Conference USA 2023
Florida International
Jacksonville State
Liberty
Louisiana Tech
Middle Tennessee State
New Mexico State
Sam Houston State
UTEP
Western Kentucky

Two quality mid-major brands (same can be said for La Tech) seemingly joined together at the hip.

Would the league still be considered to be on the same tier as the other four "G-5" conferences?

And how would Conference USA backfill those two departures?

Could Judy and her brainfarts braintrust simply continue its M.O. of calling up FCS programs and limp along as an FBS conference or would somebody step in and pull the plug?

Something to be said for a catch-all conference with "room at the inn" for schools with FBS aspirations

I don't think the Sun Belt would take MTSU back. Watch out for WKU though. I know they almost went to the MAC, but if there's ever an opening in the SBC, I'm sure the Hilltoppers will be on the shortlist of candidates to fill it.

As for who C-USA could backfill with? They seem to be saving Tarleton State and Eastern Kentucky for the future. It would make sense to backfill a WKU loss with EKU.

CUSA will overtake the MAC again in a few years. People need to calm down and let it play out. Including leadership at WKU and MTSU.

(06-15-2022 11:38 AM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  CUSA will overtake the MAC again in a few years.

How?

(06-15-2022 11:40 AM)PeteTheChop Wrote:  

(06-15-2022 11:38 AM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  CUSA will overtake the MAC again in a few years.

How?

With Liberty and SHSU. Liberty is at an absolute financial advantage and SHSU comes from a winning tradition.

No. They would find 2-3 more teams to bring up from FCS. EKU has had desire to move up, in the past for example, and could take WKU's spot if they ever moved to the MAC or anywhere else. I think C-USA still has good potential and their only major disadvantage is how geographic far flung the conference is. They are just in the same position the Sun Belt was in circa 2012/13.

C-USA already survived being shot down to 5 so they'll survive a temporary state of 7. If C-USA was ever going to die, it would've been last year.

(06-15-2022 11:42 AM)Troy_Fan_15 Wrote:  No. They would find 2-3 more teams to bring up from FCS. EKU has had desire to move up, in the past for example, and could take WKU's spot if they ever moved to the MAC or anywhere else.

Yes, they would just backfill with willing schools like Tarleton, EKU, & McNeese. North Carolina A&T also stated FBS as its goal a few years back, so there's 9.

(06-15-2022 11:27 AM)PeteTheChop Wrote:  Conference USA 2023
Florida International
Jacksonville State
Liberty
Louisiana Tech
Middle Tennessee State
New Mexico State
Sam Houston State
UTEP
Western Kentucky

Two quality mid-major brands (same can be said for La Tech) seemingly joined together at the hip.

Would the league still be considered to be on the same tier as the other four "G-5" conferences?

And how would Conference USA backfill those two departures?

Could Judy and her brainfarts braintrust simply continue its M.O. of calling up FCS programs and limp along as an FBS conference or would somebody step in and pull the plug?

Something to be said for a catch-all conference with "room at the inn" for schools with FBS aspirations

They wouldn't be mortally wounded because they can always take more FCS schools to get to 8 and the ASUN is always there in case they want to do a merger.

But it would hurt. If those 2 left and 2 others they'd be down to 5 and would lose their guaranteed NCAA tournament bids for their champions. Then it's up to the NCAA. If they get it back in one year, they'll be fine. If it's in question how long it will be before they get it back they will probably have trouble attracting new schools.

(06-15-2022 11:42 AM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  C-USA already survived being shot down to 5 so they'll survive a temporary state of 7. If C-USA was ever going to die, it would've been last year.

"The Jeep will never die"

Nah. Schools like EKU and SFA are already on deck. Having 4 members transitioning to D1 out of 9 would result in some difficulties regarding autobids, but I'm sure the league can get the waivers it would need. Or maybe the rules around transitioning members will be relaxed so that the issue is moot.

(06-15-2022 11:42 AM)ChrisLords Wrote:  

(06-15-2022 11:40 AM)PeteTheChop Wrote:  

(06-15-2022 11:38 AM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  CUSA will overtake the MAC again in a few years.

How?

With Liberty and SHSU. Liberty is at an absolute financial advantage and SHSU comes from a winning tradition.

I think JSU has a much better chance of success transitioning to FBS. SHSU is good in FCS but I think that's their ceiling. Look at their facilities for goodness sake, they're worse than FIU's!

(06-15-2022 11:40 AM)PeteTheChop Wrote:  

(06-15-2022 11:38 AM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  CUSA will overtake the MAC again in a few years.

How?

Demographics and ambition. The MAC has neither. The MAC schools are reliant on talent from the South to fill key roles. Go scan their rosters, and you'll see plenty of guys from GA, AL, FL, TX. There's no MAC program that has any ambition to be anything more than a payday game for B1G teams. That has been made apparent time and again with their investment levels.

On the other hand, the CUSA teams are in solid football recruiting areas. Yes, there's limits even to the amount of talent that FL, GA, TX and the others produce. But you can find a lot more legit 2* guys with potential in those states than in the Midwestern states. Plus these CUSA programs have ambition. Liberty, of course, but these other schools moving up to D1 want to succeed. They're making investments, and they're going to expect success in football.

CUSA has a decent mix of proven, generally successful programs with new high ambition programs that the MAC doesn't. Buffalo is the only MAC program that seems to have any ambition whatsoever.

(06-15-2022 12:04 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  Demographics and ambition. The MAC has neither. The MAC schools are reliant on talent from the South to fill key roles. Go scan their rosters, and you'll see plenty of guys from GA, AL, FL, TX. There's no MAC program that has any ambition to be anything more than a payday game for B1G teams. That has been made apparent time and again with their investment levels.

On the other hand, the CUSA teams are in solid football recruiting areas.

It is doubtful that Conference USA will ever catch the MAC.

Sure, Liberty has vast potential. It is the Notre Dame of MAGA country, and it is oozing in money. Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, and Louisiana Tech are decent programs. But none of these schools really want to be in Conference USA.

At the end of the day, Conference USA is a combination of FCS call ups and more established programs that already have their eyes on the door. I don't see how this motley crew ever catches the MAC.

Ohio and western Pennsylvania is a solid football recruiting area, and it always has been. As for the Big Ten: the MAC wins its share. Bowling Green only managed four wins last year, but this was one of them...

(06-15-2022 12:33 PM)Schadenfreude Wrote:  

(06-15-2022 12:04 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  Demographics and ambition. The MAC has neither. The MAC schools are reliant on talent from the South to fill key roles. Go scan their rosters, and you'll see plenty of guys from GA, AL, FL, TX. There's no MAC program that has any ambition to be anything more than a payday game for B1G teams. That has been made apparent time and again with their investment levels.

On the other hand, the CUSA teams are in solid football recruiting areas.

It is doubtful that Conference USA will ever catch the MAC.

Sure, Liberty has vast potential. It is the Notre Dame of MAGA country, and it is oozing in money. Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, and Louisiana Tech are decent programs. But none of these schools really want to be in Conference USA.

At the end of the day, Conference USA is a combination of FCS call ups and more established programs that already have their eyes on the door. I don't see how this motley crew ever catches the MAC.

I don't see a connection between competitiveness and schools wanting to leave the conference. CUSA has basically always been a stepping stone to other conferences but that didn't hinder it from being one of the best G5/Non-BCS conferences for a long time. Just because schools want to leave doesn't mean it won't be competitive.

(06-15-2022 12:04 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  

(06-15-2022 11:40 AM)PeteTheChop Wrote:  

(06-15-2022 11:38 AM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  CUSA will overtake the MAC again in a few years.

How?

Demographics and ambition. The MAC has neither. The MAC schools are reliant on talent from the South to fill key roles. Go scan their rosters, and you'll see plenty of guys from GA, AL, FL, TX. There's no MAC program that has any ambition to be anything more than a payday game for B1G teams. That has been made apparent time and again with their investment levels.

On the other hand, the CUSA teams are in solid football recruiting areas. Yes, there's limits even to the amount of talent that FL, GA, TX and the others produce. But you can find a lot more legit 2* guys with potential in those states than in the Midwestern states. Plus these CUSA programs have ambition. Liberty, of course, but these other schools moving up to D1 want to succeed. They're making investments, and they're going to expect success in football.

CUSA has a decent mix of proven, generally successful programs with new high ambition programs that the MAC doesn't. Buffalo is the only MAC program that seems to have any ambition whatsoever.

Northern Illinois applied to be a member of the Big 12 a few years ago. I would not count any MAC schools out for not wanted to jump to get more money. They would jump for more money if the AAC called on them which I am surprise that AAC did not went for Buffalo, Toledo or Ohio.

Keep in mind that NIU had a lot of success monopolizing those sub-P5 players in the Great Plains states where there's a blackhole of regional G5 options. Ohio and western PA might not be TX or FL, but they're talent-rich areas with minimal G5 competition.

C-USA is better than people think, but there'll be ultimately no tangible difference between MAC/C-USA.

(06-15-2022 12:04 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  

(06-15-2022 11:40 AM)PeteTheChop Wrote:  

(06-15-2022 11:38 AM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  CUSA will overtake the MAC again in a few years.

How?

Demographics and ambition. The MAC has neither. The MAC schools are reliant on talent from the South to fill key roles. Go scan their rosters, and you'll see plenty of guys from GA, AL, FL, TX. There's no MAC program that has any ambition to be anything more than a payday game for B1G teams. That has been made apparent time and again with their investment levels.

On the other hand, the CUSA teams are in solid football recruiting areas. Yes, there's limits even to the amount of talent that FL, GA, TX and the others produce. But you can find a lot more legit 2* guys with potential in those states than in the Midwestern states. Plus these CUSA programs have ambition. Liberty, of course, but these other schools moving up to D1 want to succeed. They're making investments, and they're going to expect success in football.

CUSA has a decent mix of proven, generally successful programs with new high ambition programs that the MAC doesn't. Buffalo is the only MAC program that seems to have any ambition whatsoever.

UB is there because it has a different academic mission than most MAC schools (Public flagship vs 2nd/3rd level public school) . Problem is the school hasn't built the donor/alumni base to a point where they can fund a stadium renovation/rebuild. The 20 years in the wilderness killed 2 generations of development.

(06-15-2022 12:44 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  Northern Illinois applied to be a member of the Big 12 a few years ago.

"Hey, has anybody heard back from the Big 12? We sent in our application three years ago but it's been crickets ever since. Wonder if it got lost in the mail?"

(06-15-2022 12:47 PM)whittx Wrote:  Problem is (UB) hasn't built the donor/alumni base to a point where they can fund a stadium renovation/rebuild. The 20 years in the wilderness killed 2 generations of development.

That and the 800-pound Bison in nearby Orchard Park