(08-22-2015 05:39 PM)HuskyU Wrote:  NC State is a lot like Rutgers - not very good at athletics, but located in a desirable expansion location.

Texas A&M really blossomed when it left the Texas-based Big 12. I wonder if an SEC membership could do the same for NC State.

I doubt SEC membership would do much for NC State athletics, as NC State is a basketball school immersed in Tobacco Road culture, a culture at odds with the SEC's football craziness culture. For that reason, I don't think the SEC would capture many new eyeballs if it added NC State.

TAMU and the SEC has worked because TAMU and the state of Texas shares that same SEC football craziness.

(08-23-2015 03:01 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(08-22-2015 05:39 PM)HuskyU Wrote:  NC State is a lot like Rutgers - not very good at athletics, but located in a desirable expansion location.

Texas A&M really blossomed when it left the Texas-based Big 12. I wonder if an SEC membership could do the same for NC State.

I doubt SEC membership would do much for NC State athletics, as NC State is a basketball school immersed in Tobacco Road culture, a culture at odds with the SEC's football craziness culture. For that reason, I don't think the SEC would capture many new eyeballs if it added NC State.

TAMU and the SEC has worked because TAMU and the state of Texas shares that same SEC football craziness.

A&M had a very large following and put 80,000 in their stadium long before they joined the SEC. The SEC wanted A&M because they were already extremely valuable; they weren't taking a flyer and just hoping they would "blossom". A team with meh fan interest is not going to double or triple their support by switching conferences. Maryland's football attendance in the Big Ten in 2014 was just under 47,000, up about 14% from their last year in the ACC.

(08-23-2015 03:21 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(08-23-2015 03:01 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(08-22-2015 05:39 PM)HuskyU Wrote:  NC State is a lot like Rutgers - not very good at athletics, but located in a desirable expansion location.

Texas A&M really blossomed when it left the Texas-based Big 12. I wonder if an SEC membership could do the same for NC State.

I doubt SEC membership would do much for NC State athletics, as NC State is a basketball school immersed in Tobacco Road culture, a culture at odds with the SEC's football craziness culture. For that reason, I don't think the SEC would capture many new eyeballs if it added NC State.

TAMU and the SEC has worked because TAMU and the state of Texas shares that same SEC football craziness.

A&M had a very large following and put 80,000 in their stadium long before they joined the SEC. The SEC wanted A&M because they were already extremely valuable; they weren't taking a flyer and just hoping they would "blossom".

Very good point, and I didn't mean to imply that TAMU was a "project" addition to the SEC. As you note, they already had a top-20 football program in terms of attendance and were a massively valuable school to begin with.

(08-23-2015 03:01 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(08-22-2015 05:39 PM)HuskyU Wrote:  NC State is a lot like Rutgers - not very good at athletics, but located in a desirable expansion location.

Texas A&M really blossomed when it left the Texas-based Big 12. I wonder if an SEC membership could do the same for NC State.

I doubt SEC membership would do much for NC State athletics, as NC State is a basketball school immersed in Tobacco Road culture, a culture at odds with the SEC's football craziness culture. For that reason, I don't think the SEC would capture many new eyeballs if it added NC State.

TAMU and the SEC has worked because TAMU and the state of Texas shares that same SEC football craziness.

Did you know that since Florida State joined the ACC, there is only one school with fewer conference wins in basketball than NC State? They have one more win than Clemson, thanks to a surge in the last few years. Playing hoops in the SEC could only help State. And since they are also near the bottom of the league in football, what do they have to lose?

(08-23-2015 06:23 PM)ken d Wrote:  

(08-23-2015 03:01 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(08-22-2015 05:39 PM)HuskyU Wrote:  NC State is a lot like Rutgers - not very good at athletics, but located in a desirable expansion location.

Texas A&M really blossomed when it left the Texas-based Big 12. I wonder if an SEC membership could do the same for NC State.

I doubt SEC membership would do much for NC State athletics, as NC State is a basketball school immersed in Tobacco Road culture, a culture at odds with the SEC's football craziness culture. For that reason, I don't think the SEC would capture many new eyeballs if it added NC State.

TAMU and the SEC has worked because TAMU and the state of Texas shares that same SEC football craziness.

Did you know that since Florida State joined the ACC, there is only one school with fewer conference wins in basketball than NC State? They have one more win than Clemson, thanks to a surge in the last few years. Playing hoops in the SEC could only help State. And since they are also near the bottom of the league in football, what do they have to lose?

I didn't know that NC State basketball had fallen on such hard times. Still, it's not a question of success, it's a question of culture, and NC State is culturally a Tobacco Road basketball school.

As for football, I just glanced at their last 5 seasons, and see 3 seasons with 8 or more wins, and 3 bowl wins against West Virginia, Louisville, and UCF. So their football isn't currently THAT putrid.

Beyond all that, though, I see absolutely no reason why the SEC would ever want NC State. They are the #3 brand in a medium-size state. Nothing to recommend them at all. The SEC likes dominant flagships.