Conf USA or American Athletic

[yosef95]

Anyone smarter than me heard anything about possibly moving conferences someday? Would have a chance at some more regional games and some good possible current and future rivalry games. Marshall, Ecu, UncC etc. App isnt a huge "media" market, but is a huge tourist destination and has huge alumni bases in Raleigh & Charlotte. Half the teams in both those conferences arent anything close to big media markets and surely arent tourist destinations like Boone/Blowing Rock

[Rick83]

I think our best chances would be for the Big 12 to grab a couple of teams from the AAC to get to 12 members. We'd be a good fit for the AAC especially if they took Ga So or Marshall along with us.
Another scenario would involve a total restructuring of the conferences based more on geography which makes sense for the G5 type of schools needing to reduce costs.

[T-Dog]

The media market theory of 2011-2013 has been thoroughly debunked after the last TV contracts.

Only advantage CUSA has over American is Marshall, UNCC, ODU, UAB. Otherwise the Sun Belt is equal to CUSA.

American would be the better option by far.

[Stonewall]

Realignment , through a merger perhaps. It's on the radar I'm led to believe.

[/\PP ST/\TE GRAD 09]

My dream world:

Sun Belt and C-USA should be realigned geographically.

Their East division join our East division. West join West. Gives each side 12 teams, which could then be divided further.

Division A:

Appalachian State
Georgia Southern
UNCC
ODU
Marshall
Coastal

Division B:

Troy
Georgia State
FIU
FAU
Western Kentucky
Middle Tennessee

FIU and FAU would be the odd balls no matter how the divisions looked. All others are relatively close to others in their division.

[Yosef84]

But...but...if the AAC expands, JMU already has the invitation locked. Doesn't everyone know that?

OK. Bad joke. The AAC would be a positive step but CUSA is lateral at best, especially in football. I'm fine in the Sunbelt for a while. I think it's a good fit for where we are and we are building good rivalries. GS, GSU, CCU and Troy...add in there A-State and UL. Dividing into East/West divisions and adding the CCG improve the setting even more.

I would love to re-kindle the rivalry with Marshall, but we have a home and home booked. Most App fans were fixated on CUSA when talk of moving up began, but things have changed a bunch since then. Charlotte and ODU have potential but they don't bring much to the table for now other than drivable games.

[appstatealum]

I think our best chances would be for the Big 12 to grab a couple of teams from the AAC to get to 12 members. We'd be a good fit for the AAC especially if they took Ga So or Marshall along with us.
Another scenario would involve a total restructuring of the conferences based more on geography which makes sense for the G5 type of schools needing to reduce costs.

Someone I know who is close to the situation, well, closer than any of us, seems to think the total restructuring to more regional based conferences is a very real possibility and is very much discussed among the AD ranks. Now when this would actually happen is the kicker....

[fjblair]

I think our best chances would be for the Big 12 to grab a couple of teams from the AAC to get to 12 members. We'd be a good fit for the AAC especially if they took Ga So or Marshall along with us.
Another scenario would involve a total restructuring of the conferences based more on geography which makes sense for the G5 type of schools needing to reduce costs.

Someone I know who is close to the situation, well, closer than any of us, seems to think the total restructuring to more regional based conferences is a very real possibility and is very much discussed among the AD ranks. Now when this would actually happen is the kicker....

I'm totally on board with that. Until then I'd rather stay in the Sunbelt than make a move to AAC or CUSA, etc. only to get shuffled again.

[MAD Doctor]

Oh, this bunch of lunatics think they're way too good for the AAC. Below is an actual post from their board:


1998JMU Wrote:
maybe one day JMU will be part of the ACC where it should belong eventually....wishful thinking
It's not as far off as you might think!! We just won the ncaa women's national lacrosse title .. our soccer programs continue to improve .. softball was a few plays away from the college world series a couple years back.. baseball will ramp up recruiting with better facilities .. volleyball won a caa title and scheduling tough out of conference ... men's and women's basketball are going to have one of the nicest facilities on the east coast .. the old convo will likely become an indoor practice facility .. Godwin is likely to be torn down to complete the stadium ...... with the athletic program we are building and the facilities that are coming along with the newest additions already built .. a transition to the acc by 2025 is not out of reach in my opinion!! Go dukes !!


Volleyball won a CAA title, so they can expect an ACC invitation any day?! This bunch makes UNCC look rational and downright humble.

[Rick83]

I think our best chances would be for the Big 12 to grab a couple of teams from the AAC to get to 12 members. We'd be a good fit for the AAC especially if they took Ga So or Marshall along with us.
Another scenario would involve a total restructuring of the conferences based more on geography which makes sense for the G5 type of schools needing to reduce costs.

Someone I know who is close to the situation, well, closer than any of us, seems to think the total restructuring to more regional based conferences is a very real possibility and is very much discussed among the AD ranks. Now when this would actually happen is the kicker....

That's good to hear. It makes too much sense not to. Saves travel costs and wasted travel time for student-athletes, makes games more interesting by allowing for trash talking among over-lapping alumni groups, would generate more visitor ticket sales (for everybody) at games that fans can actually get to more easily. I suspect the TV contracts will be the sticking point.

[AtlAppMan]

Our only upward mobility path is AAC or higher.

Any combined restructuring of SB and CUSA is lateral. It does help with reduction of costs, which is positive but doesn't improve our level of standing in the overall FBS pecking order.

IMO

[APPdiesel]

Only way that happens is if ESPN gets involved and helps broker the deal, but why would they? They're the ones shelling out the (albeit paltry) money for tv rights. The Only advantage they stand to gain is maybe some new rivalries take off and it builds ratings in small pockets of the country. Seems like a big IF and a lot of risk for possible return on investment.

[moonshine]

As fun as it is fun to think about, App, nor JMU or UNCC for that matter, will receive an invite to the AAC anytime soon. If the AAC cannot poach the likes of Air Force, Army or BYU, they'll look towards some of their old CUSA mates (USM/Marshall/Rice) and markets which leaves them ODU if they get their facilities up to par and UTSA.

I guess a lot would also depend on who gets taken between UCF, USF, UH, UCONN, Cincy and Memphis. For instance, if they lose UH they might look to UTSA (market) or Rice (old CUSA rival, private like SMU & Tulane). If Memphis or UCONN were taken and they couldn't get Army, they'd probably look at ODU (see ECU travel partner, big market--new state, recruiting hot bed). It's a long shot but if FIU or FAU could put together several successful seasons to look more appealing and the AAC loses UCF and/or USF, they may have a shot because the AAC will want to keep a presence in FL.

The JMU fans have lost their mind if they believe the AAC is going to take a team straight out of FCS. UNCC must show improvement on the field and court, plus they will need to spend some money to upgrade JRich Stadium and Halton. I'd say outside of JMU, App has the least chance of getting in unless Fox can put some magical seasons together and bring the b-ball team to any relevance. Even then, I don't think App would be in the top 10 of their choices.

Like most fans, I wanted CUSA to rekindle some old rivalries and for the regional aspect. After going through realignment and seeing what fans of ECU, Marshall, USM and several others had to say about App, I respectfully reply F'em! CUSA made their bed, let them lay in it. It's too funny seeing many of them sing a different tune about App here in 2018, it's a complete 180 from 2012-13.

The Sun Belt sits pretty at 10 FBS programs. Even in down years where the Sun Belt finishes behind CUSA, each program can make more money off the CFP payout because we have less mouths to feed. CUSA would need to have the NY6 rep to out earn the Sun Belt programs as it pertains to the CFP payout. Doing a complete restructure makes the most sense which means it most likely won't happen. It will be near impossible to get that many programs to agree and while FL is nice, I don't believe FIU or FAU moves the needle for our fans but we would most likely end up in a conference with them if there was a restructure. I'm definitely not advocating the Sun Belt help CUSA but since CUSA is at 14 teams, maybe there is a way the Sun Belt could sway the likes of Marshall (east) and USM (west) over, giving each conference 12 teams. I'm pretty sure USM would be on board but Marshall seems to like having conference mates in the sunshine state for recruiting purposes. Plus if the AAC ever gets poached and they come calling CUSA programs, CUSA can back-fill with Liberty and JMU.

[ah59396]

Until we vastly improve the quality of our basketball program, we will not be getting an AAC invite.

[diehardapp18]

My dream world:

Sun Belt and C-USA should be realigned geographically.

Their East division join our East division. West join West. Gives each side 12 teams, which could then be divided further.

Division A:

Appalachian State
Georgia Southern
UNCC
ODU
Marshall
Coastal

Division B:

Troy
Georgia State
FIU
FAU
Western Kentucky
Middle Tennessee

FIU and FAU would be the odd balls no matter how the divisions looked. All others are relatively close to others in their division.

I feel like this just makes so much sense for...., well, everyone

[appstatealum]

Until we vastly improve the quality of our basketball program, we will not be getting an AAC invite.

You are right. But the relevance in football will help in recruiting other sports. Most kids are just looking for a chance to be relevant and noticed. If App continues to be in the national conversation in football, basketball can try to go along for the ride.

Don’t downplay our proximity to the Charlotte market. Yes, UNCC is in Charlotte, but they have always struggled to be looked at as a traditional university. With the road expansion to Boone and a strong alumni presence in Charlotte, all App needs to do is keep winning to draw interest from people who won’t mind taking the 2 hour trip to Boone to watch some quality football. Charlotte is a significant media market. Think about it, Athens is a good 1.5hr or more trip for Atlanta residents, and they come in droves to see the Dawgs. GA Tech is in Atlanta, but does not have the following UGA does. Obviously tradition, SEC etc is in play, so I’m not comparing App to Georgia, just comparing App v Charlotte to UGA v GaT situationally....

[Rick83]

And Boone is less than 2 hours from the Triad (Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, Kernersville)...and anyway, in this day and age of internet streaming and cable sports TV, I just don't think that media markets are as relevant as they used to be for college sports.

[appstatealum]

And Boone is less than 2 hours from the Triad (Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, Kernersville)...and anyway, in this day and age of internet streaming and cable sports TV, I just don't think that media markets are as relevant as they used to be for college sports.

They aren’t, beyond local interest and having people feel like it’s “their team”. We need Charlotte residents embracing the A....

[huskie3]

What I am reading is change in the next 5 years will be result of the court case in California involving cost-of-attendance lawsuit. If the student-athletes win the colleges that can afford to pay more (P5) would form super conference and everyone would group accordingly (size, money, region). Regional conference for App.

[GregPercussion]

fortunately or unfortunately (depending on who you are) there is more than just Football to think about in regards to changing conferences. Other sports, yes; but the university as well. We have to be able to fund our scholarships against these other schools. DG said the other day we are barely at %50 funded.

I don't think we'll stay in the sun belt forever. I hope American next. But I can see us here for at least another 5 to 10 years, or a another big realignment. A lot to improve on in the Sun Belt first. Get other sports ranked in the top 25, fund scholarships, keep building our national attention, and it'll happen.