Leaving soon

How does this effect Rice before we leave?

Maybe both basketball teams and the soccer team will have a little easier way without UAB and (for soccer) ODU. I think the only other impact we'll see is that the new scheduling will make us get a bit more familiar with the remaining eastern teams for what I think is our last two years. I know UH is going to the XII no later than fall 2024, which I assume matches their entire cohort, and there's no reason that I know of to expect that to accelerate right now. Maybe they bring it forward one more year, and that would give the American space to offer us to come in that much earlier, but legally and competitively, I just don't see it mattering. It's more of an embarrassment to the conference and its remaining members than it is actually meaningful to us.

I will note that Marshall and UAB have been competitive in football and ODU and Southern Miss in baseball, but I don't think either of our teams in those sports (or basketball) are going to be turned around quickly enough to be that competitive by the time we leave C-USA, too.

(02-12-2022 05:41 PM)franklyconfused Wrote:  Maybe both basketball teams and the soccer team will have a little easier way without UAB and (for soccer) ODU. I think the only other impact we'll see is that the new scheduling will make us get a bit more familiar with the remaining eastern teams for what I think is our last two years. I know UH is going to the XII no later than fall 2024, which I assume matches their entire cohort, and there's no reason that I know of to expect that to accelerate right now. Maybe they bring it forward one more year, and that would give the American space to offer us to come in that much earlier, but legally and competitively, I just don't see it mattering. It's more of an embarrassment to the conference and its remaining members than it is actually meaningful to us.

I will note that Marshall and UAB have been competitive in football and ODU and Southern Miss in baseball, but I don't think either of our teams in those sports (or basketball) are going to be turned around quickly enough to be that competitive by the time we leave C-USA, too.

UAB is going with Rice and 4 other schools to the American.

So they will have to pay an exit fee for leaving?

(02-12-2022 06:27 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(02-12-2022 05:41 PM)franklyconfused Wrote:  Maybe both basketball teams and the soccer team will have a little easier way without UAB and (for soccer) ODU. I think the only other impact we'll see is that the new scheduling will make us get a bit more familiar with the remaining eastern teams for what I think is our last two years. I know UH is going to the XII no later than fall 2024, which I assume matches their entire cohort, and there's no reason that I know of to expect that to accelerate right now. Maybe they bring it forward one more year, and that would give the American space to offer us to come in that much earlier, but legally and competitively, I just don't see it mattering. It's more of an embarrassment to the conference and its remaining members than it is actually meaningful to us.

I will note that Marshall and UAB have been competitive in football and ODU and Southern Miss in baseball, but I don't think either of our teams in those sports (or basketball) are going to be turned around quickly enough to be that competitive by the time we leave C-USA, too.

UAB is going with Rice and 4 other schools to the American.

Thanks; I forgot the fourth to the Sun Belt is James Madison, so I must have just filled in the next most likely candidate.

(02-12-2022 06:30 PM)Texasowl Wrote:  So they will have to pay an exit fee for leaving?

Exit fee, yes. The surprise in this news is that there's also an additional conference rule that they're breaking for not giving at least 14 months' notice, but that rule apparently has been found to have no enforcement mechanism. These schools have been trying to negotiate a fee reduction for leaving early that the conference has no reason to agree to. They've finally decided that if the Sun Belt can take them immediately, they would rather pay the full bill and leave straight away than play out the rest of the C-USA grant of rights. If the American could take us this fall, we'd probably be out, too, but we really need some movement on Texas and OU to start the dominoes falling.

I think those three teams leaving early will have an impact on scheduling for us. CUSA will have to rearrange the conference schedules…. And for us in the West, that means no more S. Miss. on the schedule next season. Supposedly, the preliminary conference schedule was released to the ADs on the day that the three teams announced their early departure. So, that conference schedule will have to be re-configured.
And… per some posts over on the CUSA board… there might be some repercussions regarding the post season conference tournaments this season. Possibly barring the exiting teams? No idea if this is actually being considered.

One of the first articles reporting this news appeared in the Hattiesburg newspaper (https://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/stor...755448001/) and credited Brett McMurphy of "The Action Network" for the scoop.

It also said that McMurphy reported that "C-USA will have one division[/align] in football for 2022 with its 11 remaining teams: Charlotte, FAU, FIU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas, Rice, UAB, UTSA, UTEP, and Western Kentucky."

(McMurphy is "America's College Football Insider for The Action Network", according to his bio on the network's website: https://www.actionnetwork.com/article/au...t-mcmurphy)

I don't blame those three schools. We want to get out as quickly as possible as well. Good luck to them. CUSA has been a disaster for several years. I feel so sorry for UTEP being left behind, but Louisiana Tech asked for it. You can't bad-mouth the Sunbelt for years, and still expect to be invited to join.

Our 2022 schedules will look pitiful.

(02-12-2022 07:15 PM)franklyconfused Wrote:  

(02-12-2022 06:27 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(02-12-2022 05:41 PM)franklyconfused Wrote:  Maybe both basketball teams and the soccer team will have a little easier way without UAB and (for soccer) ODU. I think the only other impact we'll see is that the new scheduling will make us get a bit more familiar with the remaining eastern teams for what I think is our last two years. I know UH is going to the XII no later than fall 2024, which I assume matches their entire cohort, and there's no reason that I know of to expect that to accelerate right now. Maybe they bring it forward one more year, and that would give the American space to offer us to come in that much earlier, but legally and competitively, I just don't see it mattering. It's more of an embarrassment to the conference and its remaining members than it is actually meaningful to us.

I will note that Marshall and UAB have been competitive in football and ODU and Southern Miss in baseball, but I don't think either of our teams in those sports (or basketball) are going to be turned around quickly enough to be that competitive by the time we leave C-USA, too.

UAB is going with Rice and 4 other schools to the American.

Thanks; I forgot the fourth to the Sun Belt is James Madison, so I must have just filled in the next most likely candidate.

(02-12-2022 06:30 PM)Texasowl Wrote:  So they will have to pay an exit fee for leaving?

Exit fee, yes. The surprise in this news is that there's also an additional conference rule that they're breaking for not giving at least 14 months' notice, but that rule apparently has been found to have no enforcement mechanism. These schools have been trying to negotiate a fee reduction for leaving early that the conference has no reason to agree to. They've finally decided that if the Sun Belt can take them immediately, they would rather pay the full bill and leave straight away than play out the rest of the C-USA grant of rights. If the American could take us this fall, we'd probably be out, too, but we really need some movement on Texas and OU to start the dominoes falling.

There is an enforcement mechanism. Apparently the section on notice has all schools agreeing a priori to equitable damages (injunctive relief) being appropriate.

(02-13-2022 10:29 AM)Ourland Wrote:  I don't blame those three schools. We want to get out as quickly as possible as well. Good luck to them. CUSA has been a disaster for several years. I feel so sorry for UTEP being left behind, but Louisiana Tech asked for it. You can't bad-mouth the Sunbelt for years, and still expect to be invited to join.

Our 2022 schedules will look pitiful.

Not so in football. Southern Miss is awful, and we probably were not going to play Old Dominion or Marshall.

Well hopefully their early exit means we at least get a share of their $3MM per school (possibly more) exit fees...

https://www.vicksburgpost.com/2022/02/11...ear-early/