mozilla wrote:
If the main knock against the Big 12 is that WVU is too far away from the main body....how does adding another team....just as far away....seem like the right move? Also, UCF is just as far from the main body as they are to WVU.
This idea doesn't add up to me.
I don't believe any team in Texas is interested in traveling to Fla on a regular basis after agreeing to travel to West Virginia.
I don't believe that there are two teams that are ready to be added to the Big 12....that would help the travel of WVU.
Cincy is close...but, who else do you add with them? Would it be another from the north...or south? I could see maybe...Memphis at some point??
I would like to see UL Laf. or New Mexico added to the south at some point in the future. To the north...Cincy is the only team I can think of. Unless, they add two non football teams....such as: Wichita State, St. Louis, Dayton or similar. The addition of non football teams would add quite a bit to the offerings for television....depending on the schools chosen. And non football teams could help to connect the schools together and reduce the travel between programs.
ULL and UNM are both large schools in their states. ULL is in a state known for football fanatics and recruiting. UNM is the largest school in the state, is located in a major hub for the state, and regularly play Texas schools in every sport, yearly. Both schools are close to, but not intruding on the footprint of the conference. And I believe that both could add much to the competitiveness of the conference. With the addition of more southern teams...the Oklahoma teams could be pushed into the northern part of the conference. Which would reunite the old Big 8 teams together again.
North - WVU, ISU, Kstate, Kansas, OU, OSU
South - ULL, UT, Baylor, TCU, Tech, New Mexico
or
North - WVU, Cincy, ISU, Kstate, Kansas, OSU
South - OU, Tech, TCU, Baylor, UT, New Mexico or ULL
WVU built a pipeline into the state of Florida playing South Florida and Miami. They got lots of kids from the state of Florida back then. Playing down here helps them with recruiting. It doesn't help with travel, but it sure helps in recruiting. ULL would be one of the worst options the Big 12 could have. What sport are they good at? Not meaning to be insulting to that school, I taught one of the starter on their D-line, but I don't think they could compete with any school, outside of maybe Kansas, in football. Louisiana is a good state to recruit, but I don't think the Texas schools have any problem recruiting that state as it is. Afterall, it is right next door. New Mexico has one really good high school football player a decade. I think the last one was Landry Jones, then Brian Urlacher, and before that I think it was Stoney Case. Not exactly a recruiting hotbed. Nor is it a TV ratings juggernaut. If the Big 12 goes that way, say goodbye to the Texhoma 4. When was the last time any of those teams beat a top 25 team, or they themselves were ranked? In all fairness, I think La-La was ranked a few years ago. UCF is at least a decade ahead of ULL and maybe 2 or 3 decades ahead of New Mexico. IMO UCF has better recruiting potential and if I am not mistaken, Orlando is slightly larger than Lafayette, LA.