Qualifications for Big12 and how we rank

[ucf_71127]

"The Big 12 brass is looking for the perfect dates and they have a specific criteria for what they want: their athletic department, fan base size, media markets, academic strength and reputation."

Many think that it's BYU because of their fan base or UConn with their "NY market". Many argue and have been pushing for UH with the Texas politics. Oh yeah, did I mention Memphis with the huge endorsement of FedEx? So every team has their own strengths and weaknesses and I was wondering how UCF stacks against all of these teams.

The easiest to compare is Market Size:
1) Houston 2,373,700 (10th)
2) USF 1,859,820 (11th)
3) Colorado St 1,576,090 (17th)
4) UCF 1,489,710 (19th)
5) UConn 945,250 (30th)
6) BYU 884,900 (34th)
7) Cinci 868,900 (36th)
8) Mempis 636,140 (50th)
* Yes Houston, you have the largest market BUT everybody already follows Texas, TA&M, TT, Baylor. You don't bring anything new to the Big 12.

Athletic Department Strength: (I used Total Revenue)
1) UConn $72.2
2) BYU $59 (can't find where they got this number)
3) UCF $51.9
4) USF $46.9
5) Houston $45.4
6) Cinci $42.9
7) Memphis $41.4
8) CSU.$37.2

Fan Base Size (3 yr Attendance avg, School Enrollment, Spring Game attendance:
1) BYU 58,966 (3 yr attendance avg)
2) UCF 36,654
3) Memphis 35,397
4) Cinci 32,569
5) USF 30,658
6) UConn 28,872
7) Houston 28,849
8) CSU 23,364

1) UCF 60,767 (school enrollment)
2)USF 41,938
3) Houston 40,914
4) Cinci 35,313
5) CSU 31,351
6) BYU 30,484
7) UConn 31,119*
8) Memphis 21,480*
*note- UConn and Memphis weren't in 2014 top 120 schools
click this source

1) UCF 23,147 (spring game)
2) BYU 18,000
3) Memphis 10,000
4) UConn 5,500
5) CSU 5,200
6) USF 5,000
7) Houston 3,462
8) Cinnci N/A (3,000 last year)

Academic Strength (US News and World Report):

1) UConn
2) BYU
3) CSU
4) Cinci
5) USF
6) UCF
7) Houston
8) Memphis (not rated)

Interesting Facts:
1) Our Spring Game attendance (which wasn't "rounded") nearly equals the total of Memphis, UConn, USF, AND Houston (which "rounded")!! 23,147 to 23,962
2) UCF's market size is equal to BYU AND Memphis!! (or tell the Cinci fans) Cinci AND Memphis!

Average of all 6 tables:
1) UCF 2.83
2) BYU 3.17
3) UCon 4
4) USF 4
5) Houston 5
6) CSU 5.3
7) Cinci 5.5
8) Memphis 6.2

 

[SkiDog291]

Funny how CSU is claiming media ownership of the Denver market vice Univ of Colorado. Boulder is 30 miles closer to downtown, has a larger endowment, fan base, and better academic reputation

 

[LemmyKilmister]

"The Big 12 brass is looking for the perfect dates and they have a specific criteria for what they want: their athletic department, fan base size, media markets, academic strength and reputation."

Many think that it's BYU because of their fan base or UConn with their "NY market". Many argue and have been pushing for UH with the Texas politics. Oh yeah, did I mention Memphis with the huge endorsement of FedEx? So every team has their own strengths and weaknesses and I was wondering how UCF stacks against all of these teams.

The easiest to compare is Market Size:
1) Houston 2,373,700 (10th)
2) USF 1,859,820 (11th)
3) Colorado St 1,576,090 (17th)
4) UCF 1,489,710 (19th)
5) UConn 945,250 (30th)
6) BYU 884,900 (34th)
7) Cinci 868,900 (36th)
8) Mempis 636,140 (50th)
* Yes Houston, you have the largest market BUT everybody already follows Texas, TA&M, TT, Baylor. You don't bring anything new to the Big 12.

Athletic Department Strength: (I used Total Revenue)
1) UConn $72.2
2) BYU $59 (can't find where they got this number)
3) UCF $51.9
4) USF $46.9
5) Houston $45.4
6) Cinci $42.9
7) Memphis $41.4
8) CSU.$37.2

Fan Base Size (3 yr Attendance avg, School Enrollment, Spring Game attendance:
1) BYU 58,966 (3 yr attendance avg)
2) UCF 36,654
3) Memphis 35,397
4) Cinci 32,569
5) USF 30,658
6) UConn 28,872
7) Houston 28,849
8) CSU 23,364

1) UCF 60,767 (school enrollment)
2)USF 41,938
3) Houston 40,914
4) Cinci 35,313
5) CSU 31,351
6) BYU 30,484
7) UConn 31,119*
8) Memphis 21,480*
*note- UConn and Memphis weren't in 2014 top 120 schools
click this source

1) UCF 23,147 (spring game)
2) BYU 18,000
3) Memphis 10,000
4) UConn 5,500
5) CSU 5,200
6) USF 5,000
7) Houston 3,462
8) Cinnci N/A (3,000 last year)

Academic Strength (US News and World Report):

1) UConn
2) BYU
3) CSU
4) Cinci
5) USF
6) UCF
7) Houston
8) Memphis (not rated)

Interesting Facts:
1) Our Spring Game attendance (which wasn't "rounded") nearly equals the total of Memphis, UConn, USF, AND Houston (which "rounded")!! 23,147 to 23,962
2) UCF's market size is equal to BYU AND Memphis!! (or tell the Cinci fans) Cinci AND Memphis!

Average of all 6 tables:
1) UCF 2.83
2) BYU 3.17
3) UCon 4
4) USF 4
5) Houston 5
6) CSU 5.3
7) Cinci 5.5
8) Memphis 6.2

Nice work 71127!

 

[jtGoldenKnights]

aNot to mention great weather during football season (no snow like Cincy), theme parks and Orlando attractions for fans (not just beal street Memphis), and a beautiful stadium!

 

[HammerB08]

I think AD White's point about the enrollment size eventually meaning alumni base size can't be overstated. THAT is the future. If you're looking for the program with the growth potential in the P5 it's really a no-brainer.

 

[MechaKnight]

I like any analysis that puts UCF on top, but I'm not sure our 2016 spring game attendance should be weighted equal to all the other metrics. Nobody really cares outside UCF.

A note about UConn's $72M athletic budget. I believe their student fee is close to $1000 per semester, about 3x what UCF charges. If we charged our 70k students as much as UConn we would have the largest G5 athletic budget by a mile.

 

[HammerB08]

A note about UConn's $72M athletic budget. I believe their student fee is close to $1000 per semester, about 3x what UCF charges.

Dear lord. I remember UCF taking a lot of heat for the student fees that we do charge. 1,000 per semester?!?!

 

[LemmyKilmister]

aNot to mention great weather during football season (no snow like Cincy), theme parks and Orlando attractions for fans (not just beal street Memphis), and a beautiful stadium!

Don't forget the beach a short drive away. Or maybe hop on a cruise ship.

 

[ucf_71127]

I was reading an article today about expansion and I also read all the fan comments included. There were so many attacks against UCF joining the Big12. I saw atleast 30 comments saying, "0-12". We can not argue against that. But what else is there to argue!? The truth is, if we finished 7-5 we would be the #1 candidate. I find it hard to believe one season keeping us out.

Hopefully the presidents and AD's are not as shortsighted as so many fans are! I believe they see the future and know what UCF can bring.

 

[80'sKnight]

I was reading an article today about expansion and I also read all the fan comments included. There were so many attacks against UCF joining the Big12. I saw atleast 30 comments saying, "0-12". We can not argue against that. But what else is there to argue!? The truth is, if we finished 7-5 we would be the #1 candidate. I find it hard to believe one season keeping us out.

Hopefully the presidents and AD's are not as shortsighted as so many fans are! I believe they see the future and know what UCF can bring.

Hell, just tell them we won the conference a couple of years ago. They couldn't beat Baylor, we did. Stupid to think of just 1 year.

 

[HammerB08]

I was reading an article today about expansion and I also read all the fan comments included. There were so many attacks against UCF joining the Big12. I saw atleast 30 comments saying, "0-12". We can not argue against that. But what else is there to argue!? The truth is, if we finished 7-5 we would be the #1 candidate. I find it hard to believe one season keeping us out.

Hopefully the presidents and AD's are not as shortsighted as so many fans are! I believe they see the future and know what UCF can bring.

It's amazing how perceptions change among fans year by year. Things change so quickly, there's no way the Big12 is focused on just the results of 2015. Hopefully the same research group that finally alerted them to the fact that staying at 10 members was hurting their playoff chances and robbing them of money will be presenting evidence of the potential of all the rumored expansion candidates based on objective data.

 

[ucf_71127]

I like any analysis that puts UCF on top, but I'm not sure our 2016 spring game attendance should be weighted equal to all the other metrics. Nobody really cares outside UCF.
.

I agree with you that the spring game shouldn't be weighted equally with the other metrics. But there is truth and correlation between spring game attendance and fan interest.
If you look at some of the top spring games you will see fan support and interest during the regular season too. Just look at Ohio State, Florida State, Clemson, Michigan, and Alabama. They all have high spring game attendance and they also have super yearly attendance. There is some truth and it does reflect upon the interest in the community. I think it's an important note that we were the top G5 team.

We finished 21st in the country, just above USC, LSU, Iowa, and BYU.

 

[Poolside Knight]

 

[Ucfmikes]

View embedded media

That's how I see it.

 

[KnightVision82]

If it's done strictly by analysis like decision to expand then we're in. If there are other factors, maybe not. Trying to get 8 of 10 teams to agree will probably require going with an analysis like this but they may throw in location closer to B12 or UCONN basketball to put a wrench in the process.

I don't think ECU or Memphis are in good shape but Colorado St. or UCONN could bump us.

 

[rizbull1]

Won't take UCONN. Last 3 year attendance record will not be what they use.

 

[SiberianKnightmare]

I find the academic strength a little surprising, however, the football team graduation rate can't be overlooked. We are near the top for all public university teams.

 

[UCFProf]

I've been saying UConn should be in for years now, but nobody mentions it. The conference needs an eastern team to be considered a national headliner, which is why Maryland and Rutgers got snapped up. The metro area sizes are way off because Brevard and Volusia aren't ever included by the feds (another 1.1 million) despite both part of our viewing market and job market in every possible way. CSU is much closer to Cheyenne, WY, than Denver. Ft. Collins is not really a Denver metro area. USF has no chance of getting in or BYU. So if there's a 4 team expansion, it's gonna be UConn, Cincy, Memphis, and UCF.

 

[HammerB08]

I think they'll be forced to admit Houston in order to get the Texas bloc on board, which I'm ok with as long as that deal involves UCF getting in also. Really hoping they add 4 teams.

 

[UCFProf]

Who can tell? They'll do what they do and it's guaranteed to be messy, knowing the Big12. All we can do is take care of our end.