(10-28-2021 12:06 PM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 12:04 PM)pilot172000 Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 12:01 PM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 10:58 AM)BlueraiderJT Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 10:46 AM)freshtop Wrote:  Aresco did go on record saying that additions would be made with Football and Basketball in mind, and that the conference would remain a multi-bid league. Obviously basketball wasn't a focal point in the actual decision making process, but it was a talking point at least. It gave some of us false hope I suppose.

At the end of the day it was all about markets and financial commitments. Winning programs was a bonus and not a requirement.

Which will be there downfall. Cinci, Houston and UCF aren't going Big12 just because of markets, they win and have won a lot. All 3 have been ranked on the regular and one of them is no.2 in the country. You think Rice and Charlotte is going no.2? LOL. No offense but it was stupid to take them over WKU and Marshall. Markets are stupid. No one watches those turd bird teams that are being called up. Maybe UAB but even then, not really. Marshall had the best attendance out of all them on average in the last 8 years consistently. Also, Marshall and WKU has had way better basketball than FAU, UTSA, Charlotte, and Rice so that's BS too.

And this is why my 2nd comments applies to CUSA 3.0 downfall.

1. CUSA is the only G5 conference not to have a team in the NY6 bowl game.
2. Since 2013, we are the only G5 conference not to have a team finish the season in the AP or Coaches Top 25.

When CUSA 3.0 was formed, we all thought we would be the best G5 conference and that did not come to fruition. The on field performance falls on the programs for not being able to maintain a high quality of play throughout the season. When the opportunity presented itself for a CUSA program took take the stage on a national level, we usually laid an egg.

The other G5 conferences have gotten better since 2013, CUSA hasn't and that's the truth.

The Sunbelt has never had a team in the NY6 either.

I stand corrected. And yet they were able to poach teams from CUSA 3.0.

The Sunbelt was willing to do for ESPN that CUSA was not. Our failure in leadership at its best. Tech went to 7 straight bowls not because we were good, but because CUSA was that weak. Granted we had some good teams for a couple of those years, but not all of them. CUSA was a failed experiment, now the AAC is going to take up that failed experiment and see if they can make it work. God Bless markets.

This is an interesting thread. Fans have little to do with realignment other than home attendance and travel, but in the 25 years or so of message boards there has been interesting smack to look back on. While Ga Southern has been down a few years, we certainly have the winning culture and fan support to be an attractive conference mate. Reading across boards back in 2012 when it was announced App and GS would join the Sun Belt, ULL fans were the most noticeable on the SBC board that hated the idea and they had the same response when Coastal joined recently. Most of the negativity had to do with a perception that FCS means weak vs FBS. There are several teams every year in FCS that would compete for a G5 championship and beat the P5 bottom dwellers. What really surprised me back then was seeing WKU and MTSU fans dissing the SBC on their way out the door to CUSA so I think some of the heckling is due to that memory.

For younger fans, I-AA (now called FCS) was formed in 1978 to contain football costs for Division I schools who couldn't afford to keep up with the Big Boys. The following are all former I-AA/FCS:
MW
Boise St, Nevada
AAC
UCF, South Florida (always on their way to FBS)
CUSA
FAU, Charlotte, Marshall, WKU, MTSU, FIU, ODU
Indy
Liberty, UMass, UConn
SBC
App, Ark St., Coastal, Ga St., Ga Sou, Tex St., Troy, ULM

More than half of that list has had success in their conference and Bowls. All of us outside Virginia and North Carolina have struggled to carve out our market niche in the heart of SEC and ACC country. Football is expensive and I'm glad ESPN (though I loathe them) has used the G5 to provide more college football even though its not fun to play during the week. The money is needed and it's great to watch G5's catch fire and have great seasons. I'm excited about what's happening with the SBC model and have always believed grouping schools with great fan bases makes for good football.
During our first FBS feasibility in the early 2000's, many believed what became known as the G5 would become Championship Tier 1 with FCS at Championship Tier 2 while the P5 would be the BCS. Hopefully a playoff format will develop that gives all conferences an automatic with 6 at-large (16) or 3 auto-bids for highest ranked G5 and 4 at-large (12). Yesterday, the Bowl Committees submitted a letter requesting no playoff games be played on campus so the money laundering Bowl schemes are already feeling threatened.

(10-28-2021 12:01 PM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  And this is why my 2nd comments applies to CUSA 3.0 downfall.

1. CUSA is the only G5 conference not to have a team in the NY6 bowl game.
2. Since 2013, we are the only G5 conference not to have a team finish the season in the AP or Coaches Top 25.

#2 is not true either. Marshall and WKU have both finished in the Top 25 since 2013.

Reading these posts make me realize how fragile people are. "You are leaving this conference so don't comment on anything." Really? I have thoughts about who every conference should or shouldn't add. Is this a sports forum or where I can receive my participation trophy?

The most hilarious thing I read was the admin post telling people to be respectful from a person with "Cucktacular" in the footer of every post.

(10-29-2021 06:33 AM)CoachMaclid Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 12:01 PM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  And this is why my 2nd comments applies to CUSA 3.0 downfall.

1. CUSA is the only G5 conference not to have a team in the NY6 bowl game.
2. Since 2013, we are the only G5 conference not to have a team finish the season in the AP or Coaches Top 25.

#2 is not true either. Marshall and WKU have both finished in the Top 25 since 2013.

No they haven't.

(10-29-2021 08:11 AM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 06:33 AM)CoachMaclid Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 12:01 PM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  And this is why my 2nd comments applies to CUSA 3.0 downfall.

1. CUSA is the only G5 conference not to have a team in the NY6 bowl game.
2. Since 2013, we are the only G5 conference not to have a team finish the season in the AP or Coaches Top 25.

#2 is not true either. Marshall and WKU have both finished in the Top 25 since 2013.

No they haven't.

2015 Final AP Top 25. WKU #24
http://collegepollarchive.com/football/a...XvzWdbMJAc

(10-29-2021 08:13 AM)WKUApollo Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 08:11 AM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 06:33 AM)CoachMaclid Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 12:01 PM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  And this is why my 2nd comments applies to CUSA 3.0 downfall.

1. CUSA is the only G5 conference not to have a team in the NY6 bowl game.
2. Since 2013, we are the only G5 conference not to have a team finish the season in the AP or Coaches Top 25.

#2 is not true either. Marshall and WKU have both finished in the Top 25 since 2013.

No they haven't.

2015 Final AP Top 25. WKU #24
http://collegepollarchive.com/football/a...XvzWdbMJAc

I stand corrected. WKU entered the rankings in Week 14 with the final rankings being Week 15.

(10-29-2021 08:17 AM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 08:13 AM)WKUApollo Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 08:11 AM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 06:33 AM)CoachMaclid Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 12:01 PM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  And this is why my 2nd comments applies to CUSA 3.0 downfall.

1. CUSA is the only G5 conference not to have a team in the NY6 bowl game.
2. Since 2013, we are the only G5 conference not to have a team finish the season in the AP or Coaches Top 25.

#2 is not true either. Marshall and WKU have both finished in the Top 25 since 2013.

No they haven't.

2015 Final AP Top 25. WKU #24
http://collegepollarchive.com/football/a...XvzWdbMJAc

I stand corrected. One time is better than no times. Haven't done it enough.

http://collegepollarchive.com/football/a...sonid=2014

Looks like Marshall made it in 2014 as well. UTSA could possibly do it this year. Marshall was on pace last year before their collapse. We usually have a team or two that is pretty darn good, we just also have a lot of teams that are pretty darn bad. At 14 programs, your good need to outweigh your bad and ours rarely did.

(10-29-2021 08:17 AM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 08:13 AM)WKUApollo Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 08:11 AM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 06:33 AM)CoachMaclid Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 12:01 PM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  And this is why my 2nd comments applies to CUSA 3.0 downfall.

1. CUSA is the only G5 conference not to have a team in the NY6 bowl game.
2. Since 2013, we are the only G5 conference not to have a team finish the season in the AP or Coaches Top 25.

#2 is not true either. Marshall and WKU have both finished in the Top 25 since 2013.

No they haven't.

2015 Final AP Top 25. WKU #24
http://collegepollarchive.com/football/a...XvzWdbMJAc

I stand corrected. One time is better than no times. Haven't done it enough.

And what exactly has UAB done? Clearly does not matter though because CUSA has won 5/6 years in NCAA opening round and got us nothing. Lets not act like this is the SWAC. CUSA can add 4 FCS call ups and be stronger in hoops than fun BElt. If Memphis and Wichita leave American, the hoops in that conference is going to be so bad, good luck!

(10-29-2021 08:32 AM)WKUFan518 Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 08:17 AM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 08:13 AM)WKUApollo Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 08:11 AM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 06:33 AM)CoachMaclid Wrote:  #2 is not true either. Marshall and WKU have both finished in the Top 25 since 2013.

No they haven't.

2015 Final AP Top 25. WKU #24
http://collegepollarchive.com/football/a...XvzWdbMJAc

I stand corrected. One time is better than no times. Haven't done it enough.

And what exactly has UAB done?

UAB hasn't done a damn thing to help on the field which was the point of my statement. Programs in CUSA didn't do enough to grow the success of the conference. Some programs did a tad more than others but overall it wasn't enough.

Be sensitive to the truth if you like but it will not change anything.

(10-28-2021 01:21 AM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  The AAC's picks were not only about market size and football. They also took schools with budgets at the top of C-USA, and every school invited was either an R-1 or R-2 research institution. There were a lot of folks that scoffed when they heard that heard that academics and research levels would be something that the AAC Presidents weighed when looking at their choices, but that was certainly a factor.

I'm going to say something else that's accurate but will likely make some folks angry. I suspect that the AAC took a long hard look at both Marshall and Southern Miss and did not see where the growth in fans and fund raising were going to come from, thought that they were at a stable place. They were looking at potential to grow and improve, so that was a problem.

Another big problem was budget. Louisiana Tech's budget is next to lowest in C-USA, exceeding only Southern Miss. AAC was considering all the C-USA schools, and that had to be a red flag for them.

Edit - One other thing. A lot of the blame for all this mess belongs to ESPN. They've made very shrewd moves that peeled away all the value they saw in C-USA and added those schools to two conferences they own, and they basically got them for free. They knocked over the dominoes, then swept in and picked up the pieces.

This is a good post. All of it is correct. The AAC wanted schools that are willing to spend money on themselves. The more resources, the better the chances at success. Marshall and Southern Mississippi simply don't have the funds to make the commitment, but that's common among mid-major public universities.

As for ESPN, I'm not sold that they set out with the intention of destroying CUSA. CUSA happened to be the poorest conference, and it isn't protected by ESPN, so it was the one that lost the most. Yes, ESPN does have all the most attractive CUSA members under its banner now. It owns two of the three top G5 conferences. Both conferences have geography that overlap, so it can now have them (AAC and Sunbelt) compete against one another.

(10-29-2021 08:11 AM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 06:33 AM)CoachMaclid Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 12:01 PM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  And this is why my 2nd comments applies to CUSA 3.0 downfall.

1. CUSA is the only G5 conference not to have a team in the NY6 bowl game.
2. Since 2013, we are the only G5 conference not to have a team finish the season in the AP or Coaches Top 25.

#2 is not true either. Marshall and WKU have both finished in the Top 25 since 2013.

No they haven't.

Uh, yes… both of us have.

(10-29-2021 09:39 AM)Ourland Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 01:21 AM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  The AAC's picks were not only about market size and football. They also took schools with budgets at the top of C-USA, and every school invited was either an R-1 or R-2 research institution. There were a lot of folks that scoffed when they heard that heard that academics and research levels would be something that the AAC Presidents weighed when looking at their choices, but that was certainly a factor.

I'm going to say something else that's accurate but will likely make some folks angry. I suspect that the AAC took a long hard look at both Marshall and Southern Miss and did not see where the growth in fans and fund raising were going to come from, thought that they were at a stable place. They were looking at potential to grow and improve, so that was a problem.

Another big problem was budget. Louisiana Tech's budget is next to lowest in C-USA, exceeding only Southern Miss. AAC was considering all the C-USA schools, and that had to be a red flag for them.

Edit - One other thing. A lot of the blame for all this mess belongs to ESPN. They've made very shrewd moves that peeled away all the value they saw in C-USA and added those schools to two conferences they own, and they basically got them for free. They knocked over the dominoes, then swept in and picked up the pieces.

This is a good post. All of it is correct. The AAC wanted schools that are willing to spend money on themselves. The more resources, the better the chances at success. Marshall and Southern Mississippi simply don't have the funds to make the commitment, but that's common among mid-major public universities.

As for ESPN, I'm not sold that they set out with the intention of destroying CUSA. CUSA happened to be the poorest conference, and it isn't protected by ESPN, so it was the one that lost the most. Yes, ESPN does have all the most attractive CUSA members under its banner now. It owns two of the three top G5 conferences. Both conferences have geography that overlap, so it can now have them (AAC and Sunbelt) compete against one another.

I cant wait to see how spending more money is going to translate to UTSA, Rice, UNCC, UTSA, FAU and NOrth TExas doing anything that matters on the field or court. I am thankful CUSA is done with 5/6 out of these schools as they did nothing for CUSA besides FAU with Lane and last season NOrth TExas hoops. Those will both be proved to be outliners. Regardless of how much money they have, the number one item is to have a good coach. If you have a good coach, no one below the P5 is going to have enough money regardless to keep said coach even if higher budget numbers. This logic is so ass backwards its just crazy people really believe this.

(10-29-2021 09:46 AM)THUNDERStruck73 Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 08:11 AM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 06:33 AM)CoachMaclid Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 12:01 PM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  And this is why my 2nd comments applies to CUSA 3.0 downfall.

1. CUSA is the only G5 conference not to have a team in the NY6 bowl game.
2. Since 2013, we are the only G5 conference not to have a team finish the season in the AP or Coaches Top 25.

#2 is not true either. Marshall and WKU have both finished in the Top 25 since 2013.

No they haven't.

Uh, yes… both of us have.

Again I stand corrected but it only solidifies my point that any little success some programs had they were not able to sustain it.

(10-29-2021 10:03 AM)WKUFan518 Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 09:39 AM)Ourland Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 01:21 AM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  The AAC's picks were not only about market size and football. They also took schools with budgets at the top of C-USA, and every school invited was either an R-1 or R-2 research institution. There were a lot of folks that scoffed when they heard that heard that academics and research levels would be something that the AAC Presidents weighed when looking at their choices, but that was certainly a factor.

I'm going to say something else that's accurate but will likely make some folks angry. I suspect that the AAC took a long hard look at both Marshall and Southern Miss and did not see where the growth in fans and fund raising were going to come from, thought that they were at a stable place. They were looking at potential to grow and improve, so that was a problem.

Another big problem was budget. Louisiana Tech's budget is next to lowest in C-USA, exceeding only Southern Miss. AAC was considering all the C-USA schools, and that had to be a red flag for them.

Edit - One other thing. A lot of the blame for all this mess belongs to ESPN. They've made very shrewd moves that peeled away all the value they saw in C-USA and added those schools to two conferences they own, and they basically got them for free. They knocked over the dominoes, then swept in and picked up the pieces.

This is a good post. All of it is correct. The AAC wanted schools that are willing to spend money on themselves. The more resources, the better the chances at success. Marshall and Southern Mississippi simply don't have the funds to make the commitment, but that's common among mid-major public universities.

As for ESPN, I'm not sold that they set out with the intention of destroying CUSA. CUSA happened to be the poorest conference, and it isn't protected by ESPN, so it was the one that lost the most. Yes, ESPN does have all the most attractive CUSA members under its banner now. It owns two of the three top G5 conferences. Both conferences have geography that overlap, so it can now have them (AAC and Sunbelt) compete against one another.

I cant wait to see how spending more money is going to translate to UTSA, Rice, UNCC, UTSA, FAU and NOrth TExas doing anything that matters on the field or court. I am thankful CUSA is done with 5/6 out of these schools as they did nothing for CUSA besides FAU with Lane and last season NOrth TExas hoops. Those will both be proved to be outliners. Regardless of how much money they have, the number one item is to have a good coach. If you have a good coach, no one below the P5 is going to have enough money regardless to keep said coach even if higher budget numbers. This logic is so ass backwards its just crazy people really believe this.

Let the hate flow through you, the #23 ranked team in the nation loves it.

Your coach is about to leave for Texas Tech

(10-29-2021 01:35 PM)ODU-Z8 Wrote:  Your coach is about to leave for Texas Tech

and you are going to the slumbelt...

Who was responsible for C-USA declining ESPN's offering in 2014? Was it Judy? I thought she was essentially a single point of contact for President's and University Leaders of Member Institutions?

If Judy is at fault here, is not the entirety of C-USA who refused ESPN's offering and the recommendations of former AD Terry Holland and others who wanted Georgia Southern and App State instead of Charlotte and a few others? C-USA Presidents wanted to build a conference that could act as a trampoline to something "better". Now that something better isn't as much better as many thought it to be, as the effort to flatten the CFB landscape continues.

(10-29-2021 01:54 PM)ericsaid Wrote:  Who was responsible for C-USA declining ESPN's offering in 2014? Was it Judy? I thought she was essentially a single point of contact for President's and University Leaders of Member Institutions?

If Judy is at fault here, is not the entirety of C-USA who refused ESPN's offering and the recommendations of former AD Terry Holland and others who wanted Georgia Southern and App State instead of Charlotte and a few others? C-USA Presidents wanted to build a conference that could act as a trampoline to something "better". Now that something better isn't as much better as many thought it to be, as the effort to flatten the CFB landscape continues.

Banowsky was commissioner until 2015, and ESPN wasn't willing to negotiate a media deal because of the lawsuit in 2011 due to Conference USA presidents backstabbing ESPN on a contract they already had--backstabbing leaders like they had at future Suck Belt members, Marshall and Southern Miss, whose former presidents voted to screw over the conference in the long-run.

I think these 2011 CUSA schools knew they were going to leave and wanted to give themselves a reason to leave.

(10-29-2021 01:50 PM)UTSAMarineVet09 Wrote:  

(10-29-2021 01:35 PM)ODU-Z8 Wrote:  Your coach is about to leave for Texas Tech

and you are going to the slumbelt...

Not really as topical as my statement was, considering WKUFan was specifically talking about coaches and their leaving, but I appreciate your random congratulation