(11-02-2021 10:05 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 09:59 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  CUSA with WKU and MTSU helping to save the conference.

FIU
Western Kentucky
MTSU
Jacksonville State
Liberty
Chattanooga
Murray State

UTEP
La. Tech
New Mexico State
Sam Houston State
Missouri State
UCA
Lamar

WKU and MTSU are saving themselves. They are 100% gone to the MAC.

Yeah, just like Air Force and Colorado State to the AAC is a done deal before they changed their mind and stayed with MWC.

(11-02-2021 10:05 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  ... Really, if it was all about money and scheduling, Liberty should not have joined. IMO, they are better off as a program Independent than joining this version of CUSA.

But I think for Liberty, the overriding issue was breaking the ice in terms of the anti-religious stigma that FBS conferences have had regarding them. This is their chance to get in to a conference, and once that happens, it positions them to move to a better one later on.

So IMO they made a strategic move to take a step back now, to open up more steps forward later.

I would say it is more a sideways move now, to open up forward steps later ... since they are doing this for the exposure, and being a formal part of the conversation about the Access Bowl spot ... which looks likely to be followed by a race for the top six FBS champions ... is worth something to Liberty on its own.

Also, don't be surprised if it is the CUSA Remnant 3, + NMSU/Liberty + FCSx4 (the two announced plus two more to be timed with the formal WKU/MTSU announcement) + UMass FB Only, which under Liberty's current football scheduling makes the transition easier, since they have a number of games with NMSU and UMass already on their future schedules, and allowing them to get the full Go5 base distribution of $1m/school up to 10 schools.

(11-02-2021 10:10 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 10:05 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 09:59 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  CUSA with WKU and MTSU helping to save the conference.

FIU
Western Kentucky
MTSU
Jacksonville State
Liberty
Chattanooga
Murray State

UTEP
La. Tech
New Mexico State
Sam Houston State
Missouri State
UCA
Lamar

WKU and MTSU are saving themselves. They are 100% gone to the MAC.

Yeah, just like Air Force and Colorado State to the AAC is a done deal before they changed their mind and stayed with MWC.

WKU and MTSU aren’t leaving a regional conference behind. The MWC wasn’t down to 3 other teams either. Nice try.

(11-02-2021 10:13 AM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 10:10 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  Yeah, just like Air Force and Colorado State to the AAC is a done deal before they changed their mind and stayed with MWC.

WKU and MTSU aren’t leaving a regional conference behind. The MWC wasn’t down to 3 other teams either. Nice try.

Air Force and CSU being a "done deal" was just the view of some board commentators, it was being reported as "under discusssion", and an announcement reported as "possible" in the upcoming week ... it was not reported as being "likely".

There is a vocabulary that sports journalists use for these things, and the reporting on the WKU/MTSU move is the vocabulary they use when a deal has been reached but the formal votes have not yet been taken. The reporting on Air Force / CSU never reached that point.

(11-02-2021 09:32 AM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 09:16 AM)esayem Wrote:  Liberty, LaTech, NMSU, and UTEP is not bad at all for a basketball conference’s core.

Jacksonville St. and Sam Houston being in oversaturated football states is a nice little eff you to the Sun Belt and AAC.

FIU needs to figure themselves out.

C-USA needs one more full-time member and they’re good to go.

After seeing the UMass AD tweet, I imagine they’re trying to join as a football-only member. UConn might opt for Independence, but the two as a pair make more sense.

An eff you to the Sun Belt? Yeah, I bet the Sun Belt is really worried about Sam Houston State and Jacksonville State being in CUSA now. Lol

There will be no difference between Jacksonville St. and Troy, Texas St. and Sam Houston anymore. When programs move up, the talent that would have chosen to backup for a couple years instead spreads to find an easier path to starting earlier.

Or did you not notice how a program like Southern Miss fell off the map once a ton of southern start-ups and 1-AA programs moved up?

They might not be “worried” (your word, not mine) but if they think it won’t affect them, they’re as blind as you.

(11-02-2021 09:28 AM)Bogg Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 09:23 AM)esayem Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 09:17 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 09:14 AM)e-parade Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 09:07 AM)Bogg Wrote:  Eh. I'm more confident in UConn's ability to sell 4-6 games a year to CBS/Fox directly than I am in the future CUSA's ability to land 60-100% of their games on TV across any network.

Go football only and keep your own media contract for home games. Be the bigger name that helps sell the other CUSA home games.

Yes, if UConn is going to make this move (and to be clear, I would NOT suggest them to make this move if I were running that school), then it needs to be where UConn can keep its own football TV deal. Otherwise, it's a non-starter.

Bowl games and conference championships—no matter how lowly the league’s status—actually matter for the players and coaches.

Notre Dame knows they have bowl tie-ins and they’re unique in that they’re actually against conference membership. They probably would still be Indy in basketball if it were remotely feasible.

Army knows they have bowl tie-ins and their conference championship is the Commander in Chief’s trophy.

UConn might be able to get by as an Indy, but playing UMass Thanksgiving weekend for a chance to go to Florida for a bowl game matters more to players than buy games. Tough to sell prospective recruits on buy games.

To what extent does that offset playing the majority of your games streaming on....whatever they're streaming on come the next media deal? Bowl access matters (and for the record, UConn isn't formally frozen out of bowls), but so does guaranteed TV time.

That’s all yet to be worked out, and I imagine it would be looked at as a package that included UConn.

(11-02-2021 10:32 AM)esayem Wrote:  There will be no difference between Jacksonville St. and Troy, Texas St. and Sam Houston anymore. When programs move up, the talent that would have chosen to backup for a couple years instead spreads to find an easier path to starting earlier.

...that might not be bad for either program, as I know these two were big rivals back in the "I-AA" days... hopefully they set up a running series with each other.

(11-02-2021 10:32 AM)esayem Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 09:32 AM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 09:16 AM)esayem Wrote:  Liberty, LaTech, NMSU, and UTEP is not bad at all for a basketball conference’s core.

Jacksonville St. and Sam Houston being in oversaturated football states is a nice little eff you to the Sun Belt and AAC.

FIU needs to figure themselves out.

C-USA needs one more full-time member and they’re good to go.

After seeing the UMass AD tweet, I imagine they’re trying to join as a football-only member. UConn might opt for Independence, but the two as a pair make more sense.

An eff you to the Sun Belt? Yeah, I bet the Sun Belt is really worried about Sam Houston State and Jacksonville State being in CUSA now. Lol

There will be no difference between Jacksonville St. and Troy, Texas St. and Sam Houston anymore. When programs move up, the talent that would have chosen to backup for a couple years instead spreads to find an easier path to starting earlier.

Or did you not notice how a program like Southern Miss fell off the map once a ton of southern start-ups and 1-AA programs moved up?

They might not be “worried” (your word, not mine) but if they think it won’t affect them, they’re as blind as you.

That’s an interesting idea, that talent dilution hurts G football programs when more teams transition into FBS. If that turns out to be a big factor, then the AAC, MAC, and SBC have only themselves to blame. None of those leagues had to expand to as many as 14, and if they had each stopped at 12, then CUSA would not be bringing in new programs that are making the move to FBS.

(11-02-2021 09:50 AM)bluesox Wrote:  This is crazy. Really shocked liberty would do this

It shows how bad they really wanted into CUSA.

(11-02-2021 10:52 AM)Wedge Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 10:32 AM)esayem Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 09:32 AM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 09:16 AM)esayem Wrote:  Liberty, LaTech, NMSU, and UTEP is not bad at all for a basketball conference’s core.

Jacksonville St. and Sam Houston being in oversaturated football states is a nice little eff you to the Sun Belt and AAC.

FIU needs to figure themselves out.

C-USA needs one more full-time member and they’re good to go.

After seeing the UMass AD tweet, I imagine they’re trying to join as a football-only member. UConn might opt for Independence, but the two as a pair make more sense.

An eff you to the Sun Belt? Yeah, I bet the Sun Belt is really worried about Sam Houston State and Jacksonville State being in CUSA now. Lol

There will be no difference between Jacksonville St. and Troy, Texas St. and Sam Houston anymore. When programs move up, the talent that would have chosen to backup for a couple years instead spreads to find an easier path to starting earlier.

Or did you not notice how a program like Southern Miss fell off the map once a ton of southern start-ups and 1-AA programs moved up?

They might not be “worried” (your word, not mine) but if they think it won’t affect them, they’re as blind as you.

That’s an interesting idea, that talent dilution hurts G football programs when more teams transition into FBS. If that turns out to be a big factor, then the AAC, MAC, and SBC have only themselves to blame. None of those leagues had to expand to as many as 14, and if they had each stopped at 12, then CUSA would not be bringing in new programs that are making the move to FBS.

SBC expansion was about travel and to put itself on equal footing with the AAC.

MAC wanted WKU/MT for the competitive boost.

Its the AAC which has put itself in the position of watering down the product since they are also dealing with 3 more P5 programs (UC, UH, UCF) that will be competing against them. Maybe the the AAC will have a couple of Top 20 teams but P6 depth will be gone.

(11-02-2021 10:00 AM)Curtisc83 Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 09:52 AM)SlyFox Wrote:  Liberty has had an agreement with ESPN for between 15-20 years. There wasn't much money involved outside of paying for production costs. I know Liberty does not care about media revenue that is so miniscule. We do care about exposure. Whatever platform provides the greatest reach will be where we want to be involved.

Let the record show, as a Liberty alum I am far from convinced that any of this is a done deal. I could see Judy's office floating this idea out there in hopes that WKU & MTSU would stick around. I know that thoe two participating weighs heavily on Liberty's interest in this deal. I am still not convinced that we are all in. It would be a relatively easy league for us to get auto bids in most every sport and hoops would be an upgrade on the ASUN. But this still smells like far from a done deal.

I'm not convinced we are in either. Aren't LaTech academic snobs? Why would they vote yes for LU?

Because they need warm bodies to maintain C-USA's FBS status. The Techies are facing the music now.

(11-02-2021 09:27 AM)RUScarlets Wrote:  This alignment makes no sense. Spreading out from VA to Miami to NMSU with roughly 9 teams in all sports? It’s not like this conference is on par with the American with CSU and AFA…

The only thing I’m thinking is they need those exit fees so it’s important to scrap something together to preserve that. Once those fees are collected the conference will disband.

Even if Liberty and FIU are football only, I’d still have added predominantly in Texas and the Midwest. And they’d need 5 teams for all sports. Adding in GA, New Mexico, AND VA makes no sense.

Bring a football Indy suuuuuuucks.
UConn is enough of a name to get body bag games with P5 schools.

You advise UTEP to be NMSU. NMSU just joined UTEP. Think about that.

It's funny how the narrative went from "nobody will want to schedule UConn" to "actually, those home-and-homes are a bad thing".

(11-02-2021 11:35 AM)Bogg Wrote:  It's funny how the narrative went from "nobody will want to schedule UConn" to "actually, those home-and-homes are a bad thing".

There are people who argue a position, and people who simply argue that whatever school A is doing is "good" and whatever school B is doing is "bad".

The two things the Remnant of the CUSA can offer UConn that the MAC couldn't would be a FB-only spot without requiring tossing in OOC MBB games into the pot as a sweetener and a share of the extra $1m from the Go5 distribution ... maybe $500K as distribution and $500K as conference affiliation fee (that +$1m/school is capped at 10 schools, so there wouldn't have been an extra $1m for the MAC to share).

1 more FCS school to get to eight full FBS members plus UConn/UMass FB-only to get to ten and a two division CCG is plausible, but UConn being interested in that is far from certain.

2 more FCS schools to get to 9 full FBS members plus UMass FB-only to get to ten and a two division CCG would not be surprising ... it seems likely to hinge on whether there is a third FCS call-up that is more appealing as a full member than staying at 9 full members and padding out the schedule (and Go5 base distribution) with a FB only school.

(11-02-2021 10:00 AM)Curtisc83 Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 09:52 AM)SlyFox Wrote:  Liberty has had an agreement with ESPN for between 15-20 years. There wasn't much money involved outside of paying for production costs. I know Liberty does not care about media revenue that is so miniscule. We do care about exposure. Whatever platform provides the greatest reach will be where we want to be involved.

Let the record show, as a Liberty alum I am far from convinced that any of this is a done deal. I could see Judy's office floating this idea out there in hopes that WKU & MTSU would stick around. I know that thoe two participating weighs heavily on Liberty's interest in this deal. I am still not convinced that we are all in. It would be a relatively easy league for us to get auto bids in most every sport and hoops would be an upgrade on the ASUN. But this still smells like far from a done deal.

I'm not convinced we are in either. Aren't LaTech academic snobs? Why would they vote yes for LU?

Cuz FBS Indy suuuuuxxxxx

(11-02-2021 10:54 AM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 09:50 AM)bluesox Wrote:  This is crazy. Really shocked liberty would do this

It shows how bad they really wanted into CUSA.

Actually makes sense for Liberty. One conference for all sports. Part the next CFP agreement with conferences and now officially in the FBS conference club. Will be curious if this impacts WKU or MTSU decision.

UConn need make no concessions. They can ask for the same membership, not a contract based associate like UMass and the MAC of the past, as Hawaii in the MWC and Navy in the AAC without any basketball games offered. Period, full stop, end of sentence.

Uconn has the leverage not CUSA. They are the piece that completes the puzzle to have 8 FBS members. What is more UConn will want control of their media contract similar to Hawaii or at least Navy, where they can control non-conference games and broadcast rights (e.g., SNY). CUSA is in no position to not grant those. UConn will probably demand an at will clause allowing them to exit some time in the future should the deal not be mutually beneficial (that is no exit fee).

As for Basketball I think it is possible, maybe even likely that Texas-Arlington and Little Rock will be added, as 7 schools is too few. It would actually make a relatively compact basketball conference with New Mexico State, UTEP, Texas-Arlington, Sam Houston, Little Rock and Louisiana Tech. As for quality it will be all over the map.

The ripple effect will mostly hit the ASUN as they had just reached 6 football schools. They will have to go back in a loot one of their neighbors.

(11-02-2021 11:58 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 11:35 AM)Bogg Wrote:  It's funny how the narrative went from "nobody will want to schedule UConn" to "actually, those home-and-homes are a bad thing".

There are people who argue a position, and people who simply argue that whatever school A is doing is "good" and whatever school B is doing is "bad".

The two things the Remnant of the CUSA can offer UConn that the MAC couldn't would be a FB-only spot without requiring tossing in OOC MBB games into the pot as a sweetener and a share of the extra $1m from the Go5 distribution ... maybe $500K as distribution and $500K as conference affiliation fee (that +$1m/school is capped at 10 schools, so there wouldn't have been an extra $1m for the MAC to share).

I'm not inherently opposed to a football affiliation (I don't think CUSA is the right conference for that, either, if that's the way they did go), but it seems like it's coming down to a question of money (via CFP payouts) versus exposure. With the dissatisfaction that came from CUSA schools about their streaming carrier, I'm guessing their next deal will be with ESPN and heavy on + games. That'd leave CBSSN essentially just with their share of MW games as content they "own", plus the Army/UConn indy deals. Anything else would have to be subcontracted from another network.

Assuming the Mountain West isn't going to start kicking off at 10am local, UConn might do okay serving as cheap filler content in the noon time slot with occasional Thursday/Friday night games. If they can fill that role I'd rather be on TV unless the money is very significantly more being an affiliate somewhere (and CUSA would be the likely only option).

(11-02-2021 10:19 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 10:13 AM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  

(11-02-2021 10:10 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  Yeah, just like Air Force and Colorado State to the AAC is a done deal before they changed their mind and stayed with MWC.

WKU and MTSU aren’t leaving a regional conference behind. The MWC wasn’t down to 3 other teams either. Nice try.

Air Force and CSU being a "done deal" was just the view of some board commentators, it was being reported as "under discusssion", and an announcement reported as "possible" in the upcoming week ... it was not reported as being "likely".

There is a vocabulary that sports journalists use for these things, and the reporting on the WKU/MTSU move is the vocabulary they use when a deal has been reached but the formal votes have not yet been taken. The reporting on Air Force / CSU never reached that point.

That's my sense of it too. I never had the sense that CSU/AFA to the AAC was a done deal, so I was not surprised when it didn't happen.

I will be surprised, quite surprised, if MTSU and WKU don't end up in the MAC.

(11-02-2021 12:32 PM)Bogg Wrote:  ... With the dissatisfaction that came from CUSA schools about their streaming carrier, I'm guessing their next deal will be with ESPN and heavy on + games. That'd leave CBSSN essentially just with their share of MW games as content they "own", plus the Army/UConn indy deals. Anything else would have to be subcontracted from another network. ...

And CBSSN already have a standing deal to be able to be able to subcontract MAC games that ESPN doesn't pick up for cable{+} telecast ... getting the same deal with SBC and CUSA would give them a lot of scheduling flexibility in the 12noon/3pm time slots, and with the MWC deal they are covered for 7pm-ish and 11pm games.

___________
{+ Or, purely hypothetically, OTA}