It is almost getting funny to read the post on the CUSA board about USM and Tulane's permanent rivalry. Obviously the entire future of CUSA depends on them playing every year. My son went to Tulane in the late 90's and is a huge sports fan. He went to every basketball and football game, which very, very few students did. He was amazed to find out that USM and Tulane were the biggest rivals in the world. The rantings of 5-10 people on a fan board is going to have absolutely nothing to do with what the CUSA does about scheduling. The presidents will have the final vote on this subject and I'm sure they are going to be a lot more interested in finances than what a few fans who live near New Orleans and can go to a USM away game want. What I am amazed to see is a bunch of other people putting together elaborate schedules or ideas to pacify them instead of just saying the presidents of all the CUSA schools will decide that and every school will have exactly the same vote as USM. Based on recent history I would say that USM and Marshall could develop a lot bigger rivalry than Tulane. The biggest and best rivalries are between schools that are winners and just about every year they are playing for a championship. Also one team can't win 90% of the time or there is no true rivalry. How close together the schools are has very little to do with it unless they are both in the same state!! Even then, I would say the OU-Texas game is a bigger rivalry than OU-OSU because OU has has won the OSU game way too many times in the past and OSU just doesn't have a big name in football--- plus of course the recruiting that goes with the OU-Texas game!!!

I for one would like to see the Tulane/USM series continue. They've played each other for a long time, they play for a trophy of some type, and it just makes sense for 2 schools 100 miles apart to play each other every year. Good for the fans.

But if the presidents don't make it happen, the sun will rise tomorrow. They'll just get it on with that much more intensity two out of every 4 years. Again, though... I hope they find a way to continue the series.

Since those two schools are so close to each other, it would almost make more sense if they put Memphis in the west and Tulane & USM in the east. Memphis gets to re-establish a rivalry with us, take 1 trip to Houston every year, and either Dallas or El Paso every year. Not the worst deal in the world. Of course, then Memphis yells about not playing USM and UAB every year.

Something's gotta give somewhere, because Memphis, Tulane and USM are going to be split somehow.

UAB/USM would be the biggest rivalry in C-USA if we could ever beat them. So far in the UAB/USM series, every game has been decided by 7 points or less.


UAB vs. USM-Halftime-Legion Field-Birmingham-Thursday Sept. 4, 2003

I also have no problem maintaining rivalries, I like them but not to the detriment of 10 other schools. My son said USM had a lot of fans at the games and Tulane didn't like USM, mainly because of all the fans and the fact that USM was good and Tulane was trying to be good so they got beat!! I loved our games against Arkansas every year and about died when that series ended. Arkansas was Tulsa's biggest rivalry---by far the biggest game of the year for many years, so I do like rivalries!! Just on the basis of winning CUSA games to get to the championship game I probably wouldn't have any trouble with a permanent rival outside of Marshall and USM. That would be a big advantage in league play. Has anybody asked very many Tulane fans if they want to play USM every year and risk losing most of those conference games, instead of playing conference games they might win and get to the championship game. Scheduling and therefore winning is important for bowl appearances, it doesn't matter if you didn't play USM and Marshall that year when you look at the final standings!!! With one permanent rival we would end up playing USM or Marshall 2 times every six year. That's good for our conference record but not so good for the team that has them as a permanent rival and plays them 6 times in six years. As long as Marshall is Houston's or one of the other western schools permanent rival, I'm all for it!!

As long as Rice plays Texas we will be all right. :D :D :D :D :laugh: :laugh:

The only things for sure that I can find that came out of the CUSA meetings is the two division format, which as most people expected is, Tulsa, SMU, UTEP, Tulane, Rice and Houston and then that Eastern division!! :D The football sceduling will be, 5 division teams, and 3 crossover games with the Eastern division. They evidently haven't decided, if those games will be back to back home and away games or if we play 3 of the Eastern division teams one year and then the other 3 the next year?? Also they want to keep the basketball conference tournament in Memphis at least to start with. I hope the BB tourney moves to different sites in the future. It is too big an advantage to play in a teams hometown every year. I think that it is just to start with or else a bunch of schools would be yelling!! If anybody knows anything else for sure, let us all know!!