With the increased conversations of conference expansion and super conferences, should the MS legislature proactively tie State and Ole Miss together? Should a law be passed to require State and Ole Miss to be in the same conference and also require us to play each other in all sports each year? If super conferences are formed, it would be very upsetting for one Power 5 MS team to get invited, and one be left behind. It would also be beneficial for the new SEC scheduling format.
Should the MS legislature proactively tie State and Ole Miss together?
- Thread starter IPMdawg
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They can if they want, but I don't think a super conference is viable unless it's got 50+ teams in it or the 30-40 that get invited decide to have a draft or relegation, which would go against what Alabama, Ohio State, & the super blue bloods want.
30-40 teams under the current structure won't work because historically successful programs aren't going to sign up for 3-9 seasons for years on end with no way to recruit out of it. Plus, by leaving out numerous passionate programs, if you go to a smaller league, you leave open the possibility of a real competitor league emerging among the left out schools.
Successful programs need teams to beat in order to keep their fan base & maintain their brand.
I believe a super conference that leaves either MSU or OM out is a conspiracy created by worried fans that lacks viability when you think it through
Additionally, the relegation format defeats the entire point of the league itself since membership would be based on wins/losses rather than brand. That means over the past 7 years in the SEC, MSU would be in the league over Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Florida, etc.
30-40 teams under the current structure won't work because historically successful programs aren't going to sign up for 3-9 seasons for years on end with no way to recruit out of it. Plus, by leaving out numerous passionate programs, if you go to a smaller league, you leave open the possibility of a real competitor league emerging among the left out schools.
Successful programs need teams to beat in order to keep their fan base & maintain their brand.
I believe a super conference that leaves either MSU or OM out is a conspiracy created by worried fans that lacks viability when you think it through
Additionally, the relegation format defeats the entire point of the league itself since membership would be based on wins/losses rather than brand. That means over the past 7 years in the SEC, MSU would be in the league over Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Florida, etc.
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Absolutely. Combine ole miss, state and southern. Close all of the schools satellite campuses. Same for the MS SWAC schools.
This is correct. While we've had about a decade with literally zero adults in the room, you have to think that cooler heads will prevail after the shitstorms of the last 2-3 years. Things will normalize. If and when they expand this playoff, things will stay stable for a while. Things will get rocky again when the ACC contract is up, but not to the point of total rapture like so many think.
The circle jerk freak outs around doomsday scenarios around here has gotten annoying. I'm talking anywhere from NIL to tornado threats.
We'll see how that works out with UCLA and Cal-Berkeley in the next month or so.
If the power conferences dangle $80 Million in front of the Mississippi IHL (or the legislature or whomever would ultimately make and enforce a decision like that) and say "we'll give you this, but you have to choose only one. Otherwise, you get nothing", either State or Ole Miss is going to be joining the Sun Belt with USM.
If the power conferences dangle $80 Million in front of the Mississippi IHL (or the legislature or whomever would ultimately make and enforce a decision like that) and say "we'll give you this, but you have to choose only one. Otherwise, you get nothing", either State or Ole Miss is going to be joining the Sun Belt with USM.
They'll be an interesting case study. What if Oklahoma comes here and suddenly starts going 8-4 every year? They'll have money for sure, and the fact that they are in the SEC will ensure future recruits are attracted to them. But may Oklahoma State wins more and gets in the playoff a few times with an easier schedule? I mean they've been very close already, but again will these recruits still be attracted to them if they aren't in what is perceived to be a power conference. Who knows.
No super conference needs state and ole Miss. Now there is a limit to what a super conference can exclude. You leave enough schools out, and you run the risk of a competitor league, so you can't say leave, Va Tech, NC St., FSU, Ga Tech, Ole Miss, Pittsburg, Cincinatti, TExas Tech, KSu, etc. etc. But if you say each state that cares about college football will have at least one representative (SO west Va gets in and nobody from New Mexico does even though they're bigger), but no state can have more than one school per 2M in population, then you have a situation where MSU and Ole Miss can't get in, Bama and Auburn can, OU and Ok St. can, Va and Va Tech can, etc. That would be imminently reasonable to me and would be financially better for all the other member schools. The only reason to not do that is the hassle and also needing more whipping boys for the blue bloods and possibly antitrust action I guess. Having MSU and Ole Miss tied together would be high risk, high reward. It could make sure we both get in, it could make sure we both get left out. Even though Mississippi isn't a market they can't just leave out, I'd say it's a good idea to tie them together, because it's still a market with pretty intense fandom and it also makes sure there are wins on teh schedule.
In keeping with this sentiment, why in the heck has MUW not been absorbed in as part of Mississippi State? You have a university 23 miles away from campus that really only exists because MSU was at one time male only and MUW was there for females only and for MSU males to have some females to mingle with. Now that all that has gone by the boards with females at MSU and males at MUW why do they need to be 2 separate schools with additional administrative costs for each to be run separately? Heck, my daughter wanted to be a nurse but no, she couldn't get that at MSU because MUW has the nursing school. That is ridiculous.
It could do more harm than good. Whatever super conference could just decide to leave out both MS teams if that was the case. Mississippi isn’t nearly a big enough market to warrant having 2 superconference teams if you were to theoretically blow the whole thing up and start from scratch. Also, neither school is a “must have” for any of the revenue sports.
Seems like an awful lot of trouble for very little benefit. We'll be long dead before anything like this occurs.
For the foreseeable future, however, the top 20 programs need teams to beat or they'll lose their status. Thus, it's not in their interest to leave
I'm sure Oklahoma State does, but the difference here is that neither State nor Ole Miss are OU or anywhere near the ballpark of OU.
There is a massive gulf between OU and OK State in credibility, desirability, marketability, and brand recognition.
OU has 7 National Championships (another 3 unclaimed), 4 CFP appearances, and 50 Conference titles. It's a national brand. It's a Top 5 (or at least Top 10) program nationally.
Oklahoma State is a middle of the road Power Conference program. They have good years, but they're not bringing the eyeballs.
That massive gap just doesn't exist between State and Ole Miss, which means there's no 'obvious' choice between the two if it were to come to that. The problem, though, is that in this scenario, we're both two Oklahoma State level programs, not two OU level programs, so there's no advantage in saying 'both of us, take it or leave it'.
I really dont think this is something to worry about for one reason.
In any confrence some teams will have to have losing seasons. You think any of the middling SEC teams like Auburn or Florida want to become that school?
In any confrence some teams will have to have losing seasons. You think any of the middling SEC teams like Auburn or Florida want to become that school?
Relegation can't work in College football. How many teams in my lifetime had that one player or a few that made them a contender for a year or two? Dak at State, Cam at Auburn, Vince Young at Texas, Joe Burrow at LSU, Colorado and Georgia Tech in 1990 and there are plenty of others. These teams have a chance to at least get some players or coaches that have been overlooked. When that one year wonder team has that good year and it gets to move up it will lose those players that got them there. If relegation happens it would be even harder for those one year wonders to have been at the higher level to have it count.
^^this^^daughters wanted to go to the same school, one in engineering one in nursing. Engineering was easy and we got lots of assistance (her good grades helped). the nursing one, we were told that after 2-3 years they have to transfer to the W, so we toured the W and talked to a gal that basically said "if you're not willing to sign up for x years in the state of MS, you're probably not getting in". Not to mention is was like walking straight into 1926 on the gothic campus. generally creepy all around. Lotta students would be there if they had a legit program but I suspect politics are in play somewhere.
If the Top 15-20 programs form their own super conference and just play each other, needing patsies to beat will be a thing of the past. You will have national champions and playoff semifinalists with 10-2 / 9-3 records on a regular basis, while 12-0 teams from the remaining grouping of teams never sniffs #1 in the final polls, even if its a former P5 team. The super conference would be the NFL lite, pretty much, with every matchup being between two ratings giants. That’s the real end game.
I'm hoping the NFL steps in before that point. Anything that approaches an area that truly threatens the NFL TV eyes, and they'll squash it.
Not sure how the playoff matches up, but generally something like or a super conference with constant popular blue blood matchups is the only thing that could conceivably do that.
You don’t have confidence in John Cohen with the future of Mississippi State Athletics?
A merger would work just fine for you. You wouldn’t have to pretend to be a Mississippi State fan then.
If it comes down to money etc and a super conference, the MS market is pretty worthless. So it would be pointless because they don't need MS. Hell, half the people here are AL or LSU fans already.
Proactive legislature? If the legislative branch at both the state and federal governments would step up and stop ceding power to executive and judiciary- it would be a positive development for our country.
This^^^. The networks don't care about the intensity of our fans. They care about number of eyes watching TV sets and per capita income of which Ole Miss and State have relatively few.
I’m not sure the NFL cares that much if they don’t start playing on Sundays. They will still have their exclusive time windows. I’m also not sure what power the NFL has to stop it.
MSU Grad 1990, Wife MSU Grad 1992, Daughter MSU Grad 2020, Masters MSU 2021. I have worked in a profession for 26 years where mediocrity is not accepted and you are paid on performance. Doesn’t seem to be the case when it comes to MSU Athletics Department the last 4-5 years where they don’t pay high performers and employ a lot of mediocrity.
That’s the athletic department that’s a year removed from its first National Championship, right?
NO,
This thing called College Football has to run it's course.
Other states have somewhat tried to tie programs together. Ultimately it did not go well.
My outlook for college programs over the next 20 or so years is not good.
The loyalty is gone. Transfer Portal plus NIL. is going to eventually send fans to the curb.
Then stadiums will suffer, and donations dwindle. (it is already underway).
This thing called College Football has to run it's course.
Other states have somewhat tried to tie programs together. Ultimately it did not go well.
My outlook for college programs over the next 20 or so years is not good.
The loyalty is gone. Transfer Portal plus NIL. is going to eventually send fans to the curb.
Then stadiums will suffer, and donations dwindle. (it is already underway).
We are losing the “student” in “student athlete” pretty quickly. The best chance for State and Ole Miss is to try to preserve the “student” aspect which tends more to equalize I realize money is the driver here, but they will kill the golden goose if they make college football an NFL farm league. Most of us will treat it like minor league baseball, as we should, and it occasional attention to it. Will those making decisions here take heed? Ah, no. They won’t. These days, it’s about the short term buck. From government, to corporate America to college sports.
Then you’ll have to have a draft or teams 15-20, that currently win 8-9 games a year and sell out 80,000 seat stadiums, will be going 2-10 with no way to recruit out of it, and be drawing 40K within a decade. Then they’ll get kicked out because losers don’t make any money.
You’ve got to see the big picture here. A 15-20 team league without a draft isn’t a viable option. It simply wouldn’t work.
Now… with a draft, it would work, but why would Bama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, UGA, etc risk a draft and thus having to be well run to win?
College football would be foolish to ever try to play on Sundays. They'd get crushed in the ratings and no one would pay to show it. Not to mention the NFL would quit being generous and start playing on Saturdays too and that would be the end of big dollar media deals for college football. NFL media revenues are about $10,000,000 per year. Big 10 and SEC combined are about 20% of that.
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Same reason MUW is still named Mississippi University for Women despite admitting males and having male sports.
Older Alumna with lots of money and political power holding on to what the school was when they were there 50-60 years ago.
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