MongoSlade Wrote:I believe that if James Madison were to move to the FBS, they'll do it along with other members of CAA -- doing it as one unit.

I agree to some extent, but most of the CAA will never be in a position to move up. Right now you have 3 CAA, 3 A-10, and 2 SoCon schools that could be looking for a I-A home in the near future.

James Madison
Delaware
Old Domion
UMass
Charlotte
Temple
App State
Ga. Southern

Those schools could probably play football under the A-10 flag, while maintaining their current conference affilitations in other sports. It would make sense for this type of conference to develop. The Mid-Atlantic/Northeast is the only area of the country without a non-BCS conference.

wvucrazed Wrote:

LUVECU Wrote:We will go back to being independent before we are in a conference with Deleware, James Madison, Buffalo, etc.

Give me a &*^%ing break people. Whoever has been saying that has no freaking clue about ECU.

That includes you tarhole.

You might want to mention that to your AD, who has publicly called for Western Kentucky (a new 1-A program) and MTSU to be brought into CUSA so that there will be more regional rivals and fewer travel issues for ECU and other CUSA-East schools.

If he's willing to get in bed with the likes of WKU and MTSU, what makes you think he'd turn his nose up at JMU, Delaware, App State, and GA Southern?

Yeah - I remember him saying that a while back. That was a worse case scenario situation he was refering to and it did not go over well with the fans.

Although, I can kind of see where he is coming from considering half the CTEX teams suck anyway - so what is the difference?? LOL We also play a tough OOC schedule so he was probably looking at it from that standpoint as well.

He also said to yell "welcome tarheels" before the game - when we played them last year in football - and that didn't happen either.

Nobody is perfect.

I would not mind being in a conference with the teams you mentioned in all other sports.

Football is a different story.

That's like me telling you that you need to play in Cusa. Bet it would not go over well.

^^ i think you forgot to type your message, ECU.

^^Hit the wrong button. Good to go now.

LUVECU Wrote:

wvucrazed Wrote:

LUVECU Wrote:We will go back to being independent before we are in a conference with Deleware, James Madison, Buffalo, etc.

Give me a &*^%ing break people. Whoever has been saying that has no freaking clue about ECU.

That includes you tarhole.

You might want to mention that to your AD, who has publicly called for Western Kentucky (a new 1-A program) and MTSU to be brought into CUSA so that there will be more regional rivals and fewer travel issues for ECU and other CUSA-East schools.

If he's willing to get in bed with the likes of WKU and MTSU, what makes you think he'd turn his nose up at JMU, Delaware, App State, and GA Southern?

Yeah - I remember him saying that a while back. That was a worse case scenario situation he was refering to and it did not go over well with the fans.

Although, I can kind of see where he is coming from considering half the CTEX teams suck anyway - so what is the difference?? LOL We also play a tough OOC schedule so he was probably looking at it from that standpoint as well.

He also said to yell "welcome tarheels" before the game - when we played them last year in football - and that didn't happen either.

Nobody is perfect.

I would not mind being in a conference with the teams you mentioned in all other sports.

Football is a different story.

That's like me telling you that you need to play in Cusa. Bet it would not go over well.

Personally, I would think most ECU fans would have more interest playing regional schools like Delaware, App State, JMU, etc. than schools like Rice, Houston, UTEP, etc, that have no history with ECU, and are so far away geographically. The 1-AA schools mentioned here all have a history of success at that level, and there's no reason to think they wouldn't be every bit as successful as recent 1-A transfers like Marshall and UCF, should they decide to put their resources into a move to 1-A. Such a regional alignment - with a few top 1-AA schools and CUSA-EAst schools - would be at least as strong as the current CUSA, and probably stronger.... and it would also save costs, build rivalries, etc. To me, if something like this could be pulled off - along with continuing its strong OOC scheduling - it would be the next best thing for ECU other than a spot in the Big East.

Whatever happens, best of luck to ECU in the future. I've always respected the Pirate fan base, and keep sticking it to those ACC schools!

wvucrazed Wrote:

LUVECU Wrote:

wvucrazed Wrote:

LUVECU Wrote:We will go back to being independent before we are in a conference with Deleware, James Madison, Buffalo, etc.

Give me a &*^%ing break people. Whoever has been saying that has no freaking clue about ECU.

That includes you tarhole.

You might want to mention that to your AD, who has publicly called for Western Kentucky (a new 1-A program) and MTSU to be brought into CUSA so that there will be more regional rivals and fewer travel issues for ECU and other CUSA-East schools.

If he's willing to get in bed with the likes of WKU and MTSU, what makes you think he'd turn his nose up at JMU, Delaware, App State, and GA Southern?

Yeah - I remember him saying that a while back. That was a worse case scenario situation he was refering to and it did not go over well with the fans.

Although, I can kind of see where he is coming from considering half the CTEX teams suck anyway - so what is the difference?? LOL We also play a tough OOC schedule so he was probably looking at it from that standpoint as well.

He also said to yell "welcome tarheels" before the game - when we played them last year in football - and that didn't happen either.

Nobody is perfect.

I would not mind being in a conference with the teams you mentioned in all other sports.

Football is a different story.

That's like me telling you that you need to play in Cusa. Bet it would not go over well.

Personally, I would think most ECU fans would have more interest playing regional schools like Delaware, App State, JMU, etc. than schools like Rice, Houston, UTEP, etc, that have no history with ECU, and are so far away geographically. The 1-AA schools mentioned here all have a history of success at that level, and there's no reason to think they wouldn't be every bit as successful as recent 1-A transfers like Marshall and UCF, should they decide to put their resources into a move to 1-A. Such a regional alignment - with a few top 1-AA schools and CUSA-EAst schools - would be at least as strong as the current CUSA, and probably stronger.... and it would also save costs, build rivalries, etc. To me, if something like this could be pulled off - along with continuing its strong OOC scheduling - it would be the next best thing for ECU other than a spot in the Big East.

Whatever happens, best of luck to ECU in the future. I've always respected the Pirate fan base, and keep sticking it to those ACC schools!

Right on brother. I see where you are coming from.

However - it is a big IF - if those schools can even get to that level -and if they did it would take 10 years. I would worry about the toll it took on our football image, recruiting, and our fan base.

CUSA isn't that great overall - but there are some quality teams in our league (UCF, Memphis, Houston, Tulsa, Southern Miss, etc.)

Sure we would like more regional games - but not at the expense of quality competition.

It would be hard to sell a kid on playing georgia southern, appy state, JMU, etc in football and hard for the fans to get up for it - unless they all made some BIG strides in the next decade.

WVU has been a good friend to ECU and we have always appreciated it.

wvucrazed Wrote:You might want to mention that to your AD, who has publicly called for Western Kentucky (a new 1-A program) and MTSU to be brought into CUSA so that there will be more regional rivals and fewer travel issues for ECU and other CUSA-East schools.

If he's willing to get in bed with the likes of WKU and MTSU, what makes you think he'd turn his nose up at JMU, Delaware, App State, and GA Southern?

Nominated.

The 1AA in Virginia to keep an eye on in the future may be ODU, not JMU.

MongoSlade Wrote:

wvucrazed Wrote:You might want to mention that to your AD, who has publicly called for Western Kentucky (a new 1-A program) and MTSU to be brought into CUSA so that there will be more regional rivals and fewer travel issues for ECU and other CUSA-East schools.

If he's willing to get in bed with the likes of WKU and MTSU, what makes you think he'd turn his nose up at JMU, Delaware, App State, and GA Southern?

Nominated.

Terry Holland did not push for those schools to be included in C-USA.

He mentioned those schools in reference to "thinking outside the box".


ODU will be the team that will make a big push. Large market with no NFL competition.

LUVECU Wrote:

esayem Wrote:

LUVECU Wrote:We will go back to being independent before we are in a conference with Deleware, James Madison, Buffalo, etc.

Give me a &*^%ing break people. Whoever has been saying that has no freaking clue about ECU.

That includes you tarhole.

Haha, you guys are in over your head in CUSA hoops (except for Marshall), you were in over your head in CAA hoops with JAMES MADISON, or we could go all the way back to the ECAC South when you guys still sucked, Butt Pirate. Do you enjoy being embarrassed on the hardwood for the sake of sporadic football glory, or whatever you call it? Any other sports where Greenville plays Dallas and El Paso on a regular basis? BBQ Cook-off League maybe.

Embarrassing?? You mean like unc football?

Embarrassing? Like unc getting pimped for Arkansas and giving it's coach a 300K raise out of it after only winning 4 games. How is that for embarrassing???

Embarrassing? What have ya'll done since Mack left??

I am talking about football you Moron. You know - FOOTBALL - the sport we beat you in last year????

Of course I should expect that from a tarhole. Football will always be second fiddle to bball for you people.

Just stick with the basketball stuff junior. I'm sure Daddy has got you some real nice seats.

Easy there little sister, you're dirtying up that pretty purple and sunshine dress we bought you. I forgot you just got your second win all-time vs us. Every once in a Carolina Blue moon, I suppose. Well little sister you did beat us, and yes your right, that was utterly embarrassing. Could I ever so kindly interject and say I would like to get some tickets for a basketballing match

MichaelSavage Wrote:The 1AA in Virginia to keep an eye on in the future may be ODU, not JMU.

Ditto for Georgia State in Atlanta in comparison to GA Southern in Statesboro. I know they have over 2 decades of 1-AA football success, but this is what we will bring to the table in 2010:
FACILITIES
-The 71K seat Georgia Dome will be the 3rd largest non-BCS football facility in the NCAAs (behind Tulane & UAB).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ame...y_capacity
-the Dome brings instant notoriety as the home of the Falcons, the SEC Championship, the Chic-Fil-A Bowl, and the site for a potential new bowl.
http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/Colleg...t7033.html
LOCATION/MARKET
-Atlanta's Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is #9 in the country with 5,138,223 residents
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolita...tical_Area
-Atlanta is the economic capital of the southeast and #4 economic market in the nation
http://www.ackermanco.net/marketreports_econ.html
http://www.metroatlantachamber.com/image...nkings.pdf
-The #8 DMA in the U.S. according to Nielsen's TV markets.
http://www.lostremote.com/2007/08/23/new...-released/
-The #14 circulated US Newspaper in the AJC
http://www.mediainfocenter.org/compare/top50/
UNIVERSITY/CAMPUS
-Georgia State University is the Southeast's leading urban research institution
-Our six colleges offer 52 undergraduate degree programs and more than 250 areas of study
http://www.gsu.edu/colleges.html
-It is the Second largest university in the state, with students coming from every county in Georgia, every state in the nation and from over 145 countries
http://www.gsu.edu/about.html
-Enrollment of more than 27,000 undergraduate and graduate students with a projection of 37,000 by 2017
-$1 billion plan is under way to expand the campus to include housing for 20 percent of our students, main streets that are pedestrian friendly and new facilities
http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwmsp/index.htm
INTANGIBLES
-Conviently located near major interstates (20, 75, 85) and the nation's busiest airport in terms of flights
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/01/02/bus...index.html
-Dozens of intown hotel options
http://www.igougo.com/travelcontent/Jour...alID=33188
-Other attractions for fans and visitors
http://www.gsu.edu/housing/Local_Ameniti...tions.html

I know I'm biased, but these factors have to put us on some expansion radars. We'll know our football future in April when the state board of regents votes to approve our plan. It should be a lock.
Like JMU, Deleware, UMass, and ODU we will stick to the "company line" of being content with the CAA.
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/102...8865.shtml
What I tell alumni, however, when campaigning for football pledges is this (*from the official script):
https://mail1.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?...LID=860241
Do we plan to stay in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA)?
"Currently, our plan is to play at that level and establish competitive goals accordingly. We may change our goals and consider going to Division I-A, but we realize that might take some time."

Fans, money, and time actually but we'll get there. I know it's pure speculation but I would wager the new conference scenario is more likely than any BE/C-USA splits.
:soapbox: :tmi:

Atlanta is a great town, and the potential is there. But it will take a while for Georgia Southern to make a name for itself, and get the kind of recruits they'll need to compete.

The facilities will help tremendously though. That's a big step up from what USF started with.

It will be very interesting to see what unfold with Georgia State over the next decade. I think it will be hard for them to find a huge amount of support in a city already taken up by UGA and GT fans. I'd love to see a program take off there, though. If Charlotte and Georgia State can both become serious, viable, 1-A programs, they would be absolutely perfect for the BE down the road.

Of course, that's a big "IF".