RE: Really, Those that bailed , are here to heckle those left. Sick
I actually am horrified to watch this playing out, especially feel deeply for those schools who were/are left behind in CUSA. We have been speculating on the Rice board for decades about the possible demise of athletics in general, or at least a severe downgrade, worse than last time, for our long-storied program. Rice was admittedly lucky to escape to find a foothold on a level that is basically similar to where we just were in more ways than it is dissimilar. The difference is how it would have looked if Rice had been one of the schools left in CUSA, and what impact that would have made to a) the current efforts of CUSA to stay afloat and rebuild and b) Rice's own athletic program status.
I feel for the fanbases here, especially UTEP, which also has a long history but is geographically challenged in several of the ways Rice has been, and reliant on others' kindness for help in these situations;
for WKU, who as a relatively recent move-up, has done a remarkable job on the field and courts over the years they have been in CUSA, and plus, I like calling them the Marshmallows, as a good-natured poke at their mascot, who, let's face it reminds us of a red Cookie Monster, and everybody in the end loves Cookie Monster (if you don't there's something wrong with you);
LaTech, who also has a history of success and effort, especially in Women's Hoops in the past where they used to be national championship contenders regularly for years, and they have been tremendous on the football field and have built up some nice facilities with their school's admin's investment;
ODU, you have not been here too long, hut looks like you are moving on to the Belt, so will be interesting to follow how y'all grow your program in the future;
FIU, well, wrong place, wrong time. You guys are the ones with the view of the beach form your stadium, right? I just don;t know too much about you and you are a recent move up as well, so your story is just starting and there will be these kind of hiccups along the way;
MTSU, well, I always intended to drive up to a game or two there, as I'm far from Houston myself, but never made it farther than Birmingham each time, so I don't know what to say--probably the same as FIU, your story is longer, but the road ahead is long and will wind here and there, so hang in there and it'll get better if you keep caring and growing;
Marshall- how a program with your history and results gets left back this way is weird, but I think y'all'l do well in the Belt, which looks like a stronger conference with solid fan bases;
Southern Miss- y'all have been fun, have a great history, and have been close enough to bring fans to Houston for games, we wish you the best success in your future endeavors, but this won't be the last time you face this type scenario, unfortunately;
To those moving across to the AAC with us (can't really say it's all that much up as top programs have left, and there look to be further reverberations coming, so we'll have to see) we all dodged a bullet, clearly, and some of us were more ready than others, but all of us need to work hard to improve and invest. Rice has had a big problem with both of those for more than 60 years now, and I don't know if we'll be rescued again despite our relative lack of effort again when next big restructuring happens--but then, if the top 24, 48, 64 teams do break off to form a semipro league, we'll probably rely on their leftovers to make our lack of motivation and investment payoff again like we just did with this move. It's sad to watch when of all the schools left behind this round, we have the most money and potential to quickly change our own fortunes, but our admin simply refuse and are more comfortable being parasites than leaders athletically.
Anyways, I have enjoyed (and will continue to enjoy) participating on this board, starting weird threads and poking fun in a very southern and unorthodox way over he years. I appreciate y'all's passion for your schools and for sports and other issues, and wish each of your schools the best that can be. Some of you we may well meet with again in the future, so don;t fret. The only thing constant about these realignments is that they always happen and things can and will continue to change. Peace, bros!
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