I think 12 is fine in foball. But someone is going to have to shut Sparks up about the Idaho and NMSU 16 team rumors. Thats just going to scare everyone half to death.

Quote:16 teams

(05-01-2012 08:47 PM)RaiderDoug Wrote:  AppState is a team with which we'd have an instant rivalry, and another driveable away game. They have great fan support, and if watching them invade Chattanooga is any indication, would bring more fans to Murfreesboro than anyone else in the Sunbelt ever has.

With GaSouthern, we've got another school like app, and MT and GASouthern have a shared history.

Both are well positioned to be competitive quickly. This would get us to 12, and getting to 12 and having a title game and 2 tight geographic conferences is key to a strong conference.

I agree. TROY also has a history with Georgia Southern going back many decades. App State has a fantastic football program with some prestige/name recognition along with a large fan base. They'll both make great additions to the SBC.

(05-01-2012 08:00 PM)adub4ever Wrote:  Sunbelt will remain strong.... I really feel for Ark St., MTSU, FAU, WKU fans.... you all have great football programs so being passed up by UTSA, ODU, and UNCC is a kick in the balls..... but CUSA is firmly a Texas based league now leaving the door open if ECU, Marshall, or whoever bolt.... will always respect the sunbelt even if i talk trash.

stAte fans pretty much accept things as they come. I think MTSU folks are the ones who are taking it hard. I'm good as long as we stay away from NMSU/Idaho.

Good luck to you.

I do hope we go to 12 football schools w/ App St and Ga So. I think if we stayed at 10, we would be at a disadvantage against CUSA, MAC, and MWC who would all have championship games. This would also give them more teams with winning records, not just because they have more teams, but because teams will not be playing every conference team.

(05-01-2012 09:20 PM)GoBigRed26 Wrote:  I do hope we go to 12 football schools w/ App St and Ga So. I think if we stayed at 10, we would be at a disadvantage against CUSA, MAC, and MWC who would all have championship games. This would also give them more teams with winning records, not just because they have more teams, but because teams will not be playing every conference team.

Great point. I'd love a championship game. The location would be highly disputed though. How would the SBC determine the location? Perhaps a neutral location or the team with the best record.

(05-01-2012 09:31 PM)troy4ever21 Wrote:  

(05-01-2012 09:20 PM)GoBigRed26 Wrote:  I do hope we go to 12 football schools w/ App St and Ga So. I think if we stayed at 10, we would be at a disadvantage against CUSA, MAC, and MWC who would all have championship games. This would also give them more teams with winning records, not just because they have more teams, but because teams will not be playing every conference team.

Great point. I'd love a championship game. The location would be highly disputed though. How would the SBC determine the location? Perhaps a neutral location or the team with the best record.

To have any hope of attendance it would have to be the school with best record and that late in the year I am not so sure the attendance would be very good. Long sentensce huh?

Championship game if we have the numbers to hold one will be a loser as far as money is concerned, but if we want to play with the big boys we need to have one.

(05-01-2012 09:20 PM)GoBigRed26 Wrote:  I do hope we go to 12 football schools w/ App St and Ga So. I think if we stayed at 10, we would be at a disadvantage against CUSA, MAC, and MWC who would all have championship games. This would also give them more teams with winning records, not just because they have more teams, but because teams will not be playing every conference team.

If the BCS stays with the current revenue formula performance matters. We need schools who can win non-conference games.

10 schools playing 8 conference games is 40 games and produces 40 wins and 40 losses.

12 schools playing 8 conference games is 48 games and produces 48 wins and 48 losses.

The aggregate of league games is always going to be .500. You make your mark in non-conference whether you have 9 teams or 18.

Last year every Sun Belt team except WKU and ULM produced at least one non-conference FBS win. What we need is more production of non-conference FBS wins.

(05-01-2012 08:37 PM)Louis Kitton Wrote:  

(05-01-2012 07:58 PM)panama Wrote:  

(05-01-2012 07:55 PM)OwlFamily Wrote:  

(05-01-2012 07:51 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  I'm feeling better.

C-USA had to compromise to keep ECU and Marshall on the reservation (for now) and that means adding a team without football or even a coach and one that has played three seasons. Overall the door is open for the Sun Belt to continue narrowing the gap.

I think we are done with TexSt and UTA announcement (I've heard Wednesday announcement).

Sounds like the other hopefuls won't hear from the Sun Belt before July 1, if ever.

Im ok with that too, but if we had GA South and APPY it would help stave off another raid.

I dont think it would, SBC would just be stuck with App and GaSo after the raid. We have sommething to work with right now. Its a nice tight geographic conference where all schools are reachable by flights. I like where we are going

I generally agree here. The SBC at 10 in football, 12 in basketball is a nice number to work with.

Part of the concern I think for the SBC going too big is trying to sign enough bowl games. CUSA is going to be able to pluck a fairly nice group of games for itself and is banking heavily on taking the Independence Bowl.

There are 2 openings now in the CAA for Georgia State and Appalachian State to upgrade over the Southern Conference. Both have been talking to the MAC but I highly doubt it because of location.

Huh?

What garbage. Never heard anything about App State or GaSo talking to the MAC. Baloney.
CAA? App State was asked several times in the last many years if they would be interested, but has always said no. Would not have considered that an upgrade to the SoCon at all. We have some fans that live up in Virginia or the NE that talk about it from time to time, but that is all it is, their talk because they would like to see App State play some games near where they live. The CAA will not even exist for much longer anyway. Read their board. JMU will probably leave to go to the MAC soon partly because they see the CAA going under. Where does anyone get this crap? GaSt fans?

(05-01-2012 10:40 PM)GoApps70 Wrote:  What garbage. Never heard anything about App State or GaSo talking to the MAC. Baloney.
CAA? App State was asked several times in the last many years if they would be interested, but has always said no. Would not have considered that an upgrade to the SoCon at all. We have some fans that live up in Virginia or the NE that talk about it from time to time, but that is all it is, their talk because they would like to see App State play some games near where they live. The CAA will not even exist for much longer anyway. Read their board. JMU will probably leave to go to the MAC soon partly because they see the CAA going under. Where does anyone get this crap? GaSt fans?

http://savannahnow.com/sports/2012-04-27...5vq0ce3Br0

Monken is on the record saying that the MAC, Conference USA, and Sunbelt are Southern's primary options for moving up

(05-01-2012 08:30 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(05-01-2012 08:22 PM)adub4ever Wrote:  passed up in joining CUSA not current football strength.....so NT are fools for leaving the sunbelt for CUSA? anyone of those schools would bolt the belt in a second to join CUSA.... this is how it works.... in a few yrs MTSU and Ark St. will bolt SBC to join CUSA..... at any rate i was trying to say the Sunbelt will always have my respect, and i hope yall continue to grow and pass up the MAC just not CUSA.... cuz CUSA is beast mode now.

No. UNT is not "fools" for leaving. It makes sense for you guys. Better travel, and you get to play teams your fans have a lot more in common with. Though I hate you guys are getting stuck with UTSA fans. Good luck with that.

But for ASU, this move makes zero sense. Im looking at the value of our travel situation, and our current rivalries. We have zero rivals left in CUSA...zero history with anyone outside of occasional nonconference games. So why move? I mean if its the choice of bottom of the league teams, Id rather face GSU and Texas State then Old Dominion and UNC Charlotte. I want nothing to do with KFCU, and La Tech provides nothing more then someone to hate, and we can hate them in any league.

Neither of us are going to win a national title just because of the league we are in. We are going to have to improve on the field to gain national recognition. Id rather do that with our friends and rivals here in the SBC.

Good luck to you guys.

Agree . . CUSA is now a watered down version of what it once was . . stAte needs to stay in the SBC.

(05-01-2012 11:11 PM)ManzanoWolf Wrote:  

(05-01-2012 08:30 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(05-01-2012 08:22 PM)adub4ever Wrote:  passed up in joining CUSA not current football strength.....so NT are fools for leaving the sunbelt for CUSA? anyone of those schools would bolt the belt in a second to join CUSA.... this is how it works.... in a few yrs MTSU and Ark St. will bolt SBC to join CUSA..... at any rate i was trying to say the Sunbelt will always have my respect, and i hope yall continue to grow and pass up the MAC just not CUSA.... cuz CUSA is beast mode now.

No. UNT is not "fools" for leaving. It makes sense for you guys. Better travel, and you get to play teams your fans have a lot more in common with. Though I hate you guys are getting stuck with UTSA fans. Good luck with that.

But for ASU, this move makes zero sense. Im looking at the value of our travel situation, and our current rivalries. We have zero rivals left in CUSA...zero history with anyone outside of occasional nonconference games. So why move? I mean if its the choice of bottom of the league teams, Id rather face GSU and Texas State then Old Dominion and UNC Charlotte. I want nothing to do with KFCU, and La Tech provides nothing more then someone to hate, and we can hate them in any league.

Neither of us are going to win a national title just because of the league we are in. We are going to have to improve on the field to gain national recognition. Id rather do that with our friends and rivals here in the SBC.

Good luck to you guys.

Agree . . CUSA is now a watered down version of what it once was . . stAte needs to stay in the SBC.

UNT made a good rational decision based on logic. They are not conference jumpers without a reason. Never have been. Sucks but it's rational. They are associating themselves with a bunch of regional/in-state schools that their fan base will be interested in. A real honest to goodness reason to realign instead of fantasy numbers.

I think that we at stAte should belong in a conference that is primarily Louisiana, Southern Miss, Tulane, Memphis, UAB, ULM, Rice, Tulsa, North Texas, WKU, MTSU, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, App State, Missouri State, LaTech, South Alabama.

You can expand that a little bit at the fringes, or have a couple outside, but beyond that it starts to look like sort of a goofy construction.

ECU does not belong in a conference with UTEP. They belong in an Atlantic coastal conference. Boise does not belong in the Big East and SDSU certainly does not.

ECU belongs in the Big East or the ACC but those folks are a little too snobby and have to go all the way across the country for a football team worse than ECU.

This whole wave of realignment makes no sense for football fans....it only makes sense for freaking ad-execs.

But a whole lot of fans breathlessly want to "be wanted" by someone they sense is above them and so they go along with the stupidity. Yay us! You like us...you really like us!

Of course sooner or later the never-ending game of musical chairs is probably going to come down to actually killing the Sun Belt and even the most rational fans are going to have to give it up and try not to be left in the bottom of the blender.

So with that in mind.....
If anyone wants a program that has a pretty rational fan base, one of only two FBS schools in its centrally-located state, and that tried to be realistic in a graceless age of hype...well, give us a ring I guess.

(05-01-2012 11:46 PM)ark30inf Wrote:  

(05-01-2012 11:11 PM)ManzanoWolf Wrote:  

(05-01-2012 08:30 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(05-01-2012 08:22 PM)adub4ever Wrote:  passed up in joining CUSA not current football strength.....so NT are fools for leaving the sunbelt for CUSA? anyone of those schools would bolt the belt in a second to join CUSA.... this is how it works.... in a few yrs MTSU and Ark St. will bolt SBC to join CUSA..... at any rate i was trying to say the Sunbelt will always have my respect, and i hope yall continue to grow and pass up the MAC just not CUSA.... cuz CUSA is beast mode now.

No. UNT is not "fools" for leaving. It makes sense for you guys. Better travel, and you get to play teams your fans have a lot more in common with. Though I hate you guys are getting stuck with UTSA fans. Good luck with that.

But for ASU, this move makes zero sense. Im looking at the value of our travel situation, and our current rivalries. We have zero rivals left in CUSA...zero history with anyone outside of occasional nonconference games. So why move? I mean if its the choice of bottom of the league teams, Id rather face GSU and Texas State then Old Dominion and UNC Charlotte. I want nothing to do with KFCU, and La Tech provides nothing more then someone to hate, and we can hate them in any league.

Neither of us are going to win a national title just because of the league we are in. We are going to have to improve on the field to gain national recognition. Id rather do that with our friends and rivals here in the SBC.

Good luck to you guys.

Agree . . CUSA is now a watered down version of what it once was . . stAte needs to stay in the SBC.

UNT made a good rational decision based on logic. They are not conference jumpers without a reason. Never have been. Sucks but it's rational. They are associating themselves with a bunch of regional/in-state schools that their fan base will be interested in. A real honest to goodness reason to realign instead of fantasy numbers.

I think that we at stAte should belong in a conference that is primarily Louisiana, Southern Miss, Tulane, Memphis, UAB, ULM, Rice, Tulsa, North Texas, WKU, MTSU, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, App State, Missouri State, LaTech, South Alabama.

You can expand that a little bit at the fringes, or have a couple outside, but beyond that it starts to look like sort of a goofy construction.

ECU does not belong in a conference with UTEP. They belong in an Atlantic coastal conference. Boise does not belong in the Big East and SDSU certainly does not.

ECU belongs in the Big East or the ACC but those folks are a little too snobby and have to go all the way across the country for a football team worse than ECU.

This whole wave of realignment makes no sense for football fans....it only makes sense for freaking ad-execs.

But a whole lot of fans breathlessly want to "be wanted" by someone they sense is above them and so they go along with the stupidity. Yay us! You like us...you really like us!

Of course sooner or later the never-ending game of musical chairs is probably going to come down to actually killing the Sun Belt and even the most rational fans are going to have to give it up and try not to be left in the bottom of the blender.

So with that in mind.....
If anyone wants a program that has a pretty rational fan base, one of only two FBS schools in its centrally-located state, and that tried to be realistic in a graceless age of hype...well, give us a ring I guess.

+1

(05-01-2012 07:51 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  I'm feeling better.

C-USA had to compromise to keep ECU and Marshall on the reservation (for now) and that means adding a team without football or even a coach and one that has played three seasons. Overall the door is open for the Sun Belt to continue narrowing the gap.

I think we are done with TexSt and UTA announcement (I've heard Wednesday announcement).

Sounds like the other hopefuls won't hear from the Sun Belt before July 1, if ever.

I'm cool with it as long as we don't add the extreme Western teams. Talked to a good North Texas friend today, and he is puzzled that SBC gets Texas State and they get UT-SA. He also had very good things to say about UT-A.

I'm still a strong proponent of Appalachian. Must not be too hard to get there if 30,000 fans can roll in each home game. I absolutely love the area. And their fans would fit in nicely (and would travel well) in the Belt. Screw the markets-- we already get Atlanta and partial Dallas/Ft. Worth/Austin/San Antone.

(05-01-2012 10:40 PM)GoApps70 Wrote:  What garbage. Never heard anything about App State or GaSo talking to the MAC. Baloney.
CAA? App State was asked several times in the last many years if they would be interested, but has always said no. Would not have considered that an upgrade to the SoCon at all. We have some fans that live up in Virginia or the NE that talk about it from time to time, but that is all it is, their talk because they would like to see App State play some games near where they live. The CAA will not even exist for much longer anyway. Read their board. JMU will probably leave to go to the MAC soon partly because they see the CAA going under. Where does anyone get this crap? GaSt fans?

Well, I guess I have to apologize. After reading the stuff about App State to the MAC I went and read some of their threads. Nothing but talk as far as I can tell but did see some things like this:

RE: UNOFFICIAL “What the MAC should do” thread

Appalachian State wants to move to FBS. App had three realistic conferences they could have moved up to - C-USA, Sun Belt, and MAC. They have had to of known for weeks that they wouldn't make it in the C-USA so they weren't caught off guard.

This leaves the Sun Belt and MAC. There is NO way The Sun Belt didn't approach Appalachian. They are in the Sun Belt's backyard and would be a major grab for them. The Sun Belt is now rumored to be full and have found their teams.

App is quiet because they turned the Sun Belt down for the MAC and our waiting until the MAC is ready to announce along with possibly JMU. I didn't think the MAC was overly interested in App initially, but now I think that there is something brewing. No way the App administration goes back to their fans and tells them they decided to let all their former peers like The 2 Georgia schools pass them by while they stay in a watered down FCS and surely the Sun Belt offered. I think App is in like the rumor a few weeks back.

Welcome to The MAC Appalachian State!

All I can say is, "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope. "