Sure does sound like CUSA is about to expand again.....



Selig said ODU president John Broderick will participate in a conference call of C-USA presidents at 1 p.m. today to discuss conference realignment and potential expansion.

New Mexico State and three Sun Belt schools - Western Kentucky, Arkansas State and Georgia State - have been mentioned as potential C-USA expansion candidates.


http://hamptonroads.com/2013/01/odu-may-...year-early


Who do you like? I think this means CUSA has plans of going to 16.




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Not sure I really agree with adding more schools at the moment. I think Georgia State may get in based on location and TV market. Arkansas State continues to perform well in the Sunbelt. NMSU would only make sense if UTEP stays. I would have thought Delaware would be mentioned being a Flagship school in the Philly market. Only FBS school in the state.

I think they may just be having a strategy to backfill should we lose Tulsa & USM

At this stage they are probably just going to take all 4 schools (Arkansas State, Georgia State, Western Kentucky and New Mexico State) to go to 16; but in the past I seem to recall that CUSA meetings on this type of topic usually meant that CUSA had become aware that more schools were leaving. My guess would be that UTEP to the MWC and Tulsa to the MWC or BE is probably going forward; which would drop CUSA back to 14 teams. Bye-bye Sun Belt.

(01-20-2013 09:39 AM)MUHERD76 Wrote:  Not sure I really agree with adding more schools at the moment. I think Georgia State may get in based on location and TV market. Arkansas State continues to perform well in the Sunbelt. NMSU would only make sense if UTEP stays. I would have thought Delaware would be mentioned being a Flagship school in the Philly market. Only FBS school in the state.

From UTEPs point of view it would make sense only if UTEP is leaving. Most conferences to not want to have 2 teams in a medium size market (91st) like ours. If UTEP is staying and the rest of the conference wants NMSU as well as UTEP, then so be it.

(01-20-2013 09:45 AM)PirateMarv Wrote:  At this stage they are probably just going to take all 4 schools (Arkansas State, Georgia State, Western Kentucky and New Mexico State) to go to 16; but in the past I seem to recall that CUSA meetings on this type of topic usually meant that CUSA had become aware that more schools were leaving. My guess would be that UTEP to the MWC and Tulsa to the MWC or BE is probably going forward; which would drop CUSA back to 14 teams. Bye-bye Sun Belt.

I think that would be a solid strategy. It seems like the Sun Belt is about to get raided again and Arkansas State and WKU are both solid programs who deserve better then to be stuck with what's left over there.

By my count 4 would make 18 right? Unless two are leaving then its 16.

(01-20-2013 09:52 AM)MinerInWisconsin Wrote:  

(01-20-2013 09:39 AM)MUHERD76 Wrote:  Not sure I really agree with adding more schools at the moment. I think Georgia State may get in based on location and TV market. Arkansas State continues to perform well in the Sunbelt. NMSU would only make sense if UTEP stays. I would have thought Delaware would be mentioned being a Flagship school in the Philly market. Only FBS school in the state.

From UTEPs point of view it would make sense only if UTEP is leaving. Most conferences to not want to have 2 teams in a medium size market (91st) like ours. If UTEP is staying and the rest of the conference wants NMSU as well as UTEP, then so be it.

maybe CUSA wants to help UTEP out by getting them a travel partner in NMSU? They already did it for FIU

What I was told from a friend of a friend of a friend of Mike Hamrick is they want 18 to have 9 conference games.

I'm thinking it might be about conference makeup for 2013 and football scheduling for it.

(01-20-2013 10:01 AM)MarshallHerdFanz Wrote:  What I was told from a friend of a friend of a friend of Mike Hamrick is they want 18 to have 9 conference games.

would your friend be the janitor? that guy can never learn when to shut his mouth

What if it is about UCF, Houston, and SMU staying

(01-20-2013 10:09 AM)techdawg88 Wrote:  

(01-20-2013 10:01 AM)MarshallHerdFanz Wrote:  What I was told from a friend of a friend of a friend of Mike Hamrick is they want 18 to have 9 conference games.

would your friend be the janitor? that guy can never learn when to shut his mouth

LOL .. yeah, I heard that too.

USF will be voted on to join UCF, Houston, and SMU.

East:
ODU
Marshall
MTSU
Charlotte
ECU
FIU
FAU
UCF
USF
USM
UAB

West:
Tulsa
Tulane
UTEP
UTSA
Houston
Rice
La Tech
NT
SMU

The following excerpt from the OP's linked article indicates that the conference is expecting more defections. If the 4 mentioned do leave, then it makes sense to have 4 replacements ready to pull the trigger. I would have expected ULL to be among the 4 expansion candidates. If UTEP stays I would want ULL, ASU and Texas St added. WKU should be in the east with MTSU. The Sun Belt needs to get busy.
------------------------------------------------------------

"C-USA has lost six teams to the Big East in the last two years, including East Carolina and Tulane, which announced in November that they are leaving in 2014. Still more defections seem likely.

The Big East recently lost two potential football-only members when Boise State and San Diego State decided to remain in the Mountain West, and may replace them with C-USA schools.

The Tulsa World newspaper reported that Tulsa, the defending C-USA football champion, may jump to the Big East in 2014. Newspapers in Mississippi indicate that Southern Mississippi, which won the 2011 football championship, has also been approached by the Big East.

Rice and Texas-El Paso, meanwhile, have been linked to discussions with the Mountain West.

New Mexico State and three Sun Belt schools - Western Kentucky, Arkansas State and Georgia State - have been mentioned as potential C-USA expansion candidates."

I posted this at the realignment boards but this article seems to hit on where it is going and I agree. So I guess the name of the game is to do whatever it takes to stay above water at the level of play we are because the big boys are going to get fatter while we struggle to have good conferences.

http://sportige.com/college-football-rea...c-01-2013/ oops forgot to add link. sorry

Just a contingency plan. No plans to go beyond 14, yet.

(01-20-2013 10:23 AM)MarshallHerdFanz Wrote:  USF will be voted on to join UCF, Houston, and SMU.

East:
ODU
Marshall
MTSU
Charlotte
ECU
FIU
FAU
UCF
USF
USM
UAB

West:
Tulsa
Tulane
UTEP
UTSA
Houston
Rice
La Tech
NT
SMU

that will never happen, but we might as well split into to different conferences at that point

(01-20-2013 09:57 AM)cyc46 Wrote:  By my count 4 would make 18 right? Unless two are leaving then its 16.

ECU and Tulane are leaving next year. So it would drop to 16 after 2014.

(01-20-2013 10:37 AM)PirateMarv Wrote:  

(01-20-2013 09:57 AM)cyc46 Wrote:  By my count 4 would make 18 right? Unless two are leaving then its 16.

ECU and Tulane are leaving next year. So it would drop to 16 after 2014.

CUSA would have.......

UAB, UTEP, Tulsa, S Miss, Rice, Marshall (6)

FIU, UTSA, MTSU, Charlotte, ODU, N Texas, La Tech coming in (6)

WKU, NMSU, Arkansas St, Ga State as potential additions (4)

For a total of 16.

I think Banowsky has wind that a couple of others may be leaving though.

The Tulsa World has been kicking out articles every other day that a BE invite is imminent as #14.

I think the mWC ends it's pipe dream that they will ever get BYU back into the fold and end up looking at UTEP and one other (Texas St / NMSU) to get to 14.

The one other probably comes down to NMSU to pair with UTEP or Texas State to pair with UTEP and get a foothold back in Texas.

On the other hand BYU could decide it's in it's best interest to go back to the MWC along with UTEP. At that point I would think CUSA would simply add Arkansas St (competitive football) and Ga State (market) to go to 14.

Then you end up with mWC, nBE, CUSA all with 14 schools.

MAC adds one school to the West Division to go 14 as well.