A million thoughts on conference reallignment

Quote:WAC

Here’s the wild card, the disintegrating Western Athletic Conference, which as of 2013 will be left with football members New Mexico State and Idaho. I suppose the two could play a best-of-seven series and call it a conference schedule, but that’s probably not very feasible. (Ha.)

With Benson gone to the Sun Belt, Jeff Hurd is the WAC’s interim commissioner. There has been a ton of message board chatter about the potential for the league to court a number of potential FCS schools interested in making the move to the FBS. Programs that fit that bill: Liberty, Appalachian State, Sam Houston State, Jacksonville State and Lamar, among others that I’m surely forgetting.

I asked Hurd if that sort of thing was in the cards for the league, and he wouldn’t confirm or deny it.

When you go down the list of potentials, only Liberty and Appalachian St seem ready to make the move. JMU maybe but all the others seem a long way from being ready to move up. If Liberty & Appalachian St move up, the Sun Belt looks more realistic then the WAC.

WAC could look like this.
Denver (non football)
Idaho
Idaho State
Montana
Montana State
New Mexico State
Portland State
Sacramento State
Seattle (non football)
Utah Valley

(05-20-2012 03:38 AM)David Krysakowski Wrote:  WAC could look like this.
Denver (non football)
Idaho
Idaho State
Montana
Montana State
New Mexico State
Portland State
Sacramento State
Seattle (non football)
Utah Valley

I couldn't see the bold making the jump, but it will be interesting to see if any Big Sky teams make the jump.

WOAH! to me this makes the whole FCS group to the WAC thing even more likely, since it's now of almost never for Montana, UD, and others.

Quote:Reason No. 1 is the fact that last September the NCAA lifted a four-year moratorium on schools jumping from FCS to FBS. Word on the street is that the moratorium will return, and this time it could last 10 years.

ODU athletics director Wood Selig said the possibility of another moratorium is why his school moved so quickly.

"For me personally, it [a possible moratorium] created a major sense of urgency," Selig told David Teel of the Daily Press of Hampton Roads, Va.

Reason No. 2 is the same for Old Dominion as it is for Alabama: money and prestige. There is simply more of both in the bottom half of the FBS than in the top half of the FCS.

"Our attitude was if we're ever going to do this, we might as well do it now," said Brad Lambert, the former Wake Forest and Georgia assistant who was hired to build the program at Charlotte. "This opportunity presented itself now and we know it may never come again. We are just getting started in our recruiting, so we can now go after a different caliber of athlete and in greater numbers. If we're going to build, we might as well build towards this. College football is about the brand you put behind your brand."

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...ump-to-fbs

A lot of folks are using this example that I like as a Liberty fan:

WAC West
-Idaho
-NMSU
-Montana
-Montana State
-North Dakota State
-Portland State
-Sacramento State

WAC East
-Appalachian State
-Georgia Southern
-JMU
-Liberty
-Delaware
-Jacksonville State
-Youngstown State

I have seen quoted that the next moratorium could be for 10 years. If true, that would certainly make any school thinking about moving up to do it now.

Absolutely, I'm hopin a fire is lit and stuff starts rollin.

I don't care what FBS conference Liberty moves into. I will fully support and cheer for that conference and be forever thankful for being a new member. If it makes me sound desperate, it's because I am. I hope the WAC isn't as stuck up as the Sun Belt.

Jeff Caves (Sports Talk Show Host 93.1 The Ticket The FM sports station specializing in Boise State Football Boise, Idaho · http://ktik.com/Article.asp?id=601349) on Twitter:

Quote:Sun Belt commish Karl Benson said Jax St, Ga Southern, Liberty, App St looked into joining Sun Belt and now will explore WAC fb membership

Told ya so! I have felt since Liberty's FBS announcement 2 wks ago from some comments that this is where we were headed. But will enough FCS schools go?

This arrangement would be better for APP State than the sunbelt. Hope it happens

WAC East
-Appalachian State
-Georgia Southern
-JMU
-Liberty
-Delaware
-Jacksonville State
-Youngstown State

Sun Belt Shuts door on Liberty

Quote:Liberty’s hopes of finding an FBS home now likely rest on either the Mid-American Conference or a revamped Western Athletic Conference. There has been little chatter from the MAC in regards to expansion. The mostly Midwestern-based league recently lost Temple to the Big East in all sports but added Massachusetts as a football-affiliate member.

(05-24-2012 06:39 AM)tarmack Wrote:  This arrangement would be better for APP State than the sunbelt. Hope it happens

WAC East
-Appalachian State
-Georgia Southern
-JMU
-Liberty
-Delaware
-Jacksonville State
-Youngstown State

I mean to me thiis would be an awesome conference and provide a way for these teams to all have a more smooth transition.

WAC EAST:
APP - Beautiful Mountain Setting
Georgia Southern - Born to be big league
Liberty - Large Fan Base, Beautiful country
Chattanooga - Beautiful mountain setting, hosted the FCS Championship for years
Coast Carolina - Myrtle Beach SC (need I saw more)
Jackson St - I know little about them
Youngstown - I know little about them
JMU - Great stadium and setting
Delaware - State university

OK, I have taken care of the East. Now someone out west pick your teams. Could it be that "the report of the WAC's demise has been greatly exaggerated?"

If we're just spitballing here, this would be my ideal set-up:

East
Appalachian
Georgia Southern
James Madison
Delaware
Jacksonville State
Liberty

West
Idaho
New Mexico State
Montana
Montana State
North Dakota State
Eastern Washington

... I can dream

Is it against the rules for the WAC to completely re-brand? Say to become an Eastern Conference with two west coast teams in Idaho and NMSU? So instead of finding enough teams to do divisions just become an 8 member conference with 6 eastern schools and those 2 western schools? Just thinking out loud.

(05-24-2012 09:36 AM)asumike83 Wrote:  If we're just spitballing here, this would be my ideal set-up:

East
Appalachian
Georgia Southern
James Madison
Delaware
Jacksonville State
Liberty

West
Idaho
New Mexico State
Montana
Montana State
North Dakota State
Eastern Washington

... I can dream

I like your dream. I would like to have a few more teams in each division. This would mean less traveling and if the conference was to get poached a few more teams would be a good insurance policy.

Love it Mike!

We hope it happens too. JSU is good Alabama football, and the band is one of the best in the nation. Should be fun to go against JMU for the bands, and Montana, Delaware, Ga Southern, App State, and North Dakota State for the football....

Our school is constantly talking with folks, but there is no time table for JSU to move up. We are currently upgrading a couple facilities on campus (softball and tennis). Pete Mathews Coliseum and the baseball complex need it too. Our football stadium currently holds 24k + suites and sky boxes, and it's really nice. But.... We are always trying to find funding from alumni and friends to make things work. JSU could be a nice fit and vice versa....

Oh yeah.... Don't get JSU - Jacksonville State confused with Jackson State...the other JSU. Jackson State is an HBCU and in Miss... There is no comparison, respectfully.