ODU AD wants to blow up CUSA

[ah59396]

Okay, not exactly. Just practicing my clickbait skills.

But this is an interesting article:

https://www.pilotonline.com/sports/vp-s ... story.html



This horse has been beat to death, however I do feel the COVID crisis is accelerating an inevitability. CUSA, MAC and the Sunbelt all are facing some harsh budgeting realities.

CUSA and Sunbelt have fairy large geographic footprints that are costly and the MAC is just a bunch of dying rust belt schools.

Realignment is coming and short of just listing out a made up conference I’ll just ask a question.

Which would you prefer and why?


1. Everything stays the same. Everyone makes it through okay, all conferences play in 2020 and moving forward for the foreseeable future. We continue to dominate the SunBelt, always in the conversation for being ranked. But almost exclusively end up in New Orleans, Montgomery and Mobile for bowl games. For like the next decade.

2. COVID accelerates realignment. We end up in some geographic Frankenstein of CUSA/SunBelt/MAC, possibly an FCS or two. The conference we are in probably has a tighter footprint but may also look a lot like a hybrid FCS SOCON of 1995 with some newbies. Does the overall strength of the conference improve? Hard to say.

3. We sneak into the ever elusive 12th AAC spot. Increased prestige but at a real risk/cost. Much better competition on a weekly basis. And every team we face has more money, more established stadiums/facilities and are just generally larger schools.

[NavyApp]

Okay, not exactly. Just practicing my clickbait skills.

But this is an interesting article:

https://www.pilotonline.com/sports/vp-s ... story.html



This horse has been beat to death, however I do feel the COVID crisis is accelerating an inevitability. CUSA, MAC and the Sunbelt all are facing some harsh budgeting realities.

CUSA and Sunbelt have fairy large geographic footprints that are costly and the MAC is just a bunch of dying rust belt schools.

Realignment is coming and short of just listing out a made up conference I’ll just ask a question.

Which would you prefer and why?


1. Everything stays the same. Everyone makes it through okay, all conferences play in 2020 and moving forward for the foreseeable future. We continue to dominate the SunBelt, always in the conversation for being ranked. But almost exclusively end up in New Orleans, Montgomery and Mobile for bowl games. For like the next decade.

2. COVID accelerates realignment. We end up in some geographic Frankenstein of CUSA/SunBelt/MAC, possibly an FCS or two. The conference we are in probably has a tighter footprint but may also look a lot like a hybrid FCS SOCON of 1995 with some newbies. Does the overall strength of the conference improve? Hard to say.

3. We sneak into the ever elusive 12th AAC spot. Increased prestige but at a real risk/cost. Much better competition on a weekly basis. And every team we face has more money, more established stadiums/facilities and are just generally larger schools.

Of those three options personally I would prefer number 2. I would rather be in a regional based conference where we could build some strong rivalries that the fan bases could travel to easier.

[AppStFan1]

Okay, not exactly. Just practicing my clickbait skills.

But this is an interesting article:

https://www.pilotonline.com/sports/vp-s ... story.html



This horse has been beat to death, however I do feel the COVID crisis is accelerating an inevitability. CUSA, MAC and the Sunbelt all are facing some harsh budgeting realities.

CUSA and Sunbelt have fairy large geographic footprints that are costly and the MAC is just a bunch of dying rust belt schools.

Realignment is coming and short of just listing out a made up conference I’ll just ask a question.

Which would you prefer and why?


1. Everything stays the same. Everyone makes it through okay, all conferences play in 2020 and moving forward for the foreseeable future. We continue to dominate the SunBelt, always in the conversation for being ranked. But almost exclusively end up in New Orleans, Montgomery and Mobile for bowl games. For like the next decade.

2. COVID accelerates realignment. We end up in some geographic Frankenstein of CUSA/SunBelt/MAC, possibly an FCS or two. The conference we are in probably has a tighter footprint but may also look a lot like a hybrid FCS SOCON of 1995 with some newbies. Does the overall strength of the conference improve? Hard to say.

3. We sneak into the ever elusive 12th AAC spot. Increased prestige but at a real risk/cost. Much better competition on a weekly basis. And every team we face has more money, more established stadiums/facilities and are just generally larger schools.

For now I would say 2 as well but I think we could grow and fit in the AAC well. The money would improve.

I'm not sure if ECU would do this but this makes sense and is strong than the 1990s SoCon from the middle to the bottom for sure. I think Charlotte, Liberty, South Alabama, and CCU are stronger than Elon, VMI, WCU, ETSU, UTC, etc are.

North
App St
Charlotte
East Carolina
Liberty
Marshall
Old Dominion

South
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
Middle Tenn St
South Alabama
Troy

I honestly think a couple of these schools may end up needing to drop down to FCS but they are big enough in enrollment that I think they would be able to sustain staying.

[ASU84]

Selig talks out of the both sides of his mouth. First saying that absolutely nothing is off the table. Then, he says they have not looked at affiliations from other conferences. Which is it?

[AppStFan1]

Selig talks out of the both sides of his mouth. First saying that absolutely nothing is off the table. Then, he says they have not looked at affiliations from other conferences. Which is it?

Maybe he means they have not firmly look at other conferences yet but anything would be on the table once this all shakes out? I hope all G5 schools are open to major changes.

I'm not sure on budget and the total financial state but the NCAA needs to enforce their FBS minimum rules and force many of the schools in the G5 level to drop back down to FCS where they would be more competitive. Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Charlotte, CCU, FIU, Kent St, Mass, Northern Ill, Ohio, and WKU would all be top tier FCS programs.

Take a look at the 2019 numbers: http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_ ... e/2019.pdf

I would actually like to see a minimum budget, 17k attendance average, enrollment of 15,000 or more, and minimum capacity of 20,000 set for FBS and enforced.

[AppinVA]

Selig talks out of the both sides of his mouth. First saying that absolutely nothing is off the table. Then, he says they have not looked at affiliations from other conferences. Which is it?

Selig talks too much.

[BambooRdApp]

Option 3. Move Up..build it they will come...lol

[HkyMtneer]

Okay, not exactly. Just practicing my clickbait skills.

But this is an interesting article:

https://www.pilotonline.com/sports/vp-s ... story.html



This horse has been beat to death, however I do feel the COVID crisis is accelerating an inevitability. CUSA, MAC and the Sunbelt all are facing some harsh budgeting realities.

CUSA and Sunbelt have fairy large geographic footprints that are costly and the MAC is just a bunch of dying rust belt schools.

Realignment is coming and short of just listing out a made up conference I’ll just ask a question.

Which would you prefer and why?


1. Everything stays the same. Everyone makes it through okay, all conferences play in 2020 and moving forward for the foreseeable future. We continue to dominate the SunBelt, always in the conversation for being ranked. But almost exclusively end up in New Orleans, Montgomery and Mobile for bowl games. For like the next decade.

2. COVID accelerates realignment. We end up in some geographic Frankenstein of CUSA/SunBelt/MAC, possibly an FCS or two. The conference we are in probably has a tighter footprint but may also look a lot like a hybrid FCS SOCON of 1995 with some newbies. Does the overall strength of the conference improve? Hard to say.

3. We sneak into the ever elusive 12th AAC spot. Increased prestige but at a real risk/cost. Much better competition on a weekly basis. And every team we face has more money, more established stadiums/facilities and are just generally larger schools.

For now I would say 2 as well but I think we could grow and fit in the AAC well. The money would improve.

I'm not sure if ECU would do this but this makes sense and is strong than the 1990s SoCon from the middle to the bottom for sure. I think Charlotte, Liberty, South Alabama, and CCU are stronger than Elon, VMI, WCU, ETSU, UTC, etc are.

North
App St
Charlotte
East Carolina
Liberty
Marshall
Old Dominion

South
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
Middle Tenn St
South Alabama
Troy

I honestly think a couple of these schools may end up needing to drop down to FCS but they are big enough in enrollment that I think they would be able to sustain staying.

I have a feeling that if a regional alignment like the one you proposed came to be...JMU would be there in the North with us.

[Gonzo]

If there is a CUSA/SBC shuffle I don’t expect any current AAC schools to partake.

[AppDub]

Maybe I misunderstand, but I have nor desire to go back to a SoCon hybrid that would draw in any FCS teams. That's in the rearview mirror. If AcC ever became an option, take it and run...option3.

[T-Dog]

To form a new conference you need (I believe) seven schools who have been in a single conference together for a minimum of six years. CUSA could be the base for geographic realignment. Some schools, specifically out west like Little Rock, UT-Arlington and ULM, could be left out.

Also, a waiver could be applied for by the schools and I doubt the NCAA would want to upset roughly 20 percent of its FBS members.

It just takes leadership to get done. It's been talked about forever, but if it does happen, it could happen really quickly, like how the Catholic 7 broke up the old Big East.

[EastHallApp]

Geographic reshuffling of SBC and CUSA has made too much sense for a few years now. Would love to see it happen. Obviously a lot of moving parts though, even without accounting for the pandemic.

[/\PP ST/\TE GRAD 09]

You want regional...It's very simple...

Conference ________

North Division

Western Kentucky
Marshall
ODU
Charlotte
Appalachian State
Middle Tennessee State

South Division

Georgia Southern
Georgia State
Coastal Carolina
Troy
FIU
FAU

D.G. would have to push for us to play Georgia Southern every year similar to Bama and Tennessee who play every year.

Leaving JMU out. I feel they're aiming for UConn's spot in the AAC. Wouldn't mind adding them to the
out of conference schedule occasionally.

[ah59396]

If we can get to the AAC we have to take it. The AAC is the only pathway IMO to long term relevance at the FBS level.

There’s obviously a widening gap between the elite conferences and the have nots.

Excluding the MWC & AAC, the G5 is loaded with schools that have either never mattered, did matter 30 years ago, and a pod of “on the rise” schools like us.

There are a shocking number of schools that have been doing this since the 80’s and have less bowl wins than us. No AP rankings. Staggeringly pathetic attendance.

What exactly is the point of being an “FBS” team by name only? And hemorrhaging money on top of it?

Why in the world would Akron or ULM or UTEP boosters want to watch their program barely exist for that long??

I don’t want to be associated with these programs long term if we can avoid it. They are sinking ships.

[ah59396]

You want regional...It's very simple...

Conference ________

North Division

Western Kentucky
Marshall
ODU
Charlotte
Appalachian State
Middle Tennessee State

South Division

Georgia Southern
Georgia State
Coastal Carolina
Troy
FIU
FAU

D.G. would have to push for us to play Georgia Southern every year similar to Bama and Tennessee who play every year.

Leaving JMU out. I feel they're aiming for UConn's spot in the AAC. Wouldn't mind adding them to the
out of conference schedule occasionally.

The AAC will never add JMU.

The AAC will either add us, some variation of UAB/Charlotte/ODU/Ga State, or look west and take Boise, BYU and Air Force to go to 14 and give them travel partners.

JMU gives them nothing they want. They want prestige and the appearance of a Power conference. Adding an FCS team doesn’t do that. Adding those western teams bolsters their image and cripples their only G5 conference competitor.

JMU also adds nothing for AAC basketball. They are worse than we are on the hard court.

[ah59396]

Maybe I misunderstand, but I have nor desire to go back to a SoCon hybrid that would draw in any FCS teams. That's in the rearview mirror. If AcC ever became an option, take it and run...option3.

I saw one conference alignment “example” that was something like this:

Chattanooga
App State
Ga Southern
MTSU
Charlotte
ODU
Liberty
JMU
Ga Southern
Marshall

And all I could think was that it looks like the FCS in 1998.

[citroknight]

You want regional...It's very simple...

Conference ________

North Division

Western Kentucky
Marshall
ODU
Charlotte
Appalachian State
Middle Tennessee State

South Division

Georgia Southern
Georgia State
Coastal Carolina
Troy
FIU
FAU

D.G. would have to push for us to play Georgia Southern every year similar to Bama and Tennessee who play every year.

Leaving JMU out. I feel they're aiming for UConn's spot in the AAC. Wouldn't mind adding them to the
out of conference schedule occasionally.

The AAC will never add JMU.

The AAC will either add us, some variation of UAB/Charlotte/ODU/Ga State, or look west and take Boise, BYU and Air Force to go to 14 and give them travel partners.

JMU gives them nothing they want. They want prestige and the appearance of a Power conference. Adding an FCS team doesn’t do that. Adding those western teams bolsters their image and cripples their only G5 conference competitor.

JMU also adds nothing for AAC basketball. They are worse than we are on the hard court.

JMU has potential, spends money, and is geographically somewhere that makes sense.

That being said, if they truly wanted to make their case for the AAC, they should have joined either the SBC or CUSA when they had a chance. That would give an audition for how they would build on their FCS success and translate it to FBS. Aka, what App has done.

But no way is the AAC taking the risk or image hit of adding an FCS team.

[Stonewall]

JM who?

[/\PP ST/\TE GRAD 09]

You want regional...It's very simple...

Conference ________

North Division

Western Kentucky
Marshall
ODU
Charlotte
Appalachian State
Middle Tennessee State

South Division

Georgia Southern
Georgia State
Coastal Carolina
Troy
FIU
FAU

D.G. would have to push for us to play Georgia Southern every year similar to Bama and Tennessee who play every year.

Leaving JMU out. I feel they're aiming for UConn's spot in the AAC. Wouldn't mind adding them to the
out of conference schedule occasionally.

The AAC will never add JMU.

The AAC will either add us, some variation of UAB/Charlotte/ODU/Ga State, or look west and take Boise, BYU and Air Force to go to 14 and give them travel partners.

JMU gives them nothing they want. They want prestige and the appearance of a Power conference. Adding an FCS team doesn’t do that. Adding those western teams bolsters their image and cripples their only G5 conference competitor.

JMU also adds nothing for AAC basketball. They are worse than we are on the hard court.

AAC might not want them, but JMU feels that's where they belong. I agree, it will likely never happen, but they have some pompous "people that matter" in Harrisonburg (Met a few a couple years back when App played JMU in Harrisonburg for basketball). The campus itself is growing like crazy and I know at one point a couple years ago they were close to Top 50 for all Division 1 when it came to athletic revenue. They're on a high horse and if AAC doesn't come calling they might go the Independent route.

For the record I hate everything about JMU other than the memories I have from partying there back in the day. That school knew how to throw a good party, and had one hell of a ratio.

[AppSt94]

You want regional...It's very simple...

Conference ________

North Division

Western Kentucky
Marshall
ODU
Charlotte
Appalachian State
Middle Tennessee State

South Division

Georgia Southern
Georgia State
Coastal Carolina
Troy
FIU
FAU

D.G. would have to push for us to play Georgia Southern every year similar to Bama and Tennessee who play every year.

Leaving JMU out. I feel they're aiming for UConn's spot in the AAC. Wouldn't mind adding them to the
out of conference schedule occasionally.

The AAC will never add JMU.

The AAC will either add us, some variation of UAB/Charlotte/ODU/Ga State, or look west and take Boise, BYU and Air Force to go to 14 and give them travel partners.

JMU gives them nothing they want. They want prestige and the appearance of a Power conference. Adding an FCS team doesn’t do that. Adding those western teams bolsters their image and cripples their only G5 conference competitor.

JMU also adds nothing for AAC basketball. They are worse than we are on the hard court.

JMU has potential, spends money, and is geographically somewhere that makes sense.

That being said, if they truly wanted to make their case for the AAC, they should have joined either the SBC or CUSA when they had a chance. That would give an audition for how they would build on their FCS success and translate it to FBS. Aka, what App has done.

But no way is the AAC taking the risk or image hit of adding an FCS team.

Citro,

Serious question but if the other G5’s were to consolidate into regional conferences, could the AAC exist in the vacuum without joining in? They have differentiated themselves from the othes with budgets but would that change if the well runs considerably slower?