That’s not feasible because the MWC has a $34M exit fee. It cuts in half to $17M if they wait a year but even that is a steep price to pay to jump on a conferences boat that has almost already sunk. With NCAA two year grace period they could add a few from AAC for next year to get to six or seven and then wait a couple of years with the grace period to see what the situation looks like with the MWC.
Fire up the rumor mill: Missouri St to CUSA???
- Thread starter ewglenn
- Start date
That’s not feasible because the MWC has a $34M exit fee. It cuts in half to $17M if they wait a year but even that is a steep price to pay to jump on a conferences boat that has almost already sunk. With NCAA two year grace period they could add a few from AAC for next year to get to six or seven and then wait a couple of years with the grace period to see what the situation looks like with the MWC.
Our admin doing anything.
Massaro needs to be on the phone doing ANYTHING he can to get a spot in the AAC. We have to run from CUSA as quickly as possible.
I'd be shocked if Massaro wasn't privately working the phones to get MT a seat at the table. Quite frankly, in 2008, he told my class at MT in that he was working the phones to get MT a spot (& I doubt anything has changed in that regard).
Massaro isn't going to "negotiate" for MT in public. He knows it can backfire (see : SDSU).
TBH, MT isn't ready for a P5 conference. #BuildBlueNow needs to be COMPLETE &plans need to be drawn for a stadium renovation before MT would be ready.
I really hope you are right. He has to realize staying in CUSA will be a death sentence if they can’t move on soon. Really if we can’t move on now, I don’t see us being more attractive in a few years if things move around again. Other teams will still be in front of us and more money flowing through their programs.
I don’t think anyone expects us to get to a P5. We aren’t ready for that. I do think we can push for AAC though. We are similar to several of those teams. UTSA, NTX, Tulsa, UAB, that is our peer group. Instead we are stuck in The worst conference with a lot of new programs just moving up.
All G5 is the walking dead, there will be one more huge realignment and some P5's will get left behind as well. It will be 65 programs playing for the natty, and everyone else in a next tier league playing for a natty, then fcs , then d2, and d3. the G5s and lefterovers will get more regional to draw fans. It's not hard to see where this is headed.
The MWC and AAC are in a bidding war of sorts but the MWC is negotiating a merger with the pac 12 and the AAC wants all 4 and is willing to restructure their media deal. The ACC is a closed case and wants no part of the 4 teams.
That’s not entirely true. Ten of the 14 ACC members voted in favor of Stanford and Cal. To say they want no part when an overwhelming majority want them in the league is misleading. Also, the PAC is still exploring all options including expanding or merging with the MWC or AAC. Expansion is looking more likely, at this moment. But this is changing like the wind by day.
There are also some APK's that you can sideload on a Firestick or other devices. Kodi can be good too.
The ACC is waiting for App State to save them
I hope so. I mean, they would be derelict in their duties to not position MT to be available.
From an executive standpoint, I would think they are weary of a conference jump as the previous move proved to be somewhat of a bad move even though we would have been foolish not to take it.
I would love to see MT better themselves.
From an executive standpoint, I would think they are weary of a conference jump as the previous move proved to be somewhat of a bad move even though we would have been foolish not to take it.
I would love to see MT better themselves.
That's being reported multiple places now, but also being refuted in some places. But ya know, where there's smoke...so who knows.
One fact is that Luck and Aresco are having meetings. Aresco knows TV in and out as he is a CBS/ESPN vet. Something is going to happen for sure but I'm not sure it will involve Stanford/Cal. Luck has said himself he was not hired by the PAC but by Wazzu and OSU.
One fact is that Luck and Aresco are having meetings. Aresco knows TV in and out as he is a CBS/ESPN vet. Something is going to happen for sure but I'm not sure it will involve Stanford/Cal. Luck has said himself he was not hired by the PAC but by Wazzu and OSU.
I was wondering if that was legit... I agree with you, where there is smoke...
I think it’s more likely that Washington St and Oregon St make that move. I would expect the AAC to target Boise and SDSU to pair with them. That could be good/bad news for CUSA. If that happens we likely will lose NMSU/UTEP to the MWC. It’s good because we can build a tighter geographical conference but it would be FCS teams which will not help us with a new TV contract.
I would think MWC would be a better fit for them. I don't know details of tv money, but I'm thinking geographically.
NMSU/UTEP to the MWC makes sense.... on paper. Geographically and $ wise as the MWC deal is $3m more than CUSA (Boise and SDSU leave and their next deal won't be anywhere near that).
But NMSU/UTEP (moreso NM) have been in the same boat as Wazzu/OSU. Left behind. Shunned multiple times. Both are just happy now to be in a conference and may not jump at the first chance to be in the MWC.
But NMSU/UTEP (moreso NM) have been in the same boat as Wazzu/OSU. Left behind. Shunned multiple times. Both are just happy now to be in a conference and may not jump at the first chance to be in the MWC.
I think that’s wishful thinking. If an offer came, unless it was completely gutted, they would bolt. I can’t blame them it makes a ton of sense for them.
What scares me more is that the DFW based CUSA would just add Tarleton State & SFA instead of moving conference east
SFA would make some sense. I would be happy with them and Missouri St. The selfish part of me would like to add someone like Chattanooga and EKU for travel and rivalry purposes but I understand we’ve still got a western footprint with SHSU and LT out that way.
I don't know that there's much credibility to this, but if it does happen it underscores just how epically McPhee and Massaro failed this institution.
I always suspected the last round of conference realignment would really hurt us. Our peers at the time gave us the peace sign and left us in the dust.
Now, schools like North Texas, FAU, UAB, Rice, and so on will become much better, stronger, and financially stable programs. They will see and enjoy significant annual revenues well above what we will be receiving. And they will continue to slowly pull away and leave us in the dust.
Realignment is starting to look like an absolute disaster for MT. We simply missed the boat. If we built these facilities 5-10 years earlier it's very possible we are a part of the new Pacific American conference. But instead we have actual neanderthals in charge.
Now, we just look like idiots. Building 60 million dollar facilities to be peer institutions with SHSU and probably Tarleton and SFA here soon. Unspeakable disaster. I bet other AD's and President's laugh at our situation.
How can Massaro and McPhee and Steve Smith and his cronies continue to be our "leaders" after this? Makes me want to rip up my diploma and be done with it. Cannot put into words how frustrating our move to 1A has been over the last 20 years. FVCK THOSE MORONS
Now, schools like North Texas, FAU, UAB, Rice, and so on will become much better, stronger, and financially stable programs. They will see and enjoy significant annual revenues well above what we will be receiving. And they will continue to slowly pull away and leave us in the dust.
Realignment is starting to look like an absolute disaster for MT. We simply missed the boat. If we built these facilities 5-10 years earlier it's very possible we are a part of the new Pacific American conference. But instead we have actual neanderthals in charge.
Now, we just look like idiots. Building 60 million dollar facilities to be peer institutions with SHSU and probably Tarleton and SFA here soon. Unspeakable disaster. I bet other AD's and President's laugh at our situation.
How can Massaro and McPhee and Steve Smith and his cronies continue to be our "leaders" after this? Makes me want to rip up my diploma and be done with it. Cannot put into words how frustrating our move to 1A has been over the last 20 years. FVCK THOSE MORONS
Last edited:
Seems like one of those fantasy scenarios that are born and quickly die on twitter.
That said, that would probably be worst case scenario for MT. There's no more AAC to go to, and no Sunbelt teams would get plucked so no opening there.
But maybe some left over MWC dominoes that fall, but I can't see MT joining a league with Hawaii, Wyoming and Fresno, especially considering they found the MAC unpalatable.
in addition to facilities, keeping stock around and flubbing the basketball hire are other major components to this situation we are in.
20+ years in and we are with fcs startups. Smh
20+ years in and we are with fcs startups. Smh
That won't work well, you will have league from annapolis, md to beaverton, or. You may see a split with some the AAC schools getting left out. If it includes Stanford and Cal, you will see a league Tulane, SMU, Navy(football only), Rice and Tulsa move 1st to give them 9 football schools in '24, in 25 then you would see SDSU, Air Force, Fresno and possibly New Mexico, to round out the league. They still have a good academic league to appease Stanford and Cal and Football and Basketball would be great. Then the AAC and MWC leftovers merge minus a few teams to kill one G5 league
i don't think everybody gets in in from the AAC, the reported TV deal is for 14 teams, if you're talking 11 teams only, plus the MWC schools...that scenario is not plausible. Some of the eastern teams may be coming back to CUSA
We'll see. Even if a few more are left out it's still frustrating to see a school like North Texas, Rice, UAB, etc. moving on while we look for FCS schools to add.
It's pathetic, actually. Maybe I have too much pride, but at that point I don't even want to participate anymore.
I don't see a way SMU & UNT both end up in the PAC12 after the PAC / AAC merger. Same metro market.
And I am shocked the PAC/AAC merger (with a handful of MWC) is taking a FAU over a UNLV.
Maybe it's all about getting the votes to kill the AAC to remove the buyout. But some of the schools make zero sense.
That's exactly what it is. And if they have an east and west division I think it's fine.
I'm with you on this. After all this shuffling around, if we end up stuck in CUSA, with the same group of FCS start ups that are in the conference now, then I'll realistically have to consider if I still even care anymore. It will have proven we will NEVER move beyond this point and we should have gone MAC.
NTX, UAB, FAU, etc. was our peer group, but obviously better leadership. They have clearly moved light years ahead of us, which is very, very sad.
I think this might be the end of the ride for me, unless we can make a miracle happen. Someone give me hope.
MAC option will always be there. But I have zero interest in that too. If we can't position ourselves into a respectable conference once the dust settles, then I would rather just fold the football program and focus on basketball. We could probably do a lot if we put all our resources into MBB's
I know this not best thread but thought you all might like this. These AF uniforms are bad ass.
Years ago when we were talking about our brand and dropping the Pegasus and all that this is one of the ideas that I came up with. Pretty sure it was on this board anyway the premise was that with our strong military history that we would connect our brand from what we’ve done with veterans to the air warfare years gone by to our aerospace program today - keeping the Raiders name as a homage to that unit. I can’t recall now but there may have even been some direct mid State connections to the Doolittle Raiders
We’d be a Belmont or Murray St if we did that. Is that what you really want?
Have we given up on the concept that a $100,000,000 facilities upgrade to our athletics dept even if late will have no ability to affect our forward trajectory in the near future? It may be pure naivete on my part, & it may be a few years down the road, but if all these upgrades (football, basketball, tennis, etc..) turn out as nice as what they appear to be on paper I have a feeling a conference other than CUSA could still find room for us in their inn somewhere.
I remember a time we NEVER thought we were getting out of the OVC. Then we made it to the Sunbelt, & after a while we would NEVER get out of the Sunbelt. And now we're stuck forever in the dregs of the CUSA.
This sounds like I'm a fan of our present administrative situation. Don't worry I'm not. We all agree the facilities decision was too late. However when the work is complete or near completion I think we'll have something that will show some of the higher G-5 conferences we will be a university they would be glad to incorporate into their conference system. In the mean time we can still collect some ok departure money for a couple years from our former brethren until that time arrives.
Been stuck in our current dilemma for so many years now I guess I'm willing to see what happens over the next 2-3 years down the road.
One thing's for sure, the present administration isn't going anywhere. All I can do now is hope it works out & keep my fingers crossed for MT athletics in the future.
I remember a time we NEVER thought we were getting out of the OVC. Then we made it to the Sunbelt, & after a while we would NEVER get out of the Sunbelt. And now we're stuck forever in the dregs of the CUSA.
This sounds like I'm a fan of our present administrative situation. Don't worry I'm not. We all agree the facilities decision was too late. However when the work is complete or near completion I think we'll have something that will show some of the higher G-5 conferences we will be a university they would be glad to incorporate into their conference system. In the mean time we can still collect some ok departure money for a couple years from our former brethren until that time arrives.
Been stuck in our current dilemma for so many years now I guess I'm willing to see what happens over the next 2-3 years down the road.
One thing's for sure, the present administration isn't going anywhere. All I can do now is hope it works out & keep my fingers crossed for MT athletics in the future.
Personally I think the most important aspect to the future of MT athletics falls back to one person. Lee De Leon, end of sentence. Lee realized one thing about MT that many others never did. It was an untapped oil field. Only thing is the other supposed money drivers who came here before never quite new how to turn on the spigot.
This dude knows how to turn on the pipeline. As word gets out about what he's been able to do here I anticipate he'll be moving down the road sometime. The hope is he'll be here long enough to complete our goal towards funding our expansion. If he can pick up around 25 million annually for a couple more years before the head hunters come after him we should be able to hopefully have funds for everything including the IPF. One thing for sure, I doubt MT would be where it's at right now without his drive & motivation.
This dude knows how to turn on the pipeline. As word gets out about what he's been able to do here I anticipate he'll be moving down the road sometime. The hope is he'll be here long enough to complete our goal towards funding our expansion. If he can pick up around 25 million annually for a couple more years before the head hunters come after him we should be able to hopefully have funds for everything including the IPF. One thing for sure, I doubt MT would be where it's at right now without his drive & motivation.
Lee seems like a great dude, and if he wasn't selling turd-flavored ice cream, he'd be cooking here.
But the product is borderline a pyramid scheme, so we're going nowhere until we get more Lee's into positions where they really matter.
I think the problem isn't so much that things are finally getting done - that's never a bad thing.
It's that we all fear it might just be too late. And the sad thing is, it didn't have to be that way. IMHO, this program had all the potential in the world just a few years ago. Not gonna lie, it generates some angst even when positive news comes out.
No one knows what college football will look like in a few years. Things were looking up, as the little guy finally got a seat at the table with the G5 playoff spot. But that got stomped out pretty quick by the TV execs and the big fish in college football.
So, there's a mad scramble for the lifeboats of as "big" a conference as you can get. Some of us aren't going to make it. The galling thing is that our "leadership" were simply too incompetent to see this, even though everyone everywhere saw this coming from the day the SEC grabbed Mizzou and Texas A&M. If you look at the map of the Sunbelt, there's a giant hole right in the middle of the conference, with a giant growing city nearby, with a big university, in a growing state. But we were such toxic program they were like "Nah, we'll take James Madison".
You're right, there's nothing we can do here. The leadership rot is too entrenched and isn't going to be cut out anytime soon. So, if you throw up your hands and just say "well, let's hope for the best" - that's probably the most healthy way to look at it.
To be completely honest, in 10 years we are all probably are playing in some sort of minor league subdivision anyway.
