More Talk of CUSA Demise

RBP79 · May 30, 2020

https://mississippitoday.org/2020/05/29/it-past-time-for-radical-change-in-conference-usa/

If you keep saying it's going to/needs to happen....then eventually it will.

Edited May 30, 2020 by RBP79

TheColonyEagle · May 30, 2020

Hard to argue with him.....

Wag Tag · May 30, 2020

I like how described road games as an odyssey to get to. Would be a good conf, and would like to see 2 MWC OOC games every year.

Coach Andy Mac · May 30, 2020

Problem is that La Tech doesn’t want any other LOuisiana schools. Some of our fans cringe about adding Texas State. Egos get in the way.

TheColonyEagle · May 30, 2020

1 minute ago, Coach Andy Mac said:

Problem is that La Tech doesn’t want any other LOuisiana schools. Some of our fans cringe about adding Texas State. Egos get in the way.

yep

NorthTexasSportsNetwork · May 30, 2020

3 minutes ago, Coach Andy Mac said:

Problem is that La Tech doesn’t want any other LOuisiana schools. Some of our fans cringe about adding Texas State. Egos get in the way.

SMU should get their ego out of the way and let us in

SilverEagle · May 30, 2020

27 minutes ago, Coach Andy Mac said:

Problem is that La Tech doesn’t want any other LOuisiana schools. Some of our fans cringe about adding Texas State. Egos get in the way.

I always thought that it was LA Monroe that La Tech refused to play. I didn't know that they felt the same way about La La. And BTW, I've attended games at both schools. LaLa's facilities are just as good, if not better, than La Tech.

Cringing about Texas State? I would trade UTSA in a second for them.

DeepGreen · May 30, 2020

"Southern Miss, UAB, Louisiana Tech, Rice, North Texas and Middle Tennessee State from CUSA. I’d take Arkansas State, South Alabama, Louisiana, Troy, Georgia Southern and Georgia State".

Nice conference, but I'm just not that thrilled with South Alabama, Georgia Southern and Georgia State. Fairly new to FBS.

Wag Tag · May 30, 2020

25 minutes ago, DeepGreen said:

"Southern Miss, UAB, Louisiana Tech, Rice, North Texas and Middle Tennessee State from CUSA. I’d take Arkansas State, South Alabama, Louisiana, Troy, Georgia Southern and Georgia State".

Nice conference, but I'm just not that thrilled with South Alabama, Georgia Southern and Georgia State. Fairly new to FBS.

Agree would like to see WKU maybe UTSA and App State.

Edited May 30, 2020 by Wag Tag

El Paso Eagle · May 30, 2020

1 hour ago, NorthTexasSportsNetwork said:

SMU should get their ego out of the way and let us in

1 hour ago, Coach Andy Mac said:

Problem is that La Tech doesn’t want any other LOuisiana schools. Some of our fans cringe about adding Texas State. Egos get in the way.

Maybe SMU and LaTech can form a two team conference.

RBP79 · May 30, 2020

Reality is LaTech is #6 in enrollment numbers in La....

1.LSU. 2. Delgado CC. 3.ULaLa. 4. SE La. 5. Tulane. 6. LaTech.....La.Monroe way down the list.

Maybe LaTech needs to bring it down some

From what I've read....NT is larger (enrollment wise) than any university in La.

greenjoe · May 30, 2020

That's probably true but student population does not translate to "butts in the seats." If it did, The University of Phoenix or SUNY would be national champions year after year.

I don't have a problem with Rick Cleveland's thoughts and his solution. But unless or until the NCAA gets to have total dictorial power over every football and basketball playing D1 school in America, it's just rhetoric.

GO MEAN GREEN

GrayEagle · May 30, 2020

Assuming that we are unable to get into the AAC or MWC (or even if we can) I agree that CUSA, as it now consists, is unworkable and that we should be a part of that change. First of all I'm not giving up on a conference change until Wren says it won't happen. We have far more to offer than in the past including a better connected athletic director, a more respected university (better scholastics and research) and president, and very good facilities. We have a good location with more than 200,000 alumni in the area which would likely give North Texas and SMU combined control of athletics viewing in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

I didn't totally care for the conference as Mississippi Today envisioned it but much of the strength is there. I would replace the two Georgia schools and Middle Tenn with Texas State, UTSA and UTEP or just have an 11-team conference for the time being. We could also consider not offering South Alabama and go with ten teams. I agree that UTEP is too far from the Texas rivals but really budget straining for the eastern division universities.

There's much less to worry about with Louisiana being in the revised conference than if we tried to include ULM. LaTech and ULM are both in the same small market whereas Louisiana is no threat to LaTech fans (other than on the field). They could even be placed in a different division so they wouldn't have to play each other as often.

This conference would look a little more big-time because all have at least a 30,000 seat stadium except LaTech, who is a little under that number now due to remodeling. Attendance should be pretty good as all of the schools except USA and Texas State have (or had) 20,000+ averages.

I also see it as pretty competitive. The least competitive would be South Alabama in the east and UTEP in the west. Rice is rebuilding and it might take them another year or two to be a solid factor. Texas State is pretty weak but I think that much of that is that they don't have any other Texas football teams in the Sun Belt. I think that they would go into a rapid rebuild.

akriesman · May 30, 2020

4 hours ago, SilverEagle said:

I always thought that it was LA Monroe that La Tech refused to play. I didn't know that they felt the same way about LaLa. And BTW, I've attended games at both schools. LaLa's facilities are just as good, if not better, than La Tech.

Cringing about Texas State? I would trade UTSA in a second for them.

La Tech fans want nothing to do with Monroe, for good reason. They have hatred for LaLa, but also some mutual respect. At least, this is what I have heard from most Tech fans over the years.

Edited May 30, 2020 by akriesman

wardly · May 30, 2020

Realignment appears to be a top down decision, not bottom up. Some fans and news pundits can clamor for change ,even a few A.D.'s and coaches, but until university presidents decide to take action nothing will happen.

UNTLifer · May 31, 2020

11 hours ago, Wag Tag said:

Agree would like to see WKU maybe UTSA and App State.

Agree but I would take Texas State over UTSA

UNTexas · May 31, 2020

If big changes come, I for one am happy our school has invested in the athletic department and facilities. We are actually marketable for the first time in a while. It helps when our schools shows they are serious.

outoftown · May 31, 2020

Notice how everybody who suggests a new conference makeup has it so that his preferred school is geographically almost perfectly in the middle. However, eevery conference also has to have a few members who are not in the center, even if the edges might not have to be as far away as in C-USA.

UTEP will be left out when things reform next time. Not a single thing that happened in that athletic department is better now than 10 years ago. That is likely to leave NT as the western edge in whatever new conference may or may not come about. C-USA as it is has drawbacks for NT, primarily lack of identity. But unlike for many other C-USA members, the geography of C-USA was a big improvement for NT over what came before.

Edited May 31, 2020 by outoftown

PlummMeanGreen · May 31, 2020

10 hours ago, UNTexas said:

If big changes come, I for one am happy our school has invested in the athletic department and facilities. We are actually marketable for the first time in a while. It helps when our schools shows they are serious.

👍 Yes we are & that is a positive we can all hang our hats on as all this G5 uncertainty will continue. I think we all hope for North Texas a Conference neighborhood that befits a university of our size & venues.

The CUSA West with key additions would be a good start. Believe I read somewhere that the MWC just received a very nice TV package for a G5 League.

• I think this photo may have been taken by LaTech enthusiast HogDawg.

Edited May 31, 2020 by PlummMeanGreen

GrayEagle · May 31, 2020

On 5/30/2020 at 9:43 AM, Coach Andy Mac said:

Problem is that La Tech doesn’t want any other LOuisiana schools. Some of our fans cringe about adding Texas State. Egos get in the way.

Just a reminder but La Tech and Louisiana were in the Sun Belt Conference at the same time for ten years. La Tech doesn't have a huge budget and I believe that they would welcome the reduced expenses of playing Louisiana (their closest conference mate).

21 hours ago, wardly said:

Realignment appears to be a top down decision, not bottom up. Some fans and news pundits can clamor for change ,even a few A.D.'s and coaches, but until university presidents decide to take action nothing will happen.

You're absolutely right. However, I believe that the vast majority of president's would follow the advice of their athletic director unless it increases the school budget. I'd bet that Neil Smatresk would start the ball rolling if we have no hope for a better conference.

Aquila_Viridis · June 1, 2020

Another voice of desperation, this time from the south of Mississippi, a place no one wants to have to go and they know it. Yes they can play Troy and Salabama. We should avoid all of them. Of the three, Mobile is better anyway. Yuck.

southsideguy · June 5, 2020

The best part of being CUSA is every team wants to be somewhere else. Does not say a lot of the future of the conference when every team has a foot out the door. We are all waiting for the better looking girlfriend.

GrandGreen · June 5, 2020

17 minutes ago, southsideguy said:

The best part of being CUSA is every team wants to be somewhere else. Does not say a lot of the future of the conference when every team has a foot out the door. We are all waiting for the better looking girlfriend.

The problem is not CUSA, it is the fans that think their team is too good to be in it.

Dominate CUSA than some options may develop.

Edited June 5, 2020 by GrandGreen

dawgxas · June 5, 2020

On 5/31/2020 at 10:53 AM, PlummMeanGreen said:

👍 Yes we are & that is a positive we can all hang our hats on as all this G5 uncertainty will continue. I think we all hope for North Texas a Conference neighborhood that befits a university of our size & venues.

The CUSA West with key additions would be a good start. Believe I read somewhere that the MWC just received a very nice TV package for a G5 League.

• I think this photo may have been taken by LaTech enthusiast HogDawg.

I took it with my Iphone panoramic mode. That was a great game!

dawgxas · June 5, 2020

Why would North Texas want to merge with the Sunbelt when they left the Sunbelt and moved up to CUSA?

Tech has turned down the Sunbelt 3 times over the years. Initially when the Sunbelt formed in 1996. ULL has been mad over that ever since. Does ULL have some decent programs? Yes Baseball and Softball.

Tech is the flagship school in the University of Louisiana system by far the best academics, most selective, highest test scores, highest grad and retention rate, Highest Salary among graduates and the only Tier 1 school in the UL system. ULL has more students Yes; they are considerably more people in Acadiana than North Louisiana.

BTW CUSA academics are superior to Sunbelt too. 8 tier 1 schools vs 2 tier 1 schools. That makes a difference among the presidents and Tech’s president is the chair of CUSA Board of Directors.

I haven’t seen any rational pro merger posts yet that would change the mind of those in charge