Can the New Mexico State Aggies land in the Sun Belt Conference when the most recent wave of national realignment is over?
It wouldn't be a bad position for the school.
NMSU needs a conference if/when the WAC folds in football, and the two options right now are the Mountain West Conference/Conference USA merger and the Sun Belt.
And the reality is this: while the merger would be a great fit geographically for NMSU — it would put them in the same league as UNM, UTEP, Colorado State, perhaps Utah State — some of those programs would be hard for the Aggies to compete with economically. Some of them, they just don't.
The Sun Belt is more in line with where the Aggies are at the moment — similar to the new WAC, which looks to soon be the defunct WAC. And from a football standpoint, that's what the Aggies need — a conference they can build a program in. The Sun Belt isn't a bad football league — it sent three teams to bowl games last year — and I believe one the Aggies can compete in. Really, NMSU needs a couple consecutive winning seasons in football, and then maybe they can start shopping. Right now, they just aren't very marketable from a realignment standpoint.
Again, this could be the Aggies best hope at this point if they want conference affiliation — and an FBS football program — assuming the WAC is further raided.
The Sun Belt wouldn't be a bad parking spot for the Aggies. The question is, will Karl Benson have a space open for them if/when they need it?
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4 comments:
Benson indicated yesteday that he wanted the SBC footprint to be from Florida to Texas so was he sending a cloaked message to NMS or would he extend that footprint to New Mexico ?
Teddy,
Has the Big Sky Conference ever been in play for NMSU? The University and boosters don't want to drop to FCS, but at this point, it may be the best move for our school. This may especially be true if the Sun-Belt doesn't take the Aggies.
The football program just can't compete economically. We could be competitive at the FCS level and the Big Sky basketball play is actually good. All other sports programs would be on equal footing as well. I love the Aggies, but they just don't fit financially in the Mountain West / Conference USA.
Maybe it's time to face reality. NMSU is not a big time sports program and most mid-major conferences just don't want them. Opponents of this view can argue all they want, but you can't argue with the bottom line.
Patrick NaySay
The new MWC/C-USA conference isn't in the cards.
Benson's SBC footprint ends at the Texas border.
Indy is out of the question says your AD.
Things not looking good Las Cruces.
Does it really matter? The Aggies will land somewhere if the WAC fails. It probably won't be the MWC/CUSA conglomeration which will be about as stable as the WAC was before the MWC group split off. You think the decent teams in that mess will want to be with the dregs of the MWC or CUSA when they figure out they are carrying the load for the bad teams like UTEP. Nope.
In the last 30 years, the Aggies have been part of the Missouri Valley Conference, Big West, PCAA, Sun Belt, and WAC. Did it make one bit of difference as far as the football team or basketball team or any other Aggie sport which conference they were affiliated with. No.
So, as far as things not looking good in Cruces, Anon 11:05, you are mistaken. They neither look good nor bad. They just look the way they have for many years. Sorry to burst your sorry little bubble.
In the end, the Aggies will be fine where ever they land because they've never been anywhere to begin with that made a difference. The team will always be what it is, whether the Aggies are part of the WAC, Sun Belt, Big West, whatever.
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