re: Can anyone remind me how we took Missouri over Louisville again?

Don't you mean mass appeal?


SEC schools when you overlay a MSA map over the locations of the campuses and then add in the pro sports franchises on top of that you'll see that Louisville is a very large media market, with a fractured pro sports fanbase.

Cincy, StL, Nashville, and Indy pull NFL/football fans. Reds, Cards, and Cubs/Braves pull baseball fans, and I have no idea which NBA teams Louisville leans towards. Maybe the Pacers or Bulls?

Louisville fans vastly outnumbered Florida fans at the Sugar Bowl, being a part of the SEC would legitimize that program and the support would follow. Which is the same argument Mizzou used to pass through their facilities upgrades.

The state of Tennessee is a smaller version of what happened in Texas in the 80's, pro sports overtook the hearts, minds, and wallets of sports fans. UT's decline is happening in concert with pro sports moving into Nashville and Memphis competing for dollars and ticket sales and fan support. Louisville would latch onto the hometown team in the SEC environment.