New Southwest Conference

Sort of. I have been thinking about this recently. There should be some conference realignment. North Texas plays in the Sunbelt Conference. We play such regional teams such as Florida International and Florida Atlantic, and not to mention Middle Tennessee State. Really, this is just a conference of teams not picked first in the pick up game of college football. We are part of the stragglers who have to team up if we want to play with the others. That sucks.


Recently, after UNT played SMU in a home and home series split, with each holding home field) I got to thinking, as I am wont to do, that we should be in the same conference. Texas-Oklahoma was a good rivalry that got turned up after they joined the same conference. Nothing inspires more hatred than a rival who thwarts your conference championship hopes. Yes, I said hate. Fun hate. The way A&M fans hate Texas. You know what I mean.

Here is the plan. You get TCU, North Texas, SMU, Houston, Rice, Troy, Tulsa, and maybe UTEP, or an Arkansas or Lousiana team. Getting say, Arkansas State and Lousiana-Lafayette, gives you ten. Add two more nearby teams like Tulane and UAB and we can have a conference championship game. The only problem logistics wise is that UTEP and Alabama are so far apart. The solution here is the conference divisions. It separates nicely into East and West.

East you would have UAB, Tulane, Arkansas State, Troy, Tulsa and ULL.

West would have UTEP, TCU, UNT, SMU, Houston and Rice.

I guess you could always drop UTEP for UL-Monroe. This drops the prestige a little but makes traveling a little easier. In that case, Tulsa would go from East to West and ULM would be an East Team.

EAST	UAB	Tulane	Ark. St	Troy	Tulsa	ULL
WEST	UTEP	TCU	UNT	SMU	Houston	Rice

OR:

EAST	UAB	Tulane	Ark.St.	Troy	ULM	ULL
WEST	TCU	UNT	SMU	Houston	Rice	Tulsa

Now what are the hurdles here? Well, current agreements aside, we have a mix of schools with billion dollar endowments with schools with hundred million dollar endowments. You have some teams that are not as prestigious former league-mates (TCU would be losing BYU.)

So what are the benefits? Well for UNT it would be an enormous prestige boost. Associating with former national champions (SMU) and teams that have been ranked in the top 25 the last 25 years (Tulane, Tulsa, TCU, etc) would make us look a lot better.

What is in it for the other schools? Well for the other former Sunbelt guys, it would be that same prestige boost. For the name schools who are leaning on former prestige (SMU, Houston, Rice) and those who are enjoying current runs (TCU, Tulsa, Troy) you would get the opportunity for more money, and a bigger spotlight. Granted, the Mountain West gets some respect. So does C-USA. In this situation you would have arguably the best and most consistently good teams of the lesser conferences: MWC, C-USA, and Sunbelt. You would have solid teams and natural rivals competing in two of the largest markets in America. Don't forget that Texas, especially the Metroplex and Houston area are hotbeds for talent.

In the short run, you the better teams can beat up on the likes of UNT, and its former Sunbelt pals. With the money from the inevitable TV deals, and conference championship games, the other teams can get better faster than they would currently. This is good for all involved of course. It raises the prestige and credibility. Plus they would haul in the dough.


P.S.


I am talking football only here, mind you. There could also be other non-football members in here. How about UTSA, and A&M-CC for basketball? They have both made the Tourney this decade. The University of New Orleans also has had decent teams in the past. This would probably be the option if they couldn't get to 12 teams quickly.