TV deals and entrance/departure fees are funny money. Seems to me the way to build a program is winning meaningful games against opponents that fans will recognize. ASU has had great games/crowds against UL, Monroe, Middle and even Southern Miss and Tulsa in non-conference games. No one gets excited about the F_U schools and certainly won't care about Old Dominion/UNCC/UAB/UTSA. I'm for jumping if it means keeping our SBC rivals and adding Southern Miss/Tulsa/La Tech. If those teams leave CUSA, I see nothing exciting or worthy.

I pretty much agree. Our fanbase could be convinced games against teams like Southern Miss and Neck are worth coming too, but if those two were to bolt for say the Big East, the only interesting CUSA opponent left is MTSU, and they are not worth the financial commitment to moving. especially when we already have established SBC Rivalries with WKU, Troy, and UL.

I think nBE will generate sufficient revenue that an eastern or central time zone school can go there and make it work but it is no windfall.

After that it really comes down to expenses vs. what will it do for your ticket sales and ability to solicit donations and sponsorships.

The majority of people cannot correctly identify the membership of the Sun Belt but that's OK, they cannot do that for C-USA either. The question becomes does their perception that C-USA is better deliver enough ticket sales and encourage donations to cover the costs associated both short and long-term. Short-term is exit and entry fees, changing the field, the courts, the signage, the advertising and promotional materials and uniforms. Long-term is the travel and operational costs.

When you are in the central or eastern time zone, south of the Mason-Dixon, the long-term costs of Sun Belt, C-USA, and nBE are all essentially equal. Arkansas State and WKU are spending more on football coaches and assistants than most C-USA teams post-nBE raid so the cost of competitive overhead is roughly identical between C-USA and Sun Belt. The three leagues have roughly identical footprints so the cost of travel is roughly the same.

The question becomes does the competition move the needle with the fans. For ASU, Tulsa and USM would move the needle. La.Tech if you are an ASU fan over age 35 might move it but anyone younger than that really has little experience with the now dormant (more realistically dead) rivalry but most of the people who have helped swell our attendance are either too young to remember it or they weren't paying attention when those games mattered. Now nBE... Memphis moves the needle and SMU and Houston might.

That pretty much reduces the value to creating an impression that it is better.

While the extended BCS has 3 of the remaining 8 Sun Belt in the top half of the country compared to only 2 of 14 C-USA teams, perception says it isn't that way. If that perception can sell tix and donations, then it is worth it.

(12-25-2012 09:46 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  While the extended BCS has 3 of the remaining 8 Sun Belt in the top half of the country compared to only 2 of 14 C-USA teams, perception says it isn't that way. If that perception can sell tix and donations, then it is worth it.

The cost of stickers doesn't factor in?