CUSA and Sunbelt Merger About to Happen Folks

Coach Bill Lewis · April 8, 2017

http://pilotonline.com/sports/college/ol...abcf2.html

Regional realignment will be driven by finances. Not a matter of if but when.

UNTexas · April 8, 2017

We need to just keep doing what we are doing and shoot for a better conference than either one of these conferences. The Sunbelt is not a good league. Conference USA is turning into Sunbelt 2.0 already.

It wasn't that long ago that Conference USA was to merge with MWC. That obviously didn't happen.

UNT is doing all the right things these days in terms of investing in athletics when many of the schools in our league aren't. I for one, for the first time ever have confidence in the university leadership, athletic department leadership, and coaches to work at moving forward towards betters things. I think most of us can agree things are different now.

UNTLifer · April 8, 2017

Welcome to the off season. Why couldn't this wait until after the spring game?

greenminer · April 8, 2017

Just now, UNTLifer said:

Welcome to the off season. Why couldn't this wait until after the spring game?

"Thank God you posted this after the spring game. No one will whine about it this way." - no one in the history of ever.

Wag Tag · April 8, 2017

Revenue.. TV (streaming), game attendance and playoffs. You could a realignment as he proposed but it should have a budget basis. NMS and ULM .. No.. but a school like Liberty that is spending the bucks yes. As I have stated before there should be a G5 playoff or at least a championship game between East and West. GMG

TheReal_jayD · April 8, 2017

This is what I would love to see happen with the Sun Belt and C-USA merger if it happens. It would be best if American broke up and combined the three conferences into Regional conferences

Little SEC

Appalachian State

WKU

Old Dominion

Middle Tennessee

FIU

Charlotte

Florida Atlantic

Marshall

Troy

Georgia Southern

South Alabama

Georgia State

The New SWC

New Mexico State

Texas State

Louisiana Tech

UTSA

Southern Miss

North Texas

UTEP

Rice

Arkansas State

ULM

Louisiana

Add New Mexico or get a FCS power like Sam Houston or SFA to make 12 Football Teams.

UTA (Basketball Only)

wardly · April 8, 2017

Drop ULM, as La. Tech will never play in the same conference as them plus they have no money to compete.Add UALR for basketball only and other sports. That gives you 10 football football schools for a round robin and 12 basketball programs for 2 divisions.However, if I am So.Miss. no way I am moving West to play 5 Texas programs and NMSU. I am a southern university, and I want to play in the South. La. Tech will probably feel the same way.

UNTFan23 · April 8, 2017

3 hours ago, UNTexas said:

We need to just keep doing what we are doing and shoot for a better conference than either one of these conferences. The Sunbelt is not a good league. Conference USA is turning into Sunbelt 2.0 already.

It wasn't that long ago that Conference USA was to merge with MWC. That obviously didn't happen.

UNT is doing all the right things these days in terms of investing in athletics when many of the schools in our league aren't. I for one, for the first time ever have confidence in the university leadership, athletic department leadership, and coaches to work at moving forward towards betters things. I think most of us can agree things are different now.

Which one would you propose that we're ready to join?

wardly · April 8, 2017

None at present.

UNTFan23 · April 8, 2017

56 minutes ago, wardly said:

Drop ULM, as La. Tech will never play in the same conference as them plus they have no money to compete.Add UALR for basketball only and other sports. That gives you 10 football football schools for a round robin and 12 basketball programs for 2 divisions.However, if I am So.Miss. no way I am moving West to play 5 Texas programs and NMSU. I am a southern university, and I want to play in the South. La. Tech will probably feel the same way.

New Mexico State is now an Independent and should stay that way unless they can find a home in the Mountain West.

Cerebus · April 8, 2017

Current leadership will never accept Liberty.

greenminer · April 8, 2017

Not crazy about realignment talk, but I always wish we were in the same conference as LaLa.

I wouldn't want to be a commish: trying to satisfy regional demands while hoping for highest possible media exposure must be crazy difficult.

wardly · April 8, 2017

The only way NMSU comes into play is if a Western Conference/Division of CUSA/SBC merger needs another school. Their problem is that UNM will keep them out of MWC, and UTEP out of any conference that they are in. Just not enough good high school kids in Albuquerque/ El Paso to allow the Aggies a seat at the same table.

El Paso Eagle · April 8, 2017

What's sad is UTEP should get off its high horse when it comes to NMSU and work together with them and try to package themselves together to the MWC. I find it hilarious that UTEP thinks it "better" than NMSU.

THOR · April 8, 2017

i find it funny whenever any school says they won't associate with another school that they view is beneath them...we all need schools above, on, and below our level...otherwise, we'd be on the bottom and that's no place a school wants to be

UNTexas · April 8, 2017

2 hours ago, UNTFan23 said:

Which one would you propose that we're ready to join?

2 hours ago, wardly said:

None at present.

I'd have to agree with "None at present." sums it up. The support and physical infrastructure are improving but the performance in football and especially basketball isn't there yet. Turn some things around and complete some of the planned construction projects and start looking to better align ourselves is all UNT can do. I think that's where the AD is headed, I hope anyway.

untjim1995 · April 8, 2017

4 hours ago, TheReal_jayD said:

This is what I would love to see happen with the Sun Belt and C-USA merger if it happens. It would be best if American broke up and combined the three conferences into Regional conferences

Little SEC

Appalachian State

WKU

Old Dominion

Middle Tennessee

FIU

Charlotte

Florida Atlantic

Marshall

Troy

Georgia Southern

South Alabama

Georgia State

The New SWC

New Mexico State

Texas State

Louisiana Tech

UTSA

Southern Miss

North Texas

UTEP

Rice

Arkansas State

ULM

Louisiana

Add New Mexico or get a FCS power like Sam Houston or SFA to make 12 Football Teams.

UTA (Basketball Only)

Something like this is a matter of when...

I know there are a lot of fans that don't want to associate with the old SBC teams, but it's a natural fit.

outoftown · April 8, 2017

I don't think this will happen soon. Its not that there is no sense to regional alignment. But the obstacles are considerable, given that a lot of these schools specifically don't want to associate with some others. C-USA and the sun belt may find a way to each other, but it will be tought. The AAC schools for are nowhere near getting together with the C-USA they ran away from. La Tech wants nothing to do with ULM. There is a lot of dead weight and nobody has the money to pay those schools off to leave them behind.

untjim1995 · April 8, 2017

7 minutes ago, outoftown said:

I don't think this will happen soon. Its not that there is no sense to regional alignment. But the obstacles are considerable, given that a lot of these schools specifically don't want to associate with some others. C-USA and the sun belt may find a way to each other, but it will be tought. The AAC schools for are nowhere near getting together with the C-USA they ran away from. La Tech wants nothing to do with ULM. There is a lot of dead weight and nobody has the money to pay those schools off to leave them behind.

The AAC doesn't have to merge yet because they have a lot more revenue than the lower G5s--same with the MWC.

Plus, both leagues will really stand to do better after the Big XII falls apart and they can add some solid pieces both in Texas and in the Midwest. I figure that will keep them able to continue playing the Power teams in OOC and in bowls. The rest of us will be the next level of play, but will have a chance to win a national championship which we don't now. Of course, people may not care, but it's the decisions we didn't make back in the 80s and 90s that determined our situation. We can still follow and support our alma mater, even if it isn't at the top level of play again. This isn't being I-aa in the SLC at the same time as the SWC and Big Eight being dominant. Very different today than it was back then.

Side Show Joe · April 9, 2017

10 hours ago, Coach Bill Lewis said:

http://pilotonline.com/sports/college/ol...abcf2.html

Regional realignment will be driven by finances. Not a matter of if but when.

The title of this thread is very misleading. There will be no merger. Just because a few eastern ADs are having trouble with their finances, doesn't mean they have the votes. I wish the eastern programs would stop pushing this garbage in the media.

Edited April 9, 2017 by Side Show Joe

wardly · April 9, 2017

If the truth be told all A.D.'s in Group of 5 are having trouble with their finances. If your income from T.V. revenues is gone and your football program becomes a gate revenue sport then you must reduce expenses. The biggest two that jump at me are support staff and travel expenses, plus dropping the number of sports required by the NCAA to the minimum.

southsideguy · April 9, 2017

43 minutes ago, wardly said:

If the truth be told all A.D.'s in Group of 5 are having trouble with their finances. If your income from T.V. revenues is gone and your football program becomes a gate revenue sport then you must reduce expenses. The biggest two that jump at me are support staff and travel expenses, plus dropping the number of sports required by the NCAA to the minimum.

I agree since the NCAA has stacked the deck against mid majors they should not have to fund title 9 sports teams. Just make the golden schools meet the requirement or the NCAA should fund the title 9 programs at the mid major schools.

Mean Green 93-98 · April 9, 2017

9 minutes ago, southsideguy said:

I agree since the NCAA has stacked the deck against mid majors they should not have to fund title 9 sports teams. Just make the golden schools meet the requirement or the NCAA should fund the title 9 programs at the mid major schools.

There's no way to do that without dropping down another division (a la FCS or D2). NCAA regulations have to apply evenly to all sports teams within a division.

Arkstfan · April 9, 2017

Unless someone can get legislation through the NCAA that permits a merged league to keep all its voting power and auto bids a merger wouldn't happen.

Now could such legislation pass? I could see Big 10 and Pac-12 merging. They are pretty much on the same page on most issues and would be a hell beast in TV or see the Big XII being for it in the hopes of merging with Pac-12 or ACC.

Large conferences were the norm when the NCAA was weak and did little other than create playing rules. Conferences were large so everyone in the region would play by the same recruiting rules and scholarship rules. Schools made their own schedules and you might never play some members of the conference.

Going very large makes some sense. If you want pro basketball on your network you have once choice bid against everyone else who wants pro basketball. You want college football you can get in with just a couple conferences and cover most of the country. Price gets too high just step aside and go after someone else.

Fewer players the higher the value.

Absent that.

I cannot imagine the media / messageboard fantasy of both leagues sitting down and dividing up.

Knowing them, I could totally see Massaro and Selig leading a revolt to move CUSA East or CUSA East plus UAB to the Sun Belt and renaming the league and leaving it up to CUSA West's 6 or 7 teams to figure out what to do next.