Conference realignment has been the biggest storyline in college football for the past several years. Since that fateful day when Big 12 officials learned that Oklahoma and Texas were leaving for the SEC, a domino effect has swept the nation’s conferences in an attempt to restore some stability.
Change is never easy, but it’s impossible to expect schools to turn down a bigger payday in a world where the almighty dollar runs the show. Or is it?
In this latest wave of realignment — which started when the Pac-12 started rebuilding with Mountain West schools — we’ve seen some decisions made that prove there’s still value in having geographical integrity and staying where you’re comfortable.
On Tuesday, Texas State ended the narrative that it was leaving the Sun Belt to join the Mountain West Conference.
Last week, the Bobcats received a verbal offer to join the Mountain West, but they’ve opted to remain in the Sun Belt rather than allow this domino effect to extend into the place they’ve called home for the last decade.
Texas State has been a member in the Sun Belt since 2013. Prior to that, Texas State was in the WAC for one season (2012), FCS Independent in 2011, and the Southland for over two decades (1987-2010).
So, why would they turn down the offer — assuming that more money was in the cards? CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd has an explanation.
“What kind of world do we live in when Texas State turns down the Mountain West? Made total sense when you dig down,” Dodd wrote on Twitter. “@SunBelt all-in number per school is $2.4 million annually. @MountainWest doesn’t have a media deal yet but it’s logical to think it’s not going to be much more than that. Even if it is, say, $4 million. Schools in the SBC are heavily subsidized by schools/state. Don’t know if there would be alignment with MWC on that. There also is travel and likely conference subsidy for Hawaii travel that eats into that. Rather than rip up roots and be more Western-leaning, TSU is more comfortable in the SBC.”
