(03-15-2012 09:42 AM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote: (03-15-2012 09:28 AM)TrojanCampaign Wrote: (03-14-2012 07:37 PM)HERD-it-wuz-DJ Wrote: Honestly, I think who ever from the SBC goes to the National Conference will benefit and grow tremendously.
LIE.
Your conference USA guys like to spin this statement so much. The truth of the matter is that playing in conference USA has not helped any of the teams who moved on it was just a door step conference.
SMU was very good in the past but was hit by harsh sanctions
Houston was very good in the past but was snubbed by politics
UCF was built in Orlando and that had nothing to do with conference USA
Memphis is Memphis and probably would have been making the tourney every year if they played in the SWAC.
Do you see the recurring fact here? The teams who are leaving were already established long before the Marshall's of the world joined. They were not "improved" by conference USA
I think that's wrong to say that C-USA didn't help those schools. Here's a question, how many programs that joined C-USA in the last expansion (Tulsa, Rice, Marshall, UCF, SMU, UTEP) are worse programs now than before they joined? The only one who you could say would be Marshall, and they had some probation and coaching issues. Tulsa, UCF, and SMU have grown leaps and bounds from where they were prior to joining, and Rice and UTEP have been better than they were historically. If 5 of the 6 are better for joining than they were previously C-USA must have done something right.
Just looking at CUSA alumni
Cincinnati. Never ranked in final poll until joined Big East. Three bowl appearances before five during, five after.
Louisville ranked three time before, twice as a member, twice since. Five bowl appearances before, 7 as a member, four since.
Army ranked 14 times before (most recent was 1996, entered in 1998). Four bowl appearances (84-96) before entering, zero as a member, one since.
TCU Nine bowl appearances before, two in the four years as a member, six after. 18 bowl appearances before (including the 3 seasons before joining), three apperances in CUSA, seven since.
UCF. One ranking came while in CUSA. Four bowl apperances all as a member. Note they posted four "bowl eligible" seasons as a member of the MAC or an independent including a 9-2 season where they stayed home prior to joining. In other words they had some success but no outlet.
Memphis. Only football ranking prior to CUSA one bowl appearance prior (note not that year they were ranked). No ranking in CUSA, five bowl appearances. We could look at basketball but they were clearly a very significant national program long before CUSA was thought up.
Houston. Ranked 15 times prior to CUSA (nine of those before joining SWC). Ranked once in CUSA. 12 bowl apperances before CUSA (5 of those before SWC), eight in CUSA.
SMU ranked 12 times prior to CUSA none since. 11 bowl apperances before CUSA, three since.
I would say the greater impact has been the NCAA decision to open up the number of bowl opportunities. In 1998 when UCF went 9-2 and stayed home there were only 44 slots in bowl games. In 1988 8-3 Louisville stayed home, there were only 34 slots for bowl teams that year. In 1970 independent Houston went 8-3 and stayed home. There were only 22 bowl slots that year.
Now there are 70 bowl slots.
Any of those schools likely would have done the same coming out of the old Big West, the MAC, WAC, or Sun Belt as they did coming out of CUSA because they won games and (except for SMU and of course Memphis football), they sold tickets and happened to be located in TV friendly markets.
CUSA didn't build them. They gave CUSA the cachet it has had. The Southern Conference didn't build Alabama and Auburn, they built themselves and outgrew the framework they were in.