PAC 12 Expansion

[JAB]

I didn't think the benefits of a $45 million dollar influx needed an explanation

No one is saying that money is useless. But I think you need to explain how a $45 million influx gives us any sort of advantage over the new competition we will face--new competition that (1) will generally be a higher caliber opponent, (2) gets the same rev share we get, and (3) already has a larger financial baseline before the rev share even hits. Will we have an advantage over G5 schools? Maybe, but those aren't our opponents anymore.

But again, this gets back to my first question. Do we actually care about being competitive, or do we only care about not being a "little guy"?

[cajun4life]

No one is saying that money is useless. But I think you need to explain how a $45 million influx gives us any sort of advantage over the new competition we will face--new competition that (1) will generally be a higher caliber opponent, (2) gets the same rev share we get, and (3) already has a larger financial baseline before the rev share even hits. Will we have an advantage over G5 schools? Maybe, but those aren't our opponents anymore.

But again, this gets back to my first question. Do we actually care about being competitive, or do we only care about not being a "little guy"?

Our total budget would increase to roughly $90M annually. Not to mention, bring in a larger portion of the casual Cajuns fan base.

Immediately, Cajun football, basketball, baseball, and softball would see the floor of our recruiting rise to what our current ceiling is.

UL would land just about any player that LSU passes on that ends up at Miss St/Mizzou/Ole Miss because of conference affiliation.

The entire profile of the university would change overnight.

Here’s the catch, we will never even be considered because no SBC team is making that sort of leap in conference affiliation. The PAC and AAC is where the Big 12 would pull from.

[RaginDave]

Our total budget would increase to roughly $90M annually. Not to mention, bring in a larger portion of the casual Cajuns fan base.

Immediately, Cajun football, basketball, baseball, and softball would see the floor of our recruiting rise to what our current ceiling is.

UL would land just about any player that LSU passes on that ends up at Miss St/Mizzou/Ole Miss because of conference affiliation.

The entire profile of the university would change overnight.

Here’s the catch, we will never even be considered because no SBC team is making that sort of leap in conference affiliation. The PAC and AAC is where the Big 12 would pull from.

Hence the main reason that Texas State made the move. They are in it for the long haul, plus they have a better financial base than we do right now, so they could afford to take the chance.

[cajunfan96]

Our total budget would increase to roughly $90M annually. Not to mention, bring in a larger portion of the casual Cajuns fan base.

Immediately, Cajun football, basketball, baseball, and softball would see the floor of our recruiting rise to what our current ceiling is.

UL would land just about any player that LSU passes on that ends up at Miss St/Mizzou/Ole Miss because of conference affiliation.

The entire profile of the university would change overnight.

Here’s the catch, we will never even be considered because no SBC team is making that sort of leap in conference affiliation. The PAC and AAC is where the Big 12 would pull from.

Nah..... we good with being in southland 2.0 and running a $40million deficit!

[Turbine]

... this gets back to my first question. Do we actually care about being competitive, or do we only care about not being a "little guy"?

You forget.

Your first question/request was something, anything better than "it would be cool."

[CajunRed]

The "regardless" comment is yours, and yours alone.

I said "better finances is a "benefit""

That benefit isn't just sitting on an excel sheet ledger in the cloud. It would presumably extend across the board.

Better finances, better exposure, better hiring, better nutrition, better recruiting. Better overall program.

All leading to being competitive in their new environment.

Unless someone disagrees with that, I don't know how many more comments you would expect in that regard.

Agree.

Not saying it will ever happen... but moving to the Big12 would be MASSIVE!

[JAB]

You forget.

Your first question/request was something, anything better than "it would be cool."

If the rationale for joining the Big 12 is "I don't care if we lose every game, I just want to be in the better conference," that is virtually identical to "it would be cool." This is the opinion of at least one person in here.

If the rationale is "I think the rev share will automatically lead to more athletic success," that is definitely better than "it would be cool." But it is delusional. This seems to be the opinion of most people in here.

If the rationale is "It probably won't lead to any short-term success, but it might give us a better chance in the future," that is the most reasonable position. But I think I've seen only one person who is willing to admit that joining the Big 12 won't immediately solve all of the athletic woes.

[Turbine]

If the rationale for joining the Big 12 is "I don't care if we lose every game, I just want to be in the better conference," that is virtually identical to "it would be cool." This is the opinion of at least one person in here.

If the rationale is "I think the rev share will automatically lead to more athletic success," that is definitely better than "it would be cool." But it is delusional. This seems to be the opinion of most people in here.

If the rationale is "It probably won't lead to any short-term success, but it might give us a better chance in the future," that is the most reasonable position. But I think I've seen only one person who is willing to admit that joining the Big 12 won't immediately solve all of the athletic woes.

I didn't realize the root of your question was "solving all athletic woes"

Still you openly admit "one person" said it.

Well "one person" said the were willing to absorb the initial hit. Yet you somehow made it a forever stance and then somehow applied it to the whole board.

On morale alone, UL would see success in certain areas.

[Ragin9221]

If the rationale for joining the Big 12 is "I don't care if we lose every game, I just want to be in the better conference," that is virtually identical to "it would be cool." This is the opinion of at least one person in here.

If the rationale is "I think the rev share will automatically lead to more athletic success," that is definitely better than "it would be cool." But it is delusional. This seems to be the opinion of most people in here.

If the rationale is "It probably won't lead to any short-term success, but it might give us a better chance in the future," that is the most reasonable position. But I think I've seen only one person who is willing to admit that joining the Big 12 won't immediately solve all of the athletic woes.

If you want my honest opinion. If the Big 12 expands again, it’s not coming east it’s raiding what’s left of the Pac‑12. That’s the money path, that’s the geography, and they’ve already shown their hand with Colorado, Utah, BYU, Arizona, and Arizona State. They’re building a western arm, and when they add again, it’ll be schools like Colorado State, Boise State, and San Diego State. UL isn’t even in that room.

if UL wants a real shot at moving to the Big 12. The focus has to be west. Not east. Not fantasy. West. Even Louisiana Tech figured that out twenty years ago. It didn’t work out for them, but at least they understood the direction the sport was moving.

And honestly, the only realistic path for UL is a rebuilt Pac‑12 looking for stability, academics, and new markets. An R1 school in the Gulf South actually fits what they’d need. And we’d get national visibility, recruiting reach, and a platform we’ll never get in the Sun Belt. It’s not guaranteed, but it’s the only lane that makes sense.

But let’s be real, jumping to the Pac‑12 means trading stability for chaos. And UL isn’t getting picked ahead of SDSU, Boise, or CSU unless we dramatically level up. If we miss, we’re stuck in a weaker, more unstable league than the Sun Belt is right now.

Sometimes you take risks. But the pros only outweigh the cons if UL is willing to make a massive financial commitment to athletics. Not talk. Not “one day.” Real investment. Because the schools we’d be competing with aren’t playing around they’ve got the money, the markets, the academics, and the commitment.

Only one or two of them are getting in.

[JAB]

I didn't realize the root of your question was "solving all athletic woes"

Still you openly admit "one person" said it.

Well "one person" said the were willing to absorb the initial hit. Yet you somehow made it a forever stance and then somehow applied it to the whole board.

On morale alone, UL would see success in certain areas.

1) 99% of the posts on this board either complain about or propose solutions to the athletic programs.

2) Show me where I claimed that Esqueleto's stance was held by the whole board.

3) I somewhat agree that morale would increase. But if the athletic programs perform poorly in the more advanced conference, I think morale would probably fade.

4) And since all you do on this thread is incorrectly pick apart my words, I will clarify that the "99%" I referenced above is a hyperbole, not a literal 99%.