RE: FUTURE OF CUSA?
I posted this on the ODU forum. I might as well jump into the deep water and post it here also.
I know there are a number of folks here that are pretty unhappy with our current conference membership, for a variety of reasons, primary of which would appear to be the geographical size of the conference. With teams from El Paso to Norfolk, travel distance, time and cost can be excessive, and there seems to be little chance of developing meaningful rivalries.
Despite what this post might indicate, I am not personally that unhappy. That said, in the current environment of greatly reduced television revenues, it seems to me that one of the most critical reasons for joining a conference as widespread as C-USA has been lost. As a result, maybe it is time for some airport meetings and consideration of the creation of a new conference
My basic thoughts would be to create a conference with (1) established or emerging football prowess and fan bases, (2) an established group of competitive basketball teams that can drive multiple NCAA bids each year, (3) a more closely defined region to encourage existing or more natural new and lasting rivalries, and (4) a reasonable cap on travel distance, time and costs. This conference would have 12 teams and two divisions, split east/west. My first thought would be to call this The Southern 12.
The Southern 12
East Division
ODU
Marshall
Appalachian State
Charlotte
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
West Division
Western Kentucky
Middle Tennessee
UAB
USM
LA TECH
ASU
Of course, one of the first considerations would be the cost of leaving C-USA. Below is an excerpt from the conference bylaws outlining the impact of withdrawing from the conference. As I read it, the cost is not a fixed fee. Rather it would be based on revenue lost to the conference. With our new television contracts, there may never be a more opportune time to leave based on financial impact.
EXCERPT FROM BYLAWS
3.06 Withdrawal From Conference. No member of the Conference may withdraw from the Conference except pursuant to and as allowed by this Section 3.06.
No member may withdraw from the Conference without providing the Conference prior written notice. Any and all withdrawals from the Conference shall be effective on July 1 of the year specified in the notice of withdrawal; provided, however, that the withdrawing member must afford the Conference notice at least fourteen months prior to the effective date of the withdrawal (i.e. no later than May 1 of the prior year). However, if a Member makes statements or takes actions that evidence intent of such Member to withdraw from the Conference either currently or in the future, such actions will be determined as notice of withdrawal by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the remaining Members of the Board of Directors. In the event that a member attempts to leave the Conference without fully complying with the notice of withdrawal requirements set forth above, the Conference shall be entitled to equitable relief without having to prove actual injury, irreparable or otherwise, including, but not limited to, an injunction requiring the member to comply fully with the notice of withdrawal requirements set forth above, to fulfill all of its obligations as a Conference member, and to remain in the Conference until the earliest permissible date upon which the member could have, under the circumstances, withdrawn with full and proper prior notice as required above. The members agree that any attempted withdrawal of a member without full compliance with the prior notice requirements set forth above would cause a disruption in the scheduling of competitions among the members for which there is no adequate remedy at law which would cause harm that would not in any respect be compensated by payment of a withdrawal fee, and for which, therefore, equitable relief is appropriate.
The withdrawing member shall be responsible for the amount of any and all assessments or debts that the member owes to the Conference as of the effective date of the withdrawal.
From the date of notice of withdrawal, the withdrawing member shall have no rights to receive distribution of Conference revenues of any nature (i.e. the Conference shall be entitled to retain distribution for two fiscal years) and shall continue to be obligated to pay Conference expenses, assessments, or debts. Further, the term of office of any Board Member representing a Withdrawing Member shall automatically expire and such Chief Executive Officer shall no longer be a Board Member of the Conference effective as of the notice date or determination of notice to withdraw and such Withdrawing Member shall not be entitled to have a representative on the Board of Directors thereafter. During the period thereafter the number of Board Members shall automatically be reduced by the number of Withdrawing Members; and the Withdrawing Member(s) shall not be permitted to attend any meeting of, vote on any matter before, receive notice of any meeting of, or receive copies of materials distributed to the Board of Directors; the Conference shall however, inform the Chief Executive Officer of a Withdrawing Member about matters (as determined by the Commissioner in his sole discretion) that may materially impact the Withdrawing Member during the period prior to the effective date of the withdrawal in a manner disproportionate to the Withdrawing Member and shall provide the Chief Executive Officer of the Withdrawing Member with a reasonable opportunity for discussion with the Board of Directors on such issues as requested
Each of the Members agrees that withdrawal of a member from the Conference would cause damage and financial hardship to the
Conference and its continuing members, that the financial consequences to the Conference and its continuing members of such withdrawal cannot be measured or estimated with certainty at this time, and that the withholding of distributions pursuant to the preceding paragraph is a reasonable method of compensating the Conference and the continuing members for such damage and financial hardship and is not and shall not be construed as a penalty.
END EXCERPT
Your thoughts?
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----however, there are some schools that have gotten lots of them in the past and have hopes of more in the near future.
