Marshall to Sun Belt with JMU, ODU and Southern Miss?
- Thread starter Chris McLaughlin
- Start date
Really like it!, Don't necessarily get excited about ODU, JMU could be good I guess. Would love to rid the Florida schools, Charlotte and Texas schools. Good Southern based league. The Sunbelt is good and is quickly passing CUSA. Could be fun like the old Southern Conference.
Don't think it will happen, and can't imagine the disinterest in roundball with this division of a conference.
We’ll never make a conference move with any sport other than football in mind…….nor should we.
Football drives the machine. End of story...CUSA is dying a slow death and maybe a quick one
Doesn’t do much for me. I don’t see any teams on the list that would be good hated rivals.
I always enjoyed playing Southern Miss, and maybe Appy, but the rest don’t interest me. I believe we can do better.
I always enjoyed playing Southern Miss, and maybe Appy, but the rest don’t interest me. I believe we can do better.
Minus WKU and maybe MTSU who in CUSA is anything to care about and even those two teams are newly made "rivals". WKU on is because of 2014 and 2015. Other than that they're nothing to us and MTSU was a back and forth trading home wins. The fact is all G5 conferences are 6 in one hand and half a dozen in the other. Let's not act like the AAC from and interest standpoint is any better. No one cared much for those teams when they were in CUSA. We complained in the MAC too.
Marshall just needs to to where we can get the most bang for our buck and that's anywhere but CUSA. At least in the SBC we'll be back under the ESPN umbrella and they'll actually cover us and promote us IF we're winning.
No one promotes CUSA. No one.
I've seen better stacks at the waffle house. Need Liberty in that mix.
Guy only has 1k followers. Sounds like lots of hot air.
Geezer - all due respect: Just how can we do better? Details please. It would be much more compact than our current set-up. Shedding the directional FL’s and Charlotte, Middle & WKU would be a breath of fresh air! And getting in the SB automatically improves our perception on a national level. Coastal, Appy & Louisiana
are stronger that any of our current mates. CUSA is dead, they just don’t know it.
Hope like hell this happens!
Wait for the AAC. Being centrally located could possibly attract some others from MTW. If we are stuck in a South East conference we are regionally bound. Why they are looking at JMU.
Because they're much more of an Appy State than an ODU in terms of an FCS to FBS target. We'd be absolutely silly not to align with them if they're interested in making the jump.
Ditch ODU and take one of Liberty/MTSU and I really like this proposal.
Marshall, JMU, App State and Coastal all in the east would be way way ahead of the current CUSA East... Also adding Southern Miss in the West is a good add for the Sun Belt.
If this move happens it also tells me that the AAC was never an option. In another post it was pointed out that the bigwigs at the AAC want television sets, not actual fans, and if that is the case they will take UAB/Charlotte/Boise/Colorado State and we are not/were not in consideration.
On a final note, if these moves come to fruition and UAB/Marshall/So. Miss/ODU leave CUSA (I would assume La.Tech would leave to replace Boise in the Mountain West) the rest of the current CUSA might as well head back to FCS. The worst league in the country losing the only programs with any recent winning tradition would be the final nail in the rapidly-being-built CUSA coffin... The one outlier would be Rice (because they have all the money in the world and are in a big city). I would think someone would want them.
Marshall, JMU, App State and Coastal all in the east would be way way ahead of the current CUSA East... Also adding Southern Miss in the West is a good add for the Sun Belt.
If this move happens it also tells me that the AAC was never an option. In another post it was pointed out that the bigwigs at the AAC want television sets, not actual fans, and if that is the case they will take UAB/Charlotte/Boise/Colorado State and we are not/were not in consideration.
On a final note, if these moves come to fruition and UAB/Marshall/So. Miss/ODU leave CUSA (I would assume La.Tech would leave to replace Boise in the Mountain West) the rest of the current CUSA might as well head back to FCS. The worst league in the country losing the only programs with any recent winning tradition would be the final nail in the rapidly-being-built CUSA coffin... The one outlier would be Rice (because they have all the money in the world and are in a big city). I would think someone would want them.
Is it, though? Even without UC, UCF and Houston?
Who in the AAC right now is better than Appy State, Louisiana or Coastal?
Memphis? SMU? Maybe. But LOTS better? I don't see it.
This ^
The AAC without those teams is being headlined by Memphis (who if they could find greener basketball pastures would/will leave in a heartbeat), SMU and ECU... The rest of the league, Navy (awful), Temple (awful), Tulsa (pathetic), Tulane (below average), South Florida (below average)... The AAC needs Boise something fierce, which is why I hope Boise says "nah" and stays in the MWC.
These G5 leagues (yes AAC is G5 too) need to get together and work out a plan. (Excluding Mountain West and MAC). AAC, Sunbelt, and C-USA should work out a suitable solution in splitting up all teams into (3) workable, and close in proximity conferences. What happens say, the OP tweet is correct, and then, Appalachian and Coastal bolt to the AAC? What happens if Marshall and Southern Miss bolt C-USA, only to see Louisiana and Troy join C-USA?
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Yes, the sensible thing for all of the G5 leagues to do has been to work together. That has been true since they dreamed up this idea of a P5 and G5. The one enemy? The AAC. Since day one. With all of this “P6” and “UCF won the national championship” and other such nonsense. If you follow a G5 team not in the AAC, your enemy is the AAC. That simple.
And the AAC has gotten what it deserves. From day one, every AAC AD has hoped ever ring of the phone was the Commissioner of whichever P5 league he fancied his school in. While the Big 12 3.0 is certainly not really a P5 league any more (eventually we will come up with new terms, my proposal would be SEC, Alliance conferences, G6) it is almost just as certainly the best of the G6 most years. Leaving the AAC with teams that all have issues.
Beyond that, a lot of what I see is just some flavor of the month type stuff. APPY STATE!!! COASTAL CAROLINA!!! ULL!!!! Joining a conference is not a date, its a marriage.
CCU is in its SIXTH I-A season and is looking to go to its SECOND bowl game. Which would also mark its SECOND winning I-A season. Appy was I-AA nine years ago.
And, remember that the SBC gets LESS overall TV $$ than CUSA and of the 10 I-A conferences, ONLY the SBC has games that will not be on TV or internet at all, and all ESPN+ telecasts (CUSA or SBC) are produced by the school at the school’s expense. For the SBC that is every game except the 15 on ESPN linear channels.
And the AAC has gotten what it deserves. From day one, every AAC AD has hoped ever ring of the phone was the Commissioner of whichever P5 league he fancied his school in. While the Big 12 3.0 is certainly not really a P5 league any more (eventually we will come up with new terms, my proposal would be SEC, Alliance conferences, G6) it is almost just as certainly the best of the G6 most years. Leaving the AAC with teams that all have issues.
Beyond that, a lot of what I see is just some flavor of the month type stuff. APPY STATE!!! COASTAL CAROLINA!!! ULL!!!! Joining a conference is not a date, its a marriage.
CCU is in its SIXTH I-A season and is looking to go to its SECOND bowl game. Which would also mark its SECOND winning I-A season. Appy was I-AA nine years ago.
And, remember that the SBC gets LESS overall TV $$ than CUSA and of the 10 I-A conferences, ONLY the SBC has games that will not be on TV or internet at all, and all ESPN+ telecasts (CUSA or SBC) are produced by the school at the school’s expense. For the SBC that is every game except the 15 on ESPN linear channels.
No it is not much better at all. Been reading Coastal is committing more $$ to football and they are going to build an indoor practice facility and other improvements. Appalachian is always pretty good or really good and growing. I don't think what remains of the AAC will be much better at all unless they take App, Marshall, etc.
I like the Sunbelt deal.
I think a lot of folks would be pleasantly surprised with how good football in the SBC would be with that alignment.
Anyone against JMU has never seen their campus or facilities in person. They are legit and would be a great addition.
That's my concern. We go Belt. 1-2 years App St bolts and then we are back to square one.
Louisiana is having issues this year. Granted was not a bad loss against Texas. Last week's squeak-by of Nicholls St would be a little concerning. CC, granted beat Kansas, but let that offensive juggernaut put 20 on them. I have a feeling the first real D cc sees they may have problems. Either Buffalo or App St. later on in the season.
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The teams leaving the AAC to join the Big 12 will be leaving a conference that erroneously puts "Power 6" on their down markers for a conference that would be erroneously putting "Power 5" on theirs.
Nothing personal against the SBC, but I always considered it the league where sports went to die. Until the fluke season last year, I had never even heard of Costal Carolina, and I would be hard pressed to name six current league members.
Surley there are 12-14 Marshall level teams somewhere that could combine for a new conference better than the Sun Belt.
I sadly feel we are sinking lower and lower on the relevance scale. Soon we will be the Australian League. Everyone knows it’s down there, but nobody cares.
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The Sun Belt had 3 teams ranked at some point last season. It’s much more fan friendly to travel for road games. They have a team that has a national championship in baseball. Once those other teams ditch the AAC, the Sun Belt is going to be the premier G5 league, and it’s not even going to be close. I would have laughed at myself a few years ago for typing what I just did, but the dynamics have changed. It sounds like they are being proactive while the other G5’s are taking a wait and see approach.
I don't put much into last years COVID season. We as Herd fans should understand that some teams were probably over ranked last year.
I would agree if the AAC would stay the same. But they are losing their top teams. Not much left after UCF, Cincy and Houston leaves. Nothing that will make an impact nationally. At least with the SB, you have Appy, Coastal and Louisiana getting respect nationally.
A conference membership is a marriage, not a date. Last year? This conference’s history could be written on a 3X5 card. No assurance that any, let alone, all of these teams have the resources to continue at this level, let alone succeed at it.
Road game travel is over-rated. It’s a handful of 0.0001% super-fans, and parents and girlfriends. But, no, actually, leaving out gross outlier UTEP, the footprint is about the same.
CUSA has a team that just won a national championship in soccer. And?
As to the silly idea that the SBC is going to be the “premiere” league in the G5, that is laughable beyond all reason. Smallest schools, least fans, least alumni, least tradition, least history. Least facilities, least future.
It is just some I-AAs who figured out that there was more money and recognition in being I-A.
The premiere G6 conference in the future is the Big 12 3.0. Followed by whoever has a hot hand that year.
But understand just how big the shadow of the SEC/ACC/SEC2B is. HUGE. We don’t have to deal with it, but they do. How many people do you really think care about Troy State? Georgia State? Etc?
For anyone hating on this move or just unsure of it. Remember this. The MAC wasn't very good when we were there from 97-2004. However we were under the ESPN umbrella and everything we did got covered. If we can get back to where we want and we're winning the SBC routinely we'll be featured again.
The AAC doesn't seem like they're interested in us and none of us should be remotely interested in staying in CUSA. The leadership sucks and everything we do in CUSA is qualified by the talking heads. Appy, ULM, and Coastal have all been ranked to during and after the season for the last several years. No CUSA team can really say that. Except for us and even when a CUSA team does manage to sneak in the top25 I can't remember ever seeing one of us begin the year ranked in the preseason top25. However both ULL and Coastal were.
If we somehow could manage an AAC invite that would be awesome, but if it's not there then we better be running to the SBC and away from this horrid conference.
The AAC doesn't seem like they're interested in us and none of us should be remotely interested in staying in CUSA. The leadership sucks and everything we do in CUSA is qualified by the talking heads. Appy, ULM, and Coastal have all been ranked to during and after the season for the last several years. No CUSA team can really say that. Except for us and even when a CUSA team does manage to sneak in the top25 I can't remember ever seeing one of us begin the year ranked in the preseason top25. However both ULL and Coastal were.
If we somehow could manage an AAC invite that would be awesome, but if it's not there then we better be running to the SBC and away from this horrid conference.
Give me the history of the current C-USA members. What about UNT, UTEP, UTSA, Charlotte, FIU, FAU? Staying put and not being pro active is a death sentence.
Why do you just assume that invite is coming? What makes you think they're going to be any different than the last two go arounds when they took their old buddies. Man they took Tulane over us. If there was any smoke to an AAC invite there would be talks of it. There hasn't been. There have been rumors of Rice though.
There's a greater concern that the Big XII (as they have stated) expands again and 2-4 more AAC teams bolt. Then we'd be really screwed having jumped there.
I've read three articles today on AAC expansion, we didn't get a sniff in any of them. UAB and Appy did. As much as I want the AAC, my best hope seems to be going to the SB with App St. (they stay) and others - making it a solid league tied to ESPN. Staying in a watered down CUSA after the AAC and SB have made their choices will be the death of Marshall sports and the fan base.
I love how people just assume we actually get to choose where we go. If that were true we would have left when ECU and Tulsa left.
Not to mention CUSA's tendency to show little support for us when we have been ranked. The conference always seemed to wish it were happening to someone else.
I do agree with the benefits of being on ESPN like the old days, but didn't we owe some of that to Dan Shoemaker? Either way, ESPN does tend to give more hype to teams in conferences which have tv contacts with them. CUSA has been abysmal with tv coverage through the years. I remember when games were just a video feed with radio commentary from Steve Cotton.
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