I know and it’s sad. In a horrible conference with a bunch of teams from Texas. This is like a nightmare. Honest to God I just can’t understand why the CUSA East and sunbelt East can’t merge and same for the west. It may not be a powerhouse conference but at least it would be a fun conference. We have zero business being in a conference with four teams from Texas. Those games will never feel like a conference game much less a rival.
The NCAA wouldn’t recognize a new league for 3-years. Meaning no NCAA basketball auto-bid and no tournament credits.
There are ways around this, but it requires virtually all schools in two leagues to be on board (i.e. the SB East/CUSA East becomes the Sun Belt, while the SB West/CUSA West become Conference USA), and they’re clearly not. We are in a league with a lot of schools that simply do not care, because they fast-tracked through building a fan base by advancing without any success. They don’t have invested alumni who care. They’re not like us.
We are, in many ways, a minority when it comes to college athletics. A small public school with few financial resources but a rabid, invested fan base. There aren’t enough like us to join everyone in (Appy, Ga. Southern, Southern Miss come to mind).
But let me add this: the Big 12 looked awful again yesterday. It’s amazing what leveling the playing field does when it comes to fans in stands, etc. Oklahoma and Texas are mediocre. Houston Baptist is one of the top teams in Texas, and that’s not hyperbole.