What do you predict the future holds for the Sun Belt Conference, membership wise?

Will we lose a few more schools to CUSA? Louisiana, stAte, TxSt, or USA maybe?

Until then, who will get that twelfth invite? Will JMU accept it? Will it be passed down to another school, say Liberty, EKU, or MoSt?

Despite any and all football success, please keep Jerry Falwell out of my conference.

1. The conference will retain its current members,
2. The conference will get to 14 in football,
3. The conference will hire a PR firm to help tout its advances above those of CUSA and the MAC, and
4. The conference will renegotiate its TV Deal to where more money is seen per members.

I really hope TXST doesn't go c-usa, they are losing their good football programs and I want no part of a basketball oriented conference.

I really wish we could have gotten UTSA for a natural TXST rival. Then we'd be at 12 already.

I think most conferences stabilize after the P5 stop raiding the G5. Before that happens however the Big 12 will take two more from the American but with two teams to spare C-USA will be stable even when raided by the American. The MAC or Sun Belt will not be raided further because the other conferences will have no need to add members.

In the west we add New Mexico St and Missouri St for all sports and drop Idaho after they find a new home or drop to FCS. JMU will join the belt in the east but will eventually move to the MAC opening a spot for EKU. In total we will have 12 for football and 14 for Olympic sports.

When all is finished the Belt football divisions will be:
East
App St
GS
EKU
Troy
GA St
USA

West
ULM
UL
Ark St
Tex St
New Mexico St
Missouri St
if we move to divisions for Olympic sports then UTA will be West and UALR will be East.

EKU isnt doing anything but talk.

(01-16-2014 11:53 AM)panama Wrote:  EKU isnt doing anything but talk.

GA St wasn't doing anything but talk just a few years ago. This thread is talking about the future not today.

(01-16-2014 11:11 AM)bluephi1914 Wrote:  1. The conference will retain its current members,
2. The conference will get to 14 in football,
3. The conference will hire a PR firm to help tout its advances above those of CUSA and the MAC, and
4. The conference will renegotiate its TV Deal to where more money is seen per members.

None of that will happen with the possible exception of #3 (and if it does happen, it won't make a difference.)

(01-16-2014 11:55 AM)Georgia_Power_Company Wrote:  

(01-16-2014 11:53 AM)panama Wrote:  EKU isnt doing anything but talk.

GA St wasn't doing anything but talk just a few years ago. This thread is talking about the future not today.

How far in the future? 5 years? 10?

Sometime around 2018 CUSA's new TV contract with many losses will take a toll on several of its members. At the same time, many Sun Belt schools will remain frustrated with Karl Benson and how things are working for them here.

In a large scale period of realignment, both the SBC and CUSA will change as we know it entirely, and new conferences involving more regional based programs will come from the ashes.

(01-16-2014 12:20 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  In a large scale period of realignment, both the SBC and CUSA will change as we know it entirely, and new conferences involving more regional based programs will come from the ashes.

I hope not. There are enough Texas teams in CUSA and the Sun Belt to make an entire division. While travel would be GREAT, exposure would only be in Texas, making our marketability limited.

(01-16-2014 11:29 AM)GaSouthern Wrote:  I really wish we could have gotten UTSA for a natural TXST rival. Then we'd be at 12 already.

UTSA and their fans tried really hard to be our rival while in the WAC but it was forced and they came off as arrogant hating us for no reason. I would rather have ANY other texas school just because I don't like UTSA fans.

All food at concession stands will be served in pill form.

North Korea will wipe Ruston from the face of the earth confusing it for Colorado Springs.

After crashing his flying motorcycle with his Klingon mistress while at the annual Sun Belt meetings in New New Orleans (Hurricane Neo in 2025)...210 year old Bobby Petrino (science advances) will be fired from Louisville and be hired as the new coach of Sun Belt Member EKU.

The future of the Sun Belt is directly related to the future of each of it's individual members.
Some things are bound to change in the perceived pecking order of the SBC based on events
that may not have even occurred yet. Others, like losing certain coaches and what their
replacements will do have occurred.
Thinking that the Sun Belt has a bright future coming. Yes, we are very much football
centric. Too much, probably, but many would rather have it that way.

(or that Klingon thing could be true)

Good chance we lose two more teams if the ACC thing gets shot down. I doubt we lose more than two more moving forward especially with money to the G5's being capped at 12 teams.

Top candidates to lose are
Ga State. Since it is obvious coosa is banking on TV market share over winning as its revenue model.
TXST
ArkSt
ULL


Hopefully the current Sun Belt teams can continue the trend of being the best G5 conference OOC if this consistently happens the chances of losing teams decreases significantly every year. Especially if the next coosa TV deal is not head and shoulders above what the Sun Belt can get or will get.

If we lose two I believe we add NMSU as a full member and pick up two of these teams below. This is in order of my preference and obviously some teams are five or more years down the road to being viable. It will just stink having to wait for them to get there. I believe in time most have the potential to offset any losses like most replacement team have in the Sun Belt so far.
JMU
Miz St
TX / FL Program not on the radar yet
EKU
Kennesaw St
Jacksonville St
Chattanooga
Liberty

(01-16-2014 02:07 PM)GoApps70 Wrote:  The future of the Sun Belt is directly related to the future of each of it's individual members.
Some things are bound to change in the perceived pecking order of the SBC based on events
that may not have even occurred yet. Others, like losing certain coaches and what their
replacements will do have occurred.
Thinking that the Sun Belt has a bright future coming. Yes, we are very much football
centric. Too much, probably, but many would rather have it that way.

(or that Klingon thing could be true)

Competitive football is where the money is at. Having competitive basketball is bonus.

I cant wait to recruit Klingons they are ballers