The future of the AAC

[speckled trout]

Using those metrics the American was equal to the ACC most seasons. If you subtracted Clemson we were actually better. It took Willie 5 years to get the team necessary to seriously contend in the AAC. (We had the talent in 2021 but obviously the hurricane, Pratt and Spears being injured, and things just didn’t go our way).

I’m glad we got it together it’s just unfortunate that the AAC folded as a legit football conference right when we became good.

[GSx]

Tennis courts, locker room - that's more maintenance than infrastructure investment.
Real infrastructure = Football ops building, IPF, new basketball arena, major Yulman upgrades.

[ml wave]

Tennis courts, locker room - that's more maintenance than infrastructure investment.
Real infrastructure = Football ops building, IPF, new basketball arena, major Yulman upgrades.

Well, the IPF/bubble has largely been announced. I would guess the viability of a new arena and major Yulman upgrades (assuming by upgrades you mean expansion) would depend on if we've been told it's necessary to get into a bigger conference. So that leaves an ops building...do we know if the athletic department views this as a priority or is it just a fan wish?

[Baywave1]

Tennis courts, locker room - that's more maintenance than infrastructure investment.
Real infrastructure = Football ops building, IPF, new basketball arena, major Yulman upgrades.

Did announcement include donor? Last ones (replaced by Yulman) were funded by Goldring

Some years ago Tulane wanted to build Rosen replacement dorm on this location but wild and crazy nimbys (Lambeth House retirees mainly) nixed it. So Tulane bought a building behind Pontchartrain Hotel instead

So are the Pickleball courts the sop to Lambethians? (That’s a joke.)

Married student dorms would have been a homerun for that location but tennis facility would be a small plus too

[ml wave]

Tennis courts, locker room - that's more maintenance than infrastructure investment.
Real infrastructure = Football ops building, IPF, new basketball arena, major Yulman upgrades.

Did announcement include donor? Last ones (replaced by Yulman) were funded by Goldring

Some years ago Tulane wanted to build Rosen replacement dorm on this location but wild and crazy nimbys (Lambeth House retirees mainly) nixed it. So Tulane bought a building behind Pontchartrain Hotel instead

So are the Pickleball courts the sop to Lambethians? (That’s a joke.)

Married student dorms would have been a homerun for that location but tennis facility would be a small plus too

Are married students still a thing? Prof?

[WaveProf]

Are married students still a thing? Prof?

At Nicholls, maybe? At Tulane, absolutely not.

Grad students maybe, but they aren't living on campus.

[Baywave1]

Back in the day, if you wanted to cohabit on campus, Rosen was the place. Most tenants had kids too.

No guess on that demographic today. Maybe foreign grad students?. Just guessing

[Baywave1]

Upon recollection, i know several of Fritz’s staff lived there right after hiring (the dorm adjacent to the Pontchartrain.) probably still used as temp housing for new employees in transit.

This just reinforces how crazy the Lambeth House residents were in torpedoing putting new Rosen on an Uptown Square parking lot.

This makes Yulman neighbors look tame on a NIMBY scale.

[nolasilver]

I feel like we have beaten the dead horse on this subject as it has been discussed for 40+ pages on the pac 12 thread. Here are the realistic options:

1) WHEN FSU or Clemson leaves the acc, there will be a cascade of events with somewhere between 4-6 schools leaving. We would be a slam dunk for invitation. This is the best option. The question is when does this happen ? There has been smoke it’s happening this year, but there was speculation about that in previous years as well.

2) The Pac 2 Relegation conference. Wash state and OSU likely have somewhere in the neighborhood of $100-$200m+ apparently owed to them as the last two members of the pac 12. Does this just turn into a reverse merger with the mw ? That would be the most uninspired but easiest solution, that cements the MW & Sunbelt as the best two G5’s. There was a leaked PowerPoint about from a couple weeks ago from a AD proposing the relegation conference using the pac 2, mw AND aac to other ads. In my mind it is distinctly possible they could just use their 1 or 2 year waiver from the ncaa to be a conference of 2, and wait out the mw exit fees and invite the best of the mw and best of the American.

3) we stay in the aac

Edit: here is the link with info about the power point, it was made by Boise states ad and has been shared with conference presidents and ads. https://frontofficesports.com/first-pro ... -football/

[tjtlja]

[quote="speckled trout" post_id=872011 time=1696272840 user_id=1717]
[quote=DCGreenie post_id=872005 time=1696271558 user_id=158]
What is your outlook on the American conference going forward and how much of an impact does it have on Tulane’s ability to thrive as an athletics department?
It will implode. Also, re: one of the posts, the conference landscape isn't anything like it was in 2014. Conference musical chairs game is unceasing, with some really asinine moves, along with the asinine implosion of the PAC12. Memphis is the next to go, following the lead of the Hoor SMU.
[/quote]
Memphis doesn’t have SMU money but I agree they will get out come hell or high water, further weakening a conference which is already hanging on by a thread. USF would probably be next.

I can’t say for certain what Tulane wants to do because I don’t know. Based on history I’m guessing they are just happy to be in the American and don’t have any real plans to do anything. Like others in this thread I’m confused and disappointed how Tulane hasn’t capitalized on the Cotton Bowl. Correct me if I’m wrong but the locker room project was in motion before the CB so basically we turned the biggest landmark victory in school history into nothing.

Kind of just wondering what will become of us since we are stuck here, hence the OP
[/quote]

Terrific post! And isn’t depressing, it’s the truth. But it does suck.

[PeteRasche]

Back in the day, if you wanted to cohabit on campus, Rosen was the place. Most tenants had kids too.

No guess on that demographic today. Maybe foreign grad students?. Just guessing

Rosen was mostly foreign grad students who were indeed married with kids. Can't speak for earlier years but in the early 90s it was roach-infested fed smelled horrible because the ventilation wasn't adequate for all the cooking being done.

[GretnaGrn]

Anti-trust is no answer at all. Won't happen, for a long list of reasons--most simply, such cases are extremely costly and hard to win and the only organization with the resources to do it--the federal government--has no interest in attempting to do so. I'm not at all convinced that it would be winnable even with the (substantial) resources that would be needed, anyway; the fact that the power conferences keep admitting new teams rather argues against them being a trust in the anti-trust sense.

The best case scenario at this stage, outside of an ACC invite, which would involve several dominos falling that haven't yet, is for the PAC2 to lead a consolidation of the best teams in the American and the Mountain West.

Next time contracts come around, even the lesser sum the AAC gets will be dropping sharply. Anyone who thinks this current group is on the rise is only fooling themselves.

Fed govt was interested during Obama/Bowden. As concerns cost, lots of litigation firms would be in line for 1/3rd success fee potentially in billions of dollars from ESPN, FOX and P2/ P4.

No suit has happened because it’s uncollegial by definition to sue another university. Tulane had perfect case in 1998. But Cowen passed (because he needed B1G votes for AAU presidency?)

You need a plaintiff. Maybe Liberty which doesn't have any P5/AAU friends anyway?

No. If there were a realistic chance at that kind of payout, the few firms big enough to handle those litigation costs would have done it. It's worth noting that frivilous federal suits can (and do) sometimes result in costs and attorneys fees being awarded to the defense; these would be very substantial. The feds were never that interested; no politician wants to tick off the entire fanbase of their largest state schools. Especially because this suit is a dud, particularly now.

To win an anti-trust suit against Fox and ESPN, you would have to prove that ESPN and Fox are working together to artificially limit the market or exclude others. While what they're doing is bad for football, I don't think they're working together (indeed, most of their recent moves rather show them competing with each other). This is a completely different suit and claim from one against P2/P4 conferences and/or schools...which is also just about impossible to win because they regularly let in more schools. Being bad for the sport, the public, or anything else isn't enough for anti-trust litigation to succeed.

The strongest (or, more accurately, least frivilously weak) claim would be against the former BCS, now CFP. Allowing the access spot for the non-P5 teams is, in large part, to insulate against such a claim, and works well as such. Particularly staring next year, everyone has a chance. Anti-trust does NOT require that everyone have an *equal* chance.

Anti-trust is a flag that gets waved around for things we don't like and feel are bad for society. Such claims are actually quite rare and very, very hard to win, both in terms of burden, time and cost.

[wwave]

Regarding the building behind the Pontchartrain, Tulane sold that several years ago. It’s been renovated and is a normal apartment building.

[Baywave1]

Thanks for update

What are they using now to house Rosen demographic?

[RollWave23]

During the HOF induction ceremony dannen mentioned that Don and Lora Peters donated 10 million to Tulane athletics. He also stated it was the second largest donation ever to Tulane athletics.

[tjtlja]

Wonder how they are going to use it? My vote would be to expand Yulman. Love to see the anticipation of an Ole Miss game six times a year. The stadium would be packed every week. Hope to see it happen before long.

[atxwave]

During the HOF induction ceremony dannen mentioned that Don and Lora Peters donated 10 million to Tulane athletics. He also stated it was the second largest donation ever to Tulane athletics.

My question...this can't be the donation that he spoke of prior. I'm confident he said this donor had never given to athletics. However, the Peters have generously given to athletics several times before.

https://news.tulane.edu/news/don-and-lo ... t-athletes

[nolasilver]

—Sigh— I don’t even feel like looking back, but even if there is some thin and strained explanation how it’s their first donation to athletics, didn’t we deduce $10m isn’t the 2nd largest gift ? I’m sure there is some additional sensational mental gymnastics needed to explain that. There’s a difference between positive spin and just BS.

I am sure we are all extremely grateful for their contribution to the program, ( truly we are and need more to follow your lead) but troys description of it was . . . “Confusing”.

[nolasilver]

Wonder how they are going to use it? My vote would be to expand Yulman. Love to see the anticipation of an Ole Miss game six times a year. The stadium would be packed every week. Hope to see it happen before long.

How about we use it as part of a subsidy to just buy our way into the acc ? Fsu and Clemson don’t have the votes to stop us, and wont care as theyre on the way out. If they do leave, we don’t even need anything close to smus self imposed “fee”

[PeteRasche]

If we used $10M towards expanding Yulman, we'd need another 4 to 7 of that same size donation to go with it...

[waverider]

—Sigh— I don’t even feel like looking back, but even if there is some thin and strained explanation how it’s their first donation to athletics, didn’t we deduce $10m isn’t the 2nd largest gift ? I’m sure there is some additional sensational mental gymnastics needed to explain that. There’s a difference between positive spin and just BS.

I am sure we are all extremely grateful for their contribution to the program, ( truly we are and need more to follow your lead) but troys description of it was . . . “Confusing”.

At the time he said he was soon to announce the second largest gift ever for Tulane Athletics (new donor).

This could be it and since the linked donation was for Sports Medicine and while technically under the Athletics umbrella, may be counting this as their first general donation to Athletics. Only explanation I could think of.

[nolasilver]

My memory was incorrect. -$10m was what we assumed the gift to be. Extremely generous and thankful for the athletic donation and may you inspire many more

[ml wave]

—Sigh— I don’t even feel like looking back, but even if there is some thin and strained explanation how it’s their first donation to athletics, didn’t we deduce $10m isn’t the 2nd largest gift ? I’m sure there is some additional sensational mental gymnastics needed to explain that. There’s a difference between positive spin and just BS.

I am sure we are all extremely grateful for their contribution to the program, ( truly we are and need more to follow your lead) but troys description of it was . . . “Confusing”.

At the time he said he was soon to announce the second largest gift ever for Tulane Athletics (new donor).

This could be it and since the linked donation was for Sports Medicine and while technically under the Athletics umbrella, may be counting this as their first general donation to Athletics. Only explanation I could think of.

The article linked above, from last fall, has quotes from Dannen talking about all the different giving they've done.

[CT Wave]

My memory was incorrect. -$10m was what we assumed the gift to be. Extremely generous and thankful for the athletic donation and may you inspire many more

Dannen said it was a $10M gift at the HOF dinner. Of course, there could be some other large gift from a first time giver that truly is the second largest ever for athletics?

[tjtlja]

[quote=nolasilver post_id=872161 time=1696397594 user_id=28550]
[quote=tjtlja post_id=872158 time=1696390804 user_id=930]
Wonder how they are going to use it? My vote would be to expand Yulman. Love to see the anticipation of an Ole Miss game six times a year. The stadium would be packed every week. Hope to see it happen before long.
[/quote]

How about we use it as part of a subsidy to just buy our way into the acc ? Fsu and Clemson don’t have the votes to stop us, and wont care as theyre on the way out. If they do leave, we don’t even need anything close to smus self imposed “fee”
[/quote]

Doubt ACC will let us buy our way in with the facilities we have. I would think that would be the first thing needed in addition to paying WF what he is worth. And why can’t Tulane match these donations. Or kick in the rest. We keep hearing Fitts and Tulane want big time athletics. If so, now is the time to show us the money. It’s now or never.