(11-01-2021 08:59 PM)Wahoowa84 Wrote:  If they need 8 members to formally survive, can they take the non-football schools from the Sun (ALR / UTA) and UMass / UConn as FB only?

Well, they need 8 full FBS members to meet requirements, so that particular arrangement wouldn't help, but they'll be able to have their pick of several FCS teams. That's assuming MT and WK leave, if not they don't have to do anything else.

(11-01-2021 08:18 PM)Huan Wrote:  Keep the momentum: go after NDSU, SDSU, MoSU, and IlSU

"the Momentum"?

To where, purgatory?

(11-01-2021 08:59 PM)Wahoowa84 Wrote:  If they need 8 members to formally survive, can they take the non-football schools from the Sun (ALR / UTA) and UMass / UConn as FB only?

Doesn't help. You need 8 football-playing full members to be an FBS Conference. You can have football-onlies, or non-football schools if you want to. But it doesn't count towards the 8 you need for FBS.

Jax State was a pleasant surprise for CUSA as they hadn't been on the expansion boards at least as far as the rumors go.

This move has largely answered the question as to whether CUSA was going to survive or if it was going to split.

If CUSA could get NDSU for football-only membership honestly I'm not sure it will be any worse off football wise than it is now.

(11-01-2021 09:14 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(11-01-2021 08:18 PM)Huan Wrote:  Keep the momentum: go after NDSU, SDSU, MoSU, and IlSU

"the Momentum"?

To where, purgatory?

There was likely significant reluctance for any program to join after 9 left and maybe 2 more. These 4 adds significantly altered that perception and thus generate some momentum going towards the positive. Clearly they should add 1-3 more.

(11-01-2021 08:59 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  So they do need at least one more full FB-playing member. They could also serve as a decent landing spot for UTA and UALR. Potential travel partners:

Jacksonville State/?
Little Rock/Louisiana Tech
New Mexico State/UTEP
Sam Houston/Texas-Arlington

And FIU/Liberty, I suppose, unless the 10th add is closer to either of them than to JSU.

NMSU, UTEP, Sam Houston, Louisiana Tech, Jacksonville State, Eastern Kentucky, Liberty, Chattanooga, FIU + non-FB UTA and Little Rock. 9 football schools and 11 basketball members, allowing a 20 game schedule.

(11-01-2021 09:29 PM)CarlSmithCenter Wrote:  

(11-01-2021 08:59 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  So they do need at least one more full FB-playing member. They could also serve as a decent landing spot for UTA and UALR. Potential travel partners:

Jacksonville State/?
Little Rock/Louisiana Tech
New Mexico State/UTEP
Sam Houston/Texas-Arlington

And FIU/Liberty, I suppose, unless the 10th add is closer to either of them than to JSU.

NMSU, UTEP, Sam Houston, Louisiana Tech, Jacksonville State, Eastern Kentucky, Liberty, Chattanooga, FIU + non-FB UTA and Little Rock. 9 football schools and 11 basketball members, allowing a 20 game schedule.

...is Kennesaw State a viable option? Near the ATL, and is an R2 designation - over 40,000 enrollment. Not sure of their endowment/budget, but should be able to make it work... would seem to be a good 'bridge' between FIU, JXST, Liberty, and ChattVegas (yeah, I'm starting that one up... )

You get to play in FBS! You get to play in FBS!

Everybody gets to play in FBS!

I wonder if they’re waiting for WKU/MTSU to announce (forfeiting their votes) before closing in on EKU and/or Chattanooga.

I don't think they should add UTA and UALR unless all schools willing to move up that have football are tapped. Otherwise in a few yrs they'll be trying to get rid of UTA and UALR like SBC is. IF they get 10 that have football. No reason to add those 2. They can wait and look for a couple more football schools down the road to get to 12. Say UConn joins for fb only then you could go 1 bball school.

(11-01-2021 08:10 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  

(11-01-2021 08:08 PM)RUScarlets Wrote:  That Judy pulled something alright…

That meeting she had with the Arkansas consultant paying dividends early.

Excellent! Well done, Commissioner MacLeod.

If true, Judy's pension is safe.

This is totally wild. Changing from day to day.

(11-01-2021 09:40 PM)Fresno St. Alum Wrote:  I don't think they should add UTA and UALR unless all schools willing to move up that have football are tapped. Otherwise in a few yrs they'll be trying to get rid of UTA and UALR like SBC is. IF they get 10 that have football. No reason to add those 2. They can wait and look for a couple more football schools down the road to get to 12. Say UConn joins for fb only then you could go 1 bball school.

I don’t disagree that getting 10 all-sports members, or 8 plus FB-only UMass and UConn would be preferable to adding UTA and Little Rock, but they’d fill out a basketball lineup well and allow the league to play 20 games. They also both play baseball, which is important to Louisiana Tech and UTEP doesn’t sponsor baseball so they need schools that do.

(11-01-2021 08:42 PM)_sturt_ Wrote:  This seems to be eluding some, and not to step on any toes, but for what it's worth...

If programs exit by Aug 2023... and that may or may not be practical... CUSA football won't technically exist for that season unless they are able to coax all 5 FBS indys to join, making 8. The FCS schools they may add shortly will be meeting the annual June deadline for application to move up, and the NCAA manual explicitly says they cannot be reclassified until the August two years after that deadline... meaning, August 2024.

(Someone raised the fact that the manual also allows for an exception, but that exception also is explicit to one situation, ie, that a given school that had been FBS would fail to meet the requirements for the number of sports sponsored.)

That said, CUSA as a full-fledged FBS football conference still would be able to return for 2024... as far as I've been able to find, anyhow, there is no football penalty for skipping a year.

The manual specifically says there is a two year grace period. 3 can be a conference for two years then it’s over.

As it stands CUSA will be fully operational in 2022-23 with somewhere between 11-14 members, there is a possibility three leave early for Sun Belt. The AAC schools won’t be gone as it currently stands.

2023-24 the 3 Sun Belt will gone for sure and likely 2 MAC, it’s uncertain now whether 6 AAC will be gone yet but at this point Liberty and NMSU will be in. Most likely SHSU and Jax St are in counting but not eligible for post-season.

Right now worst case for CUSA is having to invoke the two year grace period for 2023-24 and 2024-25 best case unless they round up another is invoke grace period for 2024-25 and 2025-26.

(11-01-2021 09:16 PM)EigenEagle Wrote:  If CUSA could get NDSU for football-only membership honestly I'm not sure it will be any worse off football wise than it is now.

They really should. Between NDSU, maybe SDSU and Sam Houston. That's actually some pretty good quality football right there. Any of those three could easily beat half of G5 and scare the crap out of many P5 teams if not win out right. With Liberty, a resurgent UTEP and an always dangerous LaTech this would NOT be the bottom of G5 conferences by any stretch. That's for sure.

This is looking like the outcome I wanted most. No conf. dies, and we had the maximum movement. I hope the MEAC can survive. I'm worried about Howard, NCCU leaving for better conferences. Hoping the OVC, SLC bring in more D-II schools, ASUN bring in UWF

It's actually conceivable that no one changes conferences for the 2022 football season. The schools upgrading from FCS certainly will not, as they will still count as FCS for scheduling purposes in 2022 in spite of not being eligible for the FCS playoffs. A lot also rides on the SEC scheduling format. Liberty and NMSU will also have to cancel a bunch of games, although JSU and SHSU can pick up the slack. If there's 1-3 more FCS upgrades on the way, things may get more chaotic

With the deadline for subdivision chang s not being until June, it's also possible any schools that need stadium expansions may be able to line that up by then.

(11-01-2021 08:59 PM)Wahoowa84 Wrote:  If they need 8 members to formally survive, can they take the non-football schools from the Sun (ALR / UTA) and UMass / UConn as FB only?

8 full FBS members are required; the bylaws don't make any mention of allowing split membership, (i.e. football only + non football = one whole "member") so I assume the answer is no. Once they get to 8, though, they can add all the affiliates and non-football members they want, so UALR/UTA could be on the table (I doubt it, though).

IMO, they should take every southeastern FCS public worth much of anything and go from there. EKU, UTC, ETSU, UCA, SFA to get to 12. If somebody says no, go KSU or UNA or a Louisiana school. Hollow out the FCS conferences beneath CUSA. Try to get NDSU and SDSU as football affiliates once the conference is stable.

My prediction for what happens next:

I think WKU and MTSU join the MAC later this week.

CUSA was smart to act fast with these additions as momentum does count for something in realignment. Had the conference waited until the next departures and fallen to three, I’m not sure they could have gotten teams to join. Liberty especially is a coup and does a lot to secure the future of the conference.

I fully expect EKU to be the next addition once WKU leaves. I suspect that they have an understanding, but CUSA is still holding onto hope that WKU remains and does not want to do anything to upset them. I doubt WKU wants EKU in the conference. All that is moot though as I expect them to leave and EKU to be the replacement.

I also fully expect SFA to join Sam Houston. The two have long been a pair and I don’t see SFA remaining behind.

If one more FCS program steps forward (such as Kennesaw or Missouri State), then I think it’s 50/50 as to whether the conference invites UCONN and UMASS as a football only pair to get to 12. In the event that there are no other FCS additions at this time, they will likely invite UCONN as a football only member just so they can get to 10 and split into divisions to save travel costs. UMASS will likely be left in independent purgatory in that case.