(03-02-2014 03:19 PM)SMUmustangs Wrote:  

(03-02-2014 02:51 PM)john01992 Wrote:  

(03-02-2014 02:23 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(03-02-2014 02:07 PM)john01992 Wrote:  as for the b12.......

ucf
usf
new mexico
rice

if i was the b12 commish that's who i would add

I don't think any of those options would ever get a serious look. When the BIG12 finally expands, the biggest factor in choosing programs will be if adding them benefits Texas and OU. TCU gave Texas and OU and easy road game between the two schools, in a talent rich region.

I still think WVU was a bad addition. I doubt the BIG12 will make that mistake again, so the Florida schools don't seem to be real options. New Mexico offers nothing to Texas or Oklahoma. They don't have a market. They aren't in a recruiting hotbed. They don't get the fans of Texas or OU excited. I like Rice, but I can't see Texas adding them to the BIG12, when they can schedule them for a OOC game any time they want. Plus, Texas, along with A&M, already controls more of the Houston market then Rice, just like those two control more of every major market in Texas. I can't see Texas or Oklahoma letting another Texas team into the BIG12. It just wouldn't benefit them.

the b12 is not weak in athletics. their weakness is markets/academics and the wvu outlier.

lets take a moment to look at wvu. would they be better served adding a school in between them and the b12......a region that they don't normally recruit out of and have a small alumni presence........

or would they be better served with expansion in florida.....a state they recruit heavily out of and has nearly double the amount of registered wvu alumni than every b12 state combined.

seems like a valid question to me.....

the way i see it unless the b12 adds an entire eastern division wvu will always be an outlier. so any realignment proposal with cincy, ville, memphis etc. has the purpose of diminishing the problem but not solving the problem. to solve the problem a conference needs to go after regions that give wvu the best resources to succeed not the best way to cut travel time.

huge travel distances between conference members isn't a problem when every member has a alumni/student body/recruiting footprint that is mostly within the conference blueprint. that is why no one raises an issue with colorado in the pac12 being an outlier but colorado in the b12 was an outlier even though the distances were closer. or how BC, pitt, & SU can be perfectly happy playing fsu/miami (1500 miles) but wvu playing isu (860 miles) is a problem.

When West Virginia joined the Big12 they knew the distance problems. So I do not think the other Big12 schools are worried about having to do something to help out West Virginia.

while they obviously knew. it was

1. a knee jerk reaction because they had limited options and decided to go all in on athletics

2. didn't realize how much wvu would struggle. i don't think anyone was predicting wvu to get just 1 tx recruit in the 13/14 classes combined nor have such a downturn in FB.

now that the conference has stabilized (somewhat) the b12 now needs to focus on rebuilding. and part of that rebuilding is fixing the wvu problem because the last thing they need is another disgruntled program who feels the b12 isn't doing that much for them.