KB549
03-31-2017, 11:27 AM
In 10 years, or maybe ALOT sooner, my prediction is that UNM is no longer "a valued member of the SEC". (*** on the "valued")
Here's some scenarios that make this happen. It's really simple.
- They can't stop cheating. The SEC office doesn't like he negative publicity and boots them.
- The sanctions are so crippling that one or more of their athletic programs are shut down (multi-year death penalty OR they have a budget problem.) As has been stated before, if you lose $40 million of a $90 million budget, something has to give. You can't fly the tennis teams, golf teams, etc all over the US if you don't have the money to do it. Start shutting down sports that run in the red and only field teams that normally make money (football, maybe men's basketball, MAYBE baseball) and I don't think the SEC puts up with it.
- The SEC sees a legitimate way to dump them and not lose SEC Network money since we are still in MS. They add a school in a new state, expand their footprint and increase the market ($1.25 per subscriber, or whatever it is.).
- Perhaps the most likely of all the scenarios: The sanctions are crippling. They become the laughing stock of the SEC. 3-9 (0-8) normal seasons, 5-7 (1-7) good seasons - thanks Vandy. They think, if we were in the AAC, CUSA, MW, whatever these USM-Esque conferences decide to call themselves that year, we could go 12-0 and get in NY6/Playoff games. Isn't that what their goal is. Play for championships at any cost? That's what got them in this situation to begin with.
I know there's a lot of people who say Never. But the thought of being irrelevant for 20 years isn't going to put butts in the new high school bleachers of Vaught-Hemingway. They won't go to the Big 12 to go 6-6 or 8-4. If they leave, they will want to dominate Rice, Marshall, FAU, San Jose St, etc and have consistent 10+ win seasons. Long term slow incremental planning has never been a strength of The Network.
Here's some scenarios that make this happen. It's really simple.
- They can't stop cheating. The SEC office doesn't like he negative publicity and boots them.
- The sanctions are so crippling that one or more of their athletic programs are shut down (multi-year death penalty OR they have a budget problem.) As has been stated before, if you lose $40 million of a $90 million budget, something has to give. You can't fly the tennis teams, golf teams, etc all over the US if you don't have the money to do it. Start shutting down sports that run in the red and only field teams that normally make money (football, maybe men's basketball, MAYBE baseball) and I don't think the SEC puts up with it.
- The SEC sees a legitimate way to dump them and not lose SEC Network money since we are still in MS. They add a school in a new state, expand their footprint and increase the market ($1.25 per subscriber, or whatever it is.).
- Perhaps the most likely of all the scenarios: The sanctions are crippling. They become the laughing stock of the SEC. 3-9 (0-8) normal seasons, 5-7 (1-7) good seasons - thanks Vandy. They think, if we were in the AAC, CUSA, MW, whatever these USM-Esque conferences decide to call themselves that year, we could go 12-0 and get in NY6/Playoff games. Isn't that what their goal is. Play for championships at any cost? That's what got them in this situation to begin with.
I know there's a lot of people who say Never. But the thought of being irrelevant for 20 years isn't going to put butts in the new high school bleachers of Vaught-Hemingway. They won't go to the Big 12 to go 6-6 or 8-4. If they leave, they will want to dominate Rice, Marshall, FAU, San Jose St, etc and have consistent 10+ win seasons. Long term slow incremental planning has never been a strength of The Network.