(02-11-2012 09:52 PM)Photodan Wrote:  Tiers do exist if you are talking about athletic budgets, and CUSA is above the MAC in that regard. That is likely a major factor in consideration for inclusion in the Big East. For example, the only MAC team even rumored to be a possible candidate is Temple. Temple's athletic budget far eclipses the rest of the MAC. They have never won the East division or the conference and its attendance isn't that far above the rest of the conference.

If you're talking about head to head competitiveness, the top third of the MAC and the top third of CUSA are comparable. We just spend less money, on average, to be that way.

The difference is that the 'tier' CUSA is at is not, for the most part, head and shoulders above the MAC and definitely not enough to make up for the travel those teams have to endure.