TexGator Posted July 1 Share Posted July 1 Welcome In (or Back In for the Jacks) to our new conference brethren! SFA- I know it may not seem like a step up, but as a school that also made that move to the WAC, I can tell you that our foundation in Southland is much stronger. You'll love that the new commissioner is forward thinking but also loves to build up what's already there. With 2 of your 3 biggest regional rivals here, I hope you see quick success in increasing the number of people through the turnstiles as you will, I'm sure, save millions in travel costs and feel like the Southland is on better footing than when you left it! Vaqueros- It already has felt like y'all were our partners in crime, so to speak, with the UTPA Broncs having been in the ASC and Sun Belt with the Cardinals. It's going to be a lot of fun having y'all with us and I hope that rivalry with the Islanders becomes something to watch blossom. Your joint membership in the conference will hopefully be something you enjoy as I'm sure those trips out to Utah were a little taxing on everyone and were discouraging your fans on travel options. Now, while most of the conference isn't "close" for our RGV friends, annual games in Corpus and the Alamo City will hopefully build up the excitement about your program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geezer Posted July 1 Share Posted July 1 I look forward to the competition, and I understand that travel costs should be considered when making such a move, especially for FCS and group of five schools, but it didn't seem to matter to those that are in the new power conferences. Does it make any sense for UCLA to travel to Rutgers or for Cal to travel to North Carolina. It doesn't without the big money payout from ESPN, but whether or not their fans can make the trip didn't seem to matter in the decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachacola Posted July 1 Share Posted July 1 This is bigger than UT and OU joining the SEC! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexGator Posted July 2 Author Share Posted July 2 On 7/1/2024 at 11:26 AM, geezer said: I look forward to the competition, and I understand that travel costs should be considered when making such a move, especially for FCS and group of five schools, but it didn't seem to matter to those that are in the new power conferences. Does it make any sense for UCLA to travel to Rutgers or for Cal to travel to North Carolina. It doesn't without the big money payout from ESPN, but whether or not their fans can make the trip didn't seem to matter in the decision. When the TV rights are running $30M+ per school, you can do it. The TV money alone is more than any Southland school has as a total budget. Plus, P4 schools have alumni and fans everywhere. May not be able to give them 30K fans for UCLA going to Maryland, but their fans on the East Coast and Great Lakes areas will still come out of the woodwork. Now, does it suck for Volleyball to be likely leaving on Wednesday to play a Thursday/Saturday pair of matches? Yes. But they'll manage- so many classes are online anyway that they'll not miss too much class. But all of this is just the nature of college sports now. I'm surprised the SLC hasn't been able to come up with some "Official Gameday Stop of the Southland Conference" since they're talking up that they've got the shortest trips... monetize that to encourage people to road trip it. 7-Eleven, QuikTrip, Murphy USA, Buc-ee's, TimeWise... there are plenty of potential partners and it gives your schools another shovel of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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