(11-07-2013 11:05 AM)CajunExpress Wrote:  To be fair, the only conference that really works for stAte is the Big 10. Y'all probably closer to those schools than any in C USA, or the Sun Belt.

I actually think there are more CUSA schools closer now. Tech is essentially Monroe in distance, and both WKU and MTSU are less than 5 hours from Jonesboro. USM is right in that range as well.

The problem is that all of those except Neck are in the CUSA East...

(11-07-2013 09:26 AM)mturn017 Wrote:  

(11-07-2013 08:32 AM)FoUTASportscaster Wrote:  Basketball is not going to be that great. The powerhouses are gone: Louisville, Memphis, Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, etc.

In are teams that have some success recently, but only in the regular season. Let's look at the RPI rankings from the end of last year. I'll use next year's lineup.

Gone to AAC C-USA Sun Belt
14 Memphis 27 Southern Miss 135 UTA
67 East Carolina 33 MTSU 160 South Alabama
101 UCF 51 Louisiana Tech 161 Arkansas State
124 Tulsa 81 Charlotte 174 UALR
173 Tulane 97 UTEP 209 Georgia State
192 Houston 116 FIU 225 UL-Lafayette
213 SMU 142 UAB 274 Texas State
149 WKU 279 Troy
207 Marshall 309 UL-Monroe
220 FAU
252 North Texas 265 Appalachian State
262 UTSA 268 Georgia Southern
318 Old Dominion
323 Rice

It is possible that without a top 20 team in Memphis, that C-USA will rise in the rankings, but likely, even if everything else were equal, it won't since 2/3 of the RPI rankings are based on how your opponent does. MTSU beat the Belt around, they won't do that again and therefore won't have a lower RPI. La Tech hasn't been rated this high in a long time, maybe even since their Sun Belt days, but they had some talented sophs so they will have the better talent level overall just by aging. Charlotte had one of their better years since leaving C-USA by the rankings, but that didn't mean anything playing in the super-tough A-10. they will regress by not playing so many top-50 teams. After that comes a bunch of mediocrity. C-USA added more history than they did recent quality performances. They have three new teams that were in the 200's and 1 in the 300's.
Only one team in the Southern is rated above 100 and then only one more above 150, and five below 290, so even if nothing else changes, App and Southern will have higher rankings overall.

It is clear C-USA is still a better overall conference, but they aren't what they were and even last year's disappointing finish will be a high they will have a hard time reaching consistently.

The Belt, meanwhile, is pegged to be better than they have been in a while. Still not as good as C-USA, but the gap is smaller. My bet is there will be only a couple of conferences in between, instead of a handful as before.

Overall, C-USA basketball is the only sport where they are clearly above the Belt, but again, not as much. The Belt will maintain a better ranking in football (which will mean more playoff money if the trend continues) and is leaps and bounds ahead in baseball, which has a growing revenue stream and will mean more in the future.

If an SBC school wants to join C-USA, it better be more about geographical and rivalry reasons, rather than the allure of better exposure and a higher competitiveness.

So 2011 and 2012 were ancient history huh?

ODU 2011 - 29
2012 - 103
2013 - 318

Last year was cearly an anomoly for us

Good catch, you caught me. I composed that list only to defame ODU and you saw right through it.

Teams can change order within a conference, but conferences are fairly stable in the pecking order. My point is quite valid. There is a wide gap there.

(11-07-2013 11:05 AM)CajunExpress Wrote:  To be fair, the only conference that really works for stAte is the Big 10. Y'all probably closer to those schools than any in C USA, or the Sun Belt.

That's about as sane as saying Memphis belongs in the Big 12.

(11-07-2013 03:48 PM)UofMemphis Wrote:  

(11-07-2013 11:05 AM)CajunExpress Wrote:  To be fair, the only conference that really works for stAte is the Big 10. Y'all probably closer to those schools than any in C USA, or the Sun Belt.

That's about as sane as saying Memphis belongs in the Big 12.

Memphis works for the Big 12, you could be a travel partner for WVU.

(11-07-2013 03:45 PM)FoUTASportscaster Wrote:  

(11-07-2013 09:26 AM)mturn017 Wrote:  

(11-07-2013 08:32 AM)FoUTASportscaster Wrote:  Basketball is not going to be that great. The powerhouses are gone: Louisville, Memphis, Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, etc.

In are teams that have some success recently, but only in the regular season. Let's look at the RPI rankings from the end of last year. I'll use next year's lineup.

Gone to AAC C-USA Sun Belt
14 Memphis 27 Southern Miss 135 UTA
67 East Carolina 33 MTSU 160 South Alabama
101 UCF 51 Louisiana Tech 161 Arkansas State
124 Tulsa 81 Charlotte 174 UALR
173 Tulane 97 UTEP 209 Georgia State
192 Houston 116 FIU 225 UL-Lafayette
213 SMU 142 UAB 274 Texas State
149 WKU 279 Troy
207 Marshall 309 UL-Monroe
220 FAU
252 North Texas 265 Appalachian State
262 UTSA 268 Georgia Southern
318 Old Dominion
323 Rice

It is possible that without a top 20 team in Memphis, that C-USA will rise in the rankings, but likely, even if everything else were equal, it won't since 2/3 of the RPI rankings are based on how your opponent does. MTSU beat the Belt around, they won't do that again and therefore won't have a lower RPI. La Tech hasn't been rated this high in a long time, maybe even since their Sun Belt days, but they had some talented sophs so they will have the better talent level overall just by aging. Charlotte had one of their better years since leaving C-USA by the rankings, but that didn't mean anything playing in the super-tough A-10. they will regress by not playing so many top-50 teams. After that comes a bunch of mediocrity. C-USA added more history than they did recent quality performances. They have three new teams that were in the 200's and 1 in the 300's.
Only one team in the Southern is rated above 100 and then only one more above 150, and five below 290, so even if nothing else changes, App and Southern will have higher rankings overall.

It is clear C-USA is still a better overall conference, but they aren't what they were and even last year's disappointing finish will be a high they will have a hard time reaching consistently.

The Belt, meanwhile, is pegged to be better than they have been in a while. Still not as good as C-USA, but the gap is smaller. My bet is there will be only a couple of conferences in between, instead of a handful as before.

Overall, C-USA basketball is the only sport where they are clearly above the Belt, but again, not as much. The Belt will maintain a better ranking in football (which will mean more playoff money if the trend continues) and is leaps and bounds ahead in baseball, which has a growing revenue stream and will mean more in the future.

If an SBC school wants to join C-USA, it better be more about geographical and rivalry reasons, rather than the allure of better exposure and a higher competitiveness.

So 2011 and 2012 were ancient history huh?

ODU 2011 - 29
2012 - 103
2013 - 318

Last year was cearly an anomoly for us

Good catch, you caught me. I composed that list only to defame ODU and you saw right through it.

Teams can change order within a conference, but conferences are fairly stable in the pecking order. My point is quite valid. There is a wide gap there.

I thought your point was that the gap wasn't that wide

(11-07-2013 10:12 AM)Crump1 Wrote:  

(11-07-2013 12:36 AM)UofMemphis Wrote:  Would ASU rather have a football schedule with teams like: USM, WKU, UNT, MTSU, UAB, La Tech, Rice, Marshall.....or play teams like USA, Idaho, ULM, Ga Southern, Ga State, Troy, App State, New Mexico

But hoops in CUSA is far superior with USM, Charlotte, UTEP, UAB, MTSU, La Tech, ODU is down but not for long...ASU hoops could thrive in CUSA.

Until we see something different, I am going to guess that CUSA will be a one bid league most years in basketball. Considering that, it might be better to be in a less competitive basketball league and take the "Boise football" route in basketball.

As for football, a schedule with UL, Troy, Texas State, ULM, App. St., Ga. So. and USA is just as appealing as anything we could face in CUSA. USM and La. Tech are the only two that really would excite our fans more than the average program in the G5 and those do not rise above the interest we have in playing UL and Troy.

The money will level out between the SBC, MAC and CUSA in a couple of years so my preferences are really for a confernce that is easier when it comes to travel.

Honestly, I think not having the "800 pound gorilla" in the room will help CUSA hoops.

Having good but pretty equal teams in USM, UTEP, UAB, Charlotte, La Tech, MTSU, etc will lead to very good parity and to the potential for multiple NCAA bids.

When you have one team go undefeated 4 out of 7 seasons it makes everyone but that one team look like crap.

(11-07-2013 03:23 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(11-07-2013 11:05 AM)CajunExpress Wrote:  To be fair, the only conference that really works for stAte is the Big 10. Y'all probably closer to those schools than any in C USA, or the Sun Belt.

I actually think there are more CUSA schools closer now. Tech is essentially Monroe in distance, and both WKU and MTSU are less than 5 hours from Jonesboro. USM is right in that range as well.

The problem is that all of those except Neck are in the CUSA East...

I think most are expecting USM to be in the West starting next year

Basketball in CUSA going forward will obviously not be the level that it was years ago with Louisville, Memphis, etc, but it will be light years ahead of the Belt. Everyone says the TV contract will take a huge hit - just like our bowl tie ins were supposed to.

UNT has timed their football turnaround perfectly. You can't come on here and say that because they weren't as good in the Belt in the past few years, they would still be at that level. That's just stupid.

Fact is, CUSA added the three biggest athletic programs in the Belt (MT, WKU, UNT), so there is no way you can say they will not continue to benefit from that in the future. They also got back into the Florida market with FIU and FAU, while the Belt is being left out to dry in that state. That is absolutely huge for recruiting. Yes, their programs are down but that's not why they were added in the first place. Everyone knows why the schools were added. There is no argument here.

I don't think anyone in their right mind is going to argue that adding Sun Belt teams and getting rid of the AAC schools "benefited" CUSA. But, for the hand they were dealt, CUSA added the right schools. For the same reason, you can't say that the Sun Belt benefited from MT or WKU or UNT leaving the conference. Just stupid.

Louisiana, Texas State, and South have a chance at getting to CUSA in the future, but the rest of you guys can keep sucking on those sour grapes.

(11-07-2013 05:21 PM)MTowho Wrote:  Basketball in CUSA going forward will obviously not be the level that it was years ago with Louisville, Memphis, etc, but it will be light years ahead of the Belt. Everyone says the TV contract will take a huge hit - just like our bowl tie ins were supposed to.

UNT has timed their football turnaround perfectly. You can't come on here and say that because they weren't as good in the Belt in the past few years, they would still be at that level. That's just stupid.

Fact is, CUSA added the three biggest athletic programs in the Belt (MT, WKU, UNT), so there is no way you can say they will not continue to benefit from that in the future. They also got back into the Florida market with FIU and FAU, while the Belt is being left out to dry in that state. That is absolutely huge for recruiting. Yes, their programs are down but that's not why they were added in the first place. Everyone knows why the schools were added. There is no argument here.

I don't think anyone in their right mind is going to argue that adding Sun Belt teams and getting rid of the AAC schools "benefited" CUSA. But, for the hand they were dealt, CUSA added the right schools. For the same reason, you can't say that the Sun Belt benefited from MT or WKU or UNT leaving the conference. Just stupid.

Louisiana, Texas State, and South have a chance at getting to CUSA in the future, but the rest of you guys can keep sucking on those sour grapes.

It did...CUSA lost it's crown jewel in the Liberty Bowl...CUSA will now have 14 teams, 5 bowls per year, with 1 bowl against the P5.

(11-07-2013 05:52 PM)UofMemphis Wrote:  It did...CUSA lost it's crown jewel in the Liberty Bowl...CUSA will now have 14 teams, 5 bowls per year, with 1 bowl against the P5.

That would have happened regardless of realignment. It's slightly more than 5 per year on average, with at least one more or less guaranteed backup agreement. The drop off in bowl tie ins was nowhere near as significant as alot of people would have had you believe.

When it is all said and done, I think CUSA has benefitted to a degree. We lost some good teams, got some good teams, it is what it is. What the conference did improve in was obtaining better bowl games. I also think when the new TV contract is negotiated, CUSA programs will continue to get the same payout it currently receives. I don't think Banowsky would have added these current teams without discussing it with the TV partners (CBS and Fox) knowing the payout would be reduced.

(11-07-2013 05:58 PM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  When it is all said and done, I think CUSA has benefitted to a degree. We lost some good teams, got some good teams, it is what it is. What the conference did improve in was obtaining better bowl games. I also think when the new TV contract is negotiated, CUSA programs will continue to get the same payout it currently receives. I don't think Banowsky would have added these current teams without discussing it with the TV partners (CBS and Fox) knowing the payout would be reduced.

Banowsky did about as good a job as one could expect given the volatility of the situation.

No doubt the perception is CUSA is better today in football. Most casual fans are not going to really realize all the changes for a few years. As with most, I don't really care about other sports. Yes I would like to see improvement in basketball at GaSou but football is going to come first for a long time to come. As it is for most southern schools.

Perception can and will change if the Sun Belt is continues to have the best or second best OOC record. Currently the Sun Belt has the best OOC record amongst all the soon to be G5's including the AAC. Prob going to take a lil hit next year unless Idaho and NMSU can improve to at least .500 OOC next year and who knows how GaSou and App will do based on this atypical year.

http://www.colleyrankings.com/curconf.html#FCS

If this continues perception is going to change in just a few years. Winning more than money, market or conference is what grows programs, gets butts in seats at home / bowls and eyes on the TV.
Too early to call it a trend since its has only been a few years of success and with all the shuffling but the Belt is holding its own as it is and has more room for improvement than any other G5 conference by far. In all honesty yes today I doubt a Sun Belt team would turn down a CUSA invite but once we get to 12 teams and all the FCS move ups are through the transition and at full upperclassmen scholarship strength the Sun Belt will be on par with any G5. Any bowl , tv money etc differences in regards to football will be minimal at best.

All I can say is that C USA is far weaker in basketball, football, and baseball.

The SBC is about the same as it was. If we get rid of this absurd 12 teams for football mentality we might have a really good conference with who is here and who will be here.

I fully expect NMSU, and Idaho to be much improved. Too bad we failed to take the best NMSU had to offer.

(11-08-2013 05:11 PM)CajunExpress Wrote:  All I can say is that C USA is far weaker in basketball, football, and baseball.

The SBC is about the same as it was. If we get rid of this absurd 12 teams for football mentality we might have a really good conference with who is here and who will be here.

I fully expect NMSU, and Idaho to be much improved. Too bad we failed to take the best NMSU had to offer.

I agree. If your going to take them for football, may as well get the benefit of their basketball.

(11-08-2013 05:11 PM)CajunExpress Wrote:  All I can say is that C USA is far weaker in basketball, football, and baseball.

The SBC is about the same as it was.

All G5 conferences are weaker with the exception of the MAC.

I would say that the WAC is stronger, after all they jettisoned LTU RustON.

My thoughts (FWIW).

1. Sun Belt football and CUSA football are about even. Sun Belt has definite potential to overtake CUSA (if it hasn't already) with additions of App State and Georgia So. I would feel much better about this had CUSA taken Louisiana and Arkansas State instead of F_U but what is done is done.

2. CUSA basketball will be clearly superior in basketball. This is why I don't feel too bad about the move even though I think Sun Belt is a winner in football. Some of you don't care about basketball but I do.

I agree that CUSA may benefit from losing Memphis from the stand point that it is hard to build a basketball program when you can't ever get to the NCAAs. CUSA is adding some very solid hoops programs, it should be a competitive league that on whole is capable of winning more non conference games.

(11-09-2013 06:41 AM)CajunExpress Wrote:  I would say that the WAC is stronger, after all they jettisoned LTU RustON.

Let's see, Tech's football team was one of three in the WAC that spent time ranked in the Top 25 during our last season in that conference. Our Men's BB team also spent time in the Top 25 in our last season as WAC members. Only a nincompoop would think that the WAC is stronger without TECH. When was the last time ULL's football team was ranked? Oh yeah, that would be NEVER.

(11-10-2013 08:12 AM)BRtransplant Wrote:  

(11-09-2013 06:41 AM)CajunExpress Wrote:  I would say that the WAC is stronger, after all they jettisoned LTU RustON.

Let's see, Tech's football team was one of three in the WAC that spent time ranked in the Top 25 during our last season in that conference. Our Men's BB team also spent time in the Top 25 in our last season as WAC members. Only a nincompoop would think that the WAC is stronger without TECH. When was the last time ULL's football team was ranked? Oh yeah, that would be NEVER.

You must drive a 1969 Ford Pinto? have you always lived in the past?

Bet last night was fun in the Joe? No lines at concessions, all the pickled pig feet you could handle. Your sister could snuggle up real close without anyone really noticing. Was Paw able to smuggle the jug in? No lines at the restrooms either. I hear home games are the only times most Rustonians actually get to use indoor plumbing? True or False? That could help attdce issues.

Z