Utah Valley Leaving WAC; Dominoes to Fall

[Old Titan]

It's that time of year...Utah Valley is leaving the WAC for the Big West, leaving only 5 members in their wake.

When the dust settles, the Summit League coud have from 1-to-3 Texas schools in the fold (Texas-Arlington is REALLY interesting).

Again, the solidification of the relationship between the Summit League and the Missouri Valley FOOTBALL Conference makes the SL a prime landing spot for these FCS football schools...

 

 

 

[TrueBlue82]

I am assuming that the rebranding of the WAC as United Athletic Conference, and the “merger” of the UAC with the ASUN has taken Abilene, Arlington and Tarleton off of the Summit expansion list for the foreseeable future.  
 

Disappointing outcome, as I thought the addition of the Texas schools would have been very good for the Summit (and especially good for ORU).  

[Bogus Smith]

10 minutes ago, TrueBlue82 said:

I am assuming that the rebranding of the WAC as United Athletic Conference, and the “merger” of the UAC with the ASUN has taken Abilene, Arlington and Tarleton off of the Summit expansion list for the foreseeable future.  
 

Disappointing outcome, as I thought the addition of the Texas schools would have been very good for the Summit (and especially good for ORU).  

Yes, they would have been a good addition to the League; however, it wouldn't have fit the vision for a football/hockey league that the Summit member schools to the north of Kansas City are looking for.

[Old Titan]

The other side of this coin:

• Does the new United Athletic Conference have any interest in ORU as a member?
• Does ORU have any interest in becoming a member of the new UAC?

Tulsa, OK would be supremely located geographically for the UAC, and among the largest metropolitan markets.

No insider info on this query; just askin'... 

[ORU82]

Lateral move at best, more likely a step backwards.

[Idig32]

I think it would be a good move for travel. Taking a road trip to Jacksonville in February would be a lot more pleasant than driving to Brookings. As far as competition goes, I don’t know if the future of the Summit is very bright. If the Dakotas end up being hindered by football (because of the recent settlement) then the Summit begins to look pretty bad, with the exception of St. Thomas. I think if the UAC were interested in ORU, it would be worth considering. 

[ORUJason]

The Summit seems more stable to me.

[ORob2]

In this age of conference realignment, maybe moving conferences is the safe move.  Travel costs for these conferences would be about the same, Summit teams average ~669 miles from ORU, while UAC schools are ~688 if I’ve done my math right.  Baseball would probably be more competitive in the UAC, and recruiting for all sports would probably take a step up because your team’s footprint would be in better recruiting states like Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, etc.

FWIW, I would be thrilled to get away from the Dakota driven front offices of the Summit League, and selfishly, I’d get to see ORU basketball and baseball a few times a year without driving 11 hours to Tulsa!

[Old Titan]

At this time, I would stick with the Summit League.

But, when the XDSU's and St. Thomas bolt the Summit (and trust me, that's a "when" and not an "if" proposition) it's comforting to consider ORU has a sensible (albeit far-flung) geographic alternative.

[ORUJason]

Where do you think the XDSU’s and St Thomas will land if they bolt?  The Missouri Valley?

[Old Titan]

On 7/4/2025 at 11:10 AM, ORUJason said:

Where do you think the XDSU’s and St Thomas will land if they bolt?  The Missouri Valley?

Wherever they think is best for their football programs.

[Keenan Henderson]

Grand Canyon is now leaving the WAC to go to the Mountain West, beginning this season.  Big jump for a non-football and somewhat newly formed D1 school but they have won the WAC 4 out of the last 5 years in basketball.  It does help that they are located in a big city such as Phoenix.

[Keenan Henderson]

Memphis went for the home run and struck out with the Big 12.  Now they are left to hope to survive in the AAC.  The Tigers are generally pretty good in basketball and football but would probably be bottom to at best middle tier teams in the Big 12.  Now what does Memphis do?  They might be stuck in mid major purgatory.  

[ORU82]

In their pitch to the Big 12, Memphis swung for the fence and struck out.  They offered the Big 12 $200,000,000.00 for the next 5 years in sponsorship money from the likes of FedEx, Lowes and AutoZone.  They also offered not to take any conference distribution money (rumored to be $50,000,000.00 per year) for the next 5 years of the Big 12's new TV deal.  And finally, they told the Big 12 that if the league did not deem them to be a valuable asset to the Big 12 by 2030-31, the Big 12 could expel them at that time from the league, no questions asked.  Talk about really putting it out there, and yet the Big 12 still rejected them.  In today's sports world, not many schools would or could climb that far out on the limb.  Memphis really wanted to get out of the AAC and was willing to sacrifice a lot to do so.  

[Keenan Henderson]

I am somewhat surprised after hearing your points ORU 82 that the Big 12 declined Memphis's offer.  Anyone know why?  Memphis is in a good location, big market, and is coming off very successful football (11-2) and basketball (29 wins) seasons.  The Tigers are the top-of-the-line team outside of the Power 5 conferences and yet no one wants them.  The only thing I read was that the Big 12 already has 16 teams, which is divisible by 2 if they want to go to divisions, and 17 would throw that off.

[ORUJason]

Memphis, Oregon State, and Washington State are in tough positions.  They have programs that are strong enough to be in the Power 4 but they have lost in the college football version of musical chairs now that it seems the music has stopped.

[Old Titan]

This all comes down to one thing:  football.

Name one significant - even memorable - football game that Memphis has ever won.

I rest my case.

[ORU82]

Not sure where else to put this so I am sticking it here.  It seems to go along with the discussion in general about current college athletics.  In this article https://www.thegazette.com/sports/facing-147m-deficit-isu-athletics-halts-hilton-coliseum-renovation-ups-ticket-prices/ it discusses how Iowa State is facing a $147,000,000.00 deficit in its athletic budget despite the B-12 revenue sharing of $50,000,000.00 per school per year.  Iowa State is indefinitely suspending a renovation of its Hilton Coliseum, raising required donations to the Cyclone Club, and telling all of its sports programs to conserve or cut costs of their individual programs.  College athletics has entered the Twilight Zone.