Then why hasn't it happened in the 65 years Houston has been playing football? Joining the SEC doesn't make Houston the equal of LSU by any means. It makes them the equals of South Carolina or Kentucky or State. LSU has steadily picked up 1-3 Texas players a year after UT has picked them over and has successfully competed with Texas A&M for the rest of them for many decades. I don't see Houston hurting LSU or A&M too much. How much would it have hurt recruiting if Texas and Texas A&M had joined the SEC?
It would have hurt a ton. I am not saying Houston is going to be stealing 5 star recruits from us, those will still be Texas vs LSU battles, at least for the time being, but those 3 and 4 star recruits will start wondering if its a better idea for them to go to LSU and possibly not play until their JR or SR year or go to Houston and possibly get to play right away. This comes into play now because with Houston being in the SEC they will now be on TV every single week and be playing against LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss, etc every year. As far as A&M goes, we've just been lucky that they've been inept for the last 10 years. I think the possibility of starting as a Freshman or Sophmore in the SEC at Houston could definitely have appealed to a guy like Matt Flynn or even Terrance Toliver....
I have to agree with this. An SEC Houston is instantly more appealing than a C-USA Houston. It will certainly impact LSU recruiting, but this may be a necessary evil, and the impact may not be that great. Even with being a member of a power conference Houston is still at lease 3rd fiddle in Texas behind UT and A&M. And given the fact that TCU, Texas Tech, and Baylor are also out there I can't see Houston rising to the level to be a consistent threat for the guys we are going to go after. I think the benefit to the SEC is greater than the cost to LSU. Houston is a huge market with a deep SEC alumni base. Expanding the brand there poses little threat. I think the same can be said of Atlanta and GA Tech. Both Houston and GA Tech allow the SEC to get a permanent presence in huge media markets without making the conference so large, geograpically that fan travel is impossible.
How much of this is offset by LSU actually playing in Houston every other year. While Houston gets a boost in prestige, LSU gets a boost in exposure.
When we consider adding universities like Houston or TCU, we think of their programs as they are now. By default, they get a tremendous economic boost when joining the SEC. So by default, their program gets better due to more funds coming into the program. Any such school that joines the SEC will improve their athletic program and will likely become a greater (football) force than they are now.
i dont think theres much benefit for the sec to add houston, and to a lesser extent, GaTech. the SEC already has a good hold those markets. more bang for the buck if they expand into virgin territory.
Yep, Colorado bolted to the Pac 10 or whatever number it ends up as. Not enough power houses out west to add any validity to the Pacific coast teams. Excite - Sports News
SEC needs to add 2 teams, Texas or Texas A&M in the west and Miami or Florida St in the east and be done with this realignment shyt.
