Around The American this weekend

[NewEnglandBull]

5 minutes ago, MikeG said:

nah -- Army gave it a shot with CUSA years ago when so many of these AAC teams were in it and it wasn't a good fit for them.

I"m not sure what we are looking for a school to offer at this point. I mean-- who are we trying to impress when it comes to shuffling around some of the bottom feeders of the conference? Short of a massive restructuring of two conferences to only include the strong football programs - which seems unlikely - is this some attempt to justify being considered the sixth power conference? It is like we are applying for a job that does not exist.

Would have been better off just being a 10  member conference 

Edited September 21, 2018 by NewEnglandBull

[MikeG]

3 minutes ago, NewEnglandBull said:

Would have been better off just being a 10  member conference 

Maybe. It would strengthen the schedule in the short term- no argument there. It seems to ignore other conference affiliation aspects though. Dissing SMU or Tulsa-- yeah I get it-- but why Tulane?

Even the SEC needs teams like Vanderbilt. Picking on AAU member Tulane doesn't make sense in that regard - especially if we are hoping to get in that esteemed organization at some point. It is not always all about football or basketball.

Imagine if the Big East had that mentality when we got our invite - because we had almost no history of note at that point and were a big gamble. They had every reason to go with with ECU instead at that time imo but Louisville had our backs. We might still be in CUSA had the Big East decided to ignore other factors. And that would leave us even further distant from seeing a P5 conference bid.

And in that- you need to consider that some schools make alliances to package themselves. IIRC that is how SMU and Tulsa came in along with Houston or some sort of mix like that. Bringing up trimming off some schools might cause a riff from a stronger school that has ties to them.

In the end though-- we are talking about hypothetical changes that seem to rock the boat and make our conference seem less stable at a time when that is one of the strengths. I'd rather add some more good teams to the roster first before we start cutting loose any dead weight. Most of the P5 are at 14 or 16 members. We are at 12 and could add 2 more schools.

[BrassBulls12]

Having a conference championship game helps a lot in the eyes of the CFP voters. Sitting idle might cause AAC champions to get jumped for that NYD game. Just look at how the Big 12 added a championship game because of the effects of not playing that weekend. I know the rule is changed now, but that was more than likely because it was the big 12 asking, not the AAC

Edited September 21, 2018 by BrassBulls12

[NewEnglandBull]

1 hour ago, MikeG said:

Maybe. It would strengthen the schedule in the short term- no argument there. It seems to ignore other conference affiliation aspects though. Dissing SMU or Tulsa-- yeah I get it-- but why Tulane?

Even the SEC needs teams like Vanderbilt. Picking on AAU member Tulane doesn't make sense in that regard - especially if we are hoping to get in that esteemed organization at some point. It is not always all about football or basketball.

Imagine if the Big East had that mentality when we got our invite - because we had almost no history of note at that point and were a big gamble. They had every reason to go with with ECU instead at that time imo but Louisville had our backs. We might still be in CUSA had the Big East decided to ignore other factors. And that would leave us even further distant from seeing a P5 conference bid.

And in that- you need to consider that some schools make alliances to package themselves. IIRC that is how SMU and Tulsa came in along with Houston or some sort of mix like that. Bringing up trimming off some schools might cause a riff from a stronger school that has ties to them.

In the end though-- we are talking about hypothetical changes that seem to rock the boat and make our conference seem less stable at a time when that is one of the strengths. I'd rather add some more good teams to the roster first before we start cutting loose any dead weight. Most of the P5 are at 14 or 16 members. We are at 12 and could add 2 more schools.

After thinking about that yes Tulane should probably stay...as you say they are our Vandy. I think Tulsa was added due to academics and they were very good in CUSA. But they have nothing but a few oil millionaires who keep the program going. This was a terrible addition. The same for SMU. Great academics but their boat left the harbor long ago. They simply can’t compete.

In terms of your last paragraph, I’m not even sure if there is a process to remove s team. I suspected only way is through attendance and funding shortfalls. 

Edited September 21, 2018 by NewEnglandBull

[NewEnglandBull]

Purdue 13

BC 7

 We want Purdue to win this game to help us with our rankings (BC is ranked 23).

Edited September 22, 2018 by NewEnglandBull