CSNbbs

<a href='http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2003/07/11/kkgarmyc.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2003/0...11/kkgarmyc.htm</a>

July 11, 2003

Give Army kudos for leaving C-USA

Finally, something to celebrate. Finally, a cause for hope and excitement among Army football fans.
Army's leaving Conference USA.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Every person who drives past Army's gates on a football Saturday, every player and recruit and alumnus: something to grab onto. They have their football future back. They have a reason to cheer.
Finally.
There is no future in Conference USA. No annual bowl party. No rivalries.
No celebrations.
Only lopsided losses, institutional introspection and fan frustration. On deck stands the worst brand of disillusionment: Apathy.
Army didn't only decide to leave Conference USA. Army had to leave Conference USA.
Army's an academic giant graduating players *** laude. Conference USA's an academic dwarf graduating players accidentally.
Army players have good prose. C-USA players become good pros.
Army has players of character. C-USA has characters.
All of it makes Conference USA members no different than most major-college teams trying to swim in the NCAA cesspool. Only the strong survive.
But Army was never one of them, no matter how hard it tried. And boy did it try.
Army fired a coach (Bob Sutton) and hired a sideline salesman (Todd Berry) thinking it could compete for C-USA titles.
It couldn't. Not under Sutton, dismissed following the 1999 season. Not under Berry, curiously inaccessible yesterday. If Army's 7-27 C-USA record doesn't painfully explain the competitive disadvantage, nothing ever will.
Army is one of the good guys trying to beat the bad guys. The bad guys won.
But now Army wins.
Who knows what to make of its official reasons for leaving? Army superintendent Lt. Gen. William J. Lennox Jr., notes "limited scheduling flexibility'' as a result of playing C-USA games and the Navy and Air Force games. But what Lennox really means is having the flexibility to schedule teams Army can beat.
Army must endure two more seasons of losses, if not humiliation. Army paid $400,000 to get out after the 2004 season, which could cost the Academy a couple toilets and seat cushions. Nevertheless, it's money well spent.
Army figures to become an independent. But the Academy will survey the landscape for a better opportunity in the meantime. Independent, Big East, Mid-American Conference

This is the part I like the best.

"Army didn't only decide to leave Conference USA. Army had to leave Conference USA.
Army's an academic giant graduating players *** laude. Conference USA's an academic dwarf graduating players accidentally.
Army players have good prose. C-USA players become good pros.
Army has players of character. C-USA has characters."

A very polite way of saying C-USA is sleazy.
:D

Rocky Wrote:[ Who knows what to make of its official reasons for leaving? Army superintendent Lt. Gen. William J. Lennox Jr., notes "limited scheduling flexibility'' as a result of playing C-USA games and the Navy and Air Force games. But what Lennox really means is having the flexibility to schedule teams Army can beat.
Army must endure two more seasons of losses, if not humiliation.

As it says....they need to find teams they can beat

My personal favorites:

Quote:Army fired a coach (Bob Sutton) and hired a sideline salesman (Todd Berry) thinking it could compete for C-USA titles.
It couldn't. Not under Sutton, dismissed following the 1999 season. Not under Berry, curiously inaccessible yesterday. If Army's 7-27 C-USA record doesn't painfully explain the competitive disadvantage, nothing ever will.

Quote:Only lopsided losses, institutional introspection and fan frustration. On deck stands the worst brand of disillusionment: Apathy.

I was never excited about allowing Army into CUSA, they were always the ugly duckling who could never compete. Yes, the academics of CUSA schools aren't as respected as Army (other than Tulane and soon Rice and Tulsa), but then again how many schools in any conference are on that level. Nobody in CUSA as any ill will towards Army and everyone wishes them well.

what I like is that it throws cold H20 (probably how they speak at West Point) on the C-USA's design of affiliate membership for Army and Navy.

Army and Navy, as independents, will need to be agressive in scheduling and scheduling across the country and the MAC can help with say one home and one road game per year.

Say one game in Annapolis and one game in Cleveland or at another MAC school per year.

Actually, the "affiliate" BS was a wasy of trying to formalize relationships with the service academies that already exist. I'll be happy if it falls through because I'm tired of funky memberships and don't like the prospect of Army or Navy slipping up and having a good year and stealing a bowl game from a full CUSA member.

Ask West Virginia fans what they think of the Big East's agreement with Notre Dame that cost them their bowl bid a few years back. I believe they got pushed down a rung or two because Notre Dame wasn't going to get a bid otherwise.

Army and Navy both like playing with CUSA's privates. Meaning they don't like to play us "skanky public universities", but like to play the private schools that will be in the conference once realignment takes place.

And this is why Rocky was warned on CUSABbs.

Army left CUSA because they need a schedule that they can actually win at. Rocky, hang it up.