(02-02-2013 04:36 PM)Atlanta Trojan Wrote:  

(02-02-2013 04:17 PM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  

(02-02-2013 04:14 PM)WarhawkReport Wrote:  It's a tough move up...look at WKU, with all their FCS success, they are just NOW starting to really compete. USA is still another year or two away, but already pretty good.

WKU was an average FCS team when they moved up having missed the playoffs three consecutive seasons before moving FBS. They did have a good run in the early 2000s well before they moved up.

Troy and FAU had immediate success. I am not saying we won't have our struggles, but I think .500 or better is realistic the first full year.

FAU did not have immediate success, they went 3-9 in first season in SBC and followed it with a 5-7 season. Troy did.( Id also like to point out the SBC was SOOOOOOOO WEAK back in the early 00s) If the SBC was as strong as it is today we would not have fared as well.

Troy was Independent from 2001 to 2003

Look at FAU's schedule in 2004. A lot of Sun Belt teams and they went 9-3.

(02-02-2013 05:13 PM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  

(02-02-2013 04:36 PM)Atlanta Trojan Wrote:  

(02-02-2013 04:17 PM)GSU Eagles Wrote:  

(02-02-2013 04:14 PM)WarhawkReport Wrote:  It's a tough move up...look at WKU, with all their FCS success, they are just NOW starting to really compete. USA is still another year or two away, but already pretty good.

WKU was an average FCS team when they moved up having missed the playoffs three consecutive seasons before moving FBS. They did have a good run in the early 2000s well before they moved up.

Troy and FAU had immediate success. I am not saying we won't have our struggles, but I think .500 or better is realistic the first full year.

FAU did not have immediate success, they went 3-9 in first season in SBC and followed it with a 5-7 season. Troy did.( Id also like to point out the SBC was SOOOOOOOO WEAK back in the early 00s) If the SBC was as strong as it is today we would not have fared as well.

Troy was Independent from 2001 to 2003

Look at FAU's schedule in 2004. A lot of Sun Belt teams and they went 9-3.

Yes because playing Texas state (no offense guys but you were FCS), Florida A&M, N. Colorado, Illinois State, and Edward Waters is a tough as nails schedule...Not to mention the SBC was WEAK...Had only been around like 4 years at that point. Come on man, thats not a good example.

The SBC is a MUCH MUCH different conference than it was in 2004. Not even a discussion.

(02-02-2013 01:23 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  

(02-02-2013 01:14 PM)CrazyCajun Wrote:  I fully expect them to struggle against the top half of the Sun Belt Conference just like WKU and USA did when moving up. Reality will be a cold slap in the face for some of their fans.

I think they'll be very competitive. Not saying they'll win the title but they'll be competitve. Heck, even WKU was competitive in most of it's games the first 2 years.....we didn't win games but we weren't blown out but a couple times. WKU's move up was when WKU was an average FCS program not at the top of FCS. GaSo and AppSt are unquestionably at the top of FCS. WKU decided to gut the program by redshirting lots of players the first couple years, with the plan to be competitive by the 3rd or 4th year of FBS, which happened. I doubt GaSo and AppSt will go that route.

That was a very different Sun Belt back then. UL and ULM were very bad programs, ASU was mediocre while UNT and Troy were good. There is much more talent in the Sun Belt now and the worst programs are in fact FCS up comers USA and GSU.

Moving up to FBS programs mean you can no longer plug holes immediately with FBS transfers. You must sign and develpo athletes which will take a few years as you stated. WKU didn't just make the decision to do that, it was out of necessity to build depth and develop players.

The problem for App. State and Georgia Southern is not their starting 22 athletes, they can probably play well against any Sun Belt program. It is the athletes that come in the depth chart after the starters that must be able to play well against the opponents depth. Its no different then will UL played Florida and ASU played Oregon. Both programs can play against a number of programs in the top 35, but its hard to beat them with better athletes in the depth chart.

This year alone the SBC schools have beaten:

#8 Arkansas
#25 Kent State
Georgia Tech
Kentucky
Navy
East Carolina
Southern Miss

Plus many more FBS wins and near wins over Auburn, Tennessee, Miss state, Florida

How many FBS wins did the SOCon get this season?

(02-02-2013 05:26 PM)CrazyCajun Wrote:  

(02-02-2013 01:23 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  

(02-02-2013 01:14 PM)CrazyCajun Wrote:  I fully expect them to struggle against the top half of the Sun Belt Conference just like WKU and USA did when moving up. Reality will be a cold slap in the face for some of their fans.

I think they'll be very competitive. Not saying they'll win the title but they'll be competitve. Heck, even WKU was competitive in most of it's games the first 2 years.....we didn't win games but we weren't blown out but a couple times. WKU's move up was when WKU was an average FCS program not at the top of FCS. GaSo and AppSt are unquestionably at the top of FCS. WKU decided to gut the program by redshirting lots of players the first couple years, with the plan to be competitive by the 3rd or 4th year of FBS, which happened. I doubt GaSo and AppSt will go that route.

That was a very different Sun Belt back then. UL and ULM were very bad programs, ASU was mediocre while UNT and Troy were good. There is much more talent in the Sun Belt now and the worst programs are in fact FCS up comers USA and GSU.

Moving up to FBS programs mean you can no longer plug holes immediately with FBS transfers. You must sign and develpo athletes which will take a few years as you stated. WKU didn't just make the decision to do that, it was out of necessity to build depth and develop players.

The problem for App. State and Georgia Southern is not their starting 22 athletes, they can probably play well against any Sun Belt program. It is the athletes that come in the depth chart after the starters that must be able to play well against the opponents depth. Its no different then will UL played Florida and ASU played Oregon. Both programs can play against a number of programs in the top 35, but its hard to beat them with better athletes in the depth chart.

Gotta disagree with that bold part. We sign and develop athletes now, we do not rely on transfers and they barely even contribute to our program.

I can't even think of any transfers on our current roster other than Tacoi Summler from Oregon. He was ESPNs 11th ranked WR in the class of 2011. He was a non-factor last year, and he will be no more then our 5th receiver this year. I'm sure we have some other transfers on the roster, but they are not the lifeblood of our program or even a major factor.

Definitely agree with paragraph 3 though. There will be some growing pains while we add depth. Our starters are good enough to compete with many FBS starters, but our depth is the problem. For the first 2-3 years after we move up (if we do), I think 5 or 6 wins per season would be a great accomplishment.

(02-02-2013 05:36 PM)Atlanta Trojan Wrote:  This year alone the SBC schools have beaten:

#8 Arkansas
#25 Kent State
Georgia Tech
Kentucky
Navy
East Carolina
Southern Miss

Plus many more FBS wins and near wins over Auburn, Tennessee, Miss state, Florida

How many FBS wins did the SOCon get this season?

You don't need to convince us that the SunBelt is better than the SoCon. That is very obvious and that is why so many of us are pimping ourselves on this board.

Having said that, lol at "#8 Arkansas", Kentucky, and Southern Miss on that list. Those three combined for four FBS wins (the best team any of them beat was Kent State), and it is not really fair to compare that to the SoCon. You get multiple chances against FBS teams (good, mediocre, and bad) and we get one game a year. The top three SoCon teams played Georgia, South Carolina, and ECU (and had a good showing in all three games).

Again, not saying the SoCon can compete with the Sun Belt, but give everybody in our conference multiple chances to play against teams like "#8 Arkansas" and Southern Miss and Kentucky and I think we would win some.

I'm not sure why some of us from the SBC "hopefuls" feel the need to come here and try and prove we are more than worthy of getting on the same field as the current SBC teams. It serve little purpose to talk "big" and cite this accomplishment or that. If one is realistic, he has to acknowledge that he has no idea how his team will perform against prospective future opponents in the Sun Belt. The odds are based on the history of most FCS call ups that we will be successful if we can avoid a losing season against much better competition.

(02-02-2013 05:36 PM)Atlanta Trojan Wrote:  This year alone the SBC schools have beaten:

#8 Arkansas
#25 Kent State
Georgia Tech
Kentucky
Navy
East Carolina
Southern Miss

Plus many more FBS wins and near wins over Auburn, Tennessee, Miss state, Florida

How many FBS wins did the SOCon get this season?

We can't get any of them to play us (Georgia Southern) but the Bama's, UGA's and Florida's of the world......

We do play GT soon however. That could be interesting.

It's bad enough now, I can't image what this board will be like if/when you get in.

Attendance will go up.

Hey if we add them at least USA will have a better record.

[quote='CrazyCajun' pid='8918560' dateline='1359843991']


That was a very different Sun Belt back then. ULL and ULM were very bad programs, ASU was mediocre while UNT and Troy were good.



That's a major understatement....MAJOR

(02-02-2013 10:01 PM)WarhawkReport Wrote:  [quote='CrazyCajun' pid='8918560' dateline='1359843991']


That was a very different Sun Belt back then. ULL and ULM were very bad programs, ASU was mediocre while UNT and Troy were good.



That's a major understatement....MAJOR

WarhawkReport, here is my actual post sir.

"That was a very different Sun Belt back then. UL and ULM were very bad programs, ASU was mediocre while UNT and Troy were good."

Had I made the statement in a politically correct manner, it would have read like this;

"That was a very different Sun Belt back then. ULL and Louisiana-Monroe were very bad programs, ASU was mediocre while UNT and Troy were good."

While I expect App and Georgia Southern to get invites, I think the programs to watch are Chattanooga and Missouri State.

SHSU, Lamar, and Jacksonville I think are tougher sells because of the number of schools in their states.

Chattanooga fits the footprint well and Missouri State because of their proximity to ASU and UALR coupled with their basketball success would be the two most likely to garner support... if they have FBS aspirations and can put together a good timeline.

No more FCS. There are too many FBS teams as it is. Please no more!

(02-02-2013 08:53 PM)Chrono124 Wrote:  Hey if we add them at least USA will have a better record.

I honestly think USA is ahead of the curb as far as transitioning teams go. i think they finish 5th or 6th in the belt next year.

BTW thinking of the teams we will have next year...holy S&$% are we losing a lot.

its crazy to think we are losing 4 teams... imagine if we were still adding the teams and no one had left.

WEST
stAte
ULL
ULM
UNT
TXST
USA

EAST
MTSU
WKU
FIU
FAU
TROY
GSU

then still adding APP st and Ga southern

WEST
stAte
ULL
ULM
UNT
TXST
USA
TROY

EAST
MTSU
WKU
FIU
FAU
GSU
APPst
GaSo


that would have been a good conference....IMO... :muttering:

(02-03-2013 01:22 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  While I expect App and Georgia Southern to get invites, I think the programs to watch are Chattanooga and Missouri State.

Chattanooga fits the footprint well and Missouri State because of their proximity to ASU and UALR coupled with their basketball success would be the two most likely to garner support... if they have FBS aspirations and can put together a good timeline.

This was exactly my thought when looking at the list also. If I am agreeing with arkstfan then I must be on to something.

If Missouri State is interested you take them (although only for all sports). They should be the #1 target on that list. Best basketball by far on the list. Baseball would also be exceptional. Except for football, thier facilities are unmatched on that list, and they seem to be taking care of that.

Springfield is a good sized town, they can definately support a FBS football program, and based on the way Springfield supports thier basketball program I think they would eventually be successful. Missouri State plays football in the MVC, which is one of the better FCS conferences. So even though they don't have much history, they do play some tough competition.

In terms of actually making money for the conference, Missouri State has the best chance of actually doing that. If thier basketball teams get us a better seed, or an at large bid, or advance in the tournament then that is going to make more money for the Sun Belt than any football program on that list. If you take Missouri State combined with New Mexico State then Sun Belt basketball sky rockets over night.

Chattanooga is also an interesting dark horse. They are a nice close drive to both WKU and Georgia State and could also be a bridge to Appalachian State if you take them. If they could get a non conference series started with MTSU that could eventually be a nice little in state rivalry (the I24 rivalry?)

Chattanooga is a town of 150,000, definately big enough to support an FBS team. I went to thier stadium in 2002 for the AA championship and it was a nice enough stadium.

The question with Chattanooga is whether they can make the commitment and quickly. They have not really made any moves towards that goal and would seem to have a ways to go. Same thing could be said for Missouri State, but they are unqestionably worth waiting for.

UTC does have a nice stadium and has location (some call this market). But support of alumni and fans would need to improve 200% to be able to support a move.

(02-03-2013 07:54 AM)Saint3333 Wrote:  UTC does have a nice stadium and has location (some call this market). But support of alumni and fans would need to improve 200% to be able to support a move.

Maybe so, but we have all seen a bump in support from making the move. And with 150,000 people, Chattanooga has a large base to draw that bump from. I am all about some short drivable road trips, and I have to admit I am selfish in that regard.

Like I said, if we take Appalachian State, I kind of like Chattanooga as a bridge to them. Not saying they should be a front runner, just saying that they are an interesting dark horse.

MO St
App st
UTC
GaSo
All the way. Get it done Benson.

FOIA Article #3:

EXCLUSIVE: E-Mails Between GSU & NMSU Raise Conference Realignment Questions
http://www.appstatenation.com/2013/02/03...questions/