UConn is realizing that it had a good thing in the Big East and will reportedly leave the AAC for its former home. This is primarily a basketball move, but it will affect the entire athletic department.
Speculation in twitter and in the fill-the-summer-with-content spaces has already come up with a couple names.
Tom Fornelli lists North Texas, FIU, Charlotte and UAB in his post.
There is no telling what the AAC will consider as criteria but every program in America has prepared for the next move. If there was a perfect team they likely would already be in the AAC already.
One hallmark of the CUSA is that it is filled with teams that do not quite fit elsewhere nicely.
Count me among those who think having multiple teams in the same state is a good thing. To respond to Fornelli’s criticism of that same situation I offer this: one way to cut travel costs exponentially is to have teams in the same geographical region in the same league.
North Texas or UT-San Antonio or Rice would help Houston and SMU tremendously in all those other sports. Instead of planning a trip to Storrs, a bus ride to San Antonio or Denton would be ideal.
Expect to see more cost-cutting realignment as the TV deal money does not make up for the regional and cultural connections that some programs lost in the cash grab.
Seriously, Maryland and Wisconsin in the same league? Missouri and Florida? UTEP and ODU? Texas St and Appalachian St?
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