American Athletic Conference

[OregonShocker]

FWIW, Warrennolan.com has the AAC NPI (his "Nolan" version of RPI) at 7, ahead of A10, WestCoast, Mountain West, and, at #11, MVC.

[Shocker-maniac]

Potential impact of WSU moving to AAC:

http://www.midmajormadness.com/2016/12/15/13972218/wichita-state-american-athletic-conference-realignment-missouri-valley-rumor

[Heinro]

The timeline of:

1. AAC does nothing but wait around.
2. No AAC schools are taken in B12 realignment
3. AAC has meetings and discuss improving conference by adding WSU

has a bit of a positive look to it to me.

I agree. It doesn't hurt that the AAC is potentially, with the worse case scenario, a 1 bid league this year. Conference realignment talk so far has only gotten my hopes up though.

To continue with my wish, I would love for it to happen next year if it was possible. Moving next year would really help the transition into a new conference, and it would be a wonderful opportunity to showcase next years team on the big stage. But beggars can't be choosers.

[ShockerFever]

I have no control over which conference WSU Athletics resides in so no need to wish me luck. The AAC just hasn't ever excited me as much as MWC or Big East. That's just me. Obviously plenty of other people are excited about it which is great. If it actually happens I'll have some time to come around on the conference. It would certainly be a step up from the Valley.

If it's a step up from the Valley, then who cares?

[Cdizzle]

If you assume a worst case where WSU joins the AAC and it immediately gets raided of UConn and Cincy (not going to happen, but just go with it); that still leaves a conference with Memphis, Tulsa, SMU, Houston and Temple. Any world where that isn't still a monumental jump up from the MVC isn't one where anyone is still watching college basketball.

[shockmonster]

Yeah, it'd sure suck to potentially play UCONN, Cincy, Memphis, SMU, Houston, Temple, Tulsa, and SMU twice every year over Loyola, Drake, Evansville, and the like.
!

I agree that the AAC has a lot of positives that have been mentioned. There are a good number of Too 50-75 basketball programs. The only major thing I don't like about the AAC (besides how spread out the schools with questions about the landing spots for baseball, track, volleyball, etc) is that we would have no influence and probably on the bottom step of the ladder without football.

The Big East League and WSU has many problems and they may not even be considering us (I have a feeling they are but no proof), but if we could go to the Big East, we'd be on equal footing with the other schools because all schools are basketball schools with other women and men's athletic sports.

[Heinro]

I just can't really get that excited about AAC other than "it's not the valley." Give me the Big East where basketball is king. If Big East is not an option (please spare me) then I guess this is fine.

While the Big East is obviously the dream, I am not sure how joining the AAC would hurt our 0.1% chance of getting into the Big East. Butler was only in the A10 for a brief period of time before joining the Big East. I think one could potentially argue, if anything, joining the AAC might increase our chances of the Big East being interested; getting to prove ourselves in a better conference, increasing the exposure of our program, etc.

[Jamar Howard 4 President]

is that we would have no influence and probably on the bottom step of the ladder without football.

What influence do the Shox currently have in the MVC that they would be giving up?

[Cdizzle]

I agree that the AAC has a lot of positives that have been mentioned. There are a good number of Too 50-75 basketball programs. The only major thing I don't like about the AAC (besides how spread out the schools with questions about the landing spots for baseball, track, volleyball, etc) is that we would have no influence and probably on the bottom step of the ladder without football.

The Big East League and WSU has many problems and they may not even be considering us (I have a feeling they are but no proof), but if we could go to the Big East, we'd be on equal footing with the other schools because all schools are basketball schools with other women and men's athletic sports.

Would you say that WSU has had a lot of say in recent Valley decisions that were a positive to WSU? I find it difficult to believe that influence would diminish. If anything, it might be nice to have 10 schools and league officials ignoring your wants instead of actively working against them. At least the schools in the AAC share a common and important trait, ambition.

[SHOCKvalue]

I agree that the AAC has a lot of positives that have been mentioned. There are a good number of Too 50-75 basketball programs. The only major thing I don't like about the AAC (besides how spread out the schools with questions about the landing spots for baseball, track, volleyball, etc) is that we would have no influence and probably on the bottom step of the ladder without football.

I understand you're point, but what exactly has our top-of-the-food-chain influence gotten us in the MVC?

[Shocker-maniac]

I think that we're getting too big for our britches.





Our MVC britches, that is.

[SHOCKvalue]

What influence do the Shox currently have in the MVC that they would be giving up?

Would you say that WSU has had a lot of say in recent Valley decisions that were a positive to WSU? I find it difficult to believe that influence would diminish. If anything, it might be nice to have 10 schools and league officials ignoring your wants instead of actively working against them. At least the schools in the AAC share a common and important trait, ambition.

I understand you're point, but what exactly has our top-of-the-food-chain influence gotten us in the MVC?

LOL!

We three posted the same exact thought, at roughly the exact same point in time.

[Shocker-maniac]

....

[pinstripers]

Wow. This is a helluva thing to come home to......

[pie n eye]

If it's a step up from the Valley, then who cares?

Absolutely, if our choices are AAC or stay in Valley for the next, I dunno, ten years + then yeah who cares. In that scenario we don't have any other options so it's pretty much the obvious choice.

If there are other options especially the Big East that might open up in the near future I'd rather wait it out.

My reservations with AAC are that it's a still primarily a football conference with several members seemingly ripe for an ACC, B12-2, B10 to poach. MWC might not be as good of a league but it seems more stable. Maybe it isn't. Big East seems like the perfect fit at least in terms of the narrow scope of mens basketball.