(06-28-2014 11:03 AM)WKUYG Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 10:56 AM)T_Won1 Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 10:49 AM)ECU-DMB Fanatic Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 10:18 AM)T_Won1 Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 09:51 AM)ECU-DMB Fanatic Wrote:  I really think if USM's football program had not been in such a shambles at the time the Big East fell apart they would have been able to overcome the market situation and made it into the AAC. Hard to take in a program with a small market and a winless season when you are trying to save a football conference.

Some of the AAC's choices show it was not all about markets when they selected teams.

Disagree. They basically chose Tulane over USM. That has to be market-driven considering the state of Tulane's athletic dept and low fan base.

What about ECU and Tulsa…Explain those choices, clearly not market driven.

ECU's football attendance is impressive. Tulsa and USM was probably a toss up. Tulsa probably won on the market.

Tulsa beats them in market and overall sports program.

The below chart is year or two old but it shows Tulsa has a well rounded sport program.

Yeah... nobody cares about women's JV crew, though. It's all about the big two sports, market, and just overall academic reputation. Facilities count, too.

(06-28-2014 11:27 AM)Thegoldstandard Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 10:29 AM)CajunFanatico Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 10:18 AM)T_Won1 Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 09:51 AM)ECU-DMB Fanatic Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 09:26 AM)goodknightfl Wrote:  The schools that left had very little to do with USM's problems. Other than maybe on the last 3 that moved we did not have a vote. Other than accepting an invite. Unfortunately for USM this mess was all about markets.

I really think if USM's football program had not been in such a shambles at the time the Big East fell apart they would have been able to overcome the market situation and made it into the AAC. Hard to take in a program with a small market and a winless season when you are trying to save a football conference.

Some of the AAC's choices show it was not all about markets when they selected teams.

Disagree. They basically chose Tulane over USM. That has to be market-driven considering the state of Tulane's athletic dept and low fan base.

This. Though it's still hard for me to imagine what Tulane athletics would need to do to really fire up the New Orleans area. I suspect that in the past S. Miss has been just as attractive to that market as the Green Wave.

Tulanes ad went begging to central fla's ad. Cent fla always beats tulane and wanted some easy wins. Someone has to finish last. And that info comes from someone who sits inside conference meetings.

So, the AAC needed a doormat?

(06-28-2014 10:49 AM)ECU-DMB Fanatic Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 10:18 AM)T_Won1 Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 09:51 AM)ECU-DMB Fanatic Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 09:26 AM)goodknightfl Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 08:04 AM)Thegoldstandard Wrote:  We didnt exactly tank at a bad time. Houston had a "big east" invite in hand when we beat them in the championship game in 11 and finished 12-2. The ones going led by central florida dont want us around.

The schools that left had very little to do with USM's problems. Other than maybe on the last 3 that moved we did not have a vote. Other than accepting an invite. Unfortunately for USM this mess was all about markets.

I really think if USM's football program had not been in such a shambles at the time the Big East fell apart they would have been able to overcome the market situation and made it into the AAC. Hard to take in a program with a small market and a winless season when you are trying to save a football conference.

Some of the AAC's choices show it was not all about markets when they selected teams.

Disagree. They basically chose Tulane over USM. That has to be market-driven considering the state of Tulane's athletic dept and low fan base.

What about ECU and Tulsa…Explain those choices, clearly not market driven.

While Greenville itself isn't a big market, ECU has a lot of alums throughout one of the 10 most populated states in the country.

Tulsa isn't exactly a small market. Combine that with their success and academic profile and they were an attractive choice.

All the major conferences have some elite academic institutions. Tulsa and Tulane only help add to the academic profile of the league. Even ECU, which isn't particularly noted for being an exceptional academic institution, brings another school with a medical school into the conference.

(06-27-2014 09:03 PM)Pony94 Wrote:  Hmm winning Marshall football team or Tulane education

+1

(06-28-2014 11:36 AM)Niner National Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 10:49 AM)ECU-DMB Fanatic Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 10:18 AM)T_Won1 Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 09:51 AM)ECU-DMB Fanatic Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 09:26 AM)goodknightfl Wrote:  The schools that left had very little to do with USM's problems. Other than maybe on the last 3 that moved we did not have a vote. Other than accepting an invite. Unfortunately for USM this mess was all about markets.

I really think if USM's football program had not been in such a shambles at the time the Big East fell apart they would have been able to overcome the market situation and made it into the AAC. Hard to take in a program with a small market and a winless season when you are trying to save a football conference.

Some of the AAC's choices show it was not all about markets when they selected teams.

Disagree. They basically chose Tulane over USM. That has to be market-driven considering the state of Tulane's athletic dept and low fan base.

What about ECU and Tulsa…Explain those choices, clearly not market driven.

While Greenville itself isn't a big market, ECU has a lot of alums throughout one of the 10 most populated states in the country.

Tulsa isn't exactly a small market. Combine that with their success and academic profile and they were an attractive choice.

All the major conferences have some elite academic institutions. Tulsa and Tulane only help add to the academic profile of the league. Even ECU, which isn't particularly noted for being an exceptional academic institution, brings another school with a medical school into the conference.

Actually, all conferences except for the Sun Belt!

(06-28-2014 11:45 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 11:36 AM)Niner National Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 10:49 AM)ECU-DMB Fanatic Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 10:18 AM)T_Won1 Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 09:51 AM)ECU-DMB Fanatic Wrote:  I really think if USM's football program had not been in such a shambles at the time the Big East fell apart they would have been able to overcome the market situation and made it into the AAC. Hard to take in a program with a small market and a winless season when you are trying to save a football conference.

Some of the AAC's choices show it was not all about markets when they selected teams.

Disagree. They basically chose Tulane over USM. That has to be market-driven considering the state of Tulane's athletic dept and low fan base.

What about ECU and Tulsa…Explain those choices, clearly not market driven.

While Greenville itself isn't a big market, ECU has a lot of alums throughout one of the 10 most populated states in the country.

Tulsa isn't exactly a small market. Combine that with their success and academic profile and they were an attractive choice.

All the major conferences have some elite academic institutions. Tulsa and Tulane only help add to the academic profile of the league. Even ECU, which isn't particularly noted for being an exceptional academic institution, brings another school with a medical school into the conference.

Actually, all conferences except for the Sun Belt!

True. I didn't mean any disrespect to Rice at all, I was simply only talking about the AAC. They like to view themselves as a major conference, so I think academics certainly played a role as well.

If Rice wouldn't have been a duplicate market, I have little doubt they would have gotten an invite as well or in place of Tulane.

The Big XII is pretty mediocre academically as well.

I saw academics brought up a few times so I have a question..no 2 questions.

1. Would any of you trade a BCS bowl game bid to be 10x better academically?
2. Would you rather be in the same conference with the 5th best academic school or the 5th best football/basketball school?

I just have to laugh at the Tulane jabs at this point. The hate is strong.

The Big 12 is pretty mediocre, but they still have UT which is one of the largest research universities in the nation. Also, I am pretty sure that the University of Kansas is in the AAU. One could make the argument that the MWC is pretty weak academically as well. They have the Air Force Academy, but even their admissions standards aren't as high as say West Point or Annapolis. I actually don't think that the new Conference USA is as weak academically as some claim. Obviously Rice leads the way, but schools like Charlotte and UAB don't exactly seem to be academic slouches. Also, I know that UTSA is growing in prestige as it becomes more and more difficult for Texas residents to attend UT and A&M.

(06-28-2014 12:02 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  I saw academics brought up a few times so I have a question..no 2 questions.

1. Would any of you trade a BCS bowl game bid to be 10x better academically?
2. Would you rather be in the same conference with the 5th best academic school or the 5th best football/basketball school?

Hmm to attend a 50th ranked university academically or 500th with a BCS bid. If you chose 500 you probably got a degree from a school that terrible.

(06-28-2014 12:02 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  I saw academics brought up a few times so I have a question..no 2 questions.

1. Would any of you trade a BCS bowl game bid to be 10x better academically?
2. Would you rather be in the same conference with the 5th best academic school or the 5th best football/basketball school?

1. I would trade a BCS game for much less than that. I would rather be Tier I in USNWR than go to a BCS game. They don't publish all the numbers to say for sure, but I get the impression that getting into Tier I would only require us to move up 5-10 spots.

Going to a BCS game as a CUSA team just means you had one good year. The next season, you're in the same crappy place. And I would not be at all surprised if any team from this conference that went to a BCS game ended up vacating its results down the road, T*ger High-style.

2. I want to be in a sports conference with good sports teams first, and schools that people have actually heard of second. Academics are overrrated in conference realignment in my opinion.

(06-28-2014 12:11 PM)JDTulane Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 12:02 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  I saw academics brought up a few times so I have a question..no 2 questions.

1. Would any of you trade a BCS bowl game bid to be 10x better academically?
2. Would you rather be in the same conference with the 5th best academic school or the 5th best football/basketball school?

Hmm to attend a 50th ranked university academically or 500th with a BCS bid. If you chose 500 you probably got a degree from a school that terrible.

I didn't say attend and if you been out of college for a few years it probably has little or no affect on you at this point. I never went to college...started my first business as a HS Sr and at that time (1978) college would have cost me $25,000 a year without the cost of school added in. I went to Western for 1 day and decided it wasn't worth it to me...

The ranking of a university is huge whether youre an alum or applying. Rankings have major effects with hiring at top level grad programs, hospitals, firms.... it may matter slightly less to a small town entrepreneur but it does matter in silicon valley if youre competing to push the same product. Not everyone has a facebook in their pocket.

So yes, 50 is huge vs 500 unless your goal is to retire in small town USA ahere no one cared in the first place.

(06-28-2014 07:23 AM)ECU-DMB Fanatic Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 04:12 AM)baruna falls Wrote:  

(06-27-2014 10:50 PM)Sirloin Burger Wrote:  

(06-27-2014 08:21 PM)AndreWhere Wrote:  ....CUSA did not expand, contract, or realign. It renamed itself the AAC

I may be wrong, but I think the AAC was formerly the Big East which at the time included Syracuse, PITT, Rutgers, West Virginia and Louisville. USM simply wasn't promoted.


Per 24/7 Sports 2015 football recruiting ranking, ODU is currently ahead of every former CUSA member that got an AAC invite. At least ODU recruits don't view our conference affiliation as a stigma. That may not be enough to satisfy some disgruntled USM fans, but ODU is moving forward. Good luck to USM in finding a home worthy enough for its' athletic program.

Way to early to decide who has best recruiting classes. Also, i do feel bad for the Southern Miss fans. I have a great deal of respect for them and think that they should be in the AAC.

Yup….and recruiting rankings are, for the most part, a joke. It is a process for some noob, living in his moms basement, to make money off irrational college football fans. Not sure how guys who have never played a down of football in their lives all of the sudden become experts in breaking down film and evaluating high school football players. Recruiting rankings mean something to people who do not have a clue. You never know for sure what you have with each class until 3 or 4 years down the road.

Wow. I don't consider myself an irrational football fan but the rankings are important to schools, recruits and fans of college football. It's not just some guy's project in his parents basement.

These rankings provide an "up to the minute" snapshot of how a school is doing and ODU is doing great as well as UTSA and FAU. You know, the new members who are bringing down CUSA property value and making life miserable for at least one USM fan. That was the point I was making.

(06-28-2014 12:09 PM)JDTulane Wrote:  I just have to laugh at the Tulane jabs at this point. The hate is strong.

It's not really jabs at Tulane as much as it's jabs at the criteria used for school selection into conferences. What did Tulane do to "deserve" a promotion? Probably more deserving of a demotion.

(06-28-2014 12:39 PM)T_Won1 Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 12:09 PM)JDTulane Wrote:  I just have to laugh at the Tulane jabs at this point. The hate is strong.

It's not really jabs at Tulane as much as it's jabs at the criteria used for school selection into conferences. What did Tulane do to "deserve" a promotion? Probably more deserving of a demotion.

$140 million in athletics facilities upgrades, location, tv, endowment, academics, aau, well known president. Tulane is luckt to have a lot of intangibles as a university.

Performance means little in this mess. Ask Rutgers.

(06-28-2014 12:39 PM)T_Won1 Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 12:09 PM)JDTulane Wrote:  I just have to laugh at the Tulane jabs at this point. The hate is strong.

It's not really jabs at Tulane as much as it's jabs at the criteria used for school selection into conferences. What did Tulane do to "deserve" a promotion? Probably more deserving of a demotion.

Honestly, did Tulane lose to La Tech in anything this year other than men's hoops?
And some of you, when making global proclamations about support, need to remember what your attendance looked like when your teams were crappy and then compare your attendance when winning consistently to ours.
BTW Tech, academics (not selectivity, necessarily) do matter in most leagues, including C-USA, which you should realize as your solid institutional operation and academic reputation was a major factor.
But my best to Tech. You guys have always done things the right way, don't take shortcuts, and have some nice skins on the wall. And your fans aren't focused on others. I that Tulane had been willing to give a TU-Tech football series a whirl over the years.

I think Tulane can pretty much be in whatever conference they want. They decide how much they want to emphasize sports internally. It's not forced on them from outside. People who are surprised they're in the AAC are missing the point, in my opinion. Tulane is a powerful organization with a lot going for it.

(06-28-2014 12:42 PM)JDTulane Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 12:39 PM)T_Won1 Wrote:  

(06-28-2014 12:09 PM)JDTulane Wrote:  I just have to laugh at the Tulane jabs at this point. The hate is strong.

It's not really jabs at Tulane as much as it's jabs at the criteria used for school selection into conferences. What did Tulane do to "deserve" a promotion? Probably more deserving of a demotion.

Performance means little in this mess.

Obviously