(08-09-2021 10:02 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  It's also likely that schools and conferences applying for waivers engage in informal discussions first, to get a sense for what argument is going to carry the most weight. "Why don't they just ...?" kind of arguments that onlookers make often ignore things like "they've already asked around, and they know if they were to apply for that waiver, they would get turned down."

That's totally valid as to a rationale for "why don't they just...?" We simply don't know if they tried.

Determining that as the reason they haven't, versus "well, they didn't get seven to go with" is relatively impossible because no one is going to publicly state they want to leave their conference.

We just all get the sense that ODU definitely thinks C-USA as it's structured isn't ideal and is itching to try to something else. And Marshall seems to agree with their points but their eagerness is tougher to gauge, and Charlotte seemingly has less reasons than both (their performance hasn't been good enough to feel that C-USA holds them back).

Given the A-10/Independence rumor item, it seems even harder to put it on "they inquired and couldn't" versus "They didn't have seven who agree with them."


Also, I think their request would probably be met on the basis of:
1. We want a conference that's more about being like-minded schools and less about TV dollars. No one is going to feel threatened by that.

2. The people making the calls are committees, and each member has a vested interest in keeping their own options open.