Key tweets, and it's all gone to Hell.

[amory]

I wonder why FedEx even cares about Memphis. I guess because so many of their graduates end up delivering packages?

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

I wonder why FedEx even cares about Memphis. I guess because so many of their graduates end up delivering packages?

While your question was probably more about delivering the punchline....I decided to read up a bit on Mr. Smith. I thought he had some link to the school beyond geography, but he doesn't. Actually...he went to Yale....and his son played college football at North Carolina and is currently an assistant coach with the Titans.

Most interesting..in the early days...he went to Vegas and won money to cover his fuel bill to keep FedEx afloat. Not sure if it's true...but a cool story none the less.

Something is wrong when the future of a school is decided by where a billionaire decides to live or start their business.

 

[HuskyHawk]

<sarcasm> Yup. We kin excuse Kansas and Iowa and West Virginia fer fightin again state rights, but if the entire whoppin state of Connectycut hadn't jumped on the yankee bandwagen, we'd still be sippin mint julips on the porch of antebellum mansion instead of electrocutin' ourselves stealin cable for our double wide.</sarsasm>

You, sir, are a silly person.

I think you're right, because OK and TX aren't the south, not really. But in UConn's prior experience it was a factor. FSU, Clemson, GT and perhaps others, didn't want another Yankee school in the ACC, a league with a long southern tradition. I think that was a very big factor favoring Louisville.

 

[billybud]

I don't think it was the "south" that made the difference. For FSU it was football...and it was a certain comfort from having played in the same Metro Conference together with Louisville.

FSU played Louisville in the 1970's and 1980's in football...and had no football experience with UConn.

Saying that, there are many fans like me who prefer a conference that is not spread over many regions, and the move into the northeast is still something the conference is struggling with.

Rivalries, I guess, may be manufactured like the Civil Conflict, but it is difficult to build a great rivalry between programs far removed from each other..

Notre Dame has been one of the few programs that has done so over time.

 

[noeynox]

If Memphis has such big bucks influence from FedEx why the he'll does our athletic dept dwarf theirs in size and revenue?

 

[billybud]

If Memphis has such big bucks influence from FedEx why the he'll does our athletic dept dwarf theirs in size and revenue?

It is not that they currently have big bucks, only the promise of future big bucks if selected to the Big 12.

 

[Adios]

Given everything I have read (non-twitter) and some conversations with people that have more knowledge than me, the Dude, Flugar and most of the media, Uconn is in a fight versus BYU for #4.

 

[billybud]

I am sure that UConn as well as Memphis will come to the bargaining table carrying a barber's cape.

In a way, I hate what the P5 has done. Making the difference between G5 and P5 so drastic that programs are willing to become indentured servants for years before earning full rights. That seems so wrong.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

FedEx was also going to bankroll the Big East/AAC...

 

[NYUConn]

Same way that Nike helped blow up Oregon into a contender...a reported $300 million in contributions reported so far by Phil Knight. Either personal money from a billionaire or a corporate contribution.

Or T Boone Pickens and his $500 million in contributions to Oklahoma State...as he famously said about his name on campus..."it'll be a hell of a long time before someone says, 'who the hell was that guy' ".

What you're talking about is a company and CEO investing in an individual school versus dangling money in front of a conference for sponsorship.

At OK State and Oregon these two individuals have donated to build lecture halls, athletic facilities and sponsored research grants.

This is buying influence sure, but the end game of the $$$ is to go to academia and an individual school's athletic program.

It's a whole different story to just go out there and throw money around for the purpose of sponsoring a football game.

 

[amory]

In a way, I hate what the P5 has done. Making the difference between G5 and P5 so drastic that programs are willing to become indentured servants for years before earning full rights. That seems so wrong.

It is wrong, and it shouldn't be allowed. There should be a set discount that new members of a conference take when they join, there's no problem with that. But making it a race to the bottom is BS. Schools should be added based on what they can bring to the conference, not how cheap they are.

That said, the G5 is indentured servitude anyway. In the AAC our teams are already traveling all over the country for games, and ESPN pays out basically nothing for the TV rights. Whatever pittance the Big 12 will pay out to its new members will easily beat what they're getting now.

 

[jostar1]

Mike Finger ‏@mikefinger · 17h17 hours ago
Either A.: Texas really wants UH, or, B.: Texas wants to look like it tried when UH fails to get 8 votes.

J‏@UCONNfan14
@mikefinger who are your 4? A lot of Big 12 people saying BYU/CINCY/UH/UCONN. Any thing different on your end?

Mike Finger ‏@mikefinger · 17h17 hours ago
You're not from these parts, so here's some advice: Be skeptical of anyone who sounds sure of what's going on.

Mike Finger ‏@mikefinger · 16h16 hours ago
Can't be stressed enough. Even if there are 10 votes to expand, if no single candidate gets 8, it ain't happening.

 

[06029]

don't confuse noise as fact. Very little of what you summarized is true. If Memphis and Houston are added and UConn us not, the fate of the Big 12 will be sealed.

I relayed my opinion and what someone I respect as knowledgeable told me regarding Houston/Cinci/Memphis as the top 3. He has no agenda and it was backed up by a person with a Uconn agenda. I'll take those right now over most sources for the basis of my opinion.

No one knows what is true right now other than the Big12 is looking at expansion. Everything else is opinion.

 

[noeynox]

It is not that they currently have big bucks, only the promise of future big bucks if selected to the Big 12.

Thst is not reasonable. Those big bucks could be funding their AD, at P5 levels now, allowing them among other things, to keep their FB coach. WVU promised the Big 12 an airport, they're still waiting.

 

[Charley Horse]

I would be utterly surprised if Memphis is invited. Their academic standing is just atrocious and I honestly think there's a limit to how low the Big 12 presidents are willing to go on that.

And seemingly lost in yesterday's big news about Houston was this article about BYU, which succinctly reveals why they're not the shoo-in so many people imagine them to be: Could BYU witch hunt keep the Cougars out of the Big 12?

At this point, I would guess that Cincy, UConn and Houston all have seats at the table because they all possess excellent qualities without unsightly baggage.

And I would guess, the biggest decision the Big 12 still has to make is who is #4. If not BYU, then who?

But here's the nub, as I see it: All of us who believe UConn is the best candidate should hope like hell that the Big 12 can settle on a fourth because if they have to drop down to two, UConn may not have the support within the conference that Cincy and Houston seem to have.

 

[Adios]

Tulane!

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

East Carolina delivers all of North Carolina. Someone forgot to tell the 4 teams in NC in the ACC. Why not go all in and say you're more popular than Clemson and USCe in SC?

 

[UConn990411]

Nothing screams "all of North Carolina" like literally being named "East Carolina."

 

[Matrim55]

And I would guess, the biggest decision the Big 12 still has to make is who is #4. If not BYU, then who?

I still think Temple should get more consideration. Big school, big alumni base, good basketball, acceptable Olympic sports in a major metropolitan city.

They're a risk for the obvious reasons, but I have to think that Texas & OU would love to play in front of 70k fans in Philly every other year.

 

[Jimdish255]

Not convinced Texas and some others want Houston, but if Houston is considered a must-invite it probably means 4 teams. And I totally don't understand the media love affair with Memphis. Decent FB (not this year IMO) and Hoops and atrocious academics. They have serious baggage and the sports lunkheads just react to a flashy QB who carried the team to respectability and a big win last year vs Ole Miss.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

No speculation but my preference would be UConn/Temple/Cincy/Houston
Memphis just feels so gross
Does almighty BYU even need the Big12? They are the Notre Dame of the west after all.

 

[Exit 4]

No speculation but my preference would be UConn/Temple/Cincy/Houston
Memphis just feels so gross
Does almighty BYU even need the Big12? They are the Notre Dame of the west after all.

People say Temple is a non starter. However, I think it could have long term dividends as it fills in the large Philly-Wilmington/South NJ market.

 

[Adios]

Temple Should Be At The Top of The List for Big 12 Expansion

 

[Walker11]

Temple Should Be At The Top of The List for Big 12 Expansion

Shocking article from a Temple professor.

 

[FDNY99]

Shocking article from a Temple professor.

Another guy who needs to educate himself with the NYC DMA....