(06-23-2015 09:36 PM)SApuro Wrote:  Essentially all G5 conference are near equals with the access bowl.

The "best" G5 conference will most likely rotate yearly.

2014 Results
1) MWC
2) CUSA
3) AAC
4) MAC
5) SB

I think if you dig a little deeper you will find the MW and AAC on their own level and then the others on the lowest level. Compare AD budgets for example to get an idea. UConn 70+ million and Cinci 60 million are in a different class than Arkansas Little Rock with an AD budget less than 10 million in the Sun Belt.

Essentially the MW and AAC might get a team in a big bowl if they play a tough OOC schedule and blow everybody out in the conference going undefeated.

The others you have no realistic chance.

(06-23-2015 11:22 PM)Okielite Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 09:36 PM)SApuro Wrote:  Essentially all G5 conference are near equals with the access bowl.

The "best" G5 conference will most likely rotate yearly.

2014 Results
1) MWC
2) CUSA
3) AAC
4) MAC
5) SB

I think if you dig a little deeper you will find the MW and AAC on their own level and then the others on the lowest level. Compare AD budgets for example to get an idea. UConn 70+ million and Cinci 60 million are in a different class than Arkansas Little Rock with an AD budget less than 10 million in the Sun Belt.

Essentially the MW and AAC might get a team in a big bowl if they play a tough OOC schedule and blow everybody out in the conference going undefeated.

The others you have no realistic chance.

The 2014 results he listed were based off on the field results, where the games are played. Not budgets. And you're right, Marshall (C-USA) had no realistic shot at a major bowl. It was only down to us and Boise State going into the last week of the season.

(06-23-2015 01:04 PM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 12:40 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  Ppfftt and CUSA fans argue NIU should join this conference version of the Titanic? No thanks, at least the MAC is stable...

Well the only C-USA fan base that probably views it that way is USM. They are the last of the charter members remaining. The majority of current C-USA teams weren't playing FBS football when C-USA started, and a fair number of them weren't playing football at all.

(06-23-2015 11:22 PM)Okielite Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 09:36 PM)SApuro Wrote:  Essentially all G5 conference are near equals with the access bowl.

The "best" G5 conference will most likely rotate yearly.

2014 Results
1) MWC
2) CUSA
3) AAC
4) MAC
5) SB

I think if you dig a little deeper you will find the MW and AAC on their own level and then the others on the lowest level. Compare AD budgets for example to get an idea. UConn 70+ million and Cinci 60 million are in a different class than Arkansas Little Rock with an AD budget less than 10 million in the Sun Belt.

Essentially the MW and AAC might get a team in a big bowl if they play a tough OOC schedule and blow everybody out in the conference going undefeated.

The others you have no realistic chance.

If you look at who the AAC invited from CUSA and who CUSA invited from the SBC, it pretty much went straight down the line of who had the biggest budgets.

(06-23-2015 11:22 PM)Okielite Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 09:36 PM)SApuro Wrote:  Essentially all G5 conference are near equals with the access bowl.

The "best" G5 conference will most likely rotate yearly.

2014 Results
1) MWC
2) CUSA
3) AAC
4) MAC
5) SB

I think if you dig a little deeper you will find the MW and AAC on their own level and then the others on the lowest level. Compare AD budgets for example to get an idea. UConn 70+ million and Cinci 60 million are in a different class than Arkansas Little Rock with an AD budget less than 10 million in the Sun Belt.

Essentially the MW and AAC might get a team in a big bowl if they play a tough OOC schedule and blow everybody out in the conference going undefeated.

The others you have no realistic chance.

And yet at the end of last season, C-USA and the MWC were the conferences that had teams in contention for the access bowl.

Budgets don't take the field. Players do. Last season the players in C-USA out played those of the AAC. Your larger budgets just means you have not got your moneys worth.

If the AAC had more success on the field, you wouldn't have to try and argue your point with off the field stats.

(06-23-2015 02:23 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 02:17 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 12:40 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  Ppfftt and CUSA fans argue NIU should join this conference version of the Titanic? No thanks, at least the MAC is stable...

Who the hell's arguing that Northern Illinois should join CUSA? They'd be an island and an awkward fit. Plus CUSA already sits at 14 teams. I don't foresee expansion or replacement unless and until they dip below 12.

It's been floated a lot when UAB was potentially being removed (and god knows what's still happening there... stupid politicians)

It was not "floated a lot". I proposed the move, and no one really supported it. I only proposed it in the event that UAB left C-USA. If you go back and read those old posts, you would find that I preferred staying at 13 over adding the Huskies. NIU is not some highly sought after program every G5 is clamoring for.

Yes, I thought NIU could be an asset to C-USA, but luckily, it appears UAB will regain their football program and keep C-USA stable... which is the best possible result.

(06-24-2015 09:49 AM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 11:22 PM)Okielite Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 09:36 PM)SApuro Wrote:  Essentially all G5 conference are near equals with the access bowl.

The "best" G5 conference will most likely rotate yearly.

2014 Results
1) MWC
2) CUSA
3) AAC
4) MAC
5) SB

I think if you dig a little deeper you will find the MW and AAC on their own level and then the others on the lowest level. Compare AD budgets for example to get an idea. UConn 70+ million and Cinci 60 million are in a different class than Arkansas Little Rock with an AD budget less than 10 million in the Sun Belt.

Essentially the MW and AAC might get a team in a big bowl if they play a tough OOC schedule and blow everybody out in the conference going undefeated.

The others you have no realistic chance.

And yet at the end of last season, C-USA and the MWC were the conferences that had teams in contention for the access bowl.

Budgets don't take the field. Players do. Last season the players in C-USA out played those of the AAC. Your larger budgets just means you have not got your moneys worth.

If the AAC had more success on the field, you wouldn't have to try and argue your point with off the field stats.

He's an Oklahoma State fan with nothing to gain by artificially pumping up the AAC.

Now that conference realignment has settled, let's see how the conferences do over a 5 year period. C-USA may very well be a better league, but you can't make a "trend" judgement off of what happened in one year.

(06-24-2015 10:06 AM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 02:23 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 02:17 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 12:40 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  Ppfftt and CUSA fans argue NIU should join this conference version of the Titanic? No thanks, at least the MAC is stable...

Who the hell's arguing that Northern Illinois should join CUSA? They'd be an island and an awkward fit. Plus CUSA already sits at 14 teams. I don't foresee expansion or replacement unless and until they dip below 12.

It's been floated a lot when UAB was potentially being removed (and god knows what's still happening there... stupid politicians)

It was not "floated a lot". I proposed the move, and no one really supported it. I only proposed it in the event that UAB left C-USA. If you go back and read those old posts, you would find that I preferred staying at 13 over adding the Huskies. NIU is not some highly sought after program every G5 is clamoring for.

Yes, I thought NIU could be an asset to C-USA, but luckily, it appears UAB will regain their football program and keep C-USA stable... which is the best possible result.

The problem is that several of C-USA and AAC schools can not be very competitive like the MWC, MAC and Sun Belt against P5 schools.

Sun Belt weak teams: Georgia State, Troy
MAC:Eastern Michigan
C-USA:Rice, Southern Miss., UAB, FAU, FIU
AAC:Temple, Tulsa, SMU, Tulane, U. Conn., USF
MWC:UNLV
I still consider Idaho and New Mexico State as WACs only teams that always a bunch of losers. Nobody wants losers in football.

(06-24-2015 10:12 AM)oliveandblue Wrote:  

(06-24-2015 09:49 AM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 11:22 PM)Okielite Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 09:36 PM)SApuro Wrote:  Essentially all G5 conference are near equals with the access bowl.

The "best" G5 conference will most likely rotate yearly.

2014 Results
1) MWC
2) CUSA
3) AAC
4) MAC
5) SB

I think if you dig a little deeper you will find the MW and AAC on their own level and then the others on the lowest level. Compare AD budgets for example to get an idea. UConn 70+ million and Cinci 60 million are in a different class than Arkansas Little Rock with an AD budget less than 10 million in the Sun Belt.

Essentially the MW and AAC might get a team in a big bowl if they play a tough OOC schedule and blow everybody out in the conference going undefeated.

The others you have no realistic chance.

And yet at the end of last season, C-USA and the MWC were the conferences that had teams in contention for the access bowl.

Budgets don't take the field. Players do. Last season the players in C-USA out played those of the AAC. Your larger budgets just means you have not got your moneys worth.

If the AAC had more success on the field, you wouldn't have to try and argue your point with off the field stats.

He's an Oklahoma State fan with nothing to gain by artificially pumping up the AAC.

Now that conference realignment has settled, let's see how the conferences do over a 5 year period. C-USA may very well be a better league, but you can't make a "trend" judgement off of what happened in one year.

I agree. One season doesn't equate to a trend. We need to hold off on these "pecking order" types of arguments until we have seen more seasons under this new alignment.

Using the official breakdown of money paid to conferences for performance, C-USA had a better season then the AAC, but it isn't representative of a trend. C-USA would need to continue to finish ahead over a period of years. Personally, I don't think any G5 conference can dominate all of the others over a period of 5 seasons. I believe the access bowl will feature at least one team from the MWC, C-USA, and AAC over 5 seasons. But, we will see.

(06-24-2015 02:40 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  

(06-24-2015 10:06 AM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 02:23 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 02:17 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 12:40 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  Ppfftt and CUSA fans argue NIU should join this conference version of the Titanic? No thanks, at least the MAC is stable...

Who the hell's arguing that Northern Illinois should join CUSA? They'd be an island and an awkward fit. Plus CUSA already sits at 14 teams. I don't foresee expansion or replacement unless and until they dip below 12.

It's been floated a lot when UAB was potentially being removed (and god knows what's still happening there... stupid politicians)

It was not "floated a lot". I proposed the move, and no one really supported it. I only proposed it in the event that UAB left C-USA. If you go back and read those old posts, you would find that I preferred staying at 13 over adding the Huskies. NIU is not some highly sought after program every G5 is clamoring for.

Yes, I thought NIU could be an asset to C-USA, but luckily, it appears UAB will regain their football program and keep C-USA stable... which is the best possible result.

The problem is that several of C-USA and AAC schools can not be very competitive like the MWC, MAC and Sun Belt against P5 schools.

Sun Belt weak teams: Georgia State, Troy
MAC:Eastern Michigan
C-USA:Rice, Southern Miss., UAB, FAU, FIU
AAC:Temple, Tulsa, SMU, Tulane, U. Conn., USF
MWC:UNLV
I still consider Idaho and New Mexico State as WACs only teams that always a bunch of losers. Nobody wants losers in football.

You realize UConn and USF have beaten Power 5 schools in football on a number of occasions don't you? USF and UConn both beat Notre Dame just a couple years ago. USF beat a top three ranked Auburn, UConn beat the crap out of South Carolina in a bowl game. I could cite several more examples.

(06-24-2015 03:05 PM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(06-24-2015 02:40 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  

(06-24-2015 10:06 AM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 02:23 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 02:17 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  Who the hell's arguing that Northern Illinois should join CUSA? They'd be an island and an awkward fit. Plus CUSA already sits at 14 teams. I don't foresee expansion or replacement unless and until they dip below 12.

It's been floated a lot when UAB was potentially being removed (and god knows what's still happening there... stupid politicians)

It was not "floated a lot". I proposed the move, and no one really supported it. I only proposed it in the event that UAB left C-USA. If you go back and read those old posts, you would find that I preferred staying at 13 over adding the Huskies. NIU is not some highly sought after program every G5 is clamoring for.

Yes, I thought NIU could be an asset to C-USA, but luckily, it appears UAB will regain their football program and keep C-USA stable... which is the best possible result.

The problem is that several of C-USA and AAC schools can not be very competitive like the MWC, MAC and Sun Belt against P5 schools.

Sun Belt weak teams: Georgia State, Troy
MAC:Eastern Michigan
C-USA:Rice, Southern Miss., UAB, FAU, FIU
AAC:Temple, Tulsa, SMU, Tulane, U. Conn., USF
MWC:UNLV
I still consider Idaho and New Mexico State as WACs only teams that always a bunch of losers. Nobody wants losers in football.

You realize UConn and USF have beaten Power 5 schools in football on a number of occasions don't you? USF and UConn both beat Notre Dame just a couple years ago. USF beat a top three ranked Auburn, UConn beat the crap out of South Carolina in a bowl game. I could cite several more examples.

They have not been able to retain that momentum the past few years. They completely dropped off, and get beat by double digits by the P5 schools.

With the BCS Conferences Expanding, and the Big East kicked out of the BCS and called the AAC...

... The AAC has become the new CUSA by making them come over to cover the lost souls who left to the ACC. CUSA has took from FCS, Sun Belt, and WAC when dissolving.

CUSA is to Sun Belt, as to what AAC is to CUSA.

Sun Belt (and old WAC when disappearing)->CUSA->AAC

With a good bball team and promised $$ of expansion for a football club, an FCS team can skip the Sun Belt run and go right to CUSA apparently.

But yeah, CUSA isn't what it used to be. If you had Marshall join the MAC, the MAC would be unquestionably better than CUSA (CUSA minus Marshall vs MAC plus Marshall).

Basically, CUSA is starting over -- trying to make teams like Middle Tennessee State and Western Kentucky rise to mid-major powerhouse level, to get back closer to where they once were.

But right now, it's 3 levels: (1) Mountain West & AAC , (2) CUSA & MAC, and (3) Sun Belt

(06-24-2015 07:12 AM)MUsince96 Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 11:22 PM)Okielite Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 09:36 PM)SApuro Wrote:  Essentially all G5 conference are near equals with the access bowl.

The "best" G5 conference will most likely rotate yearly.

2014 Results
1) MWC
2) CUSA
3) AAC
4) MAC
5) SB

I think if you dig a little deeper you will find the MW and AAC on their own level and then the others on the lowest level. Compare AD budgets for example to get an idea. UConn 70+ million and Cinci 60 million are in a different class than Arkansas Little Rock with an AD budget less than 10 million in the Sun Belt.

Essentially the MW and AAC might get a team in a big bowl if they play a tough OOC schedule and blow everybody out in the conference going undefeated.

The others you have no realistic chance.

The 2014 results he listed were based off on the field results, where the games are played. Not budgets. And you're right, Marshall (C-USA) had no realistic shot at a major bowl. It was only down to us and Boise State going into the last week of the season.

I think he meant to say playoffs.

(06-23-2015 06:48 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  For NIU to move to CUSA I would think there would need to be a group of 3-4 MAC schools moving to CUSA as a block. I doubt CUSA has any interest in getting that large. That said, it would be an interesting move for both conferences. It would allow CUSA to move into a heavily populated region in a very meaningful way while giving the MAC an opportunity to expand its footprint while largely maintaining its MAC identity.

That could have made sense 10 years ago if CUSA had taken NIU and Toledo go along with Marshall.

That was before the MAC's midweek ESPN TV deal and bowl saturation where almost any school with .500 or better record will find its place in a bowl. Before CUSA started to prove itself as a 1 bid (Memphis) NCAA basketball conference over the next decade.

Until the MAC signed the secondary rights deal with CBS, a deal that betters the MAC but more importantly closes the door on CUSA for CBS I thought MAC schools might be willing to consider CUSA for a large enough TV estimate (something in the 2 million per school range).

For CUSA to get to 2 million per school with a 16 team configuration you are looking at 30-32 million per year required. There is no way I see that happening when the AAC is getting in the 20 million range from ESPN/NBC offers.

(06-23-2015 11:22 PM)Okielite Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 09:36 PM)SApuro Wrote:  Essentially all G5 conference are near equals with the access bowl.

The "best" G5 conference will most likely rotate yearly.

2014 Results
1) MWC
2) CUSA
3) AAC
4) MAC
5) SB

I think if you dig a little deeper you will find the MW and AAC on their own level and then the others on the lowest level. Compare AD budgets for example to get an idea. UConn 70+ million and Cinci 60 million are in a different class than Arkansas Little Rock with an AD budget less than 10 million in the Sun Belt.

Essentially the MW and AAC might get a team in a big bowl if they play a tough OOC schedule and blow everybody out in the conference going undefeated.

The others you have no realistic chance.

great piece of fan fiction, best laugh I've had all day.

(06-24-2015 02:40 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  Sun Belt weak teams: Georgia State, Troy
MAC:Eastern Michigan
C-USA:Rice, Southern Miss., UAB, FAU, FIU
AAC:Temple, Tulsa, SMU, Tulane, U. Conn., USF
MWC:UNLV
I still consider Idaho and New Mexico State as WACs only teams that always a bunch of losers. Nobody wants losers in football.

LOL - take them out of the sunbelt conference and see what happens. They get drilled by decent ooc competition. Not one of those teams has finished a single season ranked - ever - while numerous of your "weak" teams have.
Look at the overall strength of institutions and the hierarchy is clear: AAC, MWC, C-USA, MAC, SBC and that's how the athletic strength will shake out in the long run.

I know I could probably find this somewhere if I dug through the boards, but what are the current payouts of the G5 conference for TV rights?

I would assume that the MWC and AAC have the best deals, but I have had someone that I trust tell me that CUSA has a better deal than AAC -- which seems surprising to me.

Also, as to the discussion of USM. Ark. State hits a lot of the problems, but leaves out a couple of significant ones:

(1) the OC actually stepped down/took a leave of absence before the season started and USM installed a coach who had coached high school the previous year to be the interim OC.

(2) USM did a 180 degree change in its conditioning program which turned out to be a disaster.

(3) it is hard to underestimate how bad Ellis Johnson was. In his opening game, USM played at Nebraska and looked good through halftime. Only down 7, Ellis benched the starting QB and went through two back-ups. At the press conference afterward, he essentially said he made the switch because "we weren't going to win anyway." Great way to inspire your team for the coming season. Very questionable decisions constantly, and no leadership.