RE: Is Liberty Paying Harry Minium?
A few thoughts:
1. Harry's a straight shooter. I've known Harry off and on over the years and respect his work, both in sports and news. He's probably the last guy in the newsroom that would be on the take, and he's earned the benefit of a half-dozen doubts. Quibble if you will about what he writes, but he's always been on the level, and I don't see him endangering his well-earned reputation for whatever ducats Liberty might be willing to provide (aside: Would Liberty be willing to pay for positive content from media outlets? I would say "probably not" but I also wouldn't need a fainting couch if it turned out that they were trying to buy better/more positive coverage).
2. Liberty is an important story from an ODU perspective. I think a lot of us expected ECU or JMU to be the big regional rival in G5, but ECU is in a different conference and JMU is forever monitoring, so Liberty it is. They have interest in a long-term athletic relationship with ODU while competing with them for recruits and regional media coverage. Liberty's ups and downs indirectly, and in some cases directly, affect ODU.
3. Liberty is an interesting story regardless its ODU connection. They're the canary in the coal mine for FCS programs moving to FBS independence. They'll clear a path for other would-be move-ups like JMU or North Dakota State, or they'll succeed in a way that can't be duplicated because of their unique situation, or they'll fail. But their transition to FBS is more interesting than any other FCS call-up's story (yes, even including ODU) and they're a far different breed of FBS independent than the others too. That they're a three-hour drive from Norfolk makes them a reasonable target for a story or three.
4. Hampton Roads has a strong conservative Christian influence. Regent, CBN, the ACLJ. I don't have numbers in front of me, but I'd be willing to wager that there's a good number of people here who are pulling for Liberty because of, not despite, their political/religious bent.
That said, I think Harry missed an important aspect of the CUSA/Liberty discussion — a Liberty add would bring CUSA to 15 full members at a time when there's no incentive to have more than 10. Even if you were OK with an expansive league that treats the two divisions as de facto conferences, you'd need at least a 16th school, and there's nobody out there who a) moves the needle and b) would accept. At this point I don't think even the Sun Belt schools would move, if for no other reason than why pay exit and entrance fees for a lateral move? So you're looking at a call-up or maybe New Mexico State. Hey, maybe the AAC can let us know where they got those P6 stickers!
I will say this also: It is very telling that the presence of interracial couples was used to describe Liberty as a more tolerant school than people realize. In 2017.
As for why Liberty's religious identification or political leanings matter in the context of athletics: They don't, at least to the preponderance of fans, athletes, coaches and staff. But conference alignment decisions rest in the hands of school presidents, who take the whole "institutional fit" thing seriously. There's a reason the Big East is exclusively private and almost exclusively Catholic. Or why Tulane got into the AAC when its on-field exploits are more worthy of the Atlantic Sun. Or why Wake Forest will be in the ACC as long as it so desires, no matter how much the Realignment Risk players on the main board want to make it not so.
Liberty's going to be a weird fit for pretty much any FBS conference, plus unlike most schools that (trigger warning!) evolved over decades if not centuries, Liberty sort of exploded onto the scene thanks in large part to their burgeoning online program. They're doing great now, but is that sustainable? And if it's not, does Liberty bring enough without it? Or do they become the academic equivalent of pets.com? University presidents are risk-adverse creatures, and they may be reluctant to embrace the new-money neighbors, no matter how they got it.
(This post was last modified: 09-19-2017 11:20 AM by Cyniclone.)
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