Conference Realignment: UTRGV to Southland

UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros join Southland Conference

[@genaroguajardo7446]

People from Monterrey Mexico is ready to support our nearest Football D1 program ever! Get ready to host a lot of visitors Rio Grande Valley!!

[@rangersking6699]

While Texas A&M commerce very much is not in Dallas, they do recruit and pull students from the Dallas area, and UTRGV having interaction with them likely would be helpful for being involved in Dallas, even if it’s not as convenient as UTA(though to be fair, that’s a fellow system school)

[@animenopaawaa]

Looks like this would put the nail in the coffin to the WAC some more and its hopes to reinstate football as a conference sport officially (as 2021 and 2022 was still in partnership mode technically with the A-Sun football schools), while that latter conference is slowly trying to have their chances a bit higher when they added West Georgia for this upcoming season (fall 2024) after losing Jax State and Liberty and Kennesaw State to the nearly-ending but now slowly-rebuilding C-USA. But in the end of the day, this is a gain for both UTRGV and the Southland; which lost members to those 2 conferences mentioned above back before the 2021 fall season began, and it was in a dire situation before getting a D2 callup in TXAM-Commerce and surprisingly having Lamar returning back later on, plus UIW attempting to jump ship before changing its mind in last minute. It would give the Southland 9 football core member schools come 2025. And who knows if that conference will keep expanding a few more schools to possibly solidify itself before potentially to lose some to nearby better leagues from raids due to conference realignment? I doubt that the WAC would have any chances to replace UTRGV from an expansion standpoint (hence being basically back to square one a la 2013 in life support).

[@killuhcam27]

What’s the WAC going to do? I can only think of one D1 addition in the realm of possibility and that’s Denver, a non football school. They could look to the D2 ranks like West Texas A&M, Colorado School of Mines, Angelo State, Central Washington or Western Oregon. Maybe Grand Canyon or Cal Baptist could add football but the future is looking bleak for the conference

[@nashmonti120]

West Texas and Colorado SoM are the only two in my mind that really make sense. Weird that the WAC is having a tough time holding on to their schools, makes me question the direction the conference is going.

[@colorfulmarbles156]

Grand Canyon will probably go to the WCC. It makes logical sense@@nashmonti120

[@marcus813]

@@colorfulmarbles156 GCU would fit in seamlessly both geographically and culturally since its state already borders a WCC state and it's a private Christian institution.

[@colorfulmarbles156]

Ikr@@marcus813

[@LymetimeProductions]

The WAC can't catch a break also hopefully once all the realignment nonsense cools down we can get redone histories of the leagues again. Although the PAC-2 vid might release in 2030 at this rate

[@animenopaawaa]

I hear ya. And look at C-USA, it was upto 5 schools out of 14 after losing 9 of them during the 2021 fall season to 2 different conferences, being the Sun Belt and the AAC (which became effective on fall 2023); while it somehow managed to slowly rebuild by adding 4 to 6 schools (from 2 FCS leagues like the A-Sun and of course the WAC) in a 2 to 3 year span (and hopefully some more after getting Kennesaw State and soon Delaware). But that's how the world of realignment works in college sports I guess.

[@LymetimeProductions]

@@animenopaawaa impossible to keep up, MAC is gonna poach for 14 from CUSA in my opinion (WKU most likely, maybe UD for UMass) then CUSA steals from the FCS again

[@marcus813]

This move by UTRGV strengthens the Southland, but where does this leave the WAC for football long-term? This is a big blow to the WAC.

[@Biaxial]

WAC Football is in the UAC

[@marcus813]

@@Biaxial I guess the WAC will need the ASUN for longer than it thought it would.

[@WDB2005]

Will the Southland add another Texas school? Will they add Central Oklahoma?

[@jamesfields2916]

In 1971 Pan American University reached the College World Series.

[@TonysMusic1974]

Why do you put yourself in such a tiny little box in the top right? :-)

[@nashmonti120]

I really thought the WAC had a chance to expand and grab some great schools, and then move up as a conference to FBS. It still might happen, but it just seems the leadership at the top doesn’t really know what it’s doing tbh.