according to these guys. yes and soon


http://www.sbnation.com/college-football...-c-usa-jmu

That's what it looks like.

Too bad. ODU, Charlotte, and Marshall could use a closer school in the conference.

Georgia State, Georgia Southern, Appalachian State and James Madison in the Sun Belt? Looks like men's soccer may be restored as a conference sport now...

This JMU fan will not believe a single damn thing until I hear it from President Alger's mouth in our press conference. However, yes it's starting to look better than where we stood even a month ago. Thank you George Mason!

(03-30-2013 05:29 PM)chess Wrote:  That's what it looks like.

Too bad. ODU, Charlotte, and Marshall could use a closer school in the conference.

it is in everyone's best long terms interests to come together in an east coast conference one day. that is if america 12 and/or cusa schools can get over the "lower perception" of the asu, ga so and jmu teams in the sun belt.

(03-30-2013 05:56 PM)Dukes09 Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 05:29 PM)chess Wrote:  That's what it looks like.

Too bad. ODU, Charlotte, and Marshall could use a closer school in the conference.

it is in everyone's best long terms interests to come together in an east coast conference one day. that is if america 12 and/or cusa schools can get over the "lower perception" of the asu, ga so and jmu teams in the sun belt.

Ive been saying that for a while. CUSA and the rest of the Sunbelt should have merged. Then there would be no real need to bring up more FCS schools and CUSA would have had 2 very geographically workable divisions--one in the east, and one in the west. However, there are certain lines that some schools will not allow to be crossed. So, because of that, we will continue to have not one, not two, but 3 overlapping non-AQ conferences. Two is pretty inefficient. Three is just a special kind of stupid.

(03-30-2013 05:56 PM)Dukes09 Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 05:29 PM)chess Wrote:  That's what it looks like.

Too bad. ODU, Charlotte, and Marshall could use a closer school in the conference.

it is in everyone's best long terms interests to come together in an east coast conference one day. that is if america 12 and/or cusa schools can get over the "lower perception" of the asu, ga so and jmu teams in the sun belt.

You've got to wonder if CUSA will eventually split into 2 leagues with a SW and SE focus to save travel.

I could see JMU going to the MAC as a football-only instead, and the Sun Belt taking Liberty as a fallback option.

(03-30-2013 06:57 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  I could see JMU going to the MAC as a football-only instead, and the Sun Belt taking Liberty as a fallback option.

Liberty? OW

too bad NDSU is so far out of footprint

(03-30-2013 06:57 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  I could see JMU going to the MAC as a football-only instead, and the Sun Belt taking Liberty as a fallback option.

would the CAA be okay with keeping JMU as a non-football member? seems kinda off.

CAA Football and the "all-sports" CAA are separate legal entities, so it's possible to withdraw from CAA Football without withdrawing from the CAA. I think the reverse is also true, meaning you can leave the CAA while keeping your football team in CAA Football.

Regardless, the CAA can't afford to play hardball anyway. They're down too many teams, and don't have quality replacements lined up. It's not a certainty whether even Stony Brook and Albany will be willing to move in.

(03-30-2013 07:04 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 06:57 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  I could see JMU going to the MAC as a football-only instead, and the Sun Belt taking Liberty as a fallback option.

would the CAA be okay with keeping JMU as a non-football member? seems kinda off.

With ODU, Georgia State and George Mason on the way out and only the College of Charleston coming in, the CAA is down to nine members in olympic sports. I don't see JMU being kicked out just because its football team moves up to FBS. That's not the same as moving football to another FCS conference.

From the MAC's perspective, there's no longer any immediate likelihood of UMass leaving for C-TBA, so it makes sense to bring aboard a 14th football member to balance divisions. I suspect Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette are lobbying for MAC invitations (as well as CUSA invitations) but they're further outside the MAC footprint and probably wouldn't settle for football-only membership. And adding JMU now positions the MAC to someday add schools like Delaware and Stony Brook if and when they desire to move up to FBS.

(03-30-2013 05:59 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 05:56 PM)Dukes09 Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 05:29 PM)chess Wrote:  That's what it looks like.

Too bad. ODU, Charlotte, and Marshall could use a closer school in the conference.

it is in everyone's best long terms interests to come together in an east coast conference one day. that is if america 12 and/or cusa schools can get over the "lower perception" of the asu, ga so and jmu teams in the sun belt.

Ive been saying that for a while. CUSA and the rest of the Sunbelt should have merged. Then there would be no real need to bring up more FCS schools and CUSA would have had 2 very geographically workable divisions--one in the east, and one in the west. However, there are certain lines that some schools will not allow to be crossed. So, because of that, we will continue to have not one, not two, but 3 overlapping non-AQ conferences. Two is pretty inefficient. Three is just a special kind of stupid.

What the heck, let's see what you get if you merge the BE FB holdovers with CUSA and SBC, excluding schools transitioning to FBS, and then divide into two divisions/conferences.

West: UTEP, SMU, UNT, Houston, Rice, Tulsa, La Tech, Tulane, ULL, ULM, Memphis, MTSU, USM, Ark St

East: UConn, Temple, Marshall, Cincinnati, WKU, ECU, UAB, Troy, USA, UCF, USF, FAU, FIU

As a fan of one of those teams, do you like that alignment?

(03-30-2013 07:21 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 07:04 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 06:57 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  I could see JMU going to the MAC as a football-only instead, and the Sun Belt taking Liberty as a fallback option.

would the CAA be okay with keeping JMU as a non-football member? seems kinda off.

With ODU, Georgia State and George Mason on the way out and only the College of Charleston coming in, the CAA is down to nine members in olympic sports. I don't see JMU being kicked out just because its football team moves up to FBS. That's not the same as moving football to another FCS conference.

From the MAC's perspective, there's no longer any immediate likelihood of UMass leaving for C-TBA, so it makes sense to bring aboard a 14th football member to balance divisions. I suspect Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette are lobbying for MAC invitations (as well as CUSA invitations) but they're further outside the MAC footprint and probably wouldn't settle for football-only membership. And adding JMU now positions the MAC to someday add schools like Delaware and Stony Brook if and when they desire to move up to FBS.

Excellent point. It's amazing how well the MAC has maintained itself during this realignment period. Swapping UMass for Temple football, NIU reaching the Orange Bowl, they can't ask for too much more

(03-30-2013 07:22 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 05:59 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 05:56 PM)Dukes09 Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 05:29 PM)chess Wrote:  That's what it looks like.

Too bad. ODU, Charlotte, and Marshall could use a closer school in the conference.

it is in everyone's best long terms interests to come together in an east coast conference one day. that is if america 12 and/or cusa schools can get over the "lower perception" of the asu, ga so and jmu teams in the sun belt.

Ive been saying that for a while. CUSA and the rest of the Sunbelt should have merged. Then there would be no real need to bring up more FCS schools and CUSA would have had 2 very geographically workable divisions--one in the east, and one in the west. However, there are certain lines that some schools will not allow to be crossed. So, because of that, we will continue to have not one, not two, but 3 overlapping non-AQ conferences. Two is pretty inefficient. Three is just a special kind of stupid.

What the heck, let's see what you get if you merge the BE FB holdovers with CUSA and SBC, excluding schools transitioning to FBS, and then divide into two divisions/conferences.

West: UTEP, SMU, UNT, Houston, Rice, Tulsa, La Tech, Tulane, ULL, ULM, Memphis, MTSU, USM, Ark St

East: UConn, Temple, Marshall, Cincinnati, WKU, ECU, UAB, Troy, USA, UCF, USF, FAU, FIU

As a fan of one of those teams, do you like that alignment?

Well first off, you physically cant even have a 14 team division as NCAA rules require that you play every other team within your division. Assuming no OOC games, the best you could do is a 13 team division. Secondly, the idea is that CUSA has already essentially merged with the Sunbelt. My sugggestion is to simply take the other 4 teams. Why is that such a radical proposition? I suppose you could have two seperate conferences. But keep in mind you are mixing schools that have 30-50 millon dollar budgets with schools that have athletic budgets that are half that much. The merger Im thinking of would look something like this.


West: UTEP, UNT, Rice, La Tech, ULL, ULM, MTSU, Ark St, UTSA, N Texas

East: Marshall, WKU, UAB, Troy, USA, FAU, FIU, ODU, USM, Charlotte

Now, how is that so incredibly horrible and unfathonable? Which schools is it you find totally distasteful? Who is the awful fit? Most of these schools are going to be playing against one another anyway. These schools all have roughly compatible athletic budgets and exist within a pretty resonably tight footprint. Lots of driveable games in both divisions. It seems like a perfectly reasonable option that avoids the alternative---bringing up a slew of unecessary FCS schools.

If I were the other conferences, I'd even agree to set up the BCS non-AQ payout to pay conferences on an equal "per school" basis just so we wouldnt have to bring up any more FCS schools. Theres plenty of inventory and plenty of FBS schools. There is no shortage. We just need to organize things so nobody ends up homeless.

(03-30-2013 07:30 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 07:21 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 07:04 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 06:57 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  I could see JMU going to the MAC as a football-only instead, and the Sun Belt taking Liberty as a fallback option.

would the CAA be okay with keeping JMU as a non-football member? seems kinda off.

With ODU, Georgia State and George Mason on the way out and only the College of Charleston coming in, the CAA is down to nine members in olympic sports. I don't see JMU being kicked out just because its football team moves up to FBS. That's not the same as moving football to another FCS conference.

From the MAC's perspective, there's no longer any immediate likelihood of UMass leaving for C-TBA, so it makes sense to bring aboard a 14th football member to balance divisions. I suspect Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette are lobbying for MAC invitations (as well as CUSA invitations) but they're further outside the MAC footprint and probably wouldn't settle for football-only membership. And adding JMU now positions the MAC to someday add schools like Delaware and Stony Brook if and when they desire to move up to FBS.

Excellent point. It's amazing how well the MAC has maintained itself during this realignment period. Swapping UMass for Temple football, NIU reaching the Orange Bowl, they can't ask for too much more

It would be great if they asked Marshall to come back!

(03-30-2013 07:21 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 07:04 PM)jdgaucho Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 06:57 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  I could see JMU going to the MAC as a football-only instead, and the Sun Belt taking Liberty as a fallback option.

would the CAA be okay with keeping JMU as a non-football member? seems kinda off.

With ODU, Georgia State and George Mason on the way out and only the College of Charleston coming in, the CAA is down to nine members in olympic sports. I don't see JMU being kicked out just because its football team moves up to FBS. That's not the same as moving football to another FCS conference.

From the MAC's perspective, there's no longer any immediate likelihood of UMass leaving for C-TBA, so it makes sense to bring aboard a 14th football member to balance divisions. I suspect Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette are lobbying for MAC invitations (as well as CUSA invitations) but they're further outside the MAC footprint and probably wouldn't settle for football-only membership. And adding JMU now positions the MAC to someday add schools like Delaware and Stony Brook if and when they desire to move up to FBS.

MAC presidents are sensitive about adding weak football programs to the conference. From that perspective I can see Arkansas State moving to forefront of MAC expansion planning.

(03-30-2013 07:56 PM)Louis Kitton Wrote:  MAC presidents are sensitive about adding weak football programs to the conference.

And those that aren't are sensitive about adding weak BBall programs.

(03-30-2013 07:42 PM)Theodoresdaddy Wrote:  It would be great if they asked Marshall to come back!

They already asked Marshall to come back once ~ last time Marshall was in the MAC wasn't the first time it was in the MAC. And Marshall moved onto the CUSA from there.

Twice would be too much to expect.

(03-30-2013 08:02 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(03-30-2013 07:56 PM)Louis Kitton Wrote:  MAC presidents are sensitive about adding weak football programs to the conference.

And those that aren't are sensitive about adding weak BBall programs.

The MAC doesn't care about weak football as long as the football is good (see Northern Illinois).

(03-30-2013 08:19 PM)Louis Kitton Wrote:  The MAC doesn't care about weak football as long as the football is good (see Northern Illinois).

You know, for a counter-example to be effective, it has to actually contradict the claim.

Pointing out that those Presidents who aren't as concerned about the quality of the football would want good quality basketball does not imply that a good football school that is a good institutional fit and reasonably close to the MAC footprint needs a good BBall program to get in ... so the NIU case doesn't contradict it.

But it would be a mistake to assume that the relative homogeneity of the core schools of the MAC means that the twelve Presidents (or for those Presidents that don't much care, the Athletic Directors) think in lockstep.