Little Rock has eight days left to get TV ironed out, if they meet that deadline, it is good to go for this season.

(03-23-2015 02:56 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  Little Rock has eight days left to get TV ironed out, if they meet that deadline, it is good to go for this season.

What are your feeling as to whether the Bowl and TV are go for this year?

(03-23-2015 03:50 PM)sigmachi272injunjoe Wrote:  

(03-23-2015 02:56 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  Little Rock has eight days left to get TV ironed out, if they meet that deadline, it is good to go for this season.

What are your feeling as to whether the Bowl and TV are go for this year?

Everyone is optimistic. I however plan to remain pessimistic until I hear a deal is signed.

(03-23-2015 02:30 PM)slycat Wrote:  Texas St got left out two straight years. Every year there are 1-2 teams left out. If App St and GS had been eligible, 3 teams would have been left out. Screw Benson and his reactive nature. Leaders are proactive.

Didn't wanna name names, but I think he just took a jab at Tx State.

How Benson was able to con his way into the job of Sun Belt Conference commissioner is beyond me. He is a Boise St graduate who's heart lies in the sports of colleges out west. His actions alone destroyed the WAC, and I was shocked that the Sun Belt hired him after that. Once you guys dump him, he'll be out of college sports for good. As far as I'm concerned, it will be a case of good riddance and it couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.

(03-24-2015 06:02 AM)BRtransplant Wrote:  How Benson was able to con his way into the job of Sun Belt Conference commissioner is beyond me. He is a Boise St graduate who's heart lies in the sports of colleges out west. His actions alone destroyed the WAC, and I was shocked that the Sun Belt hired him after that. Once you guys dump him, he'll be out of college sports for good. As far as I'm concerned, it will be a case of good riddance and it couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.

WAC died because the members had other places to go and the FCS schools out there were not interested in moving up. Benson if listened to by the WAC presidents who didn't want to lower themselves by adding "inferior" programs would have put the Belt out of action in 2004.

(03-23-2015 02:30 PM)slycat Wrote:  Texas St got left out two straight years. Every year there are 1-2 teams left out. If App St and GS had been eligible, 3 teams would have been left out. Screw Benson and his reactive nature. Leaders are proactive.

it is difficult for a commish of this league....you have about 10-11 presidents and AD's screaming or suggesting different things....you are selling a product that has limitations as to who will use it...( who wants to match in bowl with the SBC).....and then TV ratings for said bowl......Benson coming from the WAC, well he had that experience including the leagues death.....he does have a perspective that few have.....when to move and when to fold or if I had it to do over again, or what were the signs.......as opposed to wrong way Waters our previous commish....he is pretty good....or at least in my opinion....however as has been said in the past " You can please some of the people all the time....all some of the time ....but not all all the time".....

Currently if we get the fifth bowl.....and with the current members of the league....I am pretty pleased with the progress.....could it be better? In any one area probably ok....is the answer....but for now not sure who would be better since you have the collective interests to push and sometimes not a lot of leverage to push it with at present....

Sometimes no action is the best action......and hind sight is always the clearest.

(03-24-2015 06:02 AM)BRtransplant Wrote:  How Benson was able to con his way into the job of Sun Belt Conference commissioner is beyond me. He is a Boise St graduate who's heart lies in the sports of colleges out west. His actions alone destroyed the WAC, and I was shocked that the Sun Belt hired him after that. Once you guys dump him, he'll be out of college sports for good. As far as I'm concerned, it will be a case of good riddance and it couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.

Thought that about Wright Waters too. He's now the head of the College Football Bowl Committee.

(03-24-2015 08:52 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(03-24-2015 06:02 AM)BRtransplant Wrote:  How Benson was able to con his way into the job of Sun Belt Conference commissioner is beyond me. He is a Boise St graduate who's heart lies in the sports of colleges out west. His actions alone destroyed the WAC, and I was shocked that the Sun Belt hired him after that. Once you guys dump him, he'll be out of college sports for good. As far as I'm concerned, it will be a case of good riddance and it couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.

WAC died because the members had other places to go and the FCS schools out there were not interested in moving up. Benson if listened to by the WAC presidents who didn't want to lower themselves by adding "inferior" programs would have put the Belt out of action in 2004.

No, the WAC died because of an ill advised move made by Benson to align the WAC with BYU in its olympic sports in an attempt to destroy the MWC after it had just lost Boise and SDSU to the Big East. The MWC had gotten down to only 5 members at that time and Benson attempted to administer a final kill shot, but it backfired on him terribly. Instead of being destroyed, the MWC simply added Fresno and Nevada, and later Hawaii to get to eight members. The later MWC added Utah State and SJSU, while CUSA added La Tech and UTSA. Texas State then joined the SBC and the WAC was history, all thanks to an aggressive move that Benson was not properly prepared for.

(03-24-2015 06:33 PM)BRtransplant Wrote:  

(03-24-2015 08:52 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(03-24-2015 06:02 AM)BRtransplant Wrote:  How Benson was able to con his way into the job of Sun Belt Conference commissioner is beyond me. He is a Boise St graduate who's heart lies in the sports of colleges out west. His actions alone destroyed the WAC, and I was shocked that the Sun Belt hired him after that. Once you guys dump him, he'll be out of college sports for good. As far as I'm concerned, it will be a case of good riddance and it couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.

WAC died because the members had other places to go and the FCS schools out there were not interested in moving up. Benson if listened to by the WAC presidents who didn't want to lower themselves by adding "inferior" programs would have put the Belt out of action in 2004.

No, the WAC died because of an ill advised move made by Benson to align the WAC with BYU in its olympic sports in an attempt to destroy the MWC after it had just lost Boise and SDSU to the Big East. The MWC had gotten down to only 5 members at that time and Benson attempted to administer a final kill shot, but it backfired on him terribly. Instead of being destroyed, the MWC simply added Fresno and Nevada, and later Hawaii to get to eight members. The later MWC added Utah State and SJSU, while CUSA added La Tech and UTSA. Texas State then joined the SBC and the WAC was history, all thanks to an aggressive move that Benson was not properly prepared for.

BYU was leaving MWC no matter what. They were offered more from ESPN on their own than they could make in MWC. MWC was going to go to 12 to add a title game to offset losing BYU.

Benson wanted to make a move to weaken the MWC and had all of his ducks in a row and then one of the schools in the WAC tipped off MWC and other schools and it was foiled. Benson did what he could, but the hand he was dealt was rotten and it still almost worked.

Benson tried to save the WAC when there were members of the WAC who didn't want to save the WAC.

His SBC Screw ups have been worse than anything that he ever did with the WAC if you honestly asked me.

(03-25-2015 12:30 AM)chiefsfan Wrote:  Benson tried to save the WAC when there were members of the WAC who didn't want to save the WAC.

His SBC Screw ups have been worse than anything that he ever did with the WAC if you honestly asked me.

I'm not a Benson fan. But he hasn't done nearly as much damage as Waters did with his TV deal.

(03-25-2015 02:09 AM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 12:30 AM)chiefsfan Wrote:  Benson tried to save the WAC when there were members of the WAC who didn't want to save the WAC.

His SBC Screw ups have been worse than anything that he ever did with the WAC if you honestly asked me.

I'm not a Benson fan. But he hasn't done nearly as much damage as Waters did with his TV deal.

Not sure what was wrong with that deal. Same money as MAC had just signed with fewer games moved to weeknights.

We had a look-in period with ESPN to renegotiate last year and the current commissioner opted to not exercise that right presumably believing he could do no better.

(03-25-2015 08:34 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 02:09 AM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 12:30 AM)chiefsfan Wrote:  Benson tried to save the WAC when there were members of the WAC who didn't want to save the WAC.

His SBC Screw ups have been worse than anything that he ever did with the WAC if you honestly asked me.

I'm not a Benson fan. But he hasn't done nearly as much damage as Waters did with his TV deal.

Not sure what was wrong with that deal. Same money as MAC had just signed with fewer games moved to weeknights.

We had a look-in period with ESPN to renegotiate last year and the current commissioner opted to not exercise that right presumably believing he could do no better.

I may be speaking for most....at least I think so....but those weeknight games are terrible for crowds, enthusiasm and for almost everyone.....the occasional prime time Thursday is one thing....but Tuesday and Wednesday are for the birds...

(03-25-2015 09:12 AM)Buzz Lightyear Lite Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 08:34 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 02:09 AM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 12:30 AM)chiefsfan Wrote:  Benson tried to save the WAC when there were members of the WAC who didn't want to save the WAC.

His SBC Screw ups have been worse than anything that he ever did with the WAC if you honestly asked me.

I'm not a Benson fan. But he hasn't done nearly as much damage as Waters did with his TV deal.

Not sure what was wrong with that deal. Same money as MAC had just signed with fewer games moved to weeknights.

We had a look-in period with ESPN to renegotiate last year and the current commissioner opted to not exercise that right presumably believing he could do no better.

I may be speaking for most....at least I think so....but those weeknight games are terrible for crowds, enthusiasm and for almost everyone.....the occasional prime time Thursday is one thing....but Tuesday and Wednesday are for the birds...

Nobody likes them but for exposure it is better than playing on a non-ESPN or network station on a weekend. For the fans that are already on board, ESPN3 games on a weekend are a better deal but lack the exposure for the time being.

Play on a weekend on ESPN3 or whatever channel it is that CUSA uses and you get no exposure but your fans are happy because the home fans can attend and the fans that seek out the game can still see it on TV.

Play a weeknight and get a LOT more eyeballs and attention from recruits but the home fans suffer.

(03-25-2015 09:19 AM)Crump1 Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 09:12 AM)Buzz Lightyear Lite Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 08:34 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 02:09 AM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(03-25-2015 12:30 AM)chiefsfan Wrote:  Benson tried to save the WAC when there were members of the WAC who didn't want to save the WAC.

His SBC Screw ups have been worse than anything that he ever did with the WAC if you honestly asked me.

I'm not a Benson fan. But he hasn't done nearly as much damage as Waters did with his TV deal.

Not sure what was wrong with that deal. Same money as MAC had just signed with fewer games moved to weeknights.

We had a look-in period with ESPN to renegotiate last year and the current commissioner opted to not exercise that right presumably believing he could do no better.

I may be speaking for most....at least I think so....but those weeknight games are terrible for crowds, enthusiasm and for almost everyone.....the occasional prime time Thursday is one thing....but Tuesday and Wednesday are for the birds...

Nobody likes them but for exposure it is better than playing on a non-ESPN or network station on a weekend. For the fans that are already on board, ESPN3 games on a weekend are a better deal but lack the exposure for the time being.

Play on a weekend on ESPN3 or whatever channel it is that CUSA uses and you get no exposure but your fans are happy because the home fans can attend and the fans that seek out the game can still see it on TV.

Play a weeknight and get a LOT more eyeballs and attention from recruits but the home fans suffer.

And this is where mythology gets mixed in with percentage of viewers. While the number of households viewing CUSA's games Fox Sports is not great, their games can be found on television in prime on Saturday, in comparison to the Sun Belt Games in the internet. What does that mean? For one, many potential student athletes live in poverty and do not have access to Wi-Fi, or can't afford the cost. They can watch CUSA games on Satellite or cable. And many student athletes are not aware that the Sun Belt Conference games are viewable on the internet.

Secondly, many people watch games with family and friends at home or sports bars if not attending a game. They are the national games of the week or their favorite P5 teams. For the most part, the majority of fans watching SBC or CUSA football games are fans of those programs. The difference is I can sit in a sports bar and find CUSA games on television prime time on Saturday. While the viewing audience is not much greater, its still a competitive edge for their conference.

Personally, I don't care for the ESPN3 games. It's not available to everyone, only to specific providers, and my satellite internet does a horrible job of streaming video and eats up a lot of my available data allowance for each month.

Get our games on an actual TV so I can tune it in and watch.

If a family can only afford a basic (not locals only package) they have access to ESPN and ESPN2 but most likely do not have access CBS Sports or a package that provides ASN.

If you are under 24 most of your internet consumption is via mobile device and applications.

(03-25-2015 10:14 AM)Usajags Wrote:  Personally, I don't care for the ESPN3 games. It's not available to everyone, only to specific providers, and my satellite internet does a horrible job of streaming video and eats up a lot of my available data allowance for each month.

Get our games on an actual TV so I can tune it in and watch.

I agree, don't like them. I'd rather rhem be on fs1 or cbs sports on the weekend any day of the week.