BeatWestern!
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RE: WKU and MTSU to the MAC Still Alive?
(05-09-2022 09:56 AM)quo vadis Wrote: (05-09-2022 09:30 AM)Gemofthehills Wrote: (05-08-2022 06:26 PM)quo vadis Wrote: (05-08-2022 06:14 PM)TroyTBoy Wrote: (05-08-2022 05:36 PM)quo vadis Wrote: The MAC seems better, IMO.
Bad take.
CUSA is going to be one of the best mid major conferences in NCAA Basketball. They literally got freed of most of the dead NET weight and added consistent programs like NMSU and Liberty (and a NCAA team in JSU).
As for football, CUSA just welcomed these name coaches:
Jerry Kill
Rich Rodriguez
Sonny Cumbie
Hugh Freeze
CUSA has much better brands than the MAC. UTEP, WKU, MTSU, FIU, and Louisiana Tech were all valued higher than the majority of the Sunbelt which is why they either departed the Sunbelt or poached the Sunbelt in 2013. Teams like ULM, USA, Troy, etc, are like a lot of the MAC teams those CUSA teams have tried to avoid.
Then, SHSU is a recent FCS National Champion and JSU won the upset of the year last year against Florida State.
Liberty is probably the jewel of the new CUSA. They are one of the most well-funded programs in the G5. Their contract with Freeze speaks to their commitment. NMSU just embarrassed UCONN in the NCAA tournament,
All of that doesn't even take into account that the MAC sits on a recruiting tundra.
All of the MAC schools are so close together in Michigan and Ohio that they cannibalize their fellow conference mates recruiting classes.
CUSA was fortunate to retain a Florida and Texas presence. The MAC just can't offer those recruiting fields. When you add in Louisiana and Alabama, CUSA still has access to the greatest regions for talent acquisition in FBS. (And they aren't suffocating each other trying to land a 2 star)
It can be argued that a 9-team league is preferable to a 14-team league with SBC caliber talent (or even a 12 team league with MAC caliber talent).
If I was CUSA, I might add 1 or 2 more and go into a Double Round Robin Scheduling philosophy. That's literally the optimal league structure for those programs (Southern bent and compact).
IMO, CUSA is the worst dumpster fire. The MAC at least has a tight-knit culture. CUSA raided the SBC in 2013 and seemed to be gunning for the MW as the second-best G5, everyone was predicting big things.
And what happened over the last 8 years? IMO CUSA went in to the toilet.
And why did that happen? Because CUSA foolishly pursued "markets" instead of programs with actual histories and cultures of successful football. CUSA did the SBC a favor by ridding it of over-bloated, under-performing "market" schools**.
CUSA is like the shadow-AAC, except it has fallen behind the Sun Belt so is now the Shadow-Shadow-AAC.
About the worst thing to be.
** Ironically, the AAC has arguably done CUSA a favor by taking some of those same "market" schools off CUSA hands.
Didnt know Jacksonville Lynchburg, Las Cruces and Huntsville were big markets. So CUSA, IMO, followed your thoughts but became a dumpster fire? CUSA lost market programs and programs not doing much recently, just dont see the down side.
I will gladly take the 8 mates we have and proceed into the future.
If I were the MAC I would not add anyone and the same for CUSA. Give me 9 over 10, 11, 12....
About the bolded, when i say CUSA became a dumpster fire, I was talking about what CUSA did in 2012-2013, adding "markets" like Charlotte, Greater Miami, North Texas and San Antonio and ending up being a dumpster fire.
Are you a Jacksonville State fan? If so then I understand why you like the state of CUSA. Backfill callups are always enthusiastic, because for them it is an improvement. Your school is a tiny speck in Alabama and for you it's a big move up. Congratulations. But I think my take about the recent history of CUSA hit the mark.
Bottom line is - in 2013, CUSA was able to bring schools in from SBC. After eight years, the SBC was able to bring schools in from CUSA. The tables were turned. Now That's a dumpster fire collapse, IMO.
About the MAC, I generally agree that expansion should be cautious, especially for a conference whose only strength is its tight-knit culture and geography. But in this case, I think WKU and MTSU would be good adds. They extend the territory, but not too much, and the schools have similar profiles. IMO, the MAC would be better for those schools as well rather than the CUSA third-level hodge-podge that spans from Virginia to Florida and now over to New Mexico. That's a mess, IMO.
QV, you're trackin'!
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