Red Wolf

With how bad the Pac-12 was this year, maybe so.

The WAC barely feels like a real conference these days. No idea what happens with NMSU in the future (Mountain West seems like a stretch), but I do know that they lobbied hard to get all sports into the Sun Belt. The Sun Belt took them as a football-only team, which was annoying since football is about the worst thing NMSU had to offer, while they're a strong basketball school, which would have been a great thing to have in the Sun Belt. At first I thought Gonzaga joining the MWC would be weird because it would be a 13-team conference until I remembered that Hawaii is a football-only member. Gonzaga could be to the MWC what Wichita State should be to the AAC, which seems smart. If they could get BYU, especially as a full member, I could see that being preferable.

Like, Liberty giving up on their FBS dreams and moving back down almost immediately?

Isn't that more of an if situation?

This is a bad logo

I think this may be an ongoing issue with certain QBs and throwback jerseys. Specifically, whatever jersey cut is in the game that a lot of QBs use. I remember on the game from two years ago, that anytime I used the Broncos' 75th anniversary jerseys, that Peyton Manning's jersey wouldn't have the blue sleeves. It always looked like he was wearing some sort of practice jersey.

So is the Big XII still planning on playing a nine-game conference schedule and then having a rematch for the title? Seems odd, but if this had been in place a couple years back with TCU and Baylor, I think the winner of that game would have been in over Ohio State, so this might be a perfectly fine way to do things for them. I know the Sun Belt will have divisions in two seasons when they start playing their conference title game, but those teams still need the money generated from having four non-conference games. Though playing nine and having two potentially strong teams playing at the end may give them a better shot at the access bowl. Then again, it's not often that more than one team is any good in the Sun Belt in a year (if even that). Though I think things worked out really well for the Sun Belt in the long run. They now get to have the added revenue and fanfare of a conference title game like C-USA, but with only 10 teams to split the money among instead of 14, and the Sun Belt already makes more money per team in their TV deal than C-USA.

NCAA: Arkansas State Red Wolves NBA: Memphis Grizzlies NFL: Denver Broncos NHL: Nashville Predators MLB: Chicago Cubs MLS: Sporting Kansas City BPL: Liverpool

So is the cut o the jersey. They use rounded yokes in the game, and not the sharper "western" style they do in real life. Both inaccuracies bug me, because I'm a nerd. It's okay, this is a safe place for people like us.

A bit obscure, but in NCAA March Madness 2004, UALR's basketball team wore blue and white. This despite the school colors being maroon and silver, and the game even featuring the accurate midcourt logo at the time (which had no blue whatsoever).

I actually agree. The maroon and athletic gold is a great look.

This is a terrible logo

Wouldn't be surprised to see UMass in the Sun Belt. Benson's been hellbent on getting to 12 teams for football even if it means adding schools like Idaho and New Mexico State. They've been looking for an eastern team since Western Kentucky moved to C-USA (the school Benson seemingly worshipped while everybody else expected them to move one) and seem to have gotten the cold shoulder from James Madison and want nothing to do with Liberty.

You forgot the internet.

One big problem with that is that Army-Navy is always held after the conference championships. If they both joined the ACC, that game would have to come before the ACCCG due to a possible impact on who plays in the game. That hasn't always been the case though. In fact, I'm pretty sure that practice only began during the last decade.

Also, they owed Western Kentucky after last year. True enough. Just two years straight leaving the 2nd place team in the Belt at home. Wonder why anybody would try to leave?

Jumping conferences can kind of screw you in the present. Apparently the Sun Belt had a conference call to vote on whether to send Middle Tennessee or Western Kentucky to Little Caesar's Bowl. Obviously, the conference chose against future C-USA member MTSU. Also, losing 45-0 in the Sun Belt Championship probably had something to do with it.

Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. Hint: In this modern college landscape, every school is looking out for themselves. No one wants to be left behind in the also-ran conferences that will exist when the dust settles. Notre Dame is no different than any other school that's not tied down in this regard. To a point. If you're already in one of the safe power leagues, you are going to feel a decent amount of loyalty to the overall institution and marching to the same drummer. Unless you're Notre Dame that is. The Irish would want too many breaks for that to work out. Just curious -- what are the safe leagues? By my count, it's Big Ten and SEC, and maybe the Pac-##. If you're in the Big XII and ACC, it seems like there's a very good chance you're not feeling too confident of the long-term health of your league. Just those 3. (Big Ten, SEC, Pac-12) You could probably include the MAC. Since the last realignment when the ACC picked up BC, Miami, and VT, the MAC has only lost UCF (well outside the rest of the conference geographically), Marshall, and Temple (football only anyway, and returning to their old conference). They're still at 13 and I never see rumors about their teams going anywhere.

The Big East is just sad. Additions like Memphis and Tulane get you into major markets, sure, but they're major markets where nobody cares about those school's athletic programs (except Memphis basketball I guess), and especially not their football programs. And I don't think Memphis and Tulane are suddenly going to start boosting their attendance numbers when they're playing a C-USA 2.0 schedule anyway. I know it's all about those TV dollars, but is the Big East's new deal going to be worth that much now that they're just a mid-major and no longer have Louisville, Rutgers, Syracuse, Pitt, and West Virginia?

How things went? You make it sound like unfortunate things happened to them. They were in the driver's seat the whole time. They drove Katrina? Dicks.

I hated how things went for them when they dropped down. I'd like to see them back in the Sun Belt, but the only way they're getting back in is if the SBC loses some more teams. As of now, 10 football + 2 non-football is a pretty good setup.

11 is an awfully odd number. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Sun Belt invite somebody else like Louisiana Tech or another major market FCS school. Of course, the Sun Belt is also most likely preparing for possible losses from the Alliance/Conference USA.

It wouldn't surprise me. You don't play home games in the Georgia Dome as a start up with an ultimate goal of the CAA. And C-USA/MWC would love to get a toehold in Atlanta. Makes sense. Isn't UTSA (Texas, San Antonio) pretty much joining the WAC after a few startup years in FCS? They play home games in the Alamodome. Yeah. The difference is that while Georgia State is taking their time before trying to make a move while UTSA is making the move just one year after they started their football program up. You also had to consider that the WAC needed members after losing Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii so any delay in the move would be horrendous for them. UTSA may not join the WAC on July 1. They could abandon that plan to go to the Sun Belt. When the SUN BELT looks more attractive by comparison, then you know it's time for the WAC to just give up... Looks like Georgia State may be interested in the Sun Belt Conference too. Guess may nephew may have (accidentally) spoke too soon. http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2012/3/28/2909016/sun-belt-expansion-georgia-state http://www.ajc.com/sports/georgia-state/georgia-state-exploring-fbs-1357698.html http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college/2012/03/report-georgia-state-could-join-the-sun-belt-in-2013.html UALR looks like the odd team out. Without a football program, they might be looking at the Southland. I don't know that UALR would necessarily want to move and I doubt the Sun Belt would kick them out, especially with how long they let Denver stick around.

I liked those uniforms, but it bothers me that Kentucky has jumped so far into the checkerboard pattern considering most people associate that with their rivals in Tennessee. But it still looks pretty good to me (ignoring the godawful black uniforms.)

Best looking 49ers uniforms