What has happened to USM? Did nurturing yet another group of big city schools that moved to greener pastures just break the administration’s spirit?

When AState moved Division I in football in 1975 until about 2010, 35 years give or take, if you had asked AState fans what their aspirations for football were they would have said USM.

Since then USM wouldn’t be in their top five. The fire seems to be out in how the school handles athletics especially post Fedora


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think everyone realizes this is not your fathers CUSA. Only USM and UAb are founding members and Rice, UTEP and Marshall have been in longer then 7 years.

Southern Miss hasn’t been the same USM since they got rid of Bowers, the coach a lot of South fans wanted to build our program.

The only way I see UAb coming in is if TxSt decides to move to CUSA, for the same reason a lot of other school have been mentioned into the SBC, travel. TxSt playing in a conference with 4 other Texas schools would do wonders for them i think.

Isn’t it 2022 or something like that when a lot of contracts run out for bowls or something.....that could be a huge year for realignment and change in college football. And lets not forget about the new rules for players selling their likeness. That could get Memphis and Cincinnati into the Big 12.

(11-28-2019 11:58 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  What has happened to USM? Did nurturing yet another group of big city schools that moved to greener pastures just break the administration’s spirit?

When AState moved Division I in football in 1975 until about 2010, 35 years give or take, if you had asked AState fans what their aspirations for football were they would have said USM.

Since then USM wouldn’t be in their top five. The fire seems to be out in how the school handles athletics especially post Fedora


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The combination of getting passed over for membership to the AAC (which most Southern Miss fans blame on our rivals), Ellllllllllllis happening, and the Tyndall ruling coming down hard on us is what killed our spirit. All three happened within about a two year period, along with massive turnover in the athletic department. Even our compliance staff left, poached by Memphis.

We’re playing games against teams that no one recognizes in a conference that clearly doesn’t value us.

It’s led directly to the “one of us” era, where we hire coaches with direct ties to the program for largely sentimental reasons rather than going after the best available. The result is a baseball program that doesn’t take risks, a basketball program that just hired a guy with a losing d1 record, and a football coach whose 28 wins in four years includes 20 conference wins, four FCS wins, and three Sun Belt wins. The only other win was against Kentucky...in his very first game.

Fan apathy is at an all time high. If a change isn’t made somewhere and somehow, a department that’s already suffering is going to dwindle away to nothing.

The good news is that Bennett has been far from idle. He’s taken advantage of the most favorable political situation in Southern Miss’s history to fix some glaring academic issues, and managed to push through some finance reforms for athletics. He also hasn’t hesitated to run off athletic directors who weren’t performing up to his standard. He also just finished a two year stint as head of CUSA’s Executive Council.

McClain was a long time member of Southern Miss’s athletic department before leaving to become Troy’s AD. He obviously would know everyone in the room at a Sun Belt meeting, and he’s acutely aware of the need for change at Southern Miss. One need look no further than the changes he made to the game day atmosphere this season to see that.

That said, the Sun Belt isn’t an ideal fit. Southern Miss is adamantly opposed to playing off-Saturday regular season football games, even on the road. Additionally, the divisional alignment isn’t ideal. If UTA and UALR stay in the conference after the add, it would create a situation where Southern Miss is the eastern most West team outside football season, even though USM and USA are very close to each other. Southern Miss would be stuck playing a lot of schools its fan base doesn’t know...exactly the problem we have now. There would need to be some type of optimized schedule adopted to make it work, and I’m not sure existing Sun Belt schools would want to extend that kind of special treatment.

(11-27-2019 09:40 PM)TrueBlueDrew Wrote:  

(11-27-2019 08:34 PM)Vobserver Wrote:  

(11-27-2019 08:28 PM)AppYosef Wrote:  Marshall OK.. Southern Miss... meh... bunch of cowards

USM great. Marshall? Doesn't move the needle for us. I would rather Rice or even UTSA than Mardhall.

So USM for the Cajuns and Redwolves and Marshall for App and GS. Sounds like a great compromise to me.

My first choice is USM and Marshall . . would be awesome adds.

I get UAb and USM unhappiness with the current CUSA. They were once on a conference with TCU, Louisville, Cincinnati, Memphis and even Army. Now they share a conference with ODU, UNCC and UNT. I’m not downing those schools as much as pointing out they aren’t the now P5 and major basketball schools of the others. Does the SBC fix that, no, it just doesn’t. Is the SBC better then the current CUSA, currently, yes, we are. Add a couple more years of our guys getting ranked, if we could get multi bids in basketball, the perception from the causal fan will change and USM and Marshall fans will be wanting to make the jump. But I think we are still a couple years away from changing those perceptions.

But App keeps going, Louisiana keeps getting votes, and if South and TxSt could ever get pointed in the right direction, we will change those minds. I do know, all the games on ESPN this year have been really nice, we need a couple more years like that.

(11-28-2019 05:43 PM)Usajags Wrote:  I get UAb and USM unhappiness with the current CUSA. They were once on a conference with TCU, Louisville, Cincinnati, Memphis and even Army. Now they share a conference with ODU, UNCC and UNT. I’m not downing those schools as much as pointing out they aren’t the now P5 and major basketball schools of the others. Does the SBC fix that, no, it just doesn’t. Is the SBC better then the current CUSA, currently, yes, we are. Add a couple more years of our guys getting ranked, if we could get multi bids in basketball, the perception from the causal fan will change and USM and Marshall fans will be wanting to make the jump. But I think we are still a couple years away from changing those perceptions.

But App keeps going, Louisiana keeps getting votes, and if South and TxSt could ever get pointed in the right direction, we will change those minds. I do know, all the games on ESPN this year have been really nice, we need a couple more years like that.

I think this is the difference between the two conferences at least at the moment. There's little doubt that USA and Texas state will make the turn. USA particularly. If the current top of the conference can keep up the momentum and the bottom can take advantage of amazing investments we're rolling. Making any change right now would be unfortunate IMO. We need to wait and see what happens. Location location location.

This recent sunbelt growth is so new its going to take 5 more similar years and 1 or 2 more programs making significant strides for any real administrative desire to materialize. App has been good in this leage for 4 years. Louisiana 2. Georgia State 1. Georgia Southern has teetered between good and bad.

No university president makes decisions that rashly. Fan sentiment is great and it can be a catalyst for change but it's impulsive and there's a reason fans don't get to make major program altering decisions.

That said, the Sunbelt needs teams that win, not ones that are living off waning 30 year old brand value.

Pride | Passion | Purpose

(11-28-2019 10:07 PM)APPdiesel Wrote:  This recent sunbelt growth is so new its going to take 5 more similar years and 1 or 2 more programs making significant strides for any real administrative desire to materialize. App has been good in this leage for 4 years. Louisiana 2. Georgia State 1. Georgia Southern has teetered between good and bad.

No university president makes decisions that rashly. Fan sentiment is great and it can be a catalyst for change but it's impulsive and there's a reason fans don't get to make major program altering decisions.

That said, the Sunbelt needs teams that win, not ones that are living off waning 30 year old brand value.

Pride | Passion | Purpose

The issue Southern Miss is running into is that they have no rivalries and hardly any match-ups within driving distance. In the Sun Belt they would get Louisiana Lafayette/Monroe, Troy, South Alabama, and Georgia State (a bit longer). UAB lost football for two years and after being the best of the rest and being stuck in C-USA playing Old Dominion, Charlotte, F_U, and the other new schools, their fans have lost interest.

I feel the same thing would happen to many schools who had a proud history of competing with anyone only to be left behind. I know ECU would've likely tried to go independent rather than stay in C-USA had they been left behind, and they almost were.

I'd certainly be interested in Marshal. USM backing out of our game last year was the sign of a weak program. Not sure I want them. I'd rather get one of those Florida schools to give SunBelt more exposure in that state.

(11-29-2019 09:56 AM)APPrising Wrote:  I'd certainly be interested in Marshal. USM backing out of our game last year was the sign of a weak program. Not sure I want them. I'd rather get one of those Florida schools to give SunBelt more exposure in that state.

No offense, but the Florida schools were bad when they were here and offer no exposure anyway because nobody watches them. Marketz are a fail.

(11-29-2019 09:56 AM)APPrising Wrote:  I'd certainly be interested in Marshal. USM backing out of our game last year was the sign of a weak program. Not sure I want them. I'd rather get one of those Florida schools to give SunBelt more exposure in that state.

Hell no to the F_U schools, been there, done that. People in south Florida barely care about Miami, there in no interest in the F_U programs.

I still believe had UAb dropped football a year earlier, they would now be in the new Big East, and would still not be playing football.

USM had an ECU like program, now both of those programs are a shadow of who they used to be.

(11-29-2019 10:05 AM)Usajags Wrote:  

(11-29-2019 09:56 AM)APPrising Wrote:  I'd certainly be interested in Marshal. USM backing out of our game last year was the sign of a weak program. Not sure I want them. I'd rather get one of those Florida schools to give SunBelt more exposure in that state.

Hell no to the F_U schools, been there, done that. People in south Florida barely care about Miami, there in no interest in the F_U programs.

I still believe had UAb dropped football a year earlier, they would now be in the new Big East, and would still not be playing football.

USM had an ECU like program, now both of those programs are a shadow of who they used to be.

ECU is fine. They made a bad hire for Athletic Director and that AD fired ECU alumni Ruffin McNeil in favor of underqualified Scottie Montgomery. It didn't work out so ECU fired both Compher (AD) and Montgomery. This season they took some major steps forward, won every game they should've won and almost beat SMU and Cincinnati. I'd say ECU had the best run in their programs history between the beginning of the Skip Holtz era and firing of McNeil. McNeil's issue stemmed from a year that saw many impact players leave along with Lincoln Riley being hired by Kentucky. After the lone season without Riley, McNeil was fired.

They will be fine once the defense is shored up. Facilities there are also among the best in the AAC. https://www.witn.com/content/news/ECU-sh...19681.html

USM is likely in a similar boat where athletic department decision makers have the department heading in the wrong direction. That direction could be fixed with quality hires. It should be known that if they beat FAU this weekend, they would still be in a tie for their C-USA division lead. Not exactly a poor showing, by any means. The Larry Fedora days aren't that long ago.

(11-29-2019 10:02 AM)runninjoe Wrote:  

(11-29-2019 09:56 AM)APPrising Wrote:  I'd certainly be interested in Marshal. USM backing out of our game last year was the sign of a weak program. Not sure I want them. I'd rather get one of those Florida schools to give SunBelt more exposure in that state.

No offense, but the Florida schools were bad when they were here and offer no exposure anyway because nobody watches them. Marketz are a fail.

not offending me, so just Marshall then

(11-29-2019 09:56 AM)APPrising Wrote:  I'd certainly be interested in Marshal. USM backing out of our game last year was the sign of a weak program. Not sure I want them. I'd rather get one of those Florida schools to give SunBelt more exposure in that state.

How is not traveling to an area expected to be impacted by what was forecast to be a Category Four storm at landfall a sign of a weak program? Sure, it turned to just rain and wind but when the decisions were being made a week in advance, it was likely that the storm had yet to make landfall and weaken to a Category One storm.

(11-29-2019 10:26 AM)ericsaid Wrote:  

(11-29-2019 09:56 AM)APPrising Wrote:  I'd certainly be interested in Marshal. USM backing out of our game last year was the sign of a weak program. Not sure I want them. I'd rather get one of those Florida schools to give SunBelt more exposure in that state.

How is not traveling to an area expected to be impacted by what was forecast to be a Category Four storm at landfall a sign of a weak program? Sure, it turned to just rain and wind but when the decisions were being made a week in advance, it was likely that the storm had yet to make landfall and weaken to a Category One storm.

Because we offered an alternate neutral site that likely would have been easier travel than a good weather Boone game day and they still refused.

The former members are especially delusional; it's funny. Their brains just can't accept they were stupid. Sun Belt is not a step down. You'd be lucky to convince Texas St to move if you waive the fee. No one else is going anywhere. Delusions of grandeur in football and they split less money than the higher-rated SBC 14 ways playing on god knows what channel with no good teams. All the basketball arguments we heard and CUSA is a one bid league.

We are better top to bottom and I like sitting at 10. For sadistic reasons it would be fun to watch WKU, La Tech, and MTSU scramble with their hats in their hands if Marshall and USM bolted.

I truly believe that if Little Rock and UTA weren't in our league, something like this would have happened already.

I also believe that CUSA desertion to us will never happen until we address this.

(11-28-2019 12:20 PM)Usajags Wrote:  I think everyone realizes this is not your fathers CUSA. Only USM and UAb are founding members and Rice, UTEP and Marshall have been in longer then 7 years.

Southern Miss hasn’t been the same USM since they got rid of Bowers, the coach a lot of South fans wanted to build our program.

The only way I see UAb coming in is if TxSt decides to move to CUSA, for the same reason a lot of other school have been mentioned into the SBC, travel. TxSt playing in a conference with 4 other Texas schools would do wonders for them i think.

Isn’t it 2022 or something like that when a lot of contracts run out for bowls or something.....that could be a huge year for realignment and change in college football. And lets not forget about the new rules for players selling their likeness. That could get Memphis and Cincinnati into the Big 12.

Definitely not your father’s CUSA with the likes of ODU, UNCC, UTSA and the Sun Belt 5. I’m still trying to figure out why some SBC teams’ fans felt so defeated when they (kaff kaff) were uninvited.

Why would we welcome any of the old members back in??? The reason we are better now than before is because they left and we refilled with better teams. GaSo/App St > F_U

2022 will be an interesting year in college sports. I think that is when it will all go down.

(11-29-2019 09:56 AM)APPrising Wrote:  I'd certainly be interested in Marshal. USM backing out of our game last year was the sign of a weak program. Not sure I want them. I'd rather get one of those Florida schools to give SunBelt more exposure in that state.

Disagree totally with this. USM would be an asset to the Sun Belt. Definitely in the footprint of the league and with a strong fan base. You need to get over their cancellation of your game with them. They did what they thought best for their team and fas at the time.