College football has been on the expansion and realignment merry-go-round for what seems like the past 20 years, and one has to wonder when we’ll all be allowed to get off the darn thing. Well, don’t hold your breath on that happening any time soon if the Sun Belt has its way.
According to Bear Boulevard, a Scout.com website covering the Missouri State Bears, the school has held talks with the Sun Belt about potentially making a move to become a full-time member of the conference.
Arkansas State AD Terry Mohajir let slip in a local interview that the Sun Belt has talked with Missouri State. #MSUBears
— Chase (@CWilson12320) August 19, 2014
It’s a move that would make a lot of sense for the conference, as it heads in to the 2014-15 sports year with just 11 members. Playing with an odd number of teams never works out well, not in terms of scheduling or setting up a championship game or anything else.
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So, adding a 12th member to the conference would be a wise decision. Adding a school like Missouri State would be a smart choice given its proximity to other Sun Belt schools and it’s relative all-around strength as an athletic department.
It also has the commitment already to make a move up to the FBS level, having just begun construction on a $40 million expansion of the Plaster Sports Complex.
Earlier this spring the school’s name was brought up as a potential member by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The paper also brought up the names of school’s like Jacksonville State, Alabama State, Eastern Kentucky and Liberty as potential members.
Considering the conference has Idaho and New Mexico State as football-only members, whomever comes in next would have to be all-sports member.
The fact that this news was “accidentally” leaked by an athletic director more than likely indicates that both parties are close to an agreement of some sort. Otherwise, why let the cat (or in this case, Bear) out of the bag?