Being reported on the Sun Belt board. Conference realignment is alive once more.

http://csnbbs.com/thread-746850.html

Solid add. Go chanticlears

Sun Belt now at 12 teams and talks of a championship game eventually.

And now UMass has no hope of going anywhere... Unless that is the American gets blown apart.

Don't think UMASS would have touched SunBelt even in desperate measures.

(09-01-2015 11:13 AM)Bull_In_Exile Wrote:  And now UMass has no hope of going anywhere... Unless that is the American gets blown apart.

(09-01-2015 11:13 AM)Bull_In_Exile Wrote:  And now UMass has no hope of going anywhere... Unless that is the American gets blown apart.

Kind of like purgatory awaiting someone leaving AAC.

(09-01-2015 11:33 AM)rocketinchitown Wrote:  Don't think UMASS would have touched SunBelt even in desperate measures.

(09-01-2015 11:13 AM)Bull_In_Exile Wrote:  And now UMass has no hope of going anywhere... Unless that is the American gets blown apart.

They would have taken a fball only.

(09-01-2015 12:59 PM)Bull_In_Exile Wrote:  

(09-01-2015 11:33 AM)rocketinchitown Wrote:  Don't think UMASS would have touched SunBelt even in desperate measures.

(09-01-2015 11:13 AM)Bull_In_Exile Wrote:  And now UMass has no hope of going anywhere... Unless that is the American gets blown apart.

They would have taken a fball only.

Let me take you you down memory lane.
UMass approached Karl Benson about football only membership and he thought it would happen. Ark State along with Ark LR and ULL and along LA Monroe were against it. That went down in flames what seems like two years ago.

Sunbelt fb-only option was put to rest a long time ago.
It seemed like the #1 option when we declined the all sports invite.
We and no other fb-only team ever had negotiated an all sports invite into a MAC Conference Affiliate contract.

(09-01-2015 11:48 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(09-01-2015 11:13 AM)Bull_In_Exile Wrote:  And now UMass has no hope of going anywhere... Unless that is the American gets blown apart.

Kind of like purgatory awaiting someone leaving AAC.

Look at their schedule over the next 5 years, if that's purgatory; any G5 that can park their hoops and olympic sports in a decent non football conference should consider going Indy. Helps to have access to an NFL stadium for home game.

2016
3 SEC opponents: At Florida over Labor day weekend, MS St at home and at SC
Other home games with UCONN, Tulane, LaTech(top CUSA team)
at BYU the weekend before Tday and at Hawaii the weekend after Tday.
Road game at BC which is as much a road game for them as Dyche Stadium was for NIU last year.

2017
opens at UCONN which is closer to Springfield than Foxboro is
home game with ODU
at Temple, Philadelphia is only 300 miles from Springfield, a train ride.
at MSU- SEC opponent
Home games with Ohio & Hawaii
at USF- Tampa in mid October
Home games with Georgia Southern and Appalachian St- 2 of the best in the Belt
at TN- 2nd SEC opponent who is paying them $1M for the game.
Home game with Maine
Final Road game at BYU the weekend before Tday

2018

09/01 - at Boston College- hardly a road game
09/08 - at Georgia Southern
09/15 - at Florida International
09/22 - Charlotte
09/29 - at Ohio
10/06 - USF
11/03 - Troy
11/10 - BYU

2019

08/31 - Maine
09/14 - at Charlotte
10/19 - at Louisiana Tech top CUSA team
11/09 - at Army Beginning of a 4 game series
11/23 - BYU yeah a 4 game series with BYU 2/2

2020
09/26 - at Appalachian State top Belt team
10/17 - at Mississippi State SEC opponent
11/21 - Army

2021
9/4 at Colorado 12 PAC opponent in Boulder over Labor Day weekend
11/20 at Army

Maybe I'm getting old but I can't keep track of who is in the Sun Belt vs. CUSA vs. AAC anymore.

(09-02-2015 11:07 AM)Policiious Wrote:  Look at their schedule over the next 5 years, if that's purgatory; any G5 that can park their hoops and olympic sports in a decent non football conference should consider going Indy. Helps to have access to an NFL stadium for home game.

2016
Other home games with UCONN, Tulane, LaTech(top CUSA team)
at BYU the weekend before Tday and at Hawaii the weekend after Tday.
Road game at BC which is as much a road game for them as Dyche Stadium was for NIU last year.

2017
opens at UCONN which is closer to Springfield than Foxboro is
home game with ODU
at Temple, Philadelphia is only 300 miles from Springfield, a train ride.
at MSU- SEC opponent
Home games with Ohio & Hawaii
at USF- Tampa in mid October
Home games with Georgia Southern and Appalachian St- 2 of the best in the Belt
at TN- 2nd SEC opponent who is paying them $1M for the game.
Home game with Maine
Final Road game at BYU the weekend before Tday

2018

09/01 - at Boston College- hardly a road game
09/08 - at Georgia Southern
09/15 - at Florida International
09/22 - Charlotte
09/29 - at Ohio
10/06 - USF
11/03 - Troy
11/10 - BYU

2019

08/31 - Maine
09/14 - at Charlotte
10/19 - at Louisiana Tech top CUSA team
11/09 - at Army Beginning of a 4 game series
11/23 - BYU yeah a 4 game series with BYU 2/2

2020
09/26 - at Appalachian State top Belt team
10/17 - at Mississippi State SEC opponent
11/21 - Army

2021
9/4 at Colorado 12 PAC opponent in Boulder over Labor Day weekend
11/20 at Army

You think this is a great schedule for them? Come on the nothing stops from from playing Mississippi State or Colorado as a member of a conference. Every school, if they choose to, can have a meaty four game non conference.

Look at the sept home / away -

2017 - 1/3 (only home is odu)
2018 - 1/4 (only home is charlotte)
2019 - 1/1 (only home is Maine)

How often do we hear people blame their bad attendance on "early away games" well UMass is going to have a lot of those because they have no leverage. None. They have to go out and find 12 games a year.

Half of the "good" you mentioned can be done while in a conference. Hell, UB has had Pitt and UConn come to UB stadium a half dozen times since 2009.

On top of that they have no 1mil per season ESPN contract, They have no CFB payout. They have no bowl agreements.

(09-02-2015 12:49 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  Maybe I'm getting old but I can't keep track of who is in the Sun Belt vs. CUSA vs. AAC anymore.

It's like a game of musical chairs, nobody stays in their seat for long

I kinda thought that the "new" C-USA was actually the Sun Belt in disguise!

(09-02-2015 02:43 PM)Bull_In_Exile Wrote:  

(09-02-2015 11:07 AM)Policiious Wrote:  Look at their schedule over the next 5 years, if that's purgatory; any G5 that can park their hoops and olympic sports in a decent non football conference should consider going Indy. Helps to have access to an NFL stadium for home game.

2016
Other home games with UCONN, Tulane, LaTech(top CUSA team)
at BYU the weekend before Tday and at Hawaii the weekend after Tday.
Road game at BC which is as much a road game for them as Dyche Stadium was for NIU last year.

2017
opens at UCONN which is closer to Springfield than Foxboro is
home game with ODU
at Temple, Philadelphia is only 300 miles from Springfield, a train ride.
at MSU- SEC opponent
Home games with Ohio & Hawaii
at USF- Tampa in mid October
Home games with Georgia Southern and Appalachian St- 2 of the best in the Belt
at TN- 2nd SEC opponent who is paying them $1M for the game.
Home game with Maine
Final Road game at BYU the weekend before Tday

2018

09/01 - at Boston College- hardly a road game
09/08 - at Georgia Southern
09/15 - at Florida International
09/22 - Charlotte
09/29 - at Ohio
10/06 - USF
11/03 - Troy
11/10 - BYU

2019

08/31 - Maine
09/14 - at Charlotte
10/19 - at Louisiana Tech top CUSA team
11/09 - at Army Beginning of a 4 game series
11/23 - BYU yeah a 4 game series with BYU 2/2

2020
09/26 - at Appalachian State top Belt team
10/17 - at Mississippi State SEC opponent
11/21 - Army

2021
9/4 at Colorado 12 PAC opponent in Boulder over Labor Day weekend
11/20 at Army

You think this is a great schedule for them? Come on the nothing stops from from playing Mississippi State or Colorado as a member of a conference. Every school, if they choose to, can have a meaty four game non conference.

Look at the sept home / away -

2017 - 1/3 (only home is odu)
2018 - 1/4 (only home is charlotte)
2019 - 1/1 (only home is Maine)

How often do we hear people blame their bad attendance on "early away games" well UMass is going to have a lot of those because they have no leverage. None. They have to go out and find 12 games a year.

Half of the "good" you mentioned can be done while in a conference. Hell, UB has had Pitt and UConn come to UB stadium a half dozen times since 2009.

On top of that they have no 1mil per season ESPN contract, They have no CFB payout. They have no bowl agreements.

At least one of those "road games" each season are at either UCONN or BC which is closer for many of their alumni than the campus is. UCONN is only 50 miles from Springfield. I am sure more of their alums live in Boston(BC) than Springfield.

They also are playing all home games on Saturday instead of getting stuck with Mid week home games every November. They have 3 SEC games next year, can only imagine how much $ they are getting for Florida and South Carolina. Tennesee is paying them $1m for that 1 game.

In 16,They have 3 SEC teams (1home) UCONN at home, BC (road hardly) and finish up at BYU weekend before Tday and Hawaii the wekend after. No MAC team will ever have a schedule like that!

in 17 they open at UCONN (50 miles from Springfield), have 2 SEC road games(getting $1m from TN) have 6 home games and finish at BYU the Sat before Tday. What was the last year a MAC team had a schedule like that!

In 18 their home games include USF & BYU, opening at BC(hardly a road game)
In 19 they play at Army(about 100 miles from Springfield) and host BYU the sat before Tday.
They have an SEC road game scheduled for 20 and host Army the wekend before Tday.

Besides the lack of conference payouts, what about bowl bids?

How does a 7 - 5 UMass get a bowl game?

Don't 99% of bowl games have backup arrangements and backup to the backup arrangements?

[quote='Policiious' pid='12330388' dateline='1441390095']
At least one of those "road games" each season are at either UCONN or BC which is closer for many of their alumni than the campus is../quote]

And that's different then what they have done in the MAC how? You're not getting the point. If you seriously believe they will be better off as a football independent.

Indy football + A10 other sports pays about $1M/yr less than MAC all sports.

As a football Indy you have no bowl tie ins, no division or conference championships to play for, no TV contract and an ever changing schedule that makes it nearly impossible to develop any meaningful rivalries. Imagine trying to recruit a kid to come to UMass and having coaches from other schools constantly pointing out these deficiencies to them. Those things matter to recruits.

(09-01-2015 11:33 AM)rocketinchitown Wrote:  Don't think UMASS would have touched SunBelt even in desperate measures.

(09-01-2015 11:13 AM)Bull_In_Exile Wrote:  And now UMass has no hope of going anywhere... Unless that is the American gets blown apart.

As already noted, they explicitly asked.

The Sunbelt now has 12 full Olympic-sport members, 10 of them play FB, with the FB-only affiliations coming up for renewable / cancellation this year, so they will decide whether to be a 10 team or a 12 team FB conference. If they decide to be a 12 team FB conference, with all-sports members or FB-only members. Then if they decide with FB-only members, with the two they have now, or swap UMass for Idaho.

There's a pure financial incentive for FB-only. They can take the $1m CFP money from the affiliates, pay a $100,000 travel subsidy for away games to the affiliate, and retain $600,000 to be divided among the all-sports FB members. So the schools not playing either NMSU or UMass/Idaho away would get $60,000, while the schools playing one or the other away would get $160,000.

Add four BBall games (2h/2a) with Sunbelt schools ... and now its obvious that the Sun Belt would have some reason to look at NMSU and UMass as FB-only members, with 1/3 of their members each season getting a home game hosting either UMass or NMSU.

(09-04-2015 04:08 PM)perimeterpost Wrote:  Indy football + A10 other sports pays about $1M/yr less than MAC all sports.

As a football Indy you have no bowl tie ins, no division or conference championships to play for, no TV contract and an ever changing schedule that makes it nearly impossible to develop any meaningful rivalries. Imagine trying to recruit a kid to come to UMass and having coaches from other schools constantly pointing out these deficiencies to them. Those things matter to recruits.

More or less true. In the near future we have no choice now and will need to accelerate improving our facilities and changing the extremely BB first mentality to start tipping more and more towards football. It's a tall order and our new AD understands that football needs to drive the bus. If the MAC waited a year or two more to exercise the Temple contract clause, perhaps we might have accepted an all sports invite. All water under the bridge now and there is no debate, it's much better to belong in a conference and it should be for all sports.

(09-04-2015 12:55 PM)exCincy Kid1 Wrote:  I kinda thought that the "new" C-USA was actually the Sun Belt in disguise!

If you knew who was who in 2000, and you think a school is a CUSA, that's probably AAC, if you think a school is Sun Belt, that is probably CUSA, and if you think a school is FCS, that is probably Sun Belt.

Actually, it's kind of easier to learn the schools that didn't move than the ones that did.