Has App St Turned Down the Sun Belt?

[asug8]

Sorry, just simply can't get excited about the Sun Belt. It's beating a dead horse, but I'd really hate to see ASU football go the way of Marshall, riding off into mediocrity.

You have an incredibly distorted view of SoCon football if you don't think the SBC is leaps and bounds ahead in every way.

I understand loving the playoffs and old rivalries, I feel the same way, but if your primary problem with playing in the SBC is the fact that they're a bunch of no name teams, I suggest you do a little research on national recognition of SBC vs SoCon schools. 90% of college football fans would agree that FBS mediocrity>FCS prowess.

And last I checked, Marshal did very well in the MAC when they moved, is doing fine in CUSA and gets to host in-state foe, WVU every other year or so. Just to name a few tangible advantages in your all-too-common comparison.

I don't think my view is distorted. I'm simply stating that I can't get excited about that particular lineup of teams, and I simply can't see our fanbase attending games in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, etc. each year. Maybe I'm an idealist, but I can't see the NCAA turning a blind eye to strong regional FCS programs like ASU, GSU, JMU, UD, etc. if FCS is falling off a cliff. Those programs all put butts in the seats, create positive cash flows, and preserve something of a regional conference unlike the widely dispersed CUSA or Sun Belt. My point is don't jump simply to jump, make it mean something from a big picture perspective.

And Marshall is 21-27 since they joined CUSA in 2005. .438 seems mediocre to me, at least by ASU standards.

[AppinVA]

Some here are comfortable being the one on the left.

[AppinATL]

We ARE NOT Marshall! I get so sick of people bringing up Marshall all the time as if every team that moves up has to automatically do everything the way Marshall did and is therefore doomed to the same fate. Last I checked, a program is successful because of recruiting ability, coaching, fan base and any other number of factors. Yes, moving up involves a transition, by why are we fixating on Marshall's performance all the time? What about Troy? Boise State?

[asug8]

A few of the Sun Belt fans have said Dodd is not a reliable SBC source. He has previously mentioned Jacksonville State and Liberty as options as well, so I am not putting too much stock into this. Plus, he only stated that NMSU, Idaho and GSU are three of the candidates, not that anyone else has withdrawn from consideration.

That being said, this would be the absolute worst-case scenario for Appalachian. Staying in the SoCon while our only true rival goes FBS would be brutal. I understand the concerns about being a small fish in the big FBS pond but staying put in a version of the SoCon minus GSU with Mercer as the most likely replacement would be absolutely devastating.

If going to the Sun Belt would be mediocrity, a GSU-less SoCon would be purgatory.

No doubt Mike, and somebody has to make the first move. I for one just want to see us make the one that's in our best interests. If Sun Belt is it, then I'm wrong. I'm not really excited about CUSA either, but if that's the direction we need to take then I'm all in. I've got to believe that the administration is making these decisions with good reasoning in the absence of any information the ASU administration is providing us.

[biggie]

Some here are comfortable being the one on the left.

To be clear, technically I don't like anything with bowls.

[AppinVA]

Some here are comfortable being the one on the left.

To be clear, technically I don't like anything with bowls.

Well, this is what happened to that fish on the left.

[biggie]

Again, bowls, bad things.

[Gonzo]

Have any of you ever been to a bowl game? I went to the Belk Bowl last year and had an amazing time.

[biggie]

I can have a great time at about any football game, doesn't mean I think that game has any meaning.

[WVAPPeer]

"I can't express how angry I am about even the possibility of this happening. Charlie Cobb should be burned at the stake if he in fact ****** this up.

ASU athletics are dead if CBS is not mistaken."

Pardon me if I am wrong but I don't believe Charlie Cobb is the ultimate decision maker for APP's future ---

[WVAPPeer]

Look - I know everyone is just making his/her thoughts known but in reality no one on here has any definitive info at all - Maryland sat at a table and swore allegiance to the ACC and were gone a month later - even the people "in the know" don't all know what is happening - I would hesitate in judging people until all the facts are on the table ---

[Gonzo]

I can have a great time at about any football game, doesn't mean I think that game has any meaning.

Well I guess it's just as subjective as anything else people talk about on message boards. Some people think winning SoCon championships is meaningless. Doesn't mean it's true, just an opinion.

It's a wash for me. Like you, I will have fun at football games and yell my ass off on 3rd down regardless of where we play. It's the tangible advantages ($, Stadium enhancements, TV, OOC home games with ECU/Wake, ect) that pull me firmly into the "We must move up now by any means necessary" camp. That and the fact that the FCS has been on the slow decline for years and will soon slip under the water all together.

[Gonzo]

"I can't express how angry I am about even the possibility of this happening. Charlie Cobb should be burned at the stake if he in fact ****** this up.

ASU athletics are dead if CBS is not mistaken."

Pardon me if I am wrong but I don't believe Charlie Cobb is the ultimate decision maker for APP's future ---

Notice the 'ifs' in all my Cobb related ranting today. I'm ok with the guy if he gets the deal done. It's the prospect of being left standing on the Titanic's deck that fuels the fear for me. This FBS move, or lack thereof, is a make or break moment for him IMO.

I believe he is in charge of marketing the school, but the board makes the call. Right?

[asumike83]

I will be as angry as anyone if GSU bolts and leaves us to rot in the SoCon but if it turns out that the Sun Belt wants us and we say "no thanks", that will not be all on Cobb. He cannot make a call like that if it is not backed by those who he answers to. If we voluntarily stay FCS, it will be because Peacock and the board wants it that way.

[MountainMan]

"I can't express how angry I am about even the possibility of this happening. Charlie Cobb should be burned at the stake if he in fact fucked this up.

ASU athletics are dead if CBS is not mistaken."

Pardon me if I am wrong but I don't believe Charlie Cobb is the ultimate decision maker for APP's future ---

Notice the 'ifs' in all my Cobb related ranting today. I'm ok with the guy if he gets the deal done. It's the prospect of being left standing on the Titanic's deck that fuels the fear for me. This FBS move, or lack thereof, is a make or break moment for him IMO.

I believe he is in charge of marketing the school, but the board makes the call. Right?

If it has to be qualified with so many "ifs" then why bust a f'ing gasket about burning Charlie Cobb at the stake -- just seems sort of silly to me to string out a long list of "ifs" that are based on purely wild speculation and message board banter, wave a flame-thrower in Cobb's face, but then say "ah, it's all good and I'm fine with it if he gets the deal done"; without knowing one bit about what he/we are facing in this latest round of moves. With supporters like that, he sure as heck does not need any enemies.

[JTApps1]

Sorry, just simply can't get excited about the Sun Belt. It's beating a dead horse, but I'd really hate to see ASU football go the way of Marshall, riding off into mediocrity.

Mediocrity would be getting stuck in a SoCon without GSU.

[JTApps1]

I can have a great time at about any football game, doesn't mean I think that game has any meaning.

A bowl in FBS would be more fun than just about any SoCon game if GSU leaves the conference. Not to mention the possibly out of conference games we could have in FBS.

[mountaineerman]

Have any of you ever been to a bowl game? I went to the Belk Bowl last year and had an amazing time.

I remember the diamond bowl "Here we go to Idaho"

[GoApps70]

There is a little more to it than what you may realize. I had hesitated to mention it, because I didn't want it to sound like someone talked to a third cousin twice removed that was told by their barber that his shoe salesman had it direct from his former brother-in-law type situation. Benson has had contact with App State, Georgia Southern, JMU and even NMSU for sure within the last two days. Had uneasy feeling hearing about this and this indicator makes it even more so. You can say what you want about the article and the writer, and you might be correct, but got the feeling that he is onto more than you give him credit for.

Also, this was stated earlier, "And Marshall is 21-27 since they joined CUSA in 2005. .438 seems mediocre to me, at least by ASU standards."
This statement is totally true, but does not count the time that Marshall spent in the MAC from 1997-2004. Their winning percentage for those even more years was over 70% during that period, and that included their FBS (Division 1-A then) start up time.

[appst89]

There is a little more to it than what you may realize. I had hesitated to mention it, because I didn't want it to sound like someone talked to a third cousin twice removed that was told by their barber that his shoe salesman had it direct from his former brother-in-law type situation. Benson has had contact with App State, Georgia Southern, JMU and even NMSU for sure within the last two days. Had uneasy feeling hearing about this and this indicator makes it even more so. You can say what you want about the article and the writer, and you might be correct, but got the feeling that he is onto more than you give him credit for.

Also, this was stated earlier, "And Marshall is 21-27 since they joined CUSA in 2005. .438 seems mediocre to me, at least by ASU standards."
This statement is totally true, but does not count the time that Marshall spent in the MAC from 1997-2004. Their winning percentage for those even more years was over 70% during that period, and that included their FBS (Division 1-A then) start up time.

It also includes the time Marshall was cheating. I give no creedence to anything they did during that time. There are several schools to which we could and should compare ourselves. I hope Marshall is never one of them.