Conference Realignment: What Next?

[kayako]

:shock:

Pete Thamel
@PeteThamel
14m
Sources: The American Athletic Conference is expected examine expansion this week, with six schools expected to send applications. The AAC is expected to receive an application from – FAU, Charlotte, North Texas, UTSA, Rice and UAB this week. 1/2


Pete Thamel
@PeteThamel
14m
The expectation is that they will be accepted and the AAC will grow to a 14-team football league. (Also 14 teams in hoops.)

Looks like Aresco wants to lock MWC out of Texas. What a horrible basketball move if this is true.

[Omaha1]

That is brutal. I almost feel bad for Wichita State. Nah. Not really.

[Husky_U]

Preseason Kenpom:

11. Houston
16. Memphis
60. SMU
61. UCF
62. Wichita State
71. UAB
106. Temple
117. Cincinnati
123. Tulane
133. Tulsa
135. North Texas
144. Rice
160. ECU
166. USF
194. FAU
201. Charlotte
237. UTSA

That putz, Aresco, managed to find 3 programs worse than ECU/USF. Give the man another raise!

[Omaha1]

I actually do feel bad for Temple.

[Husky_U]

I actually do feel bad for Temple.

I don't feel bad for Temple. I do feel bad for Wichita tho.

[kayako]

I actually do feel bad for Temple.

Rothstein's been encouraging Temple to find a new conference lol

https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/1450243480169631747?t=jWwqWhEbDQTUlzQ7WDfYbQ&s=19

[GoldenWarrior11]

As previously stated, the AAC Presidents are smelling what Mike Aresco has been cooking. I have strong doubts that schools like Temple or Wichita State support adding so many Southern/NET-anchors in men's basketball, but they will be getting paid more than other conference alternatives.

Hopefully, the affiliation doesn't destroy their basketball programs.

[JPSchmack]

Oh man is this AAC expansion news delicious.

Aresco is the best thing to happen to the A-10 since VCU, Davidson and Mark Schmidt!

It's extremely rare that your conference gets raided and also GETS BETTER. C-USA is loving life for them taking Rice, FAU and Charlotte off their hands!

[JPSchmack]

On a side note, shout out to GTMO for being high on the Bonnies before they were nationally relevant. I still don't want them added, but they are quickly joining the status of St. Louis and Dayton as potential expansion candidates. I'd still like to see one of those teams dominate the same way that Xavier did before they're considered, though. For now we need to just sit and wait.

Hey now, GTMO is a great poster, but he got won over by someone's impressive argument!

It's really too bad that my 5-to-7 year argument for St. Bonaventure to improve the Big East "ratio" for the maximization of NCAA bids is totally toast now.

Oh well, I have no problem with settling for being an actually legit good ranked program instead of a designated BE bottom feeder.

(Please don't steal Duquesne from the A-10 tho)

[JPSchmack]

The AAC will probably be "Just fine" in basketball in terms of NCAA bids.

With 14 teams, there's 7 good programs -- Memphis, Wichita St, Temple, SMU, Tulsa, UAB and North Texas -- and they'll have their way with the bottom half. Then when the top 7 play each other, the top three of them will have good resumes, and be in the mix for NCAA bids. It's no different than Temple and X leaving the A-10... Dayton and Bona got 2.5 games better. Everyone left them for dead and they've been averaging 2.9 bids per year since.