(12-25-2012 07:49 PM)CurveItAround Wrote:  Don't hurt your arm patting yourself on the back. Maybe the OP was just saying, based on previous results, that MT has had a few good seasons but it's not like they dominated. By the way, you can say the same thing about pretty much all of the current/former belt schools. None of us have a sustainable advantage over the other schools so we either struggle along around .500 and have a couple of decent seasons here and there or we have swings from high to low.

For reference, I believe the following is MT's recent record in men's football and hoops. Respectable, but not conference crippling (per the OP's point). We are all replaceable.

Football 1999-2011
2-10
6-7
10-3
5-7
5-7
7-6
4-7
5-6
4-8
4-8
8-3
6-5
3-8

Basketball 1999-2011
27-7
16-16
19-14
18-14
17-15
15-17
16-12
19-12
17-12
16-14
14-15
5-22
15-13

Our Bubas cup record speaks for itself. Anyone who says we aren't the top program in the Belt is fooling themselves. Western is the only program that has even a half way legitimate claim to that title aside from us. When it comes to athletic programs in the belt, it's MT with Western right behind and then everyone else.

Was there a reason you picked 13 years as your time frame? Seems a bit odd, especially considering we're discussing the Sun Belt specifically and we've only been conference members since 2001. Perhaps you just wanted to sneak that 5-22 basketball season and that 3-8 football season(our first at the FBS level) in.

Many posters on this board scoff at Bubas cup standings, but the further up you go the conference ladder, the higher the concentration gets of programs that compete at a high level in all sports within each given conference. Football and markets are certainly driving the bus and then MBB may get some more consideration than any other sport, but all other sports combined are a big deal. There are more than a couple of programs in this conference with shoestring budgets most of which gets funneled into football, there isn't a lot of room for that kind of program in more esteemed conferences.

As much as people want to focus on UNT's lack of football performance as of late and put market at the forefront of the discussion when it comes to you guys being picked for C-USA, the fact that you guys have are committed to funding all sports(as evidenced by your large budget) certainly doesn't hurt. Without looking it up, in the past few years I'm fairly certain you guys have finished in the top 4 in the Bubas cup. Again, without fact checking, I'm pretty sure Arkansas State is the only program to have multiple recent appearances in the top 4 in Bubas cup standings, while not being in the top 4 in budget. I'd say they certainly get more bang for their buck in Jonesboro than anyone in this conference.