(09-24-2011 07:49 AM)Fanof49ASU Wrote:  We have absolutely nothing to gain by adding anyone at the moment.

Agree . . there is no reason to add a team just because they are there . . if they bring more revenue into the SBC than they will take from the SBC, give them a serious look . . otherwise, the SBC should stand pat at this time.

Go SBC !!

(09-24-2011 01:22 PM)ManzanoWolf Wrote:  

(09-24-2011 07:49 AM)Fanof49ASU Wrote:  We have absolutely nothing to gain by adding anyone at the moment.

Agree . . there is no reason to add a team just because they are there . . if they bring more revenue into the SBC than they will take from the SBC, give them a serious look . . otherwise, the SBC should stand pat at this time.

Go SBC !!

I'm for them. Go App State.

(09-23-2011 09:27 PM)CardinalBlackTrojan Wrote:  Appalachian State to the Sun Belt anyone???

YES!

(09-23-2011 09:25 PM)Paul of Troy Wrote:  I really hope it isn't here. Hell, the biggest reason anyone on this board even likes them is because of that Michigan game.

I want them here because they are 2 hours from me, that is once every other year I can see my Owls... at least while they are in the belt!

But no other FCS team by any means!

I was thinking about adding App State and the more I look at it, the more I don't think it would be smart if we have a plan to add La Tech, because of the east west split would be offset. If La Tech and say App State were added, then one of either the WKU/MT or Troy/USA rivalries would have to be split up into 2 different divisions, and that just makes no sense. If La Tech and say TSU were added, then the west would be a solid compact 6 team league, and the east would be a solid division with travel partners for all 6 teams. I'm really thinking that we should add one of the Texas Schools.

For a visual reference, heres the current conference...


This is what it'd look like if we added La Tech and Texas State (the Texas Schools are interchangeable, I went with TSU just because)...


As you can tell, that is a clear east of the mississippi and west of the mississippi divisions.

Heres what itd look like if we add App State instead of one of the Texas Schools.



Again, like I said, where do you put the line between divisions? If we add anyone it will be La Tech, after that, the question would be which would/should be the second team.

(09-24-2011 04:23 PM)Tuffguy21 Wrote:  I was thinking about adding App State and the more I look at it, the more I don't think it would be smart if we have a plan to add La Tech, because of the east west split would be offset. If La Tech and say App State were added, then one of either the WKU/MT or Troy/USA rivalries would have to be split up into 2 different divisions, and that just makes no sense. If La Tech and say TSU were added, then the west would be a solid compact 6 team league, and the east would be a solid division with travel partners for all 6 teams. I'm really thinking that we should add one of the Texas Schools.

For a visual reference, heres the current conference...


This is what it'd look like if we added La Tech and Texas State (the Texas Schools are interchangeable, I went with TSU just because)...


As you can tell, that is a clear east of the mississippi and west of the mississippi divisions.

Heres what itd look like if we add App State instead of one of the Texas Schools.



Again, like I said, where do you put the line between divisions? If we add anyone it will be La Tech, after that, the question would be which would/should be the second team.

I agree, we need a South Texas team in the conference. You are also right about the SBC West being East of the Miss. River. No to App. State, they don't bring much. FCS and FBS are two different ball games, at least you have a TV market with either Texas school.

Troy and South have no football rivalry going on. our rivals are MTSU and UAB.

(09-24-2011 09:17 PM)Burn the Horse Wrote:  Troy and South have no football rivalry going on. our rivals are MTSU and UAB.

yes, your right, but do you really think that it makes sense to put 2 teams that are like 3 hours apart in separate divisions? It just doesn't make sense, rivalry or not.

yes I do. Troy is in east Alabama, Mobile is in the far west of the state. also, if both win their division you can set up a very exciting in-state title match-up.

(09-24-2011 09:28 PM)Burn the Horse Wrote:  yes I do. Troy is in east Alabama, Mobile is in the far west of the state. also, if both win their division you can set up a very exciting in-state title match-up.

I realize that South is yet to play football in the SBC and we will take some lumps when we do, but I think we should play Troy every year. If the SBC gets to 12 I would like to be in the same division. It will be best for the conference IMO.

I like the idea of adding UTSA and LA Tech.

1. LA Tech is not a bad football team and makes sense for the Sun Belt. And it is a Tier 1 school.

2. UTSA has a big market and Larry Coker (although he may be a former cheater, he is well know)

Texas State just doesn't do it for me.

App State: Yeah at first glance they seem appealing, but its really not worth it.

App

PROS
-Average around 25,000 on a pretty consistent basis. (outdrew Washington State, Colorado State, Tulane and SMU last year among others). You don't lightly turn down schools that average more than the conference average.
-Have won 10 or more games the last six years. 17 consecutive seasons above .500 and need only go 3-4 the rest of this season to make it 18 consecutive.

CONS
-Terrible geography.

"App St may be a little down this year. They play Chattanooga who has former Tennessee QB BJ Coleman and a lot of people are picking an upset. Ga Southern will be heading there in October in what is sure to be an epic battle in front of 32k+."

GSU Eagles, I know you are "trying" to somehow put us down, but the Sun Belt board doesn't care.
Appalachian beat Chattanooga yesterday in that game you mentioned. You have won a bunch of championships. Of course none this century. For the last six years App State was won or shared the SoCon championship. The last six years you averaged what 5 wins a year, and we averaged about 11. That 3-4 new defense we are using seems to be coming along fine, and we look forward to showing it to you. By the way, with our new addition, we can probably pack 34,000 into our stadium this year.

(09-24-2011 09:28 PM)Burn the Horse Wrote:  yes I do. Troy is in east Alabama, Mobile is in the far west of the state. also, if both win their division you can set up a very exciting in-state title match-up.

That's a headscratcher, but even if we were split up, I'd bet we'd still regularly play each other in the dedicated "rivalry games." Hell, I think I'd rather be in the new west.

(09-25-2011 07:56 AM)GoApps70 Wrote:  "App St may be a little down this year. They play Chattanooga who has former Tennessee QB BJ Coleman and a lot of people are picking an upset. Ga Southern will be heading there in October in what is sure to be an epic battle in front of 32k+."

GSU Eagles, I know you are "trying" to somehow put us down, but the Sun Belt board doesn't care.
Appalachian beat Chattanooga yesterday in that game you mentioned. You have won a bunch of championships. Of course none this century. For the last six years App State was won or shared the SoCon championship. The last six years you averaged what 5 wins a year, and we averaged about 11. That 3-4 new defense we are using seems to be coming along fine, and we look forward to showing it to you. By the way, with our new addition, we can probably pack 34,000 into our stadium this year.

Now let's see how you do at Wofford this week. Wofford is looking strong after taking Clemson down to the wire. We will learn alot seeing how App does against the option with the new defense. If GSU and App are undefeated for our game in Oct, it could be a #1 vs#2 showdown. Let's hope we can both win out.

(09-24-2011 07:16 AM)Hilltopper2K Wrote:  APP State Pros:

• Excellent FCS football program. If any FCS football program has a chance to increase the prestige of the Sunbelt then it is Appalachian State.
• ?
  

APP State Cons:

• No compelling reason to further divide revenues, bowl appearences, NCAA bids, etc.
• Bad geography that will make travel to and from Boone difficult for even the closest Sunbelt members and will make travel expensive for non revenue sports.
• Poor market size.
• ASU is not known for thier basketball or baseball and would probably not help in those sports.
• There is NO guarantee that good FCS will translate to good FBS.
  

I have a tremendous amount of respect for Appalachian State but the cons really do outweigh the pros.

--Geographically, Boone, N.C. is in the western part of the state. I don't think it's that ridiculous of a travel destination, although I wonder how the mountains play into that.

--Their market is pretty close to Charlotte and Knoxville. Not terrible.

--From a basketball perspective, ASU is actually a decent program out of the SoCon. The coach right now is Jason Capel, former UNC player and Jeff's brother. They're supposed to have a pretty good team this year, and he's got the name power to keep them competitive. They've won several division titles in the last decade, had a 25-win season in 06-07 and really could help the Sun Belt IMO.

--And as far as football goes, they're a name-brand now. I hate to exaggerate that one win over Michigan, but it really put them on the map. It was incredible, and everybody knows them now. Nike had a commercial centered around that win. If you move App State up the Sun Belt and give them a shot to compete at this level, I bet you recruiting would take off. Given a few years, I would honestly think huge things could happen for that program.

Not sure if ASU would be my first choice. But I'm not scared at all of the possibility.