From the article:

So now realignment has stopped.

The ACC's grant of rights two months ago effectively pumped the brakes on big-conference poaching, but one decision still loomed: Conference USA possibly going from 14 to 16 teams. Commissioner Britton Banowsky spoke extensively about this to me in April.

But C-USA presidents decided not to pursue a 16-team model for the foreseeable future as CBSSports.com first reported Tuesday. This closes the door on small-conference moves and probably limits the number of FCS schools transitioning into the College Football Playoff revenue pie.

The link:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...sion-pause

(06-12-2013 12:19 PM)Maize Wrote:  From the article:

So now realignment has stopped.

The ACC's grant of rights two months ago effectively pumped the brakes on big-conference poaching, but one decision still loomed: Conference USA possibly going from 14 to 16 teams. Commissioner Britton Banowsky spoke extensively about this to me in April.

But C-USA presidents decided not to pursue a 16-team model for the foreseeable future as CBSSports.com first reported Tuesday. This closes the door on small-conference moves and probably limits the number of FCS schools transitioning into the College Football Playoff revenue pie.

The link:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...sion-pause

Good info. At least in a couple months we will have things to discuss.

Note that the original headline is a big misleading ~ CUSA discussed pausing membership changes, the Sunbelt only discussed putting discussion of membership change on the back burner until their post-football-season meetings.

It takes the reasonable belief that if some FCS schools put in their papers by June 1 this year, word would have at least started leaking out by now and confirms that if the Sunbelt is going to make another FCS transition move, it will be 1 June 2014 to 1 August 2016 at the earliest.

If the Sunbelt is looking to expand, it could well do them a world of good for a football season to go through with schools and their supporter bases thinking that if they want that ticket into the FBS, they need to convince the Sunbelt, rather than the Sunbelt having to convince them. Sometimes these things are best not done in a rush ~ sometimes they are best done on a slow simmer, which is what the back burners are there for.

It's well known in cusa circles that banowsky would go as high as 24 or even 28 teams. The 14 university presidents involved are largely against expansion except in a few special cases, and it is their votes which count. One example of a special case is Uab, who wants to stay in cusa east. There aren't any programs west of Uab that currently meet the criteria that the university presidents are likely to set, and moving Uab back east isn't a sufficiently strong cause for making exceptions. That isn't a dig against any sun belt or fcs programs out there...it's just the reality of the situation. The latest expansion rumblings were mostly attempts to strengthen cusa in bowl negotiations (I.e. "we can take these schools any time we want...deal with us instead of their conference").

The subject is also misleading because the dominos are still falling in previous re-alignment. The SoCon just announced 3...what happens with those that lost schools now?

Just went with a take of the CBS Headline:


Realignment really over? C-USA, Sun Belt discuss expansion pause

(06-12-2013 01:43 PM)Maize Wrote:  Just went with a take of the CBS Headline:

Realignment really over? C-USA, Sun Belt discuss expansion pause

I wasn't complaining about your thread title, I was talking about the CBS headline itself.

(06-12-2013 01:38 PM)HP-TBDPITL Wrote:  The subject is also misleading because the dominos are still falling in previous re-alignment. The SoCon just announced 3...what happens with those that lost schools now?

Oh, that's just the standard journalist bias that only FBS conference realignment "really counts". For instance, there is also the very live possibility that the Big East will move, which will lead to more knock-on effects among non-FB subdivision conferences. Its not unusual to only acknowledge the existence of non-FBS conference when writing an article directly addressed to one of those schools or during the lead in to March Madness.

CUSA should just go ahead and add Ark st and ULL and be done for a while. That move would kill Sun belt.

(06-12-2013 11:49 PM)RustonCAT Wrote:  CUSA should just go ahead and add Ark st and ULL and be done for a while. That move would kill Sun belt.

Given that Arkansas State and ULL were the most likely adds to get from 14 to 16, what you're suggesting is probably exactly what the CUSA presidents were debating, and decided not to pursue.

A couple of Eastern Division members in CUSA want to add Eastern Universities and do not want to add anyone to the Western Division....one Eastern member is adamant on this....no consensus among CUSA CEO's so no expansion for now. In my opinion CUSA will eventually expand westward and end up with 16 members.

(06-12-2013 02:05 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(06-12-2013 01:43 PM)Maize Wrote:  Just went with a take of the CBS Headline:

Realignment really over? C-USA, Sun Belt discuss expansion pause

I wasn't complaining about your thread title, I was talking about the CBS headline itself.

(06-12-2013 01:38 PM)HP-TBDPITL Wrote:  The subject is also misleading because the dominos are still falling in previous re-alignment. The SoCon just announced 3...what happens with those that lost schools now?

Oh, that's just the standard journalist bias that only FBS conference realignment "really counts". For instance, there is also the very live possibility that the Big East will move, which will lead to more knock-on effects among non-FB subdivision conferences. Its not unusual to only acknowledge the existence of non-FBS conference when writing an article directly addressed to one of those schools or during the lead in to March Madness.

Exactly...Big East is not going to sit at 10 for long...and in 5 years betting the American looks at adds (maybe Army finally jumps in).

CUSA "pausing" makes sense for a number of reasons.

1. The TV contracts don't expire until after the 2016 season. If the league needs to make changes for TV, the time to announce is late 2014 or early 2015 but you can wait as long as June 30, 2015 and have the team for 2017 or if the negotiations are sticky (ie. not resolved until 2016 you can wait even longer). Add a member today and they buy their way out of whatever league they are in they share the current TV deal in 2014, 2015, 2016. A deal cut to pay for the old 12 member league. Even if they don't buy out they are in the league in 2015 and 2016 not helping the current two deals.

2. Sometime between now and July 1, 2014 we will have a selection committee and procedure for selecting the G5 rep. Only a dummy plays a game not knowing the rules of the game. Ideally you wait until you've seen the rules in play at least once to get a feel for how the guidelines are used in practice. Again no reason to act before December of 2014.

Bankowsky might like 16 but he can't tell the members what 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, etc. actually means for the members until the TV negotiations get serious and the G5 selection process is ironed out.

The Sun Belt is "pausing" simply because the members aren't ready to add for the sake of adding. Unless JMU or Missouri State call and are ready (which everything indicates, they are not) they aren't going to pile in members for the heck of it unless there is a pressing need and merely playing a title game doesn't qualify.

(06-13-2013 12:02 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  2. Sometime between now and July 1, 2014 we will have a selection committee and procedure for selecting the G5 rep. Only a dummy plays a game not knowing the rules of the game. Ideally you wait until you've seen the rules in play at least once to get a feel for how the guidelines are used in practice. Again no reason to act before December of 2014.

That right there is a good argument for why CUSA shouldn't even have 14 schools, let alone more than 14.

There is a contingent of MAC fans that would love to add Ark State and Missouri State, while others want JMU or Delaware.