PilotOnline.com Wrote:C-USA rejected Liberty University's generous offer to join the league ... but the Flames ended up as the big winners
Sep 7, 2017


Liberty's football stadium with the new, $29.1 million indoor workout facility to the left and a $3 million out track to the right and the school's new $20 million baseball stadium at the bottom right.
Steve Helber | AP Photo

By Harry Minium
The Virginian-Pilot
harry.minium@pilotonline.com

LYNCHBURG Since Liberty University announced in 2012 its plan to move to the Football Bowl Subdivision, officials worked diligently to find a conference, any conference, willing to accept the Flames.

The NCAA requires a Football Championship Subdivision school to join an FBS league to move . Liberty officials intensely lobbied the two leagues that made geographic sense – Conference USA and the Sun Belt – with no luck.

Liberty even offered to open its checkbook. Sources told me that in 2016, Liberty offered Conference USA millions of dollars more than the usual $2 million admission fee for an invitation.

This little nugget seems over the top but in line with rumors that were floating around a year or so ago ...

Quote:How many millions more? One source pegged the offer at $24 million. The offer coincidentally came at about the same time C-USA was learning its TV revenue would soon crater, going from paying $1.1 million per school annually to about $200,000.

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I think it was a huge mistake.

It's quite obvious it was out of fear of Liberty very quickly overshadowing them.

I can understand CUSA not wanting them even if they end up being good in football. That is not the only criteria.

This is why I think the CUSA East splinter group will scoop them up at some point.

ODU and Charlotte are going to see the geography with Liberty and say its worth it.

(09-07-2017 08:36 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  This is why I think the CUSA East splinter group will scoop them up at some point.

ODU and Charlotte are going to see the geography with Liberty and say its worth it.

Add in Georgia Southern, Coastal, JMU, and APP and you have a core groups who's trajectories are going up. Everyone of them is in the facilities arms race and are fielding competitive teams all the while with an increasing enrollment.

(09-07-2017 08:36 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  This is why I think the CUSA East splinter group will scoop them up at some point.

ODU and Charlotte are going to see the geography with Liberty and say its worth it.

Add in Georgia Southern, Coastal, JMU, and APP and you have a core groups who's trajectories are going up. Everyone of them is in the facilities arms race and are fielding competitive teams all the while with an increasing enrollment.

(09-07-2017 09:13 PM)Shox Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 08:36 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  This is why I think the CUSA East splinter group will scoop them up at some point.

ODU and Charlotte are going to see the geography with Liberty and say its worth it.

Add in Georgia Southern, Coastal, JMU, and APP and you have a core groups who's trajectories are going up. Everyone of them is in the facilities arms race and are fielding competitive teams all the while with an increasing enrollment.

I see it more as a place where UMass could also go since they don't have prospects.

$24 million? That's it? That's only $22 million more than the "normal" admission fee, meaning they only offered each of the 14 existing CUSA members about $1.5 million each. That is not nearly enough to get those schools to do something they didn't want to do.

Reminds me of the time when I was a kid and it was my turn to mow the lawn on a hot day, and I offered my brother a quarter to do it for me. He laughed.

(09-07-2017 07:37 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  I can understand CUSA not wanting them even if they end up being good in football. That is not the only criteria.

Well F_U is not really good at anything......and they added both of them.

(09-07-2017 08:36 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  This is why I think the CUSA East splinter group will scoop them up at some point.

ODU and Charlotte are going to see the geography with Liberty and say its worth it.

That ship has already sailed. Liberty has far more potential than every CUSA school.

(09-07-2017 09:50 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 08:36 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  This is why I think the CUSA East splinter group will scoop them up at some point.

ODU and Charlotte are going to see the geography with Liberty and say its worth it.

That ship has already sailed. Liberty has far more potential than every CUSA school.

They never did anything in the Big South with that sorry group of schools. How are they going to do something against better schools?

(09-07-2017 09:55 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 09:50 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 08:36 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  This is why I think the CUSA East splinter group will scoop them up at some point.

ODU and Charlotte are going to see the geography with Liberty and say its worth it.

That ship has already sailed. Liberty has far more potential than every CUSA school.

They never did anything in the Big South with that sorry group of schools. How are they going to do something against better schools?

$$$$$

(09-07-2017 09:56 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 09:55 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 09:50 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 08:36 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  This is why I think the CUSA East splinter group will scoop them up at some point.

ODU and Charlotte are going to see the geography with Liberty and say its worth it.

That ship has already sailed. Liberty has far more potential than every CUSA school.

They never did anything in the Big South with that sorry group of schools. How are they going to do something against better schools?

$$$$$

They had that against the sorry ass poor Big South schools yet did nothing.

(09-07-2017 10:00 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 09:56 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 09:55 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 09:50 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 08:36 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  This is why I think the CUSA East splinter group will scoop them up at some point.

ODU and Charlotte are going to see the geography with Liberty and say its worth it.

That ship has already sailed. Liberty has far more potential than every CUSA school.

They never did anything in the Big South with that sorry group of schools. How are they going to do something against better schools?

$$$$$

They had that against the sorry ass poor Big South schools yet did nothing.

Hmmm...

Then Jesus then.

Maybe online Jesus?

(09-07-2017 10:02 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 10:00 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 09:56 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 09:55 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 09:50 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  That ship has already sailed. Liberty has far more potential than every CUSA school.

They never did anything in the Big South with that sorry group of schools. How are they going to do something against better schools?

$$$$$

They had that against the sorry ass poor Big South schools yet did nothing.

Hmmm...

Then Jesus then.

Maybe online Jesus?

Is he better than Touchdown Jesus?

(09-07-2017 10:04 PM)Pony94 Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 10:02 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 10:00 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 09:56 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 09:55 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote:  They never did anything in the Big South with that sorry group of schools. How are they going to do something against better schools?

$$$$$

They had that against the sorry ass poor Big South schools yet did nothing.

Hmmm...

Then Jesus then.

Maybe online Jesus?

Is he better than Touchdown Jesus?

Touchdown Jesus' tuition check didn't clear.

(09-07-2017 07:37 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  I can understand CUSA not wanting them even if they end up being good in football. That is not the only criteria.

Football likely had little to do with CUSA's reluctance to accept Liberty. More likely CUSA didnt wish to be associated with the many very controversial positions the University holds and most CUSA presidents probably didn't want to rub elbows with an on-line university that is considered a diploma mill in some circles.

That said, thats a lot of money to pass up and Liberty is willing to spend the kind of money necessary to guarantee they field high quality teams. The other problem in adding Liberty as #15? It means you would need a #16. Who would that have been? And, was the 24 million from Liberty worth permanantly splitting the leagues meager pay day 16 ways.

Losers can't be choosers.

Army
UMass
Liberty

Start a conference together why don't ya?

The future Liberty-Grand Canyon battles will be epic, until South New Hampshire and University of Phoenix can get their **** together.

(09-07-2017 10:00 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 09:56 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(09-07-2017 09:55 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote:  [Liberty] never did anything in the Big South with that sorry group of schools. How are they going to do something against better schools?

$$$$$

They had that against the sorry ass poor Big South schools yet did nothing.

10 years ago, Liberty didn't have anywhere near the financial resources or physical facilities it has today. Not even close.