I hope cusa adds all three Ark St, Louisiana, and WKU would make a great conf. The belt would suffer greatly but its a dog eat dog world now.

(03-26-2013 05:04 PM)Bobcat87 Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 04:56 PM)ark30inf Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 04:52 PM)Bobcat87 Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 04:36 PM)JoeJag Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 03:29 PM)slycat Wrote:  Then they better find a spot for Texas St

You folks haven't even played one game in any sport in the SBC and you're already wanting to jump to coosa. I thought the TSU-SM fans were happy to be in the Belt.

We are, (and I don't mean to put words in the mouth of my fellow Bobcat who made the post) BUT . . the same reasons UNT wanted to leave . . now appear to apply to us: "We're on an island" . . . the only SB member in TX. The next point in my mind is the more relevant . . . We're a Texas team . . and Texas schools like nothing better than playing AND BEATING other Texas programs . . the number of TX Programs in cusa does have a certain appeal, nothing like IN-STATE RIVALS. That said, the number of TX teams in cusa also works against us, it's a conference that feels it's TX saturated, so I don't see us going anywhere anytime soon. Does not mean we're unhappy about being here . . . just a situation where cusa looks like a better fit.
We are where we are, and fully expect to be here awhile . . . . will do our best for as long as we're here to be GREAT Conference Mates, after all if it benefits the conference it also benefits TEXAS STATE! Glad to be in "The BEST little Ol' Conference in the NATION." We're ALL we got! We're ALL we need! :rock:

North Texas spent a long time building this conference. They had a chance to leave once and stayed. They paid dues that you may or may not have to pay.

If you do have to put up with an island for awhile...lead...and make it the best island you can.

.. am aware of UNT's Belt history, and their choice to stay . . . reply was not designed to offend anyone, just answering the question about our preceived "desire not to be here." And obviously, almost every school in the Belt can find a similar "We see such and such conference as a better fit for us . ." argument. It's why the defections continue . . . . Obviously, we're gonna make the best of "our island" for as long as we're here (that's basically what I was saying in the previous post) . . . Just don't vote us off prematurely!

I was just trying to cheer you on. I've been an advocate for adding TXST for a long time. Maybe the 1st stAte advocate.

The island thing lost us UNT. Don't want to see another.

(03-26-2013 05:15 PM)ark30inf Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 05:04 PM)Bobcat87 Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 04:56 PM)ark30inf Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 04:52 PM)Bobcat87 Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 04:36 PM)JoeJag Wrote:  You folks haven't even played one game in any sport in the SBC and you're already wanting to jump to coosa. I thought the TSU-SM fans were happy to be in the Belt.

We are, (and I don't mean to put words in the mouth of my fellow Bobcat who made the post) BUT . . the same reasons UNT wanted to leave . . now appear to apply to us: "We're on an island" . . . the only SB member in TX. The next point in my mind is the more relevant . . . We're a Texas team . . and Texas schools like nothing better than playing AND BEATING other Texas programs . . the number of TX Programs in cusa does have a certain appeal, nothing like IN-STATE RIVALS. That said, the number of TX teams in cusa also works against us, it's a conference that feels it's TX saturated, so I don't see us going anywhere anytime soon. Does not mean we're unhappy about being here . . . just a situation where cusa looks like a better fit.
We are where we are, and fully expect to be here awhile . . . . will do our best for as long as we're here to be GREAT Conference Mates, after all if it benefits the conference it also benefits TEXAS STATE! Glad to be in "The BEST little Ol' Conference in the NATION." We're ALL we got! We're ALL we need!

North Texas spent a long time building this conference. They had a chance to leave once and stayed. They paid dues that you may or may not have to pay.

If you do have to put up with an island for awhile...lead...and make it the best island you can.

.. am aware of UNT's Belt history, and their choice to stay . . . reply was not designed to offend anyone, just answering the question about our preceived "desire not to be here." And obviously, almost every school in the Belt can find a similar "We see such and such conference as a better fit for us . ." argument. It's why the defections continue . . . . Obviously, we're gonna make the best of "our island" for as long as we're here (that's basically what I was saying in the previous post) . . . Just don't vote us off prematurely!

I was just trying to cheer you on. I've been an advocate for adding TXST for a long time. Maybe the 1st stAte advocate.

The island thing lost us UNT. Don't want to see another.

APPRECIATE IT! Just don't want the whole conference thinking we're "Anti-Belt." We're glad we're here . . . but like everyone else, guess we've got an "eye on improving our situation" when/where possible. One thing is sure, a few more "CORE SBC" Schools hit the door, and we will be bummed . ..

GO SBC!

i've been told yes/no/yes/no so many times over the last year i give up.

i won't believe jackshit until i see it officially announced.

(03-26-2013 04:59 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 04:18 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 04:05 PM)laxtonto Wrote:  CUSA will add 1 more at the min..

The more interesting picks will be if they add 3, but it is still not a slam dunk who those 3 would be. As much as people want to automatically assume Ark St and ULL along with WKU, I would not be totally shocked to TSU get some love from the Texas schools over ULL or Ark St or potentially WKU if all 3 go at once. It really will depend on how the Texas schools value an additional team in state vs. the potential of adding Ark St or ULL or WKU. It UTSA does not want to have TSU in the conference, they are probably not getting in. If they do (and UNT is not opposed), I would not be surprised to see them become a strong contender. Rice and UTEP at this point have no real fear from either add due to thier brand and location, but UNT and UTSA could be either a champion or a roadblock for TSU.

Lets not forget that there is now a voting block of 4 Texas schools that in essence can block any add . That is the real problem in all of this at this point and I would not be surprised to see more back room politics going on now than ever before.

As I've said along when WKU's name gets mentioned, nothing is firm until an official announcement is made. There are several schools pulling out all the stops to get invites to other conferences. Scenarios you describe above are very real. WKU has little to no value to these market-oriented conferences. MT, NT, FAU, FIU, Charlotte, ODU, etc. were added for markets. LaTech was added for history, rivalry, geography, but that was a unique situation. WKU is a SBC FCS moveup in a small market. stAte, UL, GaSt, TxSt all have greater advantages over WKU. i guess we'll see in the coming months.

If were a gambling man, I'd say WKU has the support of UAB, MTSU, ODU, Charlotte, and probably FIU and FAU. La.Tech maybe, USM maybe.

I think the fly in the ointment is how do you make the divisions work and how do you get past what is likely opposition from UNT, Rice, UTEP, and maybe UTSA who are all looking at the maps and saying this doesn't work for us.

At this point any move to CUSA isn't about markets not one damn school out there would make a difference.

What it's about is overall sports programs with facilities and budgets in place.


WKUApollo that's the part you're not seeing.

WKU would be in the top tier of CUSA as far as Budgets

facilities are all updated and even with the 23,000 seats in football WKU has shown the commitment to add when needed

The big 2 Sports programs...no other school can bring the history or potential NCAA units to CUSA as Western and it's not even close. Unlike the SBC many of the schools in CUSA actually fund and care about basketball.

For football other than ULL's attendance and even with ArkSt's back to back...perception is WKU has a bigger upside. Again Western has shown it will spend whats needed to make sure the Toppers can compete.

So in my opinion you're wrong when you say other schools bring more to the table and even market. Western helps CUSA with the Nashville market by giving then two schools with at least a foot print in the market. Yes both are small but the potential is there for growth.

You have ULL and ArkSt both with (sorry but don't know their history or time to look it up) a lot more FBS history behind their football programs. But with in a short few years Western has shown the growth to catch them and with the potential to past both in the future.

(03-26-2013 05:28 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  At this point any move to CUSA isn't about markets not one damn school out there would make a difference.

What it's about is overall sports programs with facilities and budgets in place.


WKUApollo that's the part you're not seeing.

WKU would be in the top tier of CUSA as far as Budgets

facilities are all updated and even with the 23,000 seats in football WKU has shown the commitment to add when needed

The big 2 Sports programs...no other school can bring the history or potential NCAA units to CUSA as Western and it's not even close. Unlike the SBC many of the schools in CUSA actually fund and care about basketball.

For football other than ULL's attendance and even with ArkSt's back to back...perception is WKU has a bigger upside. Again Western has shown it will spend whats needed to make sure the Toppers can compete.

So in my opinion you're wrong when you say other schools bring more to the table and even market. Western helps CUSA with the Nashville market by giving then two schools with at least a foot print in the market. Yes both are small but the potential is there for growth.

You have ULL and ArkSt both with (sorry but don't know their history or time to look it up) a lot more FBS history behind their football programs. But with in a short few years Western has shown the growth to catch them and with the potential to past both in the future.

Don't misunderstand my post WKUYG. I know our budget, facilities, history, success, etc. are among the best options for CUSA. I believe those things should be just as important as market. What I'm saying is market is nearly all that has driving these moves to this point. Yes, ArkSt and ULL have small markets but they are "preceived" as potential statewide programs. WKU will always be Western Kentucky in perception.

(03-26-2013 05:34 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 05:28 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  At this point any move to CUSA isn't about markets not one damn school out there would make a difference.

What it's about is overall sports programs with facilities and budgets in place.


WKUApollo that's the part you're not seeing.

WKU would be in the top tier of CUSA as far as Budgets

facilities are all updated and even with the 23,000 seats in football WKU has shown the commitment to add when needed

The big 2 Sports programs...no other school can bring the history or potential NCAA units to CUSA as Western and it's not even close. Unlike the SBC many of the schools in CUSA actually fund and care about basketball.

For football other than ULL's attendance and even with ArkSt's back to back...perception is WKU has a bigger upside. Again Western has shown it will spend whats needed to make sure the Toppers can compete.

So in my opinion you're wrong when you say other schools bring more to the table and even market. Western helps CUSA with the Nashville market by giving then two schools with at least a foot print in the market. Yes both are small but the potential is there for growth.

You have ULL and ArkSt both with (sorry but don't know their history or time to look it up) a lot more FBS history behind their football programs. But with in a short few years Western has shown the growth to catch them and with the potential to past both in the future.

Don't misunderstand my post WKUYG. I know our budget, facilities, history, success, etc. are among the best options for CUSA. I believe those things should be just as important as market. What I'm saying is market is nearly all that has driving these moves to this point. Yes, ArkSt and ULL have small markets but they are "preceived" as potential statewide programs. WKU will always be Western Kentucky in perception.

You can make a case for several programs. All have strengths and weaknesses. None are that far ahead of the others in total.

What is most important now is geography, relationships, and politics.

(03-26-2013 05:34 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 05:28 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  At this point any move to CUSA isn't about markets not one damn school out there would make a difference.

What it's about is overall sports programs with facilities and budgets in place.


WKUApollo that's the part you're not seeing.

WKU would be in the top tier of CUSA as far as Budgets

facilities are all updated and even with the 23,000 seats in football WKU has shown the commitment to add when needed

The big 2 Sports programs...no other school can bring the history or potential NCAA units to CUSA as Western and it's not even close. Unlike the SBC many of the schools in CUSA actually fund and care about basketball.

For football other than ULL's attendance and even with ArkSt's back to back...perception is WKU has a bigger upside. Again Western has shown it will spend whats needed to make sure the Toppers can compete.

So in my opinion you're wrong when you say other schools bring more to the table and even market. Western helps CUSA with the Nashville market by giving then two schools with at least a foot print in the market. Yes both are small but the potential is there for growth.

You have ULL and ArkSt both with (sorry but don't know their history or time to look it up) a lot more FBS history behind their football programs. But with in a short few years Western has shown the growth to catch them and with the potential to past both in the future.

Don't misunderstand my post WKUYG. I know our budget, facilities, history, success, etc. are among the best options for CUSA. I believe those things should be just as important as market. What I'm saying is market is nearly all that has driving these moves to this point. Yes, ArkSt and ULL have small markets but they are "preceived" as potential statewide programs. WKU will always be Western Kentucky in perception.

If it is a "market" discussion WKU and ASU have a beer and talk about when UL was a member. Lafayette is a larger TV market than Jonesboro and Bowling Green combined.

Facilities? Everyone is spending big and hustling.

There are some who think states are more important than TV market because of how Fox bills cable and satellite providers. If that is the case then it's bad news for the Cajuns since the state is already represented and it becomes a value judgment as to whether #3 in a larger population is better than #2 in a smaller population.

I still think the map matters and if the eastern schools are pushing WKU as I suspect then it becomes a matter of whether the western schools accept the idea of USM/UAB in the west (or in the alternatives WKU/MTSU in the west or WKU/USM in the west) or demand a regional choice. If they demand a regional choice is it take one and WKU is out of luck or do they go to 16?

(03-26-2013 05:41 PM)ark30inf Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 05:34 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 05:28 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  At this point any move to CUSA isn't about markets not one damn school out there would make a difference.

What it's about is overall sports programs with facilities and budgets in place.


WKUApollo that's the part you're not seeing.

WKU would be in the top tier of CUSA as far as Budgets

facilities are all updated and even with the 23,000 seats in football WKU has shown the commitment to add when needed

The big 2 Sports programs...no other school can bring the history or potential NCAA units to CUSA as Western and it's not even close. Unlike the SBC many of the schools in CUSA actually fund and care about basketball.

For football other than ULL's attendance and even with ArkSt's back to back...perception is WKU has a bigger upside. Again Western has shown it will spend whats needed to make sure the Toppers can compete.

So in my opinion you're wrong when you say other schools bring more to the table and even market. Western helps CUSA with the Nashville market by giving then two schools with at least a foot print in the market. Yes both are small but the potential is there for growth.

You have ULL and ArkSt both with (sorry but don't know their history or time to look it up) a lot more FBS history behind their football programs. But with in a short few years Western has shown the growth to catch them and with the potential to past both in the future.

Don't misunderstand my post WKUYG. I know our budget, facilities, history, success, etc. are among the best options for CUSA. I believe those things should be just as important as market. What I'm saying is market is nearly all that has driving these moves to this point. Yes, ArkSt and ULL have small markets but they are "preceived" as potential statewide programs. WKU will always be Western Kentucky in perception.

You can make a case for several programs. All have strengths and weaknesses. None are that far ahead of the others in total.

What is most important now is geography, relationships, and politics.

I think people are really missing those last 3 key points now. CUSA is essentially market saturated at this point. There is no major metro left to hit that they would get a major push from. Now with the market view muddled, the part that is going to become real interesting is geography and more importantly divisional alignment. That is where politics will come in and where the "Im gonna cut ya" type arguments are going to erupt.

Travel and East/West divisions are going to become a big deal in all of this and I would expect that the old guard CUSA schools will have a big voice in making the divisions. So it really will boil down to where does UAB and USM want to play and how do you make it so that the divisions make geographic sense.

It is kinda odd for the teams that want in because the criteria from this round of expansion is completely different than the last round and it pretty much muddles up the pecking order of who thinks they have a shot.

(03-26-2013 06:45 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 05:34 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 05:28 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  At this point any move to CUSA isn't about markets not one damn school out there would make a difference.

What it's about is overall sports programs with facilities and budgets in place.


WKUApollo that's the part you're not seeing.

WKU would be in the top tier of CUSA as far as Budgets

facilities are all updated and even with the 23,000 seats in football WKU has shown the commitment to add when needed

The big 2 Sports programs...no other school can bring the history or potential NCAA units to CUSA as Western and it's not even close. Unlike the SBC many of the schools in CUSA actually fund and care about basketball.

For football other than ULL's attendance and even with ArkSt's back to back...perception is WKU has a bigger upside. Again Western has shown it will spend whats needed to make sure the Toppers can compete.

So in my opinion you're wrong when you say other schools bring more to the table and even market. Western helps CUSA with the Nashville market by giving then two schools with at least a foot print in the market. Yes both are small but the potential is there for growth.

You have ULL and ArkSt both with (sorry but don't know their history or time to look it up) a lot more FBS history behind their football programs. But with in a short few years Western has shown the growth to catch them and with the potential to past both in the future.

Don't misunderstand my post WKUYG. I know our budget, facilities, history, success, etc. are among the best options for CUSA. I believe those things should be just as important as market. What I'm saying is market is nearly all that has driving these moves to this point. Yes, ArkSt and ULL have small markets but they are "preceived" as potential statewide programs. WKU will always be Western Kentucky in perception.

If it is a "market" discussion WKU and ASU have a beer and talk about when UL was a member. Lafayette is a larger TV market than Jonesboro and Bowling Green combined.

Facilities? Everyone is spending big and hustling.

There are some who think states are more important than TV market because of how Fox bills cable and satellite providers. If that is the case then it's bad news for the Cajuns since the state is already represented and it becomes a value judgment as to whether #3 in a larger population is better than #2 in a smaller population.

I still think the map matters and if the eastern schools are pushing WKU as I suspect then it becomes a matter of whether the western schools accept the idea of USM/UAB in the west (or in the alternatives WKU/MTSU in the west or WKU/USM in the west) or demand a regional choice. If they demand a regional choice is it take one and WKU is out of luck or do they go to 16?

One other thing to consider. Tech is actually closer to more people in Arkansas than in Louisiana, and has virtually no alumni base in S. Louisiana and even less media coverage.

About 2/3 of Louisiana's population lives within 40 miles of the I-10/US90 corridor from Texas to Mississippi. UL has a huge presence in the I-10/US90 corridor from Houston to New Orleans, and a lesser presence as far East on I-10 as Pensacola. Our largest alumni populations outside Lafayette are Houston and New Orleans, two cities which just happen to be two of the premier recruiting areas in the country. CUSA has no presence in New Orleans, and UL has more alumni in Houston than Rice does.

(03-26-2013 05:24 PM)dahbeed Wrote:  i've been told yes/no/yes/no so many times over the last year i give up.

i won't believe jackshit until i see it officially announced.

Fuckin' A.

So what happens if USM and UAB decide they want to stay in CUSA east now that Tulsa is gone? A lot less likely, but could be part of the discussion now.

(03-26-2013 09:35 PM)CurveItAround Wrote:  So what happens if USM and UAB decide they want to stay in CUSA east now that Tulsa is gone? A lot less likely, but could be part of the discussion now.

Yep... that is why things are going to get real interesting when this is all said and done..

(03-26-2013 07:04 PM)Vobserver Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 06:45 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 05:34 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 05:28 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  At this point any move to CUSA isn't about markets not one damn school out there would make a difference.

What it's about is overall sports programs with facilities and budgets in place.


WKUApollo that's the part you're not seeing.

WKU would be in the top tier of CUSA as far as Budgets

facilities are all updated and even with the 23,000 seats in football WKU has shown the commitment to add when needed

The big 2 Sports programs...no other school can bring the history or potential NCAA units to CUSA as Western and it's not even close. Unlike the SBC many of the schools in CUSA actually fund and care about basketball.

For football other than ULL's attendance and even with ArkSt's back to back...perception is WKU has a bigger upside. Again Western has shown it will spend whats needed to make sure the Toppers can compete.

So in my opinion you're wrong when you say other schools bring more to the table and even market. Western helps CUSA with the Nashville market by giving then two schools with at least a foot print in the market. Yes both are small but the potential is there for growth.

You have ULL and ArkSt both with (sorry but don't know their history or time to look it up) a lot more FBS history behind their football programs. But with in a short few years Western has shown the growth to catch them and with the potential to past both in the future.

Don't misunderstand my post WKUYG. I know our budget, facilities, history, success, etc. are among the best options for CUSA. I believe those things should be just as important as market. What I'm saying is market is nearly all that has driving these moves to this point. Yes, ArkSt and ULL have small markets but they are "preceived" as potential statewide programs. WKU will always be Western Kentucky in perception.

If it is a "market" discussion WKU and ASU have a beer and talk about when UL was a member. Lafayette is a larger TV market than Jonesboro and Bowling Green combined.

Facilities? Everyone is spending big and hustling.

There are some who think states are more important than TV market because of how Fox bills cable and satellite providers. If that is the case then it's bad news for the Cajuns since the state is already represented and it becomes a value judgment as to whether #3 in a larger population is better than #2 in a smaller population.

I still think the map matters and if the eastern schools are pushing WKU as I suspect then it becomes a matter of whether the western schools accept the idea of USM/UAB in the west (or in the alternatives WKU/MTSU in the west or WKU/USM in the west) or demand a regional choice. If they demand a regional choice is it take one and WKU is out of luck or do they go to 16?

One other thing to consider. Tech is actually closer to more people in Arkansas than in Louisiana, and has virtually no alumni base in S. Louisiana and even less media coverage.

About 2/3 of Louisiana's population lives within 40 miles of the I-10/US90 corridor from Texas to Mississippi. UL has a huge presence in the I-10/US90 corridor from Houston to New Orleans, and a lesser presence as far East on I-10 as Pensacola. Our largest alumni populations outside Lafayette are Houston and New Orleans, two cities which just happen to be two of the premier recruiting areas in the country. CUSA has no presence in New Orleans, and UL has more alumni in Houston than Rice does.

after tulsa leaves..the only schools left in c-usa that have a good fanbase are probably utep and wku..utsa will have some crowds at home games because of the novelty of seeing the big name teams come play in the alamo dome because there has been no big time college sports in that city till now. then when stAte and u-laf move to c-usa they will bring their good crowds with them..outside of homes games at appy and home games at texas state when they bring in one of the name texas teams, I dont see any belt schools attracting a big following. that is the dilema that uta would face. even with 150,000 local alumni, it will be hard to get very many people in the metro area to come out to games against schools named troy or applachian state. first because they have no local alumni and second because the local sports fans have many options vying for their attention. "let's see, do I go to the tcu/oklahoma game or smu/kansas state game or the cowboys/packers game or to the uta/idaho game"..

(03-27-2013 07:38 AM)runamuck Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 07:04 PM)Vobserver Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 06:45 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 05:34 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 05:28 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  At this point any move to CUSA isn't about markets not one damn school out there would make a difference.

What it's about is overall sports programs with facilities and budgets in place.


WKUApollo that's the part you're not seeing.

WKU would be in the top tier of CUSA as far as Budgets

facilities are all updated and even with the 23,000 seats in football WKU has shown the commitment to add when needed

The big 2 Sports programs...no other school can bring the history or potential NCAA units to CUSA as Western and it's not even close. Unlike the SBC many of the schools in CUSA actually fund and care about basketball.

For football other than ULL's attendance and even with ArkSt's back to back...perception is WKU has a bigger upside. Again Western has shown it will spend whats needed to make sure the Toppers can compete.

So in my opinion you're wrong when you say other schools bring more to the table and even market. Western helps CUSA with the Nashville market by giving then two schools with at least a foot print in the market. Yes both are small but the potential is there for growth.

You have ULL and ArkSt both with (sorry but don't know their history or time to look it up) a lot more FBS history behind their football programs. But with in a short few years Western has shown the growth to catch them and with the potential to past both in the future.

Don't misunderstand my post WKUYG. I know our budget, facilities, history, success, etc. are among the best options for CUSA. I believe those things should be just as important as market. What I'm saying is market is nearly all that has driving these moves to this point. Yes, ArkSt and ULL have small markets but they are "preceived" as potential statewide programs. WKU will always be Western Kentucky in perception.

If it is a "market" discussion WKU and ASU have a beer and talk about when UL was a member. Lafayette is a larger TV market than Jonesboro and Bowling Green combined.

Facilities? Everyone is spending big and hustling.

There are some who think states are more important than TV market because of how Fox bills cable and satellite providers. If that is the case then it's bad news for the Cajuns since the state is already represented and it becomes a value judgment as to whether #3 in a larger population is better than #2 in a smaller population.

I still think the map matters and if the eastern schools are pushing WKU as I suspect then it becomes a matter of whether the western schools accept the idea of USM/UAB in the west (or in the alternatives WKU/MTSU in the west or WKU/USM in the west) or demand a regional choice. If they demand a regional choice is it take one and WKU is out of luck or do they go to 16?

One other thing to consider. Tech is actually closer to more people in Arkansas than in Louisiana, and has virtually no alumni base in S. Louisiana and even less media coverage.

About 2/3 of Louisiana's population lives within 40 miles of the I-10/US90 corridor from Texas to Mississippi. UL has a huge presence in the I-10/US90 corridor from Houston to New Orleans, and a lesser presence as far East on I-10 as Pensacola. Our largest alumni populations outside Lafayette are Houston and New Orleans, two cities which just happen to be two of the premier recruiting areas in the country. CUSA has no presence in New Orleans, and UL has more alumni in Houston than Rice does.

after tulsa leaves..the only schools left in c-usa that have a good fanbase are probably utep and wku..utsa will have some crowds at home games because of the novelty of seeing the big name teams come play in the alamo dome because there has been no big time college sports in that city till now. then when stAte and u-laf move to c-usa they will bring their good crowds with them..outside of homes games at appy and home games at texas state when they bring in one of the name texas teams, I dont see any belt schools attracting a big following. that is the dilema that uta would face. even with 150,000 local alumni, it will be hard to get very many people in the metro area to come out to games against schools named troy or applachian state. first because they have no local alumni and second because the local sports fans have many options vying for their attention.

Not every school is like F_U's...I am sure Marshall, ODU, and Southern Miss would take issue to that statement....

(03-26-2013 09:35 PM)CurveItAround Wrote:  So what happens if USM and UAB decide they want to stay in CUSA east now that Tulsa is gone? A lot less likely, but could be part of the discussion now.

With UAB, I would imagine wanting to be East is a given. Traditional solid basketball schools that appeal to them, decent travel, regular access to Florida.

USM, if you look at their football roster, I counted 1 Texan and 10 Florida kids, roughly equal numbers of Georgia and Louisiana players. I bet if anyone bothers to ask the coaching staff, they want to be in the east.

(03-27-2013 07:38 AM)runamuck Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 07:04 PM)Vobserver Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 06:45 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 05:34 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  

(03-26-2013 05:28 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  At this point any move to CUSA isn't about markets not one damn school out there would make a difference.

What it's about is overall sports programs with facilities and budgets in place.


WKUApollo that's the part you're not seeing.

WKU would be in the top tier of CUSA as far as Budgets

facilities are all updated and even with the 23,000 seats in football WKU has shown the commitment to add when needed

The big 2 Sports programs...no other school can bring the history or potential NCAA units to CUSA as Western and it's not even close. Unlike the SBC many of the schools in CUSA actually fund and care about basketball.

For football other than ULL's attendance and even with ArkSt's back to back...perception is WKU has a bigger upside. Again Western has shown it will spend whats needed to make sure the Toppers can compete.

So in my opinion you're wrong when you say other schools bring more to the table and even market. Western helps CUSA with the Nashville market by giving then two schools with at least a foot print in the market. Yes both are small but the potential is there for growth.

You have ULL and ArkSt both with (sorry but don't know their history or time to look it up) a lot more FBS history behind their football programs. But with in a short few years Western has shown the growth to catch them and with the potential to past both in the future.

Don't misunderstand my post WKUYG. I know our budget, facilities, history, success, etc. are among the best options for CUSA. I believe those things should be just as important as market. What I'm saying is market is nearly all that has driving these moves to this point. Yes, ArkSt and ULL have small markets but they are "preceived" as potential statewide programs. WKU will always be Western Kentucky in perception.

If it is a "market" discussion WKU and ASU have a beer and talk about when UL was a member. Lafayette is a larger TV market than Jonesboro and Bowling Green combined.

Facilities? Everyone is spending big and hustling.

There are some who think states are more important than TV market because of how Fox bills cable and satellite providers. If that is the case then it's bad news for the Cajuns since the state is already represented and it becomes a value judgment as to whether #3 in a larger population is better than #2 in a smaller population.

I still think the map matters and if the eastern schools are pushing WKU as I suspect then it becomes a matter of whether the western schools accept the idea of USM/UAB in the west (or in the alternatives WKU/MTSU in the west or WKU/USM in the west) or demand a regional choice. If they demand a regional choice is it take one and WKU is out of luck or do they go to 16?

One other thing to consider. Tech is actually closer to more people in Arkansas than in Louisiana, and has virtually no alumni base in S. Louisiana and even less media coverage.

About 2/3 of Louisiana's population lives within 40 miles of the I-10/US90 corridor from Texas to Mississippi. UL has a huge presence in the I-10/US90 corridor from Houston to New Orleans, and a lesser presence as far East on I-10 as Pensacola. Our largest alumni populations outside Lafayette are Houston and New Orleans, two cities which just happen to be two of the premier recruiting areas in the country. CUSA has no presence in New Orleans, and UL has more alumni in Houston than Rice does.

after tulsa leaves..the only schools left in c-usa that have a good fanbase are probably utep and wku..utsa will have some crowds at home games because of the novelty of seeing the big name teams come play in the alamo dome because there has been no big time college sports in that city till now. then when stAte and u-laf move to c-usa they will bring their good crowds with them..outside of homes games at appy and home games at texas state when they bring in one of the name texas teams, I dont see any belt schools attracting a big following. that is the dilema that uta would face. even with 150,000 local alumni, it will be hard to get very many people in the metro area to come out to games against schools named troy or applachian state. first because they have no local alumni and second because the local sports fans have many options vying for their attention. "let's see, do I go to the tcu/oklahoma game or smu/kansas state game or the cowboys/packers game or to the uta/idaho game"..

Tulsa doesn't have very good support considering how good they are. I watched the CUSA championship game and that place looked about 60% full. Tulsa is a small school in a state dominated by OK and OSU.

Marshall, SMU, and ODU all have good fan support. ODU has sold out every game since they started football and have a waiting list of over 10,000 for season tickets. They're expanding their stadium to ~35,000 and pretty much all the tickets are already spoken for.

ODU also supports basketball well, averaging over 7000 a game despite winning less than 10 games this season.

Charlotte supports all of its sports pretty well. We'll have to wait and see for football, but we averaged over 6,000 per game for basketball this season (and I think for all but one season since our on campus arena opened in 96). We routinely sell out of season tickets for baseball and our soccer attendance is top 20 in the nation most years. No reason to believe we won't support football as well.

I think the new CUSA will do pretty well from an attendance perspective. In the east all the schools except the Florida schools are a reasonable drive away from each other.

Regionality will help conferences like CUSA and the SBC the most and I think both conferences have done a pretty fair job at becoming regional with the only exceptions being the F_U's, NMSU, and Idaho.

(03-27-2013 08:36 AM)Niner National Wrote:  Tulsa doesn't have very good support considering how good they are. I watched the CUSA championship game and that place looked about 60% full. Tulsa is a small school in a state dominated by OK and OSU.

Marshall, SMU, and ODU all have good fan support. ODU has sold out every game since they started football and have a waiting list of over 10,000 for season tickets. They're expanding their stadium to ~35,000 and pretty much all the tickets are already spoken for.

ODU also supports basketball well, averaging over 7000 a game despite winning less than 10 games this season.

Charlotte supports all of its sports pretty well. We'll have to wait and see for football, but we averaged over 6,000 per game for basketball this season (and I think for all but one season since our on campus arena opened in 96). We routinely sell out of season tickets for baseball and our soccer attendance is top 20 in the nation most years. No reason to believe we won't support football as well.

I think the new CUSA will do pretty well from an attendance perspective. In the east all the schools except the Florida schools are a reasonable drive away from each other.

Regionality will help conferences like CUSA and the SBC the most and I think both conferences have done a pretty fair job at becoming regional with the only exceptions being the F_U's, NMSU, and Idaho.

About an hour after the CUSA title game kicked off, Arkansas State and Middle Tenn met for all the marbles in Jonesboro with twice as many people in the stands.

Tulsa is a weird case. They've had some really good football throughout their history (and their share of bad years) but have never had an easy path to filling their stadium.

Basketball has been down but when Tulsa is playing good basketball they've never had trouble selling tickets.

(03-27-2013 09:18 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(03-27-2013 08:36 AM)Niner National Wrote:  Tulsa doesn't have very good support considering how good they are. I watched the CUSA championship game and that place looked about 60% full. Tulsa is a small school in a state dominated by OK and OSU.

Marshall, SMU, and ODU all have good fan support. ODU has sold out every game since they started football and have a waiting list of over 10,000 for season tickets. They're expanding their stadium to ~35,000 and pretty much all the tickets are already spoken for.

ODU also supports basketball well, averaging over 7000 a game despite winning less than 10 games this season.

Charlotte supports all of its sports pretty well. We'll have to wait and see for football, but we averaged over 6,000 per game for basketball this season (and I think for all but one season since our on campus arena opened in 96). We routinely sell out of season tickets for baseball and our soccer attendance is top 20 in the nation most years. No reason to believe we won't support football as well.

I think the new CUSA will do pretty well from an attendance perspective. In the east all the schools except the Florida schools are a reasonable drive away from each other.

Regionality will help conferences like CUSA and the SBC the most and I think both conferences have done a pretty fair job at becoming regional with the only exceptions being the F_U's, NMSU, and Idaho.

About an hour after the CUSA title game kicked off, Arkansas State and Middle Tenn met for all the marbles in Jonesboro with twice as many people in the stands.

Tulsa is a weird case. They've had some really good football throughout their history (and their share of bad years) but have never had an easy path to filling their stadium.

Basketball has been down but when Tulsa is playing good basketball they've never had trouble selling tickets.

you guys are right. I forgot usm and marshall. I was thinking they were headed to the nbe..