(07-26-2022 01:24 PM)LRdawg Wrote:  UTEP, LaTech, WKU for now.

Mix of FB, Basketball, Baseball successes.

Basketball might be half as important as football and baseball is a fraction of that.

Tarleton State, whenever CUSA invites them.

(07-26-2022 02:04 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(07-26-2022 01:24 PM)LRdawg Wrote:  UTEP, LaTech, WKU for now.

Mix of FB, Basketball, Baseball successes.

Basketball might be half as important as football and baseball is a fraction of that.

UTEP had one half decent year in football at 7-6 but they haven't been historically good at all. No way can they be the flagship. Agree with one poster who said there isn't really a flagship program at this point.

As an outsider looking in, right now WKU looks like the best all around athletic department. But eventually, Liberty's deep pockets and national following likely puts them out front..

(07-26-2022 04:45 PM)sstaedtler88 Wrote:  

(07-26-2022 02:04 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(07-26-2022 01:24 PM)LRdawg Wrote:  UTEP, LaTech, WKU for now.

Mix of FB, Basketball, Baseball successes.

Basketball might be half as important as football and baseball is a fraction of that.

UTEP had one half decent year in football at 7-6 but they haven't been historically good at all. No way can they be the flagship. Agree with one poster who said there isn't really a flagship program at this point.

Agreed, there hasn’t been one either regardless of what some posters like to believe. You can’t be a flagship if you can’t win the championships.

I think WKU and LaTech have to be the front runners with Liberty coming on strong due to focus and money. Don’t understand the UTEP thing, waaay to early for that.

(07-26-2022 11:55 AM)sstaedtler88 Wrote:  

(07-26-2022 11:26 AM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(07-26-2022 11:20 AM)sstaedtler88 Wrote:  

(07-26-2022 10:17 AM)freshtop Wrote:  

(07-26-2022 09:44 AM)Gemofthehills Wrote:  My guess, Liberty.
Money, money and more money. Also understand the marketing game better than most.

I would guess Liberty as well unless something disrupts their current economic formula. Too much money to fail.

Though I could point to a lot of private colleges with lots of money that haven't made it in football - Duke, Vanderbilt, Syracuse, Rice...

I would agree with the poster that Liberty understands marketing very well and has always had an excellent creative team.

In fairness to Liberty, they do have a real financial advantage over the rest of the conference, the same cannot be said for the other privates you mentioned. Time will tell if their deep pockets amount to anything.

James Madison has a bigger athletic budget than Liberty does. Duke and Rice have huge endowment advantages over the rest of their conferences.

Would you say they are well endowed?

Sorry, couldn't let that one go by with my 14 year old mind. Carry on.

GO AGGIES!!!!

(07-26-2022 09:44 AM)Gemofthehills Wrote:  My guess, Liberty.
Money, money and more money. Also understand the marketing game better than most.

I admit my bias. But, this^^^^^

(07-26-2022 01:27 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  These flagship discussions never solve anything. The fact there's not any solid agreement, means there is no flagship. Obviously, there are strong programs in various sports but there's no single flagship. Heck, CUSA hasn't ever had one.

Spot on post. End of subject.

1. WKU
2. Liberty

The last school in CUSA 4.0 to win a national championship in fb is SHSU! Flagship.

SBC3, with their moving down the league will improve in great measures.

Western a flagship school? They've never won the CUSA conference tournament or regular season in basketball and haven't been to the NCAA Tournament in years. There is no clear cut flagship school yet.

I nominate CrimsonPhantom just because he has the best videos attached to his posts. No school can top that until the games actually begin.

(07-26-2022 10:21 PM)MT FAN Wrote:  Western a flagship school? They've never won the CUSA conference tournament or regular season in basketball and haven't been to the NCAA Tournament in years. There is no clear cut flagship school yet.

Oh, so the discussion is basketball only?? Gotcha.

Liberty hasn’t played their first conference game yet and they need to establish themselves in CUSA, but I think they have a good case of being labeled a flagship school if they continue their success.

Liberty’s football program is just one of five FBS teams in the country who have won a bowl game each of the last three seasons, joining Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana.

The men’s basketball team, who has qualified for three out of the last four NCAA Tournaments, has won 104 games over the last four seasons. This ranks fourth best among all Division I teams in the country.

Both Liberty’s baseball and softball programs have advanced to NCAA Regional play each of the last two years, while the track & field program had six All-Americans this year at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The Lady Flames field hockey program led the country with 20 wins in 2021 and advanced to the NCAA Division I national championship game. The Lady Flames basketball team has also had past success. They finished this season with a 28-5 record and played in the WNIT.

Liberty Athletics posted its second-straight top 75 finish in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings. The Flames ranked No. 74 in the final 2021-22 Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, Liberty’s second-best finish in the annual listing that ranks the top collegiate athletics departments in the country. Last year, Liberty ranked No. 70 in the standings. Liberty ranked No. 13 in the Directors’ Cup standings among non-Power Five programs.

Also, for the second-straight year, Liberty Athletics had the best overall winning percentage among Division I programs in Virginia.

Flagship isn't as much about athletic success as it is about money..Flagships use their economic power to get the conference to take their leadership seriously. Texas did this for years in the Big 12, and we are seeing Ohio St do it now in the B1G. Liberty is the only current CUSA school with deep pockets and a national following. Eventually that will put them in the leadership role..

(07-27-2022 06:44 AM)Theflash Wrote:  

(07-26-2022 10:21 PM)MT FAN Wrote:  Western a flagship school? They've never won the CUSA conference tournament or regular season in basketball and haven't been to the NCAA Tournament in years. There is no clear cut flagship school yet.

Oh, so the discussion is basketball only?? Gotcha.

Did I say that? Basketball is 50% of the equation and you guys have not been flagship material in that category. Western has ZERO championships in basketball in almost a decade of competition in CUSA.

(07-27-2022 09:53 AM)Tmac13 Wrote:  Flagship isn't as much about athletic success as it is about money..Flagships use their economic power to get the conference to take their leadership seriously. Texas did this for years in the Big 12, and we are seeing Ohio St do it now in the B1G. Liberty is the only current CUSA school with deep pockets and a national following. Eventually that will put them in the leadership role..

Incorrect. Flagships are determined by football and basketball success.

(07-27-2022 09:53 AM)Tmac13 Wrote:  Flagship isn't as much about athletic success as it is about money..Flagships use their economic power to get the conference to take their leadership seriously. Texas did this for years in the Big 12, and we are seeing Ohio St do it now in the B1G. Liberty is the only current CUSA school with deep pockets and a national following. Eventually that will put them in the leadership role..

You say that as if Texas and tOSU aren't two of the most successful athletic programs in NCAA history.

And no, Liberty does not have a national following. Thw idea that they can come even remotely close to Notre Dame, or even BYU, based on their religious affiliation is just silly.

(07-27-2022 08:54 AM)3DogNight Wrote:  Liberty hasn’t played their first conference game yet and they need to establish themselves in CUSA, but I think they have a good case of being labeled a flagship school if they continue their success.

Liberty’s football program is just one of five FBS teams in the country who have won a bowl game each of the last three seasons, joining Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana.

The men’s basketball team, who has qualified for three out of the last four NCAA Tournaments, has won 104 games over the last four seasons. This ranks fourth best among all Division I teams in the country.

Both Liberty’s baseball and softball programs have advanced to NCAA Regional play each of the last two years, while the track & field program had six All-Americans this year at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The Lady Flames field hockey program led the country with 20 wins in 2021 and advanced to the NCAA Division I national championship game. The Lady Flames basketball team has also had past success. They finished this season with a 28-5 record and played in the WNIT.

Liberty Athletics posted its second-straight top 75 finish in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings. The Flames ranked No. 74 in the final 2021-22 Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, Liberty’s second-best finish in the annual listing that ranks the top collegiate athletics departments in the country. Last year, Liberty ranked No. 70 in the standings. Liberty ranked No. 13 in the Directors’ Cup standings among non-Power Five programs.

Also, for the second-straight year, Liberty Athletics had the best overall winning percentage among Division I programs in Virginia.

There is not a sport outside of football and MBB that is even 5% of the conversation.