"It's mind-boggling and shocking," said Haggard. "How can the ACC give up third tier rights for football but keep them for basketball?"

Haggard is referring to the fact that the ACC surrendered all third tier television rights for football to ESPN/ABC but kept them for men's basketball. That arrangement will likely result in substantial revenue for schools with a strong basketball following like North Carolina and Duke.On the other hand, it will do very little for schools with a more traditional football following like FSU, Clemson, Virginia Tech and Miami.

"It continues the perception that the ACC favors the North Carolina schools," noted Haggard.

Of the few who still support FSU staying in the ACC, most cite the number of well-regarded academic institutions within the conference. However, Haggard scoffed at the idea that the ACC somehow helps FSU's academic reputation.

"No FSU graduate puts on his resume or interviews for a job saying they are in the same conference as Duke and Virginia," he said. "Conference affiliation really has no impact on academics."


http://floridastate.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1364755

Wow....could be the lynch pin in a vast amount of movement.

I guess the moral here for all is don't start painting those conference logos just yet. This is about two blocks south of nuts at this point. Kudos to FSU though because the ACC has been screwing them for years.

I'd like for FSU and Miami to go Big 12 or SEC.

Sounds like Big 12 raids ACC . . ACC once again raids Big East . . Big East once again raids CUSA . . CUSA once again raids SBC . . SBC will need to reload with ???

Will this realignment nightmare ever end . .

Here's a question I posed before, but I think this is a bit more fleshed out:

I think most would agree, the main driver (hell, the only driver) in conference realignment is money.

If that's the case, wouldn't it behoove the Sun Belt to proactively seek to renegotiate contracts (perhaps with the caveat of if "X university comes on board, we will have Y sets in Z market") to maximize money for the existing schools.

That way, it's much less attractive for schools to leave to what might end up being at the end of the day, a weaker CUSA conference. In fact, if the contract is lucrative enough, the Sun Belt might be able to pull a team or two away from CUSA to further strengthen the standing of the conference.

Honestly, I don't know if it's feasible at this point, but it'd be something to explore, I'd think. Conference realignment is the prime opportunity to try and improve TV contracts and bowl affiliations, particularly if you have a university in mind, and can put together a package that says if they come in this is what we will all be getting.

All the more reason to be proactive, and come up with a plan, and implement it.

As it stands now, the SBC is just sitting around waiting for another school to get plucked, when it could be making the necessary changes/adds to make the SBC a more attractive place than a hobbled CUSA.

Here is a naive question... What would it take for Sun Belt schools to be unwilling to jump to C-USA? If all SBC schools agreed to stay put during the next inevitable round of conference shake ups, we would be in a stronger position than C-USA (as schools like EC and MSU get plucked by Big East)..possibly meaning more bowls, attract more schools, etc for us. I realize this is absolutely unrealistic. But what would it take for potential C-USA targets (say MTSU and WKU) to stay put during the next shake up?

(05-13-2012 02:52 PM)dewclaws Wrote:  Here is a naive question... What would it take for Sun Belt schools to be unwilling to jump to C-USA? If all SBC schools agreed to stay put during the next inevitable round of conference shake ups, we would be in a stronger position than C-USA (as schools like EC and MSU get plucked by Big East)..possibly meaning more bowls, attract more schools, etc for us. I realize this is absolutely unrealistic. But what would it take for potential C-USA targets (say MTSU and WKU) to stay put during the next shake up?

(05-13-2012 02:04 PM)RaiderDoug Wrote:  All the more reason to be proactive, and come up with a plan, and implement it.

As it stands now, the SBC is just sitting around waiting for another school to get plucked, when it could be making the necessary changes/adds to make the SBC a more attractive place than a hobbled CUSA.

This has gone way past what I envisioned. I have always said the Sun Belt being proactive for this very reason.

If FSU/Clemson go, 2-3 more Sun Belt schools will be gone in the ensuing shuffle

(05-13-2012 02:52 PM)dewclaws Wrote:  Here is a naive question... What would it take for Sun Belt schools to be unwilling to jump to C-USA? If all SBC schools agreed to stay put during the next inevitable round of conference shake ups, we would be in a stronger position than C-USA (as schools like EC and MSU get plucked by Big East)..possibly meaning more bowls, attract more schools, etc for us. I realize this is absolutely unrealistic. But what would it take for potential C-USA targets (say MTSU and WKU) to stay put during the next shake up?

Short of a miracle? Two things:
1.) a huge buyout (more than $10 million)
2.) trumping one of the other conferences with a better TV deal

The first keeps us intact. CUSA will refill its rank's but it would have to target the MAC this time. In any case, it could elevate us a notch in the pecking order.

Whats so confusing here is there are about 5 SBC schools with absolutely no shot at ever getting in CUSA, and all 5 of those schoos should be working as hard as possible to ensure the SBC has a viable league regardless of defections.

Those 5 schools (ASU, Troy, ULM, ULL, Texas State) should be doing anything and everything in their power right now to make sure we add the best programs as possible with the least chance of being picked off. Georgia Southern should be getting a pretty quick call. App State same thing. Heck we should even have NMSU on hold ready to come as soon as needed. We need to have James Madison and Liberty on speed dial in case things get really hairy.

Most of us experienced what the Belt was like right after the WAC teams defected, we should have no desire to ever go back to that.

(05-13-2012 02:52 PM)dewclaws Wrote:  Here is a naive question... What would it take for Sun Belt schools to be unwilling to jump to C-USA? If all SBC schools agreed to stay put during the next inevitable round of conference shake ups, we would be in a stronger position than C-USA (as schools like EC and MSU get plucked by Big East)..possibly meaning more bowls, attract more schools, etc for us. I realize this is absolutely unrealistic. But what would it take for potential C-USA targets (say MTSU and WKU) to stay put during the next shake up?

Please don't mention WKU as a C-USA target without including FAU, you don't want to offend MEAT SAUCE aka ragu.

Interesting take on current realignment rumors here and how things could go a magnitude of ways, at least from an App State perspective:

http://www.appstatenation.com/2012/05/13...et-it-off/

This could get interesting...

(05-13-2012 03:58 PM)ManOnABuffalo Wrote:  Interesting take on current realignment rumors here and how things could go a magnitude of ways, at least from an App State perspective:

http://www.appstatenation.com/2012/05/13...et-it-off/

I hate to tell App. State fans this, but with ECU and Charlotte in, CUSA will not take another program from NC. Such is the same with any programs in Louisiana.

(05-13-2012 04:48 PM)bluephi1914 Wrote:  

(05-13-2012 03:58 PM)ManOnABuffalo Wrote:  Interesting take on current realignment rumors here and how things could go a magnitude of ways, at least from an App State perspective:

http://www.appstatenation.com/2012/05/13...et-it-off/

I hate to tell App. State fans this, but with ECU and Charlotte in, CUSA will not take another program from NC. Such is the same with any programs in Louisiana.

Well I agree with you in some respects, however you cannot compare NC to LA in this aspect. I do not see a CUSA invite in our future nor do I IMHO want one since Charlotte is going to CUSA. I would rather see us in the Belt as I see that as more stable and a better overall move. However with the way things could play out at the top with FSU to Big12, ACC grabing Louisville, then BE grabbing ECU......where does CUSA look for a Eastern replacement? That is what he was writing about in that blog......

I would rather go Sun Belt soon, then these moves happen and tell Charlotte and Marshall to suck it, since they will no doubt be sitting with the leftovers.

(05-13-2012 12:38 PM)ManzanoWolf Wrote:  Sounds like Big 12 raids ACC . . ACC once again raids Big East . . Big East once again raids CUSA . . CUSA once again raids SBC . . SBC will need to reload with ???

Will this realignment nightmare ever end . .

Would the ACC even raid anyone if they lost two schools? They'd be down to 12 teams.

But even if they did (and the only two schools left that fit their profile that they could take would be Uconn and Rutgers). Then the Big East would raid CUSA and take USM and ECU. At which point.....why would a SBC team move to CUSA if they didn't have USM and ECU?

Potential CUSA: UAB, Tulsa, Marshall, Tulane, Rice, UTEP, UTSA, Charlotte, UNT, FIU. Besides Tulsa and Marshall, there are exactly 3 winning seasons in the last 6 years among that group COMBINED. The SBC of MTSU, WKU, stAte, Troy, USA, GSU, TXST, FAU, ULM, and ULL would be stronger, more compact and better.

I think we're good here. CUSA's problem is that if they get raided again, they likely lose the two programs that make the CUSA better than the Sun Belt.

(05-13-2012 08:38 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(05-13-2012 12:38 PM)ManzanoWolf Wrote:  Sounds like Big 12 raids ACC . . ACC once again raids Big East . . Big East once again raids CUSA . . CUSA once again raids SBC . . SBC will need to reload with ???

Will this realignment nightmare ever end . .

Would the ACC even raid anyone if they lost two schools? They'd be down to 12 teams.

But even if they did (and the only two schools left that fit their profile that they could take would be Uconn and Rutgers). Then the Big East would raid CUSA and take USM and ECU. At which point.....why would a SBC team move to CUSA if they didn't have USM and ECU?

Location to the remaining schools might be the only factor. Cusa is losing ground quickly.

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