(05-17-2012 02:36 PM)Crump1 Wrote:  That WAC Hail Mary is the worst idea I've ever heard.

You'd be hard pressed to get that many ADs to pull the trigger on that. Its big time risky. If it failed you'd have 8 or so ADs that would never get another job.

Curious, what do you see as the risks? Travel? ? ? I just see a great chance for a bunch of FCS schools to move up together and build while staying competetive. This solves the issue some have talked about re: struggling and losing fans. If it is set up right, then $ and travel can be OK too.

(05-17-2012 02:50 PM)knucklehead Wrote:  

(05-17-2012 02:36 PM)Crump1 Wrote:  That WAC Hail Mary is the worst idea I've ever heard.

Faced with the WAC's version of the ECHL, or playing a schedule of Presbyterian, Jacksonville U, Savannah State?

Time to warm up the arm and hope for a tipped pass.

(05-17-2012 02:55 PM)knucklehead Wrote:  Curious, what do you see as the risks? Travel? ? ? I just see a great chance for a bunch of FCS schools to move up together and build while staying competetive. This solves the issue some have talked about re: struggling and losing fans. If it is set up right, then $ and travel can be OK too.

For one, the NCAA would have to approve it. WAC will be in violation of the 5 in 5 rule either way, and that would have to be waived

The travel is ludicrous. Lets play in D1, get no TV money, and travel across the country for every game. YEAH!!

(05-17-2012 03:03 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(05-17-2012 02:55 PM)knucklehead Wrote:  Curious, what do you see as the risks? Travel? ? ? I just see a great chance for a bunch of FCS schools to move up together and build while staying competetive. This solves the issue some have talked about re: struggling and losing fans. If it is set up right, then $ and travel can be OK too.

For one, the NCAA would have to approve it. WAC will be in violation of the 5 in 5 rule either way, and that would have to be waived

The travel is ludicrous. Lets play in D1, get no TV money, and travel across the country for every game. YEAH!!

I dont know about the 5-5 rule, what is that? but I do know you wouldnt travel across country every game it would be east plays all teams, west plays all teams and you travel across coast once a year. Some format like that.

I have heard talk of this proposed new conference for over a year. For some it seems to be a fall back plan if they do not get into conferences they want. In most discussions I have heard at least two members of the MAC would be added to the mix.

Would probably have enough FBS members included because it would have substantial number of schools if everyone jumped, from Delaware to the West Coast.

As far as bowls, they would have to persuade some bowls to move from using the conference tie-ins they use now.

I skimmed through this thread, so if somebody else already explained this I apologize.

I saw the quote that started this thread on appfan.com. You don't even have to register to post there, you can just make up a random user name and email address and post whatever you want under as many different names as you want. If there was any legitimacy to this, it would be posted on Mmb or our rivals board or AGS. Id bet a large some money that the quote was from one of the UNCC trolls who has taken to posting on the site. Or maybe even one of the anti-fbs App fans. Either way, it's a load of crap and not thread or discussion worthy (and I would be saying the same if it was a random posting that was positive about a fbs move). I don't mean that as a shot at the guy who started this thread, he was just posting what he saw on a Liberty board. Just saying that I'm 99.99% sure that quote is untrue.

(05-17-2012 01:59 PM)Liberty22 Wrote:  

(05-17-2012 01:56 PM)slycat Wrote:  That doesn't make sense if it's about reducing travel costs.

App St is by far and away the best choice for the conference. GSU is good too but seem to be a year or two from being truely ready. JMU has an amazing stadium and support but are further north. For the same amount of support and a better team you can add App and they are much closer.

Liberty has good support but again is out of a footprint and further down on the list.

App St is a no brainier and should have been added yesterday. I know theres the championship game that it seems some don't want but it and stability in numbers.

It's too bad UALR doesn't play football. It really creates a tendency to have another non-football school. While I like the idea of UTA for travel, I don't like it because there are better football options. This is the Sun Belts chance to add a very good program. I'd rather the conference be proactive then reactive.

You know I thought that too, with SunBelt and MAC really, why not be proactive and put yourselves in better positions should further raiding come and I would think you would want a CG right?

We have 10 schools line up for football. We can lose two and not HAVE to do anything.

The MAC has 13 for football and the 13th won't come in for all sports so they have the issue of being better off adding a football only to get to 12/14 because 12/13 is better than 13/14.

There is simply no urgency to do anything right now for the MAC or Sun Belt. No addition would net a fat renegotiated TV deal and no addition would bolster the football power ratings off the bat.

Despite the churn of recent years the available slots at the top are growing fewer and that will slow the pace down. It also means a great chance that any school you add is your partner for multiple decades. No reason to leap into a 20 or more year relationship based on hastily gathered information.

(05-17-2012 02:55 PM)knucklehead Wrote:  Curious, what do you see as the risks? Travel? ? ? I just see a great chance for a bunch of FCS schools to move up together and build while staying competetive. This solves the issue some have talked about re: struggling and losing fans. If it is set up right, then $ and travel can be OK too.

Except year 2 of transition is a nightmare for any league with multiple schools going through transition at the same time.

Makes far more sense to add transitional schools one or two at a time.

Anyone who thinks you can just start a new FBS conference needs to get acquainted with the Division I Manual and the NCAA Interpretation database.

In theory the WAC could invite a bunch of schools from all over the nation by June 30, 2013 and live on but that is only in theory.

Remember the transition process.

Year 1. Ineligible for FCS post-season. Have to follow FBS rules except for minimum scholarships and scheduling. You can go ahead ramp up scholies and hire the extra assistant.

Year 2. Must play an FBS schedule and meet the minimum scholarship requirements (on pace to meet two year average of 76.5 football scholarships and must award 200 across all sports and sponsor 16 sports. You have to play 8 FBS games regardless of location. You must play 5 home games, either 5 FBS or 4 FBS plus 1 FCS that awards at least 56.7 football scholarships per year over the past two years.

Year 2 is the bear. NCAA rules allow FBS members to count a year 2 transitional school as if they are already an FBS. The problem is that a year 2 transitional school IS NOT an FBS school and cannot avail itself of that rule. That means 8 games against schools that are FBS. A Year 2 transitional does not count toward those 8 games. It also means they don't count toward the 5 home game requirement except as the 1 FCS.

Let's say the Southern wanted to move en masse. Nine schools playing an 8 game schedule. How do you get past year 2 of transition? None of the games against each other count toward the 8 required FBS games. So you have to completely forego playing a full league schedule in Year 2. Plus each school has to find four FBS schools willing to travel to their stadium that year because none of the schools count as FBS for each other. That's before you even deal with the issue of NCAA rules requiring a bona fide invitation from an existing conference. You can sue to block that rule and might prevail but prevailing against the other rule is a problem. The NCAA argument is that we made that exception about counting transitional schools to encourage schools to help transition teams meet the membership standards and we will be more than happy to repeal it if you don't like it. There are a line of anti-trust cases that favor the NCAA position and would find the schedule requirement can be upheld.

You can't just go start your own league and even if you convinced the WAC to invite all the people for your new league it would be nearly impossible to meet the schedule requirements.

Don't know who posted that on AppFan but if has not trickled down to any of the reliable sources that post on other boards, it is most likely nothing. You will hear some crazy sh** reading the comments on that site, take it with a grain of salt.