I got called out for saying Tulane months ago when all this **** went down, new market with excellent academics.
I'm starting to like the idea of Tulane as #12 for the conference
- Thread starter isuno1fan
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Kudos to you if true...It does make sense if you do the research to realize it.
Overrated, imo. Almost every conference spans huge geographic footprints now. We have WVU already out east. The big 10 goes from Pennsylvania to Nebraska. The big east goes coast to coast. The PAC almost went from Washington to Austin. A lot of people here were proponents of BYU. Does everyone realize how far away they were?
If we're just gonna add close schools, we might as well add Houston.
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Yes right now they are not the most competitive in sports, but with some money that can turn around, look at Iowa State we have been there and to some still there. Iowa State was an after thought for many freaking years and now not so much.
I did some research months ago about them and I would be pleased. Byu is a no no now and the Irish Please that will more than likely never happen. Plus opens up new markets for recruiting and ******* off the Mason Jars is never a bad thing.
I did some research months ago about them and I would be pleased. Byu is a no no now and the Irish Please that will more than likely never happen. Plus opens up new markets for recruiting and ******* off the Mason Jars is never a bad thing.
+ New extended footprint into Louisiana
+ B12 invades SEC territory
+ Opens up new recruiting hotbed
+ New Orleans market (behind LSU/Saints, but still a large market)
+ AAU member
+ Someone mentioned it before, could be B12's "Northwestern" or "Vanderbilt"
+ New commitment to athletics (i.e. football)
Some of these are "ifs" and "buts", but my point being there is some potential in Tulane. Maybe the B12 should consider riding the Green Wave.
+ B12 invades SEC territory
+ Opens up new recruiting hotbed
+ New Orleans market (behind LSU/Saints, but still a large market)
+ AAU member
+ Someone mentioned it before, could be B12's "Northwestern" or "Vanderbilt"
+ New commitment to athletics (i.e. football)
Some of these are "ifs" and "buts", but my point being there is some potential in Tulane. Maybe the B12 should consider riding the Green Wave.
Personally I could give two ***** if it's Louisville, Cincy, UCF, USF or Tulane. Please give me 12 teams in the BIGXII. Bring back the division format with a Conference championship game.
Your looking at more money per school in the long run. While we are at it, get rid of the Iowa game. It does nothing for either school except bring a state together for one day a year. Also on my list get rid of the **** non conference schedule we play each and every year.
Bring in some half way tough opponents like Tulsa next season. Bring in the top schools out of the conferences to play. It will only make ISU stronger and tougher in the long run.
Your looking at more money per school in the long run. While we are at it, get rid of the Iowa game. It does nothing for either school except bring a state together for one day a year. Also on my list get rid of the **** non conference schedule we play each and every year.
Bring in some half way tough opponents like Tulsa next season. Bring in the top schools out of the conferences to play. It will only make ISU stronger and tougher in the long run.
Get rid of a Big Ten team on the schedule. Make the non-conference schedule tougher with half way tough opponents. Seems contradictory.
Just got finished reading Tulane's most active message board. They have a 900 post thread going that began in October about possible B12 membership/conf. realignment. The long and short of it is they think they are destined for either the B12 or the ACC. There is also one poster with the username "bigmoneyTexas" that keeps dropping one liners in the thread that Tulane to the B12 is a done deal.
What I mean is that we do not have to play Iowa every year. How about scheduling someone as tough as they are. There are many out there that would fill JTS on name alone. You could go down a list and find anyone that would bring in the fans. Just saying... It's an idea... I can go either way with it.
Okay so is Tulane taking the first steps to B12 membership? Wrote the below post back in October. According to the second link, of the 70 million raised 60 will before the stadium and 10 will be for the program. 30,000 seats seems small however it is a start and better than playing in a 7/8 empty dome.
http://www.cyclonefanatic.com/forum/big-xii-conference/130356-future-b12-expansion.html
Tulane University Announces Fundraising Campaign for Stadium
Edit: sorry if I am reposting any info.
Second edit: If we ever got a T Boone Pickens of our own, I wouldn't mind blowing up JTS and building a 60,000 seat stadium similar to the Tulane is going to build. A big fan of no hillsides, and no upper decks.
http://www.cyclonefanatic.com/forum/big-xii-conference/130356-future-b12-expansion.html
Tulane University Announces Fundraising Campaign for Stadium
Edit: sorry if I am reposting any info.
Second edit: If we ever got a T Boone Pickens of our own, I wouldn't mind blowing up JTS and building a 60,000 seat stadium similar to the Tulane is going to build. A big fan of no hillsides, and no upper decks.
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DistrictCyclone
Guest
Who cares if Tulane's ancient stadium held 81,000 people; their new one is supposed to seat 30,000 and they'll be lucky if they can get it half-full.
And who cares about the NOLA market. A team in a large market with hardly any fans (i.e., Tulane) is inferior to a team in a small market with many fans (i.e., almost everyone else) from a TV perspective.
And finally, who cares that they were once in the SEC, like, eons ago? So was Sewanee. Chicago used to romp in the Big Ten, too. Yale still has (I think) more championships than almost any other school. A program's distant history and nostalgia doesn't mean jack, as Notre Dame's been finding out the hard way for almost 30 years.
And who cares about the NOLA market. A team in a large market with hardly any fans (i.e., Tulane) is inferior to a team in a small market with many fans (i.e., almost everyone else) from a TV perspective.
And finally, who cares that they were once in the SEC, like, eons ago? So was Sewanee. Chicago used to romp in the Big Ten, too. Yale still has (I think) more championships than almost any other school. A program's distant history and nostalgia doesn't mean jack, as Notre Dame's been finding out the hard way for almost 30 years.
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DistrictCyclone
Guest
That said, it makes sense if the goal is to make the Big 12 membership look like that of the other power conferences. SEC has Vandy, Big Ten has Northwestern, ACC has Duke, PAC has Stanford...it seems like every conference has a small private school with Ivy-Leage quality academics. Baylor and TCU sort of do that for the Big 12, but definitely not to the degree of the other schools listed.
but, if we are going to take 10 years and "create" a big XII program why not do it with a state school. How about we just say we are taking, for example, Ohio University (enrollment 32,000) and going to invest and promote the **** out of them and in 10 years they are going to be taking tOSU to the woodshed with Texas players.
Louisville is as good as in....I think we all know that.
At first I too laughed at the idea of Tulane, but then I did some research and I can certainly see the appeal. Tulane used to have the largest stadium in the South. They were a founding member of the SEC. They regularly beat up on LSU and other SEC schools. They are an academic powerhouse. They would expand BXII recruiting into Louisiana and push the BXII into SEC territory. They are ready to invest again in athletics. They are looking at building a new stadium and getting out of the Superdome. They fit geographically and with BXII money could become a legit power sooner instead of later.
Here is a picture of their old 81,000 seat stadium:
The potential is there for Tulane. I'm starting to be a supporter of this idea.
If the Saints weren't there, then maybe Tulane would be a viable expansion candidate. Tulane's previous success occurred before the Saints hit town, kind of like SMU before the Cowboys hit Dallas. NOLA is a dying market and they will eventually lose the Hornets due to lack of community support. There is no way they could adequately support Tulane in the long-term as a viable B12 program.
The B12 is best served by not expanding unless ND becomes a full member. Otherwise, it's not worth it. Maybe the Louisville and BYU combo would be worth it but other markets with existing pro teams such as Cincy and USF definitely are not. Rutgers and UConn should only be added if ND is involved as a full member.
Being a sports reporter down here in Louisiana, I think there are a lot of great points being made on this thread on both sides. Take my opinions for what they're worth.
CON: Tulane has absolutely no fan base. From New Orleans to Shreveport, and most of south Mississippi, Louisiana lives for the Saints and LSU. In fact, students and alumni from schools like Tulane, ULM, and LA Tech treat their own universities as secondary when it comes to sports (much like UNI fans flocking to EIU). Louisiana is a big state, but is set on its ways when it comes to sports.
PRO: High school recruits currently have absolutely no interest in the Big 12. If you live in north Louisiana, you don't dream of playing at OU or Texas, you dream of being recruited to Arkansas, LSU, or Ole Miss. With that being said, bringing Tulane into the Big 12 would give our conference a chance to recruit some incredible athletes. I watch and report on some spectacular young athletes in this area that I wish I could feed directly to coach Rhoads. This area lives and breathes football in a way that is only surpassed by Texas and Alabama.
CON: A majority of the high school football powerhouses are in north Louisiana as opposed to south (Evangel, West Monroe, Neville). New Orleans is 4 1/2 hours away from some of the best athletes in this state. Not as close as you'd think.
PRO: Road games in New Orleans? Yeah baby. The fall and early winter are great times to be in south Louisiana weather wise. Plus, they'd be an easy win for a number of years.
CON: Tulane has absolutely no fan base. From New Orleans to Shreveport, and most of south Mississippi, Louisiana lives for the Saints and LSU. In fact, students and alumni from schools like Tulane, ULM, and LA Tech treat their own universities as secondary when it comes to sports (much like UNI fans flocking to EIU). Louisiana is a big state, but is set on its ways when it comes to sports.
PRO: High school recruits currently have absolutely no interest in the Big 12. If you live in north Louisiana, you don't dream of playing at OU or Texas, you dream of being recruited to Arkansas, LSU, or Ole Miss. With that being said, bringing Tulane into the Big 12 would give our conference a chance to recruit some incredible athletes. I watch and report on some spectacular young athletes in this area that I wish I could feed directly to coach Rhoads. This area lives and breathes football in a way that is only surpassed by Texas and Alabama.
CON: A majority of the high school football powerhouses are in north Louisiana as opposed to south (Evangel, West Monroe, Neville). New Orleans is 4 1/2 hours away from some of the best athletes in this state. Not as close as you'd think.
PRO: Road games in New Orleans? Yeah baby. The fall and early winter are great times to be in south Louisiana weather wise. Plus, they'd be an easy win for a number of years.
It's obviously a project, and will take time.. but if Tulane joins the Big12 they would start to gain a fanbase again. There are a lot of prospects there, and to start out the ones who can't go to LSU would at least be more interested in Tulane then(not to mention us). They would essentially be the ISU of old with LSU being Iowa. Plus now that we decided to start being good, and same we Baylor we need another bottom school in the conference... We already seen this year how having such a good conference hurts all the teams.
Expansion is all about increasing TV market value for the existing members so adding a bottom feeder like Tulane is senseless from that perspective.
