(05-08-2017 05:19 PM)etsubuc Wrote:  I would be very opposed to a move to the Sun Belt. Yes, you get more money from the conference and probably more "money" football games. That is the only advantage. It puts basketball in the same shape as it was in the ASun to the average fan, but so would staying in the depleted SoCon if UTC leaves. We would also have to double the football stadium capacity, which we currently don't have anywhere close to enough fan support to justify any addition.

To me, a win-win would be for ETSU and UTC to jointly move to the OVC.

A Sun Belt conference where ETSU plays Appalachian, Ga. Southern, Chattanooga, Coastal Carolina, and Ga. State every year is going to pique interest. Those are regional schools that are old school rivalries, along with some nice name teams.
MTSU didn't have the support either when they moved up, neither did WKU. Both did it anyway and for both it's paid off in spades in just about every possible way. A move to FBS would make sense, it's just going to take a major investment.
Problem with the Sun Belt is there's no vacancy. The only hope in any of this is another FBS split that leads to an open transition period for FCS teams to move up, or a universal end to the moratorium on teams moving up without a conference invite.