This Doesn't Look Good

[MAD Doctor]

Most depressing thing I've seen in awhile:

http://www.bcinterruption.com/2013/1/24 ... o-big-east

College football realignment is still very much a thing among the FBS have-nots and the cannibalization among the Gang of Five shows no signs of slowing. When the dust settles on the latest go-around, best guess on how this all turns out:
Mountain West (14): Air Force Falcons, Boise St. Broncos, Colorado St. Rams, Fresno St. Bulldogs, Hawaii Warriors, Nevada Wolf Pack, New Mexico Lobos, Rice Owls (from CUSA), San Diego St. Aztecs, San Jose St. Spartans, UNLV Rebels, Utah State Aggies, UTEP Miners (from CUSA), Wyoming Cowboys
Big East (12): Central Florida Knights, Cincinnati Bearcats, Connecticut Huskies, East Carolina Pirates, Houston Cougars, Memphis Tigers, South Florida Bulls, SMU Mustangs, Southern Miss. Golden Eagles (from CUSA), Temple Owls, Tulane Green Wave, Tulsa Golden Hurricane (from CUSA)
Conference USA (14): Arkansas St. Red Wolves (from Sun Belt), Charlotte 49ers (from FCS), Florida Atlantic Owls (from Sun Belt), Fla. International Golden Panthers (from Sun Belt), Georgia State Panthers (from Sun Belt), Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (from WAC), Marshall Thundering Herd, Middle Tenn. St. Blue Raiders (from Sun Belt), New Mexico St. Aggies (from WAC), North Texas Mean Green (from Sun Belt), Old Dominion Monarchs (from FCS), Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners (from WAC), UAB Blazers, Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (from Sun Belt)
Sun Belt (5): Louisiana Ragin Cajuns, ULM Warhawks, South Alabama Jaguars, Texas State Bobcats (from WAC), Troy Trojans + 3-5 more I-AA programs or *dead*Independent (1): Navy Midshipmen (Big East decommit)
Got all that? Or, in short form: Mountain West > Big East > Conference USA > Sun Belt > Idaho. Poor Idaho.
In other news, the MAC wants you to know that it still exists ... still just played in the BCS ... still sponsors varsity football.

[AppAttack]

Good for us though. Sun Belt will almost have to add us or fold.

[ASUGoose]

All the more reason to get to Sun Belt as soon as possible and show that we can be attractive to either the Big East or CUSA when they eventually move to 16 teams.

[Black Saturday]

If the Scum Belt folded while APP was a member, that would be bad for APP-that would make APP a GDI as I see it.

[ASUGoose]

If the Scum Belt folded while APP was a member, that would be bad for APP-that would make APP a GDI as I see it.

I think the thought here by the writer is that when the Sun Belt is reduced to 5, they either fold up shop or add a number of FCS schools. I don't think the Sun Belt would fold if they added 5 FCS teams to get to 10 total teams based on the theory of this article.

[hapapp]

Good for us though. Sun Belt will almost have to add us or fold.

Louisiana Ragin Cajuns, ULM Warhawks, South Alabama Jaguars, Texas State Bobcats (from WAC), Troy Trojans

That lineup is not likely to be very appealing to our administration. Perhaps if the FCS add-ons included both GSU and JMU then it might fly. But, I don't think our admin would bite otherwise.

[AppinVA]

Good for us though. Sun Belt will almost have to add us or fold.

Louisiana Ragin Cajuns, ULM Warhawks, South Alabama Jaguars, Texas State Bobcats (from WAC), Troy Trojans

That lineup is not likely to be very appealing to our administration. Perhaps if the FCS add-ons included both GSU and JMU then it might fly. But, I don't think our admin would bite otherwise.

App, Georgia Southern, JMU, Liberty and a fifth to form an East Division. That would keep the SBC around, and travel would't be that bad. Two trips out west for football and two home games against western division teams. Throw in a few non-football or schools that maintain FCS programs, and travel for other sports wouldn't be that outrageous, either.

[asumike83]

Good for us though. Sun Belt will almost have to add us or fold.

Louisiana Ragin Cajuns, ULM Warhawks, South Alabama Jaguars, Texas State Bobcats (from WAC), Troy Trojans

That lineup is not likely to be very appealing to our administration. Perhaps if the FCS add-ons included both GSU and JMU then it might fly. But, I don't think our admin would bite otherwise.

I agree, hap. If those are the only five remaining SBC members, the conference will be much less attractive geographically and our interest level would likely depend heavily on which FCS programs are coming along. Taking away WKU and GA State removes the two easy bus trips that the conference would otherwise offer.

I think GSU is gone regardless. Those trips to Alabama and Louisiana are not as long for them. If it were just us and GSU along with a few Southland schools, I'm not sure we would or should be interested. Throw JMU and Liberty in the mix, much different story. Those are easy trips and in the case of JMU, an already exciting rivalry. My biggest concern there is that the SBC may not want Liberty and JMU may have no interest in the SBC.

My first choice would be to play FBS football but the most important thing is that we do what is best for Appalachian. Moving up alongside some regional FCS programs would certainly be a step forward. If that is not possible, I would hope that the CAA is on the table. If GSU goes and JMU/Delaware do not, the CAA would immediately be more attractive for both basketball and football. Depending on which direction the SoCon goes, I wouldn't be surprised to see Davidson reconsider the CAA as well, which would make it a no-brainer from a basketball standpoint.

Regardless of what happens, I do not think the SoCon is the best long-term home for Appalachian. I have always supported an FBS move and if that happens through C-USA or a version of the SBC where we are not a drastic geographic outlier, that would be excellent. If not, we should pursue a jump to the CAA to maintain our status as a top FCS program, improve our basketball program and compete for championships in baseball.

We need a 'seat at the table' so to speak in the FBS world but if the cost of that seat is the travel of a conference concentrated in Alabama, Louisiana and Texas, I'm just not sure it is feasible.

[JTApps1]

We have to move up and get in the door. Even if the SB did fold down the road the very worst that would happen is we would move back to FCS. So really what is there to be affriad of?

[Goapps15]

We have to move up and get in the door. Even if the SB did fold down the road the very worst that would happen is we would move back to FCS. So really what is there to be affriad of?

Agreed we have to take advantage of our facilities and performance on the gridiron right now. If we had moved up last year, even if it was into the Sun Belt, we would likely be in C-USA right now. Do WKU, FAU, etc. offer more than Appalachian does? There facilities are lesser and they do not have tradition in football. The point is if we move up we put ourselves in position to advance ourselves over time. Go APPS!

[Kgfish]

Nothing to get excited about. This is just one person's opinion.

[CornCobPipes]

Maybe, just maybe, those five could include the likes of ours truly, the Appalachian State Mountaineers, along with Georgia Southern(otherwise known as The Stink), Liberty, Delaware, and James Madison.

[CornCobPipes]

Come to think of it, if Delaware was serious about moving up they would probably be more apt to go the MAC route to avoid the island.

[CornCobPipes]

Jacksonville State could potentially be in the mix.

On another note, I can not for the life of me understand why Montana declines their opportunities. They could make it regardless of what is claimed.

[AppAttack]

Good for us though. Sun Belt will almost have to add us or fold.

Louisiana Ragin Cajuns, ULM Warhawks, South Alabama Jaguars, Texas State Bobcats (from WAC), Troy Trojans

That lineup is not likely to be very appealing to our administration. Perhaps if the FCS add-ons included both GSU and JMU then it might fly. But, I don't think our admin would bite otherwise.

Looks a whole lot better than Elon, Samford, Western Carolina, The Citadel, etc. to me.

[JTApps1]

Good for us though. Sun Belt will almost have to add us or fold.

Louisiana Ragin Cajuns, ULM Warhawks, South Alabama Jaguars, Texas State Bobcats (from WAC), Troy Trojans

That lineup is not likely to be very appealing to our administration. Perhaps if the FCS add-ons included both GSU and JMU then it might fly. But, I don't think our admin would bite otherwise.

Looks a whole lot better than Elon, Samford, Western Carolina, The Citadel, etc. to me.

Touché

[Kgfish]

Good for us though. Sun Belt will almost have to add us or fold.

Louisiana Ragin Cajuns, ULM Warhawks, South Alabama Jaguars, Texas State Bobcats (from WAC), Troy Trojans

That lineup is not likely to be very appealing to our administration. Perhaps if the FCS add-ons included both GSU and JMU then it might fly. But, I don't think our admin would bite otherwise.

Looks a whole lot better than Elon, Samford, Western Carolina, The Citadel, etc. to me.

[hapapp]

Good for us though. Sun Belt will almost have to add us or fold.

Louisiana Ragin Cajuns, ULM Warhawks, South Alabama Jaguars, Texas State Bobcats (from WAC), Troy Trojans

That lineup is not likely to be very appealing to our administration. Perhaps if the FCS add-ons included both GSU and JMU then it might fly. But, I don't think our admin would bite otherwise.

Looks a whole lot better than Elon, Samford, Western Carolina, The Citadel, etc. to me.

But you and I don't get to make the decision. I agree we need to get our foot in the door. However, we need to face the fact that it may not look better to the decision-makers.

[firemoose]

Check out my post in the "Group of five" thread. There is a link to an article written about the CUSA meeting and quotes from the commish. For those holding out for a CUSA invite I wouldn't hold my breath after two of his comments. You'll see which ones. I did a breakdown of his remarks.

[bh2oson]

Check out my post in the "Group of five" thread. There is a link to an article written about the CUSA meeting and quotes from the commish. For those holding out for a CUSA invite I wouldn't hold my breath after two of his comments. You'll see which ones. I did a breakdown of his remarks.

Based on the article you posted would Ark State and Western Kentucky fall in their plans? It doesn't seem like it, but MTSU went to CUSA. I really wish MTSU would have stayed in the SBC.