(12-10-2013 02:42 PM)john01992 Wrote: i will not mention the academic thing (i still think im correct on this)
As do I....
(12-10-2013 02:42 PM)john01992 Wrote: but with rice its such an obvious move that id be surprised if it didnt happen. Their FB is improving which follows the trend of the other elte academia's (duke, northwestern, stanford, vandy) i dunno what it is but the elite academics across the board are really stepping up their game.
Duke has been great this year but let’s see them sustain their success for a period of 10 years or more. The same can be said for Vandy they stunk then were good when Cutler was there then were avg. and now are good. Hardly a sustained level of success.
As for Rice they just won their first conference championship since Eisenhower was in office (1957) if they can have more than 5 winning seasons, and more than 3 seasons of 8 wins or more, in the last 15 years we can talk.
(12-10-2013 02:42 PM)john01992 Wrote: Maybe its the new bowl format, maybe its the new football tv contracts forcing these schools to get their athletic a.ss in gear for the first time ever. but if we have learned anything in the last 5-7 years its to not bet against the nerds.
As for Stanford that is 100% correct. Duke and Vandy not so much. Rice has a long way to go before they are in the same conversation.
(12-10-2013 02:42 PM)john01992 Wrote: while their FB record is a legitimate point, its hard to say that they are significantly outclassed by schools like uconn, tulsa, memphis, & usf. and especially a often mentioned for expansion school named umass.
That is a fair point but for UConn they were founding member of the conference at a time when the factors in play now were not in effect (TV). TV back then was handled in a completely different manner. Look no further than the fall of the SWC for all the proof you need on that point.
Tulsa was terrible this year but have proven they are a legit football team over the long haul.
Memphis was added for basketball mainly. They where invited when the Big East was still the Big East.
USF had a bad year but they have been solid member (granted not great) but solid member of the Big East.
As for UMass I can live with our without them. If you want to argue between them and Rice and I am forced to choose betwen the two I would pick UMass simply for the larger footprint. Rice doesn't bring anything (other than said academics) that UH does not bring already.
(12-10-2013 02:42 PM)john01992 Wrote: they have history, academics, geography and see tulane, UH, & smu as their peers. this is a no brainer if you ask me.
They may see us a peers (athletically) but other than Tulane (can't speak for them) they are not our peers or SMU's. That is just my opinion sitting in their backyard and with a little knowledge of the situation down here.