The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(10-18-2015 06:57 PM)bladhmadh Wrote:  

(10-18-2015 05:32 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  Then how come Akron doesn't play in a better conference. They built an OCS.

The lack of fan and corporate support is a much bigger reason. Yes, an OCS would have helped improve that, but we still play in the State of Alabama, filled with fanatical Alabama fans that will never change allegiances. UAB will always be hampered by the fact that there is not a pool of potential fans who are not blindly attached to another school.

Also, UAB doesn't have a Fedex or an Autozone that is going to support UAB and UAB only. And that is why we are still in CUSA, even if we had BOt support.

Tulane had worse attendance than we did and we are in a better tv market for college sports

And you know that has nothing to do with Tulane getting the invite and everything to do with New Orleans being a destination spot.

(10-18-2015 05:18 PM)rook360 Wrote:  

(10-18-2015 01:42 PM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  The problem with the AAC is potential instability. Teams are too busy trying to leave the conference than stay and build the conference. The TV deal isn't that great even when compared to CUSA current TV deal from a financial perspective. It's more of a matter of preference; do you like watching games on ESPN vs FOX/ASN??? And last year the AAC wasn't the best G5 football conference.

The same can be said for C-USA as far as stability. It's all lip service by AD's and Presidents as far as "We love this conference and want to make it stronger (unless we can better position ourselves to go to a better conference)"

The TV deal is a TV deal. I'll watch UAB on FOX, ESPN, BET, TRU, or the home shopping network. It just depends on the conference's handling of the TV deal.

(10-18-2015 03:03 PM)blazers9911 Wrote:  The bot definitely hampered our ability. Not having an ocs contributed that out **** football display on the field, which contributed to lousy attendance, which were some factors that kept us out of the conference. Tulane got a bid over us...

Memphis doesn't have an OCS, they play in an off campus stadium. I think UAB's stability and lack of support hindered our move.

CUSA stability and the AAC stability is comparing apples to oranges.

(10-18-2015 07:06 PM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  CUSA stability and the AAC stability is comparing apples to oranges.

How so?

(10-18-2015 07:18 PM)rook360 Wrote:  

(10-18-2015 07:06 PM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  CUSA stability and the AAC stability is comparing apples to oranges.

How so?

The reason for CUSA instability is due mostly to those teams currently in the AAC. Those teams left CUSA because:

1. They thought they were joining the Big East with teams like Pitt, Cuse, Rutgers, Louisville and the Catholic 7.

2. They thought they were going to get a significant increase in money paid out per team.

Well we know how that all turned out. Now those same teams are ready to bolt the AAC at a moment notice. I want UAB to be associated with teams that want to be associated us, not constantly trying to distance themselves from us.

(10-18-2015 07:34 PM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  I want UAB to be associated with teams that want to be associated us, not constantly trying to distance themselves from us.

Using that logic, we should join the OVC or ASun... they'd all love to be associated with UAB.
The reality is that every program not in the P5 is trying to do whatever it can to increase outside revenue for its athletic program. Follow the money. We got left behind because we didn't bring enough to the table as a potential member at the time of recruitment. Hopefully things will change for us in the next 2-3 years as we build new athletic facilities, visit the NCAAs a few more times, increase donor and sponsorship revenue, and increase attendance in our major sports.
Maybe we'll be ready for the AAC in the next shuffling of decks.

Not trying to throw shade, but, to me, it'd be a lateral move.

The AAC is really taking off this year. They definitely outdo us in terms of more recognized, established schools, but getting to the conference is a nonstarter to me. The only reason they'd be accepting of anyone outside of the likes of Boise State (without those ridiculous stipulations), BYU, Army, Air Force etc. would be if they were forced to make additions because some schools left. It'd pretty much be a repeat of the allure of the Big East and the promises some programs got sold. Any C-USA school that sought to join the conference would more than likely find that Memphis, Cincinnati, UConn, or some combination of the top teams gone by the time they got there.

I think the reality of the situation is, that if C-USA school ever got called up, it'd be as a replacement to what would essentially be a version of C-USA that's worse than the real C-USA.

C-USA is capable of doing what the AAC is doing right now, and, with time, doing it even better. I just hope that no one jumps ship before they realize as much.

I'd be okay with accepting an AAC invite. It would show we are a desired commodity, even though AAC is a stupid acronym and the conference has zero history, brand or name recognition. Better for football anyway. It's where several of the C-USA teams worth a damn went, and we could always play Southern Miss as a non-conference game.

(10-18-2015 07:06 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  

(10-18-2015 06:57 PM)bladhmadh Wrote:  

(10-18-2015 05:32 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  Then how come Akron doesn't play in a better conference. They built an OCS.

The lack of fan and corporate support is a much bigger reason. Yes, an OCS would have helped improve that, but we still play in the State of Alabama, filled with fanatical Alabama fans that will never change allegiances. UAB will always be hampered by the fact that there is not a pool of potential fans who are not blindly attached to another school.

Also, UAB doesn't have a Fedex or an Autozone that is going to support UAB and UAB only. And that is why we are still in CUSA, even if we had BOt support.

Tulane had worse attendance than we did and we are in a better tv market for college sports

And you know that has nothing to do with Tulane getting the invite and everything to do with New Orleans being a destination spot.

I always sort of thought Tulane got the invite to force the Catholic schools to break away into their own conference (put them over the boiling point) but allowing the AAC to keep an auto-bid.

(10-18-2015 09:32 PM)UABslant Wrote:  

(10-18-2015 07:34 PM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  I want UAB to be associated with teams that want to be associated us, not constantly trying to distance themselves from us.

Using that logic, we should join the OVC or ASun... they'd all love to be associated with UAB.

We're with those programs right now that like being associated with UAB in CUSA. You misinterpreted my logic to make your point. My logic didn't say anything about taking a step back.

And I also said joining the AAC in its current form would be a no-brainer for UAB. My points that you took out of context were simply comparing the instability of the AAC and CUSA.

(10-19-2015 12:19 AM)demiveeman Wrote:  I always sort of thought Tulane got the invite to force the Catholic schools to break away into their own conference (put them over the boiling point) but allowing the AAC to keep an auto-bid.

Tulane as a poison pill? Makes sense; the invite did turn the conference into Jonestown.

UAB was fortunate to be in CUSA when Ray Watts committed his willful sabotage. Britton Banowsky opposed his evil and kept the door open for football's return. Not sure we would have gotten such strong support elsewhere.

How about we win some games in C-USA and put asses in the seats before we start reserving our spot in the ACC. We simply don't have the votes to get in. Right now we are in a league that wants us and have done nothing to prove we deserve to be in a so called "better league" Let's build some facilities, win some games in all sports, go to post season, put butts in the seats and then we have a leg to stand on.

(10-19-2015 05:31 AM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  

(10-18-2015 09:32 PM)UABslant Wrote:  

(10-18-2015 07:34 PM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  I want UAB to be associated with teams that want to be associated us, not constantly trying to distance themselves from us.

Using that logic, we should join the OVC or ASun... they'd all love to be associated with UAB.

We're with those programs right now that like being associated with UAB in CUSA. You misinterpreted my logic to make your point. My logic didn't say anything about taking a step back.

And I also said joining the AAC in its current form would be a no-brainer for UAB. My points that you took out of context were simply comparing the instability of the AAC and CUSA.

Marshall and southern miss would leave immediately if they got the invite. ODU will jump the second the get an opportunity as well. Just because we get along doesn't mean we all want to be here. I still wish the two conferences could have worked together to form more regional alignments, but it is what it is at this point.

It would have been great if we could have wound up in a conference with Memphis Tulane wku mtsu la tech and southern miss. All of those would be driveable away games. Oh well, we just play with the hand we are dealt, and I've never been happier to be in cusa than I am today.

Right now ODU would get an invite over UAB.

No doubt. ODU has enormous upside.

HUGE upside.

(10-19-2015 09:36 AM)blazers9911 Wrote:  

(10-19-2015 05:31 AM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  

(10-18-2015 09:32 PM)UABslant Wrote:  

(10-18-2015 07:34 PM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  I want UAB to be associated with teams that want to be associated us, not constantly trying to distance themselves from us.

Using that logic, we should join the OVC or ASun... they'd all love to be associated with UAB.

We're with those programs right now that like being associated with UAB in CUSA. You misinterpreted my logic to make your point. My logic didn't say anything about taking a step back.

And I also said joining the AAC in its current form would be a no-brainer for UAB. My points that you took out of context were simply comparing the instability of the AAC and CUSA.

Marshall and southern miss would leave immediately if they got the invite. ODU will jump the second the get an opportunity as well. Just because we get along doesn't mean we all want to be here. I still wish the two conferences could have worked together to form more regional alignments, but it is what it is at this point.

It would have been great if we could have wound up in a conference with Memphis Tulane wku mtsu la tech and southern miss. All of those would be driveable away games. Oh well, we just play with the hand we are dealt, and I've never been happier to be in cusa than I am today.

I'm only speaking on what has taking place. You can make the assumptions on who would do what.

When people on this board start talking about how a move to the AAC would be a lateral move or they wouldn't want to move to the AAC, they sound like all the MTSU and WKU fans on the Sun Belt board a couple of years ago, talking about a potential move to CUSA and how the Troy and USA fans sound now.

It's a good discussion but a moot point any ways.

Well, at least it was Blazer related

Brian Mackin had Trustee permission to change conferences (obtained when the Mountain West - CUSA merger was on the table, and it was permission to enter a new conference, not just for that particular deal). The Trustees were perfectly willing to let UAB upgrade its conference membership - and then pull the rug out.