HUNTINGTON, West Virginia - Southern Miss will say "so long" to the Conference USA East Division after this year. UAB could be next.

Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky was at the UAB-Marshall game on Saturday. He was noncommittal about UAB's future, but said Southern Miss would move to the West.

Conference USA loses Tulsa, Tulane and East Carolina after this school year and gains Western Kentucky and Old Dominion. Charlotte joins in 2015.

Geographically, it probably makes sense to move UAB and Southern Miss to the West. The only other options might be Western Kentucky or Middle Tennessee


http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/..._br_1.html

The west takes USM and UAB and splits! Okay, that wasn't nice.

Next season's divisional lineup

East: UAB, FAU, FIU, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, WKU
West: Louisiana Tech, UNT, Rice, Southern Miss, UTEP, UTSA

(11-10-2013 03:09 AM)David Krysakowski Wrote:  Next season's divisional lineup

East: UAB, FAU, FIU, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, WKU, Old Dominion
West: Louisiana Tech, UNT, Rice, Southern Miss, UTEP, UTSA

FIFY

NO THANKS to moving west for MT. That would NOT be well-received.

and then comes Charlotte

More likely, Banowsky just doesn't commit on something that doesn't have to happen until Charlotte comes in. He can delay that decision for a year. Happy that UAB will likely remain in the East at least one more year.

East: UAB, FAU, FIU, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, WKU, Old Dominion
West: Louisiana Tech, UNT, Rice, Southern Miss, UTEP, UTSA

That's a great line up for the 2014 season.

I still think UTEP leaves after the basketball tournament which is why UAB would be a maybe.

UTEP isn't going anywhere. They have too many alums in the Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. They are a 1 win team this season and still brought around 1,000 fans to our game yesterday. They wouldn't want to lose their connections to the major Texas cities.

Southern Miss fans... How do you feel about moving West?

(11-10-2013 08:24 AM)Cnelson203 Wrote:  East: UAB, FAU, FIU, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, WKU, Old Dominion
West: Louisiana Tech, UNT, Rice, Southern Miss, UTEP, UTSA

That's a great line up for the 2014 season.

Not sure how that works with an 8-game conference schedule. Seven East teams would each need 2 West opponents for 14 games. Six West teams each need 3 East opponents for 18 games.

We would have an unbalanced schedule in the East, because the East teams can't play a full round robin and get the cross-over games the West needs.

I haven't looked at it too close but ever since Temple joined the MAC for football they have played an 8 game conference schedule with 13 schools. Because as Temple left UMass came in.

(11-10-2013 09:43 AM)ESE84 Wrote:  

(11-10-2013 08:24 AM)Cnelson203 Wrote:  East: UAB, FAU, FIU, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, WKU, Old Dominion
West: Louisiana Tech, UNT, Rice, Southern Miss, UTEP, UTSA

That's a great line up for the 2014 season.

Not sure how that works with an 8-game conference schedule. Seven East teams would each need 2 West opponents for 14 games. Six West teams each need 3 East opponents for 18 games.

We would have an unbalanced schedule in the East, because the East teams can't play a full round robin and get the cross-over games the West needs.

Most likely each West team in that scenario would designate one OOC game as a CUSA game (all members would have to approve the choice, obviously). UAB had to do so one season and had to pick either LSU or Kansas - both OOC games we already had scheduled.

(11-10-2013 09:57 AM)blazr Wrote:  

(11-10-2013 09:43 AM)ESE84 Wrote:  

(11-10-2013 08:24 AM)Cnelson203 Wrote:  East: UAB, FAU, FIU, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, WKU, Old Dominion
West: Louisiana Tech, UNT, Rice, Southern Miss, UTEP, UTSA

That's a great line up for the 2014 season.

Not sure how that works with an 8-game conference schedule. Seven East teams would each need 2 West opponents for 14 games. Six West teams each need 3 East opponents for 18 games.

We would have an unbalanced schedule in the East, because the East teams can't play a full round robin and get the cross-over games the West needs.

Most likely each West team in that scenario would designate one OOC game as a CUSA game (all members would have to approve the choice, obviously). UAB had to do so one season and had to pick either LSU or Kansas - both OOC games we already had scheduled.

Yeah, I don't think that is necessary. I just checked and every school in the MAC plays 8 conference games, and there are 13 schools. It will be fine. The only real question is when will UAB go West 2014 or 2015.

I hope both USM and UAB move west. I'll be in Pensacola the next three years so those are easy driving games for me.

It makes sense geographically to put UAB in the West. What is the opposition to this? Is there a reason UAB would want to remain in the East?

Who is the better candidate for the West, WKU or MTSU?

(11-10-2013 11:15 AM)Fatalisk Wrote:  It makes sense geographically to put UAB in the West. What is the opposition to this? Is there a reason UAB would want to remain in the East?

Who is the better candidate for the West, WKU or MTSU?

it might hurt UAB financially having to go out West and they already strapped for cash like most of us

(11-10-2013 11:18 AM)techdawg88 Wrote:  

(11-10-2013 11:15 AM)Fatalisk Wrote:  It makes sense geographically to put UAB in the West. What is the opposition to this? Is there a reason UAB would want to remain in the East?

Who is the better candidate for the West, WKU or MTSU?

it might hurt UAB financially having to go out West and they already strapped for cash like most of us

It seems it would do the same for WKU and MT... Would the conference put the desires of one school above another because of history?

CUSA 2015

East: MTSU, WKU, UNC-Charlotte, ODU, Marshall, FIU, FAU, UAB

West: UTEP, UTSA, Rice, North Texas, Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss, Arkansas State, UL-Lafayette

Done.

^ Hell no.

(11-10-2013 11:18 AM)techdawg88 Wrote:  

(11-10-2013 11:15 AM)Fatalisk Wrote:  It makes sense geographically to put UAB in the West. What is the opposition to this? Is there a reason UAB would want to remain in the East?

Who is the better candidate for the West, WKU or MTSU?

it might hurt UAB financially having to go out West and they already strapped for cash like most of us

I doubt it. To be honest I can get to the four Texas schools just as easier than ODU, FIU, FAU, and Marshall. Charlotte is a plane ride. WKU and MTSU is just as easy as La Tech and So Miss. I just would hate not playing MTSU every year. It's about a wash for us really.