(09-06-2016 10:15 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  Complete non-starter.

1) USA would have to be no longer in the Sun Belt for this to even be possible. USA would block and would be foolish not to.
2) Troy would be a definate 'no vote' too.
3) How do you think UALR and UTA would feel about adding a team with non-existent D1 basketball?
4) If ULL and stAte say "no Southland teams", how do you think they'd feel about adding a D2 moveup?

UWF would need the following to even be at the Kennesaw State level of 'never going to happen'

1) A plan for a football stadium along with funding. UWF is small and has a small endowment. There isn't any off campus facility for them to use either.
2) Some credibility in D1 basketball. And no, they're not moving from DII to the Sun Belt Conference.
3) A funding plan for FBS athletics that accounts for the significant expense of competing in FBS football, Sun Belt olympic sports including Title IX compliance
4) A place to play D1 basketball. No, the Pensacola Civic Center isn't going to cut it.
5) A lot more than 2,000 on campus residential students and a main campus undergrad enrollment of less than 9500.

UWF probably has 'okay' baseball (they won the D2 championship in 2011), but they don't have a credible D1 baseball facility either. In the sport they are probably the best at.

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UWF would need to figure out a way to raise 80-100 million dollars plus (for very basic facilities) in order to even have 'crummy for the Belt' facilities. Then, they'll need to figure out where 10 million or more in excess athletic department budgets are going to come from. Per year. Then they'll need to get their basketball into another D1 conference and succeed there.

And even then....they're never getting in the Belt because USA and Troy will block them and plenty of the league will help them block them.