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AAC/ BE poach - version 4.0 - CR talk

And Tulsa, LOL and ECU !...some of these AAC leftovers (Aresco's delusional Power 6) are now playing at the level of an Edsall suckfest! And I can't wait to see the AAC hoop leftovers besides Memphis. ;););) Tulane and their 1200 fan turnouts in a HS gym comes to mind, LOL!


 
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Aresco's still delusional (but he's paid well so what is he gonna say, LOL!), bragging about teams that are leaving his conference, what a clown !

 
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Maybe Aresco should tell Wich St. how strong the AAC is.

"When WSU paid $2.5 million to join the American in the summer of 2017, it did so because it believed joining a stronger men’s basketball conference would raise the profile of the school’s biggest money-making program. But since then, the AAC has lost Connecticut and is now expected to lose Houston, Cincinnati and UCF, three of the strongest men’s basketball programs in the conference........Not only would the Shockers men lose two of their top rivals and competition, but the conference would only have one other men’s team (Temple in 2019) that has played in the NCAA Tournament since WSU joined. "

The Wichita Eagle-
We knew this was a risk’: How conference realignment could affect AAC, Wichita St
 
Maybe Aresco should tell Wich St. how strong the AAC is.

the AAC has lost Connecticut and is now expected to lose Houston, Cincinnati and UCF
After a few more years of this and the 3 more defections, the AAC will be lucky to stay ahead of the A10

 
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Boy, now that my thread title has finally becoming a reality, how perfect was it for Uconn to get out of the AAC before all this went down, which was inevitable ? More on Aresco/ the AAC:

" Things aren’t good for the American. AAC commissioner Mike Aresco has, of course, tried to spin things. He claims that the three teams leaving aren’t dynasties (debatable), and he wondered about people making fun of his Power Six claims, yet a supposed Power Five conference had to poach from the AAC (not really the point anymore). ...." it should be noted that the AAC is losing a lot of its firepower in basketball too, which is going to be a major blow to the conference going forward in its own right."......."their current media deal with ESPN, which has a clause saying that the deal can be renegotiated if the conference’s membership goes through a major change. "

There's even talk (below) about the AAC going coast to coast if they could add San Diego St. I feel bad for Temple and their travel budget if that happens. (they should probably try to get back in the A-10 (and go Indy in FB ). And WOW, nothing says power six basketball like UAB , Appalachian St., FAU, UTSA, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State (teams that are being talked about as filler)

PS. The Dallas Mornings News says- SMU, as well as Memphis are both angling to get out too. ” SMU President Gerald R. Turner and Athletic Director Rick Hart wrote in part of a joint statement. “However, this change is only one phase in the ongoing restructuring of the intercollegiate landscape.” Memphis leadership echoed that sentiment, writing in a statement “the final whistle hasn’t blown, and it’s far from over.”

Yep, Power 6 , Mike

Full read- What is the AAC Looking for in Expansion? - Underdog Dynasty

 
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Also from DMN:
"UConn negotiated with the AAC in 2019 to leave in a shorter time frame, and paid a $17 million exit fee instead. ESPN reported Friday night that Aresco said he is willing to let the schools leave early if they negotiate a higher exit fee. "

Yep he loves that exit fee money
, he has to make sure the AAC has money to pay him before it implodes and he retires....;)
 
There's even talk (below) about the AAC going coast to coast if they could add San Diego St.

PS. The Dallas Mornings News says- SMU, as well as Memphis are both angling to get out too. ” SMU President Gerald R. Turner and Athletic Director Rick Hart wrote in part of a joint statement. “However, this change is only one phase in the ongoing restructuring of the intercollegiate landscape.” Memphis leadership echoed that sentiment, writing in a statement “the final whistle hasn’t blown, and it’s far from over.”

Yep, Power 6 , Mike

Full read- What is the AAC Looking for in Expansion? - Underdog Dynasty

New AAC update, at least the AAC won't be going coast to coast since San Diego St. isn't interested:

 
Sounds like Aresco might have to change his AAC moniker to the Power 7 .....LOL !

 
THANK YOU.... Dave Benedict, he got Uconn out of the AAC just in time !
Nothing says P-6 hoops (not !) like this motley crew of C-USA cast-offs that Aresco is piecing together. Seriously what is he thinking?

 
Agree 100% with Rothstein, nothing will drag down a school like Temple more than playing in a watered down conference with these geographical misfits:

 
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So is Conference USA taking this raid laying down? They are just rolling over like the French did with their "Maginot line" when the Germans invaded France?
 
So is Conference USA taking this raid laying down? They are just rolling over like the French did with their "Maginot line" when the Germans invaded France?
What do you mean this raid ? this isn't a raid it's a merger, LOL ! ......and officially makes the AAC the old Conference USA all over again .

Seriously though count em'.... 12 members of the new "AAC" were/are nothing but C-USA members anyway. With Temple the only all-sport member who wasn't. But they can let that fool Aresco call em' anything he wants. .....P-6, asked out, turned down by the MWC, etc., etc........ :D
 
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But is there not still standing a shellshocked Conference USA and remaining conference members? They have their own Commissioner, I believe, not Aresco. Plus there are still EIGHT members left in Conference USA:

Marshall
Western Kentucky
Middle Tennessee
Florida International
Old Dominion
UTEP
Lousiana Tech
Southern Miss

To me, a few of these schools, like Marshall, Old Dominion, UTEP and Southern Miss., should be just as competitive as the 6 that just left. Didn't Marshall win the D-1 soccer championship last year, and isn't it the same football program that produced Randy Moss? Didn't Brett Favre go to Southern Miss.?
 
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I posted this on TOS, but seriously if I was Temple and probably Navy, I would try my best to lobby these schools to form a FB only east coast conference. (below) It probably wouldn't be bad for most of the C-USA leftovers to just disband because none of them were members of that conference until about 15 years ago either, except S. Miss.

Temple, Navy (AAC)
UConn, Army, Liberty, UMass (Indy)
Buffalo (MAC),
Coastal Carolina, Marshall, Old Dominion (C-USA).
or maybe FIU if they wanted to go deeper south

Many of those above already have a hoops & Olympic sports home anyway. The others could probably join a non-football like the A-10, Patriot, etc...... IMHO, Uconn shouldn't join though. The Big East with Indy FB is better and gives the fans a much better schedule. And even though the BE commissioner just talked about expansion I don't see Nova ever allowing Temple in as an expansion school, being in Philly too, just like in the past.

But Temple (as Rothstein says) should be trying to do whatever they can to GTFO, when you look at the new AAC. They're nothing but the worst outlier now (geographically) in a conference who has 6 new schools with terrible BB ratings and fans that don't care about hoops. 3 of them play in HS gyms just like Tulane and look at their last hoops attendance and Ken Pom's, it's pathetic.
2019-2020.....ATTENDANCE
Fla. Atlantic - 1,175 ---
Charlotte - 3,552
UAB- 2,713
UTSA - 1,120
Rice- 1,983
North Texas- 3,243

Anyone who ever questioned Uconn getting out of what's left of the new pathetic AAC just needs to look at poor Temple. They'll now be playing against 9 AAC schools who'd make Depaul, the BE bottom feeder, look like the big fish in a small pond.
Ken Pom Ratings-
new-AAC-Temple-Rankings.jpg
 
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Like I posted before..... what Aresco has done now gives my "sinking AAC cartoon" a whole new meaning , LOL !

Cartoon-AAC.jpg
 
Seriously though count em'.... 12 members of the new "AAC" were/are nothing but C-USA members anyway. With Temple the only all-sport member who wasn't. But they can let that fool Aresco call em' anything he wants. .....P-6, asked out, turned down by the MWC, etc., etc........ :D
so it's 12 of the FB schools minus Navy and Temple but......
 
Plus there are still EIGHT members left in Conference USA:
Marshall
ODU
Southern Miss

I posted this on TOS, but seriously if I was Temple and probably Navy, I would try my best to lobby these schools to form a FB only east coast conference. (below) It probably wouldn't be bad for most of the C-USA leftovers to just disband because none of them were members of that conference until about 15 years ago either, except S. Miss.
Well there were 8 (now down to 5). As I posted above it looks like disbanding is a real possible since 3 more members are out the door, unless C- USA finds some new members fast:

 
It's literally like a game of musical chairs. You do not want to be standing and having no chair to sit in when the music stops.............
 
Nobody is talking about or identifying the 5 schools "left at the altar" in this latest game of conference realignment, but I will:

Western Kentucky
Middle Tennessee
Florida International
UTEP
Louisiana Tech
 
Louisiana Tech
Speaking of look who's still coaching @ LA TECH.....Lou's son who was born right down the road from Uconn and got his head coaching start with the Huskies, but left after going 10-3 to coach with his dad at S. Carolina. Right before Edsall came in for the 1-AA transition. When you look at the 2...Skip's had a hell of alot better HC' ing career than Edsall's (102 wins to 136 losses) had. He even hired Diaco as DC for a year and went 10-3. that alone is one hell of an accomplishment...;)

skip-holtz.jpg
 
Nobody is talking about or identifying the 5 schools "left at the altar" in this latest game of conference realignment, but I will:
Western Kentucky
Middle Tennessee

Florida International
UTEP
Louisiana Tech
Make that 3 schools........like I said a few weeks ago in my post above

It probably wouldn't be bad for most of the C-USA leftovers to just disband because none of them were members of that conference until about 15 years ago either, except S. Miss.
 
With respect to the 3 C-USA teams left at the altar in CR, this story provides some details on why one of them (FIU) would be unattractive to other conferences. It makes me wonder how many other schools are trying to "wing it" financially in D-1 football:
 
With respect to the 3 C-USA teams left at the altar in CR, this story provides some details on why one of them (FIU) would be unattractive to other conferences. It makes me wonder how many other schools are trying to "wing it" financially in D-1 football:
That's what makes me laugh that C-USA tried to leak a story that they spoke to Uconn ( to make theirself look good with Uconn's brand ) about trying to get them as a FB only... (UH NO !)... as the conference was falling apart. Uconn is on another planet regarding investment in the AD/FB program compared to any of those schools...Sure Uconn does play some H & H's with certain C-USA schools. UAB in their brand new stadium, FAU (both soon to be AAC) and even vs. FIU for recruiting purposes too, because alot of the Uconn players come from South Florida. So of course Uconn can't big time them and not pick up the phone because they have games vs. some of their schools. But C-USA is the last thing that will ever happen. Uconn will be an Indy until schools like them, Notre Dame and Army are forced or it makes sense, to join a conference ( P-5 or bust).

You don't get a coach like Jim Mora without the investment. Like his comments in the last few days ...
" Mora's been raving in national media interviews about UConn’s facilities, and after observing how the team travels and is fed, he declared, “Everything’s top-notch. "

Or as Uconn beat writer Matt put it on C-USA rumors vs. Uconn's Indy scheduling:
 
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BTW, it looks C-USA did get a reprieve and stayed alive because one the schools Middle Tenn, decided not to go to the MAC and the MAC wouldn't take WKU alone. They also added 2 Indy's (N. Mexico St., Liberty) and 2 lower level FCS schools, Jacksonville (AL) St and Sam Houston State, to stay on life support.
 
Marshall Sues Conference USA To Get Out:
What is funny in retrospect reading that 3 schools (Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss) can't get out quick enough. Is that C-USA leaked a false story trying to make theirselves look good by claiming they were talking to Uconn about membership

Talk about C-USA being delusional, with 6 of their teams going to the watered down AAC, 3 leaving to Sun Belt and one suing to get out, yet they want to claim Uconn, might want to join, LOL. They should probably also claim that Clemson, Michigan and Ohio St. want to join em' too !
 
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Marshall Granted Restraining Order vs. Conference USA Arbitration Bid:
With a deal worked out ( the announcement ended months of legal drama ) for 3 schools to leave July 1st, 2022 ( C- USA to separate with Marshall, ODU, Southern Miss ), C-USA is also set to lose six more members as early as 2023.

Here's an interesting update on the other half of that move.....An AAC early departure deal, for Houston, Cincy and UCF that would then allow the six — Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA — to join the AAC on July 1, 2023.

>>>American commissioner Mike Aresco initially sought $35 million from each school to leave early for the Big 12, sources said. In 2019, UConn paid only $17 million to leave the AAC early, despite providing only 12 months’ notice..........Cincinnati, Houston and UCF are negotiating a settlement in the “$17 million to $20 million range,” which would allow the schools to exit the American Athletic Conference early and officially join the Big 12 on July 1, 2023, sources told Action Network.<<<


And here's a look at Aresco's new C-USA...er um AAC. It sure looks nothing like the remnants of the old Big East or the AAC Uconn started with. Gotta give respect to the Admin up in Storrs, to wait around long enough to collect their share of $100 mil in exit fee money, split with Cincy and USF. Then head as far away from this conference as possible.

Expansion-2021-AAC-Member-Locations.jpg
 
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