Sun Belt CUSA merger article

[Stonewall]

Pilotonline.com ODUBLITZ worth a look

[hapapp]

Here is the link: http://pilotonline.com/sports/college/o ... abcf2.html

[bcoach]

I think we should definitely re align into two more regional leagues. Merging into one giant league leaves me flat. I would have zero interest in that.

[CVAPP]

Interesting point made about the former SBC members having paid so much in exit fees. It would have to hurt to realign with former conference mates you paid dearly to leave. Seems inevitable though.

[AppinVA]

A realignment is probably best for all involved, but I'm not opposed to letting them twist in the wind a little.

[T-Dog]

One giant league seems to be a non-starter as there would be a lost mid-major autobid per sport and March Madness tournament unit.

Two regional leagues is gonna happen IMO. Athletic Directors are tired of spending $30,000 to fly women's soccer to Texas.

And if this happens and Liberty finds a way in, Falwell Jr's gamble will be a big win.

[Saint3333]

I think JMU would be added if one more member was needed before Liberty gets the call.

[MDaniels84]

I also thought it an interesting premise that football and basketball remain the same while allowing the non revenue sports to realign geographically. Shows just how much that CUSA presidents dislike the idea of an overall realignment with Sunbelt. The Sunbelt is definitely on a more positive trajectory than CUSA.

[Boone Goon]

Please! Please! Please let this happen!!

[moonshine]

A realignment is probably best for all involved, but I'm not opposed to letting them twist in the wind a little.

The reduction in costs and proximity to conference mates is very appealing and will most likely be the end result. I'm like you though, CUSA has made their bed, let them lay in it for a while. I feel the Sun Belt has set itself up nicely once NMSU and Idaho exit giving the conference a fairly tight footprint when you compare it to CUSA and the AAC.

[ericsaid]

Sounds like many of you want the SoCon type bus league but a seat at the big boy table. Can't have it both ways.

As it stands now, App's complete profile would actually hinder it in a realignment situation. Football is great, sure. But basketball (womens and mens), baseball, softball, etc. would not be appealing in a realignment situation.

[appst89]

Sounds like many of you want the SoCon type bus league but a seat at the big boy table. Can't have it both ways.

As it stands now, App's complete profile would actually hinder it in a realignment situation. Football is great, sure. But basketball (womens and mens), baseball, softball, etc. would not be appealing in a realignment situation.

Disagree with your first sentence. G5 leagues are going to move toward geographical footprints that make sense.

[ericsaid]

Sounds like many of you want the SoCon type bus league but a seat at the big boy table. Can't have it both ways.

As it stands now, App's complete profile would actually hinder it in a realignment situation. Football is great, sure. But basketball (womens and mens), baseball, softball, etc. would not be appealing in a realignment situation.

Disagree with your first sentence. G5 leagues are going to move toward geographical footprints that make sense.

Well would you like for realignment to occur and App be in a position to only negotiate with Georgia State, FIU, FAU, Charlotte, ODU, Liberty, Southern, and maybe but probably not Troy?

As it stands now, App's sports outside of football do not give any leverage to negotiating a move anywhere that would actually be beneficial for App.

[appst89]

Sounds like many of you want the SoCon type bus league but a seat at the big boy table. Can't have it both ways.

As it stands now, App's complete profile would actually hinder it in a realignment situation. Football is great, sure. But basketball (womens and mens), baseball, softball, etc. would not be appealing in a realignment situation.

Disagree with your first sentence. G5 leagues are going to move toward geographical footprints that make sense.

Well would you like for realignment to occur and App be in a position to only negotiate with Georgia State, FIU, FAU, Charlotte, ODU, Liberty, Southern, and maybe but probably not Troy?

As it stands now, App's sports outside of football do not give any leverage to negotiating a move anywhere that would actually be beneficial for App.

I never said what I would like. I stated what I am fairly certain is going to happen because of the financial realities of being a G5. Geographically compact leagues are going to happen. Being in such a league does not preclude any school from scheduling a game with someone outside the conference.

[EastHallApp]

Sounds like many of you want the SoCon type bus league but a seat at the big boy table. Can't have it both ways.

As it stands now, App's complete profile would actually hinder it in a realignment situation. Football is great, sure. But basketball (womens and mens), baseball, softball, etc. would not be appealing in a realignment situation.

Disagree with your first sentence. G5 leagues are going to move toward geographical footprints that make sense.

Well would you like for realignment to occur and App be in a position to only negotiate with Georgia State, FIU, FAU, Charlotte, ODU, Liberty, Southern, and maybe but probably not Troy?

As it stands now, App's sports outside of football do not give any leverage to negotiating a move anywhere that would actually be beneficial for App.

I don't think Olympic sports will have any effect one way or another on our realignment prospects, or anyone else's. Realignment is about money. That means it's driven largely by football and a little by men's basketball. All other sports are just fodder for the press release.

With the potential G5 shift, the other sports are relevant in that schools need to limit travel costs for all of them. But nobody is going to add (or decline to add) us or anyone else because of how our softball team is doing.

[bcoach]

Sounds like many of you want the SoCon type bus league but a seat at the big boy table. Can't have it both ways.

As it stands now, App's complete profile would actually hinder it in a realignment situation. Football is great, sure. But basketball (womens and mens), baseball, softball, etc. would not be appealing in a realignment situation.

Disagree with your first sentence. G5 leagues are going to move toward geographical footprints that make sense.

Well would you like for realignment to occur and App be in a position to only negotiate with Georgia State, FIU, FAU, Charlotte, ODU, Liberty, Southern, and maybe but probably not Troy?

As it stands now, App's sports outside of football do not give any leverage to negotiating a move anywhere that would actually be beneficial for App.

I don't think Olympic sports will have any effect one way or another on our realignment prospects, or anyone else's. Realignment is about money. That means it's driven largely by football and a little by men's basketball. All other sports are just fodder for the press release.

With the potential G5 shift, the other sports are relevant in that schools need to limit travel costs for all of them. But nobody is going to add (or decline to add) us or anyone else because of how our softball team is doing.

I agree it is all about money. Football will be the driving factor. No decision will involve how the volleyball team does.

[Stonewall]

Yep.Football is the money driver ,both directly and indirectly. Proximity and just fielding teams to fill out schedules ,and qualify for the NCAAs ,is about all that will matter for Olympic sports. Terry Holland understood and pitched it back a few years ago. Its coming and we are in good shape to take advantage of it.

[APPdiesel]

Everybody on the CUSA board bashing the ODU writer for introducing a scenario that's beneficial for ODU but not offering a viable solution. He's a beat writer...it's his job to postulate scenarios that are best for ODU. What's best for La Tech, UTEP, Rice, etc are not his concern. It takes writers, presidents, ADs, etc floating the idea before anyone sits down to devise a real plan.

Decisions like this will always benefit some and hurt others. A simple "combine CUSA and SBC and split them down the middle geographically" scenario is great for App because it would immediately shift us from a geographical outlier (in the Sunbelt) to right in the middle of the footprint. It would do the opposite for Troy. From central to a relative outlier. For them, is it really any different to travel to Birmingham and Boca Raton instead of Monroe and Jonesboro?

[EastHallApp]

Everybody on the CUSA board bashing the ODU writer for introducing a scenario that's beneficial for ODU but not offering a viable solution. He's a beat writer...it's his job to postulate scenarios that are best for ODU. What's best for La Tech, UTEP, Rice, etc are not his concern. It takes writers, presidents, ADs, etc floating the idea before anyone sits down to devise a real plan.

Decisions like this will always benefit some and hurt others. A simple "combine CUSA and SBC and split them down the middle geographically" scenario is great for App because it would immediately shift us from a geographical outlier (in the Sunbelt) to right in the middle of the footprint. It would do the opposite for Troy. From central to a relative outlier. For them, is it really any different to travel to Birmingham and Boca Raton instead of Monroe and Jonesboro?

Good point, hadn't thought of that. I don't think it would be so bad for them though - if they wound up in the projected western league, they'd likely have two in-state rivals, Southern Miss and the two Louisiana schools. Make those their division opponents and you're looking at relatively few long road trips.

If they were in the eastern league, there'd be a bit more travel, but you'd still have the two Georgia schools plus MTSU pretty close by. And their tradeoff for the increased travel would be (IMO) an upgraded football league.

[APPdiesel]

If they were in the eastern league, there'd be a bit more travel, but you'd still have the two Georgia schools plus MTSU pretty close by. And their tradeoff for the increased travel would be (IMO) an upgraded football league.

A lot of people's line of demarcation is the Mississippi/Alabama state line. Troy (going east) would also have UAB. Roughly speaking Troy would retain their road trips to Boone, Statesboro, Atlanta, and Myrtle Beach and pick up UAB, MTSU, Marshall, the F_U's, ODU, and Charlotte.

I like this idea TBH. Draw that line right down the Miss/Ala line, pick your partner (for us, probably stAte) and continue a regular OOC rivalry series. Not that difficult.