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I was wondering about that. I know for a while on here everyone was talking about the Big East or Big Ten possibly picking up one or more schools to fill there conference.
The question I have is would the BOt even let UAB leave C-USA if one of the BCS conference offered it to UAB.

Just wanted your thoughts

The BOT wouldn't be involved in the decision...at least I hope not. That would be left up to CG and BM.

I don't think that UAB will have to deal with the problem of whether or not the BOT would let us go to a BCS conference any time in the near future.

If we ever get a BCS invite, then we can discuss this. As it stands, we have a better chance of the BCS imploding before we get invited to a BCS conference.

I asked it in another thread tonight. What other conference can you realistically see inviting us as things stand? A conference that would be an improvement has no reason to seek us out unless we improve in any number of areas. C-USA, bad as it can be, is a pretty darn good fit for us as things stand.

Now if we make a couple of deep runs into the NCAA's and the football has several straight years of 7-8 wins or more and at least threaten for a conference championship, then we might get a nibble. As things stand, we remain on the "have not" list.

I hate it and hope for far better, but lets not deceive ourselves.

UAB Band Dad Wrote:I asked it in another thread tonight. What other conference can you realistically see inviting us as things stand? A conference that would be an improvement has no reason to seek us out unless we improve in any number of areas. C-USA, bad as it can be, is a pretty darn good fit for us as things stand.

Now if we make a couple of deep runs into the NCAA's and the football has several straight years of 7-8 wins or more and at least threaten for a conference championship, then we might get a nibble. As things stand, we remain on the "have not" list.

I hate it and hope for far better, but lets not deceive ourselves.

Trust me one this: there are at least a dozen other factors besides W/L records in basketball and football that matter more in determining our future conference affiliation (and current one for that matter). In a nutshell, it's who we know and not what we do. Under certain circumstances, we would be in a MUCH better position for a bid to a better conference than most of you think...and the BOT would not be in a position to prevent the move.

Having said that, I'll again assert that too many Blazer fans (full and part-time) are infected by growing up in SEC country. CUSA is a very solid league all things considered, and certainly the best place for UAB right now. Yeah, when you grow up arguing that your favorite team plays in the toughest conference in football® it can be a tough transition to following CUSA. But that's your problem to overcome, not ours.

I agree that WLs are a factor but more on what they would generate rather than the Ws themselves. We all beleve or maybe just have hope that more Ws will improve interest in football. Which will result in more fans and who will actually BUY tickets. I do not know how we can get much lower than what I expect this year in terms of tickets sold. We have a atletic budget in the high teens but our revenue is under 10 million. We cannot expect to be chosen by a big league with this small of a budget much less be expect to be competitive in a new league. Again guys this large subsidy cannot be increased in the current campus climate must less hope have any hope from that any rational board much less our beloved BOT would approve.

I have to agree with banddad that CUSA is probably the best fit for us for now.

blazr Wrote:

UAB Band Dad Wrote:I asked it in another thread tonight. What other conference can you realistically see inviting us as things stand? A conference that would be an improvement has no reason to seek us out unless we improve in any number of areas. C-USA, bad as it can be, is a pretty darn good fit for us as things stand.

Now if we make a couple of deep runs into the NCAA's and the football has several straight years of 7-8 wins or more and at least threaten for a conference championship, then we might get a nibble. As things stand, we remain on the "have not" list.

I hate it and hope for far better, but lets not deceive ourselves.

Trust me one this: there are at least a dozen other factors besides W/L records in basketball and football that matter more in determining our future conference affiliation (and current one for that matter). In a nutshell, it's who we know and not what we do. Under certain circumstances, we would be in a MUCH better position for a bid to a better conference than most of you think...and the BOT would not be in a position to prevent the move.

Having said that, I'll again assert that too many Blazer fans (full and part-time) are infected by growing up in SEC country. CUSA is a very solid league all things considered, and certainly the best place for UAB right now. Yeah, when you grow up arguing that your favorite team plays in the toughest conference in football® it can be a tough transition to following CUSA. But that's your problem to overcome, not ours.

In about 5 years if everything that is planned is built and we can get to a couple sweet 16s and get to a couple bowls and contend for the C-USA crown, and average about 6-7K in basketball and about 30-35K in football, have a successful baseball and women's basketball we will be in a position to even be considered for a move up. Until then we need to roll up our sleeves and get to work supporting our program, increasing donations, stop fighting among ourselves, pull together and increase attendance, and give our coaches and AD the support they need to make it all happen. We need to quit worrying about everyone else and tend to our own house!

ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:In about 5 years if everything that is planned is built and we can get to a couple sweet 16s and get to a couple bowls and contend for the C-USA crown, and average about 6-7K in basketball and about 30-35K in football, have a successful baseball and women's basketball we will be in a position to even be considered for a move up. Until then we need to roll up our sleeves and get to work supporting our program, increasing donations, stop fighting among ourselves, pull together and increase attendance, and give our coaches and AD the support they need to make it all happen. We need to quit worrying about everyone else and tend to our own house!

Well said and I agree. UAB folks need to really crank it up in terms of support and contributions. I know I'm mostly preaching to the choir, but we all need to do whatever we can, financially and otherwise, to help UAB grow and be in a position if and when the next conference realignment takes place.

I would love to see us, Memphis, and Southern Miss in the Big East, especially for basketball.

ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:In about 5 years if everything that is planned is built and we can get to a couple sweet 16s and get to a couple bowls and contend for the C-USA crown, and average about 6-7K in basketball and about 30-35K in football, have a successful baseball and women's basketball we will be in a position to even be considered for a move up. Until then we need to roll up our sleeves and get to work supporting our program, increasing donations, stop fighting among ourselves, pull together and increase attendance, and give our coaches and AD the support they need to make it all happen. We need to quit worrying about everyone else and tend to our own house!

That is in large part what I was talking about. We need to field winning teams, let the winning lead to ticket sales and butts in seats. We need to get the facilities upgrades done everywhere we can. In every way possible we need to improve our athletic programs.

If we do that, then we become far more attractive to an expansion minded conference. If we stagnate where we are and don't get behind the program, we get left behind.

I've said it many times - buy tickets, talk up the games and the conference, bring friends and family, donate money and time. Do everything you can to help make things better. If enough of us do that then we can make a difference. If we sit and whine and play "what if" on a message board instead we go nowhere.

IMO - if anything would happen it would be a dissolution/combining of CUSA & Sun Belt teams with some of the West teams moving to the western conferences & some of the East like EC & CF going to the Big East with the rest combining in a new conference similar to what happened last time. UAB at this juncture doesn't bring anything to the table for any conference that would want members (yes I hate that as well but it's the plain truth). I would like to see UAB in the Big East myself as geographically & travel for other members it would be a better fit than any others but don't think it would ever happen for us to be in any BCS conference. In this pond there are 2 big fish that don't like anyone else feeding in their pond so they won't go for any other BCS level schools here. I like being the underdogs myself, better story when you overcome the obsticles put in front of you!

Until then, go enjoy the BCS match ups.

I already plan on traveling to Knoxville for the UT game. UAB has had SEVERAL close calls against BCS teams... FSU, UT, Georgia.... all like 7 point losses. SO CLOSE.

A win over Tennessee to start the season will be a start..... all UAB needs to do is WIN.

Don't forget that horrible call in the Oklahoma game that blew the game.

Typical BCS dirty officiating.

Just to clarify something... I was just asking. I personally think that UAB is ok in the conference they're in. I know the topic was brought up before by someone and I just never saw any feed back on it.

I thought it sucked when Cin, Depaul, Louisville, and USF left. But they did what they had to do for there program. And to be honest I don't remember USF being that great (in my opinion) while they were here. I hate it when I hear people talking about how USF is as young as UAB's program, but look at how USF is in Florida. The athlete producing state. and it helped there program when they moved.

Personally I would love for Troy to be in the conference or for Jacksonville State to come back. But who am I kidding I just some goob "who won't get with a winner and keep supporting UAB" . As the guys at the station and my drill unit tell me LOL

The schools who left C-USA moved to a BCS conference and the big BCS dollars. Doing that was pretty much a no-brainer, and if such a raid happens again whoever gets the offer will do the same. They'd be nuts not to.

As to USF, they are in a similar position to UCF. It's a large campus with a high number of students, and those campuses are well funded by the state. Their management is not politicized by the BoT of a competing school, instead there is an overall statewide plan to grow and improve the universities.

Amazing the difference, huh?

W

UAB Band Dad Wrote:The schools who left C-USA moved to a BCS conference and the big BCS dollars. Doing that was pretty much a no-brainer, and if such a raid happens again whoever gets the offer will do the same. They'd be nuts not to.

As to USF, they are in a similar position to UCF. It's a large campus with a high number of students, and those campuses are well funded by the state. Their management is not politicized by the BoT of a competing school, instead there is an overall statewide plan to grow and improve the universities.

Amazing the difference, huh?

+ 5 We live in a state wth a very bad combination of politics for a higher education/university. The demos are dominated by a union that has much more interest in teacher salaries for HS & JC than actual education - So higher ed gets the crums. The repubs are dominated by group that protects the large land owners with exemptions that do not apply to most of us that result outside of a few metro areas in the nations lowest prperty (actually 49th) which is what funds ed in most states + the normal interest in stats not funding and the new religion of no new taxes.
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UAB has grown only based on our overhead from federal research

I know it will make heads explode all over the board, but a Dem president and congress would be good for UAB. The way the Repub's are cutting taxes, spending on the war, and making cuts elsewhere (like research dollars), well... I have a feeling a Democratic administration would be a lot better for the university.

<<I have a feeling a Democratic administration would be a lot better for the university>>

Yes, they've delivered so well to date on Iraq.

Crowds and "winning" are transient things. They matter little to conference expansion. When the Pac-10 goes to 12 it will not be Hawaii and Boise that get the invites (well, first off, Herman would refuse but that's another story). Not enough television sets. UNLV and BYU only have to be just good enough to sell it to the fans of the other 10 schools.

Mike Tranghese's calculus will involve how many of those Birmingham TV sets can be turned to watch West Virginia-Pitt instead of Kentucky-Tennessee, and how much wealth those TV sets represent. I fear that the answer is "not enough."

National politics will have little-to-nothing to do with the success of UAB. UAB controls it's own destiny, believe it or not, and even the BOT has difficulty telling people not to buy tickets and telling UAB to drop passes in the endzone or even telling alumni not to contribute money for facilities. Failure in greater Birmingham could be our biggest external foe, but even that can be weathered (we already ate southside, maybe in another 40 years we can Unite All of Birmingham :wink:).

I like our conference mates, East and West. Louisville, Cinci, and USF were good teams to have but we still have all the pieces we need to make C*USA a power conference, we just gotta exhibit some POWER. If C*USA performs better on the field and better on the court than the Big East, we're instantly better than the Big East sans the money (and the money will come if we win). The race isn't over.