CUSA Futures Planning Committee

wardly · May 5, 2020

CUSA has established a " Futures Planning Committee" chaired by the A.D. from ODU. Their mission is to determine meaningful ways to reduce expenses, especially travel costs, with all ideas on the table. One way that may be considered is adding two additional members to create 8 team divisions which would allow 7 divisional games to be played. I assume the interconference games will be more geographically friendly. At present CUSA football is ranked 9th out of 10 conferences ahead of only the MAC, so the SBC would be a step up.This report was due out the end of April but has yet to be released.

untjim1995 · May 5, 2020

It would be very strategic to offer Appy State and ULL spots in CUSA. Then, you get a CUSA West of UTEP, UNT, UTSA, Rice, La Tech, ULL, USM, and UAB. The East would be ODU, Marshall, Appy State, Charlotte, WKU, MUTS, FIU, and FAU. If you really want to take it a step forward add Arky State to the West and Georgia Southern in the East. Each regionalized division gets 8 games, plus add in a game from the other side, so everyone plays 9 CUSA games, which can still add in 3 OOC games to pay the bills/pad the victory total against FCS spares.

wardly · May 5, 2020

If you did that you are basically merging CUSA and SBC, which makes sense to me. With only a $16 million budget, lowest in D1, ULM needs to drop back to 1AA and rejoin the Southland Conference. Then you could add New Mexico State as travel partner for UTEP and have two 12 team conferences that are more geographically friend. Another route is to drop ULM and UTEP, have two 11 team conferences, play a round robin like the AAC, with two OOC games. The new Western Conference could either absorb or drop UTA and UALR. It will be interesting to see what the report looks like, as ODU is driving change and it's AD chairs this committee.

Hunter Green · May 5, 2020

I'm looking forward to the proposal.

El Paso Eagle · May 5, 2020

3 hours ago, wardly said:

If you did that you are basically merging CUSA and SBC, which makes sense to me. With only a $16 million budget, lowest in D1, ULM needs to drop back to 1AA and rejoin the Southland Conference. Then you could add New Mexico State as travel partner for UTEP and have two 12 team conferences that are more geographically friend. Another route is to drop ULM and UTEP, have two 11 team conferences, play a round robin like the AAC, with two OOC games. The new Western Conference could either absorb or drop UTA and UALR. It will be interesting to see what the report looks like, as ODU is driving change and it's AD chairs this committee.

This, at least parts of it, will happen sooner rather than later

wardly · May 5, 2020

5 hours ago, wardly said:

CUSA has established a " Futures Planning Committee" chaired by the A.D. from ODU. Their mission is to determine meaningful ways to reduce expenses, especially travel costs, with all ideas on the table. One way that may be considered is adding two additional members to create 8 team divisions which would allow 7 divisional games to be played. I assume the interconference games will be more geographically friendly. At present CUSA football is ranked 9th out of 10 conferences ahead of only the MAC, so the SBC would be a step up.This report was due out the end of April but has yet to be released.

Actually cost savings is as much about adding programs with basketball as it is football, maybe because it would be easier to do. If you add "4 basketball "only programs you go to 9 per division and can play 16 games within your division , none during regular season with the other,and hopefully eliminate excessive travel. For example ,we could add UTA and UALR to existing West division while the East poached another two programs .

Aquila_Viridis · May 6, 2020

Oh goody! We can add jmu and sfa too and Allen high school. I mean that's just a yellow busride away.

untjim1995 · May 6, 2020

13 hours ago, Aquila_Viridis said:

Oh goody! We can add jmu and sfa too and Allen high school. I mean that's just a yellow busride away.

Who else are you advocating we join with? Because it ain't the AAC.

Look, it sucks for schools like us in the SBCUSA. But we can make it better than it is now with smart realignment. Until the Lower G5s recognize that there will never be a decent TV deal out there for our teams, we have to control costs and increase attendance. Playing WKU or F_U doesn't help with any of that.

The AAC and MWC have decent TV contracts for the G5 level--way better than us, the SBC, or the MAC. They can still mitigate some of the issues we have because they get decent network money and coverage. And those networks drive the bus on who is invited and who isn't, even in the AAC and MWC. That's why the AAC is a pipedream as long as SMU is in it, similar to how it was in the old CUSA.

Would I love to be in the MWC? Absolutely. But they could have invited us at anytime in the last 7 years and haven't. And as you read gmg.com, the clear majority of the posters here cannot make it more clear that WAY prefer the SBCUSA setup because of newspaper coverage and time zones (?), That's a whole other argument, that our fanbase just isn't beyond enjoying a regional setup, but I just think the MWC offers a chance to move up IF we could even get in.

My absolute worst-case UNT nightmare is watching UTSA get to be a good program and they vault into the AAC/MWC. Thankfully, UTSA looks like they have no idea how to take advantage of all the resources they have in front of them, so I don't have to entertain that thought.

NorthTexasSportsNetwork · May 6, 2020

12 minutes ago, untjim1995 said:

Who else are you advocating we join with? Because it ain't the AAC.

Look, it sucks for schools like us in the SBCUSA. But we can make it better than it is now with smart realignment. Until the Lower G5s recognize that there will never be a decent TV deal out there for our teams, we have to control costs and increase attendance. Playing WKU or F_U doesn't help with any of that.

The AAC and MWC have decent TV contracts for the G5 level--way better than us, the SBC, or the MAC. They can still mitigate some of the issues we have because they get decent network money and coverage. And those networks drive the bus on who is invited and who isn't, even in the AAC and MWC. That's why the AAC is a pipedream as long as SMU is in it, similar to how it was in the old CUSA.

Would I love to be in the MWC? Absolutely. But they could have invited us at anytime in the last 7 years and haven't. And as you read gmg.com, the clear majority of the posters here cannot make it more clear that WAY prefer the SBCUSA setup because of newspaper coverage and time zones (?), That's a whole other argument, that our fanbase just isn't beyond enjoying a regional setup, but I just think the MWC offers a chance to move up IF we could even get in.

My absolute worst-case UNT nightmare is watching UTSA get to be a good program and they vault into the AAC/MWC. Thankfully, UTSA looks like they have no idea how to take advantage of all the resources they have in front of them, so I don't have to entertain that thought.

The day UTSA gets in a bigger conference, is the day we go to the SEC

untjim1995 · May 6, 2020

10 minutes ago, NorthTexasSportsNetwork said:

The day UTSA gets in a bigger conference, is the day we go to the SEC

It took us a lot longer to get into a better conference than we had been playing in--we were in the SBC for 12 seasons (2001-2012). UTSA, only because of being in San Antonio, managed to play in the SBC for a year before getting the callup to CUSA.

UTSA has basically wasted every advantage they have since they went from the darlings of the G5 in early 2017 (remember they were predicted to go undefeated and be in a BCS bowl?). They really have sunk since Mason stole the victory from them with 98 yards and no timeouts left. They have never been the same since then. They had a HUGE advantage of not having to endure selling fans on being a loser for many years/decades. They just blew it...

But, those advantages are still there IF they can get back to being a winning program. They are in a huge city with no other school that plays FBS ball in its city limits, so no fight for local coverage or fans. They can get big name programs to play there as a destination for their fans and for recruiting by P5s. And the Alamodome is big enough to get bigger teams to consider playing there.

Lets just pray they continue to blow it. We have to fight for coverage here every weekend in the fall with SMU and TCU being in our backyard. We don't have a huge stadium, so our OOC opponents tend to be less than UTSA has been able to get in the past. And our apathy here for so long is just now finally showing signs of being cut into by our students and younger alumni. We just need to actually start winning some more and see if we can build into something--we haven't ever been able to do that since the late 70's.

wardly · May 6, 2020

16 hours ago, Aquila_Viridis said:

Oh goody! We can add jmu and sfa too and Allen high school. I mean that's just a yellow busride away.

Don't know about Allen, but JMU and SFA have good basketball programs. Reflect back on 10 years of UNT sports and we have little reason to turn our noses up at anyone.

Aquila_Viridis · May 7, 2020

Ha ha! I've been to Harrisonburg and Nacogdoches, and places like Lafayette and Jonesboro too. There is a big difference in our situation. We need to demand that the administration make something of it, not use this challenge as an excuse to sink in the swamp.

wardly · May 7, 2020

10 hours ago, Aquila_Viridis said:

Ha ha! I've been to Harrisonburg and Nacogdoches, and places like Lafayette and Jonesboro too. There is a big difference in our situation. We need to demand that the administration make something of it, not use this challenge as an excuse to sink in the swamp.

I agree, and I don't think Wren will do anything that he feels would undermine fan support. However, in my opinion, the only realistic option UNT has to reduce travel expenses for all sports is geographic realignment, and the only G5 conference that is in the same footprint as CUSA is the SBC. CUSA is a failed business model based upon T.V. money that is no longer there. From a business perspective it makes no sense to me for us to travel to ODU or FAU/FIU. It makes less sense for them to travel to UTEP. In a perfect world I would drop UTEP, ULM, split into two 11 school conferences, and let them decide if they want to add non football members. ULM has 8,000 students, 10,000 or so average attendance, and only a $16 million budget, which puts them DAL in D1, but at the top of the Southland Conference. UTEP is in the same boat as New Mexico State, which is geographically undesirable .

Jonnyeagle · May 7, 2020

1 hour ago, wardly said:

I agree, and I don't think Wren will do anything that he feels would undermine fan support. However, in my opinion, the only realistic option UNT has to reduce travel expenses for all sports is geographic realignment, and the only G5 conference that is in the same footprint as CUSA is the SBC. CUSA is a failed business model based upon T.V. money that is no longer there. From a business perspective it makes no sense to me for us to travel to ODU or FAU/FIU. It makes less sense for them to travel to UTEP. In a perfect world I would drop UTEP, ULM, split into two 11 school conferences, and let them decide if they want to add non football members. ULM has 8,000 students, 10,000 or so average attendance, and only a $16 million budget, which puts them DAL in D1, but at the top of the Southland Conference. UTEP is in the same boat as New Mexico State, which is geographically undesirable .

You may be right but most NT fans I know look at the Belt as a step back. I realize that doesn't seem fair.

letsgiveacheer · May 7, 2020

1 hour ago, Jonnyeagle said:

You may be right but most NT fans I know look at the Belt as a step back. I realize that doesn't seem fair.

When I retired in 2018, the director of a similar company approached me and suggested that the two of us merge. We had similar budgets, were well-established at 35 and 30 years old respectively, and had similar missions. To me, it was a no-brainer.

One big stumbling block was "what to call the new company?". If we used my company's name, it would appear as if we were taking over the other company and vice versa.

One clever fellow came up with a suggestion; why don't we ditch both names and come up with a new one? Problem solved.

Now, no one wants UNT to return to the Sun Belt but a geographically aligned conference would be in our best interest for many reasons.

As for a new name, let me suggest the "We've Finally Come to our Senses" Conference

Aquila_Viridis · May 8, 2020

Matching up against schools from the middle of nowhere doesn't make any sense for North Texas. It hasn't worked out well in the past and it never will. Urban schools fundamentally appeal to a different type of student on a mass scale. Our university needs to take a long term view and find a way to fund football and basketball through the downturn, in a way that enables long-term competition against similarly situated universities. I am in favor of of a conference that adds TX State and GA State but does not include WKY, LT, USM or Marshall. Whatever they bring to the table is not good for us in the long term. As for UTEP, I think they have to go too but for different reasons; too much of an outlier. I'd include ODious U for now but they seem to be on the precipice of pulling a North Texas and dropping to FCS/AA or something.

Hunter Green · May 8, 2020

40 minutes ago, Aquila_Viridis said:

Matching up against schools from the middle of nowhere doesn't make any sense for North Texas. It hasn't worked out well in the past and it never will. Urban schools fundamentally appeal to a different type of student on a mass scale. Our university needs to take a long term view and find a way to fund football and basketball through the downturn, in a way that enables long-term competition against similarly situated universities. I am in favor of of a conference that adds TX State and GA State but does not include WKY, LT, USM or Marshall. Whatever they bring to the table is not good for us in the long term. As for UTEP, I think they have to go too but for different reasons; too much of an outlier. I'd include ODious U for now but they seem to be on the precipice of pulling a North Texas and dropping to FCS/AA or something.

You would add Ga. State and Tx. State, but drop La.Tech and S. Miss??

If it has to happen, form a new SWC (call it the NSWC) with the following 9 schools and schedule 3 OOC each year. Top two finishers play a Championship game. Done!

UNT

La. Tech

S. Miss

Rice

UTEP

UTSA

Ark. St.

Louisiana

Tx. State

Edited May 8, 2020 by Hunter Green

Hunter Green · May 8, 2020

27 minutes ago, Hunter Green said:

You would add Ga. State and Tx. State, but drop La.Tech and S. Miss??

If it has to happen, form a new SWC (call it the NSWC) with the following 9 schools and schedule 3 OOC each year. Top two finishers play a Championship game. Done!

UNT

La. Tech

S. Miss

Rice

UTEP

UTSA

Ark. St.

Louisiana

Tx. State

When everything shakes out with the new G5 conferences, lets form a true playoff system with the championship game played at the Frisco Bowl or maybe Shreveport.

Edited May 8, 2020 by Hunter Green

greenminer · May 8, 2020

1 hour ago, Aquila_Viridis said:

Matching up against schools from the middle of nowhere doesn't make any sense for North Texas.

None? Absolutely no sense?

Like, zero value even if we get a win?

GrandGreen · May 8, 2020

1 hour ago, Aquila_Viridis said:

Matching up against schools from the middle of nowhere doesn't make any sense for North Texas. It hasn't worked out well in the past and it never will. Urban schools fundamentally appeal to a different type of student on a mass scale. Our university needs to take a long term view and find a way to fund football and basketball through the downturn, in a way that enables long-term competition against similarly situated universities. I am in favor of of a conference that adds TX State and GA State but does not include WKY, LT, USM or Marshall. Whatever they bring to the table is not good for us in the long term. As for UTEP, I think they have to go too but for different reasons; too much of an outlier. I'd include ODious U for now but they seem to be on the precipice of pulling a North Texas and dropping to FCS/AA or something.

Adding Ga St and eliminating two closer and long time rivals in La Tech and USM is very questionable.

A conference with just large state schools does not accomplish anything. What appeals to students is playing good known teams, it has absolutely nothing to do with playing like universities. By the way, I also have a problem with thinking that students are different at different schools. Students pick schools based on prestige, location and cost, not some student population analysis.

A more regional conference is what everyone says they want. Problem, no one seems to be actually working to accomplish this.

Edited May 8, 2020 by GrandGreen

Rudy · May 8, 2020

OR, and believe me this is strictly hypothetical, we could do whatever necessary to join an established conference like MWC or AAC.

Wag Tag · May 8, 2020

In this environment things are not going to get better as far as league affiliation. Everybody is just going to try and keep what they have with reduction in expenses.

wardly · May 8, 2020

Well, we could take an from old name,"GULF COAST CONFERENCE", and create something new like the American Athletic Conference did. I would include UNT,UTSA, Rice, Texas State, LA. Tech ,ULL , Ark. State, So.Miss, and UAB, which would give you a base of 9 programs, 6 from CUAS and 3 from SBC.You would then determine if you want to go to 10 or 12 schools, drawing from Troy, USA, and UTEP. If you went to 12, add UTEP to other 4 Texas programs plus Ark. State for a Western Division, Troy and USA with La. Tech, ULL, So. Miss., and UAB for Eastern Division [Ark. State and ULL could go either way] . This gives you 8 CUSA programs, 4 SBC programs, and a new conference with a new name. If you went to 10 I would add either Troy or USA., as UTEP is in the same geographic boat as New Mexico State.I realize that some of us might look at this as putting lipstick on a pig, but if you look at existing makeup of CUSA it is basically SBC 2. Just an old man's opinion.

untjim1995 · May 8, 2020

12 hours ago, Hunter Green said:

You would add Ga. State and Tx. State, but drop La.Tech and S. Miss??

If it has to happen, form a new SWC (call it the NSWC) with the following 9 schools and schedule 3 OOC each year. Top two finishers play a Championship game. Done!

UNT

La. Tech

S. Miss

Rice

UTEP

UTSA

Ark. St.

Louisiana

Tx. State

12 hours ago, Hunter Green said:

When everything shakes out with the new G5 conferences, lets form a true playoff system with the championship game played at the Frisco Bowl or maybe Shreveport.

This is exactly how we should have things play out for us ASAP.

We all know graduates of these schools--they are all close enough to draw fans from each other's fans. I can get someone to come to Apogee for a game against Rice or Tx State or La Tech. I can't for F_U or Charlotte or Old Dominion.

Hunter Green · May 8, 2020

19 minutes ago, untjim1995 said:

This is exactly how we should have things play out for us ASAP.

We all know graduates of these schools--they are all close enough to draw fans from each other's fans. I can get someone to come to Apogee for a game against Rice or Tx State or La Tech. I can't for F_U or Charlotte or Old Dominion.

WB, make it happen!

GO MEAN GREEN!