IF CSU goes to the Big XII

[cowpoke pride]

IF CSU goes to the Big XII, what effect, if any, do you think it will have on the Boarder War?

Would they be willing to use 2 out of conference games each year to schedule Wyoming and Colorado?

A lot of it will depend on how many conference games the Big XII plays after expansion.

[ELKMT]

maybe if we only play in Foco. If they struggle to win they won't play us.

[GoPokes86]

If they leave, we'd probably play the sheep once every 10 years.

[RawPoke24]

Won't happen anyway.

[J-Rod]

I still can't believe they are even mentioned as a possibility. Why isn't Wyoming mentioned as a possibility? Laramie is only 60 miles off of Ft. Collins. If the Rams can claim this horse poop "Denver TV market" argument, why can't UW?

[Wyokie]

I still can't believe they are even mentioned as a possibility. Why isn't Wyoming mentioned as a possibility? Laramie is only 60 miles off of Ft. Collins. If the Rams can claim this horse poop "Denver TV market" argument, why can't UW?

I agree!

Honestly, guys, the Big XII is a dead man walking here. It'll be dead within 3-4 years. OU and Texas are using this whole expansion poop mess as an excuse to go to another conference. My guess: the PAC-XX invites OU, Texas, Oklahoma State, Kansas or Texas Tech within 2-3 months or so AFTER the Big XII adds BYU, Houston, and two other AAC schools (Cincinnati and Memphis are my guesses).

[joshvanklomp]

I still can't believe they are even mentioned as a possibility. Why isn't Wyoming mentioned as a possibility? Laramie is only 60 miles off of Ft. Collins. If the Rams can claim this horse poop "Denver TV market" argument, why can't UW?

Because it's a different TV market.

[KC_Cowboy1990]

I still can't believe they are even mentioned as a possibility. Why isn't Wyoming mentioned as a possibility? Laramie is only 60 miles off of Ft. Collins. If the Rams can claim this horse poop "Denver TV market" argument, why can't UW?

Had the Cowboys built a shiny new stadium or expanded the War by 10k seats and made a few bowl game appearances in the last 5 years.... but that hasn't happened.

Kind of a "if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle" argument. Ultimately I don't think the Rams get in anyways unless the Big XII expands to 14 and if that were the case, hindsight sucks and Wyoming probably should've at least made more of a concerted effort to pitch themselves to the Big XII.

[CowboyNV]

Since 2000, the Cowboys have finished over .500 3 times, and once they finished at .500 for the season. The other 12 years were under .500. The Big XII would never take Wyoming with their history of losing, especially losing in a conference that is much weaker than the Big XII. The historical lack of strength of the MWC is probably the biggest reason a team like CSU would never be selected. I don't care how much lipstick you smear on that pig, it's still a f-word pig. CSU, like Wyoming, will be relegated to second class citizens no matter what happens in the Power 5. I am as big a homer as there is, but over the past 16 years we haven't had much to thump our chests over and all of this talk of moving up in the world is just that - talk.

[J-Rod]

I still can't believe they are even mentioned as a possibility. Why isn't Wyoming mentioned as a possibility? Laramie is only 60 miles off of Ft. Collins. If the Rams can claim this horse poop "Denver TV market" argument, why can't UW?

Because it's a different TV market.

I know, but still...it's a disingenuous argument. There are no eye balls on CSU football. Claiming that they have the Denver area captivated is just stupid. They don't have their attention now and never will.

[joshvanklomp]

I know, but still...it's a disingenuous argument. There are no eye balls on CSU football. Claiming that they have the Denver area captivated is just stupid. They don't have their attention now and never will.

The Big Ten added Rutgers because of the NYC market. How many NYC eyes do you think are on Rutgers football on a Saturday morning.

The point isn't "we can get X number of people to turn on the CSU game," but "there are X number of people in this market who would have our Big XII games available." They may not tune in for CSU, but they might for a Texas or Oklahoma game. Getting the Big XII programming into a big market is what's important if CSU is chosen.

[LawPoke]

If CSU goes to the Big XII, the Big XII is clearly headed towards an implosion. If CSU is seen as additive, it means that the Big XII is truly in trouble. It also means that they are stupid; blinded by the smokescreen of a new stadium and the false promises of delivering a robust Denver TV market. Denver is a pro-sports town. What scraps are left for the college types are unequally distributed amongst CU, CSU, Wyoming and Air Force (and frankly Nebraska), with CSU near the hind teat. CU's experience in the Pac12 should be enough to scare off the Big XII. They are seeing that hopes that folks in a pro market might tune in for a game are nothing short of an illusion. CSU will be a negative cost-center and downward market-driver for the conference. Period. End of discussion.

Beyond TV sets, there has to be a concern about competitiveness and dragging down attendance and excitement across the Big XII. CSU has none of the success that TCU and Utah had in football that led to their invitation into the Big XII and Pac 12. Even with it, those two schools struggled for a little while. Without it, CSU will settle in as a cellar-dweller from the get-go, which will kill their attendance (fair weather is not an adequate description of those SOBs) after an initial uptick from the bigger teams coming into their new stadium. The attendance of their opponent when they hit the road will also suffer. Women's basketball and volleyball might compete, but men's basketball will get trounced at every turn, continuing the long tradition of Moe-B-Jim being more of a morgue than a basketball venue.

And what fan base in the Big XII is dying for a match up with the Sheep? Other than us (and maybe AFA), and mainly out of history, no one in our conference really cares that much about playing those worthless turds. Is Texas? No. Texas Tech? No. Kansas might...as such a match might portend a victory. K-State? Meh. Baylor? No. Iowa State? See Kansas discussion. TCU? No. West Virginia? Uh, no. Oklahoma? Ha. Oklahoma State? No. So, the only teams that are likely excited at the prospect of CSU joining are the two that think they might be able to pick up a win.

Come to think of it, maybe we should kick them out of the MWC...

[JimmyDimes]

I know, but still...it's a disingenuous argument. There are no eye balls on CSU football. Claiming that they have the Denver area captivated is just stupid. They don't have their attention now and never will.

The Big Ten added Rutgers because of the NYC market. How many NYC eyes do you think are on Rutgers football on a Saturday morning.

The point isn't "we can get X number of people to turn on the CSU game," but "there are X number of people in this market who would have our Big XII games available." They may not tune in for CSU, but they might for a Texas or Oklahoma game. Getting the Big XII programming into a big market is what's important if CSU is chosen.

The B12 doesn't need CSU to do this. They just need their own channel. I can get the B10 Network and Pac12 Network in Denver on my HD subscription. And, I can't see the B12 throwing CSU a bone just so fans, of other B12 schools, living in Denver can watch their team play in person.

I was checking out the Ram board the other day and they are talking about 30 to 40% increases in their home attendance if they are invited. Why can't they do that now? Because nobody gives a crap and nobody will give a crap if they are invited.

[stymeman]

stay off the pipe, sheep fans, you'll hate beeeeing the battering ram (pun intended) for the conference, get real, smh

[KC_Cowboy1990]

The TV-market argument is kind of an ancillary reason but it's not the brick and mortar. Whether we hate them or not, the Sheep aimed for the stars and ponied up the money to show a P5 conference they were willing to spend money to make money. Sitting back and wishing/hoping you get invited to a bigger conference is insanity. Winning games is the surest way to turn heads and get the attention of a P5 and Wyoming has not done that. Period. Anything else being discussed is kind of moot. Sure, being near a big metropolitan area doesn't hurt but being a perennial 10-win per season team sweetens the pot a lot more.

[ragtimejoe1]

The question isn't about what the program is (to an extent; obviously NMSU or us are not getting in = there is some level of program merit) but once you hit a certain level, it is about what the program is with the Big 12 label. I'm not saying csu is a good candidate. Just saying csu (or any G5 member) is a different commodity in the Big 12 than their current conference.

If the Big 12 is a dead man walking, the MWC is a cremated pile of ashes.

Reality is a bitch but it is what it is.

[hutchenc]

The B12 doesn't need CSU to do this. They just need their own channel. I can get the B10 Network and Pac12 Network in Denver on my HD subscription. And, I can't see the B12 throwing CSU a bone just so fans, of other B12 schools, living in Denver can watch their team play in person.

I was checking out the Ram board the other day and they are talking about 30 to 40% increases in their home attendance if they are invited. Why can't they do that now? Because nobody gives a crap and nobody will give a crap if they are invited.

Think back to the Texas vs. Wyoming game in 2009 and tell me that UW didn't get a huge boost in attendance? Same with the Nebraska games and every other P5 opponent Wyoming has played in Laramie? Big P5 teams travel well. The fact is that CSU would pack the house when playing teams like OU and Texas if they get in. Just those two games alone would be huge for CSU even if they get pounded. You don't think those fan bases want to take a road trip to Colorado in the Fall and sit in a brand new stadium?

Also, people don't care about anyone in the MWC except Boise St. The reason no one cares about CSU now is because they plays teams, like it or not, like UW. When CSU plays CU in Mile High Stadium, people pay attention and they've fared quite well against their rival in recent years, by and large. If they get in, and for the record I doubt they will, it'll propel CSU to a level they can't achieve in the MWC. CSU getting into the Big 12 could also be the domino that could lead to Boise St trying to leave the MWC, which would effectively end the conference...and if that happens, who's gonna want UW? Maybe the AAC or Conf USA at best. that's how it could affect UW.

[cowboyz backer]

I know no one on here wants to even think about the possibility of CSU hitting the P5 sweepstakes, but I think the original question was a theoretical one about Border War scheduling. I would hope that the border war would continue uninterrupted IF (massive IF) they went to the Big XII. Many rivalry games have suffered from conference realignment though. Even BYU-Utah went on hiatus as a result of it. It would be my hope that their Rocky Mountain Showdown would be the out of conference game that is not played annually instead of the Border War.

(No, I don't think they are changing conferences, power 5 or otherwise, anytime soon)

[hutchenc]

If CSU gets in and they have to pick between the CU game (always played in Mile High Stadium in front of a big crowd) and the Wyoming game you can do the math there. No way they're picking Border War over their in-state rivalry game (which would be a much better strength of schedule against another P5 school as well).

You're right though...it could effectively end the UW vs. CSU rivalry (at least in football).

[fromolwyoming]

Big 12 is looking East, and all signs point to the AAC getting gutted.