Solution: American Coast Conference

[JMarkJohns]

Eastern Division

-East Coast-
Cincinnati
Duke
Georgia Tech
North Carolina
Virginia

-Plains-
Baylor
Oklahoma State
Kansas
Louisville
TCU

Western Division

-Southwest-
Arizona
Arizona State
Houston
San Diego State
Texas Tech

-Mountain West-
Colorado
Oregon
Stanford
Utah
Washington

- - -

Where is the flaw?

Why won’t this work?

Ok, Oregon wants money. Washington wants money.

Well, this will get them money from media and academics without having to get slaughtered in football weekly.

For football:

Baylor, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, Louisville from East Division and Houston, TCU, Oregon, Utah, Washington from West Division.

That’s 9 potentially competitive teams not counting anything from Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford or the East Coast schools.

And Basketball? Phew…

You can’t find me a better basketball conference.

Football schedule is, you play the 9 schools in your Division, each pod winner plays each other, then winner plays Division winner for a ACC Title. That’s 11 games with 2 for Non-Conference.

Basketball schedule is you play your 9 Division Home/Away, and one of the other Division Pods yearly, with that other pod rotating Home/Away every other year. That’s 23 conference games, leaving 6-8 for non-conference and the Conference Tournament is top-3 from each Pod, top-pod record gets Bye until 2nd round in 5 round Tournament, the location of which rotates from NYC to Dallas To LA to maximize Geographical interest and Media Markets.

Arizona uses Las Vegas for a “Neutral” court game with UCLA every other year, and uses LA for a neutral court game with Gonzaga every other year. It also does a preseason tournament of some sort every year.

I know it won’t happen, but the media isn’t ignoring this, and the academic funding it there, markets are there, and this maximizes the best of what’s leftover in a way that positions the American Coast Conference into a juggernaut. Peripheral sports would be all thriller no filler, too.

What do you think?

[dovecanyoncat]

[JMarkJohns]

I’m not saying it will happen. I’m saying it’s what should happen with the best programs left forming their own super conference. Fuck Loyalty at this point. Find programs, find markets, find regional history, find academics and shore it all up.

Otherwise nothing else survives.

[GlobalCat]

I feel awful for the students whom will have to put up with this mess.

[JMarkJohns]

It’s still mostly regional. Did anyone read my scheduling.

You play your Division with only 5 cross country road games. In years past Arizona sports has played at NC State, Florida, Michigan and tournaments in Hawaii and NYC.

Not sure how my plan is that much different. But ok.

[YoDeFoe]

I would love this, and I think it solves the big issue of needing to compete with B1G and SEC as a third major conference. It does so in two ways:

1) There are enough exciting and competitive schools in both revenue sports to draw eyeballs.
2) Its more novel in its approach to both scheduling and conference composition than the other two, which adds a freshness and uniqueness that the others lack ("it's the B1G... plus LA!" and "it's the SEC... plus the Red River!").

Maybe most importantly it retains regionality which is crucial for caring about conference games. The big marquee matchups are great but the conference season still matters.

I love it. Maybe most of all because it's an absurdly great basketball conference.

[YoDeFoe]

"Why won't it work?"

...first thing that comes to mind is the ACC teams that are being cut - what's being lost there? Where would they go?

* Boston College
* Clemson
* Florida St.
* Miami
* NC St.
* Notre Dame
* Pitt
* Cuse
* VaTech
* Wake

Figure those would get split up between the B1G and the SEC, with the leftovers going to the Big East?

[azcat49]

As a football fan first, not many match ups there that I would look to watch on my Saturday past our game. Basketball wise it would be great but as we know this upheaval is driven by football.

Say you want to distribute 50m a year to your member schools (less than half of what the B1G/SEC will provide), that means a TV contract of 1B. Would you pay that much for those football schools??

The biggest football brands were left out? Why? The biggest remaining TV market (Boston) was left out. Why?

I do like the idea of combating the B1G/SEC with scale. The ACC to me seems to have more attractive TV markets but it has been said they have a terrible TV contract that lasts for a good period forward.Not sure what the answer is

[JMarkJohns]

This assumed Clemson, Florida State and Miami were automatically gone. If they aren’t, and one wishes to remain part of American Coast Conference, I’d swap them into Georgia Tech spot. Specifically Florida State. But Clemson would definitely add some football clout.

At the end of the day, kindness is what will kill these other leagues. Right now is a time to be honest and merciless.

I need 3 of:

Football $$$
Basketball $$$
Media $$$
Market $$$
Academic $$$

If you don’t have 3, it’s going to be difficult to have you.minimum must have 2 and those 2 need to be significant. 1 and a shared state affiliation ain’t it no more.

[JMarkJohns]

As a football fan first, not many match ups there that I would look to watch on my Saturday past our game. Basketball wise it would be great but as we know this upheaval is driven by football.

Say you want to distribute 50m a year to your member schools (less than half of what the B1G/SEC will provide), that means a TV contract of 1B. Would you pay that much for those football schools??

The biggest football brands were left out? Why? The biggest remaining TV market (Boston) was left out. Why?

I do like the idea of combating the B1G/SEC with scale. The ACC to me seems to have more attractive TV markets but it has been said they have a terrible TV contract that lasts for a good period forward.Not sure what the answer is

New rivalries develop. Cincinnati, Baylor, Houston, Louisville, Oregon, all have been BCS competitive within the last decade or sooner. Oklahoma State was close late year. Stanford could be again with the smallest of shifts in priority. Put good products onto the field and people will watch. The upside is there for these programs.

As for Boston College, they stink. They aren’t good in either main sport, and that was when they were only competing with ACC. This includes best of Big-12 and PAC.

I’m not including Boston College for the same reason I’m not including Cal. Market isn’t enough. Academics isn’t enough. Need media eyeballs and sports prominence.

[Merkin]

The ACC to me seems to have more attractive TV markets but it has been said they have a terrible TV contract that lasts for a good period forward.

Believe the ACC ESPN TV contract ends in 2036. I may not even be alive when it ends.

The exit fee is $52M to leave the ACC before then.

[RondaeShimmy]

"Why won't it work?"

...first thing that comes to mind is the ACC teams that are being cut - what's being lost there? Where would they go?

* Boston College
* Clemson
* Florida St.
* Miami
* NC St.
* Notre Dame
* Pitt
* Cuse
* VaTech
* Wake

Figure those would get split up between the B1G and the SEC, with the leftovers going to the Big East?

B1G has the AAU requirements for academics so most of these aren't going there. UVA, UNC, GTech etc

I'm assuming nothing makes sense for the SEC other than Clemson, FSU and Miami.

I think the Big 12 if they get the corner schools from the PAC, will raid the remaining ACC as soon as the the SEC does. I think Louisville, NC St, GTech, VTech, Pitt (maybe Duke) make the most sense and helps out Cincinnati, WVU and UCF with travel proximity.

[YoDeFoe]

JMJ is 100% correct that market isn't at all enough. GaTech isn't the Falcons, BC isn't the Patriots, Cal isn't the Niners... you don't get the whole metro tuning in because a local university is on TV.

It's all about either national brands or regional rivalries.

[JMarkJohns]

"Why won't it work?"

...first thing that comes to mind is the ACC teams that are being cut - what's being lost there? Where would they go?

* Boston College
* Clemson
* Florida St.
* Miami
* NC St.
* Notre Dame
* Pitt
* Cuse
* VaTech
* Wake

Figure those would get split up between the B1G and the SEC, with the leftovers going to the Big East?

B1G has the AAU requirements for academics so most of these aren't going there. UVA, UNC, GTech etc

I'm assuming nothing makes sense for the SEC other than Clemson, FSU and Miami.

I think the Big 12 if they get the corner schools from the PAC, will raid the remaining ACC as soon as the the SEC does. I think Louisville, NC St, GTech, VTech, Pitt (maybe Duke) make the most sense and helps out Cincinnati, WVU and UCF with travel proximity.

If you went to 24 team you start to get into the watered down, money spread too thinly aspect of things. Scheduling would become a slog for football and basketball.


Again, this is the moment for the elite programs not part of the BIG or SEC to be honest with themselves about their positioning in the media, what their needs are, and what their wants are.

Kindness will kill good programs.

The 20 I mention bring a lot to the table. It’s an eclectic but rich diversity of offerings. It will be difficult to pigeonhole.

Start adding subpar programs for market or regional relationships and it starts to bloat and sink.

This is about the best of the rest forming a super life boat for the next 10-15 years. Let’s survive and advance. Then let’s reassess. Who knows what college sports even looks like after a decade+ of NIL and these super conferences. Maybe some programs want to bolt them because they are used to 12-1 and 11-2 and can barely go 8-5. Maybe the money appeases the universities. But the fanbase?

[JMarkJohns]

JMJ is 100% correct that market isn't at all enough. GaTech isn't the Falcons, BC isn't the Patriots, Cal isn't the Niners... you don't get the whole metro tuning in because a local university is on TV.

It's all about either national brands or regional rivalries.

I have Georgia Tech in my top-20 because it has produced top NFL and NBA talent and had reasonably competitive success multiple times over the last decades. Maybe I can be swayed toward Boston College with some academic and NIL financials from the Boston area, but I don’t want bloat. I want quality programs who can zenith as top-25 at any given time. Literally everyone I have included has that potential in both sports and then they also either bring market or media or academics.

[ChooChooCat]

JMJ is 100% correct that market isn't at all enough. GaTech isn't the Falcons, BC isn't the Patriots, Cal isn't the Niners... you don't get the whole metro tuning in because a local university is on TV.

It's all about either national brands or regional rivalries.

I have Georgia Tech in my top-20 because it has produced top NFL and NBA talent and had reasonably competitive success multiple times over the last decades. Maybe I can be swayed toward Boston College with some academic and NIL financials from the Boston area, but I don’t want bloat. I want quality programs who can zenith as top-25 at any given time. Literally everyone I have included has that potential in both sports and then they also either bring market or media or academics.

I think the only flaw in your plan is your inclusion of UNC and Virginia and not because they'd be bad obviously, but because they're lucky SEC or B1G bound with time. The rest though are great. Just plug and fill in for UNC/Virginia in the long term.

[azcat49]

Well it sounds well thought out and is probably as good as an idea as is out there.

I guess no one knows how the exit penalty might work with the ACC as Merk pointed out.

Also I am not sure basketball at #2 in your criteria is what networks think is #2. Brand and TV markets seem to be a big driver there. Granted conference presidents think a different way but they better have a TV network liaison to form something like this

[JMarkJohns]

JMJ is 100% correct that market isn't at all enough. GaTech isn't the Falcons, BC isn't the Patriots, Cal isn't the Niners... you don't get the whole metro tuning in because a local university is on TV.

It's all about either national brands or regional rivalries.

I have Georgia Tech in my top-20 because it has produced top NFL and NBA talent and had reasonably competitive success multiple times over the last decades. Maybe I can be swayed toward Boston College with some academic and NIL financials from the Boston area, but I don’t want bloat. I want quality programs who can zenith as top-25 at any given time. Literally everyone I have included has that potential in both sports and then they also either bring market or media or academics.

I think the only flaw in your plan is your inclusion of UNC and Virginia and not because they'd be bad obviously, but because they're lucky SEC or B1G bound with time. The rest though are great. Just plug and fill in for UNC/Virginia in the long term.

I think both can be swayed to join here instead of BIG for same reason I think Oregon, Washington and Stanford can be brought on board. Neither are a football first institution, and if you give them not just a life raft, but a fucking yacht to end a member of, then the need to escape isn’t there. This isn’t a UCLA/USC situation where the PAC-12 ignored their wishes and watered down media and product. This would be a ramp up of each. And because they aren’t just Football Football Football like Clemson or Florida State, I think sense can be talked into them, especially if Stanford is coming in.

Again, it’s a long shot and unlikely to happen, but if you talk sense and cents to these programs where they aren’t fearing for survival and show them a legit forward-thinking plan, I think they buy in.

[YoDeFoe]

JMJ is 100% correct that market isn't at all enough. GaTech isn't the Falcons, BC isn't the Patriots, Cal isn't the Niners... you don't get the whole metro tuning in because a local university is on TV.

It's all about either national brands or regional rivalries.

I have Georgia Tech in my top-20 because it has produced top NFL and NBA talent and had reasonably competitive success multiple times over the last decades. Maybe I can be swayed toward Boston College with some academic and NIL financials from the Boston area, but I don’t want bloat. I want quality programs who can zenith as top-25 at any given time. Literally everyone I have included has that potential in both sports and then they also either bring market or media or academics.

I think the only flaw in your plan is your inclusion of UNC and Virginia and not because they'd be bad obviously, but because they're lucky SEC or B1G bound with time. The rest though are great. Just plug and fill in for UNC/Virginia in the long term.

I think both can be swayed to join here instead of BIG for same reason I think Oregon, Washington and Stanford can be brought on board. Neither are a football first institution, and if you give them not just a life raft, but a fucking yacht to end a member of, then the need to escape isn’t there. This isn’t a UCLA/USC situation where the PAC-12 ignored their wishes and watered down media and product. This would be a ramp up of each. And because they aren’t just Football Football Football like Clemson or Florida State, I think sense can be talked into them, especially if Stanford is coming in.

Again, it’s a long shot and unlikely to happen, but if you talk sense and cents to these programs where they aren’t fearing for survival and show them a legit forward-thinking plan, I think they buy in.

Agreed that this is enough of a punch to keep the Oregon / UNC piece of the puzzle, partly due to it keeping regional play alive for them while offering them the biggest platform in college sports.

[JMarkJohns]

Honestly, I think LA and Red River cashed out. I think they knew it was only getting harder so they all retiring off their brands.

Maybe USC fixes it.

Maybe Oklahoma stays competitive.

But Texas been down bad for a long time, and UCLA Football isn’t getting anyone except 20% of their alumni to tune in.

This conference would be for programs who actually give a shit about wanting to win at Football or Basketball with just enough major Academics and Markets and Regional History it can’t be ignored.

[JMarkJohns]

What about this conference name instead:

All American Conference.

It fits with the idea of excellence in athletics and academics (All American) and symbolizes that this includes large swaths of all of America. It also includes nationally known brands in both sports and academics.

All American Conference (AAC)

I like it.

[RondaeShimmy]

What about this conference name instead:

All American Conference.

It fits with the idea of excellence in athletics and academics (All American) and symbolizes that this includes large swaths of all of America. It also includes nationally known brands in both sports and academics.

All American Conference (AAC)

I like it.

AAC (American athletic conference) already exists as the ghost rebrand of the original big East.

[JMarkJohns]

Damn. Maybe Big PAAC is the best idea.

Pacific-Atlantic Coast Conference for official, and “Big PAAC” for any secondary reference or talking point.

[enfuego]

Eastern Division

-East Coast-
Cincinnati
Duke
Georgia Tech
North Carolina
Virginia

-Plains-
Baylor
Oklahoma State
Kansas
Louisville
TCU

Western Division

-Southwest-
Arizona
Arizona State
Houston
San Diego State
Texas Tech

-Mountain West-
Colorado
Oregon
Stanford
Utah
Washington

- - -

Where is the flaw?

Why won’t this work?

Ok, Oregon wants money. Washington wants money.

Well, this will get them money from media and academics without having to get slaughtered in football weekly.

For football:

Baylor, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, Louisville from East Division and Houston, TCU, Oregon, Utah, Washington from West Division.

That’s 9 potentially competitive teams not counting anything from Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford or the East Coast schools.

And Basketball? Phew…

You can’t find me a better basketball conference.

Football schedule is, you play the 9 schools in your Division, each pod winner plays each other, then winner plays Division winner for a ACC Title. That’s 11 games with 2 for Non-Conference.

Basketball schedule is you play your 9 Division Home/Away, and one of the other Division Pods yearly, with that other pod rotating Home/Away every other year. That’s 23 conference games, leaving 6-8 for non-conference and the Conference Tournament is top-3 from each Pod, top-pod record gets Bye until 2nd round in 5 round Tournament, the location of which rotates from NYC to Dallas To LA to maximize Geographical interest and Media Markets.

Arizona uses Las Vegas for a “Neutral” court game with UCLA every other year, and uses LA for a neutral court game with Gonzaga every other year. It also does a preseason tournament of some sort every year.

I know it won’t happen, but the media isn’t ignoring this, and the academic funding it there, markets are there, and this maximizes the best of what’s leftover in a way that positions the American Coast Conference into a juggernaut. Peripheral sports would be all thriller no filler, too.

What do you think?

This is a much better idea than the conference you suggested on phog.net.

[JMarkJohns]

Eastern Division

-East Coast-
Cincinnati
Duke
Georgia Tech
North Carolina
Virginia

-Plains-
Baylor
Oklahoma State
Kansas
Louisville
TCU

Western Division

-Southwest-
Arizona
Arizona State
Houston
San Diego State
Texas Tech

-Mountain West-
Colorado
Oregon
Stanford
Utah
Washington

- - -

Where is the flaw?

Why won’t this work?

Ok, Oregon wants money. Washington wants money.

Well, this will get them money from media and academics without having to get slaughtered in football weekly.

For football:

Baylor, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, Louisville from East Division and Houston, TCU, Oregon, Utah, Washington from West Division.

That’s 9 potentially competitive teams not counting anything from Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford or the East Coast schools.

And Basketball? Phew…

You can’t find me a better basketball conference.

Football schedule is, you play the 9 schools in your Division, each pod winner plays each other, then winner plays Division winner for a ACC Title. That’s 11 games with 2 for Non-Conference.

Basketball schedule is you play your 9 Division Home/Away, and one of the other Division Pods yearly, with that other pod rotating Home/Away every other year. That’s 23 conference games, leaving 6-8 for non-conference and the Conference Tournament is top-3 from each Pod, top-pod record gets Bye until 2nd round in 5 round Tournament, the location of which rotates from NYC to Dallas To LA to maximize Geographical interest and Media Markets.

Arizona uses Las Vegas for a “Neutral” court game with UCLA every other year, and uses LA for a neutral court game with Gonzaga every other year. It also does a preseason tournament of some sort every year.

I know it won’t happen, but the media isn’t ignoring this, and the academic funding it there, markets are there, and this maximizes the best of what’s leftover in a way that positions the American Coast Conference into a juggernaut. Peripheral sports would be all thriller no filler, too.

What do you think?

This is a much better idea than the conference you suggested on phog.net.

It’s basically the same, but I got brutally honest and trimmed considerable fat from ACC, Big-12, and PAC in order to make the most attractive 20-team Conference in hopes of retaining Oregon and Stanford, who I hope would help retain Washington in a similar fashion that I think retaining Duke and Virginia help to keep UNC: regional rivals, longtime conference foes, but also valued institutions.

There’s enough options that if Georgia Tech isn’t the best it can be replaced by Boston College or West Virginia, or, maybe, even one of the Florida schools like Florida State if they choose to not get bludgeoned weekly for profits they can get from here.

If you build something relevant and attractive and profitable, some institutions will not completely and so radically sell out.

[TheCat]

Eastern Division

-East Coast-
Cincinnati
Duke
Georgia Tech
North Carolina
Virginia

-Plains-
Baylor
Oklahoma State
Kansas
Louisville
TCU

Western Division

-Southwest-
Arizona
Arizona State
Houston
San Diego State
Texas Tech

-Mountain West-
Colorado
Oregon
Stanford
Utah
Washington

- - -

Where is the flaw?

Why won’t this work?

Ok, Oregon wants money. Washington wants money.

Well, this will get them money from media and academics without having to get slaughtered in football weekly.

For football:

Baylor, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, Louisville from East Division and Houston, TCU, Oregon, Utah, Washington from West Division.

That’s 9 potentially competitive teams not counting anything from Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford or the East Coast schools.

And Basketball? Phew…

You can’t find me a better basketball conference.

Football schedule is, you play the 9 schools in your Division, each pod winner plays each other, then winner plays Division winner for a ACC Title. That’s 11 games with 2 for Non-Conference.

Basketball schedule is you play your 9 Division Home/Away, and one of the other Division Pods yearly, with that other pod rotating Home/Away every other year. That’s 23 conference games, leaving 6-8 for non-conference and the Conference Tournament is top-3 from each Pod, top-pod record gets Bye until 2nd round in 5 round Tournament, the location of which rotates from NYC to Dallas To LA to maximize Geographical interest and Media Markets.

Arizona uses Las Vegas for a “Neutral” court game with UCLA every other year, and uses LA for a neutral court game with Gonzaga every other year. It also does a preseason tournament of some sort every year.

I know it won’t happen, but the media isn’t ignoring this, and the academic funding it there, markets are there, and this maximizes the best of what’s leftover in a way that positions the American Coast Conference into a juggernaut. Peripheral sports would be all thriller no filler, too.

What do you think?

No one would pay a dime to watch any of those divisions play football accept Mountain West. This is about generating dollars.

[JMarkJohns]

Eastern Division

-East Coast-
Cincinnati
Duke
Georgia Tech
North Carolina
Virginia

-Plains-
Baylor
Oklahoma State
Kansas
Louisville
TCU

Western Division

-Southwest-
Arizona
Arizona State
Houston
San Diego State
Texas Tech

-Mountain West-
Colorado
Oregon
Stanford
Utah
Washington

- - -

Where is the flaw?

Why won’t this work?

Ok, Oregon wants money. Washington wants money.

Well, this will get them money from media and academics without having to get slaughtered in football weekly.

For football:

Baylor, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, Louisville from East Division and Houston, TCU, Oregon, Utah, Washington from West Division.

That’s 9 potentially competitive teams not counting anything from Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford or the East Coast schools.

And Basketball? Phew…

You can’t find me a better basketball conference.

Football schedule is, you play the 9 schools in your Division, each pod winner plays each other, then winner plays Division winner for a ACC Title. That’s 11 games with 2 for Non-Conference.

Basketball schedule is you play your 9 Division Home/Away, and one of the other Division Pods yearly, with that other pod rotating Home/Away every other year. That’s 23 conference games, leaving 6-8 for non-conference and the Conference Tournament is top-3 from each Pod, top-pod record gets Bye until 2nd round in 5 round Tournament, the location of which rotates from NYC to Dallas To LA to maximize Geographical interest and Media Markets.

Arizona uses Las Vegas for a “Neutral” court game with UCLA every other year, and uses LA for a neutral court game with Gonzaga every other year. It also does a preseason tournament of some sort every year.

I know it won’t happen, but the media isn’t ignoring this, and the academic funding it there, markets are there, and this maximizes the best of what’s leftover in a way that positions the American Coast Conference into a juggernaut. Peripheral sports would be all thriller no filler, too.

What do you think?

No one would pay a dime to watch any of those divisions play football accept Mountain West. This is about generating dollars.

Actually, it contains 1 top-10, 2 top-25, 4 top-30, 8 top-40 football markets according to 2021 TV viewership. 4 teams did better than USC.

This is actual viewership. Not theoretical.

I understand Brands.

But you need to understand market penetration. Actual viewers matter.

Majority of folks will tune in for Stars or Records if they don’t have an affiliation with a team. A 9-1 vs 8-2 matchup can generate a lot of excitement compared to 6-5 vs 7-4 brand matchup.

People get tired of being force fed the brands. Its why the Lakers and Knicks had games removed from national TV this year when they weren’t good. Memphis was generating more viewers than Los Angeles.

Folks like to think the world revolves around 15 college football programs. It doesn’t.

[TheCat]

Folks that know viewership are the networks that pay for them. 2 top 25 is not a market I would invest in. Not when you have the red river shootout, the iron bowl, Ohio st vs Michigan and a slew of top ten games to watch. Hell I'm jumping back and forth from Ariz games unless it is a nail biter.

[JMarkJohns]

Folks that know viewership are the networks that pay for them. 2 top 25 is not a market I would invest in. Not when you have the red river shootout, the iron bowl, Ohio st vs Michigan and a slew of top ten games to watch. Hell I'm jumping back and forth from Ariz games unless it is a nail biter.

It would be better than the PAC-12. And the difference twixt 25 and 35 is negligible and the conference would add another 4 in that next 10.

And it’s funny, that you made my point with your last statement. People tune in to quality, not just brands.

This Conference had 5 top-25 last year, including 2 top-5. And that’s with Oregon, Washington, Louisville having down years comparatively. It has upside. Find stability and build.

[RichardCranium]

Eastern Division

-East Coast-
Cincinnati
Duke
Georgia Tech
North Carolina
Virginia

-Plains-
Baylor
Oklahoma State
Kansas
Louisville
TCU

Western Division

-Southwest-
Arizona
Arizona State
Houston
San Diego State
Texas Tech

-Mountain West-
Colorado
Oregon
Stanford
Utah
Washington

- - -

Where is the flaw?

Details, details...

=> Swap SDSU and Utah.
=> Name it "West Coast" instead of "Mountain West"

[JMarkJohns]

No. We want to play San Diego State frequently for So Cal exposure.

And Utah fits better geographically with the other schools in Pacific Northwest, all of which border Sierra Nevadas, Cascades, or Rocky Mountain ranges, hence Mountain West.