I'd some more realignment to help smooth out the geography.

B1G (Kansas, UConn)-Regional rivals for Nebraska, Rutgers
B12 (Houston, Memphis, Cincinnati)-Go metro, build toward WVU
AAC (St. Louis, Dayton, USM, ODU)-Take in A10/CUSA outliers
CUSA (NMSU, Texas St)-Add west...UAB to the east
SBC (Liberty)-Troy to the west in FB

This would go a long way to smoothing out geographical issues in these conferences.

(01-17-2018 10:41 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  I'd some more realignment to help smooth out the geography.

B1G (Kansas, UConn)-Regional rivals for Nebraska, Rutgers
B12 (Houston, Memphis, Cincinnati)-Go metro, build toward WVU
AAC (St. Louis, Dayton, USM, ODU)-Take in A10/CUSA outliers
CUSA (NMSU, Texas St)-Add west...UAB to the east
SBC (Liberty)-Troy to the west in FB

This would go a long way to smoothing out geographical issues in these conferences.

USM is an outlier? They're smack dab in the middle of CUSA.

Cool, just need ESPN to come up with an extra $150 million a year or so. I'm sure they'll be all about that.

(01-17-2018 10:41 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  I'd some more realignment to help smooth out the geography.

B1G (Kansas, UConn)-Regional rivals for Nebraska, Rutgers
B12 (Houston, Memphis, Cincinnati)-Go metro, build toward WVU
AAC (St. Louis, Dayton, USM, ODU)-Take in A10/CUSA outliers
CUSA (NMSU, Texas St)-Add west...UAB to the east
SBC (Liberty)-Troy to the west in FB

This would go a long way to smoothing out geographical issues in these conferences.

I don't think you'll see UConn in the B1G anytime soon, unless their football program becomes a perennial top 25 or at least bowl eligible.

Conferences like the B1G and SEC aren't going to expand unless the candidate(s) can add value ($$$) to the conference above and beyond what they're currently getting.

One has to ask, what does each school currently make per year and would adding someone like UConn ADD to that number.

(01-17-2018 10:48 AM)loki_the_bubba Wrote:  

(01-17-2018 10:41 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  I'd some more realignment to help smooth out the geography.

B1G (Kansas, UConn)-Regional rivals for Nebraska, Rutgers
B12 (Houston, Memphis, Cincinnati)-Go metro, build toward WVU
AAC (St. Louis, Dayton, USM, ODU)-Take in A10/CUSA outliers
CUSA (NMSU, Texas St)-Add west...UAB to the east
SBC (Liberty)-Troy to the west in FB

This would go a long way to smoothing out geographical issues in these conferences.

USM is an outlier? They're smack dab in the middle of CUSA.

USM and UAB are outliers in their division but the center of CUSA is between the two in Mississippi near the Alabama border.

(01-17-2018 10:41 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  I'd some more realignment to help smooth out the geography.

B1G (Kansas, UConn)-Regional rivals for Nebraska, Rutgers
B12 (Houston, Memphis, Cincinnati)-Go metro, build toward WVU
AAC (St. Louis, Dayton, USM, ODU)-Take in A10/CUSA outliers
CUSA (NMSU, Texas St)-Add west...UAB to the east
SBC (Liberty)-Troy to the west in FB

This would go a long way to smoothing out geographical issues in these conferences.

Liberty is outside the Sun Belt's current footprint, so you'd be making their geography worse. Also, you're giving them an odd number of teams, which complicates travel and scheduling.

He moved Texas St. from the Sun Belt to CUSA. Lynchburg makes sense with the Sun Belt schools in the Carolinas and Georgia, no? Contiguous state expansion.

WEST: Arkansas St., Louisiana, LA-Monroe, Troy, South Alabama
EAST: Liberty, Appalachian St., Coastal Carolina, Georgia St., Georgia Southern

(01-17-2018 12:23 PM)YNot Wrote:  He moved Texas St. from the Sun Belt to CUSA. Lynchburg makes sense with the Sun Belt schools in the Carolinas and Georgia, no?

WEST: Arkansas St., Louisiana, LA-Monroe, Troy, South Alabama
EAST: Liberty, Appalachian St., Coastal Carolina, Georgia St., Georgia Southern

OK, so back to even numbers, but as long as UTA is there, adding Liberty doesn't really help.

I can only imagine the ADs of FIU and FAU getting together and thinking "You know, CUSA has a geography problem. We can solve that by adding another state. How about New Mexico? Yeah, that would help. NMSU got kicked out of the Sun Belt, let's get them."

(01-17-2018 12:28 PM)loki_the_bubba Wrote:  I can only imagine the ADs of FIU and FAU getting together and thinking "You know, CUSA has a geography problem. We can solve that by adding another state. How about New Mexico? Yeah, that would help. NMSU got kicked out of the Sun Belt, let's get them."

CUSA, FWIW has seriously considered NMSU addition at least as far back as 2004.

Gives CUSA an extra school in the mountain timezone to accommodate later start times for TV.

Helps them pivot west to fill in the second western G5 conference void while also keeping a focus on basketball.

(01-17-2018 12:23 PM)YNot Wrote:  He moved Texas St. from the Sun Belt to CUSA. Lynchburg makes sense with the Sun Belt schools in the Carolinas and Georgia, no? Contiguous state expansion.

WEST: Arkansas St., Louisiana, LA-Monroe, Troy, South Alabama
EAST: Liberty, Appalachian St., Coastal Carolina, Georgia St., Georgia Southern

Thanks but no thanks. The Sun Belt has made it clear it is not interested in Liberty. Plus it's not like Liberty is struggling to put together a perfectly attractive schedule for their first several years of independence.

But if Liberty "must" join a conference, how about putting Liberty in C-USA so there can be a "bridge" between the 7 hours that separate Huntington, WV (Marshall) and Norfolk, VA (Old Dominion)? Then, the Sun Belt can take JMU and either UTSA or Rice, allowing Texas State to have a fellow Texas football school and the Sun Belt to have another school (JMU) that is as ready for FBS as any that's ever moved up.

(01-17-2018 12:28 PM)loki_the_bubba Wrote:  I can only imagine the ADs of FIU and FAU getting together and thinking "You know, CUSA has a geography problem. We can solve that by adding another state. How about New Mexico? Yeah, that would help. NMSU got kicked out of the Sun Belt, let's get them."

The conference would move to 16, so FAU and FIU would only play at NMSU once in about 8 years.

EAST: FAU, FIU, Marshall, Old Dominion, Charlotte, W. Kentucky, MTU, UAB
WEST: S. Miss, LA Tech, N. Texas, Rice, Texas ST., UTSA, UTEP, NMSU

For Olympic sports, Las Cruces is an easy travel partner for UTEP. So, it actually does help with the travel issues created by the potential geography problem.

Olympic sports travel partners, something like this:
FAU-FIU
Marshall-Old Dominion
Charlotte-UAB
W. Kentucky-MTU
LA Tech-S.Miss
N. Texas-Rice
UTSA-Texas St.
UTEP-NMSU

(01-17-2018 12:28 PM)loki_the_bubba Wrote:  I can only imagine the ADs of FIU and FAU getting together and thinking "You know, CUSA has a geography problem. We can solve that by adding another state. How about New Mexico? Yeah, that would help. NMSU got kicked out of the Sun Belt, let's get them."

NMSU actually would improve the geography, acting as a travel partner for nearby UTEP.

EDIT: Ninja'd by YNot.

(01-17-2018 12:37 PM)Michael in Raleigh Wrote:  

(01-17-2018 12:23 PM)YNot Wrote:  He moved Texas St. from the Sun Belt to CUSA. Lynchburg makes sense with the Sun Belt schools in the Carolinas and Georgia, no? Contiguous state expansion.

WEST: Arkansas St., Louisiana, LA-Monroe, Troy, South Alabama
EAST: Liberty, Appalachian St., Coastal Carolina, Georgia St., Georgia Southern

Thanks but no thanks. The Sun Belt has made it clear it is not interested in Liberty. Plus it's not like Liberty is struggling to put together a perfectly attractive schedule for their first several years of independence.

But if Liberty "must" join a conference, how about putting Liberty in C-USA so there can be a "bridge" between the 7 hours that separate Huntington, WV (Marshall) and Norfolk, VA (Old Dominion)? Then, the Sun Belt can take JMU and either UTSA or Rice, allowing Texas State to have a fellow Texas football school and the Sun Belt to have another school (JMU) that is as ready for FBS as any that's ever moved up.

Yeah Liberty just doesn't fit the mold. If we lose Texas State, I think we should just stick with 9 or give JMU one more chance to not be stupid.

Everybody seems to forget that UTA and UALR are members of the Sun Belt, just non-football ones.

(01-17-2018 10:48 AM)loki_the_bubba Wrote:  

(01-17-2018 10:41 AM)Kittonhead Wrote:  I'd some more realignment to help smooth out the geography.

B1G (Kansas, UConn)-Regional rivals for Nebraska, Rutgers
B12 (Houston, Memphis, Cincinnati)-Go metro, build toward WVU
AAC (St. Louis, Dayton, USM, ODU)-Take in A10/CUSA outliers
CUSA (NMSU, Texas St)-Add west...UAB to the east
SBC (Liberty)-Troy to the west in FB

This would go a long way to smoothing out geographical issues in these conferences.

USM is an outlier? They're smack dab in the middle of CUSA.

Lose USM and CUSA's East-West divide starts to look a bit problematic.

(01-17-2018 01:22 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  Everybody seems to forget that UTA and UALR are members of the Sun Belt, just non-football ones.

Correct.

Current travel partners inside the Sun Belt.

Appalachian St - Coastal Carolina
Georgia State - Georgia Southern
Troy - South Alabama
Louisiana - LA-Monroe
Arkansas St - Little Rock
Texas State - UTA

(01-17-2018 01:10 PM)TrueBlueDrew Wrote:  Yeah Liberty just doesn't fit the mold. If we lose Texas State, I think we should just stick with 9 or give JMU one more chance to not be stupid.

Gotta have 10 to have a CCG. To ever make a NY6 bowl a Belt team would need that to help boost. If TxSt jumps and JMU won't come in, I say the Belt target an unhappy CUSA-E team. Or Missouri State

(01-17-2018 02:04 PM)Yosef Himself Wrote:  

(01-17-2018 01:10 PM)TrueBlueDrew Wrote:  Yeah Liberty just doesn't fit the mold. If we lose Texas State, I think we should just stick with 9 or give JMU one more chance to not be stupid.

Gotta have 10 to have a CCG. To ever make a NY6 bowl a Belt team would need that to help boost. If TxSt jumps and JMU won't come in, I say the Belt target an unhappy CUSA-E team. Or Missouri State

At 9 football members with each football team playing 8 conference games would be a round robin schedule which does meet the requirements to have a CCG.

(01-17-2018 02:04 PM)Yosef Himself Wrote:  

(01-17-2018 01:10 PM)TrueBlueDrew Wrote:  Yeah Liberty just doesn't fit the mold. If we lose Texas State, I think we should just stick with 9 or give JMU one more chance to not be stupid.

Gotta have 10 to have a CCG. To ever make a NY6 bowl a Belt team would need that to help boost. If TxSt jumps and JMU won't come in, I say the Belt target an unhappy CUSA-E team. Or Missouri State

EKU will always be available in a pinch.