Temple is a fine school. Temple, if it is all-sports, is a fine addition for either BE or Alliance.
But, for the Alliance, any future school should be an all-sports invitation. Temple's geography prevents them from accepting an all-sports invite from the Alliance. I think they are wise; sort of mirrors AFA thinking regarding accepting BE invite.
JMU is a short distance outside Washington, DC and they, along with all-sports schools like Virginia Commonwealth, GA State, FIU, FAU, UNT, UTSA are the (all-sports) way to go.
I understand Hawaii's situation and I agree it is better for Hawaii and also the Alliance for Hawaii to be fb only--but that should be the only exception.
JAMES MADISON
Harrisburg is 130 miles from DC. If JMU is a good fit than ASU is a great fit.
ASU is 100 miles from Charlotte and 85 miles from the triad (Winston-Salem).
ASU also average 5K more than JMU attendance wise, 3K more season ticket holders, and almost $1M more in athletic donations each year.
Academic profiles are couldn't be closer.
ASU and JMU would do well in the Alliance given the chance, but neither ASU nor JMU fit the mold for what the Alliance is looking for. They don't want teams that are ready to compete, they are looking for programs that have accomplished nothing on the field, have lower attendance and donation amounts, but are in populated areas where they are the 4th or 5th option when locals pick their teams.
(02-23-2012 09:16 AM)Saint3333 Wrote: [ -> ]Harrisburg is 130 miles from DC. If JMU is a good fit than ASU is a great fit.
ASU is 100 miles from Charlotte and 85 miles from the triad (Winston-Salem).
ASU also average 5K more than JMU attendance wise, 3K more season ticket holders, and almost $1M more in athletic donations each year.
Academic profiles are couldn't be closer.
ASU and JMU would do well in the Alliance given the chance, but neither ASU nor JMU fit the mold for what the Alliance is looking for. They don't want teams that are ready to compete, they are looking for programs that have accomplished nothing on the field, have lower attendance and donation amounts, but are in populated areas where they are the 4th or 5th option when locals pick their teams.
Wow if you substituted ECU and USM for ASU and JMU and Big East for Alliance, this post could go in a Big East Expansion thread.
LMAO LOUD!!!!!!!!! Almost spit out my coffee.
(02-23-2012 09:16 AM)Saint3333 Wrote: [ -> ]Harrisburg is 130 miles from DC. If JMU is a good fit than ASU is a great fit.
ASU is 100 miles from Charlotte and 85 miles from the triad (Winston-Salem).
ASU also average 5K more than JMU attendance wise, 3K more season ticket holders, and almost $1M more in athletic donations each year.
Academic profiles are couldn't be closer.
ASU and JMU would do well in the Alliance given the chance, but neither ASU nor JMU fit the mold for what the Alliance is looking for. They don't want teams that are ready to compete, they are looking for programs that have accomplished nothing on the field, have lower attendance and donation amounts, but are in populated areas where they are the 4th or 5th option when locals pick their teams.
I agree with what you are saying but playing Western Carolina and being successful is a little different than playing a Southern Miss or Houston and being successful. Sure they have pulled a few upsets in their history but so has Maine. Where is there invite?
For the record I am fine with Appy State getting an invite but James Madison? Meh.
(02-23-2012 09:22 AM)UpStreamRedTeam Wrote: [ -> ] (02-23-2012 09:16 AM)Saint3333 Wrote: [ -> ]Harrisburg is 130 miles from DC. If JMU is a good fit than ASU is a great fit.
ASU is 100 miles from Charlotte and 85 miles from the triad (Winston-Salem).
ASU also average 5K more than JMU attendance wise, 3K more season ticket holders, and almost $1M more in athletic donations each year.
Academic profiles are couldn't be closer.
ASU and JMU would do well in the Alliance given the chance, but neither ASU nor JMU fit the mold for what the Alliance is looking for. They don't want teams that are ready to compete, they are looking for programs that have accomplished nothing on the field, have lower attendance and donation amounts, but are in populated areas where they are the 4th or 5th option when locals pick their teams.
Wow if you substituted ECU and USM for ASU and JMU and Big East for Alliance, this post could go in a Big East Expansion thread.
And those ECU and USM fans are correct. Look we get it, it's 90% media market, 10% actual results when it comes to these decisions.
I think ODU has better long term potential, but I also think JMU has high potential as well. I personally think there are some FCS teams who have much higher ceilings than a lot of current FBS teams, and even some current merger teams. I really think the sky is the limit for ODU. I think they could become the ECU of Virginia, in that I think they could become eventually the number 1 team in their region of the state and have fan base potential to get in the 40 to 50k range.
(02-23-2012 09:54 AM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote: [ -> ]I think ODU has better long term potential, but I also think JMU has high potential as well. I personally think there are some FCS teams who have much higher ceilings than a lot of current FBS teams, and even some current merger teams. I really think the sky is the limit for ODU. I think they could become the ECU of Virginia, in that I think they could become eventually the number 1 team in their region of the state and have fan base potential to get in the 40 to 50k range.
I actually think ODU's ceiling is higher than ECU's. Their thing is they have the Norfolk market in addition to everything that you said. Also- the football talent there in that part of the state is just huge.
(02-23-2012 10:53 AM)panama Wrote: [ -> ] (02-23-2012 10:26 AM)USM@FTL Wrote: [ -> ]NO FCS Schools. Period!
LOL!
Yeah I'm not fundamentally against the large market FCS schools, but for them to be added they would need to have a stiffer exit penalty. I'm sure the ones that really want to move up to the FBS level will agree to it despite what a man on my ignore list has said.
those schools would just go to the Sun Belt and go straight from there to the Big East. They're not going to hamstring themselves when their ultimate goal is the Big East.
I'm certain stever said something about how the merger can't put any demands on any FCS teams, but Panama and any other Georgia State fans do you think you would jump to the merger for a stiffer exit fee or the Sun-Belt for little to no exit fee if given the option?
These schools are better for an Alliance invite:
West: Montana, Montana State, Sam Houston State, UT San Antonio
East: Georgia State, Old Dominion, Akron, Ohio
(02-23-2012 12:19 PM)TampaKnight Wrote: [ -> ]These schools are better for an Alliance invite:
West: Montana, Montana State, Sam Houston State, UT San Antonio
East: Georgia State, Old Dominion, Akron, Ohio
Now you're just trolling.
(02-23-2012 12:37 PM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote: [ -> ] (02-23-2012 12:19 PM)TampaKnight Wrote: [ -> ]These schools are better for an Alliance invite:
West: Montana, Montana State, Sam Houston State, UT San Antonio
East: Georgia State, Old Dominion, Akron, Ohio
Now you're just trolling.
What does James Madison have in football strength that Montana, Montana State, Sam Houston State, Old Dominion, Akron, and Ohio?
(02-23-2012 12:44 PM)TampaKnight Wrote: [ -> ] (02-23-2012 12:37 PM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote: [ -> ] (02-23-2012 12:19 PM)TampaKnight Wrote: [ -> ]These schools are better for an Alliance invite:
West: Montana, Montana State, Sam Houston State, UT San Antonio
East: Georgia State, Old Dominion, Akron, Ohio
Now you're just trolling.
What does James Madison have in football strength that Montana, Montana State, Sam Houston State, Old Dominion, Akron, and Ohio?
Just keep trolling along.
(02-23-2012 12:51 PM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote: [ -> ] (02-23-2012 12:44 PM)TampaKnight Wrote: [ -> ] (02-23-2012 12:37 PM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote: [ -> ] (02-23-2012 12:19 PM)TampaKnight Wrote: [ -> ]These schools are better for an Alliance invite:
West: Montana, Montana State, Sam Houston State, UT San Antonio
East: Georgia State, Old Dominion, Akron, Ohio
Now you're just trolling.
What does James Madison have in football strength that Montana, Montana State, Sam Houston State, Old Dominion, Akron, and Ohio?
Just keep trolling along.
What are you talking about? Akron and Ohio are already FBS schools, even though I don't see anyone leaving the MAC. UTSA is already transitioning to FBS, with good attendance in year 1. Montana's attendance is as good as all but 2-3 Alliance schools. Montana State has respectable Sun Belt level attendance. I've seen people hyping Old Dominion as possibly Norfolk's main sports attraction, there's a long thread about Georgia State.
If James Madison's win over Virginia Tech were that important, Appalachian State would have been FBS after beating Michigan.
Am I missing something?
JMU seems most likely to stay in the CAA for the time being unless something really drastic were to occur such as the failure of the new Alliance. Maybe several years down the road? JMU would like to maintain regional rivalries in football but also is no longer a "small-time" school and has set forth in seriously upgrading their athletic facilities across the board.
http://www.jmusports.com/ViewArticle.dbm...=205243956
JMU is trying to also rebuild its men's basketball program which is secondary to football these days but still plays an important role. There is a bill in the Virginia State House for a new arena for JMU but nothing seems too easy with state government budgets these days.
I have read a lot of posts on here the past few weeks. It seems that a lot of people do not do their homework thoroughly and stereotype schools that play FCS-level football with an extremely broad paintbrush. JMU has better attendance for football and higher athletic budgets that a good number of schools that currently play FBS-level football.
Most JMU students and alumni are from/live in Virginia and points northeast of Virginia. Within Virginia most students come from the northern Virginia suburbs of DC, Richmond, and Hampton Roads. Old Dominion is currently poised to become a solid football program as they are located in Hampton Roads which is a hotbed for football talent and could move up to FBS. They are able to tell recruits that they would be able to play in front of their family members and friends. Due to geographic considerations (whatever they are worth these days?) I think JMU would strive to be in a mid-Atlantic/northeastern-based conference as opposed to the deep southeast or midwest. There is a rumor that JMU did turn down the MAC a couple of years ago but who knows if that happened or not. Oddly enough the JMU AD did mention schools like Ohio and Marshall as regional rivals that "think alike" back in the fall. The JMU administration is usually very tight-lipped about moving up to the FBS level when compared to other schools play FCS-level football. I think Georgia State and Liberty would both be much better fits for conferences such as the Sun Belt due to their geography and demographics.
JMU does differ from the other three public CAA schools in Virginia (ODU, George Mason, Virginia Commonwealth) in that JMU is primarily a residential university as opposed to a commuter university.
JMU is also more focused on undergraduate education rather than graduate-level research. This is why JMU is ranked as a regional university instead of a national university.