Realignment 2021: UT, OU to SEC; UH, UCF, UC, BYU to Big 12
- Thread starter Awesome Fossum
- Start date
Matt Brown reporting that CSU, Air Force, and UAB are the most likely to jump to the AAC while BSU and SDSU are content to wait it out in the MWC.
That would give the AAC 11. I wonder if they would stand pat or maybe think about Army.
That would give the AAC 11. I wonder if they would stand pat or maybe think about Army.
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Not lots but there were a few UCF games played on cold and drizzly afternoons I'd liken to Fenway in April: 40's, windy, wet. I went to a few of them in the early days.
I have been to Tangerine/Citrus Bowls where temperatures were in the low 40's and windy. People don't handle it well. In particular I recall a game which was Florida-Maryland, Collinsworth-Esiason last college game IIRC, low 40's 10-15 mile per hour wind. Might as well have been 10 below relatively speaking.
The Orlando area generally experiences overnight freezing temperatures and daytime highs in the 30's or 40's 5-10 days per year. In extremes, 20's and 30's.
The citrus industry in Central Florida was all but wiped out by a five day run of overnight lows in the low 20's back in the 80's.
So it sounds like Air Force and CSU weren't comfortable leaving without BSU and SDSU, and BSU and SDSU aren't interested in leaving until it's clear that the Big 12 isn't going to expand again (which Bowlsby has indicated is possible). So the American needs to parse whether the answer is "no" or "not yet." If it's the latter, seems like the smart play would be to just add one school to get you to 9 (which lets you play 8 conference games) and remain in position to capture the schools out west when/if the time comes.
View: https://twitter.com/PeteThamel/status/1450281545328115725
So now it's CUSA's turn. I wonder if they try to rebuild their Texas footprint with FCS schools or just bless and release UTEP.
Staying patient and waiting out the MWC schools made a lot more sense to me.
So now it's CUSA's turn. I wonder if they try to rebuild their Texas footprint with FCS schools or just bless and release UTEP.
View: https://twitter.com/PeteThamel/status/1450903662088314886
To skip ahead and look at the next domino, if JMU finally leaves, I wonder where that leaves the CAA. Especially the southern schools of Elon, William & Mary, and Richmond.
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This thread is depressing. Nothing like the Big 12 passing you over 3 times in a row. The unfortunate truth with SMU is even when they are good (and they’ve been relevant since 2009 minus a couple seasons) the fans just don’t show up and support the team. It’s gotten better. The stands are more full now than they were under Chad Morris (have had season tickets a while now). As much as I love pro football I love college more. I LOVE the bands. I love the passion from the students. I love watching the kids grow and develop. And it hurts that my school won’t be able to be a part of something bigger and better. I just wish a P5 conference would give us a chance - I think SMU would meet the task. Dykes might stay for a long time.
Their other sports will be able to compete when they move up conferences as well. Great softball team, WLAX has been to the F4, track and field is good, baseball is competitive.
JMU just built and opened a basketball arena; although I wouldn't say CUSA is an upgrade basketball wise by any means. Also, what's the difference between playing football in the CAA to near capacity and playing in CUSA? It's still 25,000 seats no matter how you cut it. Only thing I can see increasing is the revenue from guarantee games, but your expenses (scholarships, number of coaches on the staff, etc.) all go up. Probably will be ok moving up, but no guarantees; just ask UMass about that.
I've heard that the Sun Belt is going to add James Madison, Old Dominion, Marshall, and Southern Miss and an announcement may come next week.
It's certainly a risk from the football side given that they have been so successful the last few years.
So that would leave UTEP, La Tech, WKU, MTSU, and FIU -- the last three of whom, ironically, left the Sun Belt back in 2012-2014 -- holding the bag in CUSA.
That plan sounds great for UTEP and good enough for La Tech. Not sure how enthused WKU, MTSU, and FIU are going to be.
Tartleton St. only started playing football at the Division 1 FCS level this year, so basically C-USA would be adding a Division II program.
The CAA is exploring whether to realign their league to a north-south division format to reduce travel costs. Losing JMU puts them at 9 full members and 11 members for football. Logical additions could be Fairfield, Stony Brook, Albany, and Monmouth in the north and UNC-Greensboro from the south. The article specifically mentions Fairfield, Monmouth, and UNCG.
https://richmond.com/sports/college/james-madison/caa-exploring-expansion-two-division-setup-that-would-reduce-travel-costs/article_4ee9823d-9db6-54eb-a34f-d152ab6de602.html
https://richmond.com/sports/college/james-madison/caa-exploring-expansion-two-division-setup-that-would-reduce-travel-costs/article_4ee9823d-9db6-54eb-a34f-d152ab6de602.html
That makes no sense, especially Sam. SFA has a larger budget and more National recognition thanks to basketball. They are a tandem deal imo.
FCS getting destroyed
Sam Houston almost as a big of a blow as JMU
Jacksonville not a bad football program too
wonder if MW adds NDSU. That would be the death knell
Sam Houston almost as a big of a blow as JMU
Jacksonville not a bad football program too
wonder if MW adds NDSU. That would be the death knell
FCS survived the loss of Youngstown State and Marshall. It will survive the loss of these programs too. Elite programs moving up to FBS is part of the FCS business model.
This is such a savage burn of Youngstown State.
Could you sketch out what you mean by business model? I don't see how this turnover is healthy, let alone part of the plan.
Yeah it's petty, but that's the rule. If you remember, ODU faced the same thing when they left.
Most FCS revenue is generated locally. It doesn’t really matter to a program like UNH whether NDSU or Jacksonville State or whoever move up. Maybe it mattered a little to UNH when UConn and UMass moved up, but even then, it’s a relatively minor impact, and it’s not something you can prevent; you just adapt and deal with it.
If UNH was getting a big check for the TV rights to the FCS playoffs, then sure, they’d care what happens with NDSU, et al. But I’m sure they aren’t. That’s what I meant by “business mode.”
Yeah, I know, but the schools can also waive it. It's not like a team is actually going to decide not to jump. So all you're doing is hurting the kids.
The schools are all apparently working to start Sun Belt play next season, which seems a monumental task, but we'll see.
Thanks, I'm following. It might not much matter to Eastern Washington that James Madison is moving up, but it matters to William & Mary and Richmond. For those schools, it's one of the most marketable home games they have.
JMU pitched it's proposal to move up to the Sun Belt to the VA government today and it was approved. They are officially off to the Sun Belt as of this coming July.
View: https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1456695416343388167
View: https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1456695416343388167
I don't pimp my stuff a lot on here, and honestly I just haven't written in a while, but I did on this because it, and the coverage of it, annoyed the hell out of me.
Feedback is always welcomed.
http://alwaysadragon.com/jmu-student-athletes-deserve-better/
My daughter goes to JMU. I just don't see how you do this in the middle of an academic year; and in the case of the fall sports, in the middle of the season itself. Same on the JMU side, doesn't seem like giving a league such short notice is appropriate on their part. End of 22-23, leave. Everyone playing that year would know the score, independent, no league tournaments, etc. Ineligible for the FCS playoffs, like UMass was circa 2010 for a season.
If I understand the actions of the conference, the offense here was leaving the conference rather than the timing of the move. Which means that if they announced the move effective at the end of 22-23, JMU might have been screwed for two years.
If the conference is going to place punitive restrictions on movement like this, the only way to handle it is like JMU did. Limit your exposure.
It absolutely sucks that the conference is acting this petty. But I’ve become used to the reality that everyone associated with college athletics places their own self-interest above the interest of the actual athletes.
I believe JMU is still eligible for the FCS playoffs and the CAA's AQ spot if they win the league. CAA Football and the rest of the CAA are technically different leagues that have a different set of bylaws.
I have to say I tend to agree with the reasoning the CAA has here.
View: https://twitter.com/chrisvannini/status/1458573665109479430?s=21
View: https://twitter.com/chrisvannini/status/1458573665109479430?s=21