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Out of The Box Thinking Big 12 Expansion Idea: Liberty University

NYC Horned Frog

NYC Horned Frog

Full Member
ThisIsOurTime said:
They should be considered. Think of this like Moneyball. Liberty could be one of those misfit toys that works for us but wouldn't in another conference. All the C-USA story tells me is that Liberty is highly motivated to join a conference which is a good thing for us and would give the conference more bargaining power.
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Don't you remember that B12 reality show with all of the motivated bachelorettes? Lots of motivation out there. Well, maybe not anymore since we just sent them all home after we got them in their bikinis.
 
Zubaz

Zubaz

Member
This isn't a Moneyball suggestion. The moneyball guys had upside. This would be more like signing Christopher Reeve to play outfield. Seems like a bad idea and then it somehow goes worse than expected.

What desirables do they have? Their bad athletics program that was just rejected by CUSA despite offering to play for free? Their football stadium that is smaller than some colleges basketball stadiums? Their terrible academics that literally teach fake science? Their bad reputation? Their horrid athletic director? Their student body that would put them among the smallest in FBS? Their football coach that was so bad that even Kansas fired him? Their terrible location, demographics, and brand? The fact that nobody watches their games already and would do immeasurable damage to the already rough Big 12 brand?

I mean....do I need to keep going?
 
More Frogs the Better

More Frogs the Better

Full Member
ThisIsOurTime said:
They should be considered. Think of this like Moneyball. Liberty could be one of those misfit toys that works for us but wouldn't in another conference. All the C-USA story tells me is that Liberty is highly motivated to join a conference which is a good thing for us and would give the conference more bargaining power.
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Misfit is about the only thing you said that makes any sense. Your thinking is inverse. Inviting a FCS team like Liberty that beat a Big 12 team is not worthy of discussion. Kicking a team out of the Big 12 (like Baylor with all their warts) who lost to a FCS team like Liberty would be a much more sensible line of discussion.
 
ThisIsOurTime

ThisIsOurTime

Active Member
Todd D. said:
This isn't a Moneyball suggestion. The moneyball guys had upside...What desirables do they have?
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Because they have their own unique following. They have the potential to grow their program more than most of the other alternatives. Other schools have serious limitations because of goverment restrictions or their commuter school history. But Liberty is more in line with BYU and Notre Dame where they will have their own unique following and unlike some other smaller private schools they appear to have the money and donors willing to make the necessary changes. Where they are right now isn't so great but you need to project out where they could be in 5 or 10 years. If they all of a sudden are validated with a Power 5 seal of approval, this puts a lot of wind in their sails. I think compared to the other alternatives they have more room for growth.

I think the big hurdle for them is the perceived politics and some perception criticisms but I don't think it's stadium size, student body size or those other types of things because those would already be issues with the other candidates and Liberty appears to be growing in those areas anyways.
 
revfrog

revfrog

Active Member
I lived in Lynchburg for five years. Got to know how Liberty operates. It is a sham excuse for a school compared to the other institutions of much higher education in town. Falwell, Jr., is a pretender and a cheat, a bane on the city's reputation, and a nasty big fish in a tiny, otherwise pretty nice pond. I respect Baylor as a decent research institution, despite their moral failings in athletics, but I don't feel dirty or ashamed to be in the same conference with them. The idea of being conference-mates with Liberty, ugh, just makes my skin crawl.
 
Peacefrog

Peacefrog

Degenerate
ThisIsOurTime said:
I read an article where Liberty University had been turned down by Conference USA eventhough they were willing to give a much larger amount than the required sum. They are a program that is currently pouring a lot of money into their athletic facilities and is not in the existing footprint of other Big 12 schools but would provide a travel partner for WV. Plus, their admission into Power 5 conference would be a big shot in their arm for raising more money, recruiting and so on for them so they could get competitive faster than say some other mid-tier schools.

So I was thinking that you could consider adding them and BYU to add a couple of schools that have a following. Liberty University is a bigger school than I expected with an undergrade base of 15,000+ and grad base of another 6,000. Plus, where the Christian background of the school would cause problems in say the Pac12, it would be more at home in the Big12 with Baylor and TCU and could make a more sensible conference if Baylor, TCU, BYU and Liberty were in the same conference. Obviously, this would add some travel challenges and still have to work through other politics but this doesn't seem so farfetched as I would have thought even a week ago.

https://pilotonline.com/sports/colu...cle_4aef1fa8-6614-58ea-97f4-25805187fa70.html
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Thisisourtime = Andrew Miller. Has to be.
 

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