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Minium: Conference USA needs to expand; JMU, Georgia State are the best candidates
By Harry Minium
http://pilotonline.com/sports/baseball/m...11eec.html

No. The fewer mediocre to bad teams the better. CUSA needs to contract.

(05-25-2016 01:30 AM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  No. The fewer mediocre to bad teams the better. CUSA needs to contract.

Why is Minium pushing expansion? It makes no sense.

click bait

(05-25-2016 08:19 AM)the_blazerman Wrote:  click bait

I'm glad I didn't click it, then.

JMU would be a great add to the conference. They would be competitive immediately in football. Georgia State makes sense because of the Atlanta market. Don't know enough about their sports program other than i think they are taking over Turner Field when the Braves move

I would still go to 16 and make four team divisions for travel. I'd go after someone other than JMU but GSU would be a nice addition.

(05-25-2016 09:17 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  I would still go to 16 and make four team divisions for travel. I'd go after someone other than JMU but GSU would be a nice addition.

His argument has more to do with that kind of thing. With revenues shrinking anyway cutting travel expenses would make up for some of the shortfall. It would also create/nurture regional rivalries. Folks forget that there are athletic teams other than football and basketball that has to travel all over the conference. In Minion's example, ODU having to travel to UTEP (2000 miles) at least once per sport for players, coaches, and equipment is very expensive. Adding regional teams and focusing more on regional games thereby greatly reducing travel would make the whole financial issue a wash...

Exactly.

Bothers me that it was this same writer making the case for ODU to jumpship. If your eyes are on jumping ship, then promoting expansion is so ECUish.

One of the comments on the actual article states those schools that left CUSA for AAC have to make up the difference in the TV Contract... Is that true? Anyone know the specifics?

Atlanta has been the hot southern TV market since the NFL made it the target of its earliest southern and southwest expansion when the AFL tried to get a team into there. The AFL moved on to Miami (Dolphins) when Atlanta - led by Rankin Smith - chose to go with the Falcons. GSU will be a great addition to C-USA and if we don't add them, the AAC may grab them up later.

The old time "Bourbon aristocracy" of rural and small market universities that still dominate the P5 conferences will be matched by the upstart urban universities in the 21st century. IMHO, if UAB was not being hobbled by a fiefdom mentality BOT and poor state funding from Montgomery, it would by now be "kicking ass" in athletics on a national stage. Those artificial restraints are why UAB athletics is still a struggling program in 2016.

south al wouldn't be bad

(05-25-2016 10:05 AM)WesternBlazer Wrote:  

(05-25-2016 09:17 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  I would still go to 16 and make four team divisions for travel. I'd go after someone other than JMU but GSU would be a nice addition.

His argument has more to do with that kind of thing. With revenues shrinking anyway cutting travel expenses would make up for some of the shortfall. It would also create/nurture regional rivalries. Folks forget that there are athletic teams other than football and basketball that has to travel all over the conference. In Minion's example, ODU having to travel to UTEP (2000 miles) at least once per sport for players, coaches, and equipment is very expensive. Adding regional teams and focusing more on regional games thereby greatly reducing travel would make the whole financial issue a wash...

Really surprised something similar wasn't proposed at the Spring meetings not just this year but in recent years...

My wish list would be Wichita State and Temple but they have their sights set higher. Add those two and it's a three bid league minimum and the television contract has some meat added to it.


Hell add Louisiana or Ark St and GSU and split off into geographic pods. So you split the pie two more ways but get some of it back on reduced travel costs. maybe the Atlanta market gets you a few more dollars next go around.

UAB most likely would be in a strong pod with USM, MTSU, and either WKU or Marshall and would rarely play the worst teams in basketball and football would be tight.

(05-25-2016 10:33 AM)ICB Wrote:  Bothers me that it was this same writer making the case for ODU to jumpship. If your eyes are on jumping ship, then promoting expansion is so ECUish.

Makes sense...since ECU campaigned for ODU and then bailed.

(05-25-2016 08:34 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  My wish list would be Wichita State and Temple but they have their sights set higher. Add those two and it's a three bid league minimum and the television contract has some meat added to it.


Hell add Louisiana or Ark St and GSU and split off into geographic pods. So you split the pie two more ways but get some of it back on reduced travel costs. maybe the Atlanta market gets you a few more dollars next go around.

UAB most likely would be in a strong pod with USM, MTSU, and either WKU or Marshall and would rarely play the worst teams in basketball and football would be tight.

The only problem with that line of thought is that television networks have wised up to the fact that a team being in a city doesnt mean that television market cares. It has basically been decided that there are only 5 d1 conferences and everyone not in them is without value. Spreading into new areas isnt going to mean increased revenue.

I guess my two points are that a G5 team in Philadelphia is worth more than a G5 team in Troy Alabama. More to a point Wichita State makes us a multi bid league in basketball and adding a school the elk of Temple also would increase the RPI of the league.

I was in no way saying that the contract would be as big as a p5 school. My opinion is a G5 in a bigger city is worth more than a G5 in Bum **** Egypt. I said it would add more meat to it and I feel I am right. The question is how much meat?

Reality is we will **** up luring Wichita and if we do add teams instead of a GSU and someone to help boost basketball we will add two schools to further kill our RPI in worse markets.

We need to build football because it will save basketball.

Temple is in the AAC already. They have no need for C-USA.

True like I said they have their sights set higher. I used temple more for an example.