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Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
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LibertyOrangeman Offline
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Post: #21
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
UCONN going home to the Big East is really a no-lose situation for Liberty, and especially, football. It'd be great (and a no brainer) if we got an AAC invite. That conference would lift all of our programs to an entirely different level, but also ensures that we don't get left out again in the next probable realignment in 2024.

However, the most likely scenario is that UCONN becomes football independent and gives us another scheduling opponent for November. UCONN, despite it's poor football performance, still has huge name ID, and at the very least we may be able to drop a 1-AA opponent next year.

I do hope Jr., McCaw, Freeze, and McKay are all working the phones and their contacts at the AAC though.
06-23-2019 02:29 PM
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WesternSkillet Offline
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Post: #22
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
(06-23-2019 11:35 AM)army56mike Wrote:  Wow, what an incredible upset it would be for Liberty to land in the AAC. But, I agree, it’s too soon. I would love for us to make that move, but I think it will be the other Virginia school getting an invitation..... ODU.
ODU? Wasn't that the team LU paid one million for an easy win last year?
06-23-2019 02:54 PM
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WesternSkillet Offline
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Post: #23
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
(06-22-2019 01:33 PM)GE and MTS Wrote:  
(06-22-2019 12:42 PM)WesternSkillet Wrote:  Hearing UCONN basketball to the Big East. AAC might be shaking up very soon.

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Yeah, it's everywhere right now. Honestly, I was hoping this would happen in two or three years from now for Liberty's sake. Maybe we make a Sweet 16 appearance or two and start looking good to the Big East. Or we win a few bowl games and average around 8 wins a year and catch the eye of the American. We are just not there yet in any sport for the next level unfortunately.

I do hope we make room in our football schedules for UConn if they go independent. Maybe that will help them go to bat for us with the Big East and we make a good impression (as minimal as it may be) with our field hockey team or whatever we have in the Big East (women's lacrosse?).

Great points. Two to four years of continued football and basketball development would have helped for alignment positioning.

LU Field Hockey is in the Big East. It seem a lot of Big East fans like 11 teams. Big East might not be looking to add anymore for a while.
06-23-2019 03:18 PM
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army56mike Offline
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Post: #24
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
I’m interested, if the ONLY two choices were being in the AAC or Big East/Football Indy, which would you select?

I would take AAC
06-23-2019 03:34 PM
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WesternSkillet Offline
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Post: #25
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
Some thought on the AAC situation...

Popular names for the AAC include Southern Miss, Marshall, UAB, and ODU. BYU and Army as football army only or VCU as a non-football member. No action is another option. Some don't want teams from CUSA, Sun Belt, or MAC. This limits options. Liberty has been mentioned a little bit.

The case for LU is that LU has money. LU is able to produce an athletic budget at the AAC level. The large enrollment and endowment look good. It seems that LU might need a few more years of developing football and basketball.
(This post was last modified: 06-23-2019 03:53 PM by WesternSkillet.)
06-23-2019 03:38 PM
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cruzan_flame13 Offline
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Post: #26
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
(06-23-2019 03:38 PM)WesternSkillet Wrote:  Some thought on the AAC situation...

Popular names for AAC names include Southern Miss, Marshall, UAB, and ODU. BYU and Army as football army only or VCU as a non-football member. No action is another option. Some don't want teams from CUSA, Sun Belt, or MAC. This limits options. Liberty has been mentioned a little bit.

The case for LU is that LU has money. LU is able to produce an athletic budget at the AAC level. The large enrollment and endowment look good. It seems that LU might need a few more years of developing football and basketball.

I was looking at UCF’s records (for an example) for the past 15 years and they’ve been having up and down seasons until the past two seasons. I also see that they’re Independent before moving to Conference USA then American. We may have to go that route but maybe not. The next realignment may be different since college enrollment is decreasing and money is becoming an issue for colleges. Conferences and institutions will now be analyzing how to use their endowments/assets for academia and athletics. If American is trying to consider themselves more of a power conference than the others (G5) they might want to consider. Clearly LU is growing inn an upward trajectory with athletics and even academia. So I wouldn’t be shocked if McCaw and associates points this out if they can point this out with a presentation. No offense with schools like ODU, Marshall and some others, but how many of those schools have an endowment in the billions? Will you take the risk of getting a decent name from a school from Conference USA, MAC who are just getting by or a school that put money for facilities upgrades, academic schools and for more and more exposure. Logically getting money to sustain growth and expose should be logical, but that doesn’t really applies all the time with college sports /conferences.
06-23-2019 03:58 PM
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GE and MTS Offline
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Post: #27
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
(06-23-2019 03:34 PM)army56mike Wrote:  I’m interested, if the ONLY two choices were being in the AAC or Big East/Football Indy, which would you select?

I would take AAC

I would easily pick the Big East. They are a power conference but without football. While the AAC is a great conference, they are still a G5 conference. I believe we can get our football to their level being independent.

I believe being in the Big East will elevate our football indirectly. If there was ever a split between Division I, I am convinced the Big East would be in the highest level with the other power conferences (Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, ACC, Pac 12) but the AAC would be left behind.
06-23-2019 08:31 PM
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Keswick_Crusaders_Forever51 Offline
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Post: #28
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
(06-23-2019 03:58 PM)cruzan_flame13 Wrote:  
(06-23-2019 03:38 PM)WesternSkillet Wrote:  Some thought on the AAC situation...

Popular names for AAC names include Southern Miss, Marshall, UAB, and ODU. BYU and Army as football army only or VCU as a non-football member. No action is another option. Some don't want teams from CUSA, Sun Belt, or MAC. This limits options. Liberty has been mentioned a little bit.

The case for LU is that LU has money. LU is able to produce an athletic budget at the AAC level. The large enrollment and endowment look good. It seems that LU might need a few more years of developing football and basketball.

I was looking at UCF’s records (for an example) for the past 15 years and they’ve been having up and down seasons until the past two seasons. I also see that they’re Independent before moving to Conference USA then American. We may have to go that route but maybe not. The next realignment may be different since college enrollment is decreasing and money is becoming an issue for colleges. Conferences and institutions will now be analyzing how to use their endowments/assets for academia and athletics. If American is trying to consider themselves more of a power conference than the others (G5) they might want to consider. Clearly LU is growing inn an upward trajectory with athletics and even academia. So I wouldn’t be shocked if McCaw and associates points this out if they can point this out with a presentation. No offense with schools like ODU, Marshall and some others, but how many of those schools have an endowment in the billions? Will you take the risk of getting a decent name from a school from Conference USA, MAC who are just getting by or a school that put money for facilities upgrades, academic schools and for more and more exposure. Logically getting money to sustain growth and expose should be logical, but that doesn’t really applies all the time with college sports /conferences.

If money talks louder than politics to these schools, then absolutely.

I do like the idea of Big East as well, as Independence is creating good things for us, so if politics are too much for the AAC, I'm down for the Big East.
06-24-2019 09:00 AM
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WesternSkillet Offline
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Post: #29
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
(06-23-2019 03:34 PM)army56mike Wrote:  I’m interested, if the ONLY two choices were being in the AAC or Big East/Football Indy, which would you select?

I would take AAC

Great topic to discuss. Both are very good situation for LU. My original dream was to see LU as independent football, hockey in Hockey East, and all other sports in the Big East.

Both scenarios offer great basketball. The point I would focus on is how many P5 football games can LU get scheduled regularly. The AAC offers three OOC games. The most is three P5 games. The current independent football schedules, for the future, typically have two to four. This current scheduling fits the AAC model and the AAC is an obvious upgrade.

Although, if LU can schedule upwards of seven to eight P5 on a regular schedule, I see independent football and other sports in the Big East as the more desirable outcome. At this point, LU becomes similar to a P5 football program with seven to eight P5 games on the schedule.
06-24-2019 11:03 AM
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WesternSkillet Offline
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Post: #30
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
(06-24-2019 11:03 AM)WesternSkillet Wrote:  
(06-23-2019 03:34 PM)army56mike Wrote:  I’m interested, if the ONLY two choices were being in the AAC or Big East/Football Indy, which would you select?

I would take AAC

Great topic to discuss. Both are very good situation for LU. My original dream was to see LU as independent football, hockey in Hockey East, and all other sports in the Big East.

I want to also add that I think the Big East dream might be dead for LU. I don't see the Big East wanting more then 11 teams due to basketball scheduling. Maybe in the very long run this might change. I'm doubtful right now.

A10 might open up an opportunity. We'll see.
(This post was last modified: 06-24-2019 11:12 AM by WesternSkillet.)
06-24-2019 11:12 AM
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GE and MTS Offline
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Post: #31
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
(06-24-2019 11:03 AM)WesternSkillet Wrote:  
(06-23-2019 03:34 PM)army56mike Wrote:  I’m interested, if the ONLY two choices were being in the AAC or Big East/Football Indy, which would you select?

I would take AAC

Great topic to discuss. Both are very good situation for LU. My original dream was to see LU as independent football, hockey in Hockey East, and all other sports in the Big East.

Both scenarios offer great basketball. The point I would focus on is how many P5 football games can LU get scheduled regularly. The AAC offers three OOC games. The most is three P5 games. The current independent football schedules, for the future, typically have two to four. This current scheduling fits the AAC model and the AAC is an obvious upgrade.

Although, if LU can schedule upwards of seven to eight P5 on a regular schedule, I see independent football and other sports in the Big East as the more desirable outcome. At this point, LU becomes similar to a P5 football program with seven to eight P5 games on the schedule.

The AAC has 8 conference games, allowing for 4 non-conference games but I agree with the premise. LU should be scheduling as many P5 schools as possible and being independent helps our chances.
06-24-2019 06:22 PM
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WesternSkillet Offline
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Post: #32
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
The AAC might take a wait and see approach for a few years. This helps LU make a case. LU winning and growing on the recruit front (FB & MBB) will help make LU more desirable for expansion. LU is young and still growing. At this point in time, the primary points of interest toward LU are money (athletic budget potential and endowment) and large enrollment. Just need wins on the field, court, and recruit front.

Yet, in the end, independent football and a strong basketball conference might be a better plan long-term.
06-25-2019 01:37 PM
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Keswick_Crusaders_Forever51 Offline
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Post: #33
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
(06-25-2019 01:37 PM)WesternSkillet Wrote:  The AAC might take a wait and see approach for a few years. This helps LU make a case. LU winning and growing on the recruit front (FB & MBB) will help make LU more desirable for expansion. LU is young and still growing. At this point in time, the primary points of interest toward LU are money (athletic budget potential and endowment) and large enrollment. Just need wins on the field, court, and recruit front.

Yet, in the end, independent football and a strong basketball conference might be a better plan long-term.

The more I look into the P5 boards, this may be our best option. They hate the G5 conferences, particularly AAC, & if they can close those guys out of any chance at a National title & even keep them out of the NY6, they will. We have a much better shot of making a name by remaining Indy in Football & being in a solid basketball conference than being in a G5, even AAC.

The only reason we'd be better off jumping to a G5, even AAC, would be if future scheduling by the P5 excludes Independents (which could be done to force BYU & Notre Dame's hands to P5's).
06-25-2019 01:44 PM
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Keswick_Crusaders_Forever51 Offline
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Post: #34
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
An under-the-radar (but better) Olympic sports conference we should look to, should we get shut out of the top options, would be the SoCon.

Look at this list & tell me how many of these schools you are unfamiliar with:

Chattanooga
The Citadel
ETSU
Furman
Mercer
UNC Greensboro
Samford
VMI
Western Carolina
Wofford

I recognize all but one of these schools' names from a pure athletic standpoint, which would be a step up, they're a much more strong basketball conference since the ASun lost 2 of their top 3 teams (Belmont & Mercer [who's now in the SoCon]), & we'd have a sister school in Samford, which has much the same spirit, they're just not as vocal.

What do y'all think?
08-13-2019 11:13 AM
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cruzan_flame13 Offline
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Post: #35
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
(08-13-2019 11:13 AM)Keswick_Crusaders_Forever51 Wrote:  An under-the-radar (but better) Olympic sports conference we should look to, should we get shut out of the top options, would be the SoCon.

Look at this list & tell me how many of these schools you are unfamiliar with:

Chattanooga
The Citadel
ETSU
Furman
Mercer
UNC Greensboro
Samford
VMI
Western Carolina
Wofford

I recognize all but one of these schools' names from a pure athletic standpoint, which would be a step up, they're a much more strong basketball conference since the ASun lost 2 of their top 3 teams (Belmont & Mercer [who's now in the SoCon]), & we'd have a sister school in Samford, which has much the same spirit, they're just not as vocal.

What do y'all think?

I like this option if we may not make it to a upper tier conference in the future. This will also give us a partner in VMI plus add some other programs that are club or discussed about such as women's golf, men and women's rifle and men's lacrosse.
08-13-2019 11:42 AM
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WesternSkillet Offline
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Post: #36
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
(08-13-2019 11:13 AM)Keswick_Crusaders_Forever51 Wrote:  An under-the-radar (but better) Olympic sports conference we should look to, should we get shut out of the top options, would be the SoCon.

Look at this list & tell me how many of these schools you are unfamiliar with:

Chattanooga
The Citadel
ETSU
Furman
Mercer
UNC Greensboro
Samford
VMI
Western Carolina
Wofford

I recognize all but one of these schools' names from a pure athletic standpoint, which would be a step up, they're a much more strong basketball conference since the ASun lost 2 of their top 3 teams (Belmont & Mercer [who's now in the SoCon]), & we'd have a sister school in Samford, which has much the same spirit, they're just not as vocal.

What do y'all think?

I've heard of all these schools in brief (I'm from the midwest). How much better is SoCon in basketball compared to the ASUN? I'm guessing SoCon is a one bid conference. (2019 RPI has SoCon ranked 12 and ASUN 21.) (2019 NET has SoCon 15 and ASUN 20.)

I don't see any Florida schools but I do like the general footprint. I think Florida is valuable for recruiting.

Another question relates to baseball and softball. The ASUN is strong for both. Would this move prove better for basketball but sacrifice some strength in baseball and softball? (2019 baseball RPI has SoCon ranked 16 and ASUN 13.)
(This post was last modified: 08-13-2019 12:53 PM by WesternSkillet.)
08-13-2019 12:47 PM
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Keswick_Crusaders_Forever51 Offline
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Post: #37
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
(08-13-2019 12:47 PM)WesternSkillet Wrote:  
(08-13-2019 11:13 AM)Keswick_Crusaders_Forever51 Wrote:  An under-the-radar (but better) Olympic sports conference we should look to, should we get shut out of the top options, would be the SoCon.

Look at this list & tell me how many of these schools you are unfamiliar with:

Chattanooga
The Citadel
ETSU
Furman
Mercer
UNC Greensboro
Samford
VMI
Western Carolina
Wofford

I recognize all but one of these schools' names from a pure athletic standpoint, which would be a step up, they're a much more strong basketball conference since the ASun lost 2 of their top 3 teams (Belmont & Mercer [who's now in the SoCon]), & we'd have a sister school in Samford, which has much the same spirit, they're just not as vocal.

What do y'all think?

I've heard of all these schools in brief (I'm from the midwest). How much better is SoCon in basketball compared to the ASUN? I'm guessing SoCon is a one bid conference. (2019 RPI has SoCon ranked 12 and ASUN 21.) (2019 NET has SoCon 15 and ASUN 20.)

I don't see any Florida schools but I do like the general footprint. I think Florida is valuable for recruiting.

Another question relates to baseball and softball. The ASUN is strong for both. Would this move prove better for basketball but sacrifice some strength in baseball and softball? (2019 baseball RPI has SoCon ranked 16 and ASUN 13.)

The loss of Florida would stink, this is true. But if football continues on the upward trajectory, that may help us keep on the minds of Florida athletes.

You bring up a good point, but I do wonder how much we might add to the difference between those two conferences. We represented the ASUN in the NCAA tourney for baseball, & we just missed with softball. We could be the difference in baseball, but there will be a difference with softball,from the looks of it.
08-13-2019 01:26 PM
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army56mike Offline
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Post: #38
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
I’ll take the A-Sun over the SoCon.

It’d be nice to pick up a NC and SC team to join the conference though.
(This post was last modified: 08-13-2019 06:10 PM by army56mike.)
08-13-2019 06:09 PM
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GE and MTS Offline
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Post: #39
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
(08-13-2019 06:09 PM)army56mike Wrote:  I’ll take the A-Sun over the SoCon.

It’d be nice to pick up a NC and SC team to join the conference though.

I probably would too. I don't think there is that big of a difference at the moment. I'd wait to see what Bellarmine can do for the conference before we explore lateral moves. Obviously we aren't welcomed in the SoCon as we are clearly a better addition than VMI and that even included our football in FCS at the time. I don't think the SoCon is looking to add anyone as they are pretty full at 10 members.

The A-Sun would be significantly helped if the bottom feeders could raise their profile to be less terrible and to be just "bad". Then it would be a little more impressive beating them and less disastrous losing to them, especially from an RPI/NET standpoint. Some metrics get worse even when beating a truly terrible team so it is in our best interest to see the bottom slowly rise.
08-13-2019 08:57 PM
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Ewglenn Offline
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Post: #40
RE: Realignment/Possible Liberty Future
I’m super familiar with the SoCon (grew up right down the street from Wofford) and it would be an upgrade in basketball that’s for sure. However they are a one bid league so it doesn’t really do us any good because it will just make it harder to get to the dance. Travel would be less and the conference is extremely stable but other than that I would just stay in the ASUN.
08-14-2019 07:59 AM
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