(03-18-2017 08:48 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  This 14 member behemoth just seems to be too big and unwieldily and sent delivering the kind of tv contract the old line up did. I think it's time to consider splitting the east and west apart and having each side pick up 3 additional members to create two 10 member leagues.

Possible additions
WEST: UL Lafayette, Arkansas St, Texas St (others include NMSU and S Alabama)
EAST: James Madison, Georgia St, Georgia Southern, App St, S Alabama

i don't think the current continuity rules would prohibit both sides from autobids.

What would be the point of splitting in 2 if they are just going to add teams to each side?
But to answer the question, I think C-USA would be better off in basketball if they split into 2 leagues.

Add those 3 along with UMass to hit 28. NMSU WAS already mentioned. Idaho is just too far out west geographically.

If C-USA grabbed the entire bottom of the G5, we might be able to control/limit the growth of FBS.

Northeast division - this one looks really strong.
Appy State
Charlotte
Old Dominion
Marshall
Western Kentucky
Middle Tennessee
UMass

Southeast division - this one needs to prove itself, except for Troy maybe. lol.
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
South Alabama
Troy

Southcentral division - older rivals here.
UAB
USM
Louisiana Tech
Texas-El Paso
North Texas
ULaLa
UA-LRock

Southwest division - work in progress.
ULaMo
Rice
Arkansas State
Texas-San Antonio
UT-Arl
Texas State
NMSU

Breaking apart into 4-team pods is explorable too.

(04-01-2017 02:14 PM)USM@FTL Wrote:  Breaking apart into 4-team pods is explorable too.

four pods, 16 teams is one good solution and setting the Texas schools free and decreasing is a good solution.

(04-01-2017 02:08 PM)USM@FTL Wrote:  Add those 3 along with UMass to hit 28. NMSU WAS already mentioned. Idaho is just too far out west geographically.

If C-USA grabbed the entire bottom of the G5, we might be able to control/limit the growth of FBS.

Northeast division - this one looks really strong.
Appy State
Charlotte
Old Dominion
Marshall
Western Kentucky
Middle Tennessee
UMass

Southeast division - this one needs to prove itself, except for Troy maybe. lol.
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
South Alabama
Troy

Southcentral division - older rivals here.
UAB
USM
Louisiana Tech
Texas-El Paso
North Texas
ULaLa
UA-LRock

Southwest division - work in progress.
ULaMo
Rice
Arkansas State
Texas-San Antonio
UT-Arl
Texas State
NMSU

Here I could do to balance this out.
Northeast:
VCU to make a 7 team pod.
Southeast:
North Florida or Florida Gulf Coast
South Central:
Lamar
Sam Houston State (Utep will be in the MWC long before New Mexico State be part of the same conference with them.)
Southwest:
West Texas A&M

I added two basketball schools on the east because you have two basketball schools on the west. For football, you have 6/6/5/5.
Adding 2 basketball schools on the east and adding two football schools on the west would even things out. 7/7/7/7 basketball, 6/6/6/6 football.

(03-31-2017 06:39 PM)USM@FTL Wrote:  Can't split. Must merge. Power in numbers. With so many members, you can create acceptable divisions politically. La Tech need never play ULaMo while participating in the same conference. A big conference makes it doable.

Appy State
Charlotte
Old Dominion
Marshall
Western Kentucky
Middle Tennessee

Georgia Southern
Georgia State
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
South Alabama
Troy

UAB
USM
Louisiana Tech
Texas-El Paso
North Texas
ULaLa

ULaMo
Rice
Arkansas State
Texas-San Antonio
Texas State
NMSU

This separates La Tech and ULaMo, also UTEP and NMSU. Reduces travel costs. Yes, I'm ignoring Coastal Carolina. Those divisions are for football only. You could reconfigure for every other sport. Would generate some excitement I think.

If your willing to go that far, you don't need to do a full merger. You just take MOST of the Sunbelt and leave what doesn't really help. LaMo for instance might not make the cut--and it eliminates the need to add NMSU (which needlessly expands footprint). UTEP can head west to the MW (which makes more sense). Then one out of the east doesn't make it---probably Georgia St. Then I'd reconstitute the divisions a bit to make them tighter---and you're done.

(04-01-2017 03:09 PM)Rabonchild Wrote:  

(04-01-2017 02:14 PM)USM@FTL Wrote:  Breaking apart into 4-team pods is explorable too.

four pods, 16 teams is one good solution and setting the Texas schools free and decreasing is a good solution.

14 is worse than 12, so going to 16 is better?

4 team pods is a way to try to make 16 workable, but "don't expand to 16" is a better solution by far.

16 isn't big enough. You can't kick anybody out, so you can only expand. 18 could give you 3 divisions of 6. You would need approval for a semifinal round. Killing the Sunbelt might not be necessary. For instance:

Appy State
Marshall
Western Kentucky
Middle Tennessee
Charlotte
Old Dominion

Florida Atlantic
Florida International
UAB
Troy
USM
Louisiana Tech

ULaLa
Texas-El Paso
North Texas
Rice
Texas-San Antonio
Arkansas State

You spread out the newbies and lessen travel costs. Those 4 additions have older fan bases as well. 2 extra games of revenue helps the bottom lines. Having another division of 6, from who knows where, is feasible. 4 divisions of 9 would probably be the bursting point. 3 division winners and a wildcard make for a strong overall champion, in both perception and competition.

(04-02-2017 12:04 PM)USM@FTL Wrote:  16 isn't big enough. You can't kick anybody out, so you can only expand. 18 could give you 3 divisions of 6. You would need approval for a semifinal round. Killing the Sunbelt might not be necessary. For instance:

Appy State
Marshall
Western Kentucky
Middle Tennessee
Charlotte
Old Dominion

Florida Atlantic
Florida International
UAB
Troy
USM
Louisiana Tech

ULaLa
Texas-El Paso
North Texas
Rice
Texas-San Antonio
Arkansas State

You spread out the newbies and lessen travel costs. Those 4 additions have older fan bases as well. 2 extra games of revenue helps the bottom lines. Having another division of 6, from who knows where, is feasible. 4 divisions of 9 would probably be the bursting point. 3 division winners and a wildcard make for a strong overall champion, in both perception and competition.

LOL..18 teams with one NCAA bid and basically no CFP money...No more TV money too. So it would cost the existing teams 500,000 or more each per year and the four teams would have to pay 1 million bucks on top of that? So they can make less money, have no more TV exposure, and play in bowl games in Hawai'i or Nassau?

Why would any Belt team, save perhaps Texas State...take that 'deal'. We don't have a problem that needs solving.

You guys can't expand your way out this anymore. You aren't killing the Belt. I don't think you're even raiding us anymore.

I actually think C-USA should wait out the Big 12 - once it suffers defections st the end of its GOR, the American will get hit, and then C-USA. As long as the Big 12 doesn't fall below 4 schools, then it will rebuild.

Ideally for C-USA, the American loses Cincinnati, UConn, and Temple to the Big 12 along with 1-3 others, then the American reloads through C-USA East or the Texas schools and shrinks C-USA's footprint.

So be reactive instead of proactive. Bend over and take it.

Be strong enough that when the AAC is hit by the Big12, you're in a position of strength.

(04-02-2017 04:36 PM)chargeradio Wrote:  I actually think C-USA should wait out the Big 12 - once it suffers defections st the end of its GOR, the American will get hit, and then C-USA. As long as the Big 12 doesn't fall below 4 schools, then it will rebuild.

Ideally for C-USA, the American loses Cincinnati, UConn, and Temple to the Big 12 along with 1-3 others, then the American reloads through C-USA East or the Texas schools and shrinks C-USA's footprint.

Just take the schools with the bigger basketball budgets and make an 8 team league.

99) University of Alabama at Birmingham 4,189,826
106) The University of Texas at El Paso 3,623,777
107) Old Dominion University 3,583,117
111) Rice University 3,427,660
117) University of North Carolina at Charlotte 3,280,507
138) Western Kentucky University 2,759,058
141) Middle Tennessee State University 2,726,526
145) Florida Atlantic University 2,598,852

(04-02-2017 09:22 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

(04-02-2017 04:36 PM)chargeradio Wrote:  I actually think C-USA should wait out the Big 12 - once it suffers defections st the end of its GOR, the American will get hit, and then C-USA. As long as the Big 12 doesn't fall below 4 schools, then it will rebuild.

Ideally for C-USA, the American loses Cincinnati, UConn, and Temple to the Big 12 along with 1-3 others, then the American reloads through C-USA East or the Texas schools and shrinks C-USA's footprint.

Just take the schools with the bigger basketball budgets and make an 8 team league.

99) University of Alabama at Birmingham 4,189,826
106) The University of Texas at El Paso 3,623,777
107) Old Dominion University 3,583,117
111) Rice University 3,427,660
117) University of North Carolina at Charlotte 3,280,507
138) Western Kentucky University 2,759,058
141) Middle Tennessee State University 2,726,526
145) Florida Atlantic University 2,598,852

Making a couple of adjustments here for geography sake...

99) University of Alabama at Birmingham 4,189,826
101) University of Massachusetts-Amherst 4,064,482
107) Old Dominion University 3,583,117
110) James Madison University 3,483,621
117) University of North Carolina at Charlotte 3,280,507
138) Western Kentucky University 2,759,058
141) Middle Tennessee State University 2,726,526
145) Florida Atlantic University 2,598,852

From the budget angle it looks like a 2 bid basketball conference.

(04-02-2017 08:58 PM)USM@FTL Wrote:  So be reactive instead of proactive. Bend over and take it.

Be strong enough that when the AAC is hit by the Big12, you're in a position of strength.

If there was a move that CUSA could make which would strengthen it, then it could make that move with or without the threat of conference realignment if the Big12 is hit and hits the AAC in turn.

It's one thing to chant "Be, Pro-Active, Be, Be, Pro-Active", it's another thing to identify an action that they could take which would strengthen them.

Who is Appy State?

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(04-07-2017 07:33 PM)AppManDG Wrote:  Who is Appy State?

Sent from my XT1254 using CSNbbs mobile app

App State from someone with a keyboard malfunction? Just a guess.

Don't worry. Be Appy.

yes.

Marshall, WKU, MTSU, UAB, ODU, UNCC, FAU and FIU

Need to join - GA State, GSU, CCU and App State

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(04-02-2017 04:36 PM)chargeradio Wrote:  I actually think C-USA should wait out the Big 12 - once it suffers defections st the end of its GOR, the American will get hit, and then C-USA. As long as the Big 12 doesn't fall below 4 schools, then it will rebuild.

Ideally for C-USA, the American loses Cincinnati, UConn, and Temple to the Big 12 along with 1-3 others, then the American reloads through C-USA East or the Texas schools and shrinks C-USA's footprint.

If that happens, that will signal the end of an era/beginning of a new era. You'll essentially have the 5/14 or 16. The new Big 12 won't be a power league - it will occupy the spot the AAC does now, but probably for a generation. TV money would have dried up for non-P5. AAC and C-USA will have lost their raison d'etre.
There won't be the standard backfilling that has happened in the past. This time, it will be based on other factors; some will hook up based on pure geography...
You might see an academic football league and other football-only leagues pop up. Probably see some new non-football leagues or reinvention of some existing non-football leagues.

On another note, one think I think the sunbelt should do is rebrand and do a name change. Its numbers are better than its reputation and its numbers are heading up.

(04-07-2017 11:52 PM)DrBox Wrote:  You might see an academic football league and other football-only leagues pop up. Probably see some new non-football leagues or reinvention of some existing non-football leagues.

Note that at present only an FCS Division 1 conference can be football-only ... an FBS conference has to be a multi-sports conference. Given the ease with which the P5 can support the requirements of being a multi-sports conference, it's not clear where the driving force to change that rule would come from.

Quote: On another note, one think I think the sunbelt should do is rebrand and do a name change. Its numbers are better than its reputation and its numbers are heading up.

Would a name change change it's reputation?