Finding is never about seeking. It is about opening yourself to what is already there. - Henry Meloux
Excellent points. Is there any school in the summit that stands to really benefit from Augie being added? It's another warm body in the footprint, and it helps with some sports/stability. But I don't see a single school that would really be a champion for Augie to join the league. No Dakota school wants them, whether it be due to increased local competition for resources or just the familiarity and perception of Augie being part of the old guard that the Dakota schools left in 2004-2008. ORU, Denver, and IPFW have no reason to like the addition, since it'll add another trip to the Dakotas. WIU has no real reason to be enthused about it either. UNO? At best I'd say it's net neutral for them.
The only way it benefits the existing league members is if we are in survival mode. The departure of Ft Wayne could change the stability of the league, and that might make Augie attractive enough to add. But if other schools have other conference options, would they choose to stay in the summit with another SD team added and all the negatives that come with that, or would they prefer to look elsewhere?
None of this is to say that the summit has a line out the door of quality additions in the fold to add instead of Augie should the league need to. We do not. Or rather, we have very few that are realistic. It's a lose-lose for the current Dakota schools with Augie.
Augie has to look at this from a worst case scenario as well. Let's hypothetically say the Summit League would accept them. Now let's say the Summit League disbands in 3-4 years. Now what does Augie do? The Valley surely isn't taking them, they can't afford the travel costs associated with other potential suitors, even if there was a league they very well could mandate football to stabilize the league numbers, etc.
Risky. The pockets aren't deep enough. If for some reason basketball would in the tank they would be in a world of hurt.
Wow, this topic won’t die. Time for my annual sabbatical from the message board.
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LET'S TAKE A TRIP TO BIRDLAND! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68-6O2mJhMw
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What if the two South Dakota schools whisper that they don't need more D-I competition for the few athletes and sponsorship dollars in South Dakota and would gladly form a pact to seek membership in another conference together? Would the discussion of whether or not to invite Augie to the Summit even come up at that meeting.
I keep seeing this about the competition for the athletes but I don't think that means a lot now that we are DI.
After next year, SDSU will only have 1 MBB players from SD and USD won't have any. SDSU does have several SD WBB players but there are a lot of them so I don't see that changing too much. USD will only have 2 SD WBB players on their roster next year.
We are bringing in coaches from other areas, we just don't have as many SD players for these teams anymore. I don't think either volleyball team has a player from SD. SDSU's softball team does NOT have a player from SD on the roster but their baseball team 12 players from SD. I would say that is an exception to the rule.
I do think the sponsorship dollars will be effected though. Will the Argus hire somebody else? I think the way the Argus is pushing Augie, they might get a lot more coverage then they do now. Less money and less coverage, that just doesn't sound very promising for SDSU.
I could be way off base on this though.
I think it would be crazy to think they could replicate what Creighton has done with their program. Nebraska as a state is extremely supportive of their collegiate teams. Creighton finished 4th in men's attendance this year. Nebraska men's basketball finished 11th...and they are the only power 5 team without a tournament victory. Nebraska football has the longest sell out streak in the nation. Husker women's volleyball leads the nation in attendance. Husker women's basketball last year (16-17) was below 500 and finished 17th in the nation for attendance. Look at Omaha as a sports town and the attendance they put up for the CWS or the last 2 Olympic SwIm Trials....they are event driven, and Creighton basketball is an event.
To look at things and say we are going to follow the Creighton model just isn't realistic.