ODU looking to bail C-USA?

Coach Bill Lewis · February 24, 2018

Old Dominion joined Conference USA in 2012 for what, at the time, appeared to be all the right seasons.

C-USA offered ODU a chance to play in the Football Bowl Subdivision and to begin hosting games against schools such as Virginia Tech, Virginia and North Carolina.

C-USA basketball also had a pretty good reputation, and the TV contracts were lucrative. Each school received more than $1.1 million yearly in revenue, along with a ton of national TV exposure.

But things have changed dramatically since, which is why it's time for ODU to begin looking elsewhere for a conference home.

Journalists who cover C-USA agree that Florida International, North Texas and Charlotte, and at times ODU, are stating attendance figures far above the number of people actually at the games.

Link to article: http://pilotonline.com/sports/columnist/...8d137.html

Ben Gooding · February 24, 2018

Homer article if there ever was one.

I've been to many UNT games since Apogee opened, and they do not significantly inflate attendance numbers if at all.

Why don't ODU worry about building their football team back up and get a real stadium. 25 high school stadiums in the state of Texas puts their thing they call a stadium to shame.

Green Lantern · February 24, 2018

Welp. See ya later.

FAU Connoisseur · February 24, 2018

What will ODU do with all those C-USA championship trophies and banners they have accumulated? How bout dominate the league then consider moving on. I love how Marshall, USM and now ODU reason that their failures at not competing in C-USA has to do with the league and not them. The only valid argument would be travel cost. But it they want to string a bunch of FCS teams together go ahead, i think most FCS are content at where they are at considering the changing collusive environment of FBS. Silly columnist, but it worked we all clicked on the article.

Edited February 24, 2018 by FAU Connoisseur

Hunter Green · February 24, 2018

Journalists who cover C-USA agree that Florida International, North Texas and Charlotte, and at times ODU, are stating attendance figures far above the number of people actually at the games.

Perhaps this a question for the Brett-ster. What say you, Mr. Vito?

UNTexas · February 24, 2018

The author in that article needs to ditch the crack pipe. His idea of conference realignment comical at best.

DeepGreen · February 24, 2018

If I was Commissioner of CUSA I'd tell ODU to get the f__k out of CUSA if you don't like it. Should have never brought in an uppity FCS football/ basketball school.

Again, GTFO!

Wag Tag · February 24, 2018

Who?

Ben Gooding · February 24, 2018

1 minute ago, Wag Tag said:

Who?

I think it's a trucking company. I can't be sure though.

Aquila_Viridis · February 24, 2018

Wow that’s small time thinking right up there with some of the TX State fetishists on here. Good riddance to them. They should instead be pitching themselves at the American; I mean, they took WUshock.

greenminer · February 24, 2018

Huh? I don't think we've ever been accused of inflating those numbers.

That's an art reserved for SMU ticket counters.

oldguystudent · February 24, 2018

I would say that there were definitely some inflated numbers in 2015, but it was like there were 3,000 people at a game and the box score said 10,000. It wasn't like, say, some other metroplex institution that has 6,000 show up in a normal year and reports 45,000 in a stadium that holds 30,000.

untjim1995 · February 24, 2018

I think the greater point he is making is the one that many of us share, which is to make the SBCUSA a regional setup, not cross country conferences that overlap each other. ODU, Charlotte, and the F_Us have no business playing in a conference with us in Texas. Same with Texas State and ULL playing Appy State or Georgia Southern as conference mates. It’s dumb and the CUSA BB tournament at the Star will show that when MTSU and WKU or ODU are playing a title game in front of 250 people.

This isnt brain surgery. It’s very doable.

NorthTexan95 · February 24, 2018

10 hours ago, Ben Gooding said:

Why don't ODU worry about building their football team back up and get a real stadium. 25 high school stadiums in the state of Texas puts their thing they call a stadium to shame.

Only 25? I'd say there's probably more.

Edited February 24, 2018 by NorthTexan95

southsideguy · February 24, 2018

i don't think the numbers are inflated at the MB games. I sit behind the seats on the floor and there is always a lot of empty chairs there but I assume they are taken by season ticket holders. Really if we are going to inflate our numbers we are not doing a very good job of it.

oldguystudent · February 24, 2018

In all honesty, I struggle to really see the east as being in the same conference as us since we only see one of them at Apogee each year and for some hellish reason, that one team seems to always be an F_U school. (I know it's not, but it feels like it)

UNTexas · February 24, 2018

13 hours ago, FAU Connoisseur said:

What will ODU do with all those C-USA championship trophies and banners they have accumulated? How bout dominate the league then consider moving on. I love how Marshall, USM and now ODU reason that their failures at not competing in C-USA has to do with the league and not them. The only valid argument would be travel cost. But it they want to string a bunch of FCS teams together go ahead, i think most FCS are content at where they are at considering the changing collusive environment of FBS. Silly columnist, but it worked we all clicked on the article.

True, and very good post. ODU can't compete within Conference USA for championships but they think they are to good for this conference. I get it isn't the same conference, none are though. Part of the reason college football is losing its luster is it's getting watered down. There is a reason good athletic departments are spending big money on stadiums and facilities. They see that's part of what it takes to be D1. Then there's the way we were, or schools in high school type stadiums, borrowing stadiums, or ancient dumps and that's just football. Not everyone deserves to be D1. At times we sure didn't. Maybe ODU should go FCS in football?

I'm also sure DC has far better venues than The Star in Frisco, Texas for them to lose in. The Star is a dump and should be torn down. Shame on Conference USA for choosing it as a destination for a tournament.

Edited February 24, 2018 by UNTexas

greenjoe · February 24, 2018

Legit question here.

How are attendance numbers calculated ? If a person buys a ticket and sits in a seat they should be counted. If there is a seat that has been paid for but not sat in, how should that be figured in ? Both were bought and paid for, right ? The "paid for/not sat in" seat is unavailable for anyone else to sit in. For all we know the ticket holder got tied up in traffic and will get to the game ASAP. Maybe late in the game. What about the person that comes to the game, gets his ticket scanned and leaves ? And what about people like me that come to the basketball games with 2 tickets in hand but no second person ? I'm only one person but I want to count as two.

GO MEAN GREEN

Cerebus · February 24, 2018

NCAA and CUSA want different numbers. One wants tickets SOLD the other tickets SCANNED.

It's an open secret that some schools (eg UTSA/SMU/etc) pay student employees to sit and manually scan in stacks of tickets that big donors bought.

As far as I know we've never done that.

FAU Connoisseur · February 24, 2018

44 minutes ago, greenjoe said:

Legit question here.

How are attendance numbers calculated ? If a person buys a ticket and sits in a seat they should be counted. If there is a seat that has been paid for but not sat in, how should that be figured in ? Both were bought and paid for, right ? The "paid for/not sat in" seat is unavailable for anyone else to sit in. For all we know the ticket holder got tied up in traffic and will get to the game ASAP. Maybe late in the game. What about the person that comes to the game, gets his ticket scanned and leaves ? And what about people like me that come to the basketball games with 2 tickets in hand but no second person ? I'm only one person but I want to count as two.

GO MEAN GREEN

I think you might be analyzing a bit too much. The institution will use the number that makes them look the best in a box score (which might have no reflection of reality). My guess would be a combination of tickets distributed and actual attendance, therefore double dipping!

Mean Green 93-98 · February 24, 2018

53 minutes ago, greenjoe said:

Legit question here.

How are attendance numbers calculated ? If a person buys a ticket and sits in a seat they should be counted. If there is a seat that has been paid for but not sat in, how should that be figured in ? Both were bought and paid for, right ? The "paid for/not sat in" seat is unavailable for anyone else to sit in. For all we know the ticket holder got tied up in traffic and will get to the game ASAP. Maybe late in the game. What about the person that comes to the game, gets his ticket scanned and leaves ? And what about people like me that come to the basketball games with 2 tickets in hand but no second person ? I'm only one person but I want to count as two.

GO MEAN GREEN

IIRC, season tickets are counted as attendance whether or not anyone shows up to the game to use those particular tickets. All others are counted at the gate. So the late arrival counts, as long as there is someone still at the gate counting.

Edited February 24, 2018 by Mean Green 93-98

GrandGreen · February 24, 2018

This is just a sport writer column stirring up the pot. Every team in the conference has a segment of fans that thinks that their team is better than CUSA. The problem unless they get some P5 attention there are no real available options. The AAC is a half step up, but has the same problems as CUSA and the Belt of being too wide spread and even more expensive.

This writer's plan of starting a new football league and then having other sports in other leagues is just not workable partially for a school as far down the totem pole as ODU. As far as his attendance situation, I think that just shows how of touch the writer is. Even if every school overstated their attendance what does that have to do with his proposal?

As I just recently discovered, ODU is obcensely financed by student fees and I wonder if they even belong in the fbs division. Maybe a move back to the Colonial Athletic would be their best move.

Edited February 24, 2018 by GrandGreen

ttunt1970 · February 24, 2018

ODU and the writer is delusional. I could care less if they leave NMSU to west and shift UAB to the east

RBP79 · February 24, 2018

I figure don't let the door hit'um in the ass....same story we've read before..different scenario.

Edited February 24, 2018 by RBP79
Spelling

GTWT · February 24, 2018

What program at the cUSA level doesn't aspire to bigger & better things? I sure as hell hope UNT does especially when I hear suggestions of merging our current league with the Belt,