(08-10-2021 08:51 AM)PGJMU2 Wrote:  

(08-09-2021 10:05 PM)herdfan129 Wrote:  I’m honestly trying to look at the numbers and wonder where JMU fits in?

12 would be the absolute most teams involved but honestly no reason to go past 10. I think we would go to 12 though, just based on the teams in CUSA and the Sun Belt. There’s 7 CUSA East teams and 5 Sun Belt East teams. That’s 12 teams right there. The only schools who might get left out would be the Alabama schools such as Troy/USA.

UAB can join if they want, but I don’t think they want to share a conference with Troy/USA.

if the mythical conference is formed, we will be in it.

(08-10-2021 10:24 AM)mturn017 Wrote:  Conference realignment is not necessarily a meritocracy. It's not a job interview with the best candidate picked. It's political and to create said east coast conference (if possible) we would need a lot of schools already in the conferences we're looking to blow up to buy in. It won't matter if you think you're better than those schools or even if it's true. They're the players in what's happening, JMU is not.

(08-10-2021 11:42 AM)herdfan129 Wrote:  

(08-10-2021 10:24 AM)mturn017 Wrote:  Conference realignment is not necessarily a meritocracy. It's not a job interview with the best candidate picked. It's political and to create said east coast conference (if possible) we would need a lot of schools already in the conferences we're looking to blow up to buy in. It won't matter if you think you're better than those schools or even if it's true. They're the players in what's happening, JMU is not.

Thank you. That’s what I’m trying to point out to them. Not sure why it’s hard for some of them to understand. There are only x amount of seats for y amount of teams.

Any new conference will start and stop with the already existing teams in Sun Belt East and CUSA East + UAB/So Miss.

Then you have to think the absolute max number will be 14 but I ONLY see that happening if both UAB and So Miss want to join as they would be worth moving to 14. Outside of that, 12 would be the absolute max but 10 would be the perfect/ideal number.

There’s already 12 teams between CUSA East and Sun Belt East. Why would we expand to 13 just to add JMU? The only other scenario where I could see 14 would be possible (not likely) if Liberty wanted to join and was going to spend a bunch of money to jump start the conference.

JMU might have seriously missed the boat by not moving to FBS last go around, just from a numbers standpoint. If you do get in it will be by the skin of your teeth.... which is a shame cause you definitely DESERVE to be included and would make a great addition to the conference.

(08-10-2021 12:33 PM)olddawg Wrote:  If it does come down to Carr getting involved, I wonder who would be paying them? Reason I'm asking- is that if Carr were truly being "objective" in forming the best possible regional conference, that objectivity probably would suggest not including some current C-USA & Sun Belt members. (even ones who are currently considered "Eastern".) Otherwise, you are asking Carr to form the best possible regional conference, but mandating 80% of the pieces before they even looked at it.

There is dead weight there, weight that has a ceiling and has reached it, w/ a long track record of mediocrity, lack of fan support and just plain indifference. It would suck to be a school that helped pay for a reorganization report...and then find that the report indicates your school is considered a dragging anchor.

IMHO, it's cutthroat time- much like when the Mountain West broke away from the bloated WAC. Feelings will (and need) to be hurt. Secret airport meetings need to occur. It'll be interesting.

(08-10-2021 11:42 AM)herdfan129 Wrote:  

(08-10-2021 10:24 AM)mturn017 Wrote:  Conference realignment is not necessarily a meritocracy. It's not a job interview with the best candidate picked. It's political and to create said east coast conference (if possible) we would need a lot of schools already in the conferences we're looking to blow up to buy in. It won't matter if you think you're better than those schools or even if it's true. They're the players in what's happening, JMU is not.

Thank you. That’s what I’m trying to point out to them. Not sure why it’s hard for some of them to understand. There are only x amount of seats for y amount of teams.

Any new conference will start and stop with the already existing teams in Sun Belt East and CUSA East + UAB/So Miss.

Then you have to think the absolute max number will be 14 but I ONLY see that happening if both UAB and So Miss want to join as they would be worth moving to 14. Outside of that, 12 would be the absolute max but 10 would be the perfect/ideal number.

There’s already 12 teams between CUSA East and Sun Belt East. Why would we expand to 13 just to add JMU? The only other scenario where I could see 14 would be possible (not likely) if Liberty wanted to join and was going to spend a bunch of money to jump start the conference.

JMU might have seriously missed the boat by not moving to FBS last go around, just from a numbers standpoint. If you do get in it will be by the skin of your teeth.... which is a shame cause you definitely DESERVE to be included and would make a great addition to the conference.

(08-10-2021 10:24 AM)mturn017 Wrote:  Conference realignment is not necessarily a meritocracy. It's not a job interview with the best candidate picked. It's political and to create said east coast conference (if possible) we would need a lot of schools already in the conferences we're looking to blow up to buy in. It won't matter if you think you're better than those schools or even if it's true. They're the players in what's happening, JMU is not.

(08-10-2021 12:33 PM)olddawg Wrote:  If it does come down to Carr getting involved, I wonder who would be paying them? Reason I'm asking- is that if Carr were truly being "objective" in forming the best possible regional conference, that objectivity probably would suggest not including some current C-USA & Sun Belt members. (even ones who are currently considered "Eastern".) Otherwise, you are asking Carr to form the best possible regional conference, but mandating 80% of the pieces before they even looked at it.

There is dead weight there, weight that has a ceiling and has reached it, w/ a long track record of mediocrity, lack of fan support and just plain indifference. It would suck to be a school that helped pay for a reorganization report...and then find that the report indicates your school is considered a dragging anchor.

IMHO, it's cutthroat time- much like when the Mountain West broke away from the bloated WAC. Feelings will (and need) to be hurt. Secret airport meetings need to occur. It'll be interesting.

(08-10-2021 10:04 AM)Dukester Wrote:  I hate being the little fish in this chart.

https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/fcs-wins-vs-fbs-teams-all-time-victories-upsets

I always thought ASU was the first 1AA/FCS school to be a ranked 1A/FBS, but actually 1AA Cincinnati upset #20 PSU in 1983.

I guess ASU was the first FCS.....

(08-10-2021 08:18 PM)94computerguy Wrote:  So, here's an angle that I think is relevant. Of course the AAC thinks they're P6. I'm quite sure the other 5 conferences chuckle at that. So while the AAC is looking to poach the Big 12, I'm sure the Big 12 (or whichever conference loses a team to the B 12) looks at the AAC as the source for their safety schools. So now the AAC gets raided from above rather than joining the big boys.

So if that happens, will the AAC be looking to pick up some smaller teams? Probably. But they will never look at JMU of course. That's a given, since the AAC views themselves as a misspelled ACC. So they grab, I dunno, App or "finished in the top 25 (during a pandemic!)" Coastal, or maybe Liberty; anyway, someone independent. Maybe even UMass.

Then whatever conference that team came from will be looking for a new school. That'll be JMU's opening.

Everyone who says "oh, we travel!" -- whoever said it's about politics is right. It's nice that JMU has so much going for it, but the truth is that most decision makers just don't care. They see JMU as lesser than them, and just won't consider us at all. Is that stupid? Yes. That doesn't change the facts, however.

(08-10-2021 09:43 PM)olddawg Wrote:  

(08-10-2021 08:18 PM)94computerguy Wrote:  So, here's an angle that I think is relevant. Of course the AAC thinks they're P6. I'm quite sure the other 5 conferences chuckle at that. So while the AAC is looking to poach the Big 12, I'm sure the Big 12 (or whichever conference loses a team to the B 12) looks at the AAC as the source for their safety schools. So now the AAC gets raided from above rather than joining the big boys.

So if that happens, will the AAC be looking to pick up some smaller teams? Probably. But they will never look at JMU of course. That's a given, since the AAC views themselves as a misspelled ACC. So they grab, I dunno, App or "finished in the top 25 (during a pandemic!)" Coastal, or maybe Liberty; anyway, someone independent. Maybe even UMass.

Then whatever conference that team came from will be looking for a new school. That'll be JMU's opening.

Everyone who says "oh, we travel!" -- whoever said it's about politics is right. It's nice that JMU has so much going for it, but the truth is that most decision makers just don't care. They see JMU as lesser than them, and just won't consider us at all. Is that stupid? Yes. That doesn't change the facts, however.

Perhaps because the decision makers on something like this have a knowledge base that comes almost entirely from an "Executive Brief". Same goes for The Boards at said schools. Plus, they already have their pre-formed opinions and prejudices regarding other schools.

I'd be shocked if the President of "Middle Kentucky State" even knows we have been on College Gameday twice or have beaten the last two AAC teams we have faced (on the road and with 22 less scholarships no less). I'm sure the Presidents of FIU/FAU would be saddened and shocked to know we run circles around them in attendance too.

(08-11-2021 08:39 AM)Dukeman2 Wrote:  ODU has a prominent seat at the table to decide the future of a desirable conference for JMU.

That puts JMU in a very vulnerable and precarious position.

It didn't have to be this way.

Did Virginia really want VA Tech in the ACC?