Now that 2015 is in the books what can we say about the conference in terms of results? Certainly some good and some not so good, but the potential that seemed so great -- from a conference standpoint -- certainly didn't materialize this year. We remain a conference of opportunity after a season where we slipped some. Some of my thoughts:

1. My opininon on the top stories: The dominance of Western Kentucky and the resurgence of Southern Miss were the two top stories of the year. Both were VERY impressive. Charlotte did better than expected with 2 wins, although that first conference win remained elusive. UAB will be back!!! Rice slipped much further than anyone thought.

2. Overall records for the conference did slip, not as badly as I thought it would look like before i ran some numbers, but there is a much wider gap in the upper and lower tiers. Overall winning percentage:

2015 - (76-87) or 46.6%
2014 - (81-82) of 49.7%

3. The biggest difference: we had 5 winning record teams in 2015 with a combined record of 47 -20 (70.1%), and in 2014: 5 teams with a 45-22 record (67.2%). So our winning record teams actually improved their overall record. The difference...the middle teams fell out...completely. In 2014 we had 3 teams with .500 records...in 2015, we had ZERO. Our teams were either in the top 5 tier, or the bottom 8 with losing records...there was no in-between. We simply need better performance from our bottom tier.

4. In both years, the East had a better overall record. 44-44 in 2015, and 46-41 in 2014. The West didn't fair as well with two losing ventures : 32-43 in 2015 and 35-41 in 2014. Plus the East claimed its second straight championship year.

5. Modest declines in OOC performance and in bowl performance also contributed to our down year.

OOC Results. Honestly, I believe this is where we really need to improve, and it starts with scheduling. Too many body bag games. One, I get...more than that is just suicidal.
2015 - (20-32) or 38.5%
2014 - (23-29) or 44.2%

Bowl Results...we competed well, in all of our bowls, but came away with a 3-2 record, or 60%. But in 2014, we were 5-1, 83.3%.

So, the seasons saw slippage, but if we can keep our upper tier performing, use some smart scheduling strategies, and MOST importantly get improvements from our bottom 8, then we can get back in the thick of things, from a perceptions standpoing.