(12-23-2018 10:40 PM)herdfan129 Wrote:  CUSA and Sun Belt may be pretty even in football but there is no comparison in basketball. CUSA is definitely the bigger/better conference from top to bottom.

I only care about football:

CUSA has two storied G5 programs in Marshall and S Miss and both should be in the AAC rather than CUSA. Marshall hosts teams like Pittsburgh and Boise St in the same season and S Miss gets bowl games vs Florida State - this has nothing to do with CUSA though. If you have a history of being ranked in the Top 25, produce legends like Randy Moss and Brett Favre and a number of big upsets year after year then brand recognition will do this for you. It’s not the CUSA brand, it’s the programs’ individual brands. It requires more teams like this to elevate an entire conference brand (think Louisville, TCU, UCF, Memphis, East Carolina, etc). However, teams like MTSU, FAU, FIU, UAB, etc are dragging you guys down. Actually, being in CUSA hurts you guys - while UCF, Memphis and East Carolina at least have the chance to progress, Marshall and S Miss are stagnating - and some SBC and remaining CUSA teams are catching up.

I admire both S Miss and Marshall for their histories and I hope Troy can continue to be successful and maybe get there in the next 5-10 years. Technically some SBC teams are right there now, coaching, facilities, performances, etc but brand and history is not there yet. It takes more than just winning 10 games and go to a bowl game. Years of Top 25 rankings and NFL legends are crucial. So yes, I do admire/respect individual programs but not (G5) conferences...