(05-02-2017 08:05 AM)JMU2004 Wrote: (05-02-2017 07:57 AM)Wear Purple Wrote: (05-02-2017 07:50 AM)JMU2004 Wrote: If JMU is going to be FBS, I would bet that it would be in a conference with Liberty.
Just one idiot's opinion, but I highly doubt any conference is going to include Liberty. Hence, I highly doubt JMU will be in a conference with Liberty.
JMU will not join any current conference. Either we help create our ideal home, or we're staying FCS forever. In that scenario, Liberty would likely be needed to get the needed # of schools to form a conference.
Which probably means we're staying FCS forever.
You may be right. I have been noticing of late that "FBS" is kind of fading a little in the sports reporter/blogger lingo these days and we are already seeing the differentiation between usage of P5 and G5 more and more. IOW, college FB reporters now refer to "P5" and "G5" to better identify who they are talking about as opposed to "FBS" as a whole. This is exactly what the P5 folks want. They want that gap to be as huge as possible. The G5 folks like to use "FBS" because it makes them feel as if they are on the same level as the P5. They aren't. And, likely never will be.
Hence, the G5 will likely go through another 5-10 years of denying the inevitable. That is, that this gap is going to get wider and wider. The P5 will drive more and more exclusivity in their country club. TV and money will follow right along. This past week the Sun Belt (aka Island of Misfit Toys) Commish threw cold water on the idea of a middle level of college FB (for now, let's call it G5 though it could and likely will include in the future some of the stronger D1AA programs...most of the CAA, NDSU, etc.) having its own national playoff and stated what he wants is better bowl games for G5 champions. That mentality will likely stick around for another 5-10 years, perhaps more, before they (G5) starting seeing things differently. ESPN keeps a lot of these meaningless bowl games alive. Will be interesting to see if their bubble bursts and more cost/deal pressures force that support to die down.
If a true middle-level arises (big "if" I realize), which would exclude a lot of the current D1AA programs for various reasons, programs like JMU, Richmond, Delaware, and Bill & Gary would likely want to jump into that pool. From there, you can then get ODU, maybe ECU, Marshall and others that have been raised in this thread for a nice geographically, competitively-sound conference. I don't think anybody necessarily "needs" Liberty. I can assure you there will be a lot who will "not want" Liberty for various reasons, to which some will agree and others will not.
Lots of "ifs". There will for certain be a lot of ego's in the G5 that will need another decade to bring down, if ever, in realizing the inevitable is coming. I'm talking about once-big programs like Houston. It's why I say "maybe ECU" above because it will be a kick in the groin to them to join a conference in FB with the names I've listed above if it ever happens.
Some wildcards to watch... 1) as mentioned above ESPN and the financial bubble bursting...the effect on bowls for an already mostly meaningless postseason for G5; 2) TV contracts ending around 2025 could cause some shuffle of the Big 12, which could have a trickle down effect; and 3) pending court cases (there's still more like the O'Bannon case which could cause a ripple effect across all of college athletics)