Article About Cusa's Future

MeanGreen61 · February 10, 2008

Often overlooked as just a weak non-BCS conference, the universities that make up C-USA have made changes recently that have started paying tangible dividends. Schools like Southern Mississippi, Houston and Southern Methodist University all feel they have upgraded their coaching staffs while other teams like 2007 C-USA champions Central Florida have added state-of-the-art upgrades to their facilities. These changes, among others, have sent a clear message to the college football world: C-USA plans to compete with the ‘haves’ of the NCAA and they mean to do it soon.

CUSA Recruiting

http://theredzonereport.com/2008/02/09/c-u...cruiting-recap/

UNTflyer · February 10, 2008

I see Marhsall and UTEP as two potential ship-jumpers, the former to the Big East and the latter to the MWC. The conferences are seeing big money potential in conference championships. Over the next 2-5 years, I expect a lot of teams shuffling and the demise of at least one Div I conference.

AnotherEagleFan · February 10, 2008

I see Marhsall and UTEP as two potential ship-jumpers, the former to the Big East and the latter to the MWC. The conferences are seeing big money potential in conference championships. Over the next 2-5 years, I expect a lot of teams shuffling and the demise of at least one Div I conference.

I have not heard anything about Marchall going to the Big East. UCF or East Carolina maybe. But Marshall is lacking in to many areas. Besides I think that there is just as good of a chance of the big East Football not expanding as there is a chance of them expandind. Remember they are a basketball conference. It will be difficult for them to add another football team without kicking out a basketball team.

But to your point there are a lot of exciting things happening in CUSA and when that happens we end up losing a team to an AQ BCS conference.

UNT_playmaker · February 10, 2008

I see Marhsall and UTEP as two potential ship-jumpers, the former to the Big East and the latter to the MWC. The conferences are seeing big money potential in conference championships. Over the next 2-5 years, I expect a lot of teams shuffling and the demise of at least one Div I conference.

Let's hope the Sun Belt

UNTFan23 · February 10, 2008

Let's hope the Sun Belt

The WAC would be my bet. If the PAC-10 or the MWC expand to 12, who are they going to take? Fresno, Boise, Utah and Hawaii would be my first picks. There are no other Div 1A schools (FBS) schools for the WAC to steal within their footprint, so they'd have to look to the 1AA (FCS) ranks to hopefully fill in the holes.

Disclosure: This is in no way an endorsement for NT to hop on the WAC bus. Far from it, in fact.

VideoEagle · February 11, 2008

The WAC would be my bet. If the PAC-10 or the MWC expand to 12, who are they going to take?

The Pac-10 is not going to expand. From a practical stand point, the conference is two big powerhouses - USC and UCLA - with eight other strong, but not powerhouse, schools. Any kind of expansion means the eight would play the two less often which cuts into the eight's ticket revenues significantly. The Presidents of USC, Cal, and Standford have all written they don't like the idea of a conference championship no mater the potential revenue. As a group, they believe they have extremely high academic standards and the only Western school that comes close to those is BYU. And they have repeated said they don't want BYU in the Pac 10.

As for Mountain West expansion, I'll believe it when I see it. The conference was created because the schools could not play each other every year and that was hurting their rivalries. They can't expand to 12 and still play everyone every year. I've read Air Force has even been making noises about going independent if the conference expands again.

KingDL1 · February 11, 2008

The Pac-10 is not going to expand. From a practical stand point, the conference is two big powerhouses - USC and UCLA - with eight other strong, but not powerhouse, schools. Any kind of expansion means the eight would play the two less often which cuts into the eight's ticket revenues significantly. The Presidents of USC, Cal, and Standford have all written they don't like the idea of a conference championship no mater the potential revenue. As a group, they believe they have extremely high academic standards and the only Western school that comes close to those is BYU. And they have repeated said they don't want BYU in the Pac 10.
As for Mountain West expansion, I'll believe it when I see it. The conference was created because the schools could not play each other every year and that was hurting their rivalries. They can't expand to 12 and still play everyone every year. I've read Air Force has even been making noises about going independent if the conference expands again.

Word is that all the Auto Bid BCS conferences are going to 12 team conferences in football. They all plan to have a championship game.

PlummMeanGreen · February 11, 2008

Let's hope the Sun Belt

Here is my concern for the Sun Belt & probably why I would hope UNT would keep an ace in the hole (whatever it could be) just in case:

Here are some projections (whether you want to call them probable or improbable is your choice) but remember, this is NCAA D1-A when even longtime conferences (the Southwest Conference for starters) have dissolved and schools since the BCS label began have been known to play musical chairs for whatever their reasoning; many just not wanting to be with the company they were keeping and with some of that group--totally understandable why they made conference changes.

But:

(1) What IF: Troy U, FAU and/or FIU "boogy out of the 'Belt ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? FAU's Schnellenberger has almost from FAU's offical first year in the SBC expressed the fact that he would prefer FAU being in another conference. The SBC should never take that attitude from Coach Howie' too lightly, either. Right now, FAU is having some budget problems, but those kinds of things can eventually be fixed with tuition increases and some fundraising.

Troy U leaving the Sun Belt? The Trojans are in CUSA's eastern footprint and if CUSA suddenly finds it has a few holes to fill (especially in the eastern part of their league) a "Top 25" Troy U program (& come on, folks, isnt' that where the Troy U football program is headed probably before any other SBC football program?); anyway, Troy U will always be available to fill some eastern holes in CUSA.

All the Florida schools have shown us how quickly they can move up the NCAA D1-A ladder and out of their pioneering conferences; all this while some of us (unfortunately) stand around with our fingers up our nostrils----------without any apparent contingency plans for ourselves whatsoever and that if we suddenly find ourselve quite lonely at some point in the future with only 3 or 4 other orignal football members of the Sun Belt as left-overs. Which schools do you want the future 2'nd Largest University in Texas to be associated conference-wise, progressives? For the SBC, the pickin's will be slim.

(2) What IF: WKU and/or MTSU (although it would be an outside shot) try to get into the the MAC because they are (somewhat) in its footprint and some SBC schools will do anything to say they are no longer SBC schools. Haven't both of these schools fans even thought the MAC would be a definite upgrade? Well, when I've read their boards in the past that seemed to be their theme on numerous occasions

(3) What IF: ULM folds their SBC tents because of even more extreme budget problems and decides to go back to the 1-AA Southland Conference.

The aforementioned involves 6 (count them) "SIX" present SBC football schools. Now I know I am just projecting and saying "What If" with all of this, but one has to only think back to the fact that if "the vaunted Southwest Conference in all of its almost 100 years of glory" can almost over-night dissolve, who would say a much less solid SBC could not in a similar amount of time?

BUT if we suddenly have to replace 6 schools in the SBC because of some of the aforementioned "possibilities" can you only imagine the level of schools (w/o absolutely no name ID such as those we joined in 2001) a new, revised SBC would be replacing those 6 schools with?

This is my fear for the SBC, but (once again) as one of our older alums on this board has said has been one of our flaws in the past and that is "staying the course too long" with situations that proved not worthy of our staying the course at all; hey folks, lets just keep an ace in the hole is all I been inferring, even with a possiblility of going to a league who for 2 years in a row has played in bowl games with revenues up to $17,000,000 and this while the SBC struggles with (is it ) $375,000 per team) or whatever formula Wright Waters has worked out with ticket sales from each team, etc, etc, etc,

PS: For those watching the Grammy's as I presently am, doesn't Mrs. Ringo (Barbara Bach) Starr look simply great for a lady of her age?

Edited February 11, 2008 by PlummMeanGreen

KAjunRaider · February 11, 2008

We ain't going to the MAC. We had been approached (not approved) and we said "no thanks." Our footprint is in the South-- recruiting-wise, culture-wise, and perception-wise. We do have a lot of northerner moving to the area (you'll see 'em at the Nashville Predators hockey games), but we will make hay in the South, or go home.

I have never, ever heard any serious discussion of joining the MAC, from fans, MT Athletic employees, or through the grapevine. You may have one or two yay-hoos that would like it, but they are probably from up north. I'd say 9 out of 10 MT fans would prefer SBC to the MAC. Where would you rather go to an away game-- Lafayette, LA, or Kalamazoo, Michigan ?

Not real worried about Troy, either. It is no secret that they want the bigger markets. Is Montgomery, AL, a big market? FAU is another story.

Here is my concern for the Sun Belt & probably why I would hope UNT would keep an ace in the hole (whatever it could be) just in case:
Here are some projections (whether you want to call them probable or improbable is your choice) but remember, this is NCAA D1-A when even longtime conferences (the Southwest Conference for starters) have dissolved and schools since the BCS label began have been known to play musical chairs for whatever their reasoning; many just not wanting to be with the company they were keeping and with some of that group--totally understandable why they made conference changes.
But:
(1) What IF: Troy U, FAU and/or FIU "boogy out of the 'Belt ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? FAU's Schnellenberger has almost from FAU's offical first year in the SBC expressed the fact that he would prefer FAU being in another conference. The SBC should never take that attitude from Coach Howie' too lightly, either. Right now, FAU is having some budget problems, but those kinds of things can eventually be fixed with tuition increases and some fundraising.
Troy U leaving the Sun Belt? The Trojans are in CUSA's eastern footprint and if CUSA suddenly finds it has a few holes to fill (especially in the eastern part of their league) a "Top 25" Troy U program (& come on, folks, isnt' that where the Troy U football program is headed probably before any other SBC football program?); anyway, Troy U will always be available to fill some eastern holes in CUSA.
All the Florida schools have shown us how quickly they can move up the NCAA D1-A ladder and out of their pioneering conferences; all this while some of us (unfortunately) stand around with our fingers up our nostrils----------without any apparent contingency plans for ourselves whatsoever and that if we suddenly find ourselve quite lonely at some point in the future with only 3 or 4 other orignal football members of the Sun Belt as left-overs. Which schools do you want the future 2'nd Largest University in Texas to be associated conference-wise, progressives? For the SBC, the pickin's will be slim.
(2) What IF: WKU and/or MTSU (although it would be an outside shot) try to get into the the MAC because they are (somewhat) in its footprint and some SBC schools will do anything to say they are no longer SBC schools. Haven't both of these schools fans even thought the MAC would be a definite upgrade? Well, when I've read their boards in the past that seemed to be their theme on numerous occasions
(3) What IF: ULM folds their SBC tents because of even more extreme budget problems and decides to go back to the 1-AA Southland Conference.
The aforementioned involves 6 (count them) "SIX" present SBC football schools. Now I know I am just projecting and saying "What If" with all of this, but one has to only think back to the fact that if "the vaunted Southwest Conference in all of its almost 100 years of glory" can almost over-night dissolve, who would say a much less solid SBC could not in a similar amount of time?
BUT if we suddenly have to replace 6 schools in the SBC because of some of the aforementioned "possibilities" can you only imagine the level of schools (w/o absolutely no name ID such as those we joined in 2001) a new, revised SBC would be replacing those 6 schools with?
This is my fear for the SBC, but (once again) as one of our older alums on this board has said has been one of our flaws in the past and that is "staying the course too long" with situations that proved not worthy of our staying the course at all; hey folks, lets just keep an ace in the hole is all I been inferring, even with a possiblility of going to a league who for 2 years in a row has played in bowl games with revenues up to $17,000,000 and this while the SBC struggles with (is it ) $375,000 per team) or whatever formula Wright Waters has worked out with ticket sales from each team, etc, etc, etc,
PS: For those watching the Grammy's as I presently am, doesn't Mrs. Ringo (Barbara Bach) Starr look simply great for a lady of her age?

Edited February 11, 2008 by KAjunRaider

KAjunRaider · February 11, 2008

Just thought of another question.....

Wonder if the SBC could lure a MAC team to our conference (preferrably an Ohio team) ?

NT03 · February 11, 2008

THE 2010 SUNBELT FOOTBALL CONFERENCE WILL CONSIST OF UNT , TEXAS STATE , LAMAR , ULL , ULM & SOUTH ALABAMA :ph34r:

nautique · February 11, 2008

Texas State? How so? Their board approved going to D-1 but not in 2010.

Daddy Dumpsalot · February 11, 2008

THE 2010 SUNBELT FOOTBALL CONFERENCE WILL CONSIST OF UNT , TEXAS STATE , LAMAR , ULL , ULM & SOUTH ALABAMA

Please someone shoot me now. I would rather do a belly flop off of a 10 story bridge than ever see that conference come together.

Please God.....remove us from this thing we call a football conference before all of our 'rivals' get removed first.

MeanGreen61 · February 11, 2008

THE 2010 SUNBELT FOOTBALL CONFERENCE WILL CONSIST OF UNT , TEXAS STATE , LAMAR , ULL , ULM & SOUTH ALABAMA

Please stop torturing me.........PLEASE ! :angry:

Dodge2007 · February 11, 2008

SWTS will always be that, a AA program that can't draw more than 12-15 thousand people when they are in the AA Semi-finals. Hopefully, UNT will avoid Texas State.

UNT with a new stadium should go independent before that crap with Lamar, Texas State and the like.

A new stadium gives UNT options, no new stadium and we have to get on our knees and beg for someone to take us.

NTPhiKap99 · February 11, 2008

THE 2010 SUNBELT FOOTBALL CONFERENCE WILL CONSIST OF UNT , TEXAS STATE , LAMAR , ULL , ULM & SOUTH ALABAMA

And to think the topic last week was South Alabama doesn't even play D1 football; yet they are getting into CUSA before us. You've gotta love this board.

UNTflyer · February 11, 2008

PS: For those watching the Grammy's as I presently am, doesn't Mrs. Ringo (Barbara Bach) Starr look simply great for a lady of her age?

How the hell did Herbie Hancock win album of the year over Amy Winehouse, Foo Fighters, and Kayne West?

ADLER · February 11, 2008

PS: For those watching the Grammy's as I presently am, doesn't Mrs. Ringo (Barbara Bach) Starr look simply great for a lady of her age?

Adler aluna Lana. Adler zug-zug Lana. Atook? pooka!

UNTLifer · February 11, 2008

How the hell did Herbie Hancock win album of the year over Amy Winehouse, Foo Fighters, and Kayne West?

Because after watching Amy Winehouse, I'm trying to figure out how she won anything, the Foo Fighters are okay, but not great and Kanye West and rap should never win record of the year.

The above is the HO of a early 40 year old white guy.

PlummMeanGreen · February 11, 2008

Adler aluna Lana. Adler zug-zug Lana. Atook? pooka!

So another fan of the movie "Caveman", eh, even though some of your own lines of the movie a bit slanted, eh, ADLER? :lol:

A classic movie IMHO...

.............................................................................

2 in 1 post:

TTG, you think if I said "white" that you might respond, uh, 'black"; you think if I post "pepper" that you might post "salt"? You and I come from different eras at UNT and our lifestyles are probably much different in so many ways, but I have my opinions based on a past that I was part of at UNT. It is obviously about 180 degrees from some younger posters on this board who cannot see anything but a Sun Belt Conference co-existance, but that is their perrogative, too.

Of course, the MUTS folks have a vested interest and dire need for their to be a continued Sun Belt Conference as is & I'm sure any Blue-Raider may have not liked any of the WAC discussion of the past; but FWIW.....there were some posts on their board from some of their fans who were wanting out of the SBC for an "Anywhere Conference" back when yall thought yall were all but ready for the SEC (being facetious with that one, of course) but back when yall thought your own program was (mabye) head & shoulders over the rest of us?

Spaceraider, Noah could be talking to a few posters on this board about an upcoming disaster that concerned, well, lets say, uh, water and some of this elite group of enlightened posters of know it alls on all things North Texas would immediately start buying ocean-front property just to to be different and, maybe a bit noticed, too?

Sorry, but I don't see the Sun Belt as a solid conference with staying-power and I just don't want North Texas to be left at the freakin' alter again in case other leagues start filling their sudden holes of their own leagues because of defections with 2 or 3 or 4 SBC schools--which would (basically) be the end of the SBC except for a bunch of spare "no name ID" 1-AA schools the SBC would find itself haveing to fill its own holes with. Call me whatever, but I think UNT deserves better company than even the company we're in now (except for maybe 2 or 3 SBC schools, that is)

One of our older alums on GMG.com who has forgotten more about North Texas than many of us will ever know about her would call such a scenario as that as "UNT staying the course too long" once again.

"Hey, Noah, you are nuts, you're crazy, you're touched, & can we go ahead & water ski behind your rather large boat (ha! ha! ha!...................you are also, whoops, wait a minute here....................blub! blub! blub, blub, blub, blub! (the sounds of the swallowing of water "internet" style).

Edited February 11, 2008 by PlummMeanGreen

Eagle1855 · February 11, 2008

the Foo Fighters are okay, but not great and Kanye West and rap should never win record of the year.

gonna have to disagree with you... the Foo Fighters are one of the best rock bands out there right now. Best live show I've seen. Dave Grohl is a god.

I think Kanye's a tremendous talent, he's just an arrogant prick.

Im bored of conference talk.

FirefightnRick · February 11, 2008

... the Foo Fighters are one of the best rock bands out there right now.

Well, what does that say about today and the true meaning of "ROCK"? But I have to give them this: They can AT LEAST, play their own music instead of simply singing along to a recording?

Rick

Edited February 11, 2008 by FirefightnRick

UNTflyer · February 11, 2008

Well, what does that say about today and the true meaning of "ROCK"?

It means rock music has come a long way from the days of CCR and AC/DC, when every song on a band's album sounded exactly the same.

I am a fan of rock, from the 1950s to today, and the Foo Fighters are good. At one time I thought they were on the verge of greatness but "In Your Honor" was a huge disappointment.

Quoner · February 11, 2008

I like the Foo Fighters, but give me a thread comparing conference affiliation to Noah and the flood anytime. This means that all of you are failing to heed the warnings of God's chosen profit and I guess the punishment is...well.......we'll have to find out together.

One thing is clear though, TTG is a filthy, unwashed sinner with no soul.

eulessismore · February 11, 2008

I like the Foo Fighters, but give me a thread comparing conference affiliation to Noah and the flood anytime. This means that all of you are failing to heed the warnings of God's chosen profit and I guess the punishment is...well.......we'll have to find out together.
One thing is clear though, TTG is a filthy, unwashed sinner with no soul.

Now I'm confused; I have been thinking of Todd Dodge as Moses. Is he really Noah? I guess he did give his "family" atmosphere some credibility by recruiting students for his first class in twos from different high schools.