The ADs and Presidents of MAC, SBC and C-USA schools should now all get in a room and pool all their teams into a new conglomeration based entirely on geographic considerations. We’re all just fighting to stay alive anyway. Pipe dream, I know, but screw it.

Hear, hear!

(10-12-2026 12:00 PM)Blue Raider Dave Wrote:  The ADs and Presidents of MAC, SBC and C-USA schools should now all get in a room and pool all their teams into a new conglomeration based entirely on geographic considerations. We’re all just fighting to stay alive anyway. Pipe dream, I know, but screw it.

It won't work. The way the math works, pooling media rights (without the P4) winds up hurting pretty much all the schools.

Combining the SunBelt, MAC & CUSA will make the three of them less valuable to ESPN and lead to all of them making less money.

If anything, they are better off making a pact would guarantee interconference play instead of moving to 9 conference games.

But revenue sharing won't help them.

(10-12-2026 12:00 PM)Blue Raider Dave Wrote:  The ADs and Presidents of MAC, SBC and C-USA schools should now all get in a room and pool all their teams into a new conglomeration based entirely on geographic considerations. We’re all just fighting to stay alive anyway. Pipe dream, I know, but screw it.

That sounds nice but who benefits? The SBC and MAC are already pretty regional so this would help CUSA schools way more. Why would the SBC and MAC want to help CUSA for minimal gain?

(10-12-2026 12:00 PM)Blue Raider Dave Wrote:  The ADs and Presidents of MAC, SBC and C-USA schools should now all get in a room and pool all their teams into a new conglomeration based entirely on geographic considerations. We’re all just fighting to stay alive anyway. Pipe dream, I know, but screw it.

This scenario is far from impossible. It should not be a secret to anyone that the SBC West and CUSA West schools have a ton of history with each other, and ditto with CUSA East, SBC East, and the MAC

Hell, if the SBC added WKU and MTSU and let the East division minus Georgia State go, we'd literally have the exact same conference we had in 2010, just replacing UNT with Sam Houston and FAU with Missouri State.

Let me take a crack at this just going by geography as you suggested…..

MAC…………..……..SunBelt………………CUSA
UMass……………….Ohio……………………Jax St.
Buffalo………………Marshall……………..Troy
Delaware…………..Liberty……………….S. Alabama
Kent…………………..ODU…………………..S. Miss
Akron…………………App St………………..Louisiana
Bowling Green…..CCU……………………La Tech
Toledo…………………Kennesaw St…….La Monroe
E. Michigan………..Georgia St…………Arkansas St.
C. Michigan………..Georgia So……….Missouri St.
W. Michigan………..FIU…………………..Sam Houston St.
Miami (OH)…………WKU…………………NM State
Ball St…………………MTSU……………….Sac St.

I don’t think you could get teams to agree to that.

(10-12-2026 01:03 PM)army56mike Wrote:  Let me take a crack at this just going by geography as you suggested…..

MAC…………..……..SunBelt………………CUSA
UMass……………….Ohio……………………Jax St.
Buffalo………………Marshall……………..Troy
Delaware…………..Liberty……………….S. Alabama
Kent…………………..ODU…………………..S. Miss
Akron…………………App St………………..Louisiana
Bowling Green…..CCU……………………La Tech
Toledo…………………Kennesaw St…….La Monroe
E. Michigan………..Georgia St…………Arkansas St.
C. Michigan………..Georgia So……….Missouri St.
W. Michigan………..FIU…………………..Sam Houston St.
Miami (OH)…………WKU…………………NM State
Ball St…………………MTSU……………….Sac St.

I don’t think you could get teams to agree to that.

I think if you found more geographic homes for NMSU and Sacremento State, you would probably get teams to sign onto that. The idea of a Conference where outside of one trip to Huntsville a year the farthest trip for Arkansas State would be Mobile, AL Instrigues me, I admit.

(10-12-2026 12:00 PM)Blue Raider Dave Wrote:  The ADs and Presidents of MAC, SBC and C-USA schools should now all get in a room and pool all their teams into a new conglomeration based entirely on geographic considerations. We’re all just fighting to stay alive anyway. Pipe dream, I know, but screw it.

I had this same thought years ago and it makes "cents" so it will never happen.

I do know that the SBC can no longer claim to the be one of the strongest G5 conferences after the JMU loss. Wonder if Miami (OH) and UConn (football only) is next to announce since they also offered a lot of money to joint the AAC.

WAIT! WHAT IF?

CUSA sits at 10 teams currently.
SBC East lost 1 team to leave 6 teams.
Wait! What if CUSA invited the remaining 6 SBC east teams?
Then we'd almost have that strong composite geo-east conference.
Maybe we could convince Ohio-Miami (OH) or Troy-S. Alabama also.

CUSA
Marshall.................Delaware
Ohio......................Miami (OH)
Liberty...................ODU
App St...................CCU
WKU......................MTSU
Kennesaw St...........Jax St.
Georgia St..............Ga Southern
Missouri St..............Arkansas St.
Troy.......................S. Alabama
Sam Houston St......Tarleton St.
FIU........................NM State

TWO TWELVE SCHOOL CONFERENCES (assuming APP, Liberty to American)

New (Eastern) conference using SBC "name"charter for eligibility, NCAA units,etc.:

ODU-UD, WKU-MT, JAX-KSU, Marshall-Ohio, Ga St.-Ga So, CCU-FIU

New (Western) conference; CUSA "name" charter:

Ark. St.-Mo St., Troy-USA, S. Miss-Cajuns, ULM-La Tech, SH-Tarleton, NMSU-SDSU (fb only)

---OR---

A slimmed down version with just Ten schools in each of the "new" leagues:

WEST (Use old CUSA name or a new title):

Ark. St.-Mo St., Troy-USA, S. Miss-Cajuns, ULM-La Tech, SH-NMSU

EAST (Use old SBC name or change it):

WKU-MT, JAX-KSU, Marshall-Ohio or ?*, Ga St.-Ga So, CCU-FIU

*(In this theory the American would take TWO of UD, Ohio, App)

(10-12-2026 02:04 PM)topper1296 Wrote:  

(10-12-2026 12:00 PM)Blue Raider Dave Wrote:  The ADs and Presidents of MAC, SBC and C-USA schools should now all get in a room and pool all their teams into a new conglomeration based entirely on geographic considerations. We’re all just fighting to stay alive anyway. Pipe dream, I know, but screw it.

I had this same thought years ago and it makes "cents" so it will never happen.

I do know that the SBC can no longer claim to the be one of the strongest G5 conferences after the JMU loss. Wonder if Miami (OH) and UConn (football only) is next to announce since they also offered a lot of money to joint the AAC.

The SBC was already pretty strong in football before JMU

(10-12-2026 12:00 PM)Blue Raider Dave Wrote:  The ADs and Presidents of MAC, SBC and C-USA schools should now all get in a room and pool all their teams into a new conglomeration based entirely on geographic considerations. We’re all just fighting to stay alive anyway. Pipe dream, I know, but screw it.

Geographically the MAC, Sunbelt, and CUSA already make sense.

The more important alignment is budgets and institutional likemindedness.

CUSA is the only one of the 3 with a program in Texas. IMO, Tarleton should be invited by tomorrow. Maybe SFA too. You should always take the absolute best partners available. EKU shouldn't be taken only because of proximity.

Tarleton wants no part of being an outlier in an eastern Conference, we were just forced into that and we are not happy about it. We belong in a Western based conference. MWC or stay FCS.

If CUSA leadership isn’t smart enough to invite the entire SBC east to join CUSA to free themselves of the SBC west, and the SBC comes out on top and takes a CUSA team, do we extend an offer to one or three FCS teams?

(10-13-2026 08:10 AM)army56mike Wrote:  If CUSA leadership isn’t smart enough to invite the entire SBC east to join CUSA to free themselves of the SBC west, and the SBC comes out on top and takes a CUSA team, do we extend an offer to one or three FCS teams?

I really don't see the SBC East jumping ship to CUSA. I think a MAC/CUSA/SBC/MWC swap meet is more likely than that (while still being extremely unlikely).

I think if CUSA loses another to the SBC then I don't know that there are three slam dunk candidates ready to sign on the dotted line.

Tarleton is the most likely target. Could be EKU if WKU leaves.

(10-13-2026 01:39 AM)Spolovilo4EVER Wrote:  Tarleton wants no part of being an outlier in an eastern Conference, we were just forced into that and we are not happy about it. We belong in a Western based conference. MWC or stay FCS.

If offered a FBS spot you take it. Don’t wait on a better offer that may never come.

Let’s say you’re an average looking guy sitting in a bar. An average looking girl comes up and invites you to her place for a night of fun and frivolity. What do you do?

Do you chug your beer, pay your tab, and hop down and follow her out the door?

Or do you decline her offer because you just know the really hot girl sitting ten feet away is about to come make the same offer?

(10-13-2026 01:39 AM)Spolovilo4EVER Wrote:  Tarleton wants no part of being an outlier in an eastern Conference, we were just forced into that and we are not happy about it. We belong in a Western based conference. MWC or stay FCS.

Why though? I get that the MWC has an attractive looking brand or two, but what is better about being western vs eastern?

(10-13-2026 08:43 AM)freshtop Wrote:  

(10-13-2026 08:10 AM)army56mike Wrote:  If CUSA leadership isn’t smart enough to invite the entire SBC east to join CUSA to free themselves of the SBC west, and the SBC comes out on top and takes a CUSA team, do we extend an offer to one or three FCS teams?

I really don't see the SBC East jumping ship to CUSA. I think a MAC/CUSA/SBC/MWC swap meet is more likely than that (while still being extremely unlikely).

I think if CUSA loses another to the SBC then I don't know that there are three slam dunk candidates ready to sign on the dotted line.

Tarleton is the most likely target. Could be EKU if WKU leaves.

Funny to see several CUSA posters on SBC board pimping their school............pulease take us...

(10-13-2026 09:08 AM)KAjunRaider Wrote:  

(10-13-2026 08:43 AM)freshtop Wrote:  

(10-13-2026 08:10 AM)army56mike Wrote:  If CUSA leadership isn’t smart enough to invite the entire SBC east to join CUSA to free themselves of the SBC west, and the SBC comes out on top and takes a CUSA team, do we extend an offer to one or three FCS teams?

I really don't see the SBC East jumping ship to CUSA. I think a MAC/CUSA/SBC/MWC swap meet is more likely than that (while still being extremely unlikely).

I think if CUSA loses another to the SBC then I don't know that there are three slam dunk candidates ready to sign on the dotted line.

Tarleton is the most likely target. Could be EKU if WKU leaves.

Funny to see several CUSA posters on SBC board pimping their school............pulease take us...

WHO? Lets name some names. Not me. I'm going to remain neutral with a Strong lean to CUSA. Fans have no say anyway. Conference Presidents make the decisions.

(10-13-2026 08:43 AM)freshtop Wrote:  

(10-13-2026 08:10 AM)army56mike Wrote:  If CUSA leadership isn’t smart enough to invite the entire SBC east to join CUSA to free themselves of the SBC west, and the SBC comes out on top and takes a CUSA team, do we extend an offer to one or three FCS teams?

I really don't see the SBC East jumping ship to CUSA. I think a MAC/CUSA/SBC/MWC swap meet is more likely than that (while still being extremely unlikely).

I think if CUSA loses another to the SBC then I don't know that there are three slam dunk candidates ready to sign on the dotted line.

Tarleton is the most likely target. Could be EKU if WKU leaves.

Sorry to disagree with my fellow WKU fan--but EKU not happening.

They have continued a downward nosedive-- were in better shape five years ago.

--Total Athletic budget lowest among FBS hopefuls
--have not won a single FCS playoff game since 1994
--Attendance 62nd in FCS last year (5,600) even lower this YR (4,700); Murray, Morehead higher att.
--Stadium in bad shape--remodel/replacement plan still 4-5 yrs away