Topic: Honestly would we really want to be a part of this?

[W0lfman]

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[Herdiowa]

No thank you

[MUther]

Looks like they need a gulf school for Tulane and they're set up with decent travel partners.  No need for us to crash that, um, party.

I can't believe Wichita is hanging in there.  Makes no sense for them without Cincy and Houston basketball.  They could do a lot better.

[forphase1]

I'd almost rather have the Sun Belt than that, but $$ is going to talk.  While I don't think they stay close to the $7M a year they are currently getting, chances are good they get way more than we are in CUSA and more than we would in the Sun Belt.  Question will be how much more and if it's worth it.  If invited I almost guarantee we accept.

[DJdaHERDfan]

The new expanded Sunbelt will be getting a tv deal
Of their own as ESPN is driving this bus as well.

Right now, it all depends on who American takes.
Speculation is that it?s UTSA UAB and FAU.

If that holds true, then Marshall, with 1 to 3 others will join a stacked Sunbelt with top 25 teams in football.
Which means an ESPN deal, I?m guessing 3-4 million a member.

American is curious to what Sunbelt and Marshall are up to, and may decide to go another route. Which means a different outcome for Sunbelt.

Either way, Marshall is pretty much going to the Sunbelt. Unless something really nuclear happens.

[Garbanjo]

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First reaction?

Hell no but devil is in the details

[herd2win]

SMU and Memphis will no way stay in that conference.  They are headed to the B12 next.

[sardistim]

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Would I wish to play SMU rather than Texas State? USF than FIU? ECU than App State? Temple than Coastal? Memphis than Arkansas State?
Tulane than Louisiana? Wichita State than Arkansas Little Rock? Tulsa than Louisiana Monroe?

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, and more yeses.  Really no comparison.  More money.  And the travel is almost no different.  Better competition in all sports.  So, Yes!

[THECHAMPISHERE]

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The Sun Belt map is nearly identical without the close trips up north or the Florida trips which every football team wants to go on for both climate and recruiting.

[muherd34]

American athletic conference is no doubt a better conference for us to be in....at the moment.  Who knows 5 years from now.  Memphis, SMU and maybe Tulane I would imagine will be heading to bigger and better things.  I also think we have to have a presence in Fl.  Regardless if it is signing a ooc team in fl or a conf foe in fl.  We cant give up the florida recruits IMO.

[Herd-in-ATL]

Absolutely NOT.  Didn't we play this game once before? chase a pot of gold with a lot of the same partners? We left the MAC to join a C-USA with many of the same teams that currently reside in the AAC. After a few years, they left to form a new club, and well, sorry Marshall there's no room for you, you're not our type. We were left in a conference scrambling to find new members and along the way a drastically reduced media payout.  This has all the makings of history repeating itself. If C-USA is beyond repair, I would much rather be a part of a conference (The Sun Belt) that is proactively building to get better, with similar schools and budgets, and who's current members have been very vocal about wanting us as a member, versus one that is now scrambling to backfill, because their first 5 or 6 choices said no.

[HoPPy785]

Fill that eastern side with 4 Eastern universities and it seems much more attractive. AAC should just squash CUSA and Sun Belt in one swoop and take the best from both. Go big and then do a scheduling alliance with MWC for western teams and MAC for eastern teams. With an alliance you could keep travel lower for Olympic teams. CUSA and Sun Belt will be forced to add FCS schools or fold up.

[MUther]

Absolutely NOT.  Didn't we play this game once before? chase a pot of gold with a lot of the same partners? We left the MAC to join a C-USA with many of the same teams that currently reside in the AAC. After a few years, they left to form a new club, and well, sorry Marshall there's no room for you, you're not our type. We were left in a conference scrambling to find new members and along the way a drastically reduced media payout.  This has all the makings of history repeating itself. If C-USA is beyond repair, I would much rather be a part of a conference (The Sun Belt) that is proactively building to get better, with similar schools and budgets, and who's current members have been very vocal about wanting us as a member, versus one that is now scrambling to backfill, because their first 5 or 6 choices said no.

That few years was 8 years.  And 8 years later we are looking to get out, too.  We've been in CUSA 16 years.  Most of the founding schools were only there 18 years and many much less.  Some of you all act like it was 2 years instead of most of a decade.  If we knew for a fact that all the AAC schools were staying a minimum of 8 years if we joined this would be a no-brainer.  You could get in and make all the money you need and then deal with the changes when they happen.  Moving to CUSA the first time around was very good for us.  Losing our coach and hiring dogsh!t at that time made it seem much worse.  We had ECU, USM, and UCF in our division and we were mostly not up to that standard at that time.  But Pruett beat almost all the best CUSA teams in bowls so they weren't exactly out of our league.  He owned Louisville, now in the ACC, he beat Cincinnati, he beat ECU, and he was 3-0 vs UCF.  Bad hires made CUSA life suck.  Not being in CUSA.

[THECHAMPISHERE]

That few years was 8 years.  And 8 years later we are looking to get out, too.  We've been in CUSA 16 years.  Most of the founding schools were only there 18 years and many much less.  Some of you all act like it was 2 years instead of most of a decade.  If we knew for a fact that all the AAC schools were staying a minimum of 8 years if we joined this would be a no-brainer.  You could get in and make all the money you need and then deal with the changes when they happen.  Moving to CUSA the first time around was very good for us.  Losing our coach and hiring dogsh!t at that time made it seem much worse.  We had ECU, USM, and UCF in our division and we were mostly not up to that standard at that time.  But Pruett beat almost all the best CUSA teams in bowls so they weren't exactly out of our league.  He owned Louisville, now in the ACC, he beat Cincinnati, he beat ECU, and he was 3-0 vs UCF.  Bad hires made CUSA life suck.  Not being in CUSA.

Exactly.

[Toro Toro Taxi]

Sun Belt for football , A10 for everything else .

[herdorbust]

I think we end up in the Sunbelt. I just hope we take 2-3 with us. Hopefully the belt wants the best conference and doesn?t hold a grudge with WKU. Then take ODU and maybe S Miss. It looks like after today when CSU and AF decided to stay in Mountain West,  that the AAC will probably grab UAB, UTSA, FAU and Charlotte.

[THECHAMPISHERE]

I think we end up in the Sunbelt. I just hope we take 2-3 with us. Hopefully the belt wants the best conference and doesn?t hold a grudge with WKU. Then take ODU and maybe S Miss. It looks like after today when CSU and AF decided to stay in Mountain West,  that the AAC will probably grab UAB, UTSA, FAU and Charlotte.

(none of this is directed at you herdorbust...it just got me thinking)

You may be right...but do you realize if that happens (if the AAC takes UAB, UTSA, FAU, Charlotte) we just got LEFT BEHIND AGAIN!!!

All 4 of those programs will be lightyears ahead of us in 3 to 6 years. FAU could easily be the next UCF. UAB could easily be the next Memphis. Charlotte could easily be the next Cincinnati. UTSA could easily be the next Houston. The AAC would be just fine taking those teams...and will solidify themselves as the best G5 for the foreseeable future.

CUSA and the Sun Belt in the land of misfits will then battle annually for the next decade to see who's the worst conference in FBS football...sometimes the Sun Belt will come out ahead...sometimes CUSA will come out ahead.

We could feel the effects of the Dark Snyderday era for another 20 years.

It's crazy that while others are "movin' on up" and doing big things half of our fans goals and aspirations are to play Appalachian State once a year (something we moved on from a quarter century ago). We are really setting the bar high.

[Herd-in-ATL]

That few years was 8 years.  And 8 years later we are looking to get out, too.  We've been in CUSA 16 years.  Most of the founding schools were only there 18 years and many much less.  Some of you all act like it was 2 years instead of most of a decade.  If we knew for a fact that all the AAC schools were staying a minimum of 8 years if we joined this would be a no-brainer.  You could get in and make all the money you need and then deal with the changes when they happen.  Moving to CUSA the first time around was very good for us.  Losing our coach and hiring dogsh!t at that time made it seem much worse.  We had ECU, USM, and UCF in our division and we were mostly not up to that standard at that time.  But Pruett beat almost all the best CUSA teams in bowls so they weren't exactly out of our league.  He owned Louisville, now in the ACC, he beat Cincinnati, he beat ECU, and he was 3-0 vs UCF.  Bad hires made CUSA life suck.  Not being in CUSA.

I agree Snyder was a bad hire, and the countless bad Basketball hires. However when most of the conference left to form a new conference, we were not part of their plan. We didn't fit their image, whether that be market size, academics, annual endowments, whatever, we were left behind. I think we can be competitive in the AAC on the field, but personally there are only a few teams in the AAC (once UCF, Cincinnati and Houston depart) that excite me, ECU, Memphis, and USF. But I must disagree, being in CUSA the way that it is currently managed, and its vastness is what sucks.

[herdfan129]

The new expanded Sunbelt will be getting a tv deal
Of their own as ESPN is driving this bus as well.

Right now, it all depends on who American takes.
Speculation is that it?s UTSA UAB and FAU.

If that holds true, then Marshall, with 1 to 3 others will join a stacked Sunbelt with top 25 teams in football.
Which means an ESPN deal, I?m guessing 3-4 million a member.

American is curious to what Sunbelt and Marshall are up to, and may decide to go another route. Which means a different outcome for Sunbelt.

Either way, Marshall is pretty much going to the Sunbelt. Unless something really nuclear happens.

SBC with $3-4 million/year....you can't be serious lol

[herdfan129]

I think we end up in the Sunbelt. I just hope we take 2-3 with us. Hopefully the belt wants the best conference and doesn?t hold a grudge with WKU. Then take ODU and maybe S Miss. It looks like after today when CSU and AF decided to stay in Mountain West,  that the AAC will probably grab UAB, UTSA, FAU and Charlotte.

Belt can suck it cause honestly, the travel isn't any better and outside of App football, what do they consistently offer? They have ESPN which is nice.

CUSA East is actually a good all sports division for us. We just need to drop the Texas schools. SBC is wanting to add a Texas school, why would we join with that?

[svherd]

Watching Houston and Tulsa play at Tulsa. There may be 10K there. Big time P6 baby!

[Johns1124]

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Geographically speaking no.

But....

There are some Big cities represented; Philly, Tampa, New Orleans. It would do a better job than CUSA and SB of getting our name in front of more fans in major markets.

[svherd]

Geographically speaking no.

But....

There are some Big cities represented; Philly, Tampa, New Orleans. It would do a better job than CUSA and SB of getting our name in front of more fans in major markets.

The fans in those cities don?t care for those schools. Bigger schools or Pro teams dominate for the most part.

[lexkyherdfan]

Geographically speaking no.

But....

There are some Big cities represented; Philly, Tampa, New Orleans. It would do a better job than CUSA and SB of getting our name in front of more fans in major markets.

Not if people don?t watch.  People have to remember that when we were with all those schools left behind the TV money dried up then too and it will again. Nobody cares about Tulsa, Tulane or temple.  Memphis won?t be there long. They may even be invited before the other schools actually enter.

There is no way money will stay anywhere near what they get now especially when Memphis and SMU leave. 

The whole expansion basis is crazy and makes no sense. Charlotte could go and easily become another Temple. Nobody cares about them.  FAU?.even when Kiffin was there and they weren?t bringing any eyes on TV or people in the stands.

Of the sun belt stayed intact and brought in Marshall, USM, WKU and one other it could easily become as good as the AAC of not better.  Now if the AAC didn?t lose anybody else and we went there along with a Appy, UAB and say WKU then it would be a great place to land?however they appear to want Markets?they apparently didn?t look at CUSA success with markets.

[herdorbust]

Belt can suck it cause honestly, the travel isn't any better and outside of App football, what do they consistently offer? They have ESPN which is nice.

CUSA East is actually a good all sports division for us. We just need to drop the Texas schools. SBC is wanting to add a Texas school, why would we join with that?

I agree 100%. Remember what I have been saying and you and others have me hell? I hope CUSA stays together and picks up a JMU and Liberty. But I think the belt is likely and I?m not excited about it without 3-4 going with us.