It's official. USM to the Sunbelt

[TractorApp]

According to multiple sources, USM has officially accepted an offer to join the SunBelt. Same sources saying they could start conference play in 2023. Same sources also saying that JMU and ODU likely to accept next week and Marshall perhaps after that. Our desire to be in a regional conference with historic rivals appears to be happening.

East
App
Marshall
ODU
JMU
Coastal
GS
GSU

West

Troy
USA
USM
ULM
ULL
Ark St.
Texas St.

I for one am pumped up. Go App!

[Blackshirt68]

Trips to the beaches, mountains,Hotlanta and a swamp. Oh well, it can’t be perfect.

[Stonewall]

I missed Gill's press release.Link?

[Black Saturday]

According to multiple sources, USM has officially accepted an offer to join the SunBelt. Same sources saying they could start conference play in 2023. Same sources also saying that JMU and ODU likely to accept next week and Marshall perhaps after that. Our desire to be in a regional conference with historic rivals appears to be happening.

East
App
Marshall
ODU
JMU
Coastal
GS
GSU

West

Troy
USA
USM
ULM
ULL
Ark St.
Texas St.

I for one am pumped up. Go App!

Those additions have the makings of being the premier G5 football conference. The East will be a beast to win every year, should the new additions get competitive as we knew them in the FCS.

[NewApp]

According to multiple sources, USM has officially accepted an offer to join the SunBelt. Same sources saying they could start conference play in 2023. Same sources also saying that JMU and ODU likely to accept next week and Marshall perhaps after that. Our desire to be in a regional conference with historic rivals appears to be happening.

East
App
Marshall
ODU
JMU
Coastal
GS
GSU

West

Troy
USA
USM
ULM
ULL
Ark St.
Texas St.

I for one am pumped up. Go App!

Is James Madison already in FBS or are they in the process of moving up?

[Cro-Magnon App]

Is ODU a good fit? I don’t know much about them.

[spacemonkey]

Would JMU have to do a 2 year transition from FCS to FBS??? Does anyone know what the plan is for that? Are they joining next year??

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

Would JMU have to do a 2 year transition from FCS to FBS??? Does anyone know what the plan is for that? Are they joining next year??

To answer NewApp, JMU is CAA members at the FCS level. And all the moving is going to take place, I bet, when Texas moves to the SEC which moves the AAC teams to the B12 which opens up the CUSA moves to AAC and SB. Those two years should have JMU ready for SB football in year one of all of this or at least it seems that could happen.

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

Is ODU a good fit? I don’t know much about them.

They are in the middle of a large metro area with lots of good high school football I have been told. And they have a renovated stadium.

To me they are the least compelling addition but that is due to history with the other schools.

[Appstate88]

One of the reasons this works well for us is all of our East Division road games are less than a 6 hour drive from Boone. We really would only have to take one airplane flight for the one away West Division Game as another West Division team would fly in to play us in Boone.

Approximate Drive Distances:
Coastal Carolina ~4.75 hrs.
Georgia Southern ~5.5 hrs.
Georgia State ~5 hrs.
JMU ~4.25 hrs.
Marshall ~4.5 hrs
ODU ~5.5 hrs.
All West Division Teams ~ > 7.5 hrs. - Fly then Drive

Schedule could look like this…

Odd year home games beginning in 2023
Coastal Carolina
Georgia State
Marshall
+ 1 Random draw West Division Team
+ 2 OOC Teams

Even year home games beginning in 2024
Georgia Southern
JMU
ODU
+ 1 Random draw West Division Team
+ 2 OOC Teams

Outcome
Win - You can drive to all East Division road games from most major NC cities.
Win - You get a beach trip road game each year either Coastal or ODU.
Win - You get a historical rival at home each year either Turd or Stink.
Win - You only go to Georgia once a year.
Win - Will cost less to get to games and matches for all sports. Just need to purchase an additional 4-6 App State wrapped buses to transport our teams.
Win - Will sell more season tickets with a solid home schedule every year.

[citroknight]

Would JMU have to do a 2 year transition from FCS to FBS??? Does anyone know what the plan is for that? Are they joining next year??

To answer NewApp, JMU is CAA members at the FCS level. And all the moving is going to take place, I bet, when Texas moves to the SEC which moves the AAC teams to the B12 which opens up the CUSA moves to AAC and SB. Those two years should have JMU ready for SB football in year one of all of this or at least it seems that could happen.

7/1/23 is tentatively looking like the date everyone plays musical chairs. The Texas and Oklahoma move are the only really complicated piece of the move. Everyone else in the G5 conferences only has to pay an exit fee and maybe negotiate and pay a little more like the 3 AAC schools to get out before 2024. But Texas and Oklahoma have the Grant of Rights on top of the exit fee which complicates things since they'll need to come up with some arrangement of else they won't be SEC bound until 7/1/25.

[Bootsy]

ODU is not a good football team, but they have the potential to get better. And SE Virgina is a great recruiting area; definitely would be good for App to play at Foreman Field every other year.

The Monarchs have a long history of success in basketball (men's & women's), so that helps.

[Stonewall]

CUSA passed on us , and Southern a few years back....

[Rick83]

CUSA passed on us , and Southern a few years back....

To quote Pretty Woman: "Big Mistake. Big. Huge!" And the AAC is again making that same mistake...we're going to come out on top as it's winning consistently that matters to fans and viewers...the market approach is no longer a thing in today's world of endless cable channels and streaming options.

[Stonewall]

Perhaps AAC tried and were rebuffed.

[appgrad95&97]

Man, i wish we'd gotten UAB too.

[AtlAppMan]

Didn't Karl Benson say "Together we Rise". Seemed corny but it became reality. If we continue on this trajectory then SBC will be better than AAC and the rest.