In a perfect world where politics and disagreements were not part of the picture, the additions would be Ga Southern, App and Liberty. JMU would be third, ahead of Liberty, but it does not appear they are interested.

With that said, we know that politics and power struggles play into the picture. Benson, as he stated In the conference call, has to work everyone through it and do what is best for the conference and ultimately it's members. This is where his role is critical and his skills as a facilitator, negotiator and peacemaker will be tested. Crunch time for Benson.

(03-10-2013 10:40 AM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  In a perfect world where politics and disagreements were not part of the picture, the additions would be Ga Southern, App and Liberty. JMU would be third, ahead of Liberty, but it does not appear they are interested.

With that said, we know that politics and power struggles play into the picture. Benson, as he stated In the conference call, has to work everyone through it and do what is best for the conference and ultimately it's members. This is where his role is critical and his skills as a facilitator, negotiator and peacemaker will be tested. Crunch time for Benson.

Again that will not happen while NMSU is out there. They were a founding member of Sun Belt football, left in good standing and have had longstanding relationships with stAte and Louisiana.

(03-10-2013 10:54 AM)geauxcajuns Wrote:  

(03-10-2013 10:40 AM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  In a perfect world where politics and disagreements were not part of the picture, the additions would be Ga Southern, App and Liberty. JMU would be third, ahead of Liberty, but it does not appear they are interested.

With that said, we know that politics and power struggles play into the picture. Benson, as he stated In the conference call, has to work everyone through it and do what is best for the conference and ultimately it's members. This is where his role is critical and his skills as a facilitator, negotiator and peacemaker will be tested. Crunch time for Benson.

Again that will not happen while NMSU is out there. They were a founding member of Sun Belt football, left in good standing and have had longstanding relationships with stAte and Louisiana.

You are probably right. But those relationships come at a price in the new system. UL, ASU and other CURRENT members have to decide, is that worth $50k, $500k a year in lost revenue per school in the new system? What the value of that relationship is what the Presidents have to decide.

I would hope the Presidents are running the numbers from past seasons conference rating with NMSU included to see what the $ impact is. If there is not a negative impact, then definitely add them. If they result in money taken out of your pocket and given to another G5 conference you compete against, then proceed with caution.

I know this will cause rampant speculation. But does anyone think Liberty could potentially harm our TV contract if sponsors or scared of being associated with Liberty athletics?

I don't think it would raise a major concern.

(03-10-2013 11:20 AM)slappycajun Wrote:  I know this will cause rampant speculation. But does anyone think Liberty could potentially harm our TV contract if sponsors or scared of being associated with Liberty athletics?

I don't think it would raise a major concern.

I think there are many reasons to be terrified of association with Liberty but tv isn't one of them. The tv folks would probably love them. Not that they'd pay us any more if we took them or renegotiate our horrible tv deal.

Just guessing as to what happened.

I think people forget that UALR has a vote in this.

ULL, ULM, UALR and stAte want NMSU.
USA and Troy don't want NMSU.

ULL and or ULM/ASU/UALR don't want Ga Southern (I'm assuming Appy already has been extended a bid). Troy and USA support Ga Southern's candidacy.

No one else should be in the room. Ga State, Texas State, and UTA aren't members yet and WKU is on the way out.

Just reading tea leaves from a distance, but I'd be REAL worried if I'm Georgia Southern at this point.

(03-10-2013 10:11 AM)Cat79 Wrote:  

(03-10-2013 10:00 AM)geauxcajuns Wrote:  

(03-10-2013 09:53 AM)BRtransplant Wrote:  If the Sun Belt membership becomes divided over the issue of its geographic footprint, the conference may very well not survive. Right now, NMSU is the best available option for the SBC and should be added immediately. The eastern schools are at fault here and I don't blame ULL and ASU for being pissed.

You are absolutely correct, throw in Texas State and ULM into that mix as well. Starting next year that will be 4 schools who will veto any and all SLC schools as well as 3 teams added in the east.

I understand the concerns of the eastern schools as well, they know as soon as Tulsa, Marshall and ODU are out of CUSA the Sun Belt will lose WKU, stAte and Louisiana to CUSA.

If CUSA adds New Mexico State then UTEP is out as soon as possible.

UTEP's only hope of leaving CUSA is if the MWC comes calling, and so far, they haven't.

(03-10-2013 10:00 AM)geauxcajuns Wrote:  

(03-10-2013 09:53 AM)BRtransplant Wrote:  If the Sun Belt membership becomes divided over the issue of its geographic footprint, the conference may very well not survive. Right now, NMSU is the best available option for the SBC and should be added immediately. The eastern schools are at fault here and I don't blame ULL and ASU for being pissed.

You are absolutely correct, throw in Texas State and ULM into that mix as well. Starting next year that will be 4 schools who will veto any and all SLC schools as well as 3 teams added in the east.

I understand the concerns of the eastern schools as well, they know as soon as Tulsa, Marshall and ODU are out of CUSA the Sun Belt will lose WKU, stAte and Louisiana to CUSA.

I think Tulsa will leave, and that CUSA will backfill with WKU, but I've read nothing that would make me think Marshall and ODU are going anywhere, anytime soon. It all depends on what happens with the ACC once it is completely decimated by the B1G, SEC, and Big 12. If the remnants of the ACC merge with the A-12, realignment may be finished.

(03-10-2013 01:08 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  Just guessing as to what happened.

I think people forget that UALR has a vote in this.

ULL, ULM, UALR and stAte want NMSU.
USA and Troy don't want NMSU.

ULL and or ULM/ASU/UALR don't want Ga Southern (I'm assuming Appy already has been extended a bid). Troy and USA support Ga Southern's candidacy.

No one else should be in the room. Ga State, Texas State, and UTA aren't members yet and WKU is on the way out.

Just reading tea leaves from a distance, but I'd be REAL worried if I'm Georgia Southern at this point.

I don't think UL voted against Georgia Southern when our AD Scott Farmer and Asst AD Ken Winstead have deep ties to the program. The problem was once those two were agreed upon Eastern members wanted to add a third. This did not sit well with ASU, UL and ULM considering the best available option is another FBS program on this side of the conference. I don't know how UALR voted, but the votes aren't there and maybe Sam Houston was thrown out as a compromise. In either case, there seems to be no consensus moving forward.

(03-10-2013 01:26 PM)CrazyCajun Wrote:  

(03-10-2013 01:08 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  Just guessing as to what happened.

I think people forget that UALR has a vote in this.

ULL, ULM, UALR and stAte want NMSU.
USA and Troy don't want NMSU.

ULL and or ULM/ASU/UALR don't want Ga Southern (I'm assuming Appy already has been extended a bid). Troy and USA support Ga Southern's candidacy.

No one else should be in the room. Ga State, Texas State, and UTA aren't members yet and WKU is on the way out.

Just reading tea leaves from a distance, but I'd be REAL worried if I'm Georgia Southern at this point.

I don't think UL voted against Georgia Southern when our AD Scott Farmer and Asst AD Ken Winstead have deep ties to the program. The problem was once those two were agreed upon Eastern members wanted to add a third. This did not sit well with ASU, UL and ULM considering the best available option is another FBS program on this side of the conference. I don't know how UALR voted, but the votes aren't there and maybe Sam Houston was thrown out as a compromise. In either case, there seems to be no consensus moving forward.

I hope you are right. Appy and Ga Southern in. And that's it.

Perhaps Benson wanted to add FIVE teams to get to a CCG. That's really the only scenario where someone like Liberty or SHSU should actually merit consideration. I would think that the Sun Belt creates a CAA division in the East would be the best way to do this, but would cause the Western Members to be upset as they would permanently lose power in the conference.

(03-10-2013 01:36 AM)troy4ever Wrote:  

(03-10-2013 01:33 AM)ark30inf Wrote:  

(03-10-2013 01:12 AM)mathenis89 Wrote:  What's the story behind this thread? Did I miss something today?

Apparently a slap fight at the expansion vote.

What I want to know is who is the source of this supposed disagreement? How do we know this is true and not just message board fodder.

Information has been hard to come by so I’m not sure someone is going to give you their sources to help you determine whether it is credible or not. But if you really want to get information from a source close with Troy then you can start with Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr. who is leading the push to move the Conference further east.

Why would you say Dr Hawkins is trying to move the conference further east? The teams lost were MTSU,FIU,FAU and potentially WKU. The only western loss is NT.

It seems the Troy AD is pushing to get the conference back to where it was, not a shift East. The problem is there are no good western options available.

(03-10-2013 01:29 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(03-10-2013 01:26 PM)CrazyCajun Wrote:  

(03-10-2013 01:08 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  Just guessing as to what happened.

I think people forget that UALR has a vote in this.

ULL, ULM, UALR and stAte want NMSU.
USA and Troy don't want NMSU.

ULL and or ULM/ASU/UALR don't want Ga Southern (I'm assuming Appy already has been extended a bid). Troy and USA support Ga Southern's candidacy.

No one else should be in the room. Ga State, Texas State, and UTA aren't members yet and WKU is on the way out.

Just reading tea leaves from a distance, but I'd be REAL worried if I'm Georgia Southern at this point.

I don't think UL voted against Georgia Southern when our AD Scott Farmer and Asst AD Ken Winstead have deep ties to the program. The problem was once those two were agreed upon Eastern members wanted to add a third. This did not sit well with ASU, UL and ULM considering the best available option is another FBS program on this side of the conference. I don't know how UALR voted, but the votes aren't there and maybe Sam Houston was thrown out as a compromise. In either case, there seems to be no consensus moving forward.

I hope you are right. Appy and Ga Southern in. And that's it.

Perhaps Benson wanted to add FIVE teams to get to a CCG. That's really the only scenario where someone like Liberty or SHSU should actually merit consideration. I would think that the Sun Belt creates a CAA division in the East would be the best way to do this, but would cause the Western Members to be upset as they would permanently lose power in the conference.

Which is the center of the debate when you realize that ASU, UL, ULM and Troy are the founding members of Sun Belt Football left in the conference. ASU, UL and ULM are not going to sit by and allow a CAA division to be created at this time and its clear internal disagreement has reached a new level.

(03-10-2013 01:48 PM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  Why would you say Dr Hawkins is trying to move the conference further east? The teams lost were MTSU,FIU,FAU and potentially WKU. The only western loss is NT.

It seems the Troy AD is pushing to get the conference back to where it was, not a shift East.

MT, Western and UNT are all central time zone.

(03-10-2013 01:50 PM)CrazyCajun Wrote:  

(03-10-2013 01:29 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(03-10-2013 01:26 PM)CrazyCajun Wrote:  

(03-10-2013 01:08 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  Just guessing as to what happened.

I think people forget that UALR has a vote in this.

ULL, ULM, UALR and stAte want NMSU.
USA and Troy don't want NMSU.

ULL and or ULM/ASU/UALR don't want Ga Southern (I'm assuming Appy already has been extended a bid). Troy and USA support Ga Southern's candidacy.

No one else should be in the room. Ga State, Texas State, and UTA aren't members yet and WKU is on the way out.

Just reading tea leaves from a distance, but I'd be REAL worried if I'm Georgia Southern at this point.

I don't think UL voted against Georgia Southern when our AD Scott Farmer and Asst AD Ken Winstead have deep ties to the program. The problem was once those two were agreed upon Eastern members wanted to add a third. This did not sit well with ASU, UL and ULM considering the best available option is another FBS program on this side of the conference. I don't know how UALR voted, but the votes aren't there and maybe Sam Houston was thrown out as a compromise. In either case, there seems to be no consensus moving forward.

I hope you are right. Appy and Ga Southern in. And that's it.

Perhaps Benson wanted to add FIVE teams to get to a CCG. That's really the only scenario where someone like Liberty or SHSU should actually merit consideration. I would think that the Sun Belt creates a CAA division in the East would be the best way to do this, but would cause the Western Members to be upset as they would permanently lose power in the conference.

Which is the center of the debate when you realize that ASU, UL, ULM and Troy are the founding members of Sun Belt Football left in the conference. ASU, UL and ULM are not going to sit by and allow a CAA division to be created at this time and its clear internal disagreement has reached a new level.

I'm glad that the Western schools are standing up against the CAA division in the SBC.

(03-10-2013 01:48 PM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  Why would you say Dr Hawkins is trying to move the conference further east? The teams lost were MTSU,FIU,FAU and potentially WKU. The only western loss is NT.

It seems the Troy AD is pushing to get the conference back to where it was, not a shift East. The problem is there are no good western options available.

If you are considering James Madison, Liberty, and few others in addition to Goergia Southern and App. State, it certainly sounds like you are pushing the conferense further east in my book.

(03-10-2013 01:54 PM)CrazyCajun Wrote:  

(03-10-2013 01:48 PM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  Why would you say Dr Hawkins is trying to move the conference further east? The teams lost were MTSU,FIU,FAU and potentially WKU. The only western loss is NT.

It seems the Troy AD is pushing to get the conference back to where it was, not a shift East. The problem is there are no good western options available.

If you are considering James Madison, Liberty, and few others in addition to Goergia Southern and App. State, it certainly sounds like you are pushing the conferense further east in my book.

It seems there are no good western options is the problem. If the data shows NMSU would not result in money out of the pockets of members then they might be an option. Not sure adding them to block an east team at the expense of potentially $200- $500k a year per team is worth it. Liberty and JMU are a long way from Ga Southern so no real connection there. If there was a good team in east Texas available, that would be the place to go. SB just needs to add the best teams that win whether they are in TX, TN,FL, GA, NC? SB has a good shot to finish at the top of the G5 if they make the right moves.

(03-10-2013 01:57 PM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  

(03-10-2013 01:54 PM)CrazyCajun Wrote:  

(03-10-2013 01:48 PM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  Why would you say Dr Hawkins is trying to move the conference further east? The teams lost were MTSU,FIU,FAU and potentially WKU. The only western loss is NT.

It seems the Troy AD is pushing to get the conference back to where it was, not a shift East. The problem is there are no good western options available.

If you are considering James Madison, Liberty, and few others in addition to Goergia Southern and App. State, it certainly sounds like you are pushing the conferense further east in my book.

It seems there are no good western options is the problem.

I think the better term is there are no good western options that they can agree upon.

I'm sure ULL, WKU, and Ark State can't wait until until Tulsa goes to the A12 so that they get the call up to CUSA!

(03-10-2013 02:06 PM)Wardawg Wrote:  I'm sure ULL, WKU, and Ark State can't wait until until Tulsa goes to the A12 so that they get the call up to CUSA!

Are they all getting that call?