Bill McGillis speaks on Southern Miss future with CUSA

[Harry]

"Let's firm up our financial foundation, build our fan base and position ourselves for a bigger future. Our aspiration, let me clear, is to play at the highest level of Division-I athletics in the very best conference that we can play in and it remains to be seen where that is."

"I'm going to be working everyday and everybody on this campus, I think certainly in the athletic department, will be working everyday to build a championship program in Conference USA while we're in it, while positioning ourselves for success beyond Conference USA."

Read more: http://www.wdam.com/story/26122225/southern-miss-ad-bill-mcgillis-speaks-on-programs-future-with-conference-usa

[Ben Gooding]

I hope our administration has the same mind set as him.

[drex]

It's always nice to have a cluster of member schools just sitting and waiting in the waiting room Big Time General Hospital.

[DeepGreen]

I hope our administration has the same mind set as him.

No, they're probably content to stay in the SBC Ver. 4. Sorry, but the inclusion of the two Florida schools, MUTS, ODU, Charlotte, and atus did it in for me. We should strive to do better.

Edited July 27, 2014 by DeepGreen

[outoftown]

Hmmm. while I think all schools in C-USA would take an invite from a celarly more prestigous conference, I do not think these were well chosen words at all.

It is not smart to make it this clear that you are not happy with your current conference and ready to jump into bed with the next suitor that is a bit prettier or that can offer 50$ more....looks cheap on you and is bad for the current partner.

[DeepGreen]

Hmmm. while I think all schools in C-USA would take an invite from a celarly more prestigous conference, I do not think these were well chosen words at all.

It is not smart to make it this clear that you are not happy with your current conference and ready to jump into bed with the next suitor that is a bit prettier or that can offer 50$ more....looks cheap on you and is bad for the current partner.

Was that a shot at the So. Miss. guy or DeepGreen?

[Ben Gooding]

Assuming So Miss. I kind of thought the same thing. If you're thinking about cheating on your girlfriend you don't tell your girlfriend.

[outoftown]

Was that a shot at the So. Miss. guy or DeepGreen?

So. Miss.

But I have no clue what your partner looks like.

Assuming So Miss. I kind of thought the same thing. If you're thinking about cheating on your girlfriend you don't tell your girlfriend.

Pretty much... just that this feels more like telling everybody (your girlfriend included) that you are planning to cheat on your girlfriend. Nothing good can come of this.

Edited July 27, 2014 by outoftown

[Mean Green 93-98]

Pretty much... just that this feels more like telling everybody (your girlfriend included) that you are planning to cheat on your girlfriend. Nothing good can come of this.

Really?

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/smu-mustangs/20110825-smu-makes-public-its-desire-to-join-big-12-or-another-bcs-conference.ece

It wasn't long after SMU expressed their interest in the Big XII that they received an invite from the Big East.

No, the Big East turned out not to be the Big East at all, but they are still in a better conference situation than they would have been had they been content to stay in C-USA.

[GreenN'walinsVet]

No, the Big East turned out not to be the Big East at all, but they are still in a better conference situation than they would have been had they been content to stay in C-USA.

[Mean Green 93-98]

No, the Big East turned out not to be the Big East at all, but they are still in a better conference situation than they would have been had they been content to stay in C-USA.

Are They?

Instead of 1 conference game fans can drive to they would have 4. If Houston doesn't bolt with them then make that 5. If Tulsa doesn't bolt then make that 6.

I know if they all stay then NT, La Tech, and UTSA may not be in, but for arguments sake lets say CUSA still takes those 3, SMU, UH and Tulsa stay. Add UTEP and I'd say SMU would be In a much better situation then where they currently are

[GTWT]

We ain't married to cUSA & we ain't in a loving relationship with our conference mates. Each school knows good & well that any cUSA school would leave in a heart-beat if a better offer was in hand. That's the way it should be.

[GrandGreen]

Obviously, every school not in a top conference would jump at the change to move up. However, to have your AD take a public shot at the conference your in doesn't make a lot of sense. The AD is playing to his fan base who thinks they deserve better.

USM has a good program for a long time, but now they are in hard times. I understand their displeasure, the same as Arkansas Sate for example, they have been very good in their conference; but didn't move up because of demographics. Facilities are not their problem and I don't believe they had much to do with NT not getting into CUSA the first time when it was actually a step up.

I do think USM has a better chance than NT of moving up to the AAC. I don't see SMU and Houston ever wanting NT in the same conference. If they go for another Texas school I am afraid UTSA would get the nod with the San Antonio market before NT, who theoretically offers the same market as SMU.

The only way I see NT moving up is to become a dominant program not only in CUSA but among the non-power conferences.

[Cerebus]

Facilities are not their problem and I don't believe they had much to do with NT not getting into CUSA the first time when it was actually a step up.

Lack of facilities and baseball, and no real concrete plans to get baseball, are why we did not get the CUSA invite when UTEP did.

I can't say I blame CUSA officials. UTEP had a much better stadium than Fouts, an athletic center, a weight room that wasn't shared and it's almost ten years later and we still don't have baseball.

[Stan R]

Lack of facilities and baseball, and no real concrete plans to get baseball, are why we did not get the CUSA invite when UTEP did.

I can't say I blame CUSA officials. UTEP had a much better stadium than Fouts, an athletic center, a weight room that wasn't shared and it's almost ten years later and we still don't have baseball.

while (true) {

System.out.println("Just wait till next year! " + "Baseball will be here in " + (currYear + 1) + "!");

Thread.sleep(oneyear);

}

[TIgreen01]

It's all about budget. Southern Miss is in the right spot, which is CUSA. They spend $20 million/year. Most (if not all---can't see private school budgets) of the schools that left for AAC are upwards of $30. CUSA ranges from $16-27.

http://collegead.org/college-athletic-department-budgets/

[GrandGreen]

Lack of facilities and baseball, and no real concrete plans to get baseball, are why we did not get the CUSA invite when UTEP did.

I can't say I blame CUSA officials. UTEP had a much better stadium than Fouts, an athletic center, a weight room that wasn't shared and it's almost ten years later and we still don't have baseball.

Yeah they went for that UTEP baseball program.

[untjim1995]

I had dinner with a former USM football player on Saturday night. He said directly that he wishes that USM had also left CUSA for the AAC. I told him I didn't blame him for feeling that way, especially since they lost a lot of their rivals over the years to the AAC and beyond. But in the end, I told him the reality ofd why CUSA is the place USM will always be--Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Conference affiliation is all about TV markets and national appeal. USM has zero on the first and a dying amount on the second part. The teams in CUSA that will have options of moving upward into the AAC or MWC, if they are even wanted in the future after the P5 split off, are as follows: UTSA, F_U, UTEP, UNT, Rice, MUTS, and Charlotte. UAB and Old Dominion are maybes on this list, because they have decent TV markets and good basketball resumes.. But USM, La Tech, Western Kentucky, and Marshall are pretty much stuck in CUSA--they provide no TV markets at all. Even with a little national appeal, there isn't enough there to make up the difference that their small markets provide.

I still believe that the MWC will come back into Texas and get UTEP, UTSA, and some combination of UH, Rice, SMU, and UNT to get to 16 teams. When that happens, the AAC will replace any Texas teams that leave with the other school available in that market (SMU leaves, replaced by UNT or UH leaves, replaced by Rice). CUSA will replace anyone who leaves from Texas with Texas State and ULL.