(10-21-2021 04:11 PM)mjs Wrote:  

(10-21-2021 03:00 PM)PTJR Wrote:  

(10-21-2021 01:38 PM)mjs Wrote:  So in the first scenario, CUSA is left with FIU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, UTEP and Western Kentucky.

C-USA would have to immediately bolster its membership. Liberty would be an automatic addition, sources said, but it’s unknown if the league would also reach out to independents UMass, UConn or New Mexico State or try to entice any FCS programs to move up to the FBS level.

I could see CUSA reaching out to LR and another non-football school to balance out UConn and UMass who would likely be football only members. If we end up with our old "friends", FIU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, and New Mexico State plus UTEP, Liberty, and maybe UTA we'd be in a stronger basketball conference than the Sun Belt. Sure the Sun Belt would be stronger in football, but I could care less about that.

One thing in that scenario is absolutely certain- UConn is NOT leaving the Big East in basketball, and UMass is NOT leaving the A10 in basketball. Although it sounds pretty implausible to me, given the Wild West that conference shuffling has become, who knows!

UConn and UMass are independents in football. I don't think that can work for them in the long term. Maybe UConn and/or UMass might be best served by dropping football. I could see them joining CUSA in football only, if only to give them more time to make this decision.

I could see that. New Mexico State would also jump at the chance if UTEP didn’t block it. UTEP might definitely be ok with it if it was football only, but might go for everything, but NMST might be happy to leave their other sports in the WAC. Pretty interesting idea.