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If Cusa Needs Two, Who Gets Picked ?

MeanGreen61

By MeanGreen61
in Mean Green Football

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GrayEagle Veteran

GrayEagle

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Why would La Tech be a natural? Small market, budget problems; yes they have it all.

LA Tech would be pretty formidable. They are in the 60s on the all-time football rating list; we are in the 80s. Their market is rather small but they add Shreveport (who does not have a FBS or FCS team and where Tech usually plays one game a year) which takes their market rank to the upper 60s. They have some tremendous budget problems without a doubt but if Louisiana decides to consolidate some of their colleges then Louisiana Tech would be the benefactor. One plan has them doing away with ULM and Grambling as four-year institutions which would consolidate operations at La Tech. Northwestern State is also in the mix which could make them even larger.

If CUSA needs two more teams I would hope that the two conferences (CUSA and SBC) could somehow merge and ten divide east/west. It could cut travel costs for everyone tremendously.

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NT80 Grand Master

NT80

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If Memphis and UCF leave will CUSA rebuild in the East or move more to the West ? ECU is also anxious to leave & if they joined UCF and Memphis would moving West be the best answer ?

c-usa-map.gif

We need the CUSA footprint to be pushed West. If Memphis and UCF only leave that would not help much for UNT. If East Carolina were to leave also or ECU and UCF together that would be better for us.

If ECU, Marshall, and UAB remain they would look for more Eastern teams like MUTS, Troy, WKU, even La Tech. Some CUSA schools already consider the DFW area covered by Smut (how little they know about Smut's lack of appeal here!).

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GrandGreen Grand Master

GrandGreen

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LA Tech would be pretty formidable. They are in the 60s on the all-time football rating list; we are in the 80s. Their market is rather small but they add Shreveport (who does not have a FBS or FCS team and where Tech usually plays one game a year) which takes their market rank to the upper 60s. They have some tremendous budget problems without a doubt but if Louisiana decides to consolidate some of their colleges then Louisiana Tech would be the benefactor. One plan has them doing away with ULM and Grambling as four-year institutions which would consolidate operations at La Tech. Northwestern State is also in the mix which could make them even larger.

If CUSA needs two more teams I would hope that the two conferences (CUSA and SBC) could somehow merge and ten divide east/west. It could cut travel costs for everyone tremendously.

I believe that La Tech will be a formidable candidate also, but that to me is different from them being cast as a natural. They have definite budget issues and the likelihood of most or any of the Northern Louisiana state schools being concentrated under the La Tech banner is miniscule and even if they did, I am not sure how that would directly benefit their athletic program. I doubt even La would shut down schools to add a portion of those savings to athletes at Ruston. The only perceived advantage La Tech has is a prior association with many of the CUSA schools that where in the WAC. If you look closely at the current college landscape and what is happening and almost happened in conference shakeups, you can see the value of those prior relationships is not much.

One thing about La Tech posters, they have no doubt that La Tech is one of the best programs outside of the AQ conferences. This is opposed to many NT fans who seem to think that anyone who has a fb division program is some how vastly superior. In the case, of UTSA and TSUSM; they don't even have to be fb division. La Tech has been successful and in many ways is to be admired, but they don't have NT's facilities, media market, transportation hubs, number of alums, general resources and potential.

A lot of average fans base their assumptions on the current football program and name recognition. So you get people who believe for instance that Troy will be a coveted conference member or that La Tech is a "natural". People who make decisions are going to do it on a long term basis. Facilities, geography, academic standards, and overall resources are the major factors. Plus unfortunately the fear of competition for recruits and fans definitely enters into the equation. I frankly think that NT compares very favorably with the rest of the Belt as well as La Tech and the Texas newcomers. I just wish more of our fans would look at the many positives and believe in a program that is at long last moving quickly forward.

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GreenMachine Newbie

GreenMachine

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I just wish more of our fans would look at the many positives and believe in a program that is at long last moving quickly forward.

unfortunately many NT alums have the "little dick" syndrome and feel inferior to any and everybody. We are our own worse enemy when it comes to promoting NT. We need more alum like Emmitt, Kram, FFR, and many others, who are proud they went to NT instead of acting embarrassed they didn't go to douche U A&M or worse Univ of a-holeville UT. NT is a damn fine school and I am proud of my alma mater.

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drycreek Contributor

drycreek

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unfortunately many NT alums have the "little dick" syndrome and feel inferior to any and everybody. We are our own worse enemy when it comes to promoting NT. We need more alum like Emmitt, Kram, FFR, and many others, who are proud they went to NT instead of acting embarrassed they didn't go to douche U A&M or worse Univ of a-holeville UT. NT is a damn fine school and I am proud of my alma mater.

you are right---well said-------nail on the head

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GrayEagle Veteran

GrayEagle

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If CUSA loses two eastern teams why would you want to replace them with two more teams even farther away from the core?

CUSA is headquartered in Irving, thirty miles away from North Texas. There are seven teams on or west of the Mississippi River and an eighth, Southern Miss, is little more than 100 miles to the east. Why would you want to add teams in the east and further your travel expenses?

North Texas and Louisiana Tech would be closer to the core of Conference USA than any other candidates. North Texas has been in the highest classification for 46 years and La Tech for 28. I don't believe that any other candidates have that length of service. No one will have a significantly larger stadium or attendance. Both have produced quality football teams over the years.

Furthermore, North Texas has other advantages. Thirty minutes away from one of the country's busiest airports, for example. It gives them great accessibility and cheaper airfares for its opponents. It would have the largest alumni base of any of the candidates. It is in the fifth largest TV market and with SMU, would give CUSA more viewers than any other conference. Don't forget there are two teams in the Houston area which is at number ten.

If there were need for two additional teams, I frankly don't see why North Texas would not be number one. While the fight for number two would be closer, I'd still give the margin to Louisiana Tech over Middle Tennessee.

Edited by GrayEagle
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Mean Green 93-98 Grand Master

Mean Green 93-98

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To me, any delay in expansion and realignment is a good thing. While we have gotten several of our ducks in a row that were askew the last time C-USA came calling, we still have two significant drawbacks: (1) A terrible record in football the last 5 years, and (2) No baseball team.

As far as the strength of our football team, we could not look any worse than we do right now. Hopefully, the addition of Coach Chico and the continued improvement of our D leads to a turnaround this coming season. If not, I am confident that we will have the resources and attractiveness to bring in a head coach who will turn things around.

Most of the C-USA schools field a baseball team, and I am sure the conference and member schools would rather keep it that way. LaTech fields a baseball team, so that's something they have on us. RV has said that he is not going to consider putting together a baseball team until the football stadium is finished. If we can at least get to the point where we are actually taking steps to put a baseball program together and making plans to build a baseball stadium, that will definitely be a plus for us.

It might be a lot better for us for the present if C-USA remains unchanged, and we bide our time another 2 or 3 years in the Belt.

Edited by Mean Green 93-98
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