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Post by catfanatic on Oct 3, 2021 19:58:40 GMT -6
Realignment thought- both the ASUN and WAC are thinking about moving from FCS to FBS. Such a move may well be feasible for some member schools in each conference and cost prohibitive for others. Is it possible that the two conferences somehow converge snd we wind up with one FBS and one FCS conference? I know that only about 10% of college athletic programs were profitable enough to break even The requirements of Title IX which guarantee gender equality for boys and girls sports is somewhat responsible, because women's sports are not as profitable as men's sports. If ACU were to jump to FBS, the extra 22 football scholarships would increase costs significantly. Don’t disagree, however, IMHO, ACU has no business considering anything beyond fully funding its current athletic program.
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Post by OscarWildeCat, Admin on Oct 4, 2021 2:23:04 GMT -6
I know that only about 10% of college athletic programs were profitable enough to break even The requirements of Title IX which guarantee gender equality for boys and girls sports is somewhat responsible, because women's sports are not as profitable as men's sports. If ACU were to jump to FBS, the extra 22 football scholarships would increase costs significantly. Don’t disagree, however, IMHO, ACU has no business considering anything beyond fully funding its current athletic program. Agreed. ACU simply doesn’t have the enrollment or athletic department endowment to fund a credible FBS program. Right now, it is a struggle to fund our current FCS budget.
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Post by rc on Oct 4, 2021 17:25:58 GMT -6
It is a time for caution and thorough planning for universities. Every expert I hear (and I hear from some very respected leaders) speaks with caution about the next few years of university education. I worry about endowments, for example. I worry about what kind of education students are getting. Are they going to contribute greater value to our future? We could be in for a less than great economic cycle. Hopefully not, and we can recover quickly but it really is a time of uncertainty. This affects donations and endowments. ACU is better off than many universities but we don't have a state standing behind us since we are a private, religious related institution. Look at our friends both in Louisiana and New Mexico. I would certainly advise them to be cautious and focus on doing what they do well. Would love to hear counter opinions, but for now I am happy with the performance of ACU in this time of challenge. I think ACU should continue to aspire to a laudable performance in the division one FCS level we are in while focusing on student success -- something our school does pretty well.
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Post by jaminthebody on Oct 22, 2021 18:37:15 GMT -6
It looks like Conference USA will likely be down to 5 schools. What would happen if they start approaching WAC schools?
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archsimon
arm chair Grad Assistant
Posts: 239
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Post by archsimon on Oct 22, 2021 19:18:52 GMT -6
On another thread it was mentioned CUSA has contacted New Mexico State, Tarleton and Sam Houston State. If true, looks like the WAC was over for ACU before it began.
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Post by jaminthebody on Oct 22, 2021 19:30:54 GMT -6
Sam moving has been discussed on another thread. With their attendance numbers in the last 3 years, it seems unlikely. Tarleton moving from D2 to FBS in 2 or 3 years would be almost incomprehensible. NM State makes sense given their rivalry with UTEP. The exit fees should be astronomical for leaving a rebuilding conference. If I were the remaining schools, I would ask for somewhere in the $3MM range.
The best case for ACU would be some sort of merger.
Some other dominoes that could fall is what happens to the non-football schools leaving the Sun Belt. Does that create an scenario where UT Arlington moves to the WAC? Could they start a football program on the same timeline as RGV?
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Post by OscarWildeCat, Admin on Oct 23, 2021 4:09:38 GMT -6
Sam moving has been discussed on another thread. With their attendance numbers in the last 3 years, it seems unlikely. Tarleton moving from D2 to FBS in 2 or 3 years would be almost incomprehensible. NM State makes sense given their rivalry with UTEP. The exit fees should be astronomical for leaving a rebuilding conference. If I were the remaining schools, I would ask for somewhere in the $3MM range. The best case for ACU would be some sort of merger. Some other dominoes that could fall is what happens to the non-football schools leaving the Sun Belt. Does that create an scenario where UT Arlington moves to the WAC? Could they start a football program on the same timeline as RGV? Sam could deal with the attendance requirement the same way NMSU meets the 15000 threshold. Fobd a benefactor to purchase 10000 tickets that go unused. I don’t know what the WAC exit fee is but CUSA could cover it for departing schools from the fees they will collect from schools that are bailing out if their conference. If and when NMSU, Sam and Tarleton leave, the WAC would be left with ACU, SFA, Lamar and Dixie State as current fb schools. UTRGV us a maybe and Southern Utah is scheduled to onboard next year IF they don’t change their minds in light of the defections. UTA would be a great replacement if they opt for football. Does WTAMU move to the front burner?
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Post by catfanatic on Oct 23, 2021 13:41:56 GMT -6
Sam moving has been discussed on another thread. With their attendance numbers in the last 3 years, it seems unlikely. Tarleton moving from D2 to FBS in 2 or 3 years would be almost incomprehensible. NM State makes sense given their rivalry with UTEP. The exit fees should be astronomical for leaving a rebuilding conference. If I were the remaining schools, I would ask for somewhere in the $3MM range. The best case for ACU would be some sort of merger. Some other dominoes that could fall is what happens to the non-football schools leaving the Sun Belt. Does that create an scenario where UT Arlington moves to the WAC? Could they start a football program on the same timeline as RGV? Sam could deal with the attendance requirement the same way NMSU meets the 15000 threshold. Fobd a benefactor to purchase 10000 tickets that go unused. I don’t know what the WAC exit fee is but CUSA could cover it for departing schools from the fees they will collect from schools that are bailing out if their conference. If and when NMSU, Sam and Tarleton leave, the WAC would be left with ACU, SFA, Lamar and Dixie State as current fb schools. UTRGV us a maybe and Southern Utah is scheduled to onboard next year IF they don’t change their minds in light of the defections. UTA would be a great replacement if they opt for football. Does WTAMU move to the front burner? IMHO, UIW, in a more densely populated and, therefore, more lucrative media market, looks like a better target than WT.
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Post by jaminthebody on Oct 30, 2021 9:30:49 GMT -6
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Post by jaminthebody on Oct 30, 2021 9:33:51 GMT -6
Sam could deal with the attendance requirement the same way NMSU meets the 15000 threshold. Fobd a benefactor to purchase 10000 tickets that go unused. I don’t know what the WAC exit fee is but CUSA could cover it for departing schools from the fees they will collect from schools that are bailing out if their conference. If and when NMSU, Sam and Tarleton leave, the WAC would be left with ACU, SFA, Lamar and Dixie State as current fb schools. UTRGV us a maybe and Southern Utah is scheduled to onboard next year IF they don’t change their minds in light of the defections. UTA would be a great replacement if they opt for football. Does WTAMU move to the front burner? IMHO, UIW, in a more densely populated and, therefore, more lucrative media market, looks like a better target than WT. There are two schools of thought among realignment. The first in densely populated, large media areas are good for conferences. And the second is large, loyal fan bases that are best for conferences. It seems to me the “large population and media base” argument has lost some steam over the last 5 or 10 years.
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Post by OscarWildeCat, Admin on Oct 30, 2021 9:39:26 GMT -6
That was a really fun read. Thanks for the link.
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