http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sport...ok/426797/
thoughts?

I've always considered UTC an attractive potential Sun Belt addition, but their administration hasn't been interested in moving up. Maybe the financial challenges of playing at the FCS level will ultimately change their mind.

They had a possible sunbelt opportunity and said no. If they move ETSU and UTC will finally join their TN brethren in the OVC

If Murray State flies the coop, this may be UTC''s last and best chance to join the OVC.

If Jacksonville St leaves, the OVC would be much less attractive for attendance. TN St doesn't seem to travel except for HBCU games and TN Tech doesn't either. ETSU could when it gets its fan base aligned with its new stadium. The CAA might just be interested in a Chat / Kennesaw St duo to help in a possible FBS transition.

UTC I think may have waited too long. They should have been prepping and trying for the SBC 5 yrs ago. Always thought JMU, Coastal and UCT would have been great addition. Who knows maybe SBC expands but they seem content at 10.

Desperation. The numbers don't work in FCS for them, so they want to be another school where the numbers don't work in G5.

The declining attendance could signal the immunity the South has had to this national trend may be ending. Program below the Power level will continue to be especially hard hit. Graduates from schools in smaller cities tend to move away to larger urban areas, which further erode the fan base, as schools find the "townee" fan vanishing -- when you have SEC games on TV. Why attend a FCS or even G5 game in town if you don't have a personal connection to the school?

It's the South, so who knows they may throw lots of good money after bad chasing FBS. Desperation.

The article misses one big point about the Sun Belt—namely, does the Sun Belt have even the remotest interest in expanding? I suppose the door opens if they lose schools whenever the next expansion round takes place, but if I'm at UTC, I'm not holding my breath.

Sounds like a marketing issue more than anything else. UTC is a pretty respectable program, and it shouldn't be *that* hard to sell a winning team to the city it calls home. Yeah, the whole nine SEC schools in a five-hour drive is an issue, but they dealt with it before when they had better crowds and they'll deal with it going forward, no matter what conference they land in. Maybe they can work with Chattanooga FC's people; they seem to draw *very* well for a fourth-division soccer club.

The school seems stuck chasing the short money. SoCon fell off a long way and ETSU and VMI were not good replacements for what left. You weren't ever going to convince the private schools to loosen up on Coastal, and Liberty was a non-starter. Ironic that the two schools who could have kept SoCon a major FCS player the conference wouldn't touch, but some of those who wanted no part of Coastal back in the day are fine with them now in Sun Belt. Good for all of them, too bad for SoCon.

OVC just adds friendlier travel.

CAA?

Missouri State and Chattanooga to the Sun Belt Conference to make 12? I know SBC wanted both schools.

The hubris in this article is astounding. The only reason for their rise in football is the two 800lb gorillas left the Socon.

And the idea that Furman and Wofford aren't good enough for them? Both have accomplished a hell of a lot more in 1-AA/FCS football than the Mocs.

And they share the blame for their current situation because they went along with Samford instead of Jax State and the spurning of Coastal each and every time. Hard to feel sorry for someone having a wet bed when they were the one peeing in it.

Chattanooga, Furman and East Tennessee State was 1-A/FBS independents back in the early 1980s. SBC have been waiting for both Missouri State and Chattanooga. Both of them already had the stadium size for FBS that was ready before Coastal Carolina was.

(05-07-2017 10:41 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  The hubris in this article is astounding. The only reason for their rise in football is the two 800lb gorillas left the Socon.

And the idea that Furman and Wofford aren't good enough for them? Both have accomplished a hell of a lot more in 1-AA/FCS football than the Mocs.

And they share the blame for their current situation because they went along with Samford instead of Jax State and the spurning of Coastal each and every time. Hard to feel sorry for someone having a wet bed when they were the one peeing in it.

Yes this!!!!!!!

It's almost like putting Shorter and Presbyterian on your home schedule instead of competitive FCS schools had a negative impact on attendance. Who would have guessed?

The Sun Belt would have to lose membership to consider UTC, but even then, I suspect Jacksonville State or Eastern Kentucky (they were a finalist last time through for some reason) would likely be their first choice. If I'm UTC, I'd just ride it out in the SoCon and schedule more noteworthy teams for your non-conference home games rather than aspire to being a doormat in FBS, which would do even more harm to attendance.

(05-07-2017 09:57 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  Missouri State and Chattanooga to the Sun Belt Conference to make 12? I know SBC wanted both schools.

We were very interested, but they both seem to be having difficulties now and we currently have the ideal number of schools under the current system.

(05-07-2017 10:41 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  The hubris in this article is astounding. The only reason for their rise in football is the two 800lb gorillas left the Socon.

And the idea that Furman and Wofford aren't good enough for them? Both have accomplished a hell of a lot more in 1-AA/FCS football than the Mocs.

And they share the blame for their current situation because they went along with Samford instead of Jax State and the spurning of Coastal each and every time. Hard to feel sorry for someone having a wet bed when they were the one peeing in it.

It may not be hubris. They just don't seem to have an instinct for direction. They got a golden ticket from Sun Belt once but turned it down. Did they think something magical was going to happen in SoCon after two of the major programs left it? That ETSU would be enough to keep things good for them? Really?

For what they are...why wouldn't they reach out to MAC? Let this be the opportunity to nab the Mocs and Madison?

UTC approached the Sun Belt in 2003-04 and was rejected because they didn't want to move to FBS. Sun Belt called them before the latest rounds to see if they had any interest in FBS and the answer was no.

UTC is going to have to find interest in playing FBS football before they should be mentioned in the same breath as the Sun Belt.

At this point, I think expansion is a hard sell to the Sun Belt. the 10/12 alignment seems to suit everyone and there appears to be no compelling financial benefit to expansion.