We don't have to pull a Big 10 team at home.
Road games at SEC and Big Ten schools are fine. If I was a player I would like to have the chance to play at some of the nations elite stadiums/atmospheres.
Beats Road Games to Rice/Tulane/UAB/SMU/UTEP ALL DAY

Sure we could, but it would be an Indiana or Illinois or Northwestern and it we'd probably have to play 2 at their place.

I don't know that there would be anything wrong with that either Chappy. Those are all very beatable teams in most years.

Being Independent isn't an end goal. Staying out of an Alliance that would lock ECU in for an indefinate time while winning enough to draw the attention from one of the big conferences is the goal. I'm thinking 5-10 years max. If ECU couldn't make it work in that amount of time, Alliance it is.

200 is drinking my kinda koolaid

He just hit on what I was going to bring up again... which is that this is temporary.
You think the SEC would ever have taken a CUSA School? NO
You think the SEC would ever take a 'National Alliance' School? HELL NO
- - Not even if we manage to dominate it like a Boise St.
We need to do what we have to do to end up in the SEC.
Going Independent for now is the ONLY conceivable way to do this.
Doing anything else is giving up.

We just might have to cash in on every favor imaginable to help make this work: but when else could we use them more?
UNC-CH and NCState are going to have to be pressured to help us with our schedule and be late schedule dates at that.
7 Home Games isn't going to happen but 6 with a Charlotte/DC Game is manageable.

(02-16-2012 08:35 PM)PiKappWags Wrote:  200 is drinking my kinda koolaid

He just hit on what I was going to bring up again... which is that this is temporary.
You think the SEC would ever have taken a CUSA School? NO
You think the SEC would ever take a 'National Alliance' School? HELL NO
- - Not even if we manage to dominate it like a Boise St.
We need to do what we have to do to end up in the SEC.
Going Independent for now is the ONLY conceivable way to do this.
Doing anything else is giving up.

We just might have to cash in on every favor imaginable to help make this work: but when else could we use them more?
UNC-CH and NCState are going to have to be pressured to help us with our schedule and be late schedule dates at that.
7 Home Games isn't going to happen but 6 with a Charlotte/DC Game is manageable.

Ahh but the SEC hasn't taken ANY NON-AQ school.

So Independent or not, if you aren't AQ they aren't looking at you.

Being indy isnt strictly.about the SEC. I do believe that its the best fit culturally, but chances.are slim at best. Maybe TH could swing it if ECU were competitive as an Indy for a bit. Maybe like a bare minimum share of the tv money equitable to what the alliance would have paid unitl ECU finished with a .500 or better conference record.

To become a player we must be undaunted.
We claim to be a significant brand in this state.
We claim an ability to bring the television markets of NC.
We claim we are a BCS/AQ Caliber Program.

The Alliance is a great move for many teams involved - but we are not one of them.
For us its settling - and IMO, its an irreparable move.

If independent is a huge flop a conference will still be thrilled to have us.

OUR BRAND > The Alliance Brand

The SEC isnt the only end game here.
If the BigTen creeps east... there will be dominoes to fall
If the Big12 creeps east... there will be dominoes to fall
If the Pac10 creeps east... there will be dominoes to fall

We must assert our claims on our market/brand/appeal/potential/determination and going independent is the way to do this.
Fun perk=no 2 year lame duck period, no exit fees, no 'raiding' required

In my mind it really comes down to the fact that this is the last chance for ECU athletics to move forward. Being part of the Alliance mean ECU has peaked. There won't be any big bowl games, there won't be a reason to add on to the football stadium any longer, there won't be as much significance in playing the VT's and USC's since ECU will already have relagated itself to the Alliance for who knows how long.
Anyone that seriously likes this Alliance needs to think long and hard about how happy they are with the current state of ECU athletics because this is as good as it's going to get. Anywhere from 5-7 to 8-5 in football, a basketball program that hovers near or just above .500, solid but not great baseball. A lot of the big booster money coming in has been because of all the facility improvments, because of the drive to be part of a major college football conference. When the boosters see ECU is destined for the Alliance I have a feeling a lot of the money and support will start to disappear.

This thread gets 2 pages by my softball and baseball threads get zero replies :/

This is why ECU doesn't fit in the nBE. Its a football first school. I am excited about baseball though.

(02-17-2012 11:54 AM)200yrs2late Wrote:  This is why ECU doesn't fit in the nBE. Its a football first school. I am excited about baseball though.

I still think ECU fans have a tainted nostalgic love affair about going Independent. There is no way it is a good deal in the current market for us anyway.

Its in a pirates blood to do thing his own way. Be damned the consequences.

You guys realize that the teams being discussed as future conference mates are as follows:

Temple
Georgia State
Charlotte
Old Dominion
UMass
La Tech
WKU
MTSU
Toledo
FIU
FAU
Appalachian State
Arkansas State
Ohio
Toledo
and today I even saw someone propose Dayton

How does this not make you guys throw up in your mouth a little bit.
My stomach literally gets in knots when reading 95% of these realignment posts.

(02-20-2012 06:54 PM)PiKappWags Wrote:  How does this not make you guys throw up in your mouth a little bit.
My stomach literally gets in knots when reading 95% of these realignment posts.

Look, in the East you have expansion candidates only in the MAC and SBC. In the West there are only a FEW good teams left in the WAC.


These 1aa's are merely smoke screens. The Alliance will not call up 1aas till they do something in the feeder leagues of the MAC and SBC.

(02-20-2012 06:54 PM)PiKappWags Wrote:  You guys realize that the teams being discussed as future conference mates are as follows:

Temple
Georgia State
Charlotte
Old Dominion
UMass
La Tech
WKU
MTSU
Toledo
FIU
FAU
Appalachian State
Arkansas State
Ohio
Toledo
and today I even saw someone propose Dayton

How does this not make you guys throw up in your mouth a little bit.
My stomach literally gets in knots when reading 95% of these realignment posts.

I totally get what you are saying. I am of the opinion that Independent is not going to be any better for our program.

I am saddened by all of this.

As I see it we have one year to get our sh!t together.
Come up with a plan to survive for three years as an independent.
If independence doesn't work we can give up then as opposed to now.

(02-22-2012 05:47 PM)PiKappWags Wrote:  As I see it we have one year to get our sh!t together.
Come up with a plan to survive for three years as an independent.
If independence doesn't work we can give up then as opposed to now.

I agree. Might as well try it on our own. You never know what will shake out with the BCS. What if the next BCS evolution is a playoff and all conferences will need 16 teams to be eligable? Would hate for ECU to be locked in long term to the alliance and it not qualify for a BCS playoff.

It's a no win situation in some regards. Just like in poker, you have to push all-in while you still have enough chips to make it payoff.
Going Independent is definately an all-in bet.

Not going to happen. Give it up.