Would Ohio University be a candidate in a realignment discussion? They have an average football team with a large student body and make geographic sense for 'West Virginia Island'. Obviously, I'd love to have the Clemson and Florida States of the world, but it's not going to happen. I think its time we start building teams up that have the resources, tv landscape, and potential to grow into an actual power 5 school. We will be screwed out of the playoff at least every other year. Can you tell the Texas Tech/TCU match up has me nervous?
My list of realistic additions:
Ohio (Realistic, and the BIG12 probably gets a return on investment in 3-5 years)
Cincy (Realistic, and gets an immediate ROI)
SMU (Don't love it but better than Memphis/Houston)
Colorado State (They are taking the necessary steps...winning and new stadium)
Arkansas (Unrealistic, but the SEC might give them away after this year)
NEVER:
Memphis (Did you watch their bowl game - it was a jail yard brawl)
Houston (Bleh....lame!)
BYU (I like to drink...can't imagine a worse tailgate)
Tulsa (Doesn't add any value....ever)
Tulane (Never understood the logic)
UCF (Maybe...but do they really have an identity?)
Add the top two from the realistic list, and keep the next two on the line. If some new wrinkle comes into play you can add SMU/Colorado State quickly. You have to make them think they have shot of getting in with out actually adding them, so they'll continue to pump other peoples money into their programs until you desperately need them. You can say the super conference system is flawed, but if your conference is shut out from national stage....you're screwed come renegotiation time!
My list of realistic additions:
Ohio (Realistic, and the BIG12 probably gets a return on investment in 3-5 years)
Cincy (Realistic, and gets an immediate ROI)
SMU (Don't love it but better than Memphis/Houston)
Colorado State (They are taking the necessary steps...winning and new stadium)
Arkansas (Unrealistic, but the SEC might give them away after this year)
NEVER:
Memphis (Did you watch their bowl game - it was a jail yard brawl)
Houston (Bleh....lame!)
BYU (I like to drink...can't imagine a worse tailgate)
Tulsa (Doesn't add any value....ever)
Tulane (Never understood the logic)
UCF (Maybe...but do they really have an identity?)
Add the top two from the realistic list, and keep the next two on the line. If some new wrinkle comes into play you can add SMU/Colorado State quickly. You have to make them think they have shot of getting in with out actually adding them, so they'll continue to pump other peoples money into their programs until you desperately need them. You can say the super conference system is flawed, but if your conference is shut out from national stage....you're screwed come renegotiation time!
