USA/SUNBELT MERGER?

[ASUPATCH]

LOVE this idea as we would have UNCC GA SOUTHERN GA ST, ODU, MTSU all wthin good travel distances. http://mobile.al.com/advstate/pm_29200/ ... d=g23Hm23X

[Deano]

This is an interesting article and probably the only way the schools in the SB and CUSA could come close to competing with the money that the bigger conferences are pulling in, but like the article states it makes too much sense and CUSA thinks itself as being so much better than the SB, when in reality its not.

[Gonzo]

I will never get excited about playing glorified community colleges like Georgia State and UNC Charlotte.

The only CUSA team left to get excited about playing is Marsha, now that ECU is gone. The prospect of playing Sunbelt schools is much more compelling to me.

[ASUPATCH]

I will never get excited about playing glorified community colleges like Georgia State and UNC Charlotte.

The only CUSA team left to get excited about playing is Marsha, now that ECU is gone. The prospect of playing Sunbelt schools is much more compelling to me.

You do realize you don't want to play Ga St. and would rather play sunbelt schools is a 100% contradiction right?

[Gonzo]

I will never get excited about playing glorified community colleges like Georgia State and UNC Charlotte.

The only CUSA team left to get excited about playing is Marsha, now that ECU is gone. The prospect of playing Sunbelt schools is much more compelling to me.

You do realize you don't want to play Ga St. and would rather play sunbelt schools is a 100% contradiction right?

I was referring to the rest of the SBC as to where I would rather us play. UNCC and GaSt will always be in the same boat with me regardless of conference.

[Appersrule]

You would rather play Arkansas State than UNC-Charlotte. Okay, right. That makes sense. NOT

[Gonzo]

You would rather play Arkansas State than UNC-Charlotte. Okay, right. That makes sense. NOT

I'd be pretty indifferent if it came down to those two. stAte is a much bigger name institution, but they are so far away. UNCc is close by and it would be fun to blow them out, but then we'd have to deal with the most delusional fanbase in America prior and during the game.

I'd honestly go with stAte.

[vegattk]

LOVE this idea as we would have UNCC GA SOUTHERN GA ST, ODU, MTSU all wthin good travel distances. http://mobile.al.com/advstate/pm_29200/ ... d=g23Hm23X

I HATE the idea of FBS solely for the fact that I wouldn't be able to travel the long distances to see my Apps play...

But IF (big IF) this happens... I'm gun-ho for it! Sounds like a GREAT idea!

Otherwise...

[Gonzo]

LOVE this idea as we would have UNCC GA SOUTHERN GA ST, ODU, MTSU all wthin good travel distances. http://mobile.al.com/advstate/pm_29200/ ... d=g23Hm23X

I HATE the idea of FBS solely for the fact that I wouldn't be able to travel the long distances to see my Apps play...

But IF (big IF) this happens... I'm gun-ho for it! Sounds like a GREAT idea!

Otherwise...

If you think the move is anything but inevitable, I can't put much stock into your posts.

Not a big if. Not an if at all. It's when. Deal with it.

Progress happens.

[vegattk]

LOVE this idea as we would have UNCC GA SOUTHERN GA ST, ODU, MTSU all wthin good travel distances. http://mobile.al.com/advstate/pm_29200/ ... d=g23Hm23X

I HATE the idea of FBS solely for the fact that I wouldn't be able to travel the long distances to see my Apps play...

But IF (big IF) this happens... I'm gun-ho for it! Sounds like a GREAT idea!

Otherwise...

If you think the move is anything but inevitable, I can't put much stock into your posts.

Not a big if. Not an if at all. It's when. Deal with it.

Progress happens.

Unless David Jackson, Coach Moore or CC comes on here I wouldn't put much stock into any post on a message board.

(And I was talking about the merger of CUSA and SB)

And it all depends on your definition of progress...

[Gonzo]

LOVE this idea as we would have UNCC GA SOUTHERN GA ST, ODU, MTSU all wthin good travel distances. http://mobile.al.com/advstate/pm_29200/ ... d=g23Hm23X

I HATE the idea of FBS solely for the fact that I wouldn't be able to travel the long distances to see my Apps play...

But IF (big IF) this happens... I'm gun-ho for it! Sounds like a GREAT idea!

Otherwise...

If you think the move is anything but inevitable, I can't put much stock into your posts.

Not a big if. Not an if at all. It's when. Deal with it.

Progress happens.

Unless David Jackson, Coach Moore or CC comes on here I wouldn't put much stock into any post on a message board.

(And I was talking about the merger of CUSA and SB)

And it all depends on your definition of progress...

Oh I see. I agree there. No way in hell these two conferences merge. No way.

Agree to disagree about your lemming/FBS analogy.

[kiddbrewer]

Correct me if I'm wrong, C-USA and MWC proposed a merger earlier in the year. They shelved that idea because the NCAA told them they would lose their basketball playoff revenue and their conference basketball champions would no longer have an AQ into the playoffs because technically C-USA/MWC merged conference would be a "new" conference. A new conference would have to be in existence for x number of years before it qualified for the revenue and AQ.

So, if that is true, what would be the benefit of a C-USA/Sunbelt merged conference?

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.co ... r-merging/

I will add, that if they did merge, that may leave schools like us out. The Sunbelt would no longer be in a desperate need to add more teams.

[appbio91]

I will never get excited about playing glorified community colleges like Georgia State and UNC Charlotte.

The only CUSA team left to get excited about playing is Marsha, now that ECU is gone. The prospect of playing Sunbelt schools is much more compelling to me.

Have you been on UNCC campus in the last 5 years? They are growing like crazy, getting tons of outside investment, building research institutes with millions of dollars worth of cutting edge equipment. Enrollment is expected to pass 30k in the next decade. I agree that we do not want to be in the same conference because they will be eating our lunch 5 years from now.

[AppinVA]

I will never get excited about playing glorified community colleges like Georgia State and UNC Charlotte.

The only CUSA team left to get excited about playing is Marsha, now that ECU is gone. The prospect of playing Sunbelt schools is much more compelling to me.

Have you been on UNCC campus in the last 5 years? They are growing like crazy, getting tons of outside investment, building research institutes with millions of dollars worth of cutting edge equipment. Enrollment is expected to pass 30k in the next decade. I agree that we do not want to be in the same conference because they will be eating our lunch 5 years from now.

Can't agree with your last sentence. They'll only eat our lunch if we let them, and we mountain folk don't take too kindly to city folk stealing our food.

[I need a smiley with a longrifle.]

[Gonzo]

I will never get excited about playing glorified community colleges like Georgia State and UNC Charlotte.

The only CUSA team left to get excited about playing is Marsha, now that ECU is gone. The prospect of playing Sunbelt schools is much more compelling to me.

Have you been on UNCC campus in the last 5 years? They are growing like crazy, getting tons of outside investment, building research institutes with millions of dollars worth of cutting edge equipment. Enrollment is expected to pass 30k in the next decade. I agree that we do not want to be in the same conference because they will be eating our lunch 5 years from now.

What? I've spent tons of time on their campus from 2007 to present and it's still the same soulless commuter school its always been no matter how many snappy new buildings they throw up. They may hit a 30k enrollment soon, but they won't get 300 to actually give a rat's ass about the school and it's athletic endeavors.

The only way UNCC take the upper hand and "eating our lunch" is if we stay FCS for too long.

[GoAppsGo92]

LOVE this idea as we would have UNCC GA SOUTHERN GA ST, ODU, MTSU all wthin good travel distances. http://mobile.al.com/advstate/pm_29200/ ... d=g23Hm23X

I HATE the idea of FBS solely for the fact that I wouldn't be able to travel the long distances to see my Apps play...

But IF (big IF) this happens... I'm gun-ho for it! Sounds like a GREAT idea!

Otherwise...

They can merge all they want, as long as someone invites us before the lights are turned out.

[asumike83]

I will never get excited about playing glorified community colleges like Georgia State and UNC Charlotte.

The only CUSA team left to get excited about playing is Marsha, now that ECU is gone. The prospect of playing Sunbelt schools is much more compelling to me.

Have you been on UNCC campus in the last 5 years? They are growing like crazy, getting tons of outside investment, building research institutes with millions of dollars worth of cutting edge equipment. Enrollment is expected to pass 30k in the next decade. I agree that we do not want to be in the same conference because they will be eating our lunch 5 years from now.

They are growing but the 30K enrollment is misleading. It is not just about a large number of students but how many of those are involved. About 1/3 of their undergrad enrollment are adults. Students who go back to school to get a degree are not typically those who support the school's athletics. They just do not have the college atmosphere of other schools and that will be a tough culture to create, especially in five years.

[Gonzo]

I will never get excited about playing glorified community colleges like Georgia State and UNC Charlotte.

The only CUSA team left to get excited about playing is Marsha, now that ECU is gone. The prospect of playing Sunbelt schools is much more compelling to me.

Have you been on UNCC campus in the last 5 years? They are growing like crazy, getting tons of outside investment, building research institutes with millions of dollars worth of cutting edge equipment. Enrollment is expected to pass 30k in the next decade. I agree that we do not want to be in the same conference because they will be eating our lunch 5 years from now.

They are growing but the 30K enrollment is misleading. It is not just about a large number of students but how many of those are involved. About 1/3 of their undergrad enrollment are adults. Students who go back to school to get a degree are not typically those who support the school's athletics. They just do not have the college atmosphere of other schools and that will be a tough culture to create, especially in five years.

Yup. No college culture=transient alumni/students.

You don't see the University of Phoenix on Sports Center even though they have hundreds of thousands of students. The same principle applies to trade schools like UNCC and Georgia State. Those schools are a product of population density. The only different between CPCC and UNCC is that UNCC offers bachelors degree instead of an associates. That and the fact that CPCC has a much better academic reputation nation wide and is actually IN downtown Charlotte.

[appgrad]

A little unfair to compare GSU and UNCC to U of Phoenix, which has campuses scattered across the nation.

I do agree that they have reputations as commuter schools - but I can tell you for sure that Ga. State has been working for 15 years to change that - more student housing, more off-campus student friendly housing (i.e., safe!), etc.

Still - funny to me that most of the people doing conference expansion don't realize that these schools being in the middle of major cities puts them at a disadvantage in terms of fan support. You look at even the older major conference schools (Not USF, in other words) that are in large cities - Miami, GA Tech, USC, Louisville, Cincy, Northwestern, etc. They usually only draw really well when they're winning big. Meanwhile - In the Middle of Nowhere Texas A&M packs out a 100,000 seat stadium regardless of their record.