http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college...f887a.html

Thank god!

Okay......?

Are we trolling for #12? Really Benson?

(05-09-2013 08:27 PM)panama Wrote:  Are we trolling for #12? Really Benson?

He's going after Liberty, count on it. He'll plug the holes and doesn't seem to care how he does it. It would not surprise me if he tries Jacksonville U.

Benson continues to embarrass this conference. Someone make him stop.

The presidents need to hold firm. And fire Benson. 11 is better than a bad twelth. And 11-Idaho is even better. Liberty isn't a fit. I'd rather have NDSU over Illinois State (and I don't want them either).

The article says that the conversation was a very informal checkup on the status of the school's athletics. As we said with Indiana State, Benson is just calling everybody to see what their plans are and then work his strategy from there. Stop feeding Chicken Little. That guy needs a diet.

I'm waiting for the "University of Puerto Rico say No" thread
Next. It's coming....

An inquiry is far from an offer. Kind of like the Lotto Commission calling people to do a survey about how they would take
a major win, if they ever won, and then people saying they turned down the grand prize.

Damn if you do, damn if you don't. If Benson makes calls he gets blasted, if he sits on his hands, does the conference go the way of the WAC?

We should be more concerned with why so many schools turn down the Sunbelt and why current members have eyes on other conferences. It's like that marriage where the spouse says "oh baby, I love you, but when that super-model comes along, I'm out of here"...

Start putting more butts in the seats, improve academics, get better marketing plans for schools and the conference and engage with your university financially. Even the SEC has some crappy FB teams but their image as a premier institution along with strong traditions keeps them together and on top...

If Sunbelt membership was as stable as MAC membership is right now, we would overtake other conferences in short order, (see current SBC baseball power rankings)

If Liberty were to come, I wouldn't bemoan their perceived issues, but I would find a way to make their 34 mill strong media network an asset to the conference. I would demand member institutions institute and enforce high academic standards as part of any future ongoing Belt membership. I want my kids diploma to have real market value when it is all said and done, not just them saying, "we'll we had a good _____(fill in the sport) team....

I was in Normal recently after something like a 15 year absence and was blown away by the growth that has happened there. IF (and that is of course a relatively big IF) they wanted to I have no doubt that the community there could support an FBS team. Questions of whether they fit with the SBC aside of course.

I followed the WAC implosion very, very closely and this has all the earmarks of that time-line.

First Benson gets desperate programs to join, then gets continually rejected as he looks to back-fill the conference, leaving it with its current line-up of Seattle, CS-Bakersfield, Utah Valley St., UM-KC, Chicago St., etc.

I mean if Ill. St., JMU, Mizz. St. and Indiana St. are saying No, the writing must be on the wall.

Benson has no choice. His hand is being forced by the fact that ULL and ASU desperately want out of the SBC and have publicly stated that they do. While he was commissioner of the WAC, Benson watched as every school that got the opportunity to leave, did so. It wasn't much different from what is happening to the SBC now. If Benson waits until more SBC members leave, the SBC might not be able to hold on to who is left, much less attract any new members of any quality. CUSA's move to 14 members was made as an insurance policy against a future raid by the AAC more than anything else. Benson knows that the SBC was severely crippled when CUSA raided it of UNT, FIU, MT, FAU, and WKU. All it would take for the SBC to lose ULL and ASU as well is for the AAC to raid CUSA one more time. It is fair to question whether the SBC could survive after that. Benson knows this, as do ULL and ASU. That's why all are eager to make a move at this time. I don't blame any of them.

(05-10-2013 02:29 AM)GoApps70 Wrote:  An inquiry is far from an offer. Kind of like the Lotto Commission calling people to do a survey about how they would take
a major win, if they ever won, and then people saying they turned down the grand prize.

THANK YOU!!!

I've made this point repeatedly for nearly a decade but people fail to grasp it. Calling schools to see what their plans are just means if they answer the question correctly the league will look more carefully at them. It doesn't mean that they get an invite after the look. See FAMU.

(05-10-2013 09:44 AM)FIUFan Wrote:  I followed the WAC implosion very, very closely and this has all the earmarks of that time-line.

First Benson gets desperate programs to join, then gets continually rejected as he looks to back-fill the conference, leaving it with its current line-up of Seattle, CS-Bakersfield, Utah Valley St., UM-KC, Chicago St., etc.

I mean if Ill. St., JMU, Mizz. St. and Indiana St. are saying No, the writing must be on the wall.

Not even close.

(05-10-2013 09:57 AM)BRtransplant Wrote:  Benson has no choice. His hand is being forced by the fact that ULL and ASU desperately want out of the SBC and have publicly stated that they do. While he was commissioner of the WAC, Benson watched as every school that got the opportunity to leave, did so. It wasn't much different from what is happening to the SBC now. If Benson waits until more SBC members leave, the SBC might not be able to hold on to who is left, much less attract any new members of any quality. CUSA's move to 14 members was made as an insurance policy against a future raid by the AAC more than anything else. Benson knows that the SBC was severely crippled when CUSA raided it of UNT, FIU, MT, FAU, and WKU. All it would take for the SBC to lose ULL and ASU as well is for the AAC to raid CUSA one more time. It is fair to question whether the SBC could survive after that. Benson knows this, as do ULL and ASU. That's why all are eager to make a move at this time. I don't blame any of them.

Please provide a link to where Arkansas State has ever stated such a thing. ASU's AD has commented on realignment multiple times and said he thinks the Sun Belt has done a better job adding new brand names that our fans will like and stated that the CUSA revenue claims are over-stated.

(05-10-2013 09:44 AM)FIUFan Wrote:  I followed the WAC implosion very, very closely and this has all the earmarks of that time-line.

First Benson gets desperate programs to join, then gets continually rejected as he looks to back-fill the conference, leaving it with its current line-up of Seattle, CS-Bakersfield, Utah Valley St., UM-KC, Chicago St., etc.

I mean if Ill. St., JMU, Mizz. St. and Indiana St. are saying No, the writing must be on the wall.

Who is the Montana, Montana State, Portland State, Sacramento State, Cal-Poly, or Cal-Davis we've approached to survive that has rejected us?

How many 6 game football schedules are we forced to play for want of members?

We currently have at least two FCS knocking on our door that we've not made a decision to add while we apparently are talking to two others deemed more desirable who have internal reasons to not accept immediately but are apparently interested.

Who were the two schools begging to join the WAC who were rejected?

Right now there is the fake drama over NMSU but the guy doesn't even have the job, he's just an applicant.

(05-10-2013 10:30 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(05-10-2013 02:29 AM)GoApps70 Wrote:  An inquiry is far from an offer. Kind of like the Lotto Commission calling people to do a survey about how they would take
a major win, if they ever won, and then people saying they turned down the grand prize.

THANK YOU!!!

I've made this point repeatedly for nearly a decade but people fail to grasp it. Calling schools to see what their plans are just means if they answer the question correctly the league will look more carefully at them. It doesn't mean that they get an invite after the look. See FAMU.

Agree, while we're waiting on JMU or MSU we might as well spend that time fully vetting out any other potential members as well. See who is or may become a potential conference member. Until that 12th school is added we should thoroughly consider and scrutinize any and all candidates.

(05-10-2013 10:32 AM)Crump1 Wrote:  

(05-10-2013 09:44 AM)FIUFan Wrote:  I followed the WAC implosion very, very closely and this has all the earmarks of that time-line.
First Benson gets desperate programs to join, then gets continually rejected as he looks to back-fill the conference, leaving it with its current line-up of Seattle, CS-Bakersfield, Utah Valley St., UM-KC, Chicago St., etc.
I mean if Ill. St., JMU, Mizz. St. and Indiana St. are saying No, the writing must be on the wall.

Not even close.

Then where are the programs banging the SBC's door down trying to get in. Sure, there's Lamar, Jax. St., Sam Houston but where are the valuable programs in the large markets going to come from?

and to asf', then why does there appear to be backroom dealings with C-USA and the potential to move to 16 members? and why was the C-USA commissioner at La Tech? perhaps gaging the mood of how the Bulldogs would feel in expanding with another LA school? Sure your adminstration has said kind words about the conference they are currenlty in, that's a no-brainer.