UNO might be thinking the same things that were being thought at USA-either UNO adds football, or UNO may ultimately wind up in a conference which UNO really doesn't want to join.

I don't see UNO really getting football anytime soon, since they're in the same situation as a lot of D-I privates, where they're going to be scrimping and saving to survive as is, adding football right now would make it much more tougher.

I think there might be more behind the scenes issues here. pure speculation. But we've seen Sunbelt teams without FBS football making the push with WKU, USA. In time there will only be a couple schools without football (as pointed out in another thread here). I wonder if it's a push by the Sunbelt to really go all-sports...and force out those without football. The Sunbelt does not need UNO, UALR and Denver. And those schools might be better off in a basketball conference should one with an autobid exist in the future.

I'd like to see the NCAA cut some slack with new conferences and autobids, factoring in travel costs and the economy. For instance, you could take some of the the Sunbelt schools, Great West schools and sunbelt non-football schools and create a new conference. But no autobid, no dice...schools aren't going to leave a conference with one.

Example:
From SB:
UALR
UNO
Denver

Great West:
Utah Valley
Texas-PA
Houston Baptist

Summit:
Centenary
So Utah

Makes things easier for UND and USD to join the summit too

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If UNO's and UALR's future doesn't involve the Sun Belt, they really have only two options:

1. Join the Southland. Two schools upgrading to FBS in football will create the perfect opportunity for the Southland and Sun Belt to swap schools. The Southland might balk at losing two football-playing members, but UNO and UALR would be available on short notice-unlike a Division II school. If enough Southland members upgrade to FBS to establish another FBS conference, this might not be an option.

2. Join the Summit. The Summit gets two Division I core members, and ironically, doesn't extend their footprint. UALR would be a tight geographic rival of UMKC, ORU, and Centenary. The league would also have a presence in two of Louisiana's three largest cities.

Down the road, the Summit could swap Southern Utah, North Dakota State, and South Dakota State for Houston Baptist, UTPA, and NJIT. The leagues would come out looking like this:

Great West (*counts for 6/5 compliance)
Southern Utah/Utah Valley*
North Dakota*/North Dakota State
South Dakota*/South Dakota State
Denver*/Seattle* (assuming they join)
Chicago State*

Summit (*counts for 6/5 compliance)
North - UMKC*, Western Illinois*, IUPUI*, IPFW*, Oakland*, NJIT
South - Centenary*, New Orleans, UALR, ORU*, Houston Baptist, UTPA

At this point, NJIT wouldn't even be necessary and could be substituted with a school more in line with the division's footprint (perhaps an upgraded Bellarmine, Northern Kentucky, or Illinois-Springfield). The catch is getting Denver and Seattle to join the Great West (preferably before 2013) so the conference will have more than 6 members who have been together for 5 years and be able to participate in the swap.

wb -

Don't you get the feeling that the Summit is trying to rationalize their geography as "upper midwest" ?

I think they took in Centenary during a "weaker moment". Not to disparage that school, but they area a geographic outlier right now, as is Southern Utah.

At the Div.1 FCS (formerly 1-AA) level and lower, containing travel cost and travel time is a REAL concern, as it can have a lot of impact on athletic budgets.

I think long term, the conference may gladly part ways with Southern Utah and Centenary, and add North Dakota and South Dakota (in fact they may add the latter two and go to 12, not long after they complete their transition to D-1).

Ultimately, that would leave the Summit with:
North Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota, South Dakota State,
Missouri-KC, Oral Roberts, Western Illinois, Oakland (Michigan), IPFW, IUPUI.

That's reasonably compact.

I agree with Quinn that it might be best for a new conference to form to take in the non-football schools from the Sun-Belt / Summit / Great West, and perhaps a few from the Southland. There is a critical mass of these schools located in the Texas / Arkansas / Louisiana area.

I think Southern Utah will eventually find their way to the Big Sky. Not so sure about Denver and Utah Valley.

The Great West is inherently unstable. It seems that everyone in it would rather be somewhere else.
Imagine being an athlete at NJIT... his / her cirriculum is all about racking up frequent flyer miles...

Agree with Tarkiokid that UNO will not likely add FB any time soon due to budget concerns.Article regarding proposed budget cuts to Louisiana schools to include UNO at http://www.ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=9787802

Here is another article that paints a rather grim financial picture for UNO athletics at http://www.boston.com/sports/other_spor ... uno_sports