Big 10 expansion -- will Pac 10 be forced to expand?

[CarolinaBuff]

Yeah, the SLC market (#31, 944,060) is much larger than Albuquerque (#44, 694,040).

Just that New Mexico is more of a "fit" geographically and politically. Competitively they have a long way to go on the football field , but Big 12 payout money could certainly bring in the recruits and coaching to improve their performance, and playing Texas teams would certainly improve their attendance figures.

Their stadium is under expansion to 42,000+, but their average attendance has dipped from 29,713 in 2008 to 26,944 this year (Baylor was lowest in Big 12 with 36,306 in '09).

Interesting to note that Albuquerque is a bigger TV market than OKC, Austin, Tulsa, Wichita, Des Moines, and Omaha.

Good points about New Mexico's geography compared to Utah. That's odd that they're expanding their stadium when you consider their recent attendance figures. And it's not like they need the extra seats for the bowl game based on the number of empty seats at today's game. :huh:

That is interesting about the Albuquerque market is bigger than those, particularly in the case of OKC and Omaha.

 

[MtnBuff]

Good points about New Mexico's geography compared to Utah. That's odd that they're expanding their stadium when you consider their recent attendance figures. And it's not like they need the extra seats for the bowl game based on the number of empty seats at today's game. :huh:

That is interesting about the Albuquerque market is bigger than those, particularly in the case of OKC and Omaha.

Albequerque is a lot like Denver in that most of the people who live there are from someplace else. Twenty five years ago it was a sleepy little city that you would miss if you blinked on the freeway. Today it is growing rapidly with traffic jams and crowded schools.

Different than Denver, Alb. doesn't have major league pro sports as an entertainment option. The thinking on the part of the university there is that they are the best option in town. They have accomplished that in BB with the Pit being a hot ticket and a fun place to be. They want to accomplish the same with FB and in general when they are competitive the fans come out. The problem is that when they are losing the fans tend to ignore them and that is what has happened this season.

For UNM to be competitive they will have to ramp the program up significantly. NM does not produce a lot of D1 FB talent and most of that goes out of state. They have had a hard time getting top recruits from Texas and California to go there and thus the down seasons.

I am sure that their thinking is that if they could get into a higher profile conference they would have more money to recruit and recruits would take them more seriously. The UNM campus and the city compare favorably to a lot of other places that are more popular with recruits. Their problem is more that they are seen as a second class program in D1 and they have not won enough to dispel that idea

 

[ScottyBuff]

Interesting article that describes the SWC collapse from the inside:

Slipping away: Arkansas' jump to SEC the jolt that demolished matchstick SWC

Changes were made in the way football gate receipts and television revenue were distributed. Schools were now allowed to keep all their home gate, which greatly favored teams that could sell out big stadiums.

New rules also granted better TV revenue shares to teams making the most appearances. The reason the Southwest Conference fell apart was because the strong kept getting stronger and the weak were getting weaker,\" former A&M AD Wally Groff said. \"You're only as strong as your weakest school.\"

With Arkansas out the door, UT and A&M began to float their own conference-jumping schemes. The Longhorns considered joining the Pac-10 or Big Ten, both of which had access to big TV markets and whose schools more closely resembled the Longhorns' own self-perceived academic profile. But the long travel distances and time differences limited the appeal of a move outside the middle plains.

A&M officials queried the SEC about joining that conference as yet another expansion member. But the SEC wanted the Aggies only if they came packaged with UT.

The statement from the Texas A&M A.D. at the time should be very relevant to the current Big 12 administration; history may repeat itself.

 

[Junction]

If the Big Televen and the Pac-10 both decide they want to expand, the Big XII is going to be in a tough spot. The conference lays right in the middle of the two, with the most obvious expansion candidates for the Pac-10 and some of the most obvious for the Big Televen. Add in the fact that there are a lot of disenchanted teams in the north with the way the south is running everything, and the Big XII might have some work to do to hold things together...

 

[Nor Cal Buff]

At the very least we will get more say in how the conference is run and better revenue sharing. Even though I'd prefer to see us move to the Pac 10, an improved revenue sharing model in the Big 12 would be substantially better than what we have now.

 

[JimmyBuff]

Good points about New Mexico's geography compared to Utah. That's odd that they're expanding their stadium when you consider their recent attendance figures. And it's not like they need the extra seats for the bowl game based on the number of empty seats at today's game. :huh:

That is interesting about the Albuquerque market is bigger than those, particularly in the case of OKC and Omaha.

New Mexico is making an investment into their athletic programs. What a novel idea..


New Mexico would probably be a better fit for the Big 12 than Baylor although I believe New Mexico does get Big 12 games in the ABC regional games of the week so I'm not sure we would get any more significant dollars out of the TV contracts..


Too many Texas teams.. TTech, A$M, and Texas are plenty of schools from the state which is why I'm totally against TCU.. It would turn into another SWC joke fest.

 

[JimmyBuff]

At the very least we will get more say in how the conference is run and better revenue sharing. Even though I'd prefer to see us move to the Pac 10, an improved revenue sharing model in the Big 12 would be substantially better than what we have now.

:yeahthat:



The members should be sharing all the TV money equally.. What's the point of being in a conference if that's not the case?

 

[calibuff81]

Could you guys imagine if some schools started leaving their respective conferences and went independent like how Notre Dame is. A school like Texas who has already been by named Forbes as the most valuable college football team would thrive and only make more money.

http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/137590-forbes-most-valuable-college-team-is?eref=sihp

 

[MiamiBuffs]

Could you guys imagine if some schools started leaving their respective conferences and went independent like how Notre Dame is. A school like Texas who has already been by named Forbes as the most valuable college football team would thrive and only make more money.

http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/137590-forbes-most-valuable-college-team-is?eref=sihp

Scheduling is the problem. I'd agree that Texas might be able to get away with it. Right now Ole ND sucks so scheduling is not a problem: other schools like beating them. They get back BCS caliber and filling future games might get harder for them.

 

[Nor Cal Buff]

There is a massive difference between ND and Texas when it comes to fan bases. ND's is nationwide due to the Catlick love and can get a much bigger national TV deal than Texas, which has limited appeal outside of Texas.

 

[Hugegroove]

For the last 3 weeks I've been reading the on line sports sections of the St. Louis & KC papers. There appears to be a more positive tone than a negitive one for Mizzery to jump ship. But some of the comments posted in those dailys by many Ku & Mu fans were that they wanted to retain their yearly rivilry against each other in Football & Basketball. I'm going to assume that could be worked out?