(11-09-2021 10:11 AM)TroyTBoy Wrote:  I'm especially excited for Liberty and NMSU fans, and how they get to tell their story in a solid Conference USA.
Independence is tough and they weathered that storm to ultimately make CUSA better.
Conference USA has a gritty set of bookends.
The NMSU-UTEP rivalry (especially in basketball) is going to elevate CUSA hoops. It's awesome to see, especially now that apparently the WKU-MTSU rivalry will add more flavor to a very nice hoops league.
Liberty is going to push everyone. Perhaps no other school fits as perfectly with the CUSA name than Liberty.
The conference has great identity going forward.
The best part is now these schools have the reward of making something bigger. They took on the challenge of staying viable through independence and they won.
Sure, there is work to be done but the identity and nucleus is there. Their success is a testament to the ideals contained in the conference brand.

(11-09-2021 10:55 AM)monarx Wrote:  Im happiest for UTEP and NMSU. I think they make out the best. I dont think Liberty makes much sense at all now that Marshall and ODU are gone. But if they're happy, and the rest of the conference doesnt mind playing at a disadvantage financially (which translates into facilities, recruiting etc), then so be it. The only ones I feel bad for are FIU, WKU and LaTech.

(11-09-2021 10:17 AM)wkufirst Wrote:  

(11-09-2021 10:11 AM)TroyTBoy Wrote:  I'm especially excited for Liberty and NMSU fans, and how they get to tell their story in a solid Conference USA.
Independence is tough and they weathered that storm to ultimately make CUSA better.
Conference USA has a gritty set of bookends.
The NMSU-UTEP rivalry (especially in basketball) is going to elevate CUSA hoops. It's awesome to see, especially now that apparently the WKU-MTSU rivalry will add more flavor to a very nice hoops league.
Liberty is going to push everyone. Perhaps no other school fits as perfectly with the CUSA name than Liberty.
The conference has great identity going forward.
The best part is now these schools have the reward of making something bigger. They took on the challenge of staying viable through independence and they won.
Sure, there is work to be done but the identity and nucleus is there. Their success is a testament to the ideals contained in the conference brand.

I’m happy for MTSU. I hope they rot.

(11-09-2021 11:24 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(11-09-2021 10:17 AM)wkufirst Wrote:  

(11-09-2021 10:11 AM)TroyTBoy Wrote:  I'm especially excited for Liberty and NMSU fans, and how they get to tell their story in a solid Conference USA.
Independence is tough and they weathered that storm to ultimately make CUSA better.
Conference USA has a gritty set of bookends.
The NMSU-UTEP rivalry (especially in basketball) is going to elevate CUSA hoops. It's awesome to see, especially now that apparently the WKU-MTSU rivalry will add more flavor to a very nice hoops league.
Liberty is going to push everyone. Perhaps no other school fits as perfectly with the CUSA name than Liberty.
The conference has great identity going forward.
The best part is now these schools have the reward of making something bigger. They took on the challenge of staying viable through independence and they won.
Sure, there is work to be done but the identity and nucleus is there. Their success is a testament to the ideals contained in the conference brand.

I’m happy for MTSU. I hope they rot.

Glad to see some saltiness from our friends up north. Should make our rivalry more heated lol.

(11-09-2021 11:28 AM)freshtop Wrote:  

(11-09-2021 11:24 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(11-09-2021 10:17 AM)wkufirst Wrote:  

(11-09-2021 10:11 AM)TroyTBoy Wrote:  I'm especially excited for Liberty and NMSU fans, and how they get to tell their story in a solid Conference USA.
Independence is tough and they weathered that storm to ultimately make CUSA better.
Conference USA has a gritty set of bookends.
The NMSU-UTEP rivalry (especially in basketball) is going to elevate CUSA hoops. It's awesome to see, especially now that apparently the WKU-MTSU rivalry will add more flavor to a very nice hoops league.
Liberty is going to push everyone. Perhaps no other school fits as perfectly with the CUSA name than Liberty.
The conference has great identity going forward.
The best part is now these schools have the reward of making something bigger. They took on the challenge of staying viable through independence and they won.
Sure, there is work to be done but the identity and nucleus is there. Their success is a testament to the ideals contained in the conference brand.

I’m happy for MTSU. I hope they rot.

Glad to see some saltiness from our friends up north. Should make our rivalry more heated lol.

Might make it more heated. Might end it all together eventually. I can't imagine our administrations will be arm in arm on realignment going forward after this.

(11-09-2021 11:28 AM)freshtop Wrote:  

(11-09-2021 11:24 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(11-09-2021 10:17 AM)wkufirst Wrote:  

(11-09-2021 10:11 AM)TroyTBoy Wrote:  I'm especially excited for Liberty and NMSU fans, and how they get to tell their story in a solid Conference USA.
Independence is tough and they weathered that storm to ultimately make CUSA better.
Conference USA has a gritty set of bookends.
The NMSU-UTEP rivalry (especially in basketball) is going to elevate CUSA hoops. It's awesome to see, especially now that apparently the WKU-MTSU rivalry will add more flavor to a very nice hoops league.
Liberty is going to push everyone. Perhaps no other school fits as perfectly with the CUSA name than Liberty.
The conference has great identity going forward.
The best part is now these schools have the reward of making something bigger. They took on the challenge of staying viable through independence and they won.
Sure, there is work to be done but the identity and nucleus is there. Their success is a testament to the ideals contained in the conference brand.

I’m happy for MTSU. I hope they rot.

Glad to see some saltiness from our friends up north. Should make our rivalry more heated lol.

Might make it more heated. Might end it all together eventually. I can't imagine our administrations will be arm in arm on realignment going forward after this.

(11-09-2021 10:55 AM)monarx Wrote:  Im happiest for UTEP and NMSU. I think they make out the best. I dont think Liberty makes much sense at all now that Marshall and ODU are gone. But if they're happy, and the rest of the conference doesnt mind playing at a disadvantage financially (which translates into facilities, recruiting etc), then so be it. The only ones I feel bad for are FIU, WKU and LaTech.

(11-09-2021 11:35 AM)Herdforlife Wrote:  Knowing that Marshall will not have to travel to New Mexico I am very excited about the New Mexico St add. UTEP vs New Mexico St could be CUSA’s biggest game and will be one I will tune in for. Keeping WKU and MTSU is huge, another big rivalry. I think Liberty, WKU and MTSU trio will produce a lot of fun games. I think La Tech and FIU are still missing games to truly get excited about. Sam Houston St and Jacksonville St may be good adds, but who are they to build rivalries with?

(11-09-2021 10:55 AM)monarx Wrote:  Im happiest for UTEP and NMSU. I think they make out the best. I dont think Liberty makes much sense at all now that Marshall and ODU are gone. But if they're happy, and the rest of the conference doesnt mind playing at a disadvantage financially (which translates into facilities, recruiting etc), then so be it. The only ones I feel bad for are FIU, WKU and LaTech.

(11-09-2021 10:55 AM)monarx Wrote:  Im happiest for UTEP and NMSU. I think they make out the best. I dont think Liberty makes much sense at all now that Marshall and ODU are gone. But if they're happy, and the rest of the conference doesnt mind playing at a disadvantage financially (which translates into facilities, recruiting etc), then so be it. The only ones I feel bad for are FIU, WKU and LaTech.

(11-09-2021 11:41 AM)Ewglenn Wrote:  

(11-09-2021 11:35 AM)Herdforlife Wrote:  Knowing that Marshall will not have to travel to New Mexico I am very excited about the New Mexico St add. UTEP vs New Mexico St could be CUSA’s biggest game and will be one I will tune in for. Keeping WKU and MTSU is huge, another big rivalry. I think Liberty, WKU and MTSU trio will produce a lot of fun games. I think La Tech and FIU are still missing games to truly get excited about. Sam Houston St and Jacksonville St may be good adds, but who are they to build rivalries with?

I imagine JSU and MTSU will heat up pretty quick because of proximity. We’re only about 200 miles away so we should be able to travel back and forth.

(11-09-2021 11:41 AM)sstaedtler88 Wrote:  

(11-09-2021 10:55 AM)monarx Wrote:  Im happiest for UTEP and NMSU. I think they make out the best. I dont think Liberty makes much sense at all now that Marshall and ODU are gone. But if they're happy, and the rest of the conference doesnt mind playing at a disadvantage financially (which translates into facilities, recruiting etc), then so be it. The only ones I feel bad for are FIU, WKU and LaTech.

Liberty was in a tough spot. The rest of their programs were stuck in the Atlantic Sun. Basketball especially was suffering for this. So the move to CUSA massively helps their other sports. As for football, independence suddenly did not seem sustainable when teams went to bigger conferences as there would be less out of conference games available. There also were not bowl tie ins, only secondary agreements, and no conference championship game. The path to be in the final 12 had to go through a conference. Granted, would Liberty rather Marshall, ODU, and JMU stayed in CUSA? Yes. But ultimately, Liberty has wanted a conference for many years.

(11-09-2021 11:38 AM)farmfanucdgrad Wrote:  

(11-09-2021 10:55 AM)monarx Wrote:  Im happiest for UTEP and NMSU. I think they make out the best. I dont think Liberty makes much sense at all now that Marshall and ODU are gone. But if they're happy, and the rest of the conference doesnt mind playing at a disadvantage financially (which translates into facilities, recruiting etc), then so be it. The only ones I feel bad for are FIU, WKU and LaTech.

I think that Liberty is going to force everyone else to step up as a result. I'm thinking like how Marshall forced the entire MAC to step up their competition level in football (1997 to 2003) except that Liberty will do this in every sport and with overwhelming facility, recruiting and financial resources. It will 100% be better for the conference and everyone will naturally despise Liberty for it. Liberty will become the Darth Vader of CUSA. It's win/win.

(11-09-2021 11:43 AM)JCMiner Wrote:  

(11-09-2021 10:55 AM)monarx Wrote:  Im happiest for UTEP and NMSU. I think they make out the best. I dont think Liberty makes much sense at all now that Marshall and ODU are gone. But if they're happy, and the rest of the conference doesnt mind playing at a disadvantage financially (which translates into facilities, recruiting etc), then so be it. The only ones I feel bad for are FIU, WKU and LaTech.

If only ODU and Marshall would have voted yes for them.

(11-09-2021 11:51 AM)monarx Wrote:  

(11-09-2021 11:43 AM)JCMiner Wrote:  

(11-09-2021 10:55 AM)monarx Wrote:  Im happiest for UTEP and NMSU. I think they make out the best. I dont think Liberty makes much sense at all now that Marshall and ODU are gone. But if they're happy, and the rest of the conference doesnt mind playing at a disadvantage financially (which translates into facilities, recruiting etc), then so be it. The only ones I feel bad for are FIU, WKU and LaTech.

If only ODU and Marshall would have voted yes for them.

My understanding is that both schools actually lobbied hard for Liberty (and JMU) and it was other (unknown to me) CUSA schools that voted no. Once that happened Marshall said "we're outta here" which started the dominos falling of ODU following and JMU following.

(11-09-2021 11:51 AM)monarx Wrote:  

(11-09-2021 11:43 AM)JCMiner Wrote:  

(11-09-2021 10:55 AM)monarx Wrote:  Im happiest for UTEP and NMSU. I think they make out the best. I dont think Liberty makes much sense at all now that Marshall and ODU are gone. But if they're happy, and the rest of the conference doesnt mind playing at a disadvantage financially (which translates into facilities, recruiting etc), then so be it. The only ones I feel bad for are FIU, WKU and LaTech.

If only ODU and Marshall would have voted yes for them.

My understanding is that both schools actually lobbied hard for Liberty (and JMU) and it was other (unknown to me) CUSA schools that voted no. Once that happened Marshall said "we're outta here" which started the dominos falling of ODU following and JMU following.