(02-21-2012 05:04 PM)panama Wrote:  

(02-21-2012 03:49 PM)AtlantaJag Wrote:  

(02-21-2012 03:35 PM)panama Wrote:  

(02-21-2012 03:28 PM)AtlantaJag Wrote:  

(02-21-2012 03:18 PM)panama Wrote:  Youre about to be very disappointed my friend and our growing pains would = USAs as we started at the same time. Its not a big deal and its not personal

I'm not treating as personal at all. I'm being clinical about it. I believe that as soon as Ga State has adjusted to FBS football, they'll very likely get an offer to move up. That would negatively affect many current members in terms of recruiting and exposure.
Of course USA will have growing pains, but USA is already assured a spot in the FBS ranks. Ga State is not and therefore enduring theirs is purely optional.

See ya soon.

I'm curious about your opinion. If Ga State got an invitation to the SBC what is your estimate on how long it would be until their market got them an invitation to a conference further up the food chain? As things stand right now, my estimate would be between two and five years.

Most conferences upstream are filling up and I am not anxious to be a geographic outlier again. I have had enough of my CAA experience. Our MBB team would be 23-5 instead of 19-9 right now if not for travel. Plus we are getting the CAA Welcome Package in football this fall. 8 league games with no bye week and trips to RI and ME (Maine in Nov). I think we're maybe 5 years from another move but by then I think you will see a southern geographic conference of 16 that makes sense. So 5 years from now may be just SBC adding 2-4 schools. I have been saying for a couple years that only CUSA and SBC make sense for us.

You are an eternal optimist, my friend. I see no evidence of common sense invading the thinking of conferences when it comes to geographic convenience. I think it much more likely that the Big Hybrid starts with 16, possibly 18 and then adds two at a time, if it makes sense for them. If the old CUSA strategy of bringing in big market teams regardless of performance holds true then Ga State will be one of those taken as soon as the football program shows the slightest indication of not being a Sun Belt doormat - or they may get impatient and not even wait for that. Five years tops.