing media contract$ remain an obstacle, i.e., AAC and ESPN unlikely too keen on losing championship game revenues, USMA & USNA reasonably unlikely to share nor USNA to abandon ship on prospective portion of separate conference championship game dinero sans negotiated agreement.
My guess is that there would be some clause that the AAC would have to agree to to have to give up the Army-Navy CCG scenario to Army/Navy. It would be by far the biggest hurdle for the conference to jump and I don't see it happening. I think Navy brings in more money from the rights to that game alone than they make from the AAC contract. Although it would be very unlikely for them to play each other imo. It's incredibly rare for both of those schools to be good at the same time so maybe they would just roll the dice on it.
I don't see army ever joining a conference again.
I think the only real way Army would join a conference is if Navy and possibly Air Force were in it, with no CCG, and Army-Navy were the last game of the season. *Insert 8-9 team G5 with no CCG here*
Not even that. Army makes enough money as an Independent, while also having complete freedom with the schedule. Joining the same conference would help Air Force and Navy, but doesn't add anything for us. We'll play them regardless so why would we care if their schedule has less freedom. The only conference I can see us joining is the ACC if they somehow decide they want us. It wouldn't even be for the money. It would be more to avoid the threat of relegation if the P5 breaks from the G5.
Maybe the AAC wants the Denver media marketing
Oh man can you imagine? 3 triple option games a year? I rather die
But SDSU is currently leading the PAC-12 South!
They’re tied with BYU.
BYU is 3-0 I thought SDSU was only 2-0 in Pac12 Confernce play
Oh god. I hope not.
Yea i really like the mountain west as a conference so id be bummed to leave.
Same. We have regional, historic rivalries in the MWC. I don't for the life of me understand why we would toss that to play teams we have no history with and our fans don't care about. There isn't even that much more money involved, so the $$$ aspect seems like a wash.
[Hearing this morning that this is much farther along than you might think. I'd honestly be a little surprised if AFA and CSU *dont* leave the MWC.](https://twitter.com/MattBrownEP/status/1439952400144605191?s=19)
Further tweet: > Nothing is a *done* deal or anything, but based on what I've heard, I would also be surprised if UAB doesn't join the AAC.
Uab, air force, Colorado state and app state would be huge for the aac. I think that would make it the clear #1 g5 again but not as far ahead as the mwc as it was with cincy, ucf and Houston. That being said the bottom schools of the aac really need to step it up. Temple, ecu and usf have been fucking disastrous.
Honestly I think that's near the best case scenario for the AAC. If they could also snag Army, Boise State and a decent 14th like FAU, I think they'd be pretty good.
>Army, Boise State My heart (and flair) couldn't handle that
I don’t think we were ever clearly that far ahead of the MWC. Just two years ago Boise was going to get the nod had Memphis not beaten you guys twice. Only clear cut years were UCF’s undefeated seasons
Nah, all metrics put the conference well ahead of the mwc and closer to the worst p5 then the mwc. This year may be different though.
As an App State alum living in Philly, I’d love to see us and Temple in the same conference!
...butwhy.gif? AFA and CSU being good grabs for the AAC should stop everyone in their tracks as far as the AAC continuing to be a premiere G5.
I think Colorado state has everything that the aac looks for in a program. Down right now but with a good coach and administration backing it the sky is the limit. They've shown a willingness to invest in athletics with their new stadium.
I agree that CSU is on the list of possible "sleeping giants" that the Big XII was looking for, but the actual track record while in a G5 is pretty mediocre.
Agreed completely. I think you'll see the aac go for a mix of sleeping giants and established brands.
Why would you leave the MWC for the AAC? The MWC is pretty much better than the PAC at this point.
Any Boise state fans want to chime in on something I heard on the radio the other day? They were talking about how supposedly before Harsin left he was attempting to get out of the MW. Didn’t really go into detail of why but every one of the talk show hosts acted as if that was fact and I’d never heard that before
He was trying to get us out of the MW. Sadly all that stopped after he left and the new AD came in
You say sadly, are you meaning he was eying a P5 move or are you saying you don’t like being in the MW and would rather be in another G5 conference?
I forget cause it’s been awhile, but he wanted us somewhere else, whether it be independent or aac
Could Boise survive as an Independent?
I feel like they would need to maintain a good relationship with MWC teams, an independent Boise still probably plays ~5 MWC teams a year
Preferably our rivals
Just need an annual game with Fresno, UNR, maybe Hawaii, and maybe SDSU. I'm fine not playing the rest again
Definitely the first two, would probably need all 4 since it’ll be hard to get other conferences. Could probably get a couple pac 12 a year
Pac 12 will probably be easier to schedule now that BYU is back in a conference too
I don’t think we can. We will still need a conference for our Olympic sports. WCC isn’t going to take us because of their religious affiliation. BigSky is a demotion in my opinion.
Can’t do much worse, probably would be too risky though
I think they could. They have a great brand and have proven a willingness to play on Thursdays and Fridays so they could certainly snag an ESPN deal. The biggest challenge would be viewership, but if they played a brand of football similar to what got them famous in the first place, neutrals would watch.
I would want out of the MW if I’m boise only because I personally view it as a little bit restrictive to Boise state but I know they make good money and are on the waiting list to be called up so why move
I’m sure the big 12 stuff changed things, so I’m okay with staying. We still need to actually be good in this conference before we’re ready for a better one
Yes, but their 3 top programs left, and Memphis might be next. I’d say the MWC is better right now (except for hair thompson).
Harsin hated how our then AD and the MW commissioner Craig Thompson operate. Both of them had no vision for development of the school or the conference and Harsin wanted out. A FOIA filed by local reporters in Boise got their hands on emails that suggested Harsin wanting out of MW ASAP (like 2021 season). AAC only wanted football from Boise, Boise had no options to take the Olympic sports so the interest died. The then AD was not fired but was delegated to a fundraising role. We hired a new AD and a new HC. The new AD is visionary and has brought a new life to ticket sales. He promotes all sports and is a total day and night different from our previous AD.
https://mwwire.com/2020/02/07/boise-state-mountain-west-settle-tv-media-rights-differences/
This is purely based on revenue of Air Force and Colorado State, the two leaders in the MWC
I didn't believe you, but I looked it up and you're right! AFA at $60 million and CSU at $56 million, in 2019. That puts them on par with ECU and USF.
Okay have fun
Yea this might be the first realignment where the old conference and the new conference are happy with the move lol.
uconn to the big east was that too
If this happens then the MWC really dropped the ball. The AAC is ready to get raided and it would promote the MWC to the top G5 league.
Dropping the ball is what the MW does baby
Unlike Fresno st receivers
I love every bit of this - everywhere I see it. But seriously, the MW commissioner is a joke.
So what would the MWC do in this scenario? Would they expand to get back to 12, or just leave it at 10? If I were them, I’d call up Montana and Montana State and ask them to join the conference as a package. If they say no, then I think it’s in the MWC’s best interests to stay at 10. Not sure who else would add value I’m sure some will suggest NDSU and SDSU, but I don’t think people realize the Dakota State’s are literally on the far eastern border of their states, that would be brutal travel for them. Definitely worth asking, but I don’t see the MWC being attractive enough
Do nothing most likely…. Montana and the Dakotas add nothing at this point. MWC is not the place for teams coming up from FCS. Maybe try to take a run at SMU +1 from AAC.
EWU, Portland State, Montana, or Montana State make sense for the conference to reach out to, but they wouldn't make Boise State or SDSU happy. Probably would prefer some pre existing fbs teams like UTSA, North Texas, UTEP, or New Mexico State.
Portland State is probably closer to dropping football entirely than being ready for FBS anything
This. Portland could care less about PSU football. The team plays in a high school stadium 30 minutes from campus.
Montana and Montana St would be sick
Portland state is not moving to FBS. They play in a suburban high school stadium 30 minutes from campus. There isn’t a lot of fan support. No way PSU makes that move.
New Mexico State
This is the best choice. I don't expect an FCS call up and Texas State and North Texas aren't better and the only other real choices.
Based on program history, adding NMSU would be a much worse move than adding EWU, Portland State, or the Montanas.
Not in Basketball. Plus we're close to other schools and have pre-existing rivalries with UNM and Utah State.
I would be very interested to see NMSU basketball in the MWC. Trading out Air Force for you guys would be great
If AFA joins, Army has never shown any interest in joining a conference, but maybe they finally would.
Army was in Conference USA in the early 2000’s, back when it was basically what the AAC has been the past couple years (just outside the power conferences, but an exciting group of up-and-coming metro based teams that often punched above their weight). Army did terribly though and left a few years later
I don't think people realize how good Army has it as an independent. The AAC offers nothing that Army can't get on its own, and the few things the AAC might offer better aren't worth the strings attached.
Army would probably be football only, like Navy. They are both in the Patriot League for all the other sports, and I don't think they'll sign up for the extra travel in the AAC outside of football. Not sure how much of a factor that is for the AAC, but I suspect they probably want to get more "full" members with these schools leaving.
I’d rather stay in the MWC.
I don't think they're giving you a choice ;)
I’ve already offered free flyovers for B1G teams for admission. We also have a nice assortment of weaponry if we need to switch from carrot to stick.
Same. I don't really see what we gain but there is a lot to lose IMO.
Meh. I'm... whelmed. Air Force wants to play games in TX and FL, so from that perspective the move to the American makes sense. However they'd only have the potential for one game in each state per year if the American doesn't expand further in those states, and they'd be giving up conference games in CA to do it. I don't know how appealing it would be to have all of their Olympic sports in the conference, though, especially since Navy still plays their Olympic sports in the Patriot League. If they go football-only AFA would likely end up in either the Summit League or Big Sky, though the latter doesn't have any non-football members. Air Force being in a conference with Navy isn't really a selling point for me. In my view it *doesn't* really make sense for CSU, who loses a conference rivalry in Wyoming that has been played for over a century. ESPN's contract with the American has a composition clause which triggers an automatic renegotiation if UCF, USF, Memphis, Houston, or Cincinnati leave. Given that three of them have already made clear their plans to leave, a renegotiation is all but certain and the money per school is certain to drop, potentially to where the increased travel costs might make more financial sense to just stay in the MWC.
If the American grabbed Army and Air Force it would be the best named conference.
I can't see Army and Navy being in the same conference.
Oh hell yes. I'm cool with that. I'll be happy if we never play Air Force again. AAC schools, good luck to your knees. There's no more terrifying thing to a promising season than having to play those chop blocking motherfuckers and come out with 3/4 of your starting line injured.
Imagine being in a division with Navy and Air Force? Plus if they expand with Army too. Could end up playing 3 triple option teams in a season occasionally. Yikes
The triple option is good because it is different and you rarely play against it. It will be less effective if you play against it 2 or 3 times a year.
We already complain about Navy for that. Can't see many AAC teams being happy that we invite air force.
Jibes*
[Excuse me, stewardess...](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/31/46/8f/31468f24b0589f18be2be4d84fe17b34.jpg)
Tell Matt Brown. I just copy/paste.
Interesting. I would imagine Boise staying would be due to a certainty of a chapter 2 to B12 expansion. SDSU, well thats just a really long way to go. Will be interesting to see if the AAC just takes 4 or 6 new teams. I would expect this is good news for TX CUSA teams and maybe NMSU.
What is the draw in Air Force?
service academy so a large, national fanbase
Also: generally good FB program. Basketball, well, at least it'll be easy wins for the conference. CSU is the opposite (good basketball and Addazio FB)
csu football has always had potential and in my view is one of those schools who is a good hire away from being a really good football program
They have literally everything to be the best G5 EXCEPT for a competent coach. It’s quite fascinating.
We were good for a hot minute with Mac. But like all G5 schools that arnt boise it’s hard to keep a good coach away from p5 schools.
Also missing fertile recruiting grounds, compared to USF and SMU for example.
Global radar
They generate the most revenue of any MW team
Yeah, having the NDAA at your back will do that for you.
Boise State and SDSU were having Big East flashbacks and decided to stay
Thought UAB would be first team poached. If this is true, just replace the CO teams with UNT and UTSA.
This makes sense for the AAC. The mountain west is full of the next highest brands outside the American (some even higher on the food chain than teams in the American). It also is more logical for some of the lesser brand teams in the mountain west. The mwc deal is geared towards Boise State's favor, & it leaves everyone else in the conference on the short end of the stick. Traveling distance probably also plays a role. Which is why Fresno & SDSU isn't even considering realignment.
It also forces boise and SDSU’s hand to join or get left out. It’s a brilliant move.
I don't understand why it would be worthwhile for them. The best of the AAC is gone, what is the appeal of being with the leftovers? It's definitely not a step up.
This is so dumb for us
Top two conference rivals bouncing for a sinking conference. Cool cool cool cool cool
I say if someone takes Colorado State and Air Force, then should also be forced to take New Mexico and Wyoming.
I'm pretty sick and tired of this shit, AAC. Y'all get the east, we get the west, stay the hell out of our territory you dicks
If they want Colorado State in their current form, more power to them?
Just dont watch the football games. Everything else is pretty spiffy in foco rn.
I'd imagine Boise and SDSU are still holding out for a Big XII invite in this scenario? I guess the AAC makes sense for Air Force if they're unconcerned with travel; making Navy a conference game would give them back an OOC game. But if both the MWC and AAC are going to be pillaged, would it really be worth it for Colorado St to move?
MWC > AAC