Something I was thinking about randomly, as it my wont: Should C-USA try to get all its rivalry and near-rivalry games to go down on the same Saturday and try to market that?

Off the top of my head:

Middle Tennessee--Western Kentucky
Florida International--Florida Atlantic
Texas-El Paso--Texas-San Antonio
Southern Mississippi--Alabama-Birmingham or Louisiana Tech
Old Dominion--Marshall or Charlotte
Rice-North Texas

There'd be one oddball game in that bunch between two non-rivals (unless they could arrange non-conference rivalry games?)/

But would it matter from a marketing/branding standpoint? Or at least something to give the conference office a point around which to rally for publicity one week out of the year? Or would it be too much trouble for too little payout?

I'd rather they feature one per week. First conference game of the year needs to be a rematch of last year's championship game. Reigning champ hosting. Each week after have a CUSA rivalry game of the week. That way if need be one team can be featured more than once and they can change over time as new rivalries develop.

As long as it's before Thanksgiving, I'm on board.

I don't think anyone at UTSA or UTEP considers each other rivals. UTSA has more rivalry with UNT and La Tech than UTEP

(10-10-2014 02:44 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  Middle Tennessee--Western Kentucky
FIU--Florida Atlantic
Texas-El Paso--Texas-San Antonio
Southern Mississippi--Alabama-Birmingham or Louisiana Tech
Old Dominion--Marshall or Charlotte
Rice-North Texas

Move Marshall to the MTSU game and have WKU play UAB so your line-up would look like:

Old Dominion--Charlotte
Middle Tennessee--Marshall
FIU--Florida Atlantic
Alabama-Birmingham -- Western Kentucky
Southern Mississippi-- Louisiana Tech
Rice-North Texas
Texas-El Paso--Texas-San Antonio


Switching Marshall with WKU gives you the WKU/MTSU match-up you seem to be going for as well. You'd have to ask MTSU who they figure will be a bigger rival for them going forward, WKU or Marshall.

I do like the Texas match-ups though. It's big city Texas in one rivalry game and wild west Texas in the other.

No question it's WKU for me.

(10-10-2014 03:17 PM)FIUFan Wrote:  You'd have to ask MTSU who they figure will be a bigger rival for them going forward, WKU or Marshall.

Marshall is a budding rivalry (especially after we take them down tomorrow), but it's got a long, long way to go before getting anywhere near MT-WKU. The MT-WKU rivalry is light years ahead of anything else I've seen in this conference.

With that said, I don't mind that lineup as long as we get to play WKU and Marshall every season.

I always look forward to the RICE, and USM games. I consider them to be rivals. On the other hand, I guess you could say that UTSA is a new rival as well. There always seems to be a little bad blood between to two come gameday. Must be a WAC thing. North Texas is also getting up there too.

(10-10-2014 03:39 PM)MTowho Wrote:  

(10-10-2014 03:17 PM)FIUFan Wrote:  You'd have to ask MTSU who they figure will be a bigger rival for them going forward, WKU or Marshall.

Marshall is a budding rivalry (especially after we take them down tomorrow), but it's got a long, long way to go before getting anywhere near MT-WKU. The MT-WKU rivalry is light years ahead of anything else I've seen in this conference.

With that said, I don't mind that lineup as long as we get to play WKU and Marshall every season.

If its such a big rivalry, why hasn't there been more attendance for the games?

(10-10-2014 03:16 PM)Digi368 Wrote:  I don't think anyone at UTSA or UTEP considers each other rivals. UTSA has more rivalry with UNT and La Tech than UTEP

I would say it is a potential rivalry. Even if it is just based on geography. UTEP didn't have a true rival in CUSA 2.0. The Texas games always mean a little more so games against UTSA, North Texas, and Rice are rivalry'ish.

(10-10-2014 03:16 PM)Digi368 Wrote:  I don't think anyone at UTSA or UTEP considers each other rivals. UTSA has more rivalry with UNT and La Tech than UTEP

I agree... It is more about the copying rather than anything else

I can't imagine Rice considering any of these CUSA teams as 'rivals'. Maybe in fifty years if we're still together one may emerge.

(10-11-2014 01:24 AM)loki_the_bubba Wrote:  I can't imagine Rice considering any of these CUSA teams as 'rivals'. Maybe in fifty years if we're still together one may emerge.

FTR: This is a sports observation, not an elitist academic insult.

(10-10-2014 03:17 PM)FIUFan Wrote:  You'd have to ask MTSU who they figure will be a bigger rival for them going forward, WKU or Marshall.

All time series

Marshall leads MT 2-1

MT leads WKU 33-29-1


Oh and Marshall is more than three and half times further away.

MU since they've joined CUSA always had USM and ECU and UCF as the path to the east div. title. USM has fallen on some tough times w/ the coaching changes, much like other teams including MU did w/ a bad hire, but they were our true measuring sticks till last yr. MTSU seems to be the obvious one in the now since they beat MU last season, and look to be tough for the immediate future, but I believe FIU, WKU, and ODU will all become serious rivals in the not so distant future for Marshall. But I'll miss USM when they move to the west, my fave team in CUSA, hope they get back sooner rather than later, great history and great program. Folks that are new to them, enjoy this little bump in their program's history, I believe they'll be back and we'll all be ruing the day when they do get back to where they were. We're all just one good hire from being top 25ish, or one bad one from crappiness. And both happen to all programs, ask U. Florida/Notre Dame.

I'm still torn between Charlotte and Marshall. If we get competitive with Marshall next time we play that one has the makings of a great rival game, intense but lots of mutual respect.

With all that schedule drama with Charlotte there is already something to latch hold of there. Similar schools all around really so that one I could see getting chippy. :)

(10-11-2014 01:25 AM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(10-10-2014 03:17 PM)FIUFan Wrote:  You'd have to ask MTSU who they figure will be a bigger rival for them going forward, WKU or Marshall.

All time series
Marshall leads MT 2-1
MT leads WKU 33-29-1
Oh and Marshall is more than three and half times further away.

Threw the softball as an opportunity to educate, not ridicule.

(10-11-2014 09:33 AM)FIUFan Wrote:  

(10-11-2014 01:25 AM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(10-10-2014 03:17 PM)FIUFan Wrote:  You'd have to ask MTSU who they figure will be a bigger rival for them going forward, WKU or Marshall.

All time series
Marshall leads MT 2-1
MT leads WKU 33-29-1
Oh and Marshall is more than three and half times further away.

Threw the softball as an opportunity to educate, not ridicule.

Ask a stupid question...

(10-10-2014 03:16 PM)Digi368 Wrote:  I don't think anyone at UTSA or UTEP considers each other rivals. UTSA has more rivalry with UNT and La Tech than UTEP

I liked to beat them in anything but I don't think of them as rivals. We've already beaten our rivals, old rivals at that, enemas u. and New Mexico.
In basketball in the olden days Memphis was our rival, in football we didn't have any, everyone would beat us. One that I think we could call a rivalry in football was Houston as we would sometimes beat them when they least expected it, like when they were ranked no.12 and we killed them.

(10-11-2014 01:25 AM)loki_the_bubba Wrote:  

(10-11-2014 01:24 AM)loki_the_bubba Wrote:  I can't imagine Rice considering any of these CUSA teams as 'rivals'. Maybe in fifty years if we're still together one may emerge.

FTR: This is a sports observation, not an elitist academic insult.

I see two possible Rice rivals. The first is UTEP, because we have shared a conference with the Miners longer than any other current C-USA program.

Second is Marshall. At least for now, Owls and Herd might both be in the C-USA championship picture each year.