American Athletic Conference

[MadaboutWu]

Unless, of course, football injuries cause the sport's talent pool to dwindle. I was skeptical about this until just this weekend I found out my nephew, who is a high school sophomore and plays three sports (football, basketball, and baseball) is dropping football and concentrating on the two other sports he plays because he doesn't want to ruin his adult years with a debilitating football injury. A few of his friends are contemplating the same thing. I knew this was becoming more commonplace, but now I've seen it first hand. I'm starting to believe football may not last as a major sport over the next 20-30 years, and I'm starting to believe football will not "always" drive the bus.

I think your nephew is a smart young man.

[UofMemphis]

Meanwhile, Memphis will pay the 6th highest COA (out of last year's top 25)...and we're funneling the basketball budget over to football...Memphis is a hoops town, but football will always King in the South.

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/4/6/8350911/memphis-sixth-among-top-25-college-football-programs-in-cost-of

[AndShock]

Football will drive the bus until Congress decides to butt in or a few generations pass and we are all gone anyways, whichever comes first. There will never be a shortage of people willing to put their well-being at risk for tens of millions of dollars and there are always going to be people willing to watch them do it.

[pogo]

Football will drive the bus until Congress decides to butt in or a few generations pass and we are all gone anyways, whichever comes first. There will never be a shortage of people willing to put their well-being at risk for tens of millions of dollars and there are always going to be people willing to watch them do it.

Bring on the Thunder Dome and modern gladiators. I think you could get a lot of traction using lions and bears but with PETA out there and the other tree huggers it might put the humans at too large a disadvantage.:)

[Rlh04d]

Unless, of course, football injuries cause the sport's talent pool to dwindle. I was skeptical about this until just this weekend I found out my nephew, who is a high school sophomore and plays three sports (football, basketball, and baseball) is dropping football and concentrating on the two other sports he plays because he doesn't want to ruin his adult years with a debilitating football injury. A few of his friends are contemplating the same thing. I knew this was becoming more commonplace, but now I've seen it first hand. I'm starting to believe football may not last as a major sport over the next 20-30 years, and I'm starting to believe football will not "always" drive the bus.

Exactly. Football did not always drive the bus, and there is logical evidence that shows football probably won't drive the bus in the future. The question is how long until that future arrives? It's going to happen at some point, but in ten years, or thirty? And what's the next king when it happens?

At one point baseball "drove the bus." At another point basketball did. Now football is the unquestioned king. But people that make assumptions about whatever is currently the most popular ALWAYS being the most popular are the same kind of people who lose their life savings in the stock market. Things change. It's one of the great certainties of life.

Personally, I'm much happier with WSU doubling down on other sports with the possibility of being a front-runner in the next "bus driver," rather than struggling meekly to catch up with the current driver just because everyone else is. The schools that are doing that will never catch up in time, and will be weaker for the next momentum change. If you're not already in a major football conference then you've already missed the majority of the bull market.

You gotta diversify your bonds, as the Wu-Tang Clan would say.

[ShockTalk]

Meanwhile, Memphis will pay the 6th highest COA (out of last year's top 25)...and we're funneling the basketball budget over to football...Memphis is a hoops town, but football will always King in the South.



http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/...ams-in-cost-of

Still trying to buy respect on the gridiron, I see. Good timing on finally having not only a winning team last year, but a successful one. :D Amazing how much more the cost of attendance is in the south over California. Have a feeling these numbers on COA will see a lot of "adjustments".

When you said "we're funneling the basketball budget over to football", what does that exactly mean?

[Rlh04d]

Football will drive the bus until Congress decides to butt in or a few generations pass and we are all gone anyways, whichever comes first. There will never be a shortage of people willing to put their well-being at risk for tens of millions of dollars and there are always going to be people willing to watch them do it.

The problem is that, while there will always be people willing to do it and watch it, the people that are willing to watch it are always cyclical. Viewership patterns change, and often snowball due to watercooler conversation pressure and similar factors. And while there will always be people willing to do it, as the pool shrinks there will be less talent, and thus a declining product. As less people watch, salaries will decline, and likewise salaries will increase in another sport, driving young athletes in that direction, the same way so many American youth athletes were driven from baseball to football in the last 40 years, decreasing the level of talent of American baseball players relative to Japanese/Central & South American players as the more talented athletes chose football. And people have a natural affinity for the sports they played and were exposed to in their own youth, and so as less people play those sports in their youth, they'll be less connected to the sport as an adult. These things tend to be generational and are part of why baseball is on the decline: baseball's audience is older and dying off, while football's is younger and in their prime.

This chart of Harris poll numbers is interesting and shows the track of popularity across sports over time: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/New...0/Default.aspx

It also shows the ridiculousness of claiming that football has always been on top. It just hasn't. College basketball was more popular than college football as of the mid-90's. College football has unquestionably surpassed it since then, but there's no doubt that college football wasn't the unquestioned king until 1997. Similarly, the NFL only surpassed MLB as of the mid-80's.

[Dave Stalwart]

Anybody know if we've added UAB yet? or is the MVC really going to take a dump on this opportunity?

[WstateU]

Anybody know if we've added UAB yet? or is the MVC really going to take a dump on this opportunity?

Sorry, I’m having a déjà vu moment…


Elgin in action!


[1972Shocker]

Anybody know if we've added UAB yet? or is the MVC really going to take a dump on this opportunity?

For now UAB is still a member of Conference USA and are doing a study which could lead to the reinstatement of their football program.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/jon-solomon/25137763/uab-hires-new-sports-consultant-to-study-cutting-football

Even if they don't reinstate football Conference USA may or may not give them the boot.

[UofMemphis]

Still trying to buy respect on the gridiron, I see. Good timing on finally having not only a winning team last year, but a successful one. :D Amazing how much more the cost of attendance is in the south over California. Have a feeling these numbers on COA will see a lot of "adjustments".

When you said "we're funneling the basketball budget over to football", what does that exactly mean?

money has been moved from the basketball travel budget (team now flies mostly commercial instead of charter) to the football recruiting budget...the new basketball practice facility has been put on hold so Memphis can build it's football indoor practice facility.

the Larry Finch center is still decent by todays standards (15 years ago, it was 'state of the art')

[AndShock]

The problem is that, while there will always be people willing to do it and watch it, the people that are willing to watch it are always cyclical. Viewership patterns change, and often snowball due to watercooler conversation pressure and similar factors. And while there will always be people willing to do it, as the pool shrinks there will be less talent, and thus a declining product. As less people watch, salaries will decline, and likewise salaries will increase in another sport, driving young athletes in that direction, the same way so many American youth athletes were driven from baseball to football in the last 40 years, decreasing the level of talent of American baseball players relative to Japanese/Central & South American players as the more talented athletes chose football. And people have a natural affinity for the sports they played and were exposed to in their own youth, and so as less people play those sports in their youth, they'll be less connected to the sport as an adult. These things tend to be generational and are part of why baseball is on the decline: baseball's audience is older and dying off, while football's is younger and in their prime.

This chart of Harris poll numbers is interesting and shows the track of popularity across sports over time: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/New...0/Default.aspx

It also shows the ridiculousness of claiming that football has always been on top. It just hasn't. College basketball was more popular than college football as of the mid-90's. College football has unquestionably surpassed it since then, but there's no doubt that college football wasn't the unquestioned king until 1997. Similarly, the NFL only surpassed MLB as of the mid-80's.

I guess I just don't see any sport that is going to be able to take it down. I think football greatly benefits from being one day a week, it makes it very easy for a casual fan to insert themselves into the the sport. I haven't been around long enough to see a sport rise and fall so maybe it really does happen unexpectedly. The only sport I see having potential to explode is soccer and even that is still a decade or two from even becoming mainstream in the US, let alone a future bus driver.

[Wuzee]

Plus, the decision from the C-USA will wait until after the May conference meetings, where such things are discussed. The folks on the CUSA board think it would be a June announcement one way or the other.

http://csnbbs.com/thread-733110-page-2.html

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

I don't have a link to prove it, but I heard awhile back that boxing used to be the most popular sport in the US in the middle of the 20th century. But then participation--and subsequently interest--began to drop off because athletes didn't want to get their brains scrambled for a few million bucks.

There may be people out there willing to risk being the next Junior Seau for a fat paycheck, but I'm believing more and more that the number of them is going to plummet.

[DUShock]

I don't have a link to prove it, but I heard awhile back that boxing used to be the most popular sport in the US in the middle of the 20th century. But then participation--and subsequently interest--began to drop off because athletes didn't want to get their brains scrambled for a few million bucks.

There may be people out there willing to risk being the next Junior Seau for a fat paycheck, but I'm believing more and more that the number of them is going to plummet.

I honestly think we will see a return to the days of yore with less padding ala Austrailian Rules football or rugby.