A Modest Proposal: Have Baylor Replace UConn in the AAC
https://www.frogsowar.com/2019/6/25/18716327/a-modest-proposal-have-baylor-replace-uconn-in-the-aac
The University of Connecticut is reportedly planning on leaving the AAC for the Big East, which is much like moving back in with your parents for a few years after graduating college.
The move affects all of the school’s programs but football, which the Big East does not sponsor. A reasonable argument could be made that UConn barely sponsors football either, but that’s a subject for a different time.
The Huskies reportedly aim to be out of the AAC by the start of the 2020-21 athletic season, which will leave the AAC with an unbalanced 11 members in most sports. The AAC apparently doesn’t want UConn to stick around in football, either, meaning the Huskies will most likely compete as an independent if they’re not snatched up by Conference USA or the MAC.
We here at Frogs O’ War don’t want to see our friends in the AAC have to suffer with an uneven group of teams. That’s why we’re channeling our favorite 18th century Irish writer Jonathan Swift and submitting A Modest Proposal:
Send Baylor to the AAC to replace UConn.
I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be lyable to the least Objection.
-Swift
Conference realignment is on the horizon. We’ve been dreading it and talking about it for years. When the Big 12 inevitably sinks into the ocean, or is at least absorbed into the Mecha-Big 10 (Big 22?), Baylor is going to want to make sure it has a landing place. What better way to solidify your school’s spot in the future than to lock down a long-term contract with a new conference just before realignment strikes?
By the way — when is realignment going to happen? We’ve been talking about impending doom ever since TCU joined the Big 12 and Rutgers wedged its way into the Big 10. Now it feels as though we’re in some sort of edgy detente, just waiting for the first domino to fall. It’s spooky, but it’s lulling me into a false sense of security.
But enough about conference realignment.
I have too long digressed, and therefore shall return to my subject. I think the advantages by the Proposal which I have made are obvious and many, as well as of the highest importance.
For first, as I have already observed, Baylor will have a place to call home when/if realignment happens. By joining the AAC now, they can show their devotion to their new conference-mates. They’ll assure Tulane and Memphis and the rest that the Bears are there for better or for worse, ‘til death do they part.
Secondly, Baylor can keep the same plentiful geographic rivalries that it has in the Big 12. Only instead of TCU, Texas and Texas Tech, the Bears will be playing Houston, SMU and, I don’t know, Tulsa, who cares. Baylor won’t ever have to lose four straight games by an average score of 37.75-18.5 to a rival like TCU again.
Thirdly, speaking of geography, this would add a prized media market for the AAC. Waco has tens of thousands of people that love their Bears and watch them on TV. And opposing fans will love traveling to Waco on gameday weekends. They can check out the thriving city’s wonderful attractions, like a grain silo based off an HGTV show, a kolache market 30 minutes north of town, and a brackish-brown river! Sure, Temple is located in Philadelphia, one of the most historic cities in the U.S., but when Owls fans come to watch their old head coach Matt Rhule lead Baylor, they can see some Texas history at the *checks notes* Dr. Pepper Museum!
Fourthly, the AAC would be delighted to have such a stellar athletic program replacing UConn. The Baylor Lady Bears are legitimately a perennial basketball powerhouse. The Baylor men bring with them multiple NY6 bowl game wins a historic basketball program a morally upstanding reputation some really flashy jerseys.
Fifthly, Baylor’s star quarterback Charlie Brewer would be able to get the shine he deserves. He’ll be a senior in 2020-21, and there’s no better way to spend your senior year than dicing up East Carolina for 500 yards and four touchdowns. In the Big 12, Brewer would be overshadowed by quarterbacks like Jalen Hurts and Sam Ehlinger — you know, quarterbacks that are “actually really good.” But in this new conference, Brewer will have the league all to himself. And once he gets drafted, he can follow in the footsteps of legendary AAC quarterbacks like Blake Bortles!
Sixthly, this would allow the Big 12 to pick a new member to join its ranks, one more aligned with the conference’s ethos. A school with a storied football past, a dedicated and loyal fanbase and a basketball program willing to submit to Kansas at every turn.
A school like, say, Nebraska or Texas A&M.
https://www.frogsowar.com/2019/6/25/18716327/a-modest-proposal-have-baylor-replace-uconn-in-the-aac
The University of Connecticut is reportedly planning on leaving the AAC for the Big East, which is much like moving back in with your parents for a few years after graduating college.
The move affects all of the school’s programs but football, which the Big East does not sponsor. A reasonable argument could be made that UConn barely sponsors football either, but that’s a subject for a different time.
The Huskies reportedly aim to be out of the AAC by the start of the 2020-21 athletic season, which will leave the AAC with an unbalanced 11 members in most sports. The AAC apparently doesn’t want UConn to stick around in football, either, meaning the Huskies will most likely compete as an independent if they’re not snatched up by Conference USA or the MAC.
We here at Frogs O’ War don’t want to see our friends in the AAC have to suffer with an uneven group of teams. That’s why we’re channeling our favorite 18th century Irish writer Jonathan Swift and submitting A Modest Proposal:
Send Baylor to the AAC to replace UConn.
I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be lyable to the least Objection.
-Swift
Conference realignment is on the horizon. We’ve been dreading it and talking about it for years. When the Big 12 inevitably sinks into the ocean, or is at least absorbed into the Mecha-Big 10 (Big 22?), Baylor is going to want to make sure it has a landing place. What better way to solidify your school’s spot in the future than to lock down a long-term contract with a new conference just before realignment strikes?
By the way — when is realignment going to happen? We’ve been talking about impending doom ever since TCU joined the Big 12 and Rutgers wedged its way into the Big 10. Now it feels as though we’re in some sort of edgy detente, just waiting for the first domino to fall. It’s spooky, but it’s lulling me into a false sense of security.
But enough about conference realignment.
I have too long digressed, and therefore shall return to my subject. I think the advantages by the Proposal which I have made are obvious and many, as well as of the highest importance.
For first, as I have already observed, Baylor will have a place to call home when/if realignment happens. By joining the AAC now, they can show their devotion to their new conference-mates. They’ll assure Tulane and Memphis and the rest that the Bears are there for better or for worse, ‘til death do they part.
Secondly, Baylor can keep the same plentiful geographic rivalries that it has in the Big 12. Only instead of TCU, Texas and Texas Tech, the Bears will be playing Houston, SMU and, I don’t know, Tulsa, who cares. Baylor won’t ever have to lose four straight games by an average score of 37.75-18.5 to a rival like TCU again.
Thirdly, speaking of geography, this would add a prized media market for the AAC. Waco has tens of thousands of people that love their Bears and watch them on TV. And opposing fans will love traveling to Waco on gameday weekends. They can check out the thriving city’s wonderful attractions, like a grain silo based off an HGTV show, a kolache market 30 minutes north of town, and a brackish-brown river! Sure, Temple is located in Philadelphia, one of the most historic cities in the U.S., but when Owls fans come to watch their old head coach Matt Rhule lead Baylor, they can see some Texas history at the *checks notes* Dr. Pepper Museum!
Fourthly, the AAC would be delighted to have such a stellar athletic program replacing UConn. The Baylor Lady Bears are legitimately a perennial basketball powerhouse. The Baylor men bring with them multiple NY6 bowl game wins a historic basketball program a morally upstanding reputation some really flashy jerseys.
Fifthly, Baylor’s star quarterback Charlie Brewer would be able to get the shine he deserves. He’ll be a senior in 2020-21, and there’s no better way to spend your senior year than dicing up East Carolina for 500 yards and four touchdowns. In the Big 12, Brewer would be overshadowed by quarterbacks like Jalen Hurts and Sam Ehlinger — you know, quarterbacks that are “actually really good.” But in this new conference, Brewer will have the league all to himself. And once he gets drafted, he can follow in the footsteps of legendary AAC quarterbacks like Blake Bortles!
Sixthly, this would allow the Big 12 to pick a new member to join its ranks, one more aligned with the conference’s ethos. A school with a storied football past, a dedicated and loyal fanbase and a basketball program willing to submit to Kansas at every turn.
A school like, say, Nebraska or Texas A&M.
