(03-10-2023 10:15 AM)MUther Wrote:  Dude is rubbing it in and bragging he is now P5. Look at his rep. He is always a d-bag. Always. He is using this to lead to something nefarious.

It's not really working though.

If conference realignment has taught us anything it's that "deserves" has nothing to do with it.

We shot ourselves in the foot plenty, so we'll never really know how much fault lies within, but it doesn't matter anyway because the there's nothing you can do about it now and the goals haven't changed.

UFC, Houston, Cinci, Louisville and TCU did it, they made the leap we all wish we could have. We never had the path available to them, we would have had to go on a Boise-like run, and you see where it's got them so far.

I mean at least we are (so to speak) a Rite Aid and not a Toys R Us or Blockbuster. We are still around and that means we are still capable of doing what we have done. If all indications are correct we will have $2M + a year to play with that we didn't have before...peanuts to most schools but we do more with less. We do not need $80M a year to beat MS State and others and we will have more chances to prove that. As long as we keep that chip on our shoulder we are capable. I will say our recruiting has steadily declined and that is my biggest concern going forward b/c I'm not sure our coaching can offset a lack of talent.

Most of those schools were old Metro Conference mates.

(03-10-2023 09:36 AM)gdunn Wrote:  

(03-09-2023 08:32 PM)HarborPointe Wrote:  

(03-09-2023 07:08 PM)GhostofTheChosenOne Wrote:  Proof winning doesn’t matter, only markets.

We had our issues there, too. Football struggled mightily in the ‘90s and ‘00s to win the games that mattered most. Beat Houston in the season finale in ‘97 and Tulane and their one-handed QB in ‘98, and that would’ve given us 4 straight titles and trips to the Liberty Bowl heading into 2000. We had a lot of good years but not a lot of true highs. Basketball has been neglected when not outright sabotaged most of the past 25 years.

We came off a high with a coach and an AD that chose to go to Hawaii vs playing in Texas against Penn State, then made the most atrocious hire we could've, then hired the guy we should've after Fedora (let's be honest, had we hired Monk after Fedora we would've continued winning or that's my opinion), then he left us for his dream job (still don't fault him) and we hired a guy who was just happy to be there...

I don't think that administration in place during that time frame was trying to better our situation with the now defunct Big East/AAC, like Hop they were just happy to be there.

This season I sense our fans being rejuvenated and excited.

The Hawaii Bowl thing is overblown IMHO. Nobody’d even remember that if we hadn’t followed it by hiring O-fer to run the program off a cliff.

(03-10-2023 10:15 AM)MUther Wrote:  Dude is rubbing it in and bragging he is now P5. Look at his rep. He is always a d-bag. Always. He is using this to lead to something nefarious.

He Cooged it!

(03-09-2023 04:47 PM)PolymerEagle Wrote:  Now you know why us Southern Miss fans can be so bitter at times. We have at times have put a very competitive product on the field, but could never justify a move up due to being in a low population state with a small TV market.

Sucks because we are in a state with two $EC teams that get like $80M a year in media money, and we just steadily lose ground to them year after year. It's a yearly conversation around here where some Redneck tells me that USM should just play in a better conference like the SEC or ACC. It really stinks that who your friends were 60-70 years ago ended up determining the haves and have nots in college football in this state. Just in case you are wondering Hattiesburg is a comparable media market to Starkville and Oxford.

How to compete with the obvious is the question. We're all held back by the osmosis of money into more densely populated areas. Most of us. Small towns take on the risk by initiating the university but wind up test sites. More so in recent years.

Universities organically grow driven by success. Hitch your wagon to universities that are excited to compete against you. For that reason USM is a healthy addition to the Sun Belt. You're not pushing major metros to accept you more pulling universities to lift you and it's working. Linger in the middle with little relevance and get left behind.

(03-10-2023 01:27 PM)GreenBison Wrote:  

(03-10-2023 10:15 AM)MUther Wrote:  Dude is rubbing it in and bragging he is now P5. Look at his rep. He is always a d-bag. Always. He is using this to lead to something nefarious.

He Cooged it!

Well, Houston was once in the same conference with Texas, Texas A&M, & Arkansas, and took almost 30 years to work their way back into one with Iowa State and West Virginia, so the sensible among their fans will be careful where they step on the “then & now” path.

That said, had you told me 20-25 years ago that this many of our CUSA mates would end up the ACC and Big 12 and not us, I’d probably have been so mad, I’d punch a hole through a wall, but being that much older now and seeing how it all played out, I’m actually pretty happy we’ve ended up where we have. I want to watch my college play college sports, not whatever this bulls**t is evolving into where schools blow ridiculous sums of money just for the opportunity to blow even more later. Let’s be real. Unless you’re in the top quartile of the SEC or Big Ten competing for national championships in multiple sports every year, it’ll never be good enough to satisfy the egos of alumni and administrators who attach the size of their peckers to what a bunch of teenagers and 20-something youngsters do on a playing field.

As far as I’m concerned, we’re home and exactly where we belong. It’s also incredibly refreshing to be with other schools who are comfortable in their own skin instead of constantly having their eye on being the tallest midget somewhere else.

(03-10-2023 11:11 AM)Big Dub Wrote:  If conference realignment has taught us anything it's that "deserves" has nothing to do with it.

Case in point: Boise State.

If there was ANY school that deserved to be invited/elevated to BCS/P5 conference, it was Boise State. But potential TV #s/metro areas is what drives everything.

(03-11-2023 10:01 PM)TTT Wrote:  

(03-10-2023 11:11 AM)Big Dub Wrote:  If conference realignment has taught us anything it's that "deserves" has nothing to do with it.

Case in point: Boise State.

If there was ANY school that deserved to be invited/elevated to BCS/P5 conference, it was Boise State. But potential TV #s/metro areas is what drives everything.

Funny thing is people outside of Boise's market will watch them play. They're interesting and they win a lot. No one outside of Tulane's market is watching them play. No one IN charlotte's market is watching them or FAU, etc. I would venture Boise's ratings in their smaller market exceed most if not all the "market" schools' shares. At least in recent history, say last 20 years.

(03-11-2023 10:01 PM)TTT Wrote:  

(03-10-2023 11:11 AM)Big Dub Wrote:  If conference realignment has taught us anything it's that "deserves" has nothing to do with it.

Case in point: Boise State.

If there was ANY school that deserved to be invited/elevated to BCS/P5 conference, it was Boise State. But potential TV #s/metro areas is what drives everything.

The problem with Boise state is the league, where they would fit geographically best, will not take them because of academics.

(03-11-2023 05:26 PM)HarborPointe Wrote:  

(03-10-2023 01:27 PM)GreenBison Wrote:  

(03-10-2023 10:15 AM)MUther Wrote:  Dude is rubbing it in and bragging he is now P5. Look at his rep. He is always a d-bag. Always. He is using this to lead to something nefarious.

He Cooged it!

Well, Houston was once in the same conference with Texas, Texas A&M, & Arkansas, and took almost 30 years to work their way back into one with Iowa State and West Virginia, so the sensible among their fans will be careful where they step on the “then & now” path.

That said, had you told me 20-25 years ago that this many of our CUSA mates would end up the ACC and Big 12 and not us, I’d probably have been so mad, I’d punch a hole through a wall, but being that much older now and seeing how it all played out, I’m actually pretty happy we’ve ended up where we have. I want to watch my college play college sports, not whatever this bulls**t is evolving into where schools blow ridiculous sums of money just for the opportunity to blow even more later. Let’s be real. Unless you’re in the top quartile of the SEC or Big Ten competing for national championships in multiple sports every year, it’ll never be good enough to satisfy the egos of alumni and administrators who attach the size of their peckers to what a bunch of teenagers and 20-something youngsters do on a playing field.

As far as I’m concerned, we’re home and exactly where we belong. It’s also incredibly refreshing to be with other schools who are comfortable in their own skin instead of constantly having their eye on being the tallest midget somewhere else.

Well said!

One of the nice things about American professional football and basketball is that once you join the Mob and buy a team, the playing field is level. There’s revenue sharing, drafts and salary caps. There’s no guarantee of success for anyone because of who or where they are. You get a good owner, a good GM, the right coach and land a generational talent, and suddenly you’re the Golden State Warriors. And no amount of being LA, Houston or Miami can change that fact. (Player collaboration aside)

(03-12-2023 08:34 AM)benny_t Wrote:  

(03-11-2023 10:01 PM)TTT Wrote:  

(03-10-2023 11:11 AM)Big Dub Wrote:  If conference realignment has taught us anything it's that "deserves" has nothing to do with it.

Case in point: Boise State.

If there was ANY school that deserved to be invited/elevated to BCS/P5 conference, it was Boise State. But potential TV #s/metro areas is what drives everything.

The problem with Boise state is the league, where they would fit geographically best, will not take them because of academics.

Don’t overlook enrollment. With the money flowing around the U. Michigans and U. Floridas of the world, you gotta bring a MASSIVE audience to add anything to the pie. That means either having been on the map long enough to have a huge following over multiple generations or having the enrollment and/or environs to create one. Boise, as good as they’ve been in the 2000s, have neither.

The smallest new addition to the Big 12—the entry-level “P5”—has an enrollment of 35,000, and it’s also a private school with bottomless pockets and a worldwide religious-affiliated following. The smallest public school the 12 added has 47,000 students.

The ACC is the only autonomy conference with a majority of members with enrollments under 30k, and you see how well that’s going for them as the TV money gets bigger.

(03-12-2023 04:20 AM)MUther Wrote:  

(03-11-2023 10:01 PM)TTT Wrote:  

(03-10-2023 11:11 AM)Big Dub Wrote:  If conference realignment has taught us anything it's that "deserves" has nothing to do with it.

Case in point: Boise State.

If there was ANY school that deserved to be invited/elevated to BCS/P5 conference, it was Boise State. But potential TV #s/metro areas is what drives everything.

Funny thing is people outside of Boise's market will watch them play. They're interesting and they win a lot. No one outside of Tulane's market is watching them play. No one IN charlotte's market is watching them or FAU, etc. I would venture Boise's ratings in their smaller market exceed most if not all the "market" schools' shares. At least in recent history, say last 20 years.

Boise has a brand and recognition with the blue turf and their earlier success. However, the Boise viewership draw gets overstated in my opinion.

2022 Boise State delivered 4,809,000 viewers to their conference media partner. Adding their away game at Oregon State, 6,059,000 viewers. Tulane had 6,938,000 viewers, all AAC conference games.
2021 Boise State delivered 4,802,000 viewers in their conference deal. At BYU and at UCF brought the total to 7,887,000 viewers. Tulane had 3,962,000 in conference inventory viewers, 4,312,000 total.
2020 (COVID affected schedules) Boise State had 2,941,000 viewers all conference games. Tulane had 3,646,000 conference viewers and 4,162,000 total. I looked at Tulsa, with the benefit of the CCG and the Hurricane had 4,446,000 conference viewers and 6,176,000 total.

(These numbers are regular season including CCGs, but Boise's bowl games don't demonstrate an outsized viewership draw for them. Non-Boise mwc champs do just as well in Las Vegas/Los Angeles Bowls for instance.)

Your specific example of Tulane had more viewers than Boise State 2 out of the last 3 years. We can't say what the CUSA6 will do, because those contracts were so poor. But the top teams in the AAC in 2023 will probably do better than Boise State. (Boise's OOC will help them out in 2023, too, but I still have high confidence in this assessment.)