Honestly, realignment will depend on which school(s) take the first step. For instance, let's say Southern Miss and La Tech decide they've had enough. Do you think they're going to realign with teams on the far reaches of the Sun Belt and CUSA? Probably not. They'd work out something like this:
USM
La Tech
UAB
MTSU
Ark State
ULL
WKU
Marshall
UNT
All within a reasonable distance of each other, no one out in la la land, just in the same geographic footprint (for the most part). They decide to stick at 9, play round robin and top two play for the Championship.
This leaves a lot of other schools with not many fantastic options. Create a new far-flung league (or make the Sun Belt that league)? Try out Independent? What do they realistically do that's financially feasible? There aren't too many options. Which inevitably would lead to many of the programs not in this group having to drop down to 1-AA, which bolsters this new conference even more from a recruiting standpoint. And Marshall could end up in that group and be replaced by South Alabama, I just didn't have the heart to see a historically-rich program like them left in the dust.
But who knows. All I'm saying is that this idea that we're going to split East/West and everyone will be somewhere reasonable just isn't necessarily reality. People are going to do what's best for them, and if certain schools are the ones to spur change, don't think for a second they're going to think about what's best for UTEP or Florida International or Old Dominion.
(06-26-2019 09:17 AM)papa_dawg Wrote: Ahh....realignment, how we've missed you and all of the repugnant takes that follow.
It's like being stranded on a deserted island and watching who is going to eat whom first as food runs out.
What would you eat first? Assuming I could cook it, here is my order:
- The bison
- The horse
- The dragon
- The lion
- The birds (yellow eagle, green hawk thing, roadrunner, then two owls)
- The dog
- The humans
- The red towel blob
(This post was last modified: 06-26-2019 10:28 AM by odu09.)
If UAB doesn't want to stay then hell, just give me ULL and be done with it. At least I will give a crap about conference games again. Let CUSA EAST add UCONN and UMASS for football only and another one or two basketball schools for all their Olympic sports.
(06-26-2019 09:58 AM)EagNBran Wrote: Honestly, realignment will depend on which school(s) take the first step. For instance, let's say Southern Miss and La Tech decide they've had enough. Do you think they're going to realign with teams on the far reaches of the Sun Belt and CUSA? Probably not. They'd work out something like this:
USM
La Tech
UAB
MTSU
Ark State
ULL
WKU
Marshall
UNT
All within a reasonable distance of each other, no one out in la la land, just in the same geographic footprint (for the most part). They decide to stick at 9, play round robin and top two play for the Championship.
This leaves a lot of other schools with not many fantastic options. Create a new far-flung league (or make the Sun Belt that league)? Try out Independent? What do they realistically do that's financially feasible? There aren't too many options. Which inevitably would lead to many of the programs not in this group having to drop down to 1-AA, which bolsters this new conference even more from a recruiting standpoint. And Marshall could end up in that group and be replaced by South Alabama, I just didn't have the heart to see a historically-rich program like them left in the dust.
But who knows. All I'm saying is that this idea that we're going to split East/West and everyone will be somewhere reasonable just isn't necessarily reality. People are going to do what's best for them, and if certain schools are the ones to spur change, don't think for a second they're going to think about what's best for UTEP or Florida International or Old Dominion.
(06-26-2019 10:55 AM)pilot172000 Wrote: Give me the CUSA West and add:
NMSTU
Arkansas State
Texas State
If UAB doesn't want to stay then hell, just give me ULL and be done with it. At least I will give a crap about conference games again. Let CUSA EAST add UCONN and UMASS for football only and another one or two basketball schools for all their Olympic sports.
I can get behind that.
La Tech
ULL
Arkansas St
UTSA
UNT
RICE
Texas St
UTEP
NMSU
Quote:There is also a plan being discussed that UConn and UMass become part of the Eastern Division of Conference USA, which would then split apart and become its league (9 teams) and the West would also be a 9 team conference by going after schools such as BYU and New Mexico State in football only.
But anything other than a move to the MAC requires too many details to get done quickly. Adding UConn and UMass as FB only members could be announced within a few weeks.
Interesting thought for sure. I would actually be ok with this.
Quote:There is also a plan being discussed that UConn and UMass become part of the Eastern Division of Conference USA, which would then split apart and become its league (9 teams) and the West would also be a 9 team conference by going after schools such as BYU and New Mexico State in football only.
But anything other than a move to the MAC requires too many details to get done quickly. Adding UConn and UMass as FB only members could be announced within a few weeks.
Interesting thought for sure. I would actually be ok with this.
Quote:There is also a plan being discussed that UConn and UMass become part of the Eastern Division of Conference USA, which would then split apart and become its league (9 teams) and the West would also be a 9 team conference by going after schools such as BYU and New Mexico State in football only.
But anything other than a move to the MAC requires too many details to get done quickly. Adding UConn and UMass as FB only members could be announced within a few weeks.
Interesting thought for sure. I would actually be ok with this.
Marshall
Western yUKy
MTSU
ODU
Charlotte
FAU
FIU
UAB
So Miss
La Tech
That also gives us 2 of the 1.0, 3 of the 2.0, and 10 of the 3.0 CUSA members, allowing us to keep the name and the bids. I'm in. Also makes the CUSA office drag their sorry asses out of Texas. We should put their new offices in the Liberty Bowl after UAB moves out, in a real shady part of town.
(This post was last modified: 06-26-2019 02:13 PM by MUther.)
Quote:There is also a plan being discussed that UConn and UMass become part of the Eastern Division of Conference USA, which would then split apart and become its league (9 teams) and the West would also be a 9 team conference by going after schools such as BYU and New Mexico State in football only.
But anything other than a move to the MAC requires too many details to get done quickly. Adding UConn and UMass as FB only members could be announced within a few weeks.
Interesting thought for sure. I would actually be ok with this.
(06-26-2019 09:58 AM)EagNBran Wrote: Honestly, realignment will depend on which school(s) take the first step. For instance, let's say Southern Miss and La Tech decide they've had enough. Do you think they're going to realign with teams on the far reaches of the Sun Belt and CUSA? Probably not. They'd work out something like this:
USM
La Tech
UAB
MTSU
Ark State
ULL
WKU
Marshall
UNT
All within a reasonable distance of each other, no one out in la la land, just in the same geographic footprint (for the most part). They decide to stick at 9, play round robin and top two play for the Championship.
I don't think UNT would want in on that!
If they don't want in, you go after one of the Sunbelt GA schools or Troy.
Since we're doing this again . . . Here's mine :)
USM
LaTech
UAB
Troy
MTSU
WKU
GA Southern or State
North Texas
Marshall
1st alternate is Arkansas State. If you want 12 then ASU, the other GA team and either ULL or USA. Truthfully, I like one school per state better, but both UAB and Troy are hard to leave out presently. Marshall is out of the footprint, but worth it. If they don't want in a league that far away then with ASU you get a solid team in the footprint.
To be clear, this isn't a knock on the FL schools, they just are a ways out from the other schools. UTSA, ODU and Charlotte are out of the footprint and not Marshall. UTEP and Rice are consistently bad. I would want to re-brand, even at the cost of basketball tournament auto-bid and football playoff money, as that might be the only way to get rid of Judy.
Quote:There is also a plan being discussed that UConn and UMass become part of the Eastern Division of Conference USA, which would then split apart and become its league (9 teams) and the West would also be a 9 team conference by going after schools such as BYU and New Mexico State in football only.
But anything other than a move to the MAC requires too many details to get done quickly. Adding UConn and UMass as FB only members could be announced within a few weeks.
Interesting thought for sure. I would actually be ok with this.
Id be fine with that plan if it were for football only. ODU could then be free to go to the A10 in hoops and still have an FBS home for football (are football only conferences allowed in FBS?). If the NCAA granted another automatic bid, I'd be fine with it for all sports if we add JMU, App St. and Ga St. to the mix for a nice 10 team basketball conference. Perfect for a double round robin schedule. It also gives us 12 football teams so we can have north and south divisions with a championship.
(06-26-2019 09:58 AM)EagNBran Wrote: Honestly, realignment will depend on which school(s) take the first step. For instance, let's say Southern Miss and La Tech decide they've had enough. Do you think they're going to realign with teams on the far reaches of the Sun Belt and CUSA? Probably not. They'd work out something like this:
USM
La Tech
UAB
MTSU
Ark State
ULL
WKU
Marshall
UNT
All within a reasonable distance of each other, no one out in la la land, just in the same geographic footprint (for the most part). They decide to stick at 9, play round robin and top two play for the Championship.
This leaves a lot of other schools with not many fantastic options. Create a new far-flung league (or make the Sun Belt that league)? Try out Independent? What do they realistically do that's financially feasible? There aren't too many options. Which inevitably would lead to many of the programs not in this group having to drop down to 1-AA, which bolsters this new conference even more from a recruiting standpoint. And Marshall could end up in that group and be replaced by South Alabama, I just didn't have the heart to see a historically-rich program like them left in the dust.
But who knows. All I'm saying is that this idea that we're going to split East/West and everyone will be somewhere reasonable just isn't necessarily reality. People are going to do what's best for them, and if certain schools are the ones to spur change, don't think for a second they're going to think about what's best for UTEP or Florida International or Old Dominion.
I don't think UNT would want in on that!
I'm not a fan. I like having the other Texas programs in our conference.
Quote:There is also a plan being discussed that UConn and UMass become part of the Eastern Division of Conference USA, which would then split apart and become its league (9 teams) and the West would also be a 9 team conference by going after schools such as BYU and New Mexico State in football only.
But anything other than a move to the MAC requires too many details to get done quickly. Adding UConn and UMass as FB only members could be announced within a few weeks.
Interesting thought for sure. I would actually be ok with this.
Marshall
Western yUKy
MTSU
ODU
Charlotte
FAU
FIU
UAB
So Miss
La Tech
Add Appy State and Georgia State and you got a hell of a conference there.
Not bad at all. Not sure Id keep the Fs unless we had to, but they are getting much better in football at least. I think I like this plan, but cant see LaT going for it. Who knows. I hope something happens to make CUSA more logical and better.
(This post was last modified: 06-26-2019 04:49 PM by monarx.)
(06-26-2019 08:09 AM)49RFootballNow Wrote: They've been aligned with the western schools for some time, so they certainly wouldn't change that now.
However, a CUSA split would need some form of leadership to make it happen and there hasn't been much on that other than general grumbling from the forgotten five.
I can't seem to remember who the forgotten five are...
See, you've illustrated the point beautifully sir!
I know ODU, Marshall, and Charlotte are charter members. Not sure if the other two are the Florida Twins or WKU and MTSU, or if it changes by the issue.
The forgotten five = ODU, Marshall, Charlotte, WKU, MTSU
I prefer the title Anatoliká Pénte or Quinque Orientem.
(06-26-2019 08:03 AM)Magic95Fan Wrote: While we can certainly blame Judy for adding UCONN and UMASS, I doubt she has anything to do with a potential split. That sounds like unhappy schools splitting off. I imagine the league office would ally with the western schools if there is any truth to this rumor.
They've been aligned with the western schools for some time, so they certainly wouldn't change that now.
However, a CUSA split would need some form of leadership to make it happen and there hasn't been much on that other than general grumbling from the forgotten five.
I can't seem to remember who the forgotten five are...
I always thought it was Marshall, USM,UAB, Rice, and UTEP...
(06-26-2019 08:03 AM)Magic95Fan Wrote: While we can certainly blame Judy for adding UCONN and UMASS, I doubt she has anything to do with a potential split. That sounds like unhappy schools splitting off. I imagine the league office would ally with the western schools if there is any truth to this rumor.
They've been aligned with the western schools for some time, so they certainly wouldn't change that now.
However, a CUSA split would need some form of leadership to make it happen and there hasn't been much on that other than general grumbling from the forgotten five.
I almost don't care how the teams get split, if a split does happen. My only hope is that wherever Southern Miss ends up, we get the new commissioner and the "other" conference gets Judy.
