This is how it will go down

[Coach Andy Mac]

Rumors are swirling. This will be the last dominoes before the AAC likely expands next week. Three teams are AAC bound: AFA, CSU and UAB. The fourth team will end up being...Charlotte. Yes, Charlotte. According to one of our more reliable sources (Matt Brown), they are getting more play than UTSA, Rice, UNT, or FAU.

West: Air Force, CSU, Tulsa, Navy, SMU, Memphis

East: UAB, Charlotte, ECU, USF, Temple, Tulane

The Mountain West is up next. They decide it's time to get into Texas, and it makes more sense to grab four for travel: Rice, UTEP, UTSA, and North Texas. West: SDSU, Boise State, SJSU, Fresno State, UNLV, Nevada, Hawaii Mountain: USU, Wyoming, UNM, Rice, UTEP, UTSA, North Texas

The MAC looks around and stays put.

The Sun Belt then adds 2: Southern Miss and Marshall

West: Louisiana, USM, Texas State, UL Monroe, Ark St, USA

East: Marshall, CCU, App St, Georgia St, Troy, Georgia So

This leaves C-USA with 6 schools. Their options include adding NMSU, Liberty, UMass, and digging into FCS. They choose to add Liberty, NMSU, and JMU, and UMass as a football-only.

North: UMass, JMU, ODU, Liberty, WKU South: LaTech, NMSU, MTSU, FAU, FIU

LINK: https://csnbbs.com/showthread.php?mode=linear&tid=930871&pid=17685452

[SteaminWillieBeamin]

Man. That is a death sentence. 

[ColoradoEagle]

I have to believe this rumor, because every conference ends up winning except CUSA, which stays losing. It's the natural order.

[SMU2006]

Army, FAU, and Marshall are all higher on the AAC pecking order than Charlotte.

 

[SilverEagle]

5 minutes ago, SteaminWillieBeamin said:

Man. That is a death sentence. 

For CUSA?

[SilverEagle]

who is USU?

[TheColonyEagle]

14 minutes ago, Coach Andy Mac said:

AAC

West: Air Force, CSU, Tulsa, Navy, SMU, Memphis

East: UAB, Charlotte, ECU, USF, Temple, Tulane

MWC

West: SDSU, Boise State, SJSU, Fresno State, UNLV, Nevada, Hawaii

Mountain: USU, Wyoming, UNM, Rice, UTEP, UTSA, North Texas

 

I'll take that MWC all day long over that AAC. Man....how far the AAC will have fallen.

[SteaminWillieBeamin]

8 minutes ago, SilverEagle said:

For CUSA?

CUSA - yeh.  I thought moving to this version of the CUSA was garbage anyhow, but that new proposed version is remarkably worse. 

[MeanGreenTexan]

Get Out.   I don't care where...  just get out.

[DoubleEagle]

9 minutes ago, SilverEagle said:

who is USU?

Utah State

[Withers940]

I dont hate it

[MeanGreenTexan]

Again,
I think people are hung up on Geography being a driver.
What does UTEP bring to the MWC?  They're not serious about athletics... at all.
LATech would be a better addition in this scenario (moving along with us, Rice, & UTSA), honestly.  They've been out West before & know how it can help them.

And, if CSU & Air Force stay put (certainly a possibility), there may not be much more movement at all.   Unless the Big12 decides to add more like Boise St., Memphis, or SMU to keep shaking things up.

[keith]

2 hours ago, Coach Andy Mac said:

Rumors are swirling. This will be the last dominoes before the AAC likely expands next week. Three teams are AAC bound: AFA, CSU and UAB. The fourth team will end up being...Charlotte. Yes, Charlotte. According to one of our more reliable sources (Matt Brown), they are getting more play than UTSA, Rice, UNT, or FAU.

West: Air Force, CSU, Tulsa, Navy, SMU, Memphis

East: UAB, Charlotte, ECU, USF, Temple, Tulane

The Mountain West is up next. They decide it's time to get into Texas, and it makes more sense to grab four for travel: Rice, UTEP, UTSA, and North Texas. West: SDSU, Boise State, SJSU, Fresno State, UNLV, Nevada, Hawaii Mountain: USU, Wyoming, UNM, Rice, UTEP, UTSA, North Texas

The MAC looks around and stays put.

The Sun Belt then adds 2: Southern Miss and Marshall

West: Louisiana, USM, Texas State, UL Monroe, Ark St, USA

East: Marshall, CCU, App St, Georgia St, Troy, Georgia So

This leaves C-USA with 6 schools. Their options include adding NMSU, Liberty, UMass, and digging into FCS. They choose to add Liberty, NMSU, and JMU, and UMass as a football-only.

North: UMass, JMU, ODU, Liberty, WKU South: LaTech, NMSU, MTSU, FAU, FIU

LINK: https://csnbbs.com/showthread.php?mode=linear&tid=930871&pid=17685452

Could happen....I guess.  Some of this makes sense until you get to Marshall and Southern Miss going to the Sun Belt.  I just don't see that as a likely scenario.  If everything up to that point goes down and CUSA is left with 8 (including Marshall and  Southern Miss), I think CUSA would go after App State, Louisiana, Texas St. and a toss up between Liberty/Georgia St. in that order.

Edited September 30, 2021 by keith

[greenjoe]

Although we can't seem to beat them, I'd rather have La Tech than UTEP.  

[MeanGreenTexan]

17 minutes ago, keith said:

Could happen....I guess.  Some of this makes sense until you get to Marshall and Souther Miss going to the Sun Belt.  I just don't see that as a likely scenario.  If everything up to that point goes down and CUSA is left with 8 (including Marshall and  Southern Miss), I think CUSA would go after App State, Louisiana, Texas St. and a toss up between Liberty/Georgia St. in that order.

This is your problem...   you're thinking like YOU would.   You're not thinking like JUDY would.

[untbowler]

23 minutes ago, keith said:

Could happen....I guess.  Some of this makes sense until you get to Marshall and Souther Miss going to the Sun Belt.  I just don't see that as a likely scenario.  If everything up to that point goes down and CUSA is left with 8 (including Marshall and  Southern Miss), I think CUSA would go after App State, Louisiana, Texas St. and a toss up between Liberty/Georgia St. in that order.

why would Appy State, ULL, TX State and others leave $$$ on the table to take a demotion to a conference they have been dominating the past few years?

[El Paso Eagle]

4 minutes ago, untbowler said:

why would Appy State, ULL, TX State and others leave $$$ on the table to take a demotion to a conference they have been dominating the past few years?

Still have a hard time understanding why people think the Sun Belt is below CUSA.

[Cr1028]

I’m good as long as we bring the other Texas CUSA schools along for the ride. I wouldn’t mind adding the SWTSU-SM Bobcats to the mix as well. I like the idea of playing and defeating schools Texas HS recruits are familiar with.

[keith]

4 minutes ago, untbowler said:

why would Appy State, ULL, TX State and others leave $$$ on the table to take a demotion to a conference they have been dominating the past few years?

It's all about the psychology behind conference membership and the real or not but perceived pecking order of things.  I think the Sun Belt has done some nice things on the football field lately.  Does it last?  Who knows, but by most measures, it is still seen as lower on the totem pole.  Fair?  Doesn't really matter, that's just the way it is.  If these universities see the Sun Belt as their desired, final destination then they won't leave.  Since I really don't see Southern Miss and Marshall taking what would be seen by their students, fans, alumni, supports as an unacceptable step backwards, I think there would be a natural pull in the direction of CUSA for App St., ULL, Texas St and Liberty/Georgia St if they were invited.

Again, A LOT of things have to happen in the original scenario to even get to this point.  If I was making decisions for CUSA, I would have offered App St. and ULL the minute it was revealed that Texas and OU were going to the SEC. 

[untbowler]

11 minutes ago, keith said:

It's all about the psychology behind conference membership and the real or not but perceived pecking order of things.  I think the Sun Belt has done some nice things on the football field lately.  Does it last?  Who knows, but by most measures, it is still seen as lower on the totem pole.  Fair?  Doesn't really matter, that's just the way it is.  If these universities see the Sun Belt as their desired, final destination then they won't leave.  Since I really don't see Southern Miss and Marshall taking what would be seen by their students, fans, alumni, supports as an unacceptable step backwards, I think there would be a natural pull in the direction of CUSA for App St., ULL, Texas St and Liberty/Georgia St if they were invited.

Again, A LOT of things have to happen in the original scenario to even get to this point.  If I was making decisions for CUSA, I would have offered App St. and ULL the minute it was revealed that Texas and OU were going to the SEC. 

Facts:

Sun Belt is much higher in pecking order than CUSA right now and that is what matters, they have better $$$ and better TV currently thanks to a more forward sighted Commissioner. CUSA is only Progressive in name because they hired a women. CUSA football has fallen immensely in the past 3-4 yrs, even below the MAC the past 2 years. That is an embarrassing fall.

[MeanGreenTexan]

26 minutes ago, keith said:

It's all about the psychology behind conference membership and the real or not but perceived pecking order of things.  I think the Sun Belt has done some nice things on the football field lately.  Does it last?  Who knows, but by most measures, it is still seen as lower on the totem pole.  Fair?  Doesn't really matter, that's just the way it is.  If these universities see the Sun Belt as their desired, final destination then they won't leave.  Since I really don't see Southern Miss and Marshall taking what would be seen by their students, fans, alumni, supports as an unacceptable step backwards, I think there would be a natural pull in the direction of CUSA for App St., ULL, Texas St and Liberty/Georgia St if they were invited.

Again, A LOT of things have to happen in the original scenario to even get to this point.  If I was making decisions for CUSA, I would have offered App St. and ULL the minute it was revealed that Texas and OU were going to the SEC. 

I completely agree here, and I'm absolutely baffled as to why the SBC has not come out guns-blazing at C-USA over the past 2-3 years in releasing all kinds of information showing why they're better than C-USA.  They're not doing a super job of being proactive either.   If they did, C-USA would quickly be exposed, and the facade (based on history) would fall down.

[NorthTexasSportsNetwork]

I do not understand Charlotte even being considered for realignment 

[untjim1995]

2 minutes ago, NorthTexasSportsNetwork said:

I do not understand Charlotte even being considered for realignment 

Charlotte was a basketball member to the old CUSA 1.0, which is basically the current AAC. I'm not surprised they get mentioned as a potential member. After all, East Carolina apparently fights hard for them to members of a conference they are a part of...

[untjim1995]

2 hours ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Again,
I think people are hung up on Geography being a driver.
What does UTEP bring to the MWC?  They're not serious about athletics... at all.
LATech would be a better addition in this scenario (moving along with us, Rice, & UTSA), honestly.  They've been out West before & know how it can help them.

And, if CSU & Air Force stay put (certainly a possibility), there may not be much more movement at all.   Unless the Big12 decides to add more like Boise St., Memphis, or SMU to keep shaking things up.

The thing that the MWC commissioner and their TV partners will see with UTEP. Big school, big city, bowl game connection, and a history of being in a conference with a lot of these current MWC teams in the past. La Tech loses to UTEP in all of those.

[El Paso Eagle]

As soon as these G5 changes happen, the SEC will add more teams and then everything will start all over. Hell, I just wish the top 30-50 teams would go ahead and form their own Football conference, or the NFL would just set up a AAA style farm system and start paying players so we can get through this mess.