(12-07-2016 09:32 AM)dawgitall Wrote:  

(11-15-2016 09:03 AM)Michael in Raleigh Wrote:  They are not likely to adequately replace CCU, but Campbel Univeristy is moving to scholarship football and will leave the Pioneer Football League (non-scholarship) for the Big South in football.
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/colle...58343.html

I think it will be like trying to replace App State, Georgia Southern, and Elon with East Tennessee State, Mercer, and VMI for the SoCon. ETSU and Mercer were startups, and VMI hasn't been competitive since the Washington administration.

Anyway good for the Camels. I thought Chants fans may have found this interesting.
(Campbell, BTW, is a little under an hour south of Raleigh. It is otherwise in the absolute middle of nowhere, except for a few very small towns nearby.)

Being born, raised, and still living in one of those "very small towns nearby" I think I'm qualified to chime in on this. Campbell is located in an unincorporated village, Buies Creek, in Harnett County. It isn't in the middle of nowhere. Harnett County use to be very rural but now is as much a bedroom community for surrounding urban areas to the north and south. It is one of the fastest growing counties in the state with about 130,000 residents. It is a part of the Raleigh/Durham/Cary (Triangle) Metropolitan Area. Buies Creek is 30-45 minutes from Raleigh and 30-45 minutes from Fayetteville. The campus is 10 miles from interstates 95 and 40. It is easy to get to from all directions and close to most anything.

Hey I graduated from ASU and love Boone, but Boone is much more located in the middle of nowhere than Buies Creek. It is much further from any major airport, city etc. than Campbell. Of course there is nothing wrong with being in the middle of nowhere.

Campbell is very much an up and coming school. I respect them very much. All of their alumni I've met are successful but down to earth good people. My father in law went there, so I have nothing against them.

That said, there are some big differences between Campbell and App. App may be even more isolatex, but it has a much larger alumni base. It is more well known across the state and country (and I hate to admit that that's is much more because of sports than academics, but still). Sure, Campbell is not as isolated as Western Carolina or App, but it still feels like you're a long,long way from Raleigh when you go there. New developments are built there, etc., etc, but Buies Creek is still very much rural.

All I'm saying is to pump the breaks on ideas that Campbell somehow should be the next expansion project for the SBC or C-USA. Not every D1 program that has a pulse needs to be FBS. There is nothing inherently wrong with an up and coming, or even a well established sports program, to try and thrive at the FCS level.

Ten or 20 years from now, hey, Campbell may be such a rising star that they'd have to get invited up, but there is still a lot to prove. Their ambitions may not at all include becoming FBS, ever, and that's okay. No shame in focusing on things like their med school, law school, engineering school, nursing school, pharmacy school, divinity school, trust management schhol, etc.

(12-07-2016 10:40 AM)Michael in Raleigh Wrote:  

(12-07-2016 09:32 AM)dawgitall Wrote:  

(11-15-2016 09:03 AM)Michael in Raleigh Wrote:  They are not likely to adequately replace CCU, but Campbel Univeristy is moving to scholarship football and will leave the Pioneer Football League (non-scholarship) for the Big South in football.
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/colle...58343.html

I think it will be like trying to replace App State, Georgia Southern, and Elon with East Tennessee State, Mercer, and VMI for the SoCon. ETSU and Mercer were startups, and VMI hasn't been competitive since the Washington administration.

Anyway good for the Camels. I thought Chants fans may have found this interesting.
(Campbell, BTW, is a little under an hour south of Raleigh. It is otherwise in the absolute middle of nowhere, except for a few very small towns nearby.)

Being born, raised, and still living in one of those "very small towns nearby" I think I'm qualified to chime in on this. Campbell is located in an unincorporated village, Buies Creek, in Harnett County. It isn't in the middle of nowhere. Harnett County use to be very rural but now is as much a bedroom community for surrounding urban areas to the north and south. It is one of the fastest growing counties in the state with about 130,000 residents. It is a part of the Raleigh/Durham/Cary (Triangle) Metropolitan Area. Buies Creek is 30-45 minutes from Raleigh and 30-45 minutes from Fayetteville. The campus is 10 miles from interstates 95 and 40. It is easy to get to from all directions and close to most anything.

Hey I graduated from ASU and love Boone, but Boone is much more located in the middle of nowhere than Buies Creek. It is much further from any major airport, city etc. than Campbell. Of course there is nothing wrong with being in the middle of nowhere.

Campbell is very much an up and coming school. I respect them very much. All of their alumni I've met are successful but down to earth good people. My father in law went there, so I have nothing against them.

That said, there are some big differences between Campbell and App. App may be even more isolatex, but it has a much larger alumni base. It is more well known across the state and country (and I hate to admit that that's is much more because of sports than academics, but still). Sure, Campbell is not as isolated as Western Carolina or App, but it still feels like you're a long,long way from Raleigh when you go there. New developments are built there, etc., etc, but Buies Creek is still very much rural.

All I'm saying is to pump the breaks on ideas that Campbell somehow should be the next expansion project for the SBC or C-USA. Not every D1 program that has a pulse needs to be FBS. There is nothing inherently wrong with an up and coming, or even a well established sports program, to try and thrive at the FCS level.

Ten or 20 years from now, hey, Campbell may be such a rising star that they'd have to get invited up, but there is still a lot to prove. Their ambitions may not at all include becoming FBS, ever, and that's okay. No shame in focusing on things like their med school, law school, engineering school, nursing school, pharmacy school, divinity school, trust management schhol, etc.

I don't think anyone was saying Campbell was angling for that sort of move. They are filling a slot in the Big South while CC has left. A successful transition to FCS scholarship football is what they are trying to make happen. Twenty years from now who is to say.

As far as Buies Creek being a long way from Raleigh it is all relative. When I was at ASU you had to travel to Blowing Rock just to drink a beer or listen to a band. What is that, 7 or 8 miles? To go to a concert you had to drive down the mountain to Charlotte or Winston-Salem. Now that was a long ways away! A student at Campbell today has two sports bars that are student friendly three or four miles away in Lillington. Just as today there is plenty to do for a young person in Boone, there is plenty for a Campbell student to do nearby. What twenty years ago required a trip all the way to Raleigh is a short drive to one of the outlying suburban towns today.

Campbell is VERY private. They're not a fit in the Sun Belt. They're in a conference largely comprised of like minded institutions.

(12-07-2016 01:02 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  Campbell is VERY private. They're not a fit in the Sun Belt. They're in a conference largely comprised of like minded institutions.

They are a good fit for the Big South just like North Alabama will be.

(12-07-2016 01:02 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  Campbell is VERY private. They're not a fit in the Sun Belt. They're in a conference largely comprised of like minded institutions.

They aren't trying to get into the Sun Belt.