If UAB leaves who replaces them?

[Harry]

With UAB being in the west who would you replace them with? ULL, Ark St, Texas State would probably be teams in the mix...

[Harry]

Also forgot about South Alabama who would be a good geographic replacement.

[BillySee58]

I wonder if James Madison or App State will still be in play.

[NT03]

I say we just drop FIU to even it out

[untbowler]

Hopefully ULL, then TX State

[Rudy]

If we have to take an SBC team, ULL.

[MeanGreenTexan]

I say we just drop FIU to even it out

I like this better than taking another SBC team, actually.

I wonder if James Madison or App State will still be in play.

App St. & James Madison are both in po-dunky towns. I don't think either would fit the strategy Banowsky has been working on.

[Mean Green 93-98]

I say we just drop FIU to even it out

[FirefightnRick]

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=louisiana+lafayette+football&view=detail&id=92C9CAA8E0BB5C909DEB8DA59307D86BFB4639BB&first=16

Rick

Edited November 30, 2014 by FirefightnRick

[Eagle1855]

i don't think we can drop a team, but if we could, either of the F_U's would be fine with me.

otherwise, add Texas State.

[NM Green]

Think big. Out of the box big. Biggest fish out there and we need a team in the west.

BYU

Marshall almost made it to a New Years day game and BYU would compete for that year in and year out. BYU gets to bring its athletics through the lucrative markets of DFW San Antonio Houston where it hunts for recruits too. Oh yeah and access to south Florida too. Let them bring their network. It could be a solid holding pattern until the Big 12 comes along.

Call me crazy but you have to see yourself as solid to be solid. Play to your strengths CUSA and begin at the top.

BYU

ULL

Texas State

ArKansas State

GMG

[10Eagle10]

I'm not advocating any of these teams, but based on what I've seen from CUSA, the top teams are probably:

1. Louisiana's Ragin Cajuns - best overall program in the Sun Belt, located in the current "West" footprint

2. Georgia Southern - the best football team in the Sun Belt. If either Southern or State (see below), look for MUTS to move west.

3. Georgia State/Texas State - the two largest budgets in the Sun Belt. The former is in media market Atlanta, the latter is considered to be in media market Austin. The Bobcats seem less likely since there are already four teams in the Lone Star State.

4. New Mexico State - seems highly unlikely, but the Aggies would be a traveling partner with UTEP for Olympic sports purposes. Also, the basketball program is generally decent and the overall program is currently tops in what is left of the WAC.

5. South Alabama - if, and only if, CUSA wants to retain Alabama as a current member state. Outside shot. Third largest athletic budget. See Georgia State/Texas State

Edited November 30, 2014 by 10Eagle10

[BillySee58]

App St. & James Madison are both in po-dunky towns. I don't think either would fit the strategy Banowsky has been working on.

App State is more to help keep Marshall in CUSA. Doubt that'll help in the long run, but that's the idea.

At the risk of sounding like 90, we don't need Texas State. We already have UTSA.

[Andrew]

Its time someone step in an completely re map and re Confrence college football. 10-12 confrences all based on geographic location and nothing else. UAB should be in a Confrence with Bama, not being dismantled because of Alabamas greed.... Starting to hope that the whole thing just crumbles so UT, Oklahoma, OSU, Bama etc... Can get over themselves. With all the concussion talk maybe everyone should just shut it down. Then no one would even know the university of Alabama even exists.....

Edited November 30, 2014 by Andrew

[Cerebus]

I wonder if James Madison or App State will still be in play.

UAB is a west div team now and they will look for a west replacement, no one in the east wants to move west.

[NT03]

Think big. Out of the box big. Biggest fish out there and we need a team in the west.

BYU

Marshall almost made it to a New Years day game and BYU would compete for that year in and year out. BYU gets to bring its athletics through the lucrative markets of DFW San Antonio Houston where it hunts for recruits too. Oh yeah and access to south Florida too. Let them bring their network. It could be a solid holding pattern until the Big 12 comes along.

Call me crazy but you have to see yourself as solid to be solid. Play to your strengths CUSA and begin at the top.

BYU

ULL

Texas State

ArKansas State

GMG

Crazy

[Cerebus]

Think big. Out of the box big. Biggest fish out there and we need a team in the west.

BYU

Call me crazy ....

Alright. You are crazy. BYU will have ZERO interest in CUSA. I personally think the P5 shrinks, but if they don't the B12 will be forced to go to 12 and BYU is the first place they call.

Even if they are kept out of the P5 the money they make off the BYU TV/Radio/Sat deal is much more than they will make in any non P5 rights deal.

[Cerebus]

ULL: Most likely best fit.

ASU: Their AD has publicly stated they don't see the move to CUSA as beneficial, this may change if the conference waived entrance fees, but i doubt the league would do so.

GeoSt/GeoSou: Eastern teams, no one in the east wants to move west, so the addition will come from the west.

TexSt: I'm actually fine with them, they already have a CUSA level budget, however I think the east teams would be wary of Five Texas teams becoming a voting bloc.

NMSU: Their BB has slipped, CUSA is only going to go for all sports ads, and UTEP will block them.

Akron/North Illi.: A year ago I would have said anyone suggesting a team would leave the MAC us crazy, but now several well placed people have stated that these two teams are unhappy wih the rest of the MAC (membership wants to lower costs by setting a budget cap) Out of out current footprint, but they both have large budgets and if anyone out of the current states has a chance it's these two.

I think UAB survives, if they don't ULL is the most likely to be invited.

[Cerebus]

I think UAB survives, if they don't ULL is the most likely to be invited.

Welp, I guess we're going to be eating gumbo soon:

BREAKING: UAB is firing athletic director Brian Mackin & will announce later this week it will be shutting down football program per source.

— Thayer Evans (@ThayerEvansSI)

November 30, 2014

[Eastwood Eagle]

ULL is a no brainer. I have been wanting them in CUSA all along.

[Eagle1855]

Asking BYU to join C-USA would be like asking Will Muschamp to take the UNT defensive coordinator job.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Eagle1855

[jtm0097]

In other words, it's not happening.

[Eagle1855]

The only addition that does us (UNT, my only interest, as I couldn't care less about C-USA as a whole) any good is to add another 30k+ student Texas school to the mix. More eyes. More brand awareness. And, if you go by the sheer number of times we've played one another, an historic rivalry.

ULL does nothing for UNT. Neither does NMSU (which is halfway to California) or Arkansas State.

But another in-state football game every year? That's good for UNT -- a school that's comparatively unknown, outside of D/FW.

And this is why I beat the Texas State drum.

[Cerebus]

And this is why I beat the Texas State drum.

I also support the, but I think 5 Texas teams and the CUSA HQ in Irving would scare the hell out of the East teams.

I know some of you like ASU but don't forget their AD took public shots at CUSA, MTsu and WKU do I think there is bad blood out there.

[Harry]

Let me throw Arkansas State's name into the mix here. First off they would be a West team which would level out the divisions. Secondly, they have made some nice improvements to their facilities and again are having a winning season at 7-4 or thereabouts. Lastly, Texas State is not going to help UTSA in recruiting just as ULL will hurt La. Tech. State does not impact any of the current C-USA schools and they recruit Alabama pretty well already. The conference will look to protect the current groups of schools not take away from them.

Let me say that whomever they add - if they add at all - will have to meet certain financial criteria as the last thing you want is to add another school teetering on dropping football altogether. I would look closely at schools and their student fees as a percentage of their total budget. If your student fees are high, it raises the chance that your leadership decides those funds would be better spent in another place ala UAB. The UAB Prez is an MD and my guess is he would rather see the football funding go into their very success Medical programs and facilities. This is also something for those fans who want UNT to raise their student fees to consider. The schools with the highest percentage of student fees will be some of the first to bail on football IMHO.