(02-28-2017 06:41 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(02-28-2017 04:02 PM)FloridaJag Wrote:  

(02-28-2017 03:40 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(02-28-2017 02:45 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  Benson and SBC are interested to expand into Florida. West Florida should be considered ahead of any other Alabama schools as SBC do not want another school from the state. With North Florida and FGCU have past on football for now. West Florida got rocketed to the top of the list. UWF could be there for all sports, and join in football after playing some years in FCS's ASUN/Big South.

We'd rather have Jax State than UWF. Basically it would split our market. Just because UWF has a Florida last name, does not mean they aren't local to Alabama.

Adding UWF doesn't add one more media or recruiting market to the Belt. It WOULD add one to CUSA. Maybe they could take them.

UWF would just cannibalize USA's market. I don't think anyone wants to do that to USA.

Why would CUSA want UWF is Mobile is USM's market?

No. Hattiesburg and Mobile are much more separate than Mobile and Pensacola.

Hattiesburg is further from Mobile (distance and especially time)
There aren't as strong links
There aren't 225,000 people living between Mobile and Hattiesburg
They don't share a media market
They don't share an air market.

I know a ton of folks who are from Hattiesburg living in the Mobile Area and there were quite few folks from my High school days that went and graduated from USM.