(02-24-2014 12:50 AM)TrojanCampaign Wrote: (02-23-2014 01:20 PM)Tallgrass Wrote: CUSA's strategy of going after high quality IAA programs was a good one. Expanding to 14 teams was also a good strategy. So, everything is either new or very young and probably both...so it will take time to play out for CUSA. CUSA's good structure of football bowl games was surprisingly strong. It will be interesting to see how CUSA's tv contract plays out in a couple years. History seems to be repeating itself as doom and gloom were projected for CUSA when Louisville, USF, and Cincy were invited to BE...only to see CUSA expand its tv contract and set up a better schedule of football bowl games. My guess is that CUSA will again continue to surprise in the future.
Your insane if you think the scenario of losing Cincy/USF/UL even compares to what is happening right now. When that happened CUSA still had many proven programs with strong history in football such as Houston, ECU, SMU, and Tulane (They won the SEC three times and won CUSA in 1998). Then you had Tulsa who arguably dominated CUSA football in recent memory. Of course CUSA was going to be fine when they had those five teams to step up let alone a home run addition in a UCF team that has no competition in Orlando. Now your expecting five Sun Belt teams and three FCS level programs with pretty much no history to be able to replicate the success.
On the basketball side when those teams you mentioned left CUSA was pretty much Memphis and everyone else. In the first season Memphis left CUSA has become a shell of its former self with sixteen teams and predicted to be a one bid league. And it's going to be even worse when it losses a Tulsa program who has been one of the best basketball programs in the conference since they joined.
I don't think CUSA will ever go the way of the WAC but the old CUSA is officially going to be dead when ECU, Tulane, and Tulsa leave.
USF, Cincy, and UConn are supposedly football powerhouses...but how many BCS bowls have they won?
On the other hand, UCF built its program within CUSA and has now won a BCS Bowl, something USF, Cincy, and UConn have not done. Now, USF, Cincy, and UConn cannot use the lure of a guaranteed BCS slot for football recruiting. But, new coach at USF is doing a whale of an outstanding job. That it rides with the coach is something inherent to being NonBCS school.
The "old" CUSA is still there; it only carries a new name, AAC. The new conference, in reality, is CUSA which is now providing a strong platform for its new members and also continues to provide a strong platform for its continuing members.
I never said AAC and CUSA are equal. What I said was CUSA continues to provide a strong platform for exposure and success...equal to previous years. When CUSA renegotiates its tv contract in a couple years, then straight up AAC/CUSA comparisons can be made.
While I never said AAC and CUSA are equal, I again note and again repeat Tulsa and Tulane had some difficulty this season with CUSA/West teams...and Marshall ran over ECU.
Regarding basketball, AAC can be a really good basketball conference if Cincy and UConn stay put, something that appears more likely than I first thought. Your point regarding Memphis is well taken and a good point.
In answer to your question, I am expecting the new CUSA to replicate the success of the old CUSA. That record in the 9 years Tulsa was in CUSA was 3 Liberty Bowl wins by old CUSA and 6 Liberty Bowl losses. I believe the new CUSA is capable of matching that record. And, who knows what might happen. Boise State built its program in WAC, derided as an inferior conference by MWC. And UCF built its program within CUSA and got AAC a BCS bowl victory, something Cincy, USF, and UConn have not achieved.