(11-17-2020 06:42 PM)THUNDERStruck73 Wrote:  

(11-17-2020 03:53 PM)Herd6993 Wrote:  My personal preference would be an eastern based conference made up of the following: WKU, MTSU, UAB, Marshall, ODU, UNCC, Appy State, GA Southern, GA State, Coastal, James Madison and either Liberty or FAU. Pretty solid league and a fanbase in at least one major sport (no disrespect to Southern Miss or La Tech).
Realistically this is not going to happen so I think CUSA should try and improve the current situation.

The biggest complaints seem to be about the current commissioner and her lack of vision, eastern based basketball schools not having the conference tournament within driving distance ( these schools are usually at the top of attendance and performance), schools with fanbases not having enough games in close travel proximity or who their fans have a recognizable interest in and a perceived bias toward the Texas schools influenced by where the Conference HQ is located. To calm some of this dissention here is what I would do.


1. Get a new Commish who has a vision and can convince the bulk of the Presidents to follow that vision.
2. Find a way to have the Basketball Tournament at least once out of every three years near the majority of your basketball schools (WKU, Marshall, ODU, and MTSU).
3. Expand to sixteen with the idea of saving cost on Travel to offset the new additions share of TV. The new additions would be New Mexico State (travel partner for UTEP) and either Liberty or James Madison (provide a close travel game for UNCC, Marshall, and ODU).
4. With sixteen schools you would be able to have a nine game conference schedule in football playing the seven schools in your division plus two from the other division. In other words Marshall would be only going to New Mexico State and UTEP once every eight years.
5. With sixteen schools you would be able to have an eighteen game conference schedule in basketball playing each school in your division twice and four schools from the other division. In other words Marshall would only have to visit UTEP/New Mexico State once every four years.

#1 YES
#2 YES

Everything else - NO!

Since when Marshall is a basketball school? The only ones that fit that profile based on history are UTEP, UAB, Western Kentucky, Old Dominion and Charlotte. The conference will have the tournament where the money is. If it's in Frisco, then it'll be there. Unlike bowls, conference tournaments are announced years in advance and you can plan ahead so I have never understood why people make a big deal out of it. Does it really matter if it's in Frisco, Biloxi, Las Vegas, Honolulu, Miami, etc if nobody is going to show up? El Paso and Birmingham are the only locations that can fill the arena, probably Norfolk too but they haven't given the chance to host it yet. As for the commissioner, it's the Presidents who keep her employed. They can reject every proposal she recommends and at the end, they approve it. It's them I blame not the commissioner.