(10-21-2021 10:19 AM)sekudog Wrote:  

(10-21-2021 10:08 AM)TrueBlueDrew Wrote:  So if I understand it correctly, there are two scenarios:

1. The Sun Belt convinces Marshall, ODU, and JMU to join USM in the move to the Belt. JMU would find themselves in a division with Marshall, ODU, App State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, and Georgia Southern. ESPN conference with some weeknight games.

2. CUSA convinces Marshall and ODU to stay by adding Liberty and JMU. JMU would find themselves in a division with Marshall, ODU, Liberty, WKU, MTSU, and FIU. Non-ESPN conference.

Which situation sounds better to JMU fans? I’m genuinely curious.

Here is the tough question - if it is a diminished CUSA or stay in CAA - which then?

(10-21-2021 09:52 AM)Dukester Wrote:  

(10-21-2021 08:58 AM)JMUNation Wrote:  Cox bill…this could be the sticking point for JMU moving up. The last number I recall is athletics being 70% subsidized by student fees. The Cox bill requires the subsidy to be no more than 55%. If our budget is $50 million, the math says a minimum of $7.5 million must be raised via ticket sales, merchandise, Media rights and donations.

I worry that our fanbase will be unwilling to foot this bill. JMUs 7% of living alumni being donors doesn’t instill confidence in me and likely not our administration and the state of Virginia who has to ultimately approve the move.

https://footballscoop.com/news/latest-round-realignment-conference-usa-sun-belt-james-madison

Quote:To be sure, JMU has the profile of an FBS school. With 21,000 undergrads, the Harrisonburg, Va., based school plays in a 25,000-seat stadium and its $10.6 million in football revenue (2018-19) was the highest in FCS. Its $50+ million budget would be among the tops in the Sun Belt or C-USA right now. The Dukes were a target of realignment way back in 2013. JMU said no then, but in doing so they eased the door shut, they didn't slam it.

Does the 10.6 Million include student fees? I'd guess so....

(10-21-2021 10:08 AM)TrueBlueDrew Wrote:  So if I understand it correctly, there are two scenarios:

1. The Sun Belt convinces Marshall, ODU, and JMU to join USM in the move to the Belt. JMU would find themselves in a division with Marshall, ODU, App State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, and Georgia Southern. ESPN conference with some weeknight games.

2. CUSA convinces Marshall and ODU to stay by adding Liberty and JMU. JMU would find themselves in a division with Marshall, ODU, Liberty, WKU, MTSU, and FIU. Non-ESPN conference.

Which situation sounds better to JMU fans? I’m genuinely curious.

(10-21-2021 08:36 AM)DirtyDukes Wrote:  

(10-21-2021 07:38 AM)cmett003 Wrote:  

(10-21-2021 07:02 AM)Dadgum Wrote:  

(10-20-2021 10:57 PM)ah59396 Wrote:  

(10-20-2021 09:59 PM)JMURocks Wrote:  App St takes down Coastal at the buzzer. Great game and atmosphere. Would love to be in conference with them!

Come join the fun.

Imagine in the very near future, conference matchup, #22 App State vs #19 JMU, Thursday night, ESPN, 30k strong in Harrisonburg. Winner heads to the Belt championship to host a ranked Southern Miss, with a chance at an NY6 bowl, the Cotton Bowl vs. Wisconsin.

Holy sh!t, this guy gets it.

Not to burst your bubble but, if all the conference changes dont start til 2023-2024 and it takes JMU 2 seasons to transition to FBS. The earliest you could compete for a championship would be 2025-2026. That is assuming you have it figured out financially...

(10-21-2021 07:44 AM)JMU2004 Wrote:  

(10-21-2021 07:41 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  https://twitter.com/Madia_DNRSports/status/1451151305506967553

Latest post from Madia.
If JMU is still trying to make that determination, we are officially screwed.
After almost a decade of the Carr Report, receiving invites, saying that we are prepared.... if through all of this JMU is still trying to figure it out, I seriously give up.
We have a budget that rivals FBS schools and surpasses many of them. These are things that should have been done years ago.
If the things they are figuring out are things like what the best programs to add to remain Title IX compliant, then I could see that. Perhaps it's just making sure all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed.
We may have a real shot at a regional conference and I will be absolutely sick if we miss out.

This feels like the "Get your check books out" phase of realignment.

Yep, this tweet was given to greg by the Admin to raise money. Guarantee.

Also, I've heard rumblings Alger is considering CUSA because of academics...

(10-21-2021 09:57 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  It does appear that we are an important piece of this puzzle. Some "in the know" believed the conferences wouldn't even consider us.
And now a conference could live or die by our decision.
If the Sun Belt adds, I believe they will make a single announcement ala AAC. Perhaps that is what is holding out the Southern Miss announcement/no announcement. Perhaps they leaked it before all the pieces were in place.
My perfect scenario would be to join the Sun Belt with Marshall and ODU. I would donate immediately and I mean that 100%.

(10-21-2021 10:18 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  i'm doing my part to help close the funding gap.

Just bought tickets to the Towson game (seeking P Lot parking pass if anyone wants to help me out :-) ) and made a small donation to the Duke Club. Nothing compared to what the Alpha Dogs and many i know on here do, but every bit helps. And i plan to continue to increase my donation over time.

No strings attached though. JMU is my school and even if I would be disappointed if the SB deal falls through....because i see it as the perfect scenario that we've been waiting for.....i'm not going to throw a tantrum and bail on my school.
That does nothing but set us back. The future is always unknown and prone to change no matter what so continued support is what is needed to keep us strong.

(10-21-2021 10:31 AM)Dukester Wrote:  

(10-21-2021 10:18 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  i'm doing my part to help close the funding gap.

Just bought tickets to the Towson game (seeking P Lot parking pass if anyone wants to help me out :-) ) and made a small donation to the Duke Club. Nothing compared to what the Alpha Dogs and many i know on here do, but every bit helps. And i plan to continue to increase my donation over time.

No strings attached though. JMU is my school and even if I would be disappointed if the SB deal falls through....because i see it as the perfect scenario that we've been waiting for.....i'm not going to throw a tantrum and bail on my school.
That does nothing but set us back. The future is always unknown and prone to change no matter what so continued support is what is needed to keep us strong.

So you're willing to donate more if it means us potentially playing FBS football?

Me too, but like you not an Alpha Dog - but if a lot increase their giving percentage, that certainly will help.

(10-21-2021 10:16 AM)JMUrcc06 Wrote:  

(10-21-2021 10:08 AM)TrueBlueDrew Wrote:  So if I understand it correctly, there are two scenarios:

1. The Sun Belt convinces Marshall, ODU, and JMU to join USM in the move to the Belt. JMU would find themselves in a division with Marshall, ODU, App State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, and Georgia Southern. ESPN conference with some weeknight games.

2. CUSA convinces Marshall and ODU to stay by adding Liberty and JMU. JMU would find themselves in a division with Marshall, ODU, Liberty, WKU, MTSU, and FIU. Non-ESPN conference.

Which situation sounds better to JMU fans? I’m genuinely curious.

#1 all day and twice on Sunday... I want nothing, nothing, nothing to do with Liberty... but if the core 4 (to us) are ODU, MU, App vs ODU, MU, Liberty - is that really even a question??

In #1 - thanksgiving weekend looks like App v MU and JMU v ODU classic rivalries ready to launch into relevancy from day 1!

(10-21-2021 10:31 AM)Dukester Wrote:  

(10-21-2021 10:18 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  i'm doing my part to help close the funding gap.

Just bought tickets to the Towson game (seeking P Lot parking pass if anyone wants to help me out :-) ) and made a small donation to the Duke Club. Nothing compared to what the Alpha Dogs and many i know on here do, but every bit helps. And i plan to continue to increase my donation over time.

No strings attached though. JMU is my school and even if I would be disappointed if the SB deal falls through....because i see it as the perfect scenario that we've been waiting for.....i'm not going to throw a tantrum and bail on my school.
That does nothing but set us back. The future is always unknown and prone to change no matter what so continued support is what is needed to keep us strong.

So you're willing to donate more if it means us potentially playing FBS football?

Me too, but like you not an Alpha Dog - but if a lot increase their giving percentage, that certainly will help.

(10-21-2021 10:33 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(10-21-2021 10:31 AM)Dukester Wrote:  

(10-21-2021 10:18 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  i'm doing my part to help close the funding gap.

Just bought tickets to the Towson game (seeking P Lot parking pass if anyone wants to help me out :-) ) and made a small donation to the Duke Club. Nothing compared to what the Alpha Dogs and many i know on here do, but every bit helps. And i plan to continue to increase my donation over time.

No strings attached though. JMU is my school and even if I would be disappointed if the SB deal falls through....because i see it as the perfect scenario that we've been waiting for.....i'm not going to throw a tantrum and bail on my school.
That does nothing but set us back. The future is always unknown and prone to change no matter what so continued support is what is needed to keep us strong.

So you're willing to donate more if it means us potentially playing FBS football?

Me too, but like you not an Alpha Dog - but if a lot increase their giving percentage, that certainly will help.

i'm going to be contributing more regardless.

was already on my radar to do by year end, this just accelerated it.

think about it, you'd have to be blind not to see this was coming. if everyone had been increasing donations over the last 5-10 years, there probably wouldn't even be a need to hit up the Alpha Dogs and get their assurances.

I want to be part of the solution, not the problem, going forward.

(10-21-2021 10:26 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  ABSOLUTELY Sun Belt all day long.
1. Opponents. Marshall, ODU and App State alone are worth it. Coastal has proven themselves and we do have a history with them as well.
2. Stability. Sun Belt is hands down a better conference than it was 10 years ago. Plus the teams in the Sun Belt appear to be happy there. Normally the weakest conference gets poached, and Sun Belt has proven it is not the weakest conference. That title now goes to CUSA. CUSA is about as wobbly as they come. Leadership is poor, the media deal is garbage, and teams have expressed their displeasure. Certainly doesn't instill confidence in CUSA, that's for sure.
3. Leadership. The Sun Belt is doing a much better job than CUSA, that's for sure. I cannot recall the last time I heard of a Sun Belt team unhappy with leadership. CUSA on the other hand seems to have almost every team unpleased.
4. Media deal. There are few conferences out there with a media deal worse than CUSA. Sun Belt on the other hand has a deal that would only get sweeter with the addition of Marshall, ODU, JMU and Southern Miss. I'll gladly take weeknight games versus Sun Belt teams.

(10-21-2021 10:40 AM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  If JMU ever wants FBS football here is your greatest chance

(10-21-2021 10:37 AM)Dukester Wrote:  

(10-21-2021 10:33 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(10-21-2021 10:31 AM)Dukester Wrote:  

(10-21-2021 10:18 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  i'm doing my part to help close the funding gap.

Just bought tickets to the Towson game (seeking P Lot parking pass if anyone wants to help me out :-) ) and made a small donation to the Duke Club. Nothing compared to what the Alpha Dogs and many i know on here do, but every bit helps. And i plan to continue to increase my donation over time.

No strings attached though. JMU is my school and even if I would be disappointed if the SB deal falls through....because i see it as the perfect scenario that we've been waiting for.....i'm not going to throw a tantrum and bail on my school.
That does nothing but set us back. The future is always unknown and prone to change no matter what so continued support is what is needed to keep us strong.

So you're willing to donate more if it means us potentially playing FBS football?

Me too, but like you not an Alpha Dog - but if a lot increase their giving percentage, that certainly will help.

i'm going to be contributing more regardless.

was already on my radar to do by year end, this just accelerated it.

think about it, you'd have to be blind not to see this was coming. if everyone had been increasing donations over the last 5-10 years, there probably wouldn't even be a need to hit up the Alpha Dogs and get their assurances.

I want to be part of the solution, not the problem, going forward.

Yep, certainly does add to excitement/interest, and likely for many more donations.