https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/spor...999177002/

Will be interesting to see who his replacement is and what Benson’s plans are.

My conjecture will be that he returns to the WAC to live in Denver and lead a bunch of startup FBS teams on the WAC’s new adventure. Even has plenty of experience with FBS transitions, Bowl alignments, and negotiating with the NCAA and cable networks.

The current WAC commish, North Dakota native Hurd, will be retiring.

Looks like he turns 67 in December, so he's probably retiring like normal people do?

(08-15-2018 07:55 PM)CenterSquarEd Wrote:  Looks like he turns 67 in December, so he's probably retiring like normal people do?

His contract expires after the 2018-2019 year---so he will finish out the coming college sports year. Supposedly it was already pretty well known within the league he was leaving after this season---though I didnt hear about it until early this year.

(08-15-2018 07:55 PM)CenterSquarEd Wrote:  Looks like he turns 67 in December, so he's probably retiring like normal people do?

But NoDak had to push his outlandish agenda.

(08-15-2018 07:04 PM)NoDak Wrote:  My conjecture will be that he returns to the WAC to live in Denver and lead a bunch of startup FBS teams on the WAC’s new adventure. Even has plenty of experience with FBS transitions, Bowl alignments, and negotiating with the NCAA and cable networks.

The current WAC commish, North Dakota native Hurd, will be retiring.

Why? The WAC is already lead by Hurd who sleeps with How To Ru(I)n a College Conference by Carl Benson AKA Mr. Peanut.

NMSU will never support that POS being involved in the WAC in any way shape or form.

But would the rest of the WAC support Benson?

(08-15-2018 08:45 PM)CrimsonPhantom Wrote:  

(08-15-2018 07:04 PM)NoDak Wrote:  My conjecture will be that he returns to the WAC to live in Denver and lead a bunch of startup FBS teams on the WAC’s new adventure. Even has plenty of experience with FBS transitions, Bowl alignments, and negotiating with the NCAA and cable networks.

The current WAC commish, North Dakota native Hurd, will be retiring.

Why? The WAC is already lead by Hurd who sleeps with How To Ru(I)n a College Conference by Carl Benson AKA Mr. Peanut.

NMSU will never support that POS being involved in the WAC in any way shape or form.

Have you guys tried to get in the Missouri Valley? Sure, they just lost Wichita State and Creighton left a few years back but it’s way better than being in the WAC. Currently, NMSU basketball is a big fish in a small pond.

As for Benson, he was a great commissioner, said no UTEP fan ever.

(08-15-2018 09:50 PM)Lopes87 Wrote:  But would the rest of the WAC support Benson?

IDK, Seattle may not. He coaxed them into the WAC and then left.

(08-15-2018 10:20 PM)UTEPDallas Wrote:  

(08-15-2018 08:45 PM)CrimsonPhantom Wrote:  

(08-15-2018 07:04 PM)NoDak Wrote:  My conjecture will be that he returns to the WAC to live in Denver and lead a bunch of startup FBS teams on the WAC’s new adventure. Even has plenty of experience with FBS transitions, Bowl alignments, and negotiating with the NCAA and cable networks.

The current WAC commish, North Dakota native Hurd, will be retiring.

Why? The WAC is already lead by Hurd who sleeps with How To Ru(I)n a College Conference by Carl Benson AKA Mr. Peanut.

NMSU will never support that POS being involved in the WAC in any way shape or form.

Have you guys tried to get in the Missouri Valley? Sure, they just lost Wichita State and Creighton left a few years back but it’s way better than being in the WAC. Currently, NMSU basketball is a big fish in a small pond.

As for Benson, he was a great commissioner, said no UTEP fan ever.

Its been talked about, but I don't think there is much support in the MVC. Our biggest cheerleader was Wichita State.

Sun Belt commissioner Karl Benson to retire in June after seven-year run
https://www.cbssports.com/college-footba...-year-run/

We should rename this board after Karl Benson considering the vast number of teams he moved around during his tenures.

He's a realignment god. He doesn't just think it or talk it he does it.

Under his watch, Benson lost 23 of 24 WAC schools:

BYU (1999)
Utah (1999)
Colorado State (1999)
Air Force (1999)
New Mexico (1999)
Wyoming (1999)
UNLV (1999)
San Diego State (1999)
TCU (2001)
SMU (2005)
Rice (2005)
Tulsa (2005)
UTEP (2005)
Boise State (2011)
Nevada (2012)
Fresno State (2012)
Hawaii (2012)
Utah State (2013)
San Jose State (2013)
Louisiana Tech (2013)
UTSA (2013)
Texas State (2013)
Idaho (2014)*
New Mexico State (2014)*

In the Sun Belt, five schools left but to be fair, they already accepted to leave for C-USA when he became commissioner in 2012.

North Texas (2013)
Florida Atlantic (2013)
Florida International (2013)
Middle Tennessee State (2013)
Western Kentucky (2014)

That makes it a total of 28 schools out 29. Benson lost 14 schools to the MWC (Hawaii went to the Big West for non football sports), 12 to C-USA (while being the commissioner of the WAC and SBC) and 3 to the Sun Belt (one full time, two for football only). *Idaho went to the Sun Belt for football only and the Big Sky for basketball/olympic sports and dropped to FCS this year. *New Mexico State is the only former full time member that stayed in the WAC for basketball/Olympic sports and it’s now an independent in football.

Indeed, this board should be renamed the “Karl Benson College Sports and College Realignment Board”

(08-16-2018 09:44 PM)UTEPDallas Wrote:  Under his watch, Benson lost 21 of 22 WAC schools:

BYU (1999)
Utah (1999)
Colorado State (1999)
Air Force (1999)
New Mexico (1999)
Wyoming (1999)
UNLV (1999)
San Diego State (1999)
TCU (2001)
SMU (2005)
Rice (2005)
Tulsa (2005)
UTEP (2005)
Boise State (2011)
Nevada (2012)
Fresno State (2012)
Hawaii (2012)
Louisiana Tech (2013)
UTSA (2013)
Texas State (2013)
Idaho (2014)
New Mexico State (2014)*

In the Sun Belt, four schools left but to be fair, they already accepted to leave for C-USA when he became commissioner in 2012.

Florida Atlantic (2013)
Florida International (2013)
Middle Tennessee State (2013)
Western Kentucky (2014)

That makes it a total of 25 schools out 26. Benson lost 12 schools to the MWC (Hawaii went to the Big West for non football sports), 7 to C-USA and 3 to the Sun Belt (two for football only, Idaho went to the Big Sky for non football). *New Mexico State is the only former full time member that stayed in the WAC for non football.

You forgot SJSU and USU (MWC membership announced 5/4/12). Idaho and NMSU technically didn't announce their football departures until after he left, but I'd say he's still on the hook for those.

In the SBC, FIU and North Texas announced they were leaving for CUSA on 5/4/12, prior to Benson's tenure, but FAU (11/29/12), MTSU (11/29/12), and WKU (3/4/13) all announced after he came on board.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sc...ealignment

Nerdlinger, thanks for the correction. To be fair to Benson, some things were not his fault but he was more of a reactive commissioner rather than an proactive one. The WAC-16 was not his project. He took over when the decision was already made but he got blamed for it most of the time. The WAC he inherited has a table in the Alliance which was the predecessor of the BCS. Its champ played in the Holiday Bowl and BYU was ten years removed from their NC in football and Colorado State and Wyoming had decent football programs. Basketball was decent with UTEP and New Mexico dominating the league. It was the Western version of the ACC prior to Florida State joining. Television rights/money and the BCS destroyed the WAC and the expansion to 16 was the final nail in the coffin. Could Benson done better in weathering the Front Range schools prior to the split? Perhaps. But there’s a reason why even the P5 hasn’t expanded to 16 with all the tv money that is thrown at them. That’s basically two leagues under one name.

i was never a fan of him
i used to claim he could not get Boise St in the potato bowl