WKU to AAC???
- Thread starter ShortCreek
- Start date
As a Hilltoppers alum, I have difficulty with all of the conference changes they have made. It’s hard to know who their true rivals are. EKU, Middle Tenn, Cincinnati??
I do not have any problem with WKU being interested in the AAC but is their football stadium large enough? I’m thinking that it only seats around 22,000. Of course Cincy has years when that’s about what they average in attendance.
GO CARDS - BEAT EVERYBODY!!! God Bless Amerca!!!
GO CARDS - BEAT EVERYBODY!!! God Bless Amerca!!!
It is large enough to satisfy D-I requirements and they average more than some existing AAC members.
Cincinnati media listed potential additions and did not include WKU. Among those mentioned were Air Force, Army, Boise State, Brigham Young, Georgia State, UAB and UNC Charlotte. I can't see how a Mountain Time Zone school could afford to send their teams to the east coast to play conference games. Especially in the non revenue sports.
BYU, lol, why didn’t they list ND. They have about equal chance, which is zero. WKU would be far better than Charlotte. Georgia State? Really I’m not sure any on that list is realistic maybe Air Force or Army. WKU in my opinion would be a better or more realistic selection than any of those.
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Charlotte although a decent size city does not have a large fan base nor does Georgia ST. But I will agree Charlotte is the largest market on that list. Army and AF yes but BYU isn’t joining the AAC.
One school never mentioned is Southern Miss. They are still exiled off in C-USA. The only founding member of C-USA left. I know they don’t have a large media market but is Greenville, NC really that big? It’s like Southern Miss is stuck in 1984. No upgrades to facilities or programs ranked in anything. It’s like they gave up. All the $$ in that state goes to Old Miss and Miss State.
Georgia State is actually a pretty likely candidate. It is an urban campus (Atlanta) with a huge enrollment (32,000 with a total of 52,000 across its network). They are making strides with their athletic programs and happen to reside in an area of the country that is expanding its population base.
The good old days of when Murray and WKU were rivals! And then WKU exploded with growth and becomes a ranked FBS team and Murray plays in a single sided stadium still.
Well basketball could continue but some school in BG didn't like all the losses the Racers were handing them towards the end.
MTSU would be the most viable.
20k enrollment. The biggest school in the Nashville market. 30k stadium. They've been to a bowl game 5 of the last 6 years, so they aren't a bad team either.
I think adding the 2nd best football program in the state of Kentucky to the AAC would be a good choice!
Ok, I’ll bite ... in 2018 UK beat UofL, and we beat WKU (barely), so the most recent data says WKU is no better than third.
Maybe we should donate the Keg of Nails to WKU, then that can be the new Keg of Nails rivalry.
I’d say the AAC adds...
1. Nobody
2. Southern Miss
3. Georgia State
4. UAB
5. Middle Tennessee
6. Western Kentucky
7. Nobody
8. Nobody
9. Nobody
10. One of many schools in Florida
1. Nobody
2. Southern Miss
3. Georgia State
4. UAB
5. Middle Tennessee
6. Western Kentucky
7. Nobody
8. Nobody
9. Nobody
10. One of many schools in Florida
Lol - that wouldn’t change the fact that the Scrubcats would be the 4th best team of that group.
Hope it’s WKU, bro. They’d get good sports (post Sanford football will be much better), a dumb passionate fan base and the Nashville/Louisville markets. Seems better bets than UAB and some others, bro.
Wouldn’t count Marshall out. They got a power five following in their worthless ass state and are rogue enough to fit in, bro.
Wouldn’t count Marshall out. They got a power five following in their worthless ass state and are rogue enough to fit in, bro.
Louisville was on the ropes against WKU last season right? I heard WKU gave it away with a blown call by the former HC Sanford.
Spoken like a true loser.
You either get the job done or you don’t. You either get into a big boy conference, or you come to a better program’s message board and press your face against the glass hoping to get noticed.
Bro, you know this bum was watching this game on TV, wishing that his high school AAC team was on television. SMMFH bro, this loser just wants to live through us.
I think that is a great move for WKU and college sports in this state in general
As a Nashville resident, and Bowling Green native, WKU has zero market share in Nashville. College sports fandom in Nashville is relatively small with the Preds and Titans and when there are people actually watching college sports it's 1) Tennessee, 2) Vandy, and 3) MTSU.
Nah bro WKU is up there with MTSU. Agreed with the other stuff though.
1 city for wku alums, wku coaches regularly on local Nashville radio, traditionally wku’s primary recruiting area, wku’s second home field. They aren’t selling shit out but they have as much of a base there as mtsu at least, bro.
I lived in Nashville for 17 years. I went to grad school at MTSU. MTSU has zero fanbase. Students walking around campus wear UT, Alabama, and other SEC gear. Nobody goes to MTSU football or basketball games. Louisville had more fans in Nashville when they played MTSU at the Titans Stadium.
This is Nashville’s fanbase...
1). Titans
2). Preds
3). UT
4). Alabama
5). Vandy
The worst fans in Nashville were Alabama football/Kentucky basketball fans. There were plenty of those.
I lived in Nashville for 17 years. I went to grad school at MTSU. MTSU has zero fanbase. Students walking around campus wear UT, Alabama, and other SEC gear. Nobody goes to MTSU football or basketball games. Louisville had more fans in Nashville when they played MTSU at the Titans Stadium.
This is Nashville’s fanbase...
1). Titans
2). Preds
3). UT
4). Alabama
5). Vandy
The worst fans in Nashville were Alabama football/Kentucky basketball fans. There were plenty of those.
I lived in Nashville for 17 years. I went to grad school at MTSU. MTSU has zero fanbase. Students walking around campus wear UT, Alabama, and other SEC gear. Nobody goes to MTSU football or basketball games. Louisville had more fans in Nashville when they played MTSU at the Titans Stadium.
This is Nashville’s fanbase...
1). Titans
2). Preds
3). UT
4). Alabama
5). Vandy
The worst fans in Nashville were Alabama football/Kentucky basketball fans. There were plenty of those.
That’s what I’m saying, bro. Got fam in Nashville and BG. MTSU is straight garbage. WKU is bigger down in town than those bums.
I’d venture to say that UofL will have more fans in Nashville than WKU even though Bowling Green is 100 miles closer. Just look at the attendance at their football games and you’ll see exactly what I’m saying. Even though the AAC ain’t nothing special they will have no interest in WKU. In fact, I’d say that they will have more interest in MTSU because of the closeness to the Nashville TV market. But in that regard I’d say that either UAB (Birmingham/Alabama market) or Southern Miss (interest in football success) would be ahead of WKU or MTSU as far as the AAC is concerned.
GO CARDS - BEAT EVERYBODY!!! God Bless America!!!
GO CARDS - BEAT EVERYBODY!!! God Bless America!!!
You guys can say whatever you want, but a huge part of the people who live in Murfreesboro work in Nashville, I would say the reason there were more Louisville fans in Nashville is because it's actually an event and chance to visit a new city. MTSU fans are in Nashville every day, why pay more to go see their team lose to Louisville, when they can just wait for a game at their own stadium?
I can honestly say that in the 15 years I have lived in Nashville, I could count the number of WKU logos I've seen on one hand. They just don't exist.
Nobody. Goes. To. Their. Games.
My first year at MTSU, they hosted Minnesota. There were more Gopher fans tailgating and at the game. Nobody cares.
I know plenty of Western fans that live in Nashville. Davidson, Robertson, and Sumner Counties in Tennessee get in state tuition to go to WKU.
MTSU had an enrollment of 28,000 with a 31k seat stadium. They average around 15k-20k a game over the years.
WKU was at 24,000. WKU seats 22k. They average around 15-20k a game...has been better in recent years do to their success.
So they're about the same...I'd say WKU is a bit better at supporting their teams and MTSU has a better enrollment. But...conference officials don't care about 1,00 fans here or there that show up to games.
Conferences only care about TV Markets and the city they reside. MTSU is basically in Nashville. Nashville has an airport. Teams and fans would rather travel to Nashville for games. Nashville has corporations with tons of sponsorship dollars that are coming in every day. Has a large stadium and arena for possible conference tournaments/title games.
Maybe fan interest isn't the best now...but a step up in competition changes things from money and opponents they will play. Nashville has 4 local television stations that get strong ratings...all cover MTSU. They have 2 of the best sports talk radio stations in the nation. It's a big sports town...and you get Houston, Memphis, Cincy, and even Wichita for basketball? They'll cover it and the city will watch the game. The needle can be moved.
BG is a great program and WKU is growing...but BG is not Nashville. It doesn't have the potential to move the ratings needle. It isn't a travel destination.
The AAC currently has...Cincinnati, Houston, Dallas, Memphis, New Orleans, Orlando, Philadelphia, Tampa, Tulsa, and Wichita. The only real small city is Greenville, NC...but even Greenville is larger than BG. Nashville as a market is a better fit. None of those schools have large market shares in those cities outside of 3-4...but still the market can care on a random Thursday night.
WKU was at 24,000. WKU seats 22k. They average around 15-20k a game...has been better in recent years do to their success.
So they're about the same...I'd say WKU is a bit better at supporting their teams and MTSU has a better enrollment. But...conference officials don't care about 1,00 fans here or there that show up to games.
Conferences only care about TV Markets and the city they reside. MTSU is basically in Nashville. Nashville has an airport. Teams and fans would rather travel to Nashville for games. Nashville has corporations with tons of sponsorship dollars that are coming in every day. Has a large stadium and arena for possible conference tournaments/title games.
Maybe fan interest isn't the best now...but a step up in competition changes things from money and opponents they will play. Nashville has 4 local television stations that get strong ratings...all cover MTSU. They have 2 of the best sports talk radio stations in the nation. It's a big sports town...and you get Houston, Memphis, Cincy, and even Wichita for basketball? They'll cover it and the city will watch the game. The needle can be moved.
BG is a great program and WKU is growing...but BG is not Nashville. It doesn't have the potential to move the ratings needle. It isn't a travel destination.
The AAC currently has...Cincinnati, Houston, Dallas, Memphis, New Orleans, Orlando, Philadelphia, Tampa, Tulsa, and Wichita. The only real small city is Greenville, NC...but even Greenville is larger than BG. Nashville as a market is a better fit. None of those schools have large market shares in those cities outside of 3-4...but still the market can care on a random Thursday night.
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