Have they shed the "students from NE who can't get in anywhere else" or the "pay your fees get your Bs"?
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Have they shed the "students from NE who can't get in anywhere else" or the "pay your fees get your Bs"?
You are correct about the WAC, but it is not like they came out of nowhere. Yes, they did have an average regular season, but they were ranked in some polls preseason that year. You know more than most how funny baseball can be. Heck, we got swept by UNO right before we went to Omaha.
Point is, the MWC is a nice conference. The PAC remnants might have to tighten their wallets a little, and their pride will take a hit, but the quality of play in all sports at Oregon State and Washington State will probably be the same as before.
I'm shocked the ACC picked SMU.
Except I'm not. I was really shocked when the AAC didn't pick Georgia State. They want major markets, they want schools with academics, they want schools with growth potential? GSU is way ahead of some of the schools they picked.
Who would be the other two? Can't say, because different presidents and different conferences use different metrics. USM shocked everyone by coming this way, and brought Marshall and ODU with them. I'm not sure the conventional wiseguys saw that coming. But it worked out nicely, and if we continue knocking off big boys like we did last year, that's going to throw some shoes in the sprockets.
If football is the driver, and TV is driving football, what I want to see are the Nielson and cable numbers. ESPN has those, and if conferences aren't consulting them, that's a mistake.
Short answer: I don't know who the other two are. My reasons for suspecting that UL is on many short lists is because of our growing sports success, our expanding sports, academic and research facilities, our rapid research growth, Louisiana as a major talent pool...
...and yes, the names 'Louisiana' and 'Ragin' Cajuns' are also going to help. As will the schools who have visited UL, and loved coming here. Don't discount those intangibles.