Alliance=Protectionism?

Harry · December 31, 2011

Re: Should the new AD take us out of this alliance crap?

by HarborPointe on Tue Dec 27, 2011 10:32 pm

usmnut wrote:

ODU is one of the better academic institutions in the southeast, probably top 5. They have more money and students than we do. I could see them being the next USF, running off to a AQ conference after only a couple of years.

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RESPONSE:

That's precisely why there should be NO football expansion, at least in the East. I've had my fill of giving of giving never-has-been urban programs a leg up in passing us by. If they want to leapfrog us because they have more TVs, let them do it out of the Sun Belt. ECU will be all for adding ODU for geographic reasons...right up until the Monarchs get the next Big East invitation having not yet won a bowl game and drawing half their attendance.

It's time to circle the wagons. Anybody who's not on board by now, too damned bad.

That's probably one of the reasons you hear this all-sports chatter. If you keep the conferences separate for other sports, you're probably going to have to get both up to 10 in order to be viable long-term. CUSA will be down to 9 and the MWC will be at 7 once the dust settles; remember Hawaii is football-only. That means adding 4 in some fashion. Adding just one to split football into 9-team divisions (8-game schedule, 4 home, 4 away) and set up non-football as one conference (17 teams, sub-divide it however--3 scheduling pods of 4 and one of 5 works) is in a lot of ways better for all our interests than expanding the total membership by 25%.

Read More: http://www.eaglepost.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=28917&sid=3c9b42f27f9632208f9c32dc1c79adc9

GrayEagle · December 31, 2011

Please do not take this post to heart. It is one person's not too informed opinion.

To begin with, ODU is not one of the top 5 academic institutions in the southeast. It might be in the state of Virginia but it's definitely behind the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Richmond and VCU. That's based on freshman SAT scores.

Then why is the poster worried about Old Dominion entering the CUSA division? How many times has it occurred that an FCS team has been accepted for membership in CUSA? The MWC and CUSA are not entry level conferences.

He could be right on some of his speculation but no one can possibly know until after January 15. The Alliance may or may not take Hawaii in as a full member. If they did that would eliminate the need for another 'football only' member.

I also think that the final results will depend on how the TV package is structured. If the package is for football only there will be no need for the alliance to operate as one conference. But, do they return to 'as you were' with CUSA at 12 teams and Mountain West at nine or do both go to the same number?

I don't want to rail against any possible member at this time but I sincerely hope that the conferences add teams more centrally located if they are planning to operate coast to coast. Adding a Temple, for instance, even though they are worthy, must prove cost-effective. Travel expenses will soar when teams are added to the extreme east or west.

We're due for a lot of rumors and speculation in the next few weeks. Just try to keep all this in perspective. Most of those who will comment are sharing their own views and may, or may not, have much to do with reality.

PlummMeanGreen · December 31, 2011

Harry, I told you from Day 1 when this Alliance talk first began that we were screwed; that is, it would give this Alliance an out or an excuse not to expand with any school immediately. Long term, I don't think another WAC 16 type league will work no matter how some of the Alliance posters say it will.

The odd thing about all this is how "the Big TV market schools" (mostly , uh......us?) :rolleyes: have all but become the villain and that (of course) among the small market schools which constitutes most of CUSA now; but lest we forget, this theme is still coming from smack board posters who have no idea how all the MWC and CUSA presidents are seeing this and how it affects their own decison-making skills longterm. .

La Tech is hoping above all hope that all the USM posters of whom Dwayne of Minden has probably paid off and that to always sneak in the Ruston-based school's name in most all these "projected" smack board cookie cutter conference threads has some kind of pay-off down the road, but why any league would want a school with a $15 million athletic budget of which their HFC almost gets 1/15'th of that budget alone beats me. PLUS.....a school with an endzone stadium expansion plans which begs the question...... "is that all you have with this patchwork quilt add-on to a 1960'esque style football stadium of which you've raised so little monies for as it is? :unsure: And which conference is it that you say your school is such a natural fit to be in again now?

When the WAC implodes, La Tech has no place else to go so I think they are letting out all the stops in trying to get in CUSA now. If they get in, that means they've been quietly politickin' CUSA all the time with success and that another school near and dear to us all has not. God help those at North Texas if this La Tech expansion into CUSA scenario is successful. It will get pretty ugly fast.

GMG!

PS: Why is my computer so slow on GMG.com when it isn't on other boards?

Edited December 31, 2011 by PlummMeanGreen