The Sun Belt accommodated Georgia State in non-team sports this year.

With proper lead time they could accommodate all sports.

I have suggested in the past that the CAA policy is so onerous that any league taking JMU needs to follow a two-stage path.

For example if JMU is ready to pull the trigger, they should be announced as a new football only member in May 2014 and follow that with an all-sports announcement in early 2015 before schedules for the 15-16 season are assembled. Pay the money and leave immediately.

(10-27-2013 09:43 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(10-26-2013 10:16 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(10-26-2013 12:28 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(10-25-2013 10:42 PM)GE and MTS Wrote:  As for my school, I'd most certainly accept an invite to the Sun Belt immediately. The Sun Belt is a growing conference in a growing part of the nation where a lot of Liberty's alumni come from. There's a ton of potential there and it would be great to expand our boundaries and become peers with the institutions in the Sun Belt.

I'm not entirely sure why the SBC has been so cold toward Liberty because they have the facilities the SBC wants and gets them into Virginia. As long as Liberty obeys constitutional rights and isn't the subject of an NCAA boycott.

James Madison may end up like Montana accepting they'll be in the CAA until the perfect league situation happens.

WAIT!

In this thread you argue Arkansas State has reached its max level because of academics and then turn around and can't understand why a university that requires a statement from its professors and instructors affirming they believe in young earth creation and has student code standards that violate most university diversity statements cannot find a new conference home?

There's no particular reason to waste time responding to his ridiculous posts.

Thanks.......

(10-30-2013 05:30 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  The Sun Belt accommodated Georgia State in non-team sports this year.

With proper lead time they could accommodate all sports.

I have suggested in the past that the CAA policy is so onerous that any league taking JMU needs to follow a two-stage path.

For example if JMU is ready to pull the trigger, they should be announced as a new football only member in May 2014 and follow that with an all-sports announcement in early 2015 before schedules for the 15-16 season are assembled. Pay the money and leave immediately.

I agree. I think it's better to rip the band-aid off sooner rather than later. The only reason not to would be if you missed out on some sort of money payout which is what I think JMU would want to temporarily hang around for.

(10-27-2013 04:11 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(10-27-2013 02:56 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(10-27-2013 02:08 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  Ohio (Columbus)
Northern Illinois (Chicago Suburbs)

These schools are all closer to growing areas than what JMU is to DC.

FIFY. I said "rapidly growing". ... If all three of the Columbus Area, Cincinnati Area and Cleveland Area were "rapidly growing" areas, Ohio wouldn't have lost Congressional Districts in the last census.

Delaware County,OH (90 miles from Athens,OH)
1980 53,840
1990 66,929
2000 109,989
2010 174,214

Franklin County,OH (60 miles from Athens,OH)
1980 869,132
1990 961,437
2000 1,068,978
2010 1,163,114

Fairfield County,OH (35 miles from Athens,OH)
1980 93,678
1990 103,461
2000 122,759
2010 146,156

Central Ohio is clearly a growing region.

The Columbus area is the one that I left in when I fixed it for you, so you are focusing on the growth in Columbus area because it is not in dispute, to distract from the embarrassing fact that you claimed a much longer list of "rapidly growing areas", including Cleveland and Cincinnati.

The three biggest VA SMA's
DC SMA: (+3.98%) +224K
Norfolk VA SMA: (+1.38%) +23K
Richmond VA SMA: (+1.98%) +24K

Your Ohio examples, the three biggest OH SMA's:
Cincinnati SMA: (+0.66%) +14K
Cleveland SMA: (-0.66%) -14K
Columbus SMA: (+2.21%) +42K

Virginia is roughly similar to Ohio in quality as a football recruiting ground, its population is growing more rapidly (2.3% vs 1.6%), and Ohio is not just in the MAC footprint, but is already the dominant recruiting ground in the MAC footprint, so the ability of MAC schools to recruit in Ohio is the status quo, while gaining a foothold in Virginia would be new opportunities.

Now, the MAC is not an AD dominated conference, its a Presidents driven conference, so that is just one factor, and not likely to be the dominant one. But its not one to ignore when considering the appeal that JMU may have to various conferences.

(10-26-2013 08:17 AM)GE and MTS Wrote:  

(10-26-2013 12:28 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(10-25-2013 10:42 PM)GE and MTS Wrote:  As for my school, I'd most certainly accept an invite to the Sun Belt immediately. The Sun Belt is a growing conference in a growing part of the nation where a lot of Liberty's alumni come from. There's a ton of potential there and it would be great to expand our boundaries and become peers with the institutions in the Sun Belt.

I'm not entirely sure why the SBC has been so cold toward Liberty because they have the facilities the SBC wants and gets them into Virginia. As long as Liberty obeys constitutional rights and isn't the subject of an NCAA boycott.

James Madison may end up like Montana accepting they'll be in the CAA until the perfect league situation happens.

Liberty doesn't fit the mold of the rest of the Sun Belt and conference realignment has shown us that conferences want schools that fit into the conference. Either Liberty or the Sun Belt will have to change their approaches and I wouldn't bet on it being Liberty.

I have nothing against Liberty unlike some of our posters, but its going to be hard for the two sides to ever come together as long as there are attractive expansion options out there.

If Missouri State and JMU were not available for expansion, the situation between the Sun Belt and Liberty would be very different. As it is, all eleven teams in the league can claim to have a realistic expansion option they find more attractive then Liberty.

This is especially true right now since it appears the East schools have blocked an NMSU all sports invite, and the West Schools have been pushing hard for Missouri State in turn.

(10-31-2013 12:39 AM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(10-26-2013 08:17 AM)GE and MTS Wrote:  

(10-26-2013 12:28 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(10-25-2013 10:42 PM)GE and MTS Wrote:  As for my school, I'd most certainly accept an invite to the Sun Belt immediately. The Sun Belt is a growing conference in a growing part of the nation where a lot of Liberty's alumni come from. There's a ton of potential there and it would be great to expand our boundaries and become peers with the institutions in the Sun Belt.

I'm not entirely sure why the SBC has been so cold toward Liberty because they have the facilities the SBC wants and gets them into Virginia. As long as Liberty obeys constitutional rights and isn't the subject of an NCAA boycott.

James Madison may end up like Montana accepting they'll be in the CAA until the perfect league situation happens.

Liberty doesn't fit the mold of the rest of the Sun Belt and conference realignment has shown us that conferences want schools that fit into the conference. Either Liberty or the Sun Belt will have to change their approaches and I wouldn't bet on it being Liberty.

I have nothing against Liberty unlike some of our posters, but its going to be hard for the two sides to ever come together as long as there are attractive expansion options out there.

If Missouri State and JMU were not available for expansion, the situation between the Sun Belt and Liberty would be very different. As it is, all eleven teams in the league can claim to have a realistic expansion option they find more attractive then Liberty.

This is especially true right now since it appears the East schools have blocked an NMSU all sports invite, and the West Schools have been pushing hard for Missouri State in turn.

Oh I completely understand where the Sun Belt is coming from. I was stating my comment more as a fact rather than opinion in regards to Liberty's situation. I know at the present time they are third at best and a nearly automatic grab if the Sun Belt found themselves in a situation where they need a new member yesterday.

If either the Sun Belt (or any conference for that matter) or Liberty had to compromise in order to work together, I'd put my money on the conference compromising more so than Liberty because I don't see Liberty changing their core values just to get an invite to a conference. And I wouldn't expect the Sun Belt to compromise unless they were desperate because Liberty doesn't have the prestige or brand value worth compromising over. I think they have all the potential in the world but for one reason or another can't put it together in the sports that count and will always have that going against them until they breakthrough.