Would someone please explain to me why we are not in the AAC? A prominent and knowledgeable person outside of the program once told me that we made no effort. Is that true? Would attempts have been futile when it was formed? I’m watching Tulsa play #23 So. Florida and am shaking my head. No rhetoric, just facts. #tiredofconfusa
AAC membership
- Thread starter Herd Insider
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TRSC in 5...4...3...2.............
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No one at Marshall - at least PUBLICLY- ever expressed any interest or ever appeared to be proactive about leaving CUSA including the current president and, of course, our Marshall AD alum MH. I said PUBLICLY. Now you ask the supposed expert insiders on this board and they say otherwise. Thus we are stuck in CUSA with no leaders trying to proactively move us into a league where we could at least travel a little better to games (fans). But Herd Insider be prepared for the all knowing Sam to tell you otherwise regarding the AAC. Wish we did have proactive leadership seeking to move us out of CUSA. JMO. Go Herd!
This. Along with the lack of money, which isn't going to improve, at least significantly, anytime soon.
There has to be interest on both sides at the same time. Apparently, that has never occurred.
For the 10,000th time...
The AAC didnt/doesnt want us. Period.
I can send the board at Augusta National all the fruit baskets in the world. They still arent letting me be a member. They dont want me, such is life.
I think we all pretty much agree that CUSA sucks for football. But the reason we are here is because it was the supposedly better of our two options at the time (the MAC being the other).
The AAC didnt/doesnt want us. Period.
I can send the board at Augusta National all the fruit baskets in the world. They still arent letting me be a member. They dont want me, such is life.
I think we all pretty much agree that CUSA sucks for football. But the reason we are here is because it was the supposedly better of our two options at the time (the MAC being the other).
They thought once everyone left CUSA we would dominate......
Hahahahaha...
Hahahahaha...
Small budget, small enrollment, ZERO growth. Period, Amen, and end of file!
AAC is in the POWER SIX!!
They should have several ranked teams in there conference!!!!
Correct. When the league was formed by our CUSA brethren, they chose not to offed us a slot. Who knows the reason. Budget, location, facilities etc. I'm sure they all played a factor. You would have though we had to look more attractive than Tulane and maybe even Tulsa. They one thing they had better than us for sure was location and population. I know that the population in neither city translates to people in the stands but that is the way it is.
Both are easier to fly into and both offer much better hotel, eateries etc when you get there.
Marshall’s revenue ($29,287,471) is barely within $20,000,000 of the lowest school’s (ECU - $48,312,311) in the AAC.
Even with the difference in TV revenue (approximately $5.8 mil), It wouldn’t be near enough. Say fan interest increased and we generated another $4,000,000 in ticket sales, we’d still be in the hole close to $10,000,000 (roughly a 1/3 of our current revenue) to ECU’s revenue.
Marshall wouldn’t stand a chance in that league financially speaking.
You nailed it. It seems we have plenty of people on this and other boards that just don't get that.
What is the subsidy % of some of those schools though. I honestly havent looked it up, but in another comparison, say most MAC schools, their subsidy is as bad as JMU and ODU, giving a false number as their budget. False in the sense that the athletic income provides for them. Just curious what the AAC schools are and if we did the same how would it compare. MU needs to grow enrollment, its the only thing imo that can promote athletics.
Money is a part of the issue, no question but I have no confidence the people in the AD would be willing to put the work in to enable us to be competitive in all sports. We can’t do that now in CUSA and didn’t in the MAC.
It’s tough to get out of the lazy boy after it’s been broken in a few years.
It’s tough to get out of the lazy boy after it’s been broken in a few years.
While money is important, it is way overblown relative to success. If we can't compete with schools that have 10-15 million more in revenue how does WVU become a top 10 team when there are several schools that have 50-100 million more revenue than they do? How is a school like UCF able to consistently beat P5 schools who have budgets that are 30-40 million higher than theirs?
To be successful the most important factor is for leadership to not allow for challenges to be used as excuses. If you don't start there, with a real belief that challenges are opportunities, everything else is meaningless. If you allow the excuse mentality then the AD, coaches, players and fans all have an easy out for their failures.
To be successful the most important factor is for leadership to not allow for challenges to be used as excuses. If you don't start there, with a real belief that challenges are opportunities, everything else is meaningless. If you allow the excuse mentality then the AD, coaches, players and fans all have an easy out for their failures.
You can certainly tell who has close ties to the AD and who doesn’t when this subject is discussed.
Well, WVU doesn’t do this annually.
In their last six seasons, they’re 43-34. Marshall has the same number (1) of AP Top 25 finishes during that time frame.
All of your posts have been informed. The best explanation would be market share. Which raises the question, why ECU and not Marshall. ECU is competing for market share with virtually half of the ACC, while we only compete with WVU. Admittedly WVU owns West Virginia but we do have pockets of southern WV, western WV, pockets of eastern Kentucky and pockets of southern Ohio.
ECU is a growing university in a growing part of the country and in theory at least they give the AAC a piece of the Raleigh/Durham media market.
I lived near Raleigh for 7 years. The ECU influence is very small, but they are featured on the Raleigh news regularly after the UNC, NCSU, Duke highlights.
Also, remember when AAC expansion happened they actually had a good football product on the field and were consistently drawing 35-40k.
I lived near Raleigh for 7 years. The ECU influence is very small, but they are featured on the Raleigh news regularly after the UNC, NCSU, Duke highlights.
Also, remember when AAC expansion happened they actually had a good football product on the field and were consistently drawing 35-40k.
ECU isnt the proper comparison to us as a school or program, USM is in almost every way, and there is nothing wrong with that, they used to terrorize those other higher money programs for years
Beefcake, you are correct. Hattiesburg and Huntington almost identical population. Like us, USM is third in the college Football pecking order in Mississippi. We are a far second in West Virginia. I would imagine identical market shares. Both economically depressed. Geographically an outlier. We are in AAC central. Why them and not us?
I wasnt implying they would be selected over us, we both a mirror images and in the AAC footprint and nearly a mirror budget, they are the southern Marshall and we are the northern USM one could say
Herdmeister, I've heard that it was a pretty close vote for the last slot in the AAC but New Orleans and Cajun cooking/food narrowly edged Huntington and Hillbilly and Stewart's hotdogs tipping the scales in Tulane's favor!
The last round of conference movement was all about TV sets and/or the potential for new TV sets(growth).
Leadership is a tricky topic because ECU spends tons of money on firing coaches and look at there success right now but by in large it takes money to have good leadership. Im not a huge Hamrick fan but it took a big set of balls to hire DD and that has worked out(which is leadership). I think Doc has been a slightly above average hire (C+ to B-) so the AD is at least doing a pretty good job(my biggest problem with Doc as most of you know is going to deep into Florida talent that led to roster problems in 2016 no excuse because Doc got in trouble with Nehlen for doing the same in the late 90's).
For those wanting conference change look no further then having no baseball stadium which that all it self is an indictor MU needs facility upgrades(which I hear is coming soon) before looking at the AAC.
btw, overall good discussion(meaning no one getting personal) on a good topic
I wont say Hamrick is elite, but he's done pretty darn well... Especially when you consider the reign of his predecessor.
Doc has been fine. Like was said above, a solid hire but not spectacular.
MH has improved the football schedule with more regional nonconference games. Pitt, NCSU, Cincy, East Carolina, Navy, Ohio, etc.
The indoor practice facility got built, the soccer stadium got built, the Cam has gotten a few upgrades and hopefully a baseball stadium will be coming soon.
MHs home run was the Dantoni hire. Which a lot of us thought was idiotic when it happened. Having a basketball program that has gone from bottom feeder to CUSA champs is a huge asset and a feather in both their caps.
Doc has been fine. Like was said above, a solid hire but not spectacular.
MH has improved the football schedule with more regional nonconference games. Pitt, NCSU, Cincy, East Carolina, Navy, Ohio, etc.
The indoor practice facility got built, the soccer stadium got built, the Cam has gotten a few upgrades and hopefully a baseball stadium will be coming soon.
MHs home run was the Dantoni hire. Which a lot of us thought was idiotic when it happened. Having a basketball program that has gone from bottom feeder to CUSA champs is a huge asset and a feather in both their caps.
This era vs the era when the belt, MAC etc were the starter leagues is gone. Most G5 schools, no matter of the league they are in, are almost equal in today's era. We all like to thumb our nose up at the MAC, the belt, but reality says we dont have that standing anymore. The only conference that seems to be above the rest of the G5 in budget, facilities would be the AAC as much as I hate to admit that. Does anyone outside excluding Boise, SDST, and maybe a few others, compare to even the lowest AAC school when disredarding or being fair aboit subsidy influence on budgets? It is what it is, doesnt mean we can't and don't compete on the court or on the field with them, it just means they have more resources, that's it.
I'd argue the Sun Belt is a better conference than C-USA. The Sun Belt has more real universities rather than glorified commuter community colleges.
I'd rather play Ark State, App State, Troy, USA, etc than UTSA, UTEP, FIU, etc...
I'd rather play Ark State, App State, Troy, USA, etc than UTSA, UTEP, FIU, etc...
Really CUSA and AAC has a bunch of commuter schools. Not sure about the belt. I do agree that better choices could and should have been made in the last realignment
If were talking academics and If you put much into the rankings from US News and World Report, I'm going with CUSA because it has more members in the top 200 list. For CUSA, Rice, UAB, FIU, and UNCC are the highest ranked universities, all in the top 200 national list. For the Sun Belt, I believe Georgia State is the only one in the top 200 national list.
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