Hope you allow a UofL fan here for a second. I have always had a tremendous respect for C-USA. One of the more programs I always enjoyed playing in football was Southern Miss. Back in the 90's when this league was formed they are who we strived to be. I remember this league being an underrated basketball conference with programs such as Cincinnati, Charlotte, Louisville, Memphis, DePaul, UAB all who made regular NCAA Tournament appearances. This was usually a 5 bid league which ranked up there near the top. Baseball was always fun playing Tulane when they were a power along with Southern Miss.

My question is to the fans of Tulane, UAB, Southern Miss, Memphis, Houston, etc what are your thoughts on how much the league has changed? When you first remember it back in the mid 90's was there any chance you would believe all the major changes it has gone through? Weird question probably, but hey its the offseason

When the formation of the league was announced in early 1995, the original 6 football teams were:
Cincinnati
Houston (played the 95-96 season in the old SWC)
Louisville
Memphis State (it just changed the name to Memphis right about that time: 94 or 95)
Southern Miss
Tulane

With the 6 following non-football members:
DePaul
Marquette
Saint Louis
UAB
UNCC
USF

I still have a MBB media guide for that first season in C-USA. I remember very clearly the excitement/optimism I felt as Tulane entered that phase. The last year in Metro ('94-'95) we had made the Dance for the 3rd time in 4 years and won the first-round game (against BYU) in an 8/9 seed match-up before losing to eventual NC Kentucky in the second round. In football, times were bleak but we believed that joining a conference would help -- and it did, as the team improved to 7-4 in 1997 before the 12-0 miracle of 1998. And even after that we had some decent or semi-decent teams (6-5, 5-6, 8-5) until Katrina.

I think that if Tulane football had still been classified as Independent in 2005 when the storm hit us, then we probably would have abandoned the sport altogether. So there is a sense in which I think Conference USA "saved" Tulane's football program. I will always remember that.

Obviously, our competitive weakness since 2005 has been painful to endure. Even our once-proud baseball program, a genuine national power in the first 12 years or so of C-USA, has slid into mediocrity. But I will always have positive feelings about C-USA. It is something that Tulane helped to create, and it is something that has lasted and will continue to last even after we leave a year from now.

You have to wonder, without the raids or defections, where would CUSA be?

TCU
Houston
SMU
Louisville
Cinci
S Miss
Memphis
UCF
USF
ECU
Rice
Tulsa
Army
UAB
DePaul
Marquette
Tulane
Marshall
UTEP
UNCC

Some interesting football and basketball potential there if some of the originals and additions had stayed together as a single group long enough.

(05-28-2013 12:34 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  You have to wonder, without the raids or defections, where would CUSA be?
Some interesting football and basketball potential there if some of the originals and additions had stayed together as a single group long enough.

Yep...and that point was brought in the first wave of defections.

(05-28-2013 12:34 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  You have to wonder, without the raids or defections, where would CUSA be?

TCU
Houston
SMU
Louisville
Cinci
S Miss
Memphis
UCF
USF
ECU
Rice
Tulsa
Army
UAB
DePaul
Marquette

Some interesting football and basketball potential there if some of the originals and additions had stayed together as a single group long enough.

(05-28-2013 12:34 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  You have to wonder, without the raids or defections, where would CUSA be?

TCU
Houston
SMU
Louisville
Cinci
S Miss
Memphis
UCF
USF
ECU
Rice
Tulsa
Army
UAB
DePaul
Marquette

Some interesting football and basketball potential there if some of the originals and additions had stayed together as a single group long enough.

That would be a good line-up by dropping DePaul and Marquette. Conference life has been good without basketball/spring sports schools. IMHO, they just clutter the landscape. I think you may have missed Marshall by error.

(05-27-2013 11:27 PM)L1C4 Wrote:  Hope you allow a UofL fan here for a second. I have always had a tremendous respect for C-USA. One of the more programs I always enjoyed playing in football was Southern Miss. Back in the 90's when this league was formed they are who we strived to be. I remember this league being an underrated basketball conference with programs such as Cincinnati, Charlotte, Louisville, Memphis, DePaul, UAB all who made regular NCAA Tournament appearances. This was usually a 5 bid league which ranked up there near the top. Baseball was always fun playing Tulane when they were a power along with Southern Miss.

My question is to the fans of Tulane, UAB, Southern Miss, Memphis, Houston, etc what are your thoughts on how much the league has changed? When you first remember it back in the mid 90's was there any chance you would believe all the major changes it has gone through? Weird question probably, but hey its the offseason

My thoughts on the league changes? Actually, I like it, & hope that it enhances the allure of the conference for present and future student-athletes. Conference USA's the only game in town as far as I'm concerned (**** the sec!) so I want to see it flourish and become one of, if not the most competitive and fearsome conferences in the country. I have been disappointed in the past at how it's fared in football & basketball (men's and women's)against other conferences. Too many "moral victories" for my satisfaction, want to see C-USA come out on the winning side of these matchups for a change. My memories of the conference in the 90's are vague at best, I can just remember wanting to see UAB evolve into a competitive athletic program the way that Louisville, Cincinnati & South Florida have/had. I have no illusions of winning or competing for mythical national titles or appeasing corporate-driven, greedy corrupt collegiate football entities, I just want my favorite conference to have successful runs in athletics. **** the BCS!

(05-28-2013 06:47 AM)oldtiger Wrote:  

(05-28-2013 12:34 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  You have to wonder, without the raids or defections, where would CUSA be?

TCU
Houston
SMU
Louisville
Cinci
S Miss
Memphis
UCF
USF
ECU
Rice
Tulsa
Army
UAB
DePaul
Marquette

Some interesting football and basketball potential there if some of the originals and additions had stayed together as a single group long enough.

That would be a good line-up by dropping DePaul and Marquette. Conference life has been good without basketball/spring sports schools. IMHO, they just clutter the landscape. I think you may have missed Marshall by error.

And Tulane, UNCC, and UTEP too....hey, it was late....Fixed it this morning. The hybrid never bothered me. We didn't have the divisions between the all-sports schools and basketball onlys that plagued the Big East. I always thought it was a little harsh to drop UNCC.

(05-28-2013 07:35 AM)Matrix Wrote:  

(05-27-2013 11:27 PM)L1C4 Wrote:  Hope you allow a UofL fan here for a second. I have always had a tremendous respect for C-USA. One of the more programs I always enjoyed playing in football was Southern Miss. Back in the 90's when this league was formed they are who we strived to be. I remember this league being an underrated basketball conference with programs such as Cincinnati, Charlotte, Louisville, Memphis, DePaul, UAB all who made regular NCAA Tournament appearances. This was usually a 5 bid league which ranked up there near the top. Baseball was always fun playing Tulane when they were a power along with Southern Miss.

My question is to the fans of Tulane, UAB, Southern Miss, Memphis, Houston, etc what are your thoughts on how much the league has changed? When you first remember it back in the mid 90's was there any chance you would believe all the major changes it has gone through? Weird question probably, but hey its the offseason

My thoughts on the league changes? Actually, I like it, & hope that it enhances the allure of the conference for present and future student-athletes. Conference USA's the only game in town as far as I'm concerned (**** the sec!) so I want to see it flourish and become one of, if not the most competitive and fearsome conferences in the country. I have been disappointed in the past at how it's fared in football & basketball (men's and women's)against other conferences. Too many "moral victories" for my satisfaction, want to see C-USA come out on the winning side of these matchups for a change. My memories of the conference in the 90's are vague at best, I can just remember wanting to see UAB evolve into a competitive athletic program the way that Louisville, Cincinnati & South Florida have/had. I have no illusions of winning or competing for mythical national titles or appeasing corporate-driven, greedy corrupt collegiate football entities, I just want my favorite conference to have successful runs in athletics. **** the BCS!

that isn't going to happen. the one lesson that should have been learned by the most recent outbreak of realignment is that vastly improved conferences aren't allowed to "evolve", they are cherry-picked back to their former "inferior" status. if there was ever a case for a conference to dissolve, it was the BE. it didn't. therefore, it never will.

one last observation; if you hate the bcs, you should hate realignment, and you should particularly hate the existing conference structure. people that attack the bcs typically only seem to attack one side of the equation; the bowl arrangement -- specifically, they lust for a playoff. those people are missing the infinitely more sinister side of the equation; the fact that the actual roots of the bcs are growing in the established conferences.

it is a mistake to decry the bowl system, pine for a playoff, yet lust for an invitation to a "better" conference.

(05-28-2013 08:21 AM)EagleX Wrote:  

(05-28-2013 07:35 AM)Matrix Wrote:  

(05-27-2013 11:27 PM)L1C4 Wrote:  Hope you allow a UofL fan here for a second. I have always had a tremendous respect for C-USA. One of the more programs I always enjoyed playing in football was Southern Miss. Back in the 90's when this league was formed they are who we strived to be. I remember this league being an underrated basketball conference with programs such as Cincinnati, Charlotte, Louisville, Memphis, DePaul, UAB all who made regular NCAA Tournament appearances. This was usually a 5 bid league which ranked up there near the top. Baseball was always fun playing Tulane when they were a power along with Southern Miss.

My question is to the fans of Tulane, UAB, Southern Miss, Memphis, Houston, etc what are your thoughts on how much the league has changed? When you first remember it back in the mid 90's was there any chance you would believe all the major changes it has gone through? Weird question probably, but hey its the offseason

My thoughts on the league changes? Actually, I like it, & hope that it enhances the allure of the conference for present and future student-athletes. Conference USA's the only game in town as far as I'm concerned (**** the sec!) so I want to see it flourish and become one of, if not the most competitive and fearsome conferences in the country. I have been disappointed in the past at how it's fared in football & basketball (men's and women's)against other conferences. Too many "moral victories" for my satisfaction, want to see C-USA come out on the winning side of these matchups for a change. My memories of the conference in the 90's are vague at best, I can just remember wanting to see UAB evolve into a competitive athletic program the way that Louisville, Cincinnati & South Florida have/had. I have no illusions of winning or competing for mythical national titles or appeasing corporate-driven, greedy corrupt collegiate football entities, I just want my favorite conference to have successful runs in athletics. **** the BCS!

that isn't going to happen. the one lesson that should have been learned by the most recent outbreak of realignment is that vastly improved conferences aren't allowed to "evolve", they are cherry-picked back to their former "inferior" status. if there was ever a case for a conference to dissolve, it was the BE. it didn't. therefore, it never will.

one last observation; if you hate the bcs, you should hate realignment, and you should particularly hate the existing conference structure. people that attack the bcs typically only seem to attack one side of the equation; the bowl arrangement -- specifically, they lust for a playoff. those people are missing the infinitely more sinister side of the equation; the fact that the actual roots of the bcs are growing in the established conferences.

it is a mistake to decry the bowl system, pine for a playoff, yet lust for an invitation to a "better" conference.

Yup. History seems to indicate that individual teams can be promoted to the BCS club, but conferences as a whole wont be allowed to enter the BCS elite. The MW had the BCS numbers to qualify at one point, but was ignored.

Charlotte was an original member of CUSA as well. Loved the league for basketball. Towards the end the league was really entertaining. Will never forget the Cincy games and the Niners blowing out Louisville in Freedom Hall as well as pissing off Calipari. I'm still pissed and will forever despise the ACC for starting all this realignment crap by taking Va Tech and Miami and thus starting the end of CUSA.1.

Glad to be back in the league now that we have football. Looking forward to it but also realize it will not the same, not by a long shot.

When i think of the original cusa i think of lost potential. We were building the foundation for a pretty good league. I wish we had added a 12th school instead of staying at 11 though.

(05-28-2013 10:15 AM)VA49er Wrote:  I'm still pissed and will forever despise the ACC for starting all this realignment crap by taking Va Tech and Miami and thus starting the end of CUSA.1.

I don't blame you, but from the time the BCS was created in ~1997, the ACC and the BE were always on a collision course. The only questions were: when would the collision occur? (2003); which league would would walk away in the stronger position? (ACC), and which individual member-schools would get shafted in the process? (UConn. I don't fully include UC and USF in that category, because it was the realignment wars that enabled them to move up in the first place. they are worse off than they have been since joining the Big East, but they're no worse off than they were in C-USA. Probably a bit better, if anything.) Everything else was just detail.

I'll never forget the people who acted as if -- right up until (virtually) the moment of the Pitt/Syracuse announcement -- that the Big East was in the stronger long-term position compared to the ACC. I'm still curious to know what planet those people were living on. Maybe the same one as the alleged "Tulsa fan" (probably not, but who knows) who continuously claimed that C-USA was in the stronger long-term position than the American, right up until the moment Tulsa said it was leaving C-USA.

(05-28-2013 10:40 AM)eagleriffic Wrote:  When i think of the original cusa i think of lost potential.

Yeah, that is true.

Quote:We were building the foundation for a pretty good league. I wish we had added a 12th school instead of staying at 11 though.

I wished for that, too, but who would it have been?

What I mainly regret about C-USA is ever letting TCU into our camp. We took them when they were basically homeless, and they f*cked us at the first chance.

(05-28-2013 08:10 PM)Native Georgian Wrote:  ...
I'll never forget the people who acted as if -- right up until (virtually) the moment of the Pitt/Syracuse announcement -- that the Big East was in the stronger long-term position compared to the ACC. I'm still curious to know what planet those people were living on. Maybe the same one as the alleged "Tulsa fan" (probably not, but who knows) who continuously claimed that C-USA was in the stronger long-term position than the American, right up until the moment Tulsa said it was leaving C-USA.

Having patience to let situations work out is lost on most message board posters for some reason. Rarely do most situations end up as good or as bad as the loudest "voices" with the strongest opinions would have you believe. Patience, civility, and respect goes a long way throughout life.....and on a message board.

While I can't say some programs in CUSA 1.0 didn't earn the right to move on, if we had of been able to keep a good majority of it together it could have been one of the top conferences in the end.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. It seems to me (a fan, not a fanatic) that the bulk of CUSA founders hooked up with Temple, UConn and Navy(?). I'm still trying to figure it all out so bear with me fellas if I have it wrong. My time following Memphis dates back to the end of the GMW/formation of CUSA, and I enjoyed following the teams in the league. I also have a soft spot for Southern Miss and UAB...because I know how bad anyone not named UA or AU has it in AL. We had season bball tickets to USM and took the kids to the Memphis/UAB game last year. Had a great time and met some very dedicated Blazer fans. (I must say the restrooms were very VERY clean which is important to me. ) I wish everyone well in their new/old homes. It's like the old scout song "Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other is gold." It seems to me (again, laywoman's opinion) that there is a core group of schools that tend to gravitate toward each other +/- a few, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. The more things change...

(05-28-2013 08:40 PM)oldtiger Wrote:  

(05-28-2013 08:10 PM)Native Georgian Wrote:  ...
I'll never forget the people who acted as if -- right up until (virtually) the moment of the Pitt/Syracuse announcement -- that the Big East was in the stronger long-term position compared to the ACC. I'm still curious to know what planet those people were living on. Maybe the same one as the alleged "Tulsa fan" (probably not, but who knows) who continuously claimed that C-USA was in the stronger long-term position than the American, right up until the moment Tulsa said it was leaving C-USA.

Having patience to let situations work out is lost on most message board posters for some reason. Rarely do most situations end up as good or as bad as the loudest "voices" with the strongest opinions would have you believe. Patience, civility, and respect goes a long way throughout life.....and on a message board.

Wise words.

If everyone would have stayed put the Big East football would have died and we would be a league that could overtake the MWC but greed has diluted everyone's minds. Now all these leagues are on the same level begging for scraps outside the power 5.

UTSA for example has the same access to the playoff as everyone that has left. In the process basketball is diluted. Thanks.

(05-30-2013 12:09 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  If everyone would have stayed put the Big East football would have died

That was true in 2003 (maybe that's what you are referring to).

After BC, Miami, and VT all announced their defections to the ACC by September 2003, the Big East was projected to have:

1. Syracuse
2. Pitt
3. Rutgers
4. West Virginia

Plus they were in the process of expelling Temple and promoting UConn, so they had a total of 5 football-playing members.

If C-USA of 2003 had held firm, they could have forced a merger of the two football-leagues, thus resulting in the following 16-team football league:

Cincinnati
Connecticut
East Carolina
Houston
Louisville
Memphis
Rutgers
Pittsburgh
South Florida
Southern Miss
Syracuse
TCU
Tulane
UAB
West Virginia

With either Temple or UCF as #16. Army would have withdrawn no matter what.

What might have been...