AP/DP just picked up the story, mentioning the discussion of invitations going to Colorado and Utah as "speculation."
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_14367217
anything east of the sierra nevadas is east coast to cali people. :smile:
AP/DP just picked up the story, mentioning the discussion of invitations going to Colorado and Utah as "speculation."
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_14367217
Maybe, but there also aren't any traditional bottomfeeders like Baylor and ISU. Every team in that conference has been very good at least one season in the last decade. Basketball wise, the Big 12 is better this year.
IMO, TCU goes to the B12 to fill the CU void over BYU.....
maybe its me, but i think the "better roadtrips for fans" argument is a bit shallow in the big picture. i also think its vastly overstated how going to Tucson or Eugene is going to be a longterm (note longterm) draw for people who don't currently make roadies. once the novelty wears off.
The 'novelty' might indeed wear off, but if you are looking to combine a fall vacation with a football game it'd be a lot easier to convince the family to go to Seattle, LA, SLC, or SF than pretty much anywhere other than maybe Austin in the B12.
4th, the p10 is not going to split into divisions. period. it is politically unworkable. you'd have to go with some kind of round-robin format deal with probably 9 conference games and you'd need to get everyone to agree that only their "traditional rivalry" game would get played annually.
Another strategy for the Big 12 Conference would be to make the "preemptive strike" to protect against any Big Ten/Pac Ten expansion into their territory. How about the Big 14! The name is already under trademark by the Big 12 Conference, adding BYU and Utah to the Big 12 would completely emasculate any Pac Ten expansion, and protect against Mizzou or another school joining the Big Ten. Also cutting out the MWC's ability to gain "BCS status" would protect their long-term market share along the front range.
While being "defensive" isn't the best reason, adding BYU/Utah to the Big 12 would have many benefits by itself. Both schools offer competitive programs in many sports and the Big 12 isn't as "high and mighty" about the academic freedom issue to prevent BYU from joining.
Not sure how division breakdowns would work, maybe:
WEST...............EAST
Texas...............Oklahoma
Texas A&M.......Nebraska
Texas Tech.......Missouri
Baylor...............Iowa State
Colorado...........Oklahoma State
Utah.................Kansas
Brigham Young..Kansas State
I know, I know, this could go on and on forever, but the "Big 14" could be a way for the Big 12 to avoid "self-implosion" by having their programs cherry-picked by the Big Ten and Pac Ten.
I like it. This way, if Missouri bolts to the Big11 we could move the oklahoma teams to the north, add houston, and just call the Big 12 south "Texas". Sounds like a great plan to me...
OKC - I think the road trip argument has more to do with accessibility of those who actually attend road games. With the exception of Wazzu, all the Pac 10 schools are near major airports so getting there would arguably be easier than getting to places like Manhattan or Stillwater.
The second part has to do with a large percentage of our alumni base being on the west coast. You could conceivably get more fans to attend road games simply because they are in Cali and Arizona instead of Iowa or Oklahoma.
The Cal game this year may be a good barometer. It will be interesting to see what the CU turnout is for that game, I imagine it will be high by CU standards.
i've never been to Manhattan but i have an uncle who is a banker/OSU grad who lives in OKC. he tells me he can drive from his house and be inside Gallagher-Iba in about 50 minutes. not sure exactly where the OKC airport is but it can't anywhere near as "remote" as DIA. DIA to Boulder is about 50 minutes. I don't see that argument so much. i can get on board the local CU alums in AZ, Cali, etc. making a difference. i think the amount of people who make road trips is a wash. let's say because of the new, more desirable destinations the number of CU travelers from Colorado doubled (a very generous consideration).....so, that number goes from something like 2000 to 4000? we can't really be talking about making a decision like this with one of the primary factors being how it positively affects 2000 fans? a small minority of the fan-base. in the big picture, outside my personal travel preferences......objectively, this not a huge factor to me.
just playing Devil's advocate here.
i do agree the Cal game would be a good barometer and i recall both games at USC and UCLA in the early 00's being well-attended by Buff fans.
I guess my point is that there is the real potential to have more Cali people attending Cal games than Boulder people attending Iowa St games.
Also, while I don't have data to back it up, I would speculate that we have more booster money coming in from donors in Pac 10 states than Big 12 states. Being in a conference that would allow us to play in front of our donor base would be a big deal IMO.
I guess my point is that there is the real potential to have more Cali people attending Cal games than Boulder people attending Iowa St games.
Also, while I don't have data to back it up, I would speculate that we have more booster money coming in from donors in Pac 10 states than Big 12 states. Being in a conference that would allow us to play in front of our donor base would be a big deal IMO.
Fun Factor of Big 12 Campuses: (scale of 1-10)
Nebraska: -2
Kansas St: 0
Texas Tech: 0
Kansas: 3
Oklahoma St: 2
Oklahoma: 3
Iowa State: -1
Mizzou: 0
Baylor: 0
Texas: 8
A&M: 2
Fun Factor of PAC 10 Campuses: (scale 1-10)
Utah: 4
Arizona: 4 (can be a 10 if you can hit up Mexico)
Ariz. St.: 7 (see Arizona)
USC: 7 (LA, but can the school be in a worse location)
UCLA: 9
Wazzu: 9
Cal: 7 (minus 2 points for being in/near oakland)
Stanford: 9
Washington: 3
Oregon St.: 6
Oregon: 7
Fun Factor of Big 12 Campuses: (scale of 1-10)
Nebraska: -2
Kansas St: 0
Texas Tech: 0
Kansas: 3
Oklahoma St: 2
Oklahoma: 3
Iowa State: -1
Mizzou: 0
Baylor: 0
Texas: 8
A&M: 2
Fun Factor of PAC 10 Campuses: (scale 1-10)
Utah: 4
Arizona: 4 (can be a 10 if you can hit up Mexico)
Ariz. St.: 7 (see Arizona)
USC: 7 (LA, but can the school be in a worse location)
UCLA: 9
Wazzu: 9
Cal: 7 (minus 2 points for being in/near oakland)
Stanford: 9
Washington: 3
Oregon St.: 6
Oregon: 7
How is Wazzu(Pullman) a 9 and UW(Seattle) a 3?
How is Wazzu(Pullman) a 9 and UW(Seattle) a 3?
How is Wazzu(Pullman) a 9 and UW(Seattle) a 3?
:dito:
I'm hoping tante is just confusing the locations.
:dito:
I'm hoping tante is just confusing the locations.