Crump1 wrote:
Truth be told, UTSA probably fits better in the Sun Belt than they would in the WAC (that's outright ridiculous). It would give UNT a travel partner and they would be able to recruit. For that to happen though it would mean the Belt got rid of Denver (which is coming) and added another team aling with UTSA to get to 12.
Your above SBC notion getting to 12 does not include the fact UALR and UNO are members of the league. With UTSA and XXX team, that's 14, even if Denver heads on out.
The Sun Belt seems to want to grow east if you ask me. Likely teams for the SBC in my mind are Jacksonville State and Georgia State. Jax St is a natural rival for Troy. Both JaxSt and Ga St are not far apart either.
Why would the SBC need new teams? South Alabama. Western Kentucky. And to a bit lesser extent, Middle Tennessee and Troy. All four schools are mentioned in chatter regarding conference realignment.
The C-USA will need their fill of new teams when the eastern schools break off (that's Marshall and East Carolina) and maybe Memphis or go to some sort of new Big East. They'll look to the Sun Belt and ignore La Tech.
The Sun Belt will then lose a school or few. I really see Jax St, Georgia State and UTSA in the mix there. It all depends on which school(s) leave. UTSA is an obvious fit being straight down I-35 from NT and with easy travel access (airport).
I agree with UTSA being a better fit in the SBC than the WAC. The WAC is a mess, one that La Tech wants out of. Problem is, no one wants to add Ruston to their league, especially now that their Title IX programs are in the dump from the financial crunch that exists now that they are in the WAC and not SBC. TXST could be possible WAC fodder because they have no better option if they want FBS, further down the "food chain" than a number of schools on the pecking order and because the WAC wants to keep La Tech with a somewhat closer foe.