I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I fail to see why the American would add ODU over Marshall,Southern Miss or UAB?

(06-24-2019 05:47 AM)Sirloin Burger Wrote:  AAC sponsored sports. Football, Baseball, Basketball, VolleyBall, Cross Country, Track, Tennis, Swimming/Diving, Golf, Softball, LAX, Rowing and Soccer.

I think participation in sponsored sports will have an impact on the AAC's decision.

Southern Miss doesn't participate in LAX, Rowing, Men's Soccer and Swimming/Diving.

UAB doesn't participate in LAX, Swimming/Diving and Rowing

Georgia State doesn't participate in LAX, Swimming/Diving and Rowing.

Charlotte doesn't participate in LAX, Swimming/Diving and Rowing,

Old Dominion doesn't participate in Softball, Track and Cross Country. ODU is already an AAC member in Rowing. Plays LAX in the Big East.



With 7 Catholic members, I see the A10 affected by UCONN's decision as the Big East may pluck one of them.

A move to the AAC may not necessarily improve ODU basketball (See UCONN). A move to the A10 with 3 instant rivalries would, in my opinion.

If the A10 has an opening, ODU goes to the A10 and moves football to the MAC with UCONN and maybe JMU and Liberty. ODU is already a MAC member in Wrestling.

If VCU is invited to the Big East, I believe ODU would lobby for one as well. I'm sure ODU would accept a Big East invite over one from the AAC if they both happened at the same time. ODU already has LAX and Field Hockey in the Big East. However, a full invite is a long shot for sure.

Of couse, if the AAC invites us before any of these scenarios, ODU would accept it.

Huh.

Well, I doubt OLY sports will have a lot of influence on the decision. I think the BE is likely to stay at 11, they can do a 20 game double round robin in men's and women's BB with that # so it's really perfect if you don't have FB. I think a move to the AAC would absolutely improve our basketball. More money better league to recruit to, why not? UCONN moved to a worse BB league, we'd be moving to a better one. We could lobby until we're blue in the face, the BE is not going to invite us. And finally, if VCU leaves the A10 there's no reason for us to move there. Even now, I'm not for it.

(06-24-2019 08:41 AM)rileylives Wrote:  I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I fail to see why the American would add ODU over Marshall,Southern Miss or UAB?

Marshall and Southern Miss are nowhere close to the money ODU spends on athletics. AAC wants a school that's going to pump money into all their sports. ODU is in a big market, new stadium, better facilities, money, academics is better than both, instant competitor in basketball and football is coming up.

Also I said they would invite UAB.

(06-24-2019 08:41 AM)rileylives Wrote:  I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I fail to see why the American would add ODU over Marshall,Southern Miss or UAB?

I tried my best to summarize in post #57. There are a lot of threads and a lot of posts about the subject, and it's getting tiring to navigate, so I don't blame you if you didn't see it.

TLDR: IMO, money and fan support is what matters. ODU has consistently shown that we have both. We are spending $65M on a stadium renovation, and just last year we raised more in private donations than any other G5 except for UCF.

Combine that with our recruiting area, that would be the reason why ODU is an attractive candidate. If markets matter, that only helps us too.

(06-24-2019 08:45 AM)cmett003 Wrote:  

(06-24-2019 08:41 AM)rileylives Wrote:  I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I fail to see why the American would add ODU over Marshall,Southern Miss or UAB?

Marshall and Southern Miss are nowhere close to the money ODU spends on athletics. AAC wants a school that's going to pump money into all their sports. ODU is in a big market, new stadium, better facilities, money, academics is better than both, instant competitor in basketball and football is coming up.

Also I said they would invite UAB.

Thanks for the reply. I was going to joke it's because of the new Ikea right! But seriously, I don't have a problem with ODU, I just don't think as an entire program they offer what competitively a Southern Miss, Marshall or UAB can offer. again, I don't think budget size is going to be a factor as much as market, and if it's markets you know UAB and Charlotte probably trump anything the Norfolk market can bring.

it's going to be interesting, like others have said they'll probably stay at 11, but if somebody from this conference gets nabbed, it's going to set a chain reaction. What do we do next?

(06-24-2019 08:34 AM)cmett003 Wrote:  This is a very real possibility because I dont think things are finished. Cincy could go to the Big 12 and AAC adds ODU, UAB and VCU. 14 BBall, 12 football

Football

East
Temple
Navy
ECU
ODU
UCF
USF

West
UAB
Tulsa
Tulane
SMU
Houston
Memphis

BB Only
Wichita St
VCU

Navy doesn't play basketball in the AAC (football only)

(06-24-2019 08:41 AM)rileylives Wrote:  I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I fail to see why the American would add ODU over Marshall,Southern Miss or UAB?

I'm sure the AAC has already prepared for several situations including a doomsday scenario. Due diligence has already been done on potential replacement candidates so there's already a short list.

Thankfully not many ODU fans are whoring their school to the AAC.

CBS sports mentioned us as a potential candidate ESPN has suggested ODU as well.

(06-23-2019 10:04 PM)hooverblazer Wrote:  

(06-23-2019 08:56 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  Top 5 in C-USA

2017 Athletics Spending
1. ODU $46 million
2. North Texas $36 million
3. FAU $34.1 million
4. MTSU $34 million
5. Charlotte $33.2 million

https://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances/

2018 Attendance
1. UTSA- 24,710 (6)
2. UAB- 24,291 (6)
3. Marshall- 24,063 (6)
4. North Texas- 23,355 (6)
5. So Miss- 21,615 (6)

Football Coaches Salaries
1. North Texas- S. Littrell $1,425,000
2. UTSA- F. Wilson $1,100,000
3. FAU- L. Kiffen $1,000,000
4. FIU- B. Davis $945,000
5. UAB- B Clark $900,000

https://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/

Football Staff Salaries
1. North Texas- $1,720,000
2. FIU- $1,597,814
3. FAU- $1,500,000
4. UTSA- $1,370,000
5. UTEP- $1,317,500

https://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salarie.../assistant

Media Markets Rankings
1. North Texas- 5th
2. UAB- 9th
3. Rice- 10th
4. FIU- 16th
5. Charlotte- 24th

Records & Winning Percentages Since Joining C-USA 3.0
1. Marshall 53-26 .670%
2. WKU 40-26 .606% (5 seasons played in C-USA)
3. LA Tech 46-33 .582%
4. MTSU 44-34 .564%
5. UAB 27-24 .5.29% (4 seasons played in C-USA)

The football salaries are old. Bill Clark signed a new 5 year contract in November that made him the highest paid coach in CUSA at $1.45M this year and rising to $1.65M in year 5. Staff salaries were also raised.

Add $500k to Lane's salary, we bought him a $2million dollar house that we forgive $500k of the mortgage a year for every year he is still the coach on Dec. 5th.

(06-23-2019 07:46 PM)herdfan129 Wrote:  What made you rank MTSU, UTEP, and WKU ahead of Marshall in terms of market?

Huntington-Charleston media market is bigger than all 3 of theirs. Please don't try to add MTSU in with Nashville.

I don't expect Middle Tennessee to be a target in the current AAC scramble; but what leads you to conclude we arent' in the Nashville TV Market? The Boro is in the Greater Nashville area, 35 miles from Nashville City limits, has almost 30,000 alums living in Nashville, a slew of grads working for local affiliates of all three networks. Marshall has a great story but "No Where Man Please Listen". We ain't in Bum@#$%, West Virginia. Your media market is not larger than ours. There is nothing else to do in the whole state of West Virginia but to gripe about the death of coal mines, and watch Marshall and Mountaineers play sports. Put all that in your corncob pipe!

Old Dominion, Southern Mississippi, Marshall...

But all three will be in the AAC someday

Why don't those 30,000 alumni within 30 minutes come to your games?

First let me say that I like UAB. Charlotte has been in two conferences with the Blazers (Sun Belt and C-USA), and Gene Bartow was the man! I spent about 5 days in the 'Ham at the 1999 CUSA 1.0 Men's BBall Tournament watching Charlotte beat Houston, Southern Miss, Cincinnati and Louisville to win the Championship. I have enjoyed many, many great games against the Blazers, and they run a terrific program. I can see many reasons for the AAC to want UAB, but if the market has anything to do with it, Birmingham is just not that big. I get that fans from USM and Marshall might think it is a big city, but it is half the size of Charlotte (city or metro area), and about 1/3 smaller than the Norfolk area (ODU).

That said, Charlotte is a terrific big city, but we haven't won beans in 10 years in the sports that count. Our success in Olympic sports, while notable, means little. If the AAC looks at us it will not be because of our performance on the field.

ODU is putting a ton of money into a brand new football stadium, and it will not be much larger than Charlotte's was configured for the App State game (19,151). That stadium (and Charlotte's), just do not measure up to the AAC.

So, all of the schools that the AAC might consider have pluses and minuses. Nobody is a slam dunk. Like most things in life the trick is to pick the one with the best minuses, and don't worry too much about the pluses. Everybody loves the pluses, but can the AAC live with the minuses, and does that school have the resources and will to work on those minuses? That is the key.

Half the schools in the AAC are going to end up with a losing conference record in every sport. It cannot all be about winning, but it has to be about trying to win.

I am going to enjoy watching this unfold, but as a 49er, I would like our chances a lot better if we had won some games lately. Good luck to everyone.

(06-24-2019 07:15 AM)EagNBran Wrote:  

(06-24-2019 12:29 AM)Sideshow2313 Wrote:  

(06-23-2019 11:37 PM)DustMyBroom Wrote:  

(06-23-2019 10:45 PM)Sideshow2313 Wrote:  

I love flat out ignorant comments like this. You just informed everyone that you don’t know what you are talking about.

(06-23-2019 11:38 PM)Sideshow2313 Wrote:  

(06-23-2019 10:53 PM)rileylives Wrote:  

(06-23-2019 10:45 PM)Sideshow2313 Wrote:  

Marshall and academics? Are you talking about grey shirts/props?

I’m of the opinion they have a place, but that’s an entirely too long philosophical discussion...

Yes not allowed in AAC, NCAA minimum is minimum for admission to the university.

S.Miss needs to double its budget, needs to quit bitching about $ if they have so much $$$. The years of bitching about $$ is not a good look for a school who wants to move up. If they have the $ they should start spending all they find bc in AAC it is expected to improve your facilities and increase your budget. The few million increases in AAC contract will be less than the expected budget increase from S.Miss current level.

As for Marshall, everybody is Carnegie classification school so that means nothing. Most of AAC has been in conference with Marshall and Presidents/Boosters have seen who they get on their team. MU has had a competitive advantage yet people know MU can't pull that in AAC; so that's a huge negative indicator wither MU can be competitive in FB.

Not starting a fight just saying the CUSA MU will be a better team than AAC MU. You should want the truth and I don't want you to get your hopes up.

While you are correct that USM’s budget is an issue, there’s also the apathy factor our fans are dealing with after being passed up twice and now playing schools in conference no one cares about. Joining the AAC would boost our giving dramatically more than people believe.

That's not something you can deliver on.

Tulane got invited over USM because they put the plan together and delivered on it. They didn't wait for conference affiliation to change their program, they changed it themselves.

New Football Stadium, immaculate facilities, a coach that is WINNING and changing the culture at Tulane of all places, nabbed the hottest coach they could for basketball...

They are building their program from the ground up, and are a valuable member. CUSA candidates have the blueprint for inclusion, it's just a matter of having the fortitude to execute it.

Grouping teams based on similar reasons as to why they won't or will be selected for the call up. Certainly no the only reason for each team but a big one in my opinion:

Left behind for the same reason they were left behind the last time. What has changed other than revenue is even less than before:

Marshall, USM

Not selected due to USF and UCF do not want to advance FIU or FAU's progress in the state of FL. Although allowing both in would create some amazing rivalries and great attendance for all schools involved, but USF and UCF want to defend their turf. Similar to USF keeping UCF out of BE until it was absolutely necessary to allow them to join (AAC formerly BE).

FAU, FIU

Endowment is meaningless to a conference. AAC would want to see you use the endowment now and be a power in CUSA. I don't see it.

Rice

I think the TX members of AAC are not overly excited about giving them a call up for similar reasons as FAU and FIU in Florida. I actually think that the TX schools will be going west.

UNT, UTEP, UTSA

To small (enrollment), why would they want multiple teams from Louisiana?

La Tech

Not sure what to say about the rest:

UAB - maybe desirable for the call up; just shows we should have immediately expelled them when they dropped football; they could be in play.
ODU - huge budget; micro-stadium; haven't proven they can win at football which lets be honest AAC is a football conference and they want to improve their premier product.
Charlotte - great facilities, the football stadium could be expanded instantly, I love their stadium been their twice. Like ODU haven't proven they can win yet.

MTSU - WKU - apathetic fanbase in the main sport the AAC is interested in. A problem almost all of have in relation to fan interest

I didn't write this to poop on your school, there are probably a 1,000 reasons for each to get the call, but it only takes one reason not to get the call. I don't see the AAC fill their gap with a call to CUSA. They hold at 11 or go BYU (mistake and I don't think they accept to far away) or Army.

But still something to get worked up over during the summer doldrums.

Well thought out and spot on.

(06-24-2019 09:29 AM)Nugget49er Wrote:  First let me say that I like UAB. Charlotte has been in two conferences with the Blazers (Sun Belt and C-USA), and Gene Bartow was the man! I spent about 5 days in the 'Ham at the 1999 CUSA 1.0 Men's BBall Tournament watching Charlotte beat Houston, Southern Miss, Cincinnati and Louisville to win the Championship. I have enjoyed many, many great games against the Blazers, and they run a terrific program. I can see many reasons for the AAC to want UAB, but if the market has anything to do with it, Birmingham is just not that big. I get that fans from USM and Marshall might think it is a big city, but it is half the size of Charlotte (city or metro area), and about 1/3 smaller than the Norfolk area (ODU).

That said, Charlotte is a terrific big city, but we haven't won beans in 10 years in the sports that count. Our success in Olympic sports, while notable, means little. If the AAC looks at us it will not be because of our performance on the field.

ODU is putting a ton of money into a brand new football stadium, and it will not be much larger than Charlotte's was configured for the App State game (19,151). That stadium (and Charlotte's), just do not measure up to the AAC.

So, all of the schools that the AAC might consider have pluses and minuses. Nobody is a slam dunk. Like most things in life the trick is to pick the one with the best minuses, and don't worry too much about the pluses. Everybody loves the pluses, but can the AAC live with the minuses, and does that school have the resources and will to work on those minuses? That is the key.

Half the schools in the AAC are going to end up with a losing conference record in every sport. It cannot all be about winning, but it has to be about trying to win.

I am going to enjoy watching this unfold, but as a 49er, I would like our chances a lot better if we had won some games lately. Good luck to everyone.

How dare you bring reasoning and reality into this entertaining thread and quite frankly its very entertaining with everybody presenting a reason why they think they matter including my Alumni and getting angry when someone else shoots them down like this message board fodder is gonna influence the decision. Let them go on, after all no one knows if they even expand and the factors they are taking into account for a possible replacement.

(06-24-2019 09:37 AM)FAU Connoisseur! Wrote:  Grouping teams based on similar reasons as to why they won't or will be selected for the call up. Certainly no the only reason for each team but a big one in my opinion:

Left behind for the same reason they were left behind the last time. What has changed other than revenue is even less than before:

Marshall, USM

Not selected due to USF and UCF do not want to advance FIU or FAU's progress in the state of FL. Although allowing both in would create some amazing rivalries and great attendance for all schools involved, but USF and UCF want to defend their turf. Similar to USF keeping UCF out of BE until it was absolutely necessary to allow them to join (AAC formerly BE).

FAU, FIU

Endowment is meaningless to a conference. AAC would want to see you use the endowment now and be a power in CUSA. I don't see it.

Rice

I think the TX members of AAC are not overly excited about giving them a call up for similar reasons as FAU and FIU in Florida. I actually think that the TX schools will be going west.

UNT, UTEP, UTSA

To small (enrollment), why would they want multiple teams from Louisiana?

La Tech

Not sure what to say about the rest:

UAB - maybe desirable for the call up; just shows we should have immediately expelled them when they dropped football; they could be in play.
ODU - huge budget; micro-stadium; haven't proven they can win at football which lets be honest AAC is a football conference and they want to improve their premier product.
Charlotte - great facilities, the football stadium could be expanded instantly, I love their stadium been their twice. Like ODU haven't proven they can win yet.

MTSU - WKU - apathetic fanbase in the main sport the AAC is interested in. A problem almost all of have in relation to fan interest

I didn't write this to poop on your school, there are probably a 1,000 reasons for each to get the call, but it only takes one reason not to get the call. I don't see the AAC fill their gap with a call to CUSA. They hold at 11 or go BYU (mistake and I don't think they accept to far away) or Army.

But still something to get worked up over during the summer doldrums.

Good post, a lot to chew on without being completely disrespectful. I wish others had that same tone.

I don't know what the American will value this time. It's obvious they valued academics and market size in their initial configuration. But let's say Houston and UCF decide to leave, or are selected elsewhere. Then everything changes. And I think at that point they're going to need to backfill with some actual competitive brands.

That's when teams like Southern Miss and Marshall will hold value.

(06-24-2019 09:37 AM)FAU Connoisseur! Wrote:  Grouping teams based on similar reasons as to why they won't or will be selected for the call up. Certainly no the only reason for each team but a big one in my opinion:

Left behind for the same reason they were left behind the last time. What has changed other than revenue is even less than before:

Marshall, USM

Not selected due to USF and UCF do not want to advance FIU or FAU's progress in the state of FL. Although allowing both in would create some amazing rivalries and great attendance for all schools involved, but USF and UCF want to defend their turf. Similar to USF keeping UCF out of BE until it was absolutely necessary to allow them to join (AAC formerly BE).

FAU, FIU

Endowment is meaningless to a conference. AAC would want to see you use the endowment now and be a power in CUSA. I don't see it.

Rice

I think the TX members of AAC are not overly excited about giving them a call up for similar reasons as FAU and FIU in Florida. I actually think that the TX schools will be going west.

UNT, UTEP, UTSA

To small (enrollment), why would they want multiple teams from Louisiana?

La Tech

Not sure what to say about the rest:

UAB - maybe desirable for the call up; just shows we should have immediately expelled them when they dropped football; they could be in play.
ODU - huge budget; micro-stadium; haven't proven they can win at football which lets be honest AAC is a football conference and they want to improve their premier product.
Charlotte - great facilities, the football stadium could be expanded instantly, I love their stadium been their twice. Like ODU haven't proven they can win yet.

MTSU - WKU - apathetic fanbase in the main sport the AAC is interested in. A problem almost all of have in relation to fan interest

I didn't write this to poop on your school, there are probably a 1,000 reasons for each to get the call, but it only takes one reason not to get the call. I don't see the AAC fill their gap with a call to CUSA. They hold at 11 or go BYU (mistake and I don't think they accept to far away) or Army.

But still something to get worked up over during the summer doldrums.

Can't argue with anything here.

I'd like to add that I think football success would make the decision a simple one.

If we had ANY program take off on an access bowl run, they would be a clear front runner in my opinion.

(06-24-2019 09:45 AM)LaTechBanjo Wrote:  

(06-24-2019 09:37 AM)FAU Connoisseur! Wrote:  Grouping teams based on similar reasons as to why they won't or will be selected for the call up. Certainly no the only reason for each team but a big one in my opinion:

Left behind for the same reason they were left behind the last time. What has changed other than revenue is even less than before:

Marshall, USM

Not selected due to USF and UCF do not want to advance FIU or FAU's progress in the state of FL. Although allowing both in would create some amazing rivalries and great attendance for all schools involved, but USF and UCF want to defend their turf. Similar to USF keeping UCF out of BE until it was absolutely necessary to allow them to join (AAC formerly BE).

FAU, FIU

Endowment is meaningless to a conference. AAC would want to see you use the endowment now and be a power in CUSA. I don't see it.

Rice

I think the TX members of AAC are not overly excited about giving them a call up for similar reasons as FAU and FIU in Florida. I actually think that the TX schools will be going west.

UNT, UTEP, UTSA

To small (enrollment), why would they want multiple teams from Louisiana?

La Tech

Not sure what to say about the rest:

UAB - maybe desirable for the call up; just shows we should have immediately expelled them when they dropped football; they could be in play.
ODU - huge budget; micro-stadium; haven't proven they can win at football which lets be honest AAC is a football conference and they want to improve their premier product.
Charlotte - great facilities, the football stadium could be expanded instantly, I love their stadium been their twice. Like ODU haven't proven they can win yet.

MTSU - WKU - apathetic fanbase in the main sport the AAC is interested in. A problem almost all of have in relation to fan interest

I didn't write this to poop on your school, there are probably a 1,000 reasons for each to get the call, but it only takes one reason not to get the call. I don't see the AAC fill their gap with a call to CUSA. They hold at 11 or go BYU (mistake and I don't think they accept to far away) or Army.

But still something to get worked up over during the summer doldrums.

Can't argue with anything here.

I'd like to add that I think football success would make the decision a simple one.

If we had ANY program take off on an access bowl run, they would be a clear front runner in my opinion.

Marshall and WKU are the only ones who can make that claim. We finished ranked in 2014, and I can't remember one Western was ranked, but I know they finished ranked at some point.

Southern Miss has also proven they can achieve a high-ranking this decade, so there's that.

I still believe UAB makes sense if an all sports team needs to be added.