All-time FBS conference strength

[jdennis82]

Pretty interesting chart showing how FBS conferences have stacked up against each other throughout history...

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/3/2/8046045/college-football-conference-history-BEST-ARGUING-RABBLE

The evaluation is based on Sports Reference's "Simple Rating System - a rating that takes into account average point differential and strength of schedule. The rating is denominated in points above/below average, where zero is average."

Source Data: http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/

Obviously, we have only been part of CUSA for a couple years and 2014 signaled great improvement for the conference against our peers on the field but the trend doesn't look too great here. Re-alignment certainly has a lot to do with this as well.

As the article mentions, this really just serves as off-season argument fodder, but I mostly found it an interesting visual of the long-term picture.

[UNTexas]

I guess the numbers don't lie. CUSA is is basically Sunbelt 2.0 and we aren't competitive in either.

[drex]

Legitimate home and home series with all interconference games and the numbers would change dramatically. Of course, it will never happen.

[VideoEagle]

I guess the numbers don't lie.

I'm guessing you've never been in a marketing presentation.

[greenit]

I don't get the constant attempt to label CUSA as Sunbelt 2.0. More than half the conference is from somewhere else. Similar to the 'fans' that constantly belittle the program.

I guess if enough people constantly repeat something, people eventually assume it is true, especially when a program's own fans are repeating it.

Not a shot at OP, but just in general. Man, we could use some wins.

Edited March 4, 2015 by greenit

[untjim1995]

I guess the numbers don't lie. CUSA is is basically Sunbelt 2.0 and we aren't competitive in either.

The leftovers in the current CUSA are Marshall, Southern Miss, UAB, Rice, and UTEP. Two of which provide no TV market, one of which is private and already has a much bigger public school in its market, one who was about to die off as a football program, and the last one is too far to the west to have gotten into the AAC.

CUSA added us to replace SMU, UTSA to replace UH, La Tech to eventually replace Tulane, Charlotte and ODU to eventually replace ECU, FIU and FAU to replace UCF, MUTS to replace Memphis, and WKU repalced Tulsa. La Tech and UTSA came from the WAC that died off, ODU and Charlotte moved up from FCS, and the rest (5 teams) were from the SBC.

Its much better than the old SBC we were in, but not nearly as good as we had hoped when we took SMU's spot and thought we had ECU, Tulane, and Tulsa still in the conference. I'm just forever grateful that SMU got the invite to the old Big East that is now the AAC. If they hadn't left, La Tech or UTSA would've replaced us, meaning we would have been stuck in the SBC for years to come.

[Cerebus]

I guess the numbers don't lie. CUSA is is basically Sunbelt 2.0 and we aren't competitive in either.

According to this graph, CUSA even at this weakened point is still stronger than the MAC and SBC. Yes, it's slipped from being almost as good as the ACC, no real reason we can't build it back to those levels.

In no way shape or form is that SBC 2.0.

[FirefightnRick]

Interestingly, using Tulsa as the base program you could loosely trace CUSA's roots to the 1900's as they did for the Big 12.

Tulsa, North Texas, Memphis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Houston, Wichita State and Oklahoma State can all can trace their roots back to the Missouri Valley which began in 1907.

The MVC dropped footbal in '86 so Tulsa and Wichita State went Indy for a while(WSU for 1 year before dropping football). But Tulsa then joined UTEP in the WAC in 1996, then rejoined their old MVC foes Memphis and Houston in CUSA in '05 and North Texas in 2013.

---'I said loosely'---

Rick

Edited March 5, 2015 by FirefightnRick

[NM Green]

Marshall made noise for CUSA last year. WKU will do the same for CUSA this year. La tech flew back into the map. We went dark and need to reappear. UTSA is a c football darling and utep has name recognition and history. They also own Texas' only college basketball championship. I love our league and know all programs must feed it to grow it. It's time for a program or two to go boise in the league. GMG

[wardly]

Hard to look back at conference strengths since there have been so many changes. Ranking I saw today had CUSA behind AAC, but ahead of MAC and the Belt ,which is what I would have thought. First time right this year!