rams80

The HFboards Phoenix megathread chain (dating back to the initial bankruptcy/Balsillie purchase attempt) looks to be up to thread 140, just from the Roman numerals.

Other way around. They were one of the most successful WHA teams, but the owner eventually gave up because the NHL was just not going to let the Aeros in under any circumstances.

Which raises the question as to why he would even welcome an NHL team? Is it harder to get conventions and concerts thanks to COVID and its long term fallout, so he needs something to soak up arena dates?

Yes and yet no because they have a couple good sugar daddies in the Illinois legislature.

Pioneer League, but similar rules. Real reason USD hacks it is that they are a private school which can do private school things.

My expectation was wild card berth and see how the chips fall from there. Not hugely disappointed; this is what happens when you have no depth.

Because they don't NEED to or want to? The old GNAC schools were incredibly islanded to the point where assembling a schedule was a major challege.

Those 3 teams are all that was left of GNAC football after Azusa Pacific dropped it back in December and Concordia Portland was killed by the Missouri Synod. The general dearth of D II football teams in the Western US (there are NO Cali teams left at that level) makes for some weird outcomes at this level. Apparently there was a pre-existing scheduling alliance, and the RMAC is comparatively full.

St. Louis was never, ever going to leave the A-10 because they are very happy associating with it and the Catholic/Jesuit schools in its membership (and it helps their institutional enrollment priorities.)

NHL did 5 from 1991-1993 and 4 from 1998-2000 as well with notably mixed outcomes.

I mean, Liberty's baggage transcends "being a parochial university," so I wouldn't read too much into that (and GTFO with that strict moral code BS), while BYU basically limited its potential homes to two conferences, one of which had shot them down in the past over the "no Sunday games rule" given how that would cramp their Olympic sports scheduling/travel. BYU was basically fine with trying to be Mormon Notre Dame otherwise, so they could pick their spot.

Eastern New Mexico is close enough to West Texas A&M and UTPB that they should be OK. Western New Mexico is way too small and isolated to make the jump.

Eastern didn't get the nod because of the cardinal rule of G5 realignment: your rival or potential rival doesn't get bumped up if you can help it....Western Kentucky would have been a firm veto.

Pretty sure "NFL player" is the wrong line of work for that sentiment to be viable.

Dear Santa, I've been very g.....well I haven't committed any major felonies recently.

NMSU also has the added "New Mexico has a firm veto on their membership" factor.

UTEP was the only WAC charter school still in the league to not get an invite to join the Mountain West in the initial breakaway, and hasn't gotten an invite since despite showing interest in the past. I'm not going to say "never" but I would be stunned at this point.

Leonard Little disagrees.

If they win it doesn't matter that the mid-to-late 2020s are gonna look a lot like the Linehan/Spagnuolo Triumph of Death years.

Anyway for use in a few years I invite everyone to consider the story of the scorpion and the frog.

Also the OVC is presently lying on the ground gutted and gasping.

....and that's why Memphis found an equally good conference home as Louisville and Cincinnati. Setting aside UTEP's general athletic ineptitude and isolation in the last decade, why should UTSA help them out as "rivals"?

You don't seem to understand how rivalries work at the G5 level; unless you need them as a travel partner (which LOL San Antonio and El Paso ain't) your goal is to keep your rival down below you.

I suspect NMSU and Liberty's decisions on this front are independent of what the other does, so NMSU might still be interested.

C-USA is probably fittin to gut nu-WAC football down the road, which eliminates options for NMSU but man not like this. Liberty's a snake with a scorpion's tail.