rams80

49 minutes ago, GDAWG said:

Does Las Vegas need all four Major League teams?

No.   It is madness to try and there will be one or more franchises that will not survive the transplant and need to move again if they do try. Metro Vegas is smaller than Portland, Pittsburgh, and Sacramento and slightly bigger than Austin, Cincinnati, and Kansas City.

The smallest 4 sport market is Denver and they have like 700,000 more people than Vegas.

We've got maybe Charlotte and maybe Montreal east of the continental divide as "plausible" markets.  I think MLB could brick those quite nicely if need be.

On 2/15/2021 at 4:28 PM, CrimsonBull9584 said:

 

I've heard of them. Does no one follow FCS football around here? And what makes them a "glorified club team"? Because they don't have scholarships? This is the kind of attitudes that always frustrate me. 

Fine, glorified D-III team that only plays at FCS because of NCAA rules. (and honestly Valpo football is bad even by Pioneer League standards).

Introducing the Beloit High-A Central Marlins.

Beerdrinkers is right there for a Lutheran school.

On 2/12/2021 at 2:42 PM, Lana_del_Bae said:

I'd personally just go with Knights but I'm assuming they are gonna go with a blank slate here

Valpo was almost bought by the Klan back in the twenties.  Anything that's been appropriated by white nationalists over the last few years is out.

2 hours ago, Dilbert said:

The AHL Stockton Heat (Calgary Flames) have received permission to provisionally play their season in Calgary at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The Flames say its due to cross border restrictions. Stockton will join the Canadian division with Manitoba (Winnipeg), Toronto (Toronto), Laval (Montreal) and Belleville (Ottawa).

 

So this leaves the two remaining Canadian NHL clubs with their affiliates still in the US, Bakersfield (Edmonton) and Utica (Vancouver). Now if the reasoning behind the provisional move is true I would think Bakersfield and Utica wouldnt be far behind. However something seems fishy to me.

 

The Heats lease with the City of Stockton and the Stockton Arena ran out at the end of the 2019-20 season. In February 2020, a one year extension was signed through the 2020-21 season to give the two more time to negotiate a new contract. The original lease was 5 years with an team option for an additional 5. The Flames and Heat declined the option. With parent owned AHL clubs wanting to be located closer to the parent teams in recent years, I think the Heat provisional move may be more permanent.

Also, Calgary torches every market they play in in 5 years or less.  It's a cardinal rule.

8 hours ago, heavybass said:

There was one thought I had when it came to the ASUN.... did Jacksonville University acted too soon? If they hadn't of stopped the football program, then we would have 6 teams ready to go.

If you're in the Pioneer League, you ain't gonna join a football league that claims to have FBS ambitions.

8 hours ago, McCall said:

Conference additions have nothing to do with team success. It's about money, tv markets (which is essentially, money) and quality of education... to an extent... as it pertains to the conference... getting money.

OK,

UNLV isn't a draw in their own market and Colorado Springs isn't that big.  They won't grow the pie at all.

LOL NO on Missouri Valley Football Conference.

UNLV football is a roaring trashfire and UNLV Men's basketball hasn't made the Dance since 2013 when really the last of Lon Kruger's recruits aged out; they are on their third coach since Kruger took the Oklahoma job.

Air Force has been worse in basketball and mediocre in football.

Pretty sure all 4 California-based Pac 12 members would be no votes on that.

It turns out Peoria suspending operations may have been the correct call.

4 hours ago, MBurmy said:

IIRC, they were kicked out of the Summit (back when it was the Mid-Continent Conference) for constantly finishing last back in the mid-00s.

 

So yeah, the WAC was desperate...which other D1 conference would take them?

Chicago State bailed, they weren't kicked (although life in the Summit League was apparently too hard for them, which again raises serious questions about why you are in D-1 to begin with since the Summit League is the league teams fresh out of D-2 join.)

11 hours ago, Red Wolf said:

I don't understand how Chicago State is still D1 when every article I ever see about them is how the school is on the verge of shutting down entirely.

The athletes actually bolster enrollment.

Did USCe's arena ever replace the ice plant?  IIRC that was what killed the Inferno before.

6 hours ago, 4_tattoos said:

 

Wasn't a 40K seat stadium built just for UConn's ascension to Big East football nearly 20 years ago? Would hate to see such a relatively young stadium sit empty because it's primary tenant ceased operating.

 

Maybe the stadium's ownership/operators could strike a deal with US Soccer to have the national teams host more friendlies there. Or make a bid to host the NCAA D1 men's lacrosse finals. Or even make a deal for Notre Dame to play "home games" there. They'd have to do something to justify the stadium's existence if UConn were to axe the football program.

All built with taxpayer dollars.  They ain't dropping football because the state lege will kill them.

NMSU stays up because Santa Fe is 4 hours away, on the wrong side of Albuquerque, and "NCAA Division I FBS" is about the only thing state legislators understand when they are being told that NMSU should get funding at least remotely in the ballpark with UNM and certainly better than Tech, Western, Eastern, and Highlands.  The alumni and fanbase core alone are not enough, you need those political considerations.

Re: C-USA: Team charters would have to fly into El Paso anyway to take the hour bus ride up to Las Cruces, so any NMSU bid would be predicated on a "travel partners" sales pitch with UTEP.  Shame the schools are bitter rivals.

I'd say this, FCS is the endgame for revived WAC football.  Not FBS.

Assuming BYU would be persuaded to abandon its "Mormon Notre Dame" model, their preferences would be as follows.

1. P5 conference

2. Returning to the MWC in everything, tail between their legs.

(deliberately large gap)

3. Joining another football league, such as the WAC as presently or soon to be futurely constituted.

I'd say its less attendance and more facilities in general, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Lamar, and Abilene Christian have significantly larger football and basketball facilities than Incarnate Word and Houston Baptist.

Southland's shakier than you might think.  Louisiana public higher ed is in BAD financial shape at the lower tiers; WAC might be a safer bet right now.

On 7/22/2020 at 9:57 PM, LMU said:

I'd also throw New Mexico State on the watch list since they're independent in football after being punted from the Sun Belt and everything else is in the on-life-support WAC that's only alive because of using D-II transitions as duct tape.

This.  The only reason they are sticking it out is because the school (correctly) determined that the politicos 4+ hours away in Santa Fe understand NCAA FBS better than Carnegie R2 and Land Grant status when it comes to determining how much state aid they get.

On 7/21/2020 at 4:01 PM, Sebastianm said:

I was ridiculous on the NDSU into the Big Ten, more seriously, I think Liberty could be a national threat in a decade or less. Now, who will be the next team to move from FCS to FBS?

Not as long as Jerry Falwell Jr. calls the shots; waaaay to many political liabilities, especially given his handling of COVID.