(02-26-2023 01:44 PM)HERD1 Wrote:  Both Men's & Women's basketball had great seasons. Is going from 7-26 to 25-6 the biggest turnaround in college basketball??

Currently 18th in Baseball.

Came in 3rd in the West in Football (need improvement here, like winning the West, this fall to seal the deal IMO - still though...winning record and bowl win last season).

Congrats guys...you all have been through a lot the last few years.

First, I'm really glad a Southern Miss fan didn't post this :) Secondly, thank you!

You'd have to define "Premiere Athletic Program" first. Some here are rating by Bubba's Cup or the NCAA rankings for overall program. To me, those are for schools with lots of programs to brag about their Bowling Championships. I think the "Premiere Athletic Program" is the one people are talking about. That means Football success, then Men's Basketball success, then Baseball success, then Women's Basketball success. After that their are sports like Softball, Soccer, Track and Volleyball that you can be excited about, but that don't really move the needle for your average college sports fan.

Is that Southern Miss in the SB? No. Do we have the potential to be ONE of those each season for the SB? Yes. Our history and large support base definitely give us a strong foundation to be a school like that. We were one of those for C-USA 1.0 and 2.0, but fell off. We need to get back there.

On a separate note that was brought up in this thread, don't get too excited about our Baseball program falling off. We were swept at home early last year by a hard hitting Dallas Baptist team and were in contention to be a National Seed late in the year. Our coaches wanted to win that series, but are more concerned with season long goals and will get us there.

(02-26-2023 02:01 PM)goldeneagle21 Wrote:  For the SB to have the strongest identity possible USM needs to be strong. I’ll leave it at that. We have work to do in football.

I just want the Sun Belt to be able to fill their stadiums on Saturday's. We have a lot to gain from C-USA taking weekday inventory and shifting of the AAC and will see quite a few more weekend games on linear TV. Football drives the perception bus and if attendance is high, recruiting will improve with will improve performance which will improve eye balls which will increase $$'s.

If the Sun Belt can have 8 or 9 teams consistently filling the stadiums for television, people will be more inclined to watch, seeing support for those programs. Southern Miss is one of those must have's.

(02-27-2023 11:18 AM)TroyFootball05 Wrote:  Some people laughed when we added who we added in realignment this last go around. But man did we add some stellar programs. Couldn't be happier.

The only laughing I remember were the people who thought we had no chance of getting anyone to leave CUSA.

Outside of maybe some Liberty and Jacksonville State fans, but they are special cases.

It’s JMU.

We’re also smarter and better looking.

Just forget I said anything during baseball season. Even Superman has his kryptonite.

(02-27-2023 01:20 PM)Dukes94 Wrote:  It’s JMU.

We’re also smarter and better looking.

Just forget I said anything during baseball season. Even Superman has his kryptonite.

USM has better looking women than JMU.

Pull back on the reigns there, newbies. Haven't been in the conference a year, yet, and want to proclaim being the best?

How about waiting a year, or two, or a decade and get back to the rest of us?

(02-27-2023 01:56 PM)CatMom Wrote:  Pull back on the reigns there, newbies. Haven't been in the conference a year, yet, and want to proclaim being the best?

How about waiting a year, or two, or a decade and get back to the rest of us?

Well, was the question right now, in a year, two years or a decade?

We’ve been good in all the sports we’re good in now for a while. Except men’s basketball…I can’t predict how good any of us will be in the future, and neither can you. And is JMU a conference member or not? We’re a member. We’re the best. Fight me!

(02-27-2023 01:33 PM)everyone Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 01:20 PM)Dukes94 Wrote:  It’s JMU.

We’re also smarter and better looking.

Just forget I said anything during baseball season. Even Superman has his kryptonite.

USM has better looking women than JMU.

Only a wet t-shirt contest can settle that, and out of respect to the ladies on the board, I won’t suggest it.

(02-27-2023 01:33 PM)everyone Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 01:20 PM)Dukes94 Wrote:  It’s JMU.

We’re also smarter and better looking.

Just forget I said anything during baseball season. Even Superman has his kryptonite.

USM has better looking women than JMU.

Never realized Southern Miss has just as high of a women:men ratio as we do. Ours has come down quite a bit though. Looks like Marshall is the same way, but that doesn't count since they're in West Virginia so there's no way the women are as good looking as JMU and Southern Miss. Alright, between the women and the athletics I'd say a fairly clear top two is starting to emerge

(02-27-2023 02:05 PM)Dukes94 Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 01:56 PM)CatMom Wrote:  Pull back on the reigns there, newbies. Haven't been in the conference a year, yet, and want to proclaim being the best?

How about waiting a year, or two, or a decade and get back to the rest of us?

Well, was the question right now, in a year, two years or a decade?

We’ve been good in all the sports we’re good in now for a while. Except men’s basketball…I can’t predict how good any of us will be in the future, and neither can you. And is JMU a conference member or not? We’re a member. We’re the best. Fight me!

Nah, you're just all full of yourselves.

Read the title of the OP. It doesn't say right now (no timeframe is specified) and just because you think you are, doesn't make it true.

TXST has been good, all around, for a decade but I wouldn't thump my chest in any given year; even when we won more than our fair share of the championships (and with a sucky football program). You folks want to claim superiority because you have an overblown sense of entitlement. I see it on Facebook and Twitter, all of the time. Not a humble, or thankful, bone in your bodies.

Southern Miss has a ton of potential, but no way we are the class of the conference. Need to win in Football to declare that, and we have not been good in football. Football is 60% of the measurement in my opinion, because that's how important football is. We are thrilled to be in the Sunbelt though and away from Barbie Jeep Judy, I can tell you that!

We have a pretty large and passionate fanbase, that had been lulled to sleep in a terrible dumpster fire of a conference, before our addition to the Funbelt. When USM is good in football our attendance numbers will rival anyone in the league. When we suck like we have for most of the last decade, no one will show up.

(02-27-2023 11:42 AM)Luckyshot Wrote:  Is that Southern Miss in the SB? No. Do we have the potential to be ONE of those each season for the SB? Yes. Our history and large support base definitely give us a strong foundation to be a school like that. We were one of those for C-USA 1.0 and 2.0, but fell off. We need to get back there.

The move to the SBC has already and will continue to help those efforts tremendously. We became invisible after the last round of CUSA realignment. Even when we had that great final year under Monken, hardly anyone noticed. Our former division had a team in Alabama that had its football shut down for 2 years, 4 in Texas, and 1 more in Louisiana that thought of itself as the 5th Texas school due to its stint in the WAC and refusal to accept who they are. Our new division has 2 SBC lifers in Louisiana, 2 more in Alabama, plus 1 in Arkansas on the same highway as us. Being part of the SBC’s compact geography and almost singular cultural identity instantly brings us back into the regional consciousness—from which we’d disappeared for a while—because now all those people have good reason to pay attention to us again. The increased media exposure does the same on a national level.

It’s still up to us to get it done. The SBC isn’t magic dust that suddenly makes anybody successful. But you have a much better chance of something bearing fruit if its planted in a spot with good soil and sunlight as opposed to hard sand and darkness.

(02-27-2023 02:59 PM)CatMom Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 02:05 PM)Dukes94 Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 01:56 PM)CatMom Wrote:  Pull back on the reigns there, newbies. Haven't been in the conference a year, yet, and want to proclaim being the best?

How about waiting a year, or two, or a decade and get back to the rest of us?

Well, was the question right now, in a year, two years or a decade?

We’ve been good in all the sports we’re good in now for a while. Except men’s basketball…I can’t predict how good any of us will be in the future, and neither can you. And is JMU a conference member or not? We’re a member. We’re the best. Fight me!

Nah, you're just all full of yourselves.

Read the title of the OP. It doesn't say right now (no timeframe is specified) and just because you think you are, doesn't make it true.

TXST has been good, all around, for a decade but I wouldn't thump my chest in any given year; even when we won more than our fair share of the championships (and with a sucky football program). You folks want to claim superiority because you have an overblown sense of entitlement. I see it on Facebook and Twitter, all of the time. Not a humble, or thankful, bone in your bodies.

Well to be fair the discussion wasn't even started by someone claiming their own school. I don't think there's one clear "premier athletic program" in the conference, but I also don't think there's anything wrong with discussing who can argue a claim to it. There are at least three or four that have a solid argument right now, and it goes without saying that it's something that will change over time.

Right now JMU, Southern Miss, and Marshall are all new but all clearly belong in that conversation. I'm sure we'll all have times where we don't belong in that conversation. It's very rare to see a fan of any of those schools who isn't thankful to be here though. Also ODU sucks.

(02-27-2023 03:19 PM)KickItToScotty Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 02:59 PM)CatMom Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 02:05 PM)Dukes94 Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 01:56 PM)CatMom Wrote:  Pull back on the reigns there, newbies. Haven't been in the conference a year, yet, and want to proclaim being the best?

How about waiting a year, or two, or a decade and get back to the rest of us?

Well, was the question right now, in a year, two years or a decade?

We’ve been good in all the sports we’re good in now for a while. Except men’s basketball…I can’t predict how good any of us will be in the future, and neither can you. And is JMU a conference member or not? We’re a member. We’re the best. Fight me!

Nah, you're just all full of yourselves.

Read the title of the OP. It doesn't say right now (no timeframe is specified) and just because you think you are, doesn't make it true.

TXST has been good, all around, for a decade but I wouldn't thump my chest in any given year; even when we won more than our fair share of the championships (and with a sucky football program). You folks want to claim superiority because you have an overblown sense of entitlement. I see it on Facebook and Twitter, all of the time. Not a humble, or thankful, bone in your bodies.

Well to be fair the discussion wasn't even started by someone claiming their own school. I don't think there's one clear "premier athletic program" in the conference, but I also don't think there's anything wrong with discussing who can argue a claim to it. There are at least three or four that have a solid argument right now, and it goes without saying that it's something that will change over time.

Right now JMU, Southern Miss, and Marshall are all new but all clearly belong in that conversation. I'm sure we'll all have times where we don't belong in that conversation. It's very rare to see a fan of any of those schools who isn't thankful to be here though. Also ODU sucks.

When your college girlfriend told you she was going home for the weekend.

She was in Norfolk.

(02-27-2023 09:19 AM)PolymerEagle Wrote:  No. You have to be good in football to claim the top spot imho. Until Southern Miss is consistently competing in Football Championships I don't think you can claim anything. I love our baseball success, and basketball had a great year this year too. However, football is what really matters, as it pays the bills.

We don't have the ability (State Laws) to charge large student athletic fees like some of our competitors, so our football program needs to win to fund all of our sports. We also are in a State where our college board holds us down and won't let us add high paying degrees (Law, Medical, and Engineering), so our donation dollars are a little harder to come by than a school with a med school. It's just harder at USM, and we have to learn to do more with less resources than many of our competitors.

The fact that some schools call out line items for athletics and put it under student fees doesn't change the fact that every public school in this conference gets the majority of its athletic funding from students. You may wrap it up and hide it in the tuition or somewhere else, but our students aren't paying some huge amount more than anyone else's in the SBC. Virginia just requires schools to be transparent about it.

Granted, we don't have 100+ years of football history to have grown the donor base like some of y'all have, but with JMU having almost double the enrollment as some schools, our students might be paying less per student than others.

Our alumni giving has been historically pathetic, but as that grows I'm sure we'll rely less on student fees. Unfortunately, being a step or two below the power conferences, we're all going to have to raise our athletics investment as coaches and athletes get lured away by the outlandish media revenue and booster money we're competing against.

As many do, I feel there will be another split where the "P2" conferences leave behind a second tier made up of lower P5 and upper G5, and then the upper FCS rises to join the CUSA/MAC teams that can't keep up. Schools with massive enrollment potential like the F_Us, Texas State, North Texas, etc and diploma mills like Liberty and Grand Canyon have a shot at a dramatic UCF type path.

(02-27-2023 03:24 PM)mturn017 Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 03:19 PM)KickItToScotty Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 02:59 PM)CatMom Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 02:05 PM)Dukes94 Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 01:56 PM)CatMom Wrote:  Pull back on the reigns there, newbies. Haven't been in the conference a year, yet, and want to proclaim being the best?

How about waiting a year, or two, or a decade and get back to the rest of us?

Well, was the question right now, in a year, two years or a decade?

We’ve been good in all the sports we’re good in now for a while. Except men’s basketball…I can’t predict how good any of us will be in the future, and neither can you. And is JMU a conference member or not? We’re a member. We’re the best. Fight me!

Nah, you're just all full of yourselves.

Read the title of the OP. It doesn't say right now (no timeframe is specified) and just because you think you are, doesn't make it true.

TXST has been good, all around, for a decade but I wouldn't thump my chest in any given year; even when we won more than our fair share of the championships (and with a sucky football program). You folks want to claim superiority because you have an overblown sense of entitlement. I see it on Facebook and Twitter, all of the time. Not a humble, or thankful, bone in your bodies.

Well to be fair the discussion wasn't even started by someone claiming their own school. I don't think there's one clear "premier athletic program" in the conference, but I also don't think there's anything wrong with discussing who can argue a claim to it. There are at least three or four that have a solid argument right now, and it goes without saying that it's something that will change over time.

Right now JMU, Southern Miss, and Marshall are all new but all clearly belong in that conversation. I'm sure we'll all have times where we don't belong in that conversation. It's very rare to see a fan of any of those schools who isn't thankful to be here though. Also ODU sucks.

When your college girlfriend told you she was going home for the weekend.

She was in Norfolk.

True. JMU undergrad students often volunteered on weekends to tutor ODU doctoral candidates.

(02-27-2023 03:24 PM)mturn017 Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 03:19 PM)KickItToScotty Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 02:59 PM)CatMom Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 02:05 PM)Dukes94 Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 01:56 PM)CatMom Wrote:  Pull back on the reigns there, newbies. Haven't been in the conference a year, yet, and want to proclaim being the best?

How about waiting a year, or two, or a decade and get back to the rest of us?

Well, was the question right now, in a year, two years or a decade?

We’ve been good in all the sports we’re good in now for a while. Except men’s basketball…I can’t predict how good any of us will be in the future, and neither can you. And is JMU a conference member or not? We’re a member. We’re the best. Fight me!

Nah, you're just all full of yourselves.

Read the title of the OP. It doesn't say right now (no timeframe is specified) and just because you think you are, doesn't make it true.

TXST has been good, all around, for a decade but I wouldn't thump my chest in any given year; even when we won more than our fair share of the championships (and with a sucky football program). You folks want to claim superiority because you have an overblown sense of entitlement. I see it on Facebook and Twitter, all of the time. Not a humble, or thankful, bone in your bodies.

Well to be fair the discussion wasn't even started by someone claiming their own school. I don't think there's one clear "premier athletic program" in the conference, but I also don't think there's anything wrong with discussing who can argue a claim to it. There are at least three or four that have a solid argument right now, and it goes without saying that it's something that will change over time.

Right now JMU, Southern Miss, and Marshall are all new but all clearly belong in that conversation. I'm sure we'll all have times where we don't belong in that conversation. It's very rare to see a fan of any of those schools who isn't thankful to be here though. Also ODU sucks.

When your college girlfriend told you she was going home for the weekend.

She was in Norfolk.

(02-27-2023 11:14 AM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 07:32 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(02-26-2023 08:21 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  They are certainly the best at the Big 4 sports right now, but in terms of all around Athletic Program? I'm not sure.

Big four:

Football: jmu > southern miss
Mens hoops: southern miss > jmu
Womens hoops: jmu > southern miss
Baseball: southern miss > jmu

Looks pretty even. So let’s go to the other sports both play:

Volleyball: jmu > southern miss
Womens soccer: jmu > southern miss
Mens tennis: jmu > southern miss (still going)
Softball: southern miss > jmu ( still going)
Womens tennis: jmu > southern miss (still going)

JMU leads 6-3

Honestly, the only reason I put them ahead of you in the Big 4 is related to baseball. I feel the difference between the programs is minimal basketball, and while JMU was better in football, its not a gigantic difference, but in baseball as a program, USM should be a clear step ahead.

If the Eagles have a down year this year however, it changes things.

gotcha.

this whole thread/exercise was always going to be ridiculous the second it was posted.

the correct answer to the question,

"Who is the premier athletic program in the Sun Belt?" is.........no one.

Almost everyone brings something positive to the table. that's why this conference works.

anyone can manipulate that question to get the result that benefits them or validates them the most. Just like i did. just like your post is doing and others are as well.

how about we all just appreciate the group and laugh at CUSA and the CAA some more?

(02-27-2023 03:19 PM)KickItToScotty Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 02:59 PM)CatMom Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 02:05 PM)Dukes94 Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 01:56 PM)CatMom Wrote:  Pull back on the reigns there, newbies. Haven't been in the conference a year, yet, and want to proclaim being the best?

How about waiting a year, or two, or a decade and get back to the rest of us?

Well, was the question right now, in a year, two years or a decade?

We’ve been good in all the sports we’re good in now for a while. Except men’s basketball…I can’t predict how good any of us will be in the future, and neither can you. And is JMU a conference member or not? We’re a member. We’re the best. Fight me!

Nah, you're just all full of yourselves.

Read the title of the OP. It doesn't say right now (no timeframe is specified) and just because you think you are, doesn't make it true.

TXST has been good, all around, for a decade but I wouldn't thump my chest in any given year; even when we won more than our fair share of the championships (and with a sucky football program). You folks want to claim superiority because you have an overblown sense of entitlement. I see it on Facebook and Twitter, all of the time. Not a humble, or thankful, bone in your bodies.

Well to be fair the discussion wasn't even started by someone claiming their own school. I don't think there's one clear "premier athletic program" in the conference, but I also don't think there's anything wrong with discussing who can argue a claim to it. There are at least three or four that have a solid argument right now, and it goes without saying that it's something that will change over time.

Right now JMU, Southern Miss, and Marshall are all new but all clearly belong in that conversation. I'm sure we'll all have times where we don't belong in that conversation. It's very rare to see a fan of any of those schools who isn't thankful to be here though. Also ODU sucks.

ODU vs. JMU all time records

Mens Basketball: 58-30
Women's Basketball: 51-24
Football: 2-1
Field Hockey 56-13
Baseball: 59-51

(02-27-2023 04:54 PM)monarx Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 03:19 PM)KickItToScotty Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 02:59 PM)CatMom Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 02:05 PM)Dukes94 Wrote:  

(02-27-2023 01:56 PM)CatMom Wrote:  Pull back on the reigns there, newbies. Haven't been in the conference a year, yet, and want to proclaim being the best?

How about waiting a year, or two, or a decade and get back to the rest of us?

Well, was the question right now, in a year, two years or a decade?

We’ve been good in all the sports we’re good in now for a while. Except men’s basketball…I can’t predict how good any of us will be in the future, and neither can you. And is JMU a conference member or not? We’re a member. We’re the best. Fight me!

Nah, you're just all full of yourselves.

Read the title of the OP. It doesn't say right now (no timeframe is specified) and just because you think you are, doesn't make it true.

TXST has been good, all around, for a decade but I wouldn't thump my chest in any given year; even when we won more than our fair share of the championships (and with a sucky football program). You folks want to claim superiority because you have an overblown sense of entitlement. I see it on Facebook and Twitter, all of the time. Not a humble, or thankful, bone in your bodies.

Well to be fair the discussion wasn't even started by someone claiming their own school. I don't think there's one clear "premier athletic program" in the conference, but I also don't think there's anything wrong with discussing who can argue a claim to it. There are at least three or four that have a solid argument right now, and it goes without saying that it's something that will change over time.

Right now JMU, Southern Miss, and Marshall are all new but all clearly belong in that conversation. I'm sure we'll all have times where we don't belong in that conversation. It's very rare to see a fan of any of those schools who isn't thankful to be here though. Also ODU sucks.

ODU vs. JMU all time records

Mens Basketball: 58-30
Women's Basketball: 51-24
Football: 2-1
Field Hockey 56-13
Baseball: 59-51

Rice vs Alabama all time :

Football: rice 3 Alabama o

Is rice better than Alabama?