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

I've started a project where I've been looking at past seasons and comparing past blazer team strengths by adjusting our conference record for conference strength of schedule. While researching it something really jumped out at me. Take a look at where conference USA has ranked amongst D1 conferences so far this decade:

Conference RPI rankings: (All data from WarrenNolan.com)

2011: 8th
2012: 10th
2013: 11th
2014: 13th
2015: 16th
2016: 21st
2017: 24th

(02-28-2017 04:57 PM)BlazerMatt Wrote:  I've started a project where I've been looking at past seasons and comparing past blazer team strengths by adjusting our conference record for conference strength of schedule. While researching it something really jumped out at me. Take a look at where conference USA has ranked amongst D1 conferences so far this decade:

Conference RPI rankings: (All data from WarrenNolan.com)

2011: 8th
2012: 10th
2013: 11th
2014: 13th
2015: 16th
2016: 21st
2017: 24th

That's Great, in your research, did you take into consideration the C-USA then and know. Like most of those schools are in what do they call it the former Big East with one School. Which is now a parlay of other schools and conferences.

I greatly thank you for your research, But I doubt all these great schools that are know in the C-USA and even Middle and yes Old D. where in a breath of us just like a few years ago.

(02-28-2017 05:25 PM)BirminghamJoseph2770 Wrote:  

(02-28-2017 04:57 PM)BlazerMatt Wrote:  I've started a project where I've been looking at past seasons and comparing past blazer team strengths by adjusting our conference record for conference strength of schedule. While researching it something really jumped out at me. Take a look at where conference USA has ranked amongst D1 conferences so far this decade:

Conference RPI rankings: (All data from WarrenNolan.com)

2011: 8th
2012: 10th
2013: 11th
2014: 13th
2015: 16th
2016: 21st
2017: 24th

That's Great, in your research, did you take into consideration the C-USA then and know. Like most of those schools are in what do they call it the former Big East with one School. Which is now a parlay of other schools and conferences.

Thats the point, to try and quantify relative team strengths. So going 12-4 in the 5th highest rated conference (Like Mike Anderson's second team did) is more impressive than going 16-2 in the 21st highest rated conference.

(02-28-2017 05:33 PM)BlazerMatt Wrote:  

(02-28-2017 05:25 PM)BirminghamJoseph2770 Wrote:  

(02-28-2017 04:57 PM)BlazerMatt Wrote:  I've started a project where I've been looking at past seasons and comparing past blazer team strengths by adjusting our conference record for conference strength of schedule. While researching it something really jumped out at me. Take a look at where conference USA has ranked amongst D1 conferences so far this decade:

Conference RPI rankings: (All data from WarrenNolan.com)

2011: 8th
2012: 10th
2013: 11th
2014: 13th
2015: 16th
2016: 21st
2017: 24th

That's Great, in your research, did you take into consideration the C-USA then and know. Like most of those schools are in what do they call it the former Big East with one School. Which is now a parlay of other schools and conferences.

Thats the point, to try and quantify relative team strengths. So going 12-4 in the 5th highest rated conference (Like Mike Anderson's second team did) is more impressive than going 16-2 in the 21st highest rated conference.

Oh, Well in that respect your correct. See I Grew up in the Great Midwest Days and the years of C-USA which had like well Marquette, Cincy, Saint Louis. But even, I must get over that, know we have studs like Old D and Middle and La Tech who would of thought. Which in Hindsight, I must correct myself cause if we did not have football we and even we could be looking for a new Conference and to my memory we did not have any invites. So Be Thankful and keep doing research.

(02-28-2017 04:57 PM)BlazerMatt Wrote:  I've started a project where I've been looking at past seasons and comparing past blazer team strengths by adjusting our conference record for conference strength of schedule. While researching it something really jumped out at me. Take a look at where conference USA has ranked amongst D1 conferences so far this decade:

Conference RPI rankings: (All data from WarrenNolan.com)

2011: 8th
2012: 10th
2013: 11th
2014: 13th
2015: 16th
2016: 21st
2017: 24th

The downward spiral will end once 5-7 of the historically best basketball schools in the league get their collective crap together and the bottom 3-4 schools stop being 300+ RPI ooc simultaneously.

MTSU, LT, ODU, UAB, WKU, Charlotte, and UTEP shouldn't have an average RPI of 167. Drop MTSU out of those 7 and it's it is 191.

Average OOC RPI of the above 7 is 188 this year. That's why we suck as a league. Drop MTSU out of those 7 and the average OOC RPI was 215.

We suck OOC.

Exactly. There is no reason this can't be a three bid league with the historically good programs you mentioned. It's really mind boggling.

Agree S

Being historically good means nothing in today's environment. When those programs were historically good, the gap between P5's and Mid majors weren't as big. The landscape is different now. You have to spend money to be good.

A Mountain West type airport meeting wouldn't hurt...

(02-28-2017 09:23 PM)blazerjay Wrote:  A Mountain West airport meeting wouldn't hurt...

I'm not sure if you're implying that the MWC would be possible for UAB buy if so keep dreaming. At this point the Sun Belt would be an upgrade.

Well, it can't get much worse. USM is not going to suck forever. UTEP is putting their program back on a good footing it seems, after an atrocious OOC season. I hope we all get "good" again soon, because we've all been pretty bad at the same time. I never dreamed it would be this bad. Surely this is the bottom.

(03-01-2017 12:10 AM)Noodles Wrote:  Well, it can't get much worse. USM is not going to suck forever. UTEP is putting their program back on a good footing it seems, after an atrocious OOC season. I hope we all get "good" again soon, because we've all been pretty bad at the same time. I never dreamed it would be this bad. Surely this is the bottom.

It has to be.

(02-28-2017 10:26 PM)BlazintheATL Wrote:  

(02-28-2017 09:23 PM)blazerjay Wrote:  A Mountain West airport meeting wouldn't hurt...

I'm not sure if you're implying that the MWC would be possible for UAB buy if so keep dreaming. At this point the Sun Belt would be an upgrade.

eh, I left the word "type" out...i.e. a meeting by a number of members necessary to cut loose the dead weight that the conference as a whole can't or won't do.

(03-01-2017 12:28 AM)blazerjay Wrote:  

(02-28-2017 10:26 PM)BlazintheATL Wrote:  

(02-28-2017 09:23 PM)blazerjay Wrote:  A Mountain West airport meeting wouldn't hurt...

I'm not sure if you're implying that the MWC would be possible for UAB buy if so keep dreaming. At this point the Sun Belt would be an upgrade.

eh, I left the word "type" out...i.e. a meeting by a number of members necessary to cut loose the dead weight that the conference as a whole can't or won't do.

It's a great thought and all but simply put, we were dead weight without a football program and no one dropped us.

It's also hard to gauge. If you go by only the last 3 years, then the Florida + Texas schools have mostly been bad in both major sports. Things are cyclical though and I expect that to change in the next couple years in some respects.

(03-01-2017 02:07 AM)Shrack Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 12:28 AM)blazerjay Wrote:  

(02-28-2017 10:26 PM)BlazintheATL Wrote:  

(02-28-2017 09:23 PM)blazerjay Wrote:  A Mountain West airport meeting wouldn't hurt...

I'm not sure if you're implying that the MWC would be possible for UAB buy if so keep dreaming. At this point the Sun Belt would be an upgrade.

eh, I left the word "type" out...i.e. a meeting by a number of members necessary to cut loose the dead weight that the conference as a whole can't or won't do.

It's a great thought and all but simply put, we were dead weight without a football program and no one dropped us.

It's also hard to gauge. If you go by only the last 3 years, then the Florida + Texas schools have mostly been bad in both major sports. Things are cyclical though and I expect that to change in the next couple years in some respects.

They didn't drop us because they knew football was coming back. If June 1st 2015 hadn't gone our way, we would have been shown the door quickly.

Regardless, it was a business decision. CUSA chose that it was in their best interest to take a chance that UAB would get it together and bring football back. That does not mean we are beholden to them forever. It is a business decision, and if a better conference comes along, it is in UAB's best interest to get the hell out of CUSA.

(03-01-2017 03:24 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  Regardless, it was a business decision. CUSA chose that it was in their best interest to take a chance that UAB would get it together and bring football back. That does not mean we are beholden to them forever. It is a business decision, and if a better conference comes along, it is in UAB's best interest to get the hell out of CUSA.

Amen!

Agreed. C-USA has not panned out like it was supposed to. We are to blame for not holding up our end in basketball, football, and some of the other sports like Women's basketball and baseball. We need to put butts in the seats, be positive, and keep driving with donations and support for things like the Honorary Coaches. I hope soon we will be announcing a drive to fund a basketball practice facility. No timeline yet.

There is also talk of bringing the Rebounders back and if that happens we need your support.

(03-01-2017 03:28 PM)iam4uab Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 03:24 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  Regardless, it was a business decision. CUSA chose that it was in their best interest to take a chance that UAB would get it together and bring football back. That does not mean we are beholden to them forever. It is a business decision, and if a better conference comes along, it is in UAB's best interest to get the hell out of CUSA.

Amen!

As a former State Dept. person is supposed to have stated, "There is no such thing as permanent friends or permanent enemies, only permanent interests". That is why Alabama is today doing business with Germany and Japan for automobile and steel plants and "Red" China for a copper plant in Wilcox County.

Also true is that even though France helped the USA win its independence, we did not take sides with France during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars (the War of 1812 was not fought to come to the aid of France).

We will probably never know what would have happened regarding conference affiliation if football had not been so quickly restored 6/1/15.