Huge gap between the group of UTEP, UTSA, Southern Miss, Marshall and Old Dominion vs the others with FIU and WKU as 'tweeners.

Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, UTSA, UTEP, and maybe Marshall and Florida Atlantic are the only programs that do not look like FCS teams 15 years ago. To many teams moving up and teams moving up that should not be. I have no problem with programs moving up to FBS but they need to at least have a chance of growing a fan base. Old Dominion adds just a third teams in large state in a large population area with no pro sports. Will have good attendance same for UTSA and Georgia Southern. The average person in GA can get into GT or maybe UGA but they can go to GA Southern and they can grow off of that. North Texas, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, FIU, and Charlotte should all be FCS. No of them draws a fly. When we played at FIU and at Middle Tennessee a few years ago it was sad. No one was in the stands looked like a spring game.

(05-20-2015 12:52 PM)Carolina_Low_Country Wrote:  Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, UTSA, UTEP, and maybe Marshall and Florida Atlantic are the only programs that do not look like FCS teams 15 years ago. To many teams moving up and teams moving up that should not be. I have no problem with programs moving up to FBS but they need to at least have a chance of growing a fan base. Old Dominion adds just a third teams in large state in a large population area with no pro sports. Will have good attendance same for UTSA and Georgia Southern. The average person in GA can get into GT or maybe UGA but they can go to GA Southern and they can grow off of that. North Texas, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, FIU, and Charlotte should all be FCS. No of them draws a fly. When we played at FIU and at Middle Tennessee a few years ago it was sad. No one was in the stands looked like a spring game.

I'd like to throw this out there, and I admit it's coming purely from a selfish, App State-centric point of view...

I wish there was a way for two new conferences to emerge out of C-USA and the Sun Belt, divided geographically.

The eastern league would consist of:

Marshall
Old Dominion
App State
Charlotte
Georgia State
Georgia Southern
FIU
FAU
MTSU
WKU
Troy
S. Alabama (Troy and S. Alabama could go in either league)

The western league would consist of:

Southern Miss
La. Tech
La. Monroe
La. Lafayette
Arkansas State
Rice
UTSA
Texas State
North Texas
UTEP

Idaho is likely to be left out of the Sun Belt in a few years. New Mexico State could be an 11th team in the western league, I suppose.

The problem is neither C-USA nor the Sun Belt are going to draw much off TV, nor is either going to be able to accrue much in NCAA tournament units. They're both going to be one-bid leagues most years, two-bid leagues every now and then. So they might as well align geographically and give schools a chance to be a part of a league where alumni can actually have some sort of interest/animosity toward a geographically close opponent.

Ain't gonna happen. I know. But for low-budget conferences where neither really is doing that much to outshine the other on-the-field, it seems ridiculous that C-USA and the Sun Belt are both stretched across three time zones without even some promise of TV dollars to justify, as the AAC does.

(05-20-2015 12:52 PM)Carolina_Low_Country Wrote:  Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, UTSA, UTEP, and maybe Marshall and Florida Atlantic are the only programs that do not look like FCS teams 15 years ago. To many teams moving up and teams moving up that should not be. I have no problem with programs moving up to FBS but they need to at least have a chance of growing a fan base. Old Dominion adds just a third teams in large state in a large population area with no pro sports. Will have good attendance same for UTSA and Georgia Southern. The average person in GA can get into GT or maybe UGA but they can go to GA Southern and they can grow off of that. North Texas, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, FIU, and Charlotte should all be FCS. No of them draws a fly. When we played at FIU and at Middle Tennessee a few years ago it was sad. No one was in the stands looked like a spring game.

We're here and planning on staying around. Now, if we'd only cheat maybe we can be more like a P5 school in the state. lol

None of this is relevant to the AAC.

Marshall fans would commit mass suicide if those two leagues happened

And that's why it's prefaced with OT. However we can make this on topic if we see the AAC numbers.


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(05-20-2015 04:44 PM)PurpleReigns2012 Wrote:  Marshall fans would commit mass suicide if those two leagues happened

And that's why it's prefaced with OT. However we can make this on topic if we see the AAC numbers.


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So compile them and make a thread on that.

(05-20-2015 05:16 PM)Kruciff Wrote:  

(05-20-2015 04:44 PM)PurpleReigns2012 Wrote:  Marshall fans would commit mass suicide if those two leagues happened

And that's why it's prefaced with OT. However we can make this on topic if we see the AAC numbers.


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So compile them and make a thread on that.

So then this could be moved to the "Off Topic" forum. interesting.

(05-20-2015 08:25 PM)USFRamenu Wrote:  

(05-20-2015 05:16 PM)Kruciff Wrote:  

(05-20-2015 04:44 PM)PurpleReigns2012 Wrote:  Marshall fans would commit mass suicide if those two leagues happened

And that's why it's prefaced with OT. However we can make this on topic if we see the AAC numbers.


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So compile them and make a thread on that.

So then this could be moved to the "Off Topic" forum. interesting.

If this wasn't the offseason I would. I will, though, if the next post isn't relevant to the AAC forum.