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I'm gonna beat a dead horse here,

Are Watts and the AD campaigning to get us in the AAC? I know Ingram has being working on sports facility improvements and we cant just get an invite until a slot opens, or they expand, but two games this weekend put the AAC in good view.

Houston over Arizona
USF over Ga Tech.

Campaigning for a spot when there isn’t one available seems silly. UAB still needs to remove the stigma of shutting down for two years and prove to everyone it is a stable program. Get the house in order, which I think they are with the facilities improvements they are doing, then start campaigning.

(09-08-2018 04:05 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  Campaigning for a spot when there isn’t one available seems silly. UAB still needs to remove the stigma of shutting down for two years and prove to everyone it is a stable program. Get the house in order, which I think they are with the facilities improvements they are doing, then start campaigning.

Kinda like not worrying about the program until its cancelled. I get it.

I think Ingram is trying to get things in order, somewhat. the Track, soccer field, stadium, its a work in progress.

Neither Watts nor Ingram give a damn about moving up in conferences.

It goes against what they are getting paid to do.

Might as well not worry about it.

(09-08-2018 06:21 PM)the_blazerman Wrote:  Neither Watts nor Ingram give a damn about moving up in conferences.

It goes against what they are getting paid to do.

Might as well not worry about it.

Why in your world do you think they are making all of the improvements? I know to say it is to become a better program blows a good conspiracy theory out of the water.

Making respectable improvements is doing the job they are expected to do, and the facilities for all the Olympic sports do put us in a much better position to lobby for a slot when one comes open. That's most likely going to be in 2023 when the P5 TV contracts expire, the most likely time for the next round of conference reorganization. There is no way to know what might happen between now and then, so being as prepared as possible is good policy.

It's one thing for leadership to be doing what they are and quite another to be actively trying to position us for a run at the AAC, or to lobby and politic with the other schools in the conference in preparation for that time. We may have laughed at ECU about doing that sort of thing, but look at where they are now. There's no reason to be shy about wanting to move up. Other team's fans may throw rocks, but it's like getting a better job. You have to be prepared and be willing to show your stuff and work for your chance.

Have we applied for the Sunbelt yet?

When the time for opening their doors to new prospective members arrives, the desirable conferences will be looking closely at CONSISTENT financial stability, fiscal strength and state of the art facilities among the many applicants. If UAB has 5 to 7 years to prepare our case, we have to have a plan soon for where we want to be in 2023 to 2026. We are talking in the many tens of millions here, not single digit millions that we were once used to. Those conferences will not be interested in any additional "poor relations" members.

I don’t know? Did Bama apply to the Sun Belt when they lost to ULM? I wold have thought they would get the Sun Belt nod over us years ago. Maybe the Belt is waiting on us. iDK?

Let's take inventory here:

0 teams from CUSA requesting to join the Sun Belt (unless you count Doug Segrest doing it on behalf of UAB)
x teams from Sunbelt would join CUSA tomorrow if invited.

Doesn't mean that CUSA schools can beat Sunbelt schools all the time or can't lose to them more often than wished.

Maybe LSU is seeking admission into the Belt after last season? Idk

(09-08-2018 10:04 PM)cb4029 Wrote:  Have we applied for the Sunbelt yet?