• Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your WyoNation.com experience today!

Denver U makes play for WAC

MrTitleist

Administrator
Staff member
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/5595978/pioneers-aim-impress-wac-officials
The University of Denver has a meeting on Sept. 28 in Dallas to convince the WAC that the Pioneers need to be a member of the league. The odds of the non-football playing Pioneers being invited to the league in time for the 2012-13 season are unclear, but a first-ever NCAA bid certainly wouldn't hurt matters.
 
That's why the WAC is focused on rebuilding, not burning. That's why they're meeting with teams, to discuss expanding their conference.
 
MrTitleist said:
That's why the WAC is focused on rebuilding, not burning. That's why they're meeting with teams, to discuss expanding their conference.

Only reason for this is so Benson can keep his job. He's done a shitty job for the last several years so....

Denver is interested in joining only because of two reasons...

1) saves $$ on travel

2) Sun Belt wants them out ASAP!!!!
 
MrTitleist said:
Why would the Sun Belt want their 4-time basketball champ gone?

Denver a 4-time basketball champ? I don't think so.

The Sun Belt wants their non-football members out. They would like to see Arkansas-Little Rock leave as well since UALR doesn't have a football team either.
 
DU only won the regular season title ONCE. In 2005.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Belt_Conference#Basketball
 
MrTitleist said:
Why would the Sun Belt want their 4-time basketball champ gone?

As Wyokie mentioned, they only won the league once and I don't think they have ever earned an at-large bid to the tourney as a member of the Sun Belt.

That's not why the Sun Belt wants them out though. From what I have read it is far more amicable than Wyokie may have implied. I think both sides realize it is an awkward fit. The Sun Belt wants to move to more of an all-sports regional focused league. DU is an outlier geographically and in terms of sports offered. With USA starting FB and moving up to FBS in a couple of years and UNO dropping down to D3, only DU and UALR would be left as non-FB schools and UALR fits in all of the other ways.

Both sides would like to lower travel costs as well.

DU is a high quality athletic department (Top 100 in Director's Cup usually), but their athletic department would fit in much better in a east coast private school league than it does in any of their realistic options (WAC, Sun Belt, etc.).

I think adding Seattle and Denver as non-FB members and UTSA and Texas State for all sports is the WAC's best option right now, unless Montana wants to move up in which case they should become the top priority.
 
I've really never understood how Denver ended up in the Sun Belt originally, but then again, that's where Idaho was stuck for a while as well.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top