After reading the article I personally think that going FBS Independent and parking everything else in the Big East would be UConn's best move. We have a lot more FBS independent schools than we used to have and UConn would be a good draw for Liberty, Army and UMass so they could certainly get H & H deals with those three schools. BYU and NMSU would also be looking for games so again it might be a little bit of travel but not so much that they couldn't do it. I'd bet several Sun Belt or CUSA schools would also be happy to sign H & H deals with them so filling out a schedule as a football independent shouldn't be that hard for them.

A UConn in the Big East with FBS Indy would absolutely work for them on the FB side.

However, I doubt that the Big East will allow a FBS Indy UConn to join. They don't want UConn to bounce at the first opportunity at a P5 all-sport invite.

Their FBS Indy schedule would be easy to create though.

1. UMass
2. Army
3. Buffalo
4. NMSU
5. PennSt/Pitt/Temple
6. Rutgers/Syracuse/Cincy
7. Maryland/WV/Navy
8. Ohio/Toledo/BGSU
9. VT/ND/BYU/Wake/Duke
10. Marshall/WKU/ECU
11. FCS

(01-23-2019 02:31 PM)Yosef Himself Wrote:  A UConn in the Big East with FBS Indy would absolutely work for them on the FB side.

However, I doubt that the Big East will allow a FBS Indy UConn to join. They don't want UConn to bounce at the first opportunity at a P5 all-sport invite.

Their FBS Indy schedule would be easy to create though.

1. UMass
2. Army
3. Buffalo
4. NMSU
5. PennSt/Pitt/Temple
6. Rutgers/Syracuse/Cincy
7. Maryland/WV/Navy
8. Ohio/Toledo/BGSU
9. VT/ND/BYU/Wake/Duke
10. Marshall/WKU/ECU
11. FCS

Those schools you mentioned would make excellent H&H opponents for UConn plus Liberty, ODU, MTSU, Charlotte, App, GS, GSU, Coastal and just about any MAC school would be an easy eastern US H & H for them.

Schedule would include
1 FCS
2 or 3 Money Games
8 to 9 H & H games out of each season

As an FBS independent they could cut travel costs, pay MAC level salaries for the coaching staff and still get regional teams to travel to UConn for home games meaning more ticket revenue.

(01-23-2019 01:28 PM)NewJersey GATA Wrote:  

(01-23-2019 11:47 AM)HoustonCajun Wrote:  

(01-22-2019 11:44 PM)InjunJohn86 Wrote:  

(01-22-2019 06:59 PM)BlueBird10 Wrote:  Here we go...more regional, the Texas schools can duke it out in the same conference, and some of those "big markets" get to stick together. I feel like the new Sun Belt would give the American a run most years.

New Sun Belt:

EAST
- Appalachian State
- Georgia Southern
- Georgia State
- Marshall
- Middle Tennessee
- Western Kentucky

WEST
- Arkansas State
- Louisiana
- Louisiana Tech
- South Alabama
- Southern Miss
- Troy


New Conference USA:

EAST
- Charlotte
- Coastal Carolina
- Florida Atlantic
- Florida International
- Old Dominion
- UAB

WEST
- North Texas
- Rice
- Texas State
- ULM
- UTEP
- UTSA

If you were looking for a tighter geographic conference, the "new CUSA" would have the 5 Texas schools in the West and Ark St, ULL, ULM, La Tech and USM. With the exception of UTEP being that outlier, that would be pretty tight geographically for each division.

In reality, UTEP needs to be in a conference with UNM and NMSU as travel partners. The really should be in the MWC.

Here is how I would structure the conferences:

UTEP and NMSU should move to the MWC. If the MWC won't expand, keep UTEP in the New SBC South. If they do expand, replace UTEP with

New Sun Belt:

NORTH
- Arkansas State
- LA Tech
- N. Texas
- UAB
- Middle Tennessee
- Western Kentucky

SOUTH
- S. Miss
- Louisiana
- Rice
- Texas State
- UTSA
- UTEP


New Conference USA:

NORTH
- Marshall
- App State
- ODU
- Charlotte
- GA Southern
- GA State

SOUTH

- Coastal Carolina
- FIU
- FAU
- S. Alabama
- Troy
- ULM

There's so many possibilities you can go with this. It makes it rather interesting. Personally I enjoy playing App State every year, but it would not break me if they split Southern and App in different divisions (especially if they were to see each other in a title game).

I think the Louisiana schools, Ark State, and Texas State are great schools that will continue to grow and prosper, but I'm not sure they are the best partner for the Carolina and Georgia schools. It may just be me, but there's a strong connection of familiarity along I-95. I think most Statesboro/ Savannah residents can attest to this that they haven't visit those areas to the west as much as those areas to the south and north.

There has been a shift in Louisiana’s administration that wants to stay in an eastern based conference.

(01-23-2019 11:58 AM)TrueBlueDrew Wrote:  We should focus on sticking together as a conference. Stability has gone a long way to helping the Sun Belt rise above the MAC and CUSA. None of our teams are struggling to afford the travel costs of the Sun Belt and none of our schools are reeling from a loss of media money or a low CFP payout compared to what they used to receive before the last wave of realignment. Other than playing nearby schools in CUSA, there is virtually no reason for any Sun Belt school to realign with CUSA geographically or otherwise. If a Sun Belt school wants to play nearby CUSA schools so badly, the easier way would be to get them on the out-of-conference schedule.

In realignment, it's every man for himself. We lived through the dismantling of the WAC and believe me, this is true no matter what anyone says. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer whenever it comes to realignment.

With GA Southern being a low budget school Atlanta politics preventing Research Classification in the USG system, I think the Sunbelt is our home - and I'm fine with it. I see a lot of potential to challenge the MW in terms of football prowess. Maybe that quality will enhance our budgets and prestige to make an on-the-field challenge to the AAC possible. We won't ever match their money, but we can kick their ass on the gridiron.

(01-23-2019 09:58 PM)Eagles Cliff Wrote:  With GA Southern being a low budget school Atlanta politics preventing Research Classification in the USG system, I think the Sunbelt is our home - and I'm fine with it. I see a lot of potential to challenge the MW in terms of football prowess. Maybe that quality will enhance our budgets and prestige to make an on-the-field challenge to the AAC possible. We won't ever match their money, but we can kick their ass on the gridiron.

You're underestimating the leverage of the new Statesboro-Savannah-Hinesville footprint now covering the second largest metro in Georgia. Game changer no question.

(01-23-2019 10:40 PM)Oldyeller Wrote:  

(01-23-2019 09:58 PM)Eagles Cliff Wrote:  With GA Southern being a low budget school Atlanta politics preventing Research Classification in the USG system, I think the Sunbelt is our home - and I'm fine with it. I see a lot of potential to challenge the MW in terms of football prowess. Maybe that quality will enhance our budgets and prestige to make an on-the-field challenge to the AAC possible. We won't ever match their money, but we can kick their ass on the gridiron.

You're underestimating the leverage of the new Statesboro-Savannah-Hinesville footprint now covering the second largest metro in Georgia. Game changer no question.

The Georgia legislature is hardcore pushing for federal funding to deepen the Savannah River and expand the ports. All Georgia-based companies benefit from having a large, international port under their control. The City of Savannah has developed a new long term economic plan involving the ports and other key industries in the area of which Georgia Southern is a major center piece. That was really the main reason for the merger that was paraded around as a cost-savings move. Georgia Southern stands to keep benefiting from the major growth that has happened in Savannah in the last decade even if it's in ways we didn't want.

(01-23-2019 08:37 PM)geauxcajuns Wrote:  There has been a shift in Louisiana’s administration that wants to stay in an eastern based conference.

Don't know how accurate that is.

After LA, we recruit Texas more than other areas.

After LA, our largest alumni base is in Houston, TX.

Many of our major boosters do a LOT of business in Texas.

If the realignment Gods offer us a new Texas based league, we'll be taking that offer. Only thing better would be AAC membership.

(01-23-2019 08:54 PM)BRtransplant Wrote:  

(01-23-2019 11:58 AM)TrueBlueDrew Wrote:  We should focus on sticking together as a conference. Stability has gone a long way to helping the Sun Belt rise above the MAC and CUSA. None of our teams are struggling to afford the travel costs of the Sun Belt and none of our schools are reeling from a loss of media money or a low CFP payout compared to what they used to receive before the last wave of realignment. Other than playing nearby schools in CUSA, there is virtually no reason for any Sun Belt school to realign with CUSA geographically or otherwise. If a Sun Belt school wants to play nearby CUSA schools so badly, the easier way would be to get them on the out-of-conference schedule.

In realignment, it's every man for himself. We lived through the dismantling of the WAC and believe me, this is true no matter what anyone says. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer whenever it comes to realignment.

Being in the WAC was brutal during realignment. Teams bailing to the MWC. FCS added. Teams bailing to CUSA. FCS offers were rejected. We got lucky the SBC took us. NMSU and Idaho got screwed.

(01-23-2019 11:58 AM)TrueBlueDrew Wrote:  We should focus on sticking together as a conference. Stability has gone a long way to helping the Sun Belt rise above the MAC and CUSA. None of our teams are struggling to afford the travel costs of the Sun Belt and none of our schools are reeling from a loss of media money or a low CFP payout compared to what they used to receive before the last wave of realignment. Other than playing nearby schools in CUSA, there is virtually no reason for any Sun Belt school to realign with CUSA geographically or otherwise. If a Sun Belt school wants to play nearby CUSA schools so badly, the easier way would be to get them on the out-of-conference schedule.

The days of Sun Belt teams defecting to CUSA is over. The monetary/branding/viewership advantages that CUSA once had is gone.

There is absolutely no president in the SBC that is going to make his school move to CUSA for a worse TV deal, high travel costs, or the same or less money... except Texas State, simply because it makes sense for them to want to be with other Texas schools.

I believe in the next round of realignment, you will see the Sun Belt be proactive at keeping schools and instead adding maybe two geographically sensible schools from CUSA as a means to strengthen it's profile. Benson sent invites to Southern Miss, UAB, and Marshall back in 2012... they didn't go for it though since some AAC teams were still in the conference (Tulsa, East Carolina, Tulane) and the TV deal at the time was better. I'm sure their minds will change though if they are still left out in the next realignment.

(01-22-2019 03:05 PM)Usajags Wrote:  UConn is terrible at football, and they know it. If they drop to FCS, it could be the domino that starts another wave.

Wonder how many other schools are realistically looking at the finances of FBS football and athletics as a whole.

https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...ll-aac-fcs

UConn is considering dropping all varsity athletics per ESPN radio.

(01-24-2019 11:15 AM)CAJUNNATION Wrote:  

(01-23-2019 08:37 PM)geauxcajuns Wrote:  There has been a shift in Louisiana’s administration that wants to stay in an eastern based conference.

Don't know how accurate that is.

After LA, we recruit Texas more than other areas.

After LA, our largest alumni base is in Houston, TX.

Many of our major boosters do a LOT of business in Texas.

If the realignment Gods offer us a new Texas based league, we'll be taking that offer. Only thing better would be AAC membership.

We will not accept any invite that has us consistently playing west of San Antonio. If the western edge is Houston and Dallas then yes we would be interested. But that is highly unlikely.

(01-24-2019 02:38 PM)JoeJag Wrote:  

(01-22-2019 03:05 PM)Usajags Wrote:  UConn is terrible at football, and they know it. If they drop to FCS, it could be the domino that starts another wave.

Wonder how many other schools are realistically looking at the finances of FBS football and athletics as a whole.

https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...ll-aac-fcs

UConn is considering dropping all varsity athletics per ESPN radio.

Sure they are.

Type of thing you have to say to motivate the donors and placate the faculty but there is no way they are considering touching men's and women's basketball.

UConn isn't dropping basketball. I think the idea of them putting basketball and Olympic sports in the Big East is a pipe dream also. The Big East is all private schools with all but one being Catholic and the outlier (Butler) being Christian. UConn seems to fit in terms of basketball success but institutionally they don't mesh.

(01-24-2019 03:14 PM)Yosef84 Wrote:  UConn isn't dropping basketball. I think the idea of them putting basketball and Olympic sports in the Big East is a pipe dream also. The Big East is all private schools with all but one being Catholic and the outlier (Butler) being Christian. UConn seems to fit in terms of basketball success but institutionally they don't mesh.

Georgetown, Providence, St. John's, and Seton Hall had no issues being equity partners with UConn for 35 years, Villanova for 34. UConn was FBS only the last 9 years.

If UConn isn't a threat to dash off after another FBS league, I doubt there would be any hesitation to add them.

The Big East is the REAL P6 league and a UConn that isn't a defection threat to address football issues is the most valuable addition they could make hands down.

(01-24-2019 03:26 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(01-24-2019 03:14 PM)Yosef84 Wrote:  UConn isn't dropping basketball. I think the idea of them putting basketball and Olympic sports in the Big East is a pipe dream also. The Big East is all private schools with all but one being Catholic and the outlier (Butler) being Christian. UConn seems to fit in terms of basketball success but institutionally they don't mesh.

Georgetown, Providence, St. John's, and Seton Hall had no issues being equity partners with UConn for 35 years, Villanova for 34. UConn was FBS only the last 9 years.

If UConn isn't a threat to dash off after another FBS league, I doubt there would be any hesitation to add them.

The Big East is the REAL P6 league and a UConn that isn't a defection threat to address football issues is the most valuable addition they could make hands down.

That's true but the game changed when they decided to split the conference in 2013 and push the public universities out. Even the new teams invited are private Catholic (or simply Christian for Butler) schools. They seem to have a pretty clear model.

(01-24-2019 02:43 PM)geauxcajuns Wrote:  We will not accept any invite that has us consistently playing west of San Antonio. If the western edge is Houston and Dallas then yes we would be interested. But that is highly unlikely.

Not much difference between traveling to El Paso or Las Cruces than there is traveling to Myrtle Beach or Boone.

Aside from AAC membership, nothing would be better on the G5 level for us than to be in a Texas based league or the Texas division of a new MWC.

After all of those options, the best thing would be a stronger SBC.

(01-24-2019 03:32 PM)Yosef84 Wrote:  

(01-24-2019 03:26 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(01-24-2019 03:14 PM)Yosef84 Wrote:  UConn isn't dropping basketball. I think the idea of them putting basketball and Olympic sports in the Big East is a pipe dream also. The Big East is all private schools with all but one being Catholic and the outlier (Butler) being Christian. UConn seems to fit in terms of basketball success but institutionally they don't mesh.

Georgetown, Providence, St. John's, and Seton Hall had no issues being equity partners with UConn for 35 years, Villanova for 34. UConn was FBS only the last 9 years.

If UConn isn't a threat to dash off after another FBS league, I doubt there would be any hesitation to add them.

The Big East is the REAL P6 league and a UConn that isn't a defection threat to address football issues is the most valuable addition they could make hands down.

That's true but the game changed when they decided to split the conference in 2013 and push the public universities out. Even the new teams invited are private Catholic (or simply Christian for Butler) schools. They seem to have a pretty clear model.

The Catholic schools were tired of having to expand to keep the football side afloat.
The only schools left were them and:
Cincinnati, USF and UConn. They had extended invites to SMU, Houston, UCF, Memphis and Tulane (football only ECU).

The schools they abandoned all had FBS football to defend and none other than UConn had been affiliated with those schools 10 years.

Far more likely that the critical thinking was tied to lack of FBS than smallish private religious.

I don't think there were any schools east of Creighton that were similar in value to Creighton, Xavier, and Butler that were turned down. Butler was coming off two Final Fours in 2010 and 2011 prior to the December 2012 announcement. Creighton six NCAA appearances since 2000 and respected baseball and play home games at the site of the CWS. Xavier was coming off two Elite Eights in the past decade and five Sweet Sixteens.

The other schools often bandied around as Big East targets:
Dayton, at the time hadn't made a Sweet 16 since 1984 and only four NCAA appearances since 2000.
VCU had a Final Four, five NCAA appearances since 2000 and outside of the Final Four season, had won once in the NCAA tournament since 2000.
St Louis had made two appearances since 2000 and won one game in the tournament.

The Big East presumably wanted the best three they could add that didn't have FBS football and they got them.

I don't see UConn dumping football or dumping it to FCS so it is unlikely that we will have a chance to see what the real answer is.

(01-24-2019 02:38 PM)JoeJag Wrote:  

(01-22-2019 03:05 PM)Usajags Wrote:  UConn is terrible at football, and they know it. If they drop to FCS, it could be the domino that starts another wave.

Wonder how many other schools are realistically looking at the finances of FBS football and athletics as a whole.

https://www.sbnation.com/college-footbal...ll-aac-fcs

UConn is considering dropping all varsity athletics per ESPN radio.

Hmmm....the winningest college basketball program - men's or women's - over the past decade plus is just going to POOF...all gone! Yeah, right....