(05-08-2017 12:42 PM)brock20 Wrote: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sport...ok/426797/
The OVC part of this is just a smoke screen. UTC is trying to move up and I have a feeling ETSU is trying to do the same.
I disagree entirely. Sun Belt TV revenues aren't substantial enough to warrant the move ($100,000 per school per year as things stand) and would stretch the pie thinner if the league added more schools. That doesn't subsidize the substantial budget increase required to go FBS, and if you get lucky and hit a bowl payout, you might get as little as another $100,000 depending on where you finish in the Sun Belt. That's after several years of being a doormat for App State, GASO and probably USA and ULL. If TV revenues dry up (and if C-USA's 82% revenue drop on their latest deal is any indication, it very well could), demand for bowl games will shrink, and the Sun Belt will lose any incentive for schools like us and UTC to view it as a step up.
We'd be consistently competitive in basketball, sure, but a move to FBS in the current climate where G5 teams are starting to feel the squeeze from TV companies that have given them the edge over high-end FCS programs comes with enormous risk. Salaries have to rise considerably on the football staff to meet market rates, and there are no guarantees those expenses will be offset. I'd much rather play it safe, see what happens over the next five years or so with the P5/G5 dynamic to see if it's sustainable or the P5 breaks away, build a competitive FCS program, and reevaluate.
As for Chattanooga, they should start by not scheduling so many gimmes. Shorter and Presbyterian were their non-conference home games this year. You're a top 10 program and that's seriously the best you can do? Your fans aren't stupid. Get Jacksonville State or Central Arkansas on a home-and-home and promote those matchups. Playing non-DI schools and teams you can easily overpower won't draw fans, but a big game under the lights at Finley Stadium against another ranked opponent will.
Small private schools and all, I'm pretty happy with the SoCon right now. It offers good football and competitive basketball in an environment where we have a reasonable chance at winning championships or making the FCS playoffs on a consistent basis. The iron isn't hot right now for realignment in this part of the country (nobody is looking to add), so I'd say let's see how we grow before we start thinking about another move.
Also, pass on the OVC. The conference is not a competitive upgrade at all and contains the worst football team (APSU) and one of the worst overall athletic departments (SIUE) in Division I, plus our travel situation would get worse with trips to Illinois and Missouri. No thanks.