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Message: [QUOTE="SVCBeercats, post: 4342216, member: 7874"] This study sought to estimate how conferences value program ranking and program popularity when adding conference members. The paper is an interesting read, at least the parts I read. Zipping to the conclusion: “We find evidence suggesting that Power Five conferences, those who drive conference realignment, have preferences for football programs with larger potential fan bases, but do not necessarily prefer winning football teams.” Well UCONN does have a perrenial losing football program. One box checked! ;):rolleyes: So how does UCONN make a case for a potentially large football fan base? Is there quantative evidence showing the popularity of UCONN's existing football program? Does UCONN draw well from the Northeast states? This is very important since the words are “larger [B]potential [/B]fan base” and Connecticut is not a populous state. Could the national popularity of the UCONN women's basketball program be leveraged? Can it be quantified? [B]Competition Among Athletic Conferences for New Members[/B] [URL unfurl="true"]https://web.holycross.edu/RePEc/fek/Session04.3-Reilly.pdf[/URL] [/QUOTE]