re: Out of the box expansion options for the SEC?

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talk about original thought

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That was the point of this thread, right?

If we were going to 16 I would not be opposed to a team like Rice. I assume our other new additions would bring the on-field competitiveness, and Rice would add a big market and academic prestige. Kind of a western version of Vandy.

Lots of the ACC teams have been discussed at length, and almost any ACC school would be at least a decent get.

Some other outside the box candidates include TCU, SMU, USF, Louisville, ECU. I'd prefer not to add any school that hurts our academic ranking

Of course, I don't think any of these are very likely, but as long as we are throwing names out there, these would all be interesting...

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a/m,rice,fsu,nc state. I love the Rice idea been saying it for two days now. vandy of the west. Uness UT comes along with a/m and then you have ut,a/m,fsu,and nc state. WOW

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Or add Duke to get UNC...move Vandy to the West. Even better, IMO.

People keep forgetting one huge issue with Rice:

TOTAL Student populations:

Rice <6000

Vandy = 13,000
OM = 16,000

Every other SEC school is at 20,000+

Rice does offer academics, but they just wouldn't fit in IMO.

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I love the Rice idea been saying it for two days now.

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South Alabama?

Rice? RICE!?
If you want a "Vandy for the west" Tulane makes more sense than Rice. What does Rice offer? Small private school with good academics? Check for TU as well, though Tulane is bigger and has more graduate and professional programs. Big stadium that they do not come anywhere close to filling in their current conference? Check for both - Tulane's is actually bigger and indoors and though neither school is going to brag about attendance TU does better. Improvement by the "bootstrap effect" of finally playing (again) in a conference people care about? Again check for both, but you may wish to note that TU did better while it was in the SEC both competitively and in attendance than Rice did in the SWC.

In all honesty, as much as I would love to see TU back in the SEC, I know the odds are extremely low. But TU fits the "Rice" criteria better than, well, Rice. If TU is a non-starter then Rice is a NON-STARTER!