(11-01-2021 10:03 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  

(11-01-2021 09:50 AM)Dukes94 Wrote:  It's better to kill CUSA then bring up a bunch of undeserving, not-ready-for-prime-time FCS schools, for which the expense would be unmanageable.

While I agree, CUSA is going to do whatever it takes to stay alive.

(11-01-2021 01:46 PM)JMU_Rocks! Wrote:  AAC - expands to 14 largely within the B12 footprint
SBC - expands to 14 largely within the SEC footprint
MAC - expands to 14 largely within the B10 footprint

CUSA - ?? pulling the Indy schools with a cash infusion back to UConn/UMass and some assortment of ASU/WAC and MVC teams with subsidy? In the short term, they do have exit fees in the coffer. I would be surprised to see the conference fold.

MWC - ?? do they start adding teams to get to 14 too? UTEP, NMSU, and one other school would get them there. There may be a Big Sky or Dakota school now feeling compelled to move up.

(11-01-2021 10:55 AM)Dignan Wrote:  

(11-01-2021 04:28 AM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(10-31-2021 09:45 PM)hburg Wrote:  It's really starting to look like the MAC will be adding WKU and MTSU. But of course the league presidents would have to approve. Can only imagine the panic mode at LaTech, FIU, and UTEP.

If so, you can stick a fork in CUSA. That conference is done. It should close shop like the old Southwest Conference.

Execs at ABC/ESPN also must be happy that they’ve eliminated a source of CBS FB content. Competition is a mother _____.

Moving forward, the stratification of college FB will become very clear in the next 3-5 years.

At the so-called P5 level, college FB played at the highest level may splinter into a P3 (SEC, B10, and ACC), and a P2 “little brother” consisting of the PAC 10 and BIG 12. The P2 grouping will be like a G5 team on steroids, much like ECU in its best years.

The so-called G5 will essentially become the G3, consisting of three leagues competing for recognition as the “best of the rest.” In any year the MAC might threaten to join this group, but generally I see the Mountain West, AAC and SBC being distinctly stronger…and the SBC emerging as the strongest of the three. Much like the SEC being the best of the “P3” grouping, I envision that the SBC will emerge as the best of the “G3” group.

Someone has already called the SBC (in its new form with the 4 additions) the “mini-SEC”’…and while I don’t like the word “mini” (it smacks of an implied condescension), it does capture the inherent, emerging power of the new SBC. The SBC will play a great brand of FB, will be all-over linear TV and streaming sources. The SBC’s other sports (sans MBB) will compete for NCs, and if MBB recruiting can be improved we may see SBC MBB teams begin to reach the Sweet 16 - Final 4 range on a semi-regular basis.

The future looks bright, and I’m very happy JMU is making the move.

Longhorn, I hesitate to bring this up as I don’t want to open up a can of worms but a friend of mine was not enthused about the Sun Belt move because he felt that the academic fit wasn’t right. He was especially worried that the faculty would be upset and we would lose good professors as a result. I didn’t think there was that big of a gap academically but after I looked up the stats I did see there was at least a pretty large difference in graduation rates, amongst other somewhat less glaring differences.

I personally am psyched about our new conference home. I’m looking forward to playing with a group of schools that I see as peers athletically. As a faculty member, do you perceive his fears as unfounded?

(11-01-2021 03:02 PM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(11-01-2021 10:55 AM)Dignan Wrote:  

(11-01-2021 04:28 AM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(10-31-2021 09:45 PM)hburg Wrote:  It's really starting to look like the MAC will be adding WKU and MTSU. But of course the league presidents would have to approve. Can only imagine the panic mode at LaTech, FIU, and UTEP.

If so, you can stick a fork in CUSA. That conference is done. It should close shop like the old Southwest Conference.

Execs at ABC/ESPN also must be happy that they’ve eliminated a source of CBS FB content. Competition is a mother _____.

Moving forward, the stratification of college FB will become very clear in the next 3-5 years.

At the so-called P5 level, college FB played at the highest level may splinter into a P3 (SEC, B10, and ACC), and a P2 “little brother” consisting of the PAC 10 and BIG 12. The P2 grouping will be like a G5 team on steroids, much like ECU in its best years.

The so-called G5 will essentially become the G3, consisting of three leagues competing for recognition as the “best of the rest.” In any year the MAC might threaten to join this group, but generally I see the Mountain West, AAC and SBC being distinctly stronger…and the SBC emerging as the strongest of the three. Much like the SEC being the best of the “P3” grouping, I envision that the SBC will emerge as the best of the “G3” group.

Someone has already called the SBC (in its new form with the 4 additions) the “mini-SEC”’…and while I don’t like the word “mini” (it smacks of an implied condescension), it does capture the inherent, emerging power of the new SBC. The SBC will play a great brand of FB, will be all-over linear TV and streaming sources. The SBC’s other sports (sans MBB) will compete for NCs, and if MBB recruiting can be improved we may see SBC MBB teams begin to reach the Sweet 16 - Final 4 range on a semi-regular basis.

The future looks bright, and I’m very happy JMU is making the move.

Longhorn, I hesitate to bring this up as I don’t want to open up a can of worms but a friend of mine was not enthused about the Sun Belt move because he felt that the academic fit wasn’t right. He was especially worried that the faculty would be upset and we would lose good professors as a result. I didn’t think there was that big of a gap academically but after I looked up the stats I did see there was at least a pretty large difference in graduation rates, amongst other somewhat less glaring differences.

I personally am psyched about our new conference home. I’m looking forward to playing with a group of schools that I see as peers athletically. As a faculty member, do you perceive his fears as unfounded?

JMU will be at the top, or near the top in the SBC when looking at retention and graduation rates. Those two markers of academic excellence are important, however, App State is in the neighborhood. Hopefully JMU won’t use the excuse of disassociating the university from W&M and UD to continue a softening of JMU’s admission profile. Only time will tell.

To answer your question directly, I believe the faculty will be good with the move. Things have changed somewhat regarding varsity athletics (faculty attitude wise) since the Carr Report and Rose administration, and despite the criticism by some JMU fans, the faculty genuinely like and respect President Alger. The faculty know Alger has an honest concern and interest in the issues the faculty consider important, and works hard at including their input. The move to the Sun Belt fits with Alger’s goal of raising the institution’s profile to a national level, and the coming reclassification to R2 is all part of that package.

As for your friend’s concern, I can certainly understand where he’s coming from, but JMU will neither lose strong faculty or find it difficult to attract excellent faculty when the institution has an opening. In the over 25 years I’ve been associated with JMU we’ve lost a few people in the hiring process we’ve really wanted (one to the University of Washington, one to Auburn, and one to UNC Charlotte). We also lost one to UVA that is now the President of Stony Brook. Yet those are the exceptions, and for ever faculty member we failed to hire (or keep) we hire top drawer people to fill our needs. In essence, to use an athletic metaphor, JMU regularly recruits and signs 3 and 4 star faculty, and even occasionally the 5 star academic. That will not change with a move to FBS and the SBC. In fact, given time, the move might even improve our recruiting profile.

One last thought regarding Alger’s tenure. I fully expect that during the next 5 years we will continue to see positive changes to the campus facilities and national profile that will place JMU competitively in the upper-range of public institutions. The size of JMU’s endowment and lack of scholarships have been an issue impacting academic quality, but I anticipate that when Alger steps down, JMU’s endowment will have grown to be around $500 million, and scholarships through giving, and the percentage rate of giving, will have also grown substantially. The SBC move will only be a part of this.

(11-01-2021 03:10 PM)bcp_jmu Wrote:  

(11-01-2021 03:02 PM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(11-01-2021 10:55 AM)Dignan Wrote:  

(11-01-2021 04:28 AM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(10-31-2021 09:45 PM)hburg Wrote:  It's really starting to look like the MAC will be adding WKU and MTSU. But of course the league presidents would have to approve. Can only imagine the panic mode at LaTech, FIU, and UTEP.

If so, you can stick a fork in CUSA. That conference is done. It should close shop like the old Southwest Conference.

Execs at ABC/ESPN also must be happy that they’ve eliminated a source of CBS FB content. Competition is a mother _____.

Moving forward, the stratification of college FB will become very clear in the next 3-5 years.

At the so-called P5 level, college FB played at the highest level may splinter into a P3 (SEC, B10, and ACC), and a P2 “little brother” consisting of the PAC 10 and BIG 12. The P2 grouping will be like a G5 team on steroids, much like ECU in its best years.

The so-called G5 will essentially become the G3, consisting of three leagues competing for recognition as the “best of the rest.” In any year the MAC might threaten to join this group, but generally I see the Mountain West, AAC and SBC being distinctly stronger…and the SBC emerging as the strongest of the three. Much like the SEC being the best of the “P3” grouping, I envision that the SBC will emerge as the best of the “G3” group.

Someone has already called the SBC (in its new form with the 4 additions) the “mini-SEC”’…and while I don’t like the word “mini” (it smacks of an implied condescension), it does capture the inherent, emerging power of the new SBC. The SBC will play a great brand of FB, will be all-over linear TV and streaming sources. The SBC’s other sports (sans MBB) will compete for NCs, and if MBB recruiting can be improved we may see SBC MBB teams begin to reach the Sweet 16 - Final 4 range on a semi-regular basis.

The future looks bright, and I’m very happy JMU is making the move.

Longhorn, I hesitate to bring this up as I don’t want to open up a can of worms but a friend of mine was not enthused about the Sun Belt move because he felt that the academic fit wasn’t right. He was especially worried that the faculty would be upset and we would lose good professors as a result. I didn’t think there was that big of a gap academically but after I looked up the stats I did see there was at least a pretty large difference in graduation rates, amongst other somewhat less glaring differences.

I personally am psyched about our new conference home. I’m looking forward to playing with a group of schools that I see as peers athletically. As a faculty member, do you perceive his fears as unfounded?

JMU will be at the top, or near the top in the SBC when looking at retention and graduation rates. Those two markers of academic excellence are important, however, App State is in the neighborhood. Hopefully JMU won’t use the excuse of disassociating the university from W&M and UD to continue a softening of JMU’s admission profile. Only time will tell.

To answer your question directly, I believe the faculty will be good with the move. Things have changed somewhat regarding varsity athletics (faculty attitude wise) since the Carr Report and Rose administration, and despite the criticism by some JMU fans, the faculty genuinely like and respect President Alger. The faculty know Alger has an honest concern and interest in the issues the faculty consider important, and works hard at including their input. The move to the Sun Belt fits with Alger’s goal of raising the institution’s profile to a national level, and the coming reclassification to R2 is all part of that package.

As for your friend’s concern, I can certainly understand where he’s coming from, but JMU will neither lose strong faculty or find it difficult to attract excellent faculty when the institution has an opening. In the over 25 years I’ve been associated with JMU we’ve lost a few people in the hiring process we’ve really wanted (one to the University of Washington, one to Auburn, and one to UNC Charlotte). We also lost one to UVA that is now the President of Stony Brook. Yet those are the exceptions, and for ever faculty member we failed to hire (or keep) we hire top drawer people to fill our needs. In essence, to use an athletic metaphor, JMU regularly recruits and signs 3 and 4 star faculty, and even occasionally the 5 star academic. That will not change with a move to FBS and the SBC. In fact, given time, the move might even improve our recruiting profile.

One last thought regarding Alger’s tenure. I fully expect that during the next 5 years we will continue to see positive changes to the campus facilities and national profile that will place JMU competitively in the upper-range of public institutions. The size of JMU’s endowment and lack of scholarships have been an issue impacting academic quality, but I anticipate that when Alger steps down, JMU’s endowment will have grown to be around $500 million, and scholarships through giving, and the percentage rate of giving, will have also grown substantially. The SBC move will only be a part of this.

Fair to say...after all the many sides on this and debate...that Alger's legacy will be clear:
- Wayyy better inclusive messaging
- $500M endowment (knock on wood)
- National U Classification
- SBC

That would be solid

(11-01-2021 03:58 PM)JMU_Rocks! Wrote:  I noticed an interesting article - HBC schools are dominating FCS attendance numbers.

Given our interest in quality bands and desire to make JMU a more comfortable choice for minority students. There are some good opportunities to schedule some nice match-ups for our FCS game and invite their bands.

(11-01-2021 04:44 PM)JMURocks Wrote:  This is interesting ... it seems the members leaving CUSA have not submitted their formal withdrawal paperwork yet, so in theory may be able to vote to dissolve it, saving themselves exit fees.

(11-01-2021 04:44 PM)JMURocks Wrote:  This is interesting ... it seems the members leaving CUSA have not submitted their formal withdrawal paperwork yet, so in theory may be able to vote to dissolve it, saving themselves exit fees.

(11-01-2021 05:14 PM)THUNDERStruck73 Wrote:  The exit fees are simply our share of conference revenue for two years. We don't "pay" anything. We just don't get our cut of the pie for two years.

This is being somewhat offset because the SBC waived our entrance fees.

(11-01-2021 05:35 PM)JMURocks Wrote:  

(11-01-2021 05:14 PM)THUNDERStruck73 Wrote:  The exit fees are simply our share of conference revenue for two years. We don't "pay" anything. We just don't get our cut of the pie for two years.

This is being somewhat offset because the SBC waived our entrance fees.

Seems that would motivate you to move sooner to SBC, or is that not contractually allowed with media rights?

(11-01-2021 10:55 AM)Dignan Wrote:  

(11-01-2021 04:28 AM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(10-31-2021 09:45 PM)hburg Wrote:  It's really starting to look like the MAC will be adding WKU and MTSU. But of course the league presidents would have to approve. Can only imagine the panic mode at LaTech, FIU, and UTEP.

If so, you can stick a fork in CUSA. That conference is done. It should close shop like the old Southwest Conference.

Execs at ABC/ESPN also must be happy that they’ve eliminated a source of CBS FB content. Competition is a mother _____.

Moving forward, the stratification of college FB will become very clear in the next 3-5 years.

At the so-called P5 level, college FB played at the highest level may splinter into a P3 (SEC, B10, and ACC), and a P2 “little brother” consisting of the PAC 10 and BIG 12. The P2 grouping will be like a G5 team on steroids, much like ECU in its best years.

The so-called G5 will essentially become the G3, consisting of three leagues competing for recognition as the “best of the rest.” In any year the MAC might threaten to join this group, but generally I see the Mountain West, AAC and SBC being distinctly stronger…and the SBC emerging as the strongest of the three. Much like the SEC being the best of the “P3” grouping, I envision that the SBC will emerge as the best of the “G3” group.

Someone has already called the SBC (in its new form with the 4 additions) the “mini-SEC”’…and while I don’t like the word “mini” (it smacks of an implied condescension), it does capture the inherent, emerging power of the new SBC. The SBC will play a great brand of FB, will be all-over linear TV and streaming sources. The SBC’s other sports (sans MBB) will compete for NCs, and if MBB recruiting can be improved we may see SBC MBB teams begin to reach the Sweet 16 - Final 4 range on a semi-regular basis.

The future looks bright, and I’m very happy JMU is making the move.

Longhorn, I hesitate to bring this up as I don’t want to open up a can of worms but a friend of mine was not enthused about the Sun Belt move because he felt that the academic fit wasn’t right. He was especially worried that the faculty would be upset and we would lose good professors as a result. I didn’t think there was that big of a gap academically but after I looked up the stats I did see there was at least a pretty large difference in graduation rates, amongst other somewhat less glaring differences.

I personally am psyched about our new conference home. I’m looking forward to playing with a group of schools that I see as peers athletically. As a faculty member, do you perceive his fears as unfounded?

(11-01-2021 06:13 PM)Purple Wrote:  

(11-01-2021 10:55 AM)Dignan Wrote:  

(11-01-2021 04:28 AM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(10-31-2021 09:45 PM)hburg Wrote:  It's really starting to look like the MAC will be adding WKU and MTSU. But of course the league presidents would have to approve. Can only imagine the panic mode at LaTech, FIU, and UTEP.

If so, you can stick a fork in CUSA. That conference is done. It should close shop like the old Southwest Conference.

Execs at ABC/ESPN also must be happy that they’ve eliminated a source of CBS FB content. Competition is a mother _____.

Moving forward, the stratification of college FB will become very clear in the next 3-5 years.

At the so-called P5 level, college FB played at the highest level may splinter into a P3 (SEC, B10, and ACC), and a P2 “little brother” consisting of the PAC 10 and BIG 12. The P2 grouping will be like a G5 team on steroids, much like ECU in its best years.

The so-called G5 will essentially become the G3, consisting of three leagues competing for recognition as the “best of the rest.” In any year the MAC might threaten to join this group, but generally I see the Mountain West, AAC and SBC being distinctly stronger…and the SBC emerging as the strongest of the three. Much like the SEC being the best of the “P3” grouping, I envision that the SBC will emerge as the best of the “G3” group.

Someone has already called the SBC (in its new form with the 4 additions) the “mini-SEC”’…and while I don’t like the word “mini” (it smacks of an implied condescension), it does capture the inherent, emerging power of the new SBC. The SBC will play a great brand of FB, will be all-over linear TV and streaming sources. The SBC’s other sports (sans MBB) will compete for NCs, and if MBB recruiting can be improved we may see SBC MBB teams begin to reach the Sweet 16 - Final 4 range on a semi-regular basis.

The future looks bright, and I’m very happy JMU is making the move.

Longhorn, I hesitate to bring this up as I don’t want to open up a can of worms but a friend of mine was not enthused about the Sun Belt move because he felt that the academic fit wasn’t right. He was especially worried that the faculty would be upset and we would lose good professors as a result. I didn’t think there was that big of a gap academically but after I looked up the stats I did see there was at least a pretty large difference in graduation rates, amongst other somewhat less glaring differences.

I personally am psyched about our new conference home. I’m looking forward to playing with a group of schools that I see as peers athletically. As a faculty member, do you perceive his fears as unfounded?

I'm not answering for Longhorn, but I think you should remind your friend that the Sun Belt is an ATHLETIC conference, not an academic conference. The Sun Belt was organized for sports, not debate matches and science fairs.