Earlier this summer I took a trip to Atlanta and back with the publishers of the LA Tech and ULM Rivals sites. This is some of the shots I took on the trip.
You can follow them on Twitter @BleedTechBlue and @WarhawkReport.
Alabama
Auburn
LA Tech
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Videos from Sun Belt media day
Behind the scenes at the SBC media day.
ULL coach Mark Hunspeth
Arkansas State QB Ryan Aplin
MTSU DE Omar McClendon
Arkansas State head coach Gus Malzahn
ULM head coach Todd Berry
WKU TE Jack Doyle
FIU coach Mario Cristobal
Troy head coach Larry Blankenship
ULL QB Blaine Gaultier
COX Sports Sun Belt Preview
Video from WAC Media Day, etc
The WAC fifty year anniversary video.
UTSA head coach Larry Coker, QB Eric Soza, and LB Steven Kurfels.
Utah State head coach Gary Andersen, WR Matt Austin and LB Bojay Filimoeatu
SJSU head coach Mike MacIntyre and OT David Quessenberry
Texas State head coach Dennis Franchione, RB Marcus Curry and CB Darryl Morris
NMSU head coach DeWayne Walker, QB Andrew Manley, and DE Donte Savage
LA Tech head coach Sonny Dykes, DB Chad Boyd and QB Colby Cameron
Idaho head coach Robb Akey, WR Mike Scott and CB Aaron Grymes
Commissioner Jeff Hurd
Monday, April 30, 2012
Texas State to join Sun Belt in 2013
Multiple sources have confirmed to the BobcatReport staff that Texas
State will join the Sun Belt Conference for the 2013 season from their
soon-to-be future league, the Western Athletic Conference.
The Bobcats, one of seven universities competing in the WAC for the 2012 season, will defect from the Denver-based league along with UT San Antonio (CUSA), Utah State (MWC), and San Jose State (MWC).
Texas State is expected to replace North Texas in the Sun Belt, also reported to be joining Conference USA with UTSA. Georgia State was recently added to the Sun Belt for the 2013 season from the Football Championship Subdivision. The Sun Belt also expects to lose Florida International to CUSA.
The 2013 Sun Belt, led by longtime WAC commissioner Karl Benson, will consist of 2011 champion Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Troy, South Alabama, Middle Tennessee State, Western Kentucky, Florida International, Georgia State, and Texas State. Longtime member Arkansas-Little Rock does not compete in football.
The Bobcats, one of seven universities competing in the WAC for the 2012 season, will defect from the Denver-based league along with UT San Antonio (CUSA), Utah State (MWC), and San Jose State (MWC).
Texas State is expected to replace North Texas in the Sun Belt, also reported to be joining Conference USA with UTSA. Georgia State was recently added to the Sun Belt for the 2013 season from the Football Championship Subdivision. The Sun Belt also expects to lose Florida International to CUSA.
The 2013 Sun Belt, led by longtime WAC commissioner Karl Benson, will consist of 2011 champion Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Troy, South Alabama, Middle Tennessee State, Western Kentucky, Florida International, Georgia State, and Texas State. Longtime member Arkansas-Little Rock does not compete in football.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Realignment News?
Do you want the good news or the bad news first? Well, since I can't predict the future, I get to pick.
There's a posted meeting for the UT System Board of Regents for the 12th. I have been trying to figure out what it is since the middle of last month. UT has steadfastly refused to release what the subject matter is until Monday the 9th.
Well, UTSA has very publicly started lobbying for Alliance membership, specifically the CUSA side. That's thrown a wrench into the plans of Karl Benson and the Sun Belt, whom I believe was ready to offer them membership next week at the same time he was formally going to offer Georgia State.
What does this mean for Texas State? Well, one school's loss is another one's gain. I am working my rear off here but I believe Texas State is next up for the Belt. I don't have a timeframe on when we should expect this but it's in the works.
There's a ton of details to be worked out, like exit fees and other nonsense. You're not going to hear a peep out of the administration or the Sun Belt. This has been very hard to track down.
Texas State and Georgia State would join the Sun Belt for 2013.
Now, the bad news. Texas State is a potential candidate for the Mountain West Conference if they go to 12 teams. They might do it now, they might wait a year. Either way, they are going to expand to more than 8 or 9 with the addition of UTEP. If Texas State joins the Sun Belt, they will probably be saddled with a huge buyout if they want to leave. I'm talking BCS conference size, if not greater. They'll already have to pay exit fees to the WAC on top of everything else. Benson is acutely aware of the financial aspect involved.
The longer the wait until an announcement, the better Texas State looks in the eyes of the Mountain West. Members like Wyoming and New Mexico covet the location between Austin and San Antonio for recruiting purposes. The problem here is that they still might lose another member and not want anyone at State's level to join until 2015. CUSA's television contract dictates that they are to have a championship game, so they're a little more hard pressed for members before the '13 season. The two conferences are working together to ensure stability so I believe CUSA's roster will be filled first. There's schools ahead of Texas State in line for the MWC, such as San Jose State and Utah State.
How patient is Texas State going to be? I have no idea.
There's a posted meeting for the UT System Board of Regents for the 12th. I have been trying to figure out what it is since the middle of last month. UT has steadfastly refused to release what the subject matter is until Monday the 9th.
Well, UTSA has very publicly started lobbying for Alliance membership, specifically the CUSA side. That's thrown a wrench into the plans of Karl Benson and the Sun Belt, whom I believe was ready to offer them membership next week at the same time he was formally going to offer Georgia State.
What does this mean for Texas State? Well, one school's loss is another one's gain. I am working my rear off here but I believe Texas State is next up for the Belt. I don't have a timeframe on when we should expect this but it's in the works.
There's a ton of details to be worked out, like exit fees and other nonsense. You're not going to hear a peep out of the administration or the Sun Belt. This has been very hard to track down.
Texas State and Georgia State would join the Sun Belt for 2013.
Now, the bad news. Texas State is a potential candidate for the Mountain West Conference if they go to 12 teams. They might do it now, they might wait a year. Either way, they are going to expand to more than 8 or 9 with the addition of UTEP. If Texas State joins the Sun Belt, they will probably be saddled with a huge buyout if they want to leave. I'm talking BCS conference size, if not greater. They'll already have to pay exit fees to the WAC on top of everything else. Benson is acutely aware of the financial aspect involved.
The longer the wait until an announcement, the better Texas State looks in the eyes of the Mountain West. Members like Wyoming and New Mexico covet the location between Austin and San Antonio for recruiting purposes. The problem here is that they still might lose another member and not want anyone at State's level to join until 2015. CUSA's television contract dictates that they are to have a championship game, so they're a little more hard pressed for members before the '13 season. The two conferences are working together to ensure stability so I believe CUSA's roster will be filled first. There's schools ahead of Texas State in line for the MWC, such as San Jose State and Utah State.
How patient is Texas State going to be? I have no idea.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Winds of Change?
The list of prospects for the Conference USA / Mountain West merger has the Bobcats right in the thick of the hunt.
Schools that have applied to the Alliance:
(WAC)
Idaho
LA Tech
New Mexico State
San Jose State
Texas State
UTSA
Utah State
(Sun Belt)
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
North Texas
(A-10)
Charlotte
A couple of things to add:
On the BobcatReport Podcast that was previously recorded, I stated stating my belief that Texas State was going to be an eventual member of the Mountain West while University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) would join Conference USA.
Now that someone besides myself is talking about something I said I wasn't going to, I'm open for questions.
It was my belief that the Alliance would split Texas State and UTSA up if you saw my original thread on this subject. Texas State would join the West and the Runners would join the East. The timing of this leak is extremely interesting.
 |  |
| |
| Will Texas State be one of the schools selected by the new CUSA/MW merger? |
(WAC)
Idaho
LA Tech
New Mexico State
San Jose State
Texas State
UTSA
Utah State
(Sun Belt)
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
North Texas
(A-10)
Charlotte
A couple of things to add:
On the BobcatReport Podcast that was previously recorded, I stated stating my belief that Texas State was going to be an eventual member of the Mountain West while University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) would join Conference USA.
Now that someone besides myself is talking about something I said I wasn't going to, I'm open for questions.
It was my belief that the Alliance would split Texas State and UTSA up if you saw my original thread on this subject. Texas State would join the West and the Runners would join the East. The timing of this leak is extremely interesting.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Is Texas State in Play?
Texas State, UTSA, and North Texas are candidates if this is a
24 team league. I fully expect it to be. You need twelve teams to have a league
championship game (a "Semifinal", if you will), and since this is a new league,
they will need the approval of 3/4ths of membership to vote someone in. That is
now 12 members. A team in Colorado will have the same amount of pull as a team
in West Virginia toward expansion into Florida.
Texas is able to house teams in both of the middle divisions so it will probably raise the least amount of objections from such far-flung membership. Over half of the Alliance signed a 2012 recruit from the state. I think there are some very good Sun Belt programs like MTSU and Troy that will be left out of the Alliance because they aren't sexy enough names to the West or even to proud schools like Rice or Southern Miss. Those are my two wild cards. If one of them get in you can blow this entire thing up and start over.
I'd like to think that Texas State would have the support of Rice, Tulane, Tulsa, Air Force, UTEP, Wyoming, and New Mexico. That's 7/12.
The MWC side has nine teams and the CUSA side has seven. My current projection is for the West to add Utah State, San Jose State, and Texas State. I expect the East to add LA Tech, North Texas, one of FIU or FAU, Temple (football only), and UTSA. This will create a divisional setup as follows:
*Football Only
I think it is very likely Air Force leaves in two seasons for the Big East. When that happens, I expect UTSA to move to the Mountain division, Southern Miss to the Central, and the candidate to come from the East Coast. By then, Charlotte and Georgia State will have a couple of seasons under their belts and bring good markets into play.
As far as the WAC goes, I expect the Belt to readmit former members Idaho, Denver, and New Mexico State - plus offer UT Arlington membership. Seattle would apply for the WCC and one of the oldest conferences in the country would cease to exist. Boise would probably look toward the Big Sky for non-football athletics.
I put the odds of something close to this happening at 40%.
----
Another scenario would have the Sun Belt and MAC raided along with the WAC with a different twist on the outcome for the WAC.
*Football Only
The reeling WAC and Sun Belt then look to merge, and join an alliance with the MAC.
All current WAC non-football full members would be folded into
this along with UALR of the Sun Belt.
I put the odds of this happening (or something similar) at 30%.
---
Finally, I have a doomsday scenario. What if the Alliance just brought back their former WAC-mates and added the Florida Belt schools?
*Football Only
It's not the end of the world as Texas State would probably help shore up a tighter Sun Belt. They can still partner up with the MAC and eventually add Lamar, and "save" UT Arlington if they decide to revive football.
Arkansas State
Lamar
Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana-Monroe
Middle Tennessee
North Texas
Southern Alabama
Texas State
UTA
UTSA
Troy
Western Kentucky
Odds of something close to this, in my opinion? 20%.
---
I'm saving that last 10% for something unexpected, like the alliance staying at 20.
I've gone on record multiple times that I like the WAC and outside an almost-certain pounding by LA Tech in 2012, I like Texas State's chances in the depleted conference. It's a great place to incubate a program and the Bobcats should be competitive sooner rather than later. In my mind, these are the three most likely scenarios for Texas State and the new Alliance.
Texas is able to house teams in both of the middle divisions so it will probably raise the least amount of objections from such far-flung membership. Over half of the Alliance signed a 2012 recruit from the state. I think there are some very good Sun Belt programs like MTSU and Troy that will be left out of the Alliance because they aren't sexy enough names to the West or even to proud schools like Rice or Southern Miss. Those are my two wild cards. If one of them get in you can blow this entire thing up and start over.
I'd like to think that Texas State would have the support of Rice, Tulane, Tulsa, Air Force, UTEP, Wyoming, and New Mexico. That's 7/12.
The MWC side has nine teams and the CUSA side has seven. My current projection is for the West to add Utah State, San Jose State, and Texas State. I expect the East to add LA Tech, North Texas, one of FIU or FAU, Temple (football only), and UTSA. This will create a divisional setup as follows:
| Pacific Division | Mountain Division | Central Division | Eastern Division |
| San Jose State | Air Force | Rice | East Carolina |
| Hawaii* | Colorado State | Tulane | Marshall |
| Fresno State | New Mexico | Tulsa | Southern Miss |
| Nevada | UTEP | La Tech | UAB |
| UNLV | Wyoming | North Texas | FIU/FAU |
| Utah State | Texas State | UTSA | Temple* |
I think it is very likely Air Force leaves in two seasons for the Big East. When that happens, I expect UTSA to move to the Mountain division, Southern Miss to the Central, and the candidate to come from the East Coast. By then, Charlotte and Georgia State will have a couple of seasons under their belts and bring good markets into play.
As far as the WAC goes, I expect the Belt to readmit former members Idaho, Denver, and New Mexico State - plus offer UT Arlington membership. Seattle would apply for the WCC and one of the oldest conferences in the country would cease to exist. Boise would probably look toward the Big Sky for non-football athletics.
I put the odds of something close to this happening at 40%.
----
Another scenario would have the Sun Belt and MAC raided along with the WAC with a different twist on the outcome for the WAC.
| Pacific Division | Mountain Division | Central Division | Eastern Division |
| San Jose State | Air Force | Rice | East Carolina |
| Hawaii* | Colorado State | Tulane | Marshall |
| Fresno State | New Mexico | Tulsa | Buffalo |
| Nevada | UTEP | UAB | FIU |
| UNLV | Wyoming | Mid Tenn/Troy/Western Kentucky | FAU |
| Utah State | North Texas | Southern Miss | Temple* |
The reeling WAC and Sun Belt then look to merge, and join an alliance with the MAC.
| Idaho | Arkansas State | Akron | Ball State |
| New Mexico State | Louisiana-Lafayette | Bowling Green | Central Michigan |
| Texas state | Louisiana-Monroe | Kent State | Eastern Michigan |
| UTSA | South Alabama | Miami (OH) | Northern Illinois |
| La Tech | Mid Tenn/Western Ken/TU | Ohio | UMass |
| TBD (UTA?) | Mid Tenn/Western Ken/TU | Toledo | Western Michigan |
I put the odds of this happening (or something similar) at 30%.
---
Finally, I have a doomsday scenario. What if the Alliance just brought back their former WAC-mates and added the Florida Belt schools?
| Pacific Division | Mountain Division | Central Division | Eastern Division |
| San Jose State | Air Force | Rice | East Carolina |
| Hawaii* | Colorado State | Tulane | Marshall |
| Fresno State | New Mexico | Tulsa | UAB |
| Nevada | UTEP/New Mexico St | La Tech | FIU |
| UNLV | Wyoming | New Mexico St /UTEP | FAU |
| Utah State | Idaho | Southern Miss | Temple* |
It's not the end of the world as Texas State would probably help shore up a tighter Sun Belt. They can still partner up with the MAC and eventually add Lamar, and "save" UT Arlington if they decide to revive football.
Arkansas State
Lamar
Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana-Monroe
Middle Tennessee
North Texas
Southern Alabama
Texas State
UTA
UTSA
Troy
Western Kentucky
Odds of something close to this, in my opinion? 20%.
---
I'm saving that last 10% for something unexpected, like the alliance staying at 20.
I've gone on record multiple times that I like the WAC and outside an almost-certain pounding by LA Tech in 2012, I like Texas State's chances in the depleted conference. It's a great place to incubate a program and the Bobcats should be competitive sooner rather than later. In my mind, these are the three most likely scenarios for Texas State and the new Alliance.
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