(05-01-2017 01:16 PM)mturn017 Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 01:02 PM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 12:03 PM)mturn017 Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 10:35 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(04-30-2017 08:56 AM)Saint3333 Wrote:  There were few fans that wanted App and JMU in a conference together than I, but that ship has sailed. JMU would have been successful as well, but they didn't attempt that avenue (twice) and now wish to leapfrog others that are helping build a current FBS conference.

Only so many seats at the table. Your leadership really screwed the fans that wanted FBS.

nah, they had valid reasons why they didn't accept the SB invite at the time.

Many of us didn't agree, and still don't, but I completely understand why they made the decision at the time. It had its merits.

But things have changed since then. It's 1,000% not true that they don't want FBS. they simply didn't want the version of SB that existed at the time (again, for valid reasons), and they were led to believe the MAC was a decent possibility and CUSA was also in the cards. But UMass killed the chance with the MAC and UAB reinstating football killed the chance with CUSA. It was a gamble they took, and it didn't work out as many of us had hoped.

But it certainly has not killed our program. Since then, we have completed fundraising for our new hoops arena, had ESPN Gameday come, won a national title in football, hosted a Super Regional in softball and came within one out of the CWS. Things are still going in a positive direction for us.

We will get to FBS. And IF a new league develops, the schools in CUSA and the SB and MAC that may reshuffle are well aware of what we offer and would want us to be part of the group. And we would not say no.

Really? This says you're only 59% towards achieving the fundraising goal.

http://www.jmuconvo.com/#invest

http://www.breezejmu.org/sports/jmu-plan...2863f.html

"Jeff Bourne has noted that if the school is unable to reach the $12 million fundraising goal, the university could sell naming rights to the arena to fill the gap"

Gotcha. So you raised 7 out of 12 million.

it's raised. they have sponsorships lined up. it's getting built. ground breaking will start this year.

(05-01-2017 10:35 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(04-30-2017 08:56 AM)Saint3333 Wrote:  There were few fans that wanted App and JMU in a conference together than I, but that ship has sailed. JMU would have been successful as well, but they didn't attempt that avenue (twice) and now wish to leapfrog others that are helping build a current FBS conference.

Only so many seats at the table. Your leadership really screwed the fans that wanted FBS.

nah, they had valid reasons why they didn't accept the SB invite at the time.

Many of us didn't agree, and still don't, but I completely understand why they made the decision at the time. It had its merits.

But things have changed since then. It's 1,000% not true that they don't want FBS. they simply didn't want the version of SB that existed at the time (again, for valid reasons), and they were led to believe the MAC was a decent possibility and CUSA was also in the cards. But UMass killed the chance with the MAC and UAB reinstating football killed the chance with CUSA. It was a gamble they took, and it didn't work out as many of us had hoped.

But it certainly has not killed our program. Since then, we have completed fundraising for our new hoops arena, had ESPN Gameday come, won a national title in football, hosted a Super Regional in softball and came within one out of the CWS. Things are still going in a positive direction for us.

We will get to FBS. And IF a new league develops, the schools in CUSA and the SB and MAC that may reshuffle are well aware of what we offer and would want us to be part of the group. And we would not say no.

The problem was JMU's admin (as well as many fans) wanted to find the perfect fit that had basically no risk involved. Unfortunately that rarely happens in these conference shuffles so when an opening comes you have to jump in. The Sun Belt wasn't perfect for us, but it was 10x better than the SoCon or CAA. Most importantly it got us in FBS, and with the changes taking place in conference membership the league is even better than in 2014.

Looking back I'm sure your admin wishes they were in Coastal's spot in this league despite the teams success in FCS the last two years. Now JMU is stuck hoping this realignment happens, AND that they are involved if/when it does happen. That is a lot of hope to place on other schools instead of being in control of your own future.

(05-01-2017 01:30 PM)JTApps1 Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 10:35 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(04-30-2017 08:56 AM)Saint3333 Wrote:  There were few fans that wanted App and JMU in a conference together than I, but that ship has sailed. JMU would have been successful as well, but they didn't attempt that avenue (twice) and now wish to leapfrog others that are helping build a current FBS conference.

Only so many seats at the table. Your leadership really screwed the fans that wanted FBS.

nah, they had valid reasons why they didn't accept the SB invite at the time.

Many of us didn't agree, and still don't, but I completely understand why they made the decision at the time. It had its merits.

But things have changed since then. It's 1,000% not true that they don't want FBS. they simply didn't want the version of SB that existed at the time (again, for valid reasons), and they were led to believe the MAC was a decent possibility and CUSA was also in the cards. But UMass killed the chance with the MAC and UAB reinstating football killed the chance with CUSA. It was a gamble they took, and it didn't work out as many of us had hoped.

But it certainly has not killed our program. Since then, we have completed fundraising for our new hoops arena, had ESPN Gameday come, won a national title in football, hosted a Super Regional in softball and came within one out of the CWS. Things are still going in a positive direction for us.

We will get to FBS. And IF a new league develops, the schools in CUSA and the SB and MAC that may reshuffle are well aware of what we offer and would want us to be part of the group. And we would not say no.

The problem was JMU's admin (as well as many fans) wanted to find the perfect fit that had basically no risk involved. Unfortunately that rarely happens in these conference shuffles so when an opening comes you have to jump in. The Sun Belt wasn't perfect for us, but it was 10x better than the SoCon or CAA. Most importantly it got us in FBS, and with the changes taking place in conference membership the league is even better than in 2014.

Looking back I'm sure your admin wishes they were in Coastal's spot in this league despite the teams success in FCS the last two years. Now JMU is stuck hoping this realignment happens, AND that they are involved if/when it does happen. That is a lot of hope to place on other schools instead of being in control of your own future.

completely not true. it's been discussed endlessly on here why we said no.

if you know about JMU's school makeup, we get very few students from the SB footprint. Why would we join a league that has schools outside of that? our students are from VA, MD, DC and parts North. Not many from NC or below or WV and west.

that was one factor.

As I mentioned before, another factor was the belief we had a shot at the MAC and/or CUSA, which were better fits from a school perspective and offered more sports that we played. the powers that be at JMU didn't want to have our programs affiliated with 3 or 4 different conferences. as fans, we don't care. as administrators, I guess they do.

academics did play a part. Conferences are not just about sports. Most have academic alliances too. our school is not like many in the SB. It isn't an acadmic fit. and i don't mean in a "we are Ivy League looking down". please, we are fans. We don't care about any of that.

and i certainly don't believe in academic rankings. Almost ALL colleges are good and you can get a good education in them all. And you can get what you want out of them all.

But from an administrators perspective, the rankings say JMU is much higher than SB schools. There are not many that rank schools as one list. Forbes does.

https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/list/4/#tab:rank

JMU is 174, app St is 379, Ga State is 437 and everyone else is 531 or higher. what does that mean? absolutely nothing ! But at the Presidents and BofT level and the state legislature level, those who make that kind of decision? maybe it DID mean something. Who knows. And most fans, including JMU fans, would say "who gives a crap !" We don't give a crap. It's sports. Not chemistry lab !

(05-01-2017 01:52 PM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 01:30 PM)JTApps1 Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 10:35 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(04-30-2017 08:56 AM)Saint3333 Wrote:  There were few fans that wanted App and JMU in a conference together than I, but that ship has sailed. JMU would have been successful as well, but they didn't attempt that avenue (twice) and now wish to leapfrog others that are helping build a current FBS conference.

Only so many seats at the table. Your leadership really screwed the fans that wanted FBS.

nah, they had valid reasons why they didn't accept the SB invite at the time.

Many of us didn't agree, and still don't, but I completely understand why they made the decision at the time. It had its merits.

But things have changed since then. It's 1,000% not true that they don't want FBS. they simply didn't want the version of SB that existed at the time (again, for valid reasons), and they were led to believe the MAC was a decent possibility and CUSA was also in the cards. But UMass killed the chance with the MAC and UAB reinstating football killed the chance with CUSA. It was a gamble they took, and it didn't work out as many of us had hoped.

But it certainly has not killed our program. Since then, we have completed fundraising for our new hoops arena, had ESPN Gameday come, won a national title in football, hosted a Super Regional in softball and came within one out of the CWS. Things are still going in a positive direction for us.

We will get to FBS. And IF a new league develops, the schools in CUSA and the SB and MAC that may reshuffle are well aware of what we offer and would want us to be part of the group. And we would not say no.

The problem was JMU's admin (as well as many fans) wanted to find the perfect fit that had basically no risk involved. Unfortunately that rarely happens in these conference shuffles so when an opening comes you have to jump in. The Sun Belt wasn't perfect for us, but it was 10x better than the SoCon or CAA. Most importantly it got us in FBS, and with the changes taking place in conference membership the league is even better than in 2014.

Looking back I'm sure your admin wishes they were in Coastal's spot in this league despite the teams success in FCS the last two years. Now JMU is stuck hoping this realignment happens, AND that they are involved if/when it does happen. That is a lot of hope to place on other schools instead of being in control of your own future.

completely not true. it's been discussed endlessly on here why we said no.

if you know about JMU's school makeup, we get very few students from the SB footprint. Why would we join a league that has schools outside of that? our students are from VA, MD, DC and parts North. Not many from NC or below or WV and west.

that was one factor.

As I mentioned before, another factor was the belief we had a shot at the MAC and/or CUSA, which were better fits from a school perspective and offered more sports that we played. the powers that be at JMU didn't want to have our programs affiliated with 3 or 4 different conferences. as fans, we don't care. as administrators, I guess they do.

academics did play a part. Conferences are not just about sports. Most have academic alliances too. our school is not like many in the SB. It isn't an acadmic fit. and i don't mean in a "we are Ivy League looking down". please, we are fans. We don't care about any of that.

and i certainly don't believe in academic rankings. Almost ALL colleges are good and you can get a good education in them all. And you can get what you want out of them all.

But from an administrators perspective, the rankings say JMU is much higher than SB schools. There are not many that rank schools as one list. Forbes does.

https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/list/4/#tab:rank

JMU is 174, app St is 379, Ga State is 437 and everyone else is 531 or higher. what does that mean? absolutely nothing ! But at the Presidents and BofT level and the state legislature level, those who make that kind of decision? maybe it DID mean something. Who knows. And most fans, including JMU fans, would say "who gives a crap !" We don't give a crap. It's sports. Not chemistry lab !

I just think we need to agree that its not going to work out and leave it at that.

(05-01-2017 02:01 PM)ark30inf Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 01:52 PM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 01:30 PM)JTApps1 Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 10:35 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(04-30-2017 08:56 AM)Saint3333 Wrote:  There were few fans that wanted App and JMU in a conference together than I, but that ship has sailed. JMU would have been successful as well, but they didn't attempt that avenue (twice) and now wish to leapfrog others that are helping build a current FBS conference.

Only so many seats at the table. Your leadership really screwed the fans that wanted FBS.

nah, they had valid reasons why they didn't accept the SB invite at the time.

Many of us didn't agree, and still don't, but I completely understand why they made the decision at the time. It had its merits.

But things have changed since then. It's 1,000% not true that they don't want FBS. they simply didn't want the version of SB that existed at the time (again, for valid reasons), and they were led to believe the MAC was a decent possibility and CUSA was also in the cards. But UMass killed the chance with the MAC and UAB reinstating football killed the chance with CUSA. It was a gamble they took, and it didn't work out as many of us had hoped.

But it certainly has not killed our program. Since then, we have completed fundraising for our new hoops arena, had ESPN Gameday come, won a national title in football, hosted a Super Regional in softball and came within one out of the CWS. Things are still going in a positive direction for us.

We will get to FBS. And IF a new league develops, the schools in CUSA and the SB and MAC that may reshuffle are well aware of what we offer and would want us to be part of the group. And we would not say no.

The problem was JMU's admin (as well as many fans) wanted to find the perfect fit that had basically no risk involved. Unfortunately that rarely happens in these conference shuffles so when an opening comes you have to jump in. The Sun Belt wasn't perfect for us, but it was 10x better than the SoCon or CAA. Most importantly it got us in FBS, and with the changes taking place in conference membership the league is even better than in 2014.

Looking back I'm sure your admin wishes they were in Coastal's spot in this league despite the teams success in FCS the last two years. Now JMU is stuck hoping this realignment happens, AND that they are involved if/when it does happen. That is a lot of hope to place on other schools instead of being in control of your own future.

completely not true. it's been discussed endlessly on here why we said no.

if you know about JMU's school makeup, we get very few students from the SB footprint. Why would we join a league that has schools outside of that? our students are from VA, MD, DC and parts North. Not many from NC or below or WV and west.

that was one factor.

As I mentioned before, another factor was the belief we had a shot at the MAC and/or CUSA, which were better fits from a school perspective and offered more sports that we played. the powers that be at JMU didn't want to have our programs affiliated with 3 or 4 different conferences. as fans, we don't care. as administrators, I guess they do.

academics did play a part. Conferences are not just about sports. Most have academic alliances too. our school is not like many in the SB. It isn't an acadmic fit. and i don't mean in a "we are Ivy League looking down". please, we are fans. We don't care about any of that.

and i certainly don't believe in academic rankings. Almost ALL colleges are good and you can get a good education in them all. And you can get what you want out of them all.

But from an administrators perspective, the rankings say JMU is much higher than SB schools. There are not many that rank schools as one list. Forbes does.

https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/list/4/#tab:rank

JMU is 174, app St is 379, Ga State is 437 and everyone else is 531 or higher. what does that mean? absolutely nothing ! But at the Presidents and BofT level and the state legislature level, those who make that kind of decision? maybe it DID mean something. Who knows. And most fans, including JMU fans, would say "who gives a crap !" We don't give a crap. It's sports. Not chemistry lab !

I just think we need to agree that its not going to work out and leave it at that.

haha, i'm not asking it to work out.

Would I like to be in a conference with many of the CUSA/SB members? Sure. Including Arkansas State. Like your program a lot.

is it going to be the end of the world if we're not? of course not.

It's just sports.

(05-01-2017 11:01 AM)rknj8993 Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 10:35 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(04-30-2017 08:56 AM)Saint3333 Wrote:  There were few fans that wanted App and JMU in a conference together than I, but that ship has sailed. JMU would have been successful as well, but they didn't attempt that avenue (twice) and now wish to leapfrog others that are helping build a current FBS conference.

Only so many seats at the table. Your leadership really screwed the fans that wanted FBS.

nah, they had valid reasons why they didn't accept the SB invite at the time.

Many of us didn't agree, and still don't, but I completely understand why they made the decision at the time. It had its merits.

But things have changed since then. It's 1,000% not true that they don't want FBS. they simply didn't want the version of SB that existed at the time (again, for valid reasons), and they were led to believe the MAC was a decent possibility and CUSA was also in the cards. But UMass killed the chance with the MAC and UAB reinstating football killed the chance with CUSA. It was a gamble they took, and it didn't work out as many of us had hoped.

But it certainly has not killed our program. Since then, we have completed fundraising for our new hoops arena, had ESPN Gameday come, won a national title in football, hosted a Super Regional in softball and came within one out of the CWS. Things are still going in a positive direction for us.

We will get to FBS. And IF a new league develops, the schools in CUSA and the SB and MAC that may reshuffle are well aware of what we offer and would want us to be part of the group. And we would not say no.

JMU is a great school with some great programs, don't get me wrong, but much of your fanbase seems to have this delusion of grandeur, often thinking they align closer with the ranks of the AAC or ACC without having much to prove it with. There were a lot of factors that went into JMU refuting the Sun Belt's invite, including location, but this academic argument is null and void at best.

JMU is currently ranked as the eight best regional school in the south with a 61% acceptance rating. Appalachian State is the ninth best regional school in the south with a 62% acceptance rating. To put it into perspective, JMU seems to believe that they are untouchable compared to most SBC schools, such as Georgia State (57% acceptance rate), Georgia Southern (63% acceptance rate), Louisiana (55% acceptance rate), Troy (44% acceptance rate), and Coastal Carolina (63% acceptance rate), even when your acceptance rate is on par with where a majority of our conference sits. JMU's academics are great, but JMU is not the Harvard of Virginia or FCS.

JMU may get a look if/when realignment ever happens again, but I don't see a conference pulling the trigger on you all, especially if this mythical SBC-CUSA realignment happens. Between CUSA and SBC, there will be 26 programs. That means there are two extra mouths to feed already. Even if two programs were to drop and say, "FBS isn't for us," neither of the new conferences would be begging to bring in any new members, as they'd have shrunk and made more money in the process. You talked about long term and how conferences should be looking down the road, but each program is going to be looking out for their best interest, not JMU or SHSU or JSU or any other school that might be thinking of FBS.

At the end of the day, I understand the decision your administration made. It just baffles me that so many JMU fans still try to act as if they are still the prom queen, even after the prom has been over for quite some time. You've got a beautiful campus with some top notch facilities and programs, but don't let that get to your head too much, as there are hundreds of thousands of fans who think the exact same think about their alma maters.

JMU's "valid reasons" is code for the Duke's administration lacking the fortitude to make a tough call. One could say they actually did make a call, but then they lack the fortitude to own it w/ a faction of their fan base and then camouflaged it with some muddy language that attempts to make them appear that they'd some how be slumming it should they accept a Sun Belt invite.

Georgia Southern administrations (both academic and athletic) did the exact same thing for nearly 20 years. The Sun Belt was on campus as early as 1990 in Statesboro, testing the appetite for whether or not we wanted to remain in the TAAC or continue to push for entry into the SoCon. We all know what we did, and then once we were in the SoCon in 1993 ... proceeded to spend the next 2 decades running the same game JMU is trying to run now. It doesn't fool anyone.

Neither Appalachian State or Georgia Southern had much left to prove in the football landscape in the Southern Conference. It took me several of those 20+ years to be convinced we needed to move along, and I'm thankful we got lucky enough, for the rare THIRD chance to move UP. Fans can talk all day long about how much of a step down it is, but it isn't at all.

Why JMU thinks that the current setup is going to break-up to benefit them, is a pretty bizarre mindset to hold. Holding out for the 'perfect' version is unrealistic. About the time that the schools JMU wants to be associated with have gotten it 'right', those schools will want to do everything they can to not be associated with JMU.

Schools like Arkansas State, Troy, Louisiana all put their time in the Sun Belt and advanced their program under difficult conditions, and furthermore did it under the never-ending assault of the Sun Belt being a scum bucket league. Now that it is turning the corner and rightly viewed on the upswing, why in the world would they care about giving JMU a break ? You can look at Georgia Southern and Appalachian State as nice additions that have been productive, but at some point (especially after solicitation and rejection), the ship has sailed. It's a shame too, I would have loved to have seen NMSU and JMU added as full sport members.

(05-01-2017 10:35 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(04-30-2017 08:56 AM)Saint3333 Wrote:  There were few fans that wanted App and JMU in a conference together than I, but that ship has sailed. JMU would have been successful as well, but they didn't attempt that avenue (twice) and now wish to leapfrog others that are helping build a current FBS conference.

Only so many seats at the table. Your leadership really screwed the fans that wanted FBS.

nah, they had valid reasons why they didn't accept the SB invite at the time.

Many of us didn't agree, and still don't, but I completely understand why they made the decision at the time. It had its merits.

But things have changed since then. It's 1,000% not true that they don't want FBS. they simply didn't want the version of SB that existed at the time (again, for valid reasons), and they were led to believe the MAC was a decent possibility and CUSA was also in the cards. But UMass killed the chance with the MAC and UAB reinstating football killed the chance with CUSA. It was a gamble they took, and it didn't work out as many of us had hoped.

But it certainly has not killed our program. Since then, we have completed fundraising for our new hoops arena, had ESPN Gameday come, won a national title in football, hosted a Super Regional in softball and came within one out of the CWS. Things are still going in a positive direction for us.

We will get to FBS. And IF a new league develops, the schools in CUSA and the SB and MAC that may reshuffle are well aware of what we offer and would want us to be part of the group. And we would not say no.

CUSA was never in the cards during that debacle. South Alabama was going to be taking UAB's spot because it was imperative for many of the member schools to maintain an Alabama presence. Thank God UAB changed our fate or we'd be stuck right in the middle of that dumpster fire of a conference.

(05-01-2017 02:18 PM)Eagle22 Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 11:01 AM)rknj8993 Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 10:35 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(04-30-2017 08:56 AM)Saint3333 Wrote:  There were few fans that wanted App and JMU in a conference together than I, but that ship has sailed. JMU would have been successful as well, but they didn't attempt that avenue (twice) and now wish to leapfrog others that are helping build a current FBS conference.

Only so many seats at the table. Your leadership really screwed the fans that wanted FBS.

nah, they had valid reasons why they didn't accept the SB invite at the time.

Many of us didn't agree, and still don't, but I completely understand why they made the decision at the time. It had its merits.

But things have changed since then. It's 1,000% not true that they don't want FBS. they simply didn't want the version of SB that existed at the time (again, for valid reasons), and they were led to believe the MAC was a decent possibility and CUSA was also in the cards. But UMass killed the chance with the MAC and UAB reinstating football killed the chance with CUSA. It was a gamble they took, and it didn't work out as many of us had hoped.

But it certainly has not killed our program. Since then, we have completed fundraising for our new hoops arena, had ESPN Gameday come, won a national title in football, hosted a Super Regional in softball and came within one out of the CWS. Things are still going in a positive direction for us.

We will get to FBS. And IF a new league develops, the schools in CUSA and the SB and MAC that may reshuffle are well aware of what we offer and would want us to be part of the group. And we would not say no.

JMU is a great school with some great programs, don't get me wrong, but much of your fanbase seems to have this delusion of grandeur, often thinking they align closer with the ranks of the AAC or ACC without having much to prove it with. There were a lot of factors that went into JMU refuting the Sun Belt's invite, including location, but this academic argument is null and void at best.

JMU is currently ranked as the eight best regional school in the south with a 61% acceptance rating. Appalachian State is the ninth best regional school in the south with a 62% acceptance rating. To put it into perspective, JMU seems to believe that they are untouchable compared to most SBC schools, such as Georgia State (57% acceptance rate), Georgia Southern (63% acceptance rate), Louisiana (55% acceptance rate), Troy (44% acceptance rate), and Coastal Carolina (63% acceptance rate), even when your acceptance rate is on par with where a majority of our conference sits. JMU's academics are great, but JMU is not the Harvard of Virginia or FCS.

JMU may get a look if/when realignment ever happens again, but I don't see a conference pulling the trigger on you all, especially if this mythical SBC-CUSA realignment happens. Between CUSA and SBC, there will be 26 programs. That means there are two extra mouths to feed already. Even if two programs were to drop and say, "FBS isn't for us," neither of the new conferences would be begging to bring in any new members, as they'd have shrunk and made more money in the process. You talked about long term and how conferences should be looking down the road, but each program is going to be looking out for their best interest, not JMU or SHSU or JSU or any other school that might be thinking of FBS.

At the end of the day, I understand the decision your administration made. It just baffles me that so many JMU fans still try to act as if they are still the prom queen, even after the prom has been over for quite some time. You've got a beautiful campus with some top notch facilities and programs, but don't let that get to your head too much, as there are hundreds of thousands of fans who think the exact same think about their alma maters.

JMU's "valid reasons" is code for the Duke's administration lacking the fortitude to make a tough call. One could say they actually did make a call, but then they lack the fortitude to own it w/ a faction of their fan base and then camouflaged it with some muddy language that attempts to make them appear that they'd some how be slumming it should they accept a Sun Belt invite.

Georgia Southern administrations (both academic and athletic) did the exact same thing for nearly 20 years. The Sun Belt was on campus as early as 1990 in Statesboro, testing the appetite for whether or not we wanted to remain in the TAAC or continue to push for entry into the SoCon. We all know what we did, and then once we were in the SoCon in 1993 ... proceeded to spend the next 2 decades running the same game JMU is trying to run now. It doesn't fool anyone.

Neither Appalachian State or Georgia Southern had much left to prove in the football landscape in the Southern Conference. It took me several of those 20+ years to be convinced we needed to move along, and I'm thankful we got lucky enough, for the rare THIRD chance to move UP. Fans can talk all day long about how much of a step down it is, but it isn't at all.

Why JMU thinks that the current setup is going to break-up to benefit them, is a pretty bizarre mindset to hold. Holding out for the 'perfect' version is unrealistic. About the time that the schools JMU wants to be associated with have gotten it 'right', those schools will want to do everything they can to not be associated with JMU.

Schools like Arkansas State, Troy, Louisiana all put their time in the Sun Belt and advanced their program under difficult conditions, and furthermore did it under the never-ending assault of the Sun Belt being a scum bucket league. Now that it is turning the corner and rightly viewed on the upswing, why in the world would they care about giving JMU a break ? You can look at Georgia Southern and Appalachian State as nice additions that have been productive, but at some point (especially after solicitation and rejection), the ship has sailed. It's a shame too, I would have loved to have seen NMSU and JMU added as full sport members.

Yep, i get that. but look at the map:



You guys fit in the footprint. We don't.

App State has history with members of the SB (esp. Ga Southern). We don't.

it's easy for someone else to say "just make a leap and join"

but we are not even on the screen in that map. and we have no history with ANY member of the SB.

that makes the decision not so simple and easy.

I get that from JMU's admin perspective. it isn't a slam dunk.

Well, Bye Felicia . . . .

(05-01-2017 02:18 PM)Eagle22 Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 11:01 AM)rknj8993 Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 10:35 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(04-30-2017 08:56 AM)Saint3333 Wrote:  There were few fans that wanted App and JMU in a conference together than I, but that ship has sailed. JMU would have been successful as well, but they didn't attempt that avenue (twice) and now wish to leapfrog others that are helping build a current FBS conference.

Only so many seats at the table. Your leadership really screwed the fans that wanted FBS.

nah, they had valid reasons why they didn't accept the SB invite at the time.

Many of us didn't agree, and still don't, but I completely understand why they made the decision at the time. It had its merits.

But things have changed since then. It's 1,000% not true that they don't want FBS. they simply didn't want the version of SB that existed at the time (again, for valid reasons), and they were led to believe the MAC was a decent possibility and CUSA was also in the cards. But UMass killed the chance with the MAC and UAB reinstating football killed the chance with CUSA. It was a gamble they took, and it didn't work out as many of us had hoped.

But it certainly has not killed our program. Since then, we have completed fundraising for our new hoops arena, had ESPN Gameday come, won a national title in football, hosted a Super Regional in softball and came within one out of the CWS. Things are still going in a positive direction for us.

We will get to FBS. And IF a new league develops, the schools in CUSA and the SB and MAC that may reshuffle are well aware of what we offer and would want us to be part of the group. And we would not say no.

JMU is a great school with some great programs, don't get me wrong, but much of your fanbase seems to have this delusion of grandeur, often thinking they align closer with the ranks of the AAC or ACC without having much to prove it with. There were a lot of factors that went into JMU refuting the Sun Belt's invite, including location, but this academic argument is null and void at best.

JMU is currently ranked as the eight best regional school in the south with a 61% acceptance rating. Appalachian State is the ninth best regional school in the south with a 62% acceptance rating. To put it into perspective, JMU seems to believe that they are untouchable compared to most SBC schools, such as Georgia State (57% acceptance rate), Georgia Southern (63% acceptance rate), Louisiana (55% acceptance rate), Troy (44% acceptance rate), and Coastal Carolina (63% acceptance rate), even when your acceptance rate is on par with where a majority of our conference sits. JMU's academics are great, but JMU is not the Harvard of Virginia or FCS.

JMU may get a look if/when realignment ever happens again, but I don't see a conference pulling the trigger on you all, especially if this mythical SBC-CUSA realignment happens. Between CUSA and SBC, there will be 26 programs. That means there are two extra mouths to feed already. Even if two programs were to drop and say, "FBS isn't for us," neither of the new conferences would be begging to bring in any new members, as they'd have shrunk and made more money in the process. You talked about long term and how conferences should be looking down the road, but each program is going to be looking out for their best interest, not JMU or SHSU or JSU or any other school that might be thinking of FBS.

At the end of the day, I understand the decision your administration made. It just baffles me that so many JMU fans still try to act as if they are still the prom queen, even after the prom has been over for quite some time. You've got a beautiful campus with some top notch facilities and programs, but don't let that get to your head too much, as there are hundreds of thousands of fans who think the exact same think about their alma maters.

JMU's "valid reasons" is code for the Duke's administration lacking the fortitude to make a tough call. One could say they actually did make a call, but then they lack the fortitude to own it w/ a faction of their fan base and then camouflaged it with some muddy language that attempts to make them appear that they'd some how be slumming it should they accept a Sun Belt invite.

Georgia Southern administrations (both academic and athletic) did the exact same thing for nearly 20 years. The Sun Belt was on campus as early as 1990 in Statesboro, testing the appetite for whether or not we wanted to remain in the TAAC or continue to push for entry into the SoCon. We all know what we did, and then once we were in the SoCon in 1993 ... proceeded to spend the next 2 decades running the same game JMU is trying to run now. It doesn't fool anyone.

Neither Appalachian State or Georgia Southern had much left to prove in the football landscape in the Southern Conference. It took me several of those 20+ years to be convinced we needed to move along, and I'm thankful we got lucky enough, for the rare THIRD chance to move UP. Fans can talk all day long about how much of a step down it is, but it isn't at all.

Why JMU thinks that the current setup is going to break-up to benefit them, is a pretty bizarre mindset to hold. Holding out for the 'perfect' version is unrealistic. About the time that the schools JMU wants to be associated with have gotten it 'right', those schools will want to do everything they can to not be associated with JMU.

Schools like Arkansas State, Troy, Louisiana all put their time in the Sun Belt and advanced their program under difficult conditions, and furthermore did it under the never-ending assault of the Sun Belt being a scum bucket league. Now that it is turning the corner and rightly viewed on the upswing, why in the world would they care about giving JMU a break ? You can look at Georgia Southern and Appalachian State as nice additions that have been productive, but at some point (especially after solicitation and rejection), the ship has sailed. It's a shame too, I would have loved to have seen NMSU and JMU added as full sport members.

Eagle22 is right on the money here. JMU has made it's decision and if one day a spot opens up in a FBS league that they want then more power to them but I for one am done wishing for them to join the SBC. JMU's decision has been made for whatever reason they decided to stay FCS much like Georgia Southern did back in the early 2000's. It was a mistake GS made then and I believe it was a mistake JMU made now but I wish them no ill will and maybe one day in the next few decades they will get the chance to move up again. Next time hopefully like GS they will decide the time is finally right.

Today's SBC is strong and growing stronger each season and while in years past the conference may have struggled against it's peers those days are over. For all of the people who say let's merge CUSA and the SBC and then blow them up into two new conferences I say for my part I hope our current line up stays just like it is...to hell with CUSA let them figure out their own mess.

JMU ain't a perfect anywhere in FBS. They fit the CUSA East map better than anything.

If the writer/message board dream of orderly realignment comes down the pike JMU is probably FCS until they do a Liberty and go as an independent. At 26 teams Sun Belt / CUSA won't be looking to add members.

Now if disorderly realignment comes along their odds get better because someone is missing teams and likely has someone needing a travel partner.

(05-01-2017 02:51 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  JMU ain't a perfect anywhere in FBS. They fit the CUSA East map better than anything.

If the writer/message board dream of orderly realignment comes down the pike JMU is probably FCS until they do a Liberty and go as an independent. At 26 teams Sun Belt / CUSA won't be looking to add members.

Now if disorderly realignment comes along their odds get better because someone is missing teams and likely has someone needing a travel partner.

I don't think Independence is an option for JMU. They have to get any conference move that has them changing divisions approved by some state oversight board associated with VA legislature, so not just their own board. ODU will advocate for them in whatever conference we're in but I have no idea what other regional schools opinions are.

I'm sorry to hear Duke Dawg is still buying what JMU leaders are selling. I know your pain I lived it in the 90's and early 2000's. Good luck dukes.

(05-01-2017 02:37 PM)Georgia_Power_Company Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 02:18 PM)Eagle22 Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 11:01 AM)rknj8993 Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 10:35 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(04-30-2017 08:56 AM)Saint3333 Wrote:  There were few fans that wanted App and JMU in a conference together than I, but that ship has sailed. JMU would have been successful as well, but they didn't attempt that avenue (twice) and now wish to leapfrog others that are helping build a current FBS conference.

Only so many seats at the table. Your leadership really screwed the fans that wanted FBS.

nah, they had valid reasons why they didn't accept the SB invite at the time.

Many of us didn't agree, and still don't, but I completely understand why they made the decision at the time. It had its merits.

But things have changed since then. It's 1,000% not true that they don't want FBS. they simply didn't want the version of SB that existed at the time (again, for valid reasons), and they were led to believe the MAC was a decent possibility and CUSA was also in the cards. But UMass killed the chance with the MAC and UAB reinstating football killed the chance with CUSA. It was a gamble they took, and it didn't work out as many of us had hoped.

But it certainly has not killed our program. Since then, we have completed fundraising for our new hoops arena, had ESPN Gameday come, won a national title in football, hosted a Super Regional in softball and came within one out of the CWS. Things are still going in a positive direction for us.

We will get to FBS. And IF a new league develops, the schools in CUSA and the SB and MAC that may reshuffle are well aware of what we offer and would want us to be part of the group. And we would not say no.

JMU is a great school with some great programs, don't get me wrong, but much of your fanbase seems to have this delusion of grandeur, often thinking they align closer with the ranks of the AAC or ACC without having much to prove it with. There were a lot of factors that went into JMU refuting the Sun Belt's invite, including location, but this academic argument is null and void at best.

JMU is currently ranked as the eight best regional school in the south with a 61% acceptance rating. Appalachian State is the ninth best regional school in the south with a 62% acceptance rating. To put it into perspective, JMU seems to believe that they are untouchable compared to most SBC schools, such as Georgia State (57% acceptance rate), Georgia Southern (63% acceptance rate), Louisiana (55% acceptance rate), Troy (44% acceptance rate), and Coastal Carolina (63% acceptance rate), even when your acceptance rate is on par with where a majority of our conference sits. JMU's academics are great, but JMU is not the Harvard of Virginia or FCS.

JMU may get a look if/when realignment ever happens again, but I don't see a conference pulling the trigger on you all, especially if this mythical SBC-CUSA realignment happens. Between CUSA and SBC, there will be 26 programs. That means there are two extra mouths to feed already. Even if two programs were to drop and say, "FBS isn't for us," neither of the new conferences would be begging to bring in any new members, as they'd have shrunk and made more money in the process. You talked about long term and how conferences should be looking down the road, but each program is going to be looking out for their best interest, not JMU or SHSU or JSU or any other school that might be thinking of FBS.

At the end of the day, I understand the decision your administration made. It just baffles me that so many JMU fans still try to act as if they are still the prom queen, even after the prom has been over for quite some time. You've got a beautiful campus with some top notch facilities and programs, but don't let that get to your head too much, as there are hundreds of thousands of fans who think the exact same think about their alma maters.

JMU's "valid reasons" is code for the Duke's administration lacking the fortitude to make a tough call. One could say they actually did make a call, but then they lack the fortitude to own it w/ a faction of their fan base and then camouflaged it with some muddy language that attempts to make them appear that they'd some how be slumming it should they accept a Sun Belt invite.

Georgia Southern administrations (both academic and athletic) did the exact same thing for nearly 20 years. The Sun Belt was on campus as early as 1990 in Statesboro, testing the appetite for whether or not we wanted to remain in the TAAC or continue to push for entry into the SoCon. We all know what we did, and then once we were in the SoCon in 1993 ... proceeded to spend the next 2 decades running the same game JMU is trying to run now. It doesn't fool anyone.

Neither Appalachian State or Georgia Southern had much left to prove in the football landscape in the Southern Conference. It took me several of those 20+ years to be convinced we needed to move along, and I'm thankful we got lucky enough, for the rare THIRD chance to move UP. Fans can talk all day long about how much of a step down it is, but it isn't at all.

Why JMU thinks that the current setup is going to break-up to benefit them, is a pretty bizarre mindset to hold. Holding out for the 'perfect' version is unrealistic. About the time that the schools JMU wants to be associated with have gotten it 'right', those schools will want to do everything they can to not be associated with JMU.

Schools like Arkansas State, Troy, Louisiana all put their time in the Sun Belt and advanced their program under difficult conditions, and furthermore did it under the never-ending assault of the Sun Belt being a scum bucket league. Now that it is turning the corner and rightly viewed on the upswing, why in the world would they care about giving JMU a break ? You can look at Georgia Southern and Appalachian State as nice additions that have been productive, but at some point (especially after solicitation and rejection), the ship has sailed. It's a shame too, I would have loved to have seen NMSU and JMU added as full sport members.

Eagle22 is right on the money here. JMU has made it's decision and if one day a spot opens up in a FBS league that they want then more power to them but I for one am done wishing for them to join the SBC. JMU's decision has been made for whatever reason they decided to stay FCS much like Georgia Southern did back in the early 2000's. It was a mistake GS made then and I believe it was a mistake JMU made now but I wish them no ill will and maybe one day in the next few decades they will get the chance to move up again. Next time hopefully like GS they will decide the time is finally right.

Today's SBC is strong and growing stronger each season and while in years past the conference may have struggled against it's peers those days are over. For all of the people who say let's merge CUSA and the SBC and then blow them up into two new conferences I say for my part I hope our current line up stays just like it is...to hell with CUSA let them figure out their own mess.

CUSA does need to solve its own problems. That is because rearranging the deck chairs did not bring the expected utopia before...and it won't now.

What they are grumpy and disappointed about will not change after a merger.







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(05-01-2017 02:01 PM)ark30inf Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 01:52 PM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 01:30 PM)JTApps1 Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 10:35 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(04-30-2017 08:56 AM)Saint3333 Wrote:  There were few fans that wanted App and JMU in a conference together than I, but that ship has sailed. JMU would have been successful as well, but they didn't attempt that avenue (twice) and now wish to leapfrog others that are helping build a current FBS conference.

Only so many seats at the table. Your leadership really screwed the fans that wanted FBS.

nah, they had valid reasons why they didn't accept the SB invite at the time.

Many of us didn't agree, and still don't, but I completely understand why they made the decision at the time. It had its merits.

But things have changed since then. It's 1,000% not true that they don't want FBS. they simply didn't want the version of SB that existed at the time (again, for valid reasons), and they were led to believe the MAC was a decent possibility and CUSA was also in the cards. But UMass killed the chance with the MAC and UAB reinstating football killed the chance with CUSA. It was a gamble they took, and it didn't work out as many of us had hoped.

But it certainly has not killed our program. Since then, we have completed fundraising for our new hoops arena, had ESPN Gameday come, won a national title in football, hosted a Super Regional in softball and came within one out of the CWS. Things are still going in a positive direction for us.

We will get to FBS. And IF a new league develops, the schools in CUSA and the SB and MAC that may reshuffle are well aware of what we offer and would want us to be part of the group. And we would not say no.

The problem was JMU's admin (as well as many fans) wanted to find the perfect fit that had basically no risk involved. Unfortunately that rarely happens in these conference shuffles so when an opening comes you have to jump in. The Sun Belt wasn't perfect for us, but it was 10x better than the SoCon or CAA. Most importantly it got us in FBS, and with the changes taking place in conference membership the league is even better than in 2014.

Looking back I'm sure your admin wishes they were in Coastal's spot in this league despite the teams success in FCS the last two years. Now JMU is stuck hoping this realignment happens, AND that they are involved if/when it does happen. That is a lot of hope to place on other schools instead of being in control of your own future.

completely not true. it's been discussed endlessly on here why we said no.

if you know about JMU's school makeup, we get very few students from the SB footprint. Why would we join a league that has schools outside of that? our students are from VA, MD, DC and parts North. Not many from NC or below or WV and west.

that was one factor.

As I mentioned before, another factor was the belief we had a shot at the MAC and/or CUSA, which were better fits from a school perspective and offered more sports that we played. the powers that be at JMU didn't want to have our programs affiliated with 3 or 4 different conferences. as fans, we don't care. as administrators, I guess they do.

academics did play a part. Conferences are not just about sports. Most have academic alliances too. our school is not like many in the SB. It isn't an acadmic fit. and i don't mean in a "we are Ivy League looking down". please, we are fans. We don't care about any of that.

and i certainly don't believe in academic rankings. Almost ALL colleges are good and you can get a good education in them all. And you can get what you want out of them all.

But from an administrators perspective, the rankings say JMU is much higher than SB schools. There are not many that rank schools as one list. Forbes does.

https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/list/4/#tab:rank

JMU is 174, app St is 379, Ga State is 437 and everyone else is 531 or higher. what does that mean? absolutely nothing ! But at the Presidents and BofT level and the state legislature level, those who make that kind of decision? maybe it DID mean something. Who knows. And most fans, including JMU fans, would say "who gives a crap !" We don't give a crap. It's sports. Not chemistry lab !

I just think we need to agree that its not going to work out and leave it at that.

In US News & World Reports 2017 Edition of Best Regional Colleges JMU is 8th in the South and App is 9th.

(05-01-2017 06:33 PM)AppManDG Wrote:  In US News & World Reports 2017 Edition of Best Regional Colleges JMU is 8th in the South and App is 9th.

That doesn't mean they want in the SBC and it doesn't mean we want them in the SBC. Let the ship sail.

(05-01-2017 01:52 PM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  if you know about JMU's school makeup, we get very few students from the SB footprint. Why would we join a league that has schools outside of that? our students are from VA, MD, DC and parts North. Not many from NC or below or WV and west.

that was one factor.

As I mentioned before, another factor was the belief we had a shot at the MAC and/or CUSA, which were better fits from a school perspective and offered more sports that we played. the powers that be at JMU didn't want to have our programs affiliated with 3 or 4 different conferences. as fans, we don't care. as administrators, I guess they do. ...

This part is confusing. The Sun Belt is not desirable because the JMU students come from parts north and yet CUSA is a better fit despite the fact that both conferences have an almost identical footprint. If they want to be in a conference with a footprint that mirrors where the students come from then the MAC is the only choice. It was exciting when it was first announced that JMU was an expansion candidate but now the ship has definitely sailed.

(05-01-2017 06:45 PM)ark30inf Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 06:33 PM)AppManDG Wrote:  In US News & World Reports 2017 Edition of Best Regional Colleges JMU is 8th in the South and App is 9th.

That doesn't mean they want in the SBC and it doesn't mean we want them in the SBC. Let the ship sail.

I agree. Just refuting his notion JMU is academically superior to App.

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(05-01-2017 07:42 PM)AZcats Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 01:52 PM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  if you know about JMU's school makeup, we get very few students from the SB footprint. Why would we join a league that has schools outside of that? our students are from VA, MD, DC and parts North. Not many from NC or below or WV and west.

that was one factor.

As I mentioned before, another factor was the belief we had a shot at the MAC and/or CUSA, which were better fits from a school perspective and offered more sports that we played. the powers that be at JMU didn't want to have our programs affiliated with 3 or 4 different conferences. as fans, we don't care. as administrators, I guess they do. ...

This part is confusing. The Sun Belt is not desirable because the JMU students come from parts north and yet CUSA is a better fit despite the fact that both conferences have an almost identical footprint. If they want to be in a conference with a footprint that mirrors where the students come from then the MAC is the only choice. It was exciting when it was first announced that JMU was an expansion candidate but now the ship has definitely sailed.

A good friend who served on JMU's Athletic Council a few years back and I talk quite a bit. He tells me they would welcome a MAC invite, or some restructured eastern conference of SB & CUSA schools. It's nothing personal with the SB just their budget is maxed out and couldn't handle the additional travel costs.

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(05-01-2017 01:20 PM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 01:16 PM)mturn017 Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 01:02 PM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 12:03 PM)mturn017 Wrote:  

(05-01-2017 10:35 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  nah, they had valid reasons why they didn't accept the SB invite at the time.

Many of us didn't agree, and still don't, but I completely understand why they made the decision at the time. It had its merits.

But things have changed since then. It's 1,000% not true that they don't want FBS. they simply didn't want the version of SB that existed at the time (again, for valid reasons), and they were led to believe the MAC was a decent possibility and CUSA was also in the cards. But UMass killed the chance with the MAC and UAB reinstating football killed the chance with CUSA. It was a gamble they took, and it didn't work out as many of us had hoped.

But it certainly has not killed our program. Since then, we have completed fundraising for our new hoops arena, had ESPN Gameday come, won a national title in football, hosted a Super Regional in softball and came within one out of the CWS. Things are still going in a positive direction for us.

We will get to FBS. And IF a new league develops, the schools in CUSA and the SB and MAC that may reshuffle are well aware of what we offer and would want us to be part of the group. And we would not say no.

Really? This says you're only 59% towards achieving the fundraising goal.

http://www.jmuconvo.com/#invest

http://www.breezejmu.org/sports/jmu-plan...2863f.html

"Jeff Bourne has noted that if the school is unable to reach the $12 million fundraising goal, the university could sell naming rights to the arena to fill the gap"

Gotcha. So you raised 7 out of 12 million.

it's raised. they have sponsorships lined up. it's getting built. ground breaking will start this year.

This thread is a giant sh!t show, so I rarely do more than glance at the newest postings, but this $12 million for a new basketball arena discussion caught my attention. What type of seating numbers/specs are you talking about for that project? Us at GS have been in some form of (very preliminary) discussions about a new arena for years now, and the numbers I've seen have been significantly north of 12M. I would also think, if there were much difference, construction in general would be more expensive up in VA than where we are in south GA. Just curious, not meant to be a shot or anything.