AAC just lost their big 3

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

From the Big Six to the Big Sux, time for App to save another conference?

[MtnMan09]

Why would we not go to the AAC if we could bring UL with us? Coastal has had one good season and who knows what GaSou is doing down there.

Wouldn't playing SMU, ECU, Navy, Memphis (who the powers that be all look at as better than the Sunbelt traditionally) be better than playing South Alabama, Texas State, ULM, Georgia State, Troy and even Ark. State? Those remaining AAC schools (including USF who is having some down years) are more "name brand" opponents than who we are currently playing. I like the Sunbelt but lets not pretend that having guaranteed games against ECU, Memphis, and Navy wouldnt pack the Rock and get people excited.

I do think we need to be bring UL with us.

[The Rock]

Who knows what the TV deal for AAC looks like sans big 3. would it still be lucrative enough for us to benefit the move accounting for increased expenses? Could sunbelt absorbing a few of the AAC better remaining teams be a better deal if someone could make it happen?

[Stonewall]

My two cents of what will or is happening.

ESPN is going to try to create the mega g4 conference using the AAC. 16 team with East and West.
Marshall Charlotte App and ECU, Georgia St., ODU, USF, Temple in a division.

I think Georgia Southern gets left behind in the Sunbelt and JMU and Liberty added to the Sunbelt.

ESPN is going to try to add the brands they want from Conf-USA.

The JMU fans seem to think they’re going to the SEC.

JM who?

[bigdaddyg]

You might as well just call each season the Alabama elimination pool. Some coaches who lost have already accepted their fate.

[hotrod2001]

The question is do we need to be in the AAC to reach the playoff? TBD playoff expansion changes everything. Same reason why Clemson doesn’t need to be in the SEC or Big10. They can reach the playoff right where they are.

Yes.

Unless we have another year like 2020 where a bunch of schools are inactive, which I doubt will happen. Coastal probably had the most realistic chance but there was no way they would have been considered over Memphis or Cincinnati. AAC will always be that NY6 well unless Boise State or BYU do something spectacular.

I completely disagree with this take. The Sun Belt has significantly increased their brand and was the only G5 conference with 2 pre season top 25 teams. Yes, historically the AAC has been the cream but with those schools that were the cream of the AAC leaving, it becomes not much of a football conference. Honestly, what football teams of the remaining 8 do you think are better than App, or Louisiana? Not to mention Ark State, Ga Southern or even Coastal who have all on conference titles (or a share of) within the past 8 years. I give you Memphis and to some degree Navy (more so because of what those kids do for our country) but other than that I just don't see a better football conference. Yeah SMU finally has a pulse and may continue to thrive with name image and likeness but that's about it on the football side. USF, Tulsa and Tulane have a decent season every once and a while but no real history of greatness. ECU would be good simply of in state rivalry but we can get that with OOC games. And Temple rounds it out as a pretty much crappy football program, yes it has had an occasional decent season in recent memory but it has been dreadful the majority of the time. I just don't see that being a better conference because once those 3 teams leave the AAC, the tv contract will go with it.

Yeah but still even without those three it's still Memphis and the other top AAC's schools' spot to lose. It's like every year it's Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State and Oklahoma as the top teams in the nation...and frankly they stay there until one loses, it's just that is what they do. With the G6, unless they leave or have an utter collapse, will always be Memphis, Boise State, UCF and Cincy unless they allow themselves to lose...and even if they do and an App, Coastal, Lousiana, stAte, Liberty is on fire, they'll still dance around bs like strength of schedule or some other thing to have their name mentioned. If Coastal runs the table again maybe they'll be in the loop, but those other teams are always going to be there regardless of what happens in the Sun Belt, and its completely unfair because we have proven for the last three years to be the #1 or #2 G5 conference in the league by a wide margin.

[t4pizza]

Yeah, I just can't get on board with that pessimistic view. We need to take care of what we can and hope our conference mates continue to do so as well. If that all happens, and the AAC loses its top 3, I think a Sun Belt champ as the G5 representative is very doable.

[spacemonkey]

Yahoo Sports
What's next in college football realignment? A common sense plan to bond Group of 5
Pete Thamel
Pete Thamel
Tue, September 7, 2021, 4:27 PM


Consider this a back-of-the-napkin idea for how to re-organize the Group of Five. And the collective power of the 60 or so schools could end up yielding a decent-sized television contract that could end up being weighted to the teams that command the most streams and eyeballs. And it can be done without Old Dominion and UTEP or SMU and East Carolina being in the same league but nearly 2,000 miles apart.

Again, TV money dictates everything in college sports. And a tangle of TV contracts make this more ideal in theory than reality. So the determination of value would ultimately come down to the details and the consultants. But consider this a haymaker for common sense and a better future for athletes and schools.

This is what a new Group of Five could look like:

West Coast League (14)

Division 1
Hawaii
Fresno State
Nevada
UNLV
San Diego State
San Jose State
Utah State

Division 2
Air Force
Boise State
Colorado State
New Mexico
Wyoming
UTEP
New Mexico State

Southwest League (16)

Division 1
Tulsa
SMU
North Texas
UTSA
Texas State
Rice
Arkansas State
Memphis

Division 2

Louisiana Tech
Louisiana
Louisiana-Monroe
Tulane
UAB
Southern Miss
Troy
South Alabama

Southeast League (14)

Division I

FAU
FIU
USF
Georgia State
Georgia Southern
Middle Tennessee
Liberty

Division 2
Coastal Carolina
Charlotte
East Carolina
Appalachian State
Marshall
Western Kentucky
Old Dominion


I would rather be with the Georgia schools than the Western Kentucky and Old Dominion.

Here is the full article: https://sports.yahoo.com/alabama-aside- ... 04848.html

[t4pizza]

That is actually a pretty good way to reorganized teams into logical regional conferences. Makes way too much sense for anybody to actually do it.

[AppfaninCAALand]

Yahoo Sports
What's next in college football realignment? A common sense plan to bond Group of 5
Pete Thamel
Pete Thamel
Tue, September 7, 2021, 4:27 PM


Consider this a back-of-the-napkin idea for how to re-organize the Group of Five. And the collective power of the 60 or so schools could end up yielding a decent-sized television contract that could end up being weighted to the teams that command the most streams and eyeballs. And it can be done without Old Dominion and UTEP or SMU and East Carolina being in the same league but nearly 2,000 miles apart.

Again, TV money dictates everything in college sports. And a tangle of TV contracts make this more ideal in theory than reality. So the determination of value would ultimately come down to the details and the consultants. But consider this a haymaker for common sense and a better future for athletes and schools.

This is what a new Group of Five could look like:

West Coast League (14)

Division 1
Hawaii
Fresno State
Nevada
UNLV
San Diego State
San Jose State
Utah State

Division 2
Air Force
Boise State
Colorado State
New Mexico
Wyoming
UTEP
New Mexico State

Southwest League (16)

Division 1
Tulsa
SMU
North Texas
UTSA
Texas State
Rice
Arkansas State
Memphis

Division 2

Louisiana Tech
Louisiana
Louisiana-Monroe
Tulane
UAB
Southern Miss
Troy
South Alabama

Southeast League (14)

Division I

FAU
FIU
USF
Georgia State
Georgia Southern
Middle Tennessee
Liberty

Division 2
Coastal Carolina
Charlotte
East Carolina
Appalachian State
Marshall
Western Kentucky
Old Dominion


I would rather be with the Georgia schools than the Western Kentucky and Old Dominion.

Here is the full article: https://sports.yahoo.com/alabama-aside- ... 04848.html

I've been mulling over something similar for years - except my idea goes further to divide each the P5, G5, top-flight FCS, and and so on down to DIII into 4 regional 16 team mega conferences each (North, South, East, and West) with each tier holding it's own playoff. Then, I would implement a Euro-style promotion and relegation scheme between each tier so programs with sustained success rise to the top and the perineal dumpster fires sink to the bottom over time.

[Rekdiver]

Relegation baby it’s time....

[appdaze]

I like relegation with pro sports where its up to owners/team investors to put a quality team on the field or get dropped. I don't like it for the collage ranks. Many of the schools are running off student fees and what donations they can garner. That isn't the same as having millionaires/billionaires shelling out cash for new players. If a relegation system were put in then we would never get a sniff of the table. You can kiss NY6 or any iteration goodbye. The cream of the crop would close it off to all but the top. Other schools would just shut down their programs if they got relegated.

[Howard Street Hooligan]

In terms of competition, without Cincinnati and UCF the AAC is nothing more than the Sun Belt with a stronger TV contract and better bowl tie ins. Who’s to say that either of those will remain in place once this all shakes out. I’m not real sure it would be worth a move unless a couple of regional big dogs join with App (with Louisiana being the furthest away).

This is specific to football of course.

South Alabama, Texas State, ULM, and Troy doesn't really bring much to the table. I'd rather play what's left in the AAC than those schools. Coastal (only lately), Louisiana, Georgia Southern and Georgia State are the only interesting matchups.

[Howard Street Hooligan]

I like relegation with pro sports where its up to owners/team investors to put a quality team on the field or get dropped. I don't like it for the collage ranks. Many of the schools are running off student fees and what donations they can garner. That isn't the same as having millionaires/billionaires shelling out cash for new players. If a relegation system were put in then we would never get a sniff of the table. You can kiss NY6 or any iteration goodbye. The cream of the crop would close it off to all but the top. Other schools would just shut down their programs if they got relegated.

disagree. at least you can play your way up. you can't in this current model. Vanderbilt can lose to ETSU and NEVER lose their spot and their fat TV paycheck. That's a problem and why I care less about college sports every year.

[Captain Morgan]

Coastal is interesting. They have a hot coach and quarterback who won't be there in a year or two...can they reload like we have? With no track record?

They do have a baseball national championship, which is impressive. No other school in the G5 can claim that in a big 3 sport. It's interesting.

[APP93]

Relegation baby it’s time....

Relegation bowls...winning team moves up, losing team moves down. I would watch those games for sure.

[appgrad95&97]

Worth a read

https://www.si.com/college/2021/09/08/b ... o-reaction

[AppOrange]

Worth a read

https://www.si.com/college/2021/09/08/b ... o-reaction

Dose of reality not even being mentioned as a possible candidate but the one hit wonders and Char are. Thanks to all those huge App fans out there who can’t manage to throw a few bucks Yosef's way. You don't like sports, I totally get it. You’re the 1% who love the Apps but truly cant afford 50 bucks a year, I hear that. The rest of those 15k at the games (not students), or folks that complain when we lose or play poorly, this slap in the face is sponsored by them. I know its a personal choice, but so is my choice to rant. One article doesn't mean it wont happen, and maybe we don’t want to go AAC, but not being mentioned sucks. Thanks huge “fans”. PS, don’t give me TV markets if their looking at Boise.

[appgrad95&97]

Worth a read

https://www.si.com/college/2021/09/08/b ... o-reaction

Dose of reality not even being mentioned as a possible candidate but the one hit wonders and Char are. Thanks to all those huge App fans out there who can’t manage to throw a few bucks Yosef's way. You don't like sports, I totally get it. You’re the 1% who love the Apps but truly cant afford 50 bucks a year, I hear that. The rest of those 15k at the games (not students), or folks that complain when we lose or play poorly, this slap in the face is sponsored by them. I know its a personal choice, but so is my choice to rant. One article doesn't mean it wont happen, and maybe we don’t want to go AAC, but not being mentioned sucks. Thanks huge “fans”. PS, don’t give me TV markets if their looking at Boise.

I do think it's important to remind a lot of the folks on this board, how little App moves the needle nationally. We are so far behind the big G5 problems. AppOrange is right, money is a major problem for us. (Of course we have an athletic department that can't seem to get tickets to less than 4000 addresses).

[AppSt94]

Not trying to apologize for this fiasco, but please keep in mind that the staff is severely short handed. Resources, or lack there of, is a major route cause for the ineptness.