tulane!!!!!!!!!

El Paso to New Orleans 1082 miles
Greenville to New Orleans 958 miles

(11-21-2011 11:25 PM)randaddyminer Wrote:  ecu needs to let go of the travel issues, the conference isn't going to stop moving just because ecu has issues with traveling. You know Tulsa is in the west division, but they are closer to ecu than UTEP

This is not an ECU issue with travel...It is some ECU fans who have this issue. The problem is not travel costs and it is not even travel time for football. Really there is not a huge difference flying from ECU to UCF as it is to the mid-west, does not really cost any more money and the additional hour or two flying is not a big deal. The problem is for Olympic sports and basketball and this concern if from an academic standpoint not an economic issue really. It is about missed class time. This alliance deal does not really change anything at all from our current situation....So it is a non-issue for ECU when it comes to the Alliance with the MWC.

The alliance is for football only. It's business as usual for the olympic sports.

(11-21-2011 11:07 PM)NBPirate Wrote:  ECU's travel in this configuration is simply not going to cut it

ECU needs to go to Sunbelt or Mac to save on travel. You can enjoy your 250 to 500k per year tv deal, but at least you save on travel.

(11-21-2011 11:07 PM)NBPirate Wrote:  ECU's travel in this configuration is simply not going to cut it

Actually it wouldn't be that bad if UTEP goes west. After CUSA/MWC defections the 2 "far west CUSA" teams are Rice and Tulsa. Just play one at home and one away each year and it's really not too bad.

What will be interesting is who gets added as the 9th football school team on the CUSA side. I know our AD has a few schools close to us he'd like to move up but in all likelyhood we'll pick up LaTech.

Another thing....after UH & UCF leave CUSA there are 7 baseball schools left in conference. SMU & UTEP didn't have baseball. Seems like CUSA will almost have to add a couple of non-football members.

(11-22-2011 08:30 AM)goodknightfl Wrote:  

(11-21-2011 11:07 PM)NBPirate Wrote:  ECU's travel in this configuration is simply not going to cut it

ECU needs to go to Sunbelt or Mac to save on travel. You can enjoy your 250 to 500k per year tv deal, but at least you save on travel.

I just hope UCF enjoys those blizzard conditions when they travel to Boise and possibly BYU. I'm sure those Florida boys will be used to the cold windy weather.

You can solve the travel issues with non-FB members. That's where the travel is really a problem, not in FB. FB is just traveling once a week, and very little class time missed. ODU and Charlotte make perfect sense in the east for non-FB members, and could be given a path to eventually become all sports members when they were completely ready. Neither are there yet, but will eventually be there and with their markets would both make great long term all sports additions.

I seriously doubt that UTEP goes west. UTEP wants to play Rice and Tulsa moreso then playing UNLV and Fresno. UTEP recruits Texas and needs to play in Texas.

I'd put money on Utah State coming into the MWC instead.

The Alliance wont sit with 18 for that long, they will expand over time. CUSA will look at La Tech and North Texas. MWC will look at SJ State. But those schools will have to bring something to the table with them. Dont be surprised if each league (non football) looks to add non football schools. The MWC can add programs like Gonzaga and St Mary's. CUSA can look at Old Dominion and George Mason. These type of programs can strengthen the overall reputation of the conferences and Alliance. The BE isnt the only one that can do a strong hybrid.

The travel is actually much less of an issue now. Ridding the conference of UCF gets rid of an outlier and eliminating two Texas teams saves travel for ECU and Marshall. Nothing has been lost on the basketball side and baseball will probably look to add Dallas Baptist or as mentioned other non football schools. Football will maximize its revenue by redoing its TV contract across 5 time zones and securing more Bowl tie-ins. The conference schedule in football really doesnt change because you are playing the same teams you were.

(11-22-2011 09:11 AM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote:  You can solve the travel issues with non-FB members. That's where the travel is really a problem, not in FB. FB is just traveling once a week, and very little class time missed. ODU and Charlotte make perfect sense in the east for non-FB members, and could be given a path to eventually become all sports members when they were completely ready. Neither are there yet, but will eventually be there and with their markets would both make great long term all sports additions.

Agreed Bonds...CUSA will be very picky as to who gets added. The biggest thing is we dont need another UAB situation where there is no long term plan approved for football move-ups. I know UAB was already part of the conference, which is different then this scenario, but anyone added better have a great long range plan in place to get to about 35-40K in their stadium and have removed all obstacles.

(11-22-2011 09:07 AM)Brick City Pirate Wrote:  

(11-22-2011 08:30 AM)goodknightfl Wrote:  

(11-21-2011 11:07 PM)NBPirate Wrote:  ECU's travel in this configuration is simply not going to cut it

ECU needs to go to Sunbelt or Mac to save on travel. You can enjoy your 250 to 500k per year tv deal, but at least you save on travel.

I just hope UCF enjoys those blizzard conditions when they travel to Boise and possibly BYU. I'm sure those Florida boys will be used to the cold windy weather.

We all know that that situation is doomed to fail as the BE has failed over the last 20 years. The best coaches will leave, the best programs will leave. The BE is good for some theater though.

(11-22-2011 09:26 AM)HP-TBDPITL Wrote:  

(11-22-2011 09:11 AM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote:  You can solve the travel issues with non-FB members. That's where the travel is really a problem, not in FB. FB is just traveling once a week, and very little class time missed. ODU and Charlotte make perfect sense in the east for non-FB members, and could be given a path to eventually become all sports members when they were completely ready. Neither are there yet, but will eventually be there and with their markets would both make great long term all sports additions.

Agreed Bonds...CUSA will be very picky as to who gets added. The biggest thing is we dont need another UAB situation where there is no long term plan approved for football move-ups. I know UAB was already part of the conference, which is different then this scenario, but anyone added better have a great long range plan in place to get to about 35-40K in their stadium and have removed all obstacles.

Which is why you add them non-FB and give them the time needed to reach the marks needed to be a successful FBS football program. Stadium size and building a fanbase are the big issues. Give them each 5-10 years and they will probably be ready, and you get the added benefit of big markets, improved geography, and improved basketball in the short term.

Travel issues are not a problem for the teams, an extra couple of hundred miles on a plane is not a huge amount of time or expense. It is the distance for the fans that is the difficult thing. CUSA already has teams that do not travel with distance being one issue. UCF brought maybe 50 fans to Hattiesburg two weeks ago and SMU brought maybe 100 when they came to town and that was a game between two teams just on the cusp of the top 25.

Distance between schools in conferences makes it more difficult to promote rivalries and travel by fans. Look at the SEC, yes they are a power conference, but some teams travel with anywhere from 5-15 thousand to away games. The majority of schools are within a minimal driving distance and the geography has created rivals over the years. CUSA is spread out to far as it is, the Alliance is not going to be any better as far as travel and the Big East West will be just as bad if not worse.

The ones that will pay the price in expansion are the fans that truly want to attend away games and wont.

(11-22-2011 08:35 AM)NoQuarter08 Wrote:  

(11-21-2011 11:07 PM)NBPirate Wrote:  ECU's travel in this configuration is simply not going to cut it

Actually it wouldn't be that bad if UTEP goes west. After CUSA/MWC defections the 2 "far west CUSA" teams are Rice and Tulsa. Just play one at home and one away each year and it's really not too bad.

What will be interesting is who gets added as the 9th football school team on the CUSA side. I know our AD has a few schools close to us he'd like to move up but in all likelyhood we'll pick up LaTech.

Another thing....after UH & UCF leave CUSA there are 7 baseball schools left in conference. SMU & UTEP didn't have baseball. Seems like CUSA will almost have to add a couple of non-football members.

You getting on board with this idea NQ? This is not a bad option if it maximizes revenue, which is what everyone is chasing to keep up. The goal is to create a situation where programs can grow. UCF took full advantage of it even if they didnt accomplish what they thought they did. It appears that the private schools and UAB are trying to make an effort in college athletics and if they do it right, they have the capital to succeed. I see this as a great scenario for the MWC because they will get so much more exposure then they have been getting.

(11-22-2011 09:30 AM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote:  

(11-22-2011 09:26 AM)HP-TBDPITL Wrote:  

(11-22-2011 09:11 AM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote:  You can solve the travel issues with non-FB members. That's where the travel is really a problem, not in FB. FB is just traveling once a week, and very little class time missed. ODU and Charlotte make perfect sense in the east for non-FB members, and could be given a path to eventually become all sports members when they were completely ready. Neither are there yet, but will eventually be there and with their markets would both make great long term all sports additions.

Agreed Bonds...CUSA will be very picky as to who gets added. The biggest thing is we dont need another UAB situation where there is no long term plan approved for football move-ups. I know UAB was already part of the conference, which is different then this scenario, but anyone added better have a great long range plan in place to get to about 35-40K in their stadium and have removed all obstacles.

Which is why you add them non-FB and give them the time needed to reach the marks needed to be a successful FBS football program. Stadium size and building a fanbase are the big issues. Give them each 5-10 years and they will probably be ready, and you get the added benefit of big markets, improved geography, and improved basketball in the short term.

Absolutely...but using ODU for example. We need to see their long range plans and they need to get approval from the appropriate boards BEFORE even applying. They have proven to have a fan base, market, and bring other big assets to the table, but if the goal is play football, we dont need a Villanova type scenario. I'm willing to bet one of the Tidewater communities is willing to step up and help build an appropriate facility for the largest market without a pro team in the country.

(11-22-2011 09:31 AM)Eagleweiser Wrote:  Travel issues are not a problem for the teams, an extra couple of hundred miles on a plane is not a huge amount of time or expense. It is the distance for the fans that is the difficult thing. CUSA already has teams that do not travel with distance being one issue. UCF brought maybe 50 fans to Hattiesburg two weeks ago and SMU brought maybe 100 when they came to town and that was a game between two teams just on the cusp of the top 25.

Distance between schools in conferences makes it more difficult to promote rivalries and travel by fans. Look at the SEC, yes they are a power conference, but some teams travel with anywhere from 5-15 thousand to away games. The majority of schools are within a minimal driving distance and the geography has created rivals over the years. CUSA is spread out to far as it is, the Alliance is not going to be any better as far as travel and the Big East West will be just as bad if not worse.

The ones that will pay the price in expansion are the fans that truly want to attend away games and wont.

That is a local issue the each program has to address. ECU is distributing 50K tickets to UAB or Tulane and they arent bringing any fans. You need to modify your facility to fit your fan base (cough, cough, Memphis). At ECU is doesnt matter who we play. Certainly some games are bigger then others, but Tulane has a SUPERdome problem, UAB has a Legion of problems, Memphis has been all about "give me Liberty and give me death". Build it smaller and nicer and expand on it...Tulsa has done that. Bet they have a nice crowd this week against Houston.

ECU does travel well as does Southern Miss. Even in our debacle last Thursday night against UAB we probably had as many fans as UAB in that hell hole in Birmingham. If we put 34K in the stands, all but a hundred or so are Southern Miss fans. SEC teams can have 50K at their games and can count on anywhere from 5-15K visiting fans. That is helped significantly by travel distance to games and familiarity over the years with teams and building rivals. Hard to get in a car and drive from Boise to New York easily, or from New Jersey to Houston. Not just picking on the east's plans for global conference patterns as much as the whole BCS AQ forcing conferences to lose their identity and they geography.

(11-21-2011 09:57 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  Interesting. Sounds like the plan is to increase TV revenue with a title game, split it fewer ways with fewer members, and hope that on a per-school basis that makes up for the reduction in TV revenue from losing marquee teams.

Good news for the WAC if true. They'll lose one member at most -- maybe none if UTEP moves over to the western division -- and can resume their rebuilding effort.

Its sounds increasingly that the real purpose of the merger was not to necessarily enhance the position of the MWC and CUSA as much as to preserve the TV deal with CBS College sports in the wake of massive defections.

How does the merger claim a presence in the very large eastern timezone with only Marshall and East Carolina? The other timezones look reasonably well saturated but the east is a major question, IMO.

I believe the merger would find value in going to 21-24 teams and bringing in 5-6 of the better MAC football schools to help stake that eastern timezone claim and eliminate the MAC as a major competitor.

I: NIU, Toledo, Marshall, Ohio, Buffalo, Temple, ECU
II: UAB, So Miss, Memphis, Tulane, La Tech, Tulsa, Rice
III: Hawaii, Fresno, Nevada, Wyoming, CSU, New Mexico, UTEP

Adding big states like Illinois, Ohio, Penn, New York makes a lot of sense in my opinion. CUSA can go to 12-14 in basketball to accomadate the MAC teams.

The MAC would be left with 8 schools, 9 in football. They would still survive technically but be left with only 1-2 bowls.

The merger would have a chance with so many solid schools involved to land for itself a couple of January Bowl games. Then of course lessor games like Hawaii, Mobile, Independence Bowl...ect. The merger has a chance of stealing the Charlotte bowl game away from the Big East, regaining the Liberty Bowl ect.

Have a 4 team playoff with a wildcard to determine the conference champion. The winner would have a chance to enter the bowl season 14-0 with 2 playoff victories.

I'm not understanding why Temple isn't getting more discussion. Temple ought to be at the top of our list, they are the only eastern program that brings a lot of upside.

I know many say Temple wouldn't jump, but again, there isn't a single program in the MAC on the level of ECU, Southern Miss and Tulsa.

(11-22-2011 01:03 PM)HowardD11 Wrote:  I'm not understanding why Temple isn't getting more discussion. Temple ought to be at the top of our list, they are the only eastern program that brings a lot of upside.

I know many say Temple wouldn't jump, but again, there isn't a single program in the MAC on the level of ECU, Southern Miss and Tulsa.

Maybe not in the stands but on field Temple, Toledo, NIU, Ohio have been pretty consistently on that tier. All were only 1-2 wins away from a top 25 appearances this season.

As long as Villanova is a member of The BEast, Temple faces an uphill struggle trying to join...