Changing Members put C-USA in a Pickle

[Harry]

The future obviously isn’t now for Conference USA.

Heck, it’s not even next year.

With four members leaving by July 1, 2013, and another six schools joining the league in time frames varying from 2013 through 2015, C-USA hasn’t been discussed in the present tense very much lately.

Until now.

That’s because as future-oriented as this league appears to be, there are still some decisions about that future which have to be made right now.

Scheduling for football is a prime example.

Since current Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) members Old Dominion and Charlotte aren’t going to upgrade to FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) status until the 2015 season, it leaves Conference USA unbalanced.

How unbalanced?

Imagine your tires after driving around Huntington’s pothole-ridden streets.

The problem is in the 2013 and ’14 football seasons, C-USA’s East Division will number only five schools while the West will have seven.

The East will include Marshall, East Carolina, Southern Miss, UAB and Florida International. But the West Division will feature such holdovers as Tulsa, UTEP, Rice and Tulane along with new members UT-San Antonio, North Texas and Louisiana Tech.

That obviously wreaks havoc with scheduling.

Read more: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/sports/x739985812/Changing-members-put-C-USA-in-a-pickle

[shaft]

Seems a little over dramatic for an article that answers its own question.

Either LA Tech or Tulane will move over for two seasons. The authors misses the other reason why it might be Tech, their the new guy. It's easier for Tulane to dictate what is going to happen because they are established in CUSA.

But its not unrealistic for Tulane to want to go East for a two seasons. They could easily ask for extra payout from the league and request things like their non-divison games me for two years be against teams of their choice (Rice, Tech, UTSA, UNT).