The CUSA is Sunbelt 2.0 or even WAC 2.0 and I feel like we should have all acknowledged this by this time.
The WAC and a slew of Sunbelt Teams (comparable to the WAC at the time) form what is left of the CUSA (Rice, USM, Marshall and UAB). Of course those teams were left out due to concerns that their markets weren't large enough (USM and Marshall) or that they didn't give a shit about sports (Rice and UAB).
We HOPE that all programs are starting along the path of giving a shit about their Athletic Programs and in many cases we can see progress in that regard. FAU, UTSA, FIU and UNT all made coaching hires that put us into competitive situations this year (maybe not UTSA so much).
The question is as the firings occur at places like Rice, UTEP and other CUSA programs is that they can hire solid coaches who make this a better conference.