After the moving up announcement and considering the efforts by the P5 to undermine the G5, are you guys still excited about the move to FBS? Maybe that's a dumb question but after seeing how much of a sham FBS football really is, I wonder if the excitement is still there.

They're slowly killing it for this ECU fan. I hope we continue to improve at basketball b/c FBS football is pretty much a joke now.

Hell no. FCS is a small pond that's drying up. We should have went with ECU in 1978.

Here's a picture I took at the top ten game between App and Wofford in 2011 right before kickoff.



Being in a conference with half of the members being private institutions who struggle to have 6,000 fans for games and five to ten online fans wasn't going to help us in the future.

Still really excited for the move.

No comparison between getting to play at schools like ULL or Troy or Ark State vs. going to Western Carolina or Chattanooga or Samford. We will have FBS schools at our place instead of NC A&T and Savannah State. We will actually be able to watch some games on TV, what a crazy concept!

(06-16-2013 12:25 PM)blunderbuss Wrote:  After the moving up announcement and considering the efforts by the P5 to undermine the G5, are you guys still excited about the move to FBS? Maybe that's a dumb question but after seeing how much of a sham FBS football really is, I wonder if the excitement is still there.

They're slowly killing it for this ECU fan. I hope we continue to improve at basketball b/c FBS football is pretty much a joke now.

You're not punking us are you? Would think you Pirate fans would be glad to be moving onto the AAC next year. ECU sure wanted to move to the Big East long enough. Maybe the BE name change & AQ dropping has killed some fervor for football. Know some of your fans hate to leave SoMiss, and a few Marshall. Cannot understand missing MU. But in the AAC you will be with a lot of old conference mates and that should improve things.
FBS football is certainly not a sham to a lot of people. It's what you make it to be.

(06-16-2013 05:28 PM)GoApps70 Wrote:  

(06-16-2013 12:25 PM)blunderbuss Wrote:  After the moving up announcement and considering the efforts by the P5 to undermine the G5, are you guys still excited about the move to FBS? Maybe that's a dumb question but after seeing how much of a sham FBS football really is, I wonder if the excitement is still there.

They're slowly killing it for this ECU fan. I hope we continue to improve at basketball b/c FBS football is pretty much a joke now.

You're not punking us are you? Would think you Pirate fans would be glad to be moving onto the AAC next year. ECU sure wanted to move to the Big East long enough. Maybe the BE name change & AQ dropping has killed some fervor for football. Know some of your fans hate to leave SoMiss, and a few Marshall. Cannot understand missing MU. But in the AAC you will be with a lot of old conference mates and that should improve things.
FBS football is certainly not a sham to a lot of people. It's what you make it to be.

I think he just means he's frustrated. We moved to the American/Big East and they lose BCS status or whatever it's called or going to be called plus the bowl situation looks to be about the same as it was in the old cusa . Most fans are still very excited about the new league. Getting to be the same conference with Cincinnati Connecticut Temple UCF South Florida Navy Houston etc will be great. Plus the exposure the league will get with its new ESPN contract starting in 2014 will be unlike anything ECU has ever had in the past. It's all about perception really Appalachian State is clearly taking a step up and ECU felt like they were but it's really almost just keeping up with where we were rather than taking a step-up. But had we been forced to stay in the new conference USA that would've been taking a step back.

This OldApp is looking forward to the transition. App spent 40+ years in the SoCon and has performed quite well across the board so perhaps it is time to move onward. I think App is ready to compete on the athletic field and now has the facilities and alumni base to compete as well. My hope is that after App fully transitions then a longer term home&home series between ECU/App can be signed. The 2 recent ECU/App football games have been sell-outs and demanded the highest prices for an ECU game on StubHub, so fan interest is certainly there. The ECU fan base should serve as a model if not inspiration to App as it moves up. We attended the last ECU @ Navy game and there were more ECU fans both tailgating and in the stadium in Annapolis than Navy fans. ECU travels great and I hope App will do as well. I know our AD wanted us to move to CUSA primarily because ECU was there to provide instant rivalry. With ECU moving on to AAC, the Sun Belt is a better fit for App because the current big rival (Georgia Southern) is moving with us. There has been some discussion as to the finances of moving up. Finances will be difficult, but moving up to Sun Belt offers dramatically more potential in this regard than remaining in the SoCon. ECU realized this 30 years ago and App finally did about 5 or 10 years ago, so here we go.

Still excited about the move? Yes!

Elated with the move! We were fortunate to get on the last train out of town. Had to know the the power conferences were going to make the break eventually and exclude everyone else. I'm a realist and it doesn't upset me at all. I know App didn't fit with those top shelf guys but we sure didn't belong in FCS either. ASU is right where we need to be. The only thing that could make the SB better is for JMU to come aboard. With the SB conf games and numerous CUSA and AAC schools around App can give its fans a very attractive home schedule.

Well after the announcement App has seen its best donation month ever.

We'll really be excited once we sign a couple home and home with FBS schools. We knew we were trading a better postseason for a better regular season.

(06-17-2013 06:19 AM)Saint3333 Wrote:  Well after the announcement App has seen its best donation month ever.

We'll really be excited once we sign a couple home and home with FBS schools. We knew we were trading a better postseason for a better regular season.

This is it ... and the money is in the regular season. Our playoff games have been so poorly attended that I truly had to wonder where all the playoff lovers were. Don't get me wrong I loved the playoffs and only missed one playoff game since 2001. That was the YSU game in 2006 due to extreme sickness. So I loved them. Just wondered where all the other playoff lovers were come game time. I think this will be loads better especially when we get a decent FBS school to come to Boone. Would love a home and home with Marshall, ECU, Navy and a number of others.

(06-16-2013 07:57 PM)Bleeds_Purple Wrote:  

(06-16-2013 05:28 PM)GoApps70 Wrote:  

(06-16-2013 12:25 PM)blunderbuss Wrote:  After the moving up announcement and considering the efforts by the P5 to undermine the G5, are you guys still excited about the move to FBS? Maybe that's a dumb question but after seeing how much of a sham FBS football really is, I wonder if the excitement is still there.

They're slowly killing it for this ECU fan. I hope we continue to improve at basketball b/c FBS football is pretty much a joke now.

You're not punking us are you? Would think you Pirate fans would be glad to be moving onto the AAC next year. ECU sure wanted to move to the Big East long enough. Maybe the BE name change & AQ dropping has killed some fervor for football. Know some of your fans hate to leave SoMiss, and a few Marshall. Cannot understand missing MU. But in the AAC you will be with a lot of old conference mates and that should improve things.
FBS football is certainly not a sham to a lot of people. It's what you make it to be.

I think he just means he's frustrated. We moved to the American/Big East and they lose BCS status or whatever it's called or going to be called plus the bowl situation looks to be about the same as it was in the old cusa . Most fans are still very excited about the new league. Getting to be the same conference with Cincinnati Connecticut Temple UCF South Florida Navy Houston etc will be great. Plus the exposure the league will get with its new ESPN contract starting in 2014 will be unlike anything ECU has ever had in the past. It's all about perception really Appalachian State is clearly taking a step up and ECU felt like they were but it's really almost just keeping up with where we were rather than taking a step-up. But had we been forced to stay in the new conference USA that would've been taking a step back.

Yeah the honest truth is ECU by moving got back to where they were in 2001 when we got in all sports to the original C-USA. It's been a struggle for over a decade to just get back where we originally were, and we weren't really that pleased with it at the time either. Of course on the other side of the equation not moving would have resulted in a tangible step down from even C-USA 2.0 and an even further step down from what C-USA was at it's best.

If the FBS is now a joke, the FCS is an episode of Arrested Development.

Imagine having to travel to glorified high school stadiums every other week while your school enjoys one of the biggest and best game days in the State at any level. Imagine seeing ECU playing on Sports South, then PBS, then nothing.

The opportunity to finally share a conference with like-minded schools with excellent football traditions like Troy and ULL, to play in bowl games that have higher ratings than the continuously more obscure FCS national championship game, the chance to host ECU, Marsha or Wake Forrest at The Rock -- Yes the excitement is still here.

The day we went official with the Sun Belt and joined the highest level of collegiate football was LONG overdue and was one of the greatest moments in my history as an App State fan.

(06-17-2013 08:23 AM)DrGonzo Wrote:  If the FBS is now a joke, the FCS is an episode of Arrested Development.

Very true.

It got bad because the Southern Conference got really bad with Wofford, Elon, etc... Ya'll know that. Old guard App fans remember a SoCon that had ETSU, UT-C, App, Marshall, Ga. Southern, it was a pretty good conference then.
The greedy conferences will eventually break away to do their own thing and there will be a four division split. It'll take time, as this whole playoff and major realignment thing has taken forever to come to fruition, when it does, there will be more shifting again. University presidents know that deep down they could cut 10 scholarships off the max for G5 schools, and the bigger FCS programs left could more than likely add 12 more scholarships.
On another note, Appalachian and Marshall need to renew their rivalry with annual home and home games immediately.

(06-17-2013 10:08 AM)Buccaneerlover Wrote:  It got bad because the Southern Conference got really bad with Wofford, Elon, etc... Ya'll know that. Old guard App fans remember a SoCon that had ETSU, UT-C, App, Marshall, Ga. Southern, it was a pretty good conference then.
The greedy conferences will eventually break away to do their own thing and there will be a four division split. It'll take time, as this whole playoff and major realignment thing has taken forever to come to fruition, when it does, there will be more shifting again. University presidents know that deep down they could cut 10 scholarships off the max for G5 schools, and the bigger FCS programs left could more than likely add 12 more scholarships.
On another note, Appalachian and Marshall need to renew their rivalry with annual home and home games immediately.

Ga Southern and Marshall were only in the conference together 4 years but man was it brutal. The SoCon lived up to its billing as the SEC of 1-AA back then.

(06-17-2013 10:08 AM)Buccaneerlover Wrote:  It got bad because the Southern Conference got really bad with Wofford, Elon, etc... Ya'll know that. Old guard App fans remember a SoCon that had ETSU, UT-C, App, Marshall, Ga. Southern, it was a pretty good conference then.
The greedy conferences will eventually break away to do their own thing and there will be a four division split. It'll take time, as this whole playoff and major realignment thing has taken forever to come to fruition, when it does, there will be more shifting again. University presidents know that deep down they could cut 10 scholarships off the max for G5 schools, and the bigger FCS programs left could more than likely add 12 more scholarships.
On another note, Appalachian and Marshall need to renew their rivalry with annual home and home games immediately.

I don't think so. No scenario I've seen would pull up the top FCS into FBS if there is a split of the G5 (which I doubt will happen anyway).

The FCS teams that can leave have left already or will in the next 12 months. That leaves the NDSU's and the Montana's out there that have very unique issues due to state population size and lack of conference footprint. In other words those that can make the jump will, but there will be no reaching down to pull up because there is no need for it.

A couple of things: The G5 have already consolidated ranks, so there is no need for a split. In addition, they can't just play each other, or they won't be able to produce enough bowl teams. The G5 needs the Gang of 5... so the most likely scenario is concessions will be made from a revenue/stipend standpoint and that's what this is about anyway. I foresee to maintain status quo, all FBS will vote to allow stipends and those that can afford to do so will no matter if they are G5 or Go5.

Secondly, FCS will continue to decline and will likely be forced to reduce scholarships by 10 or more as money games for FCS teams give way to more money games for Go5 teams. It just makes sense for SOS to secure a CUSA or SBC team in that OOC slot over an FCS school... especially now because of the new playoff structure.

Finally, the playoff structure will grow to at least 8 teams. Allowing as many as 2 slots for Go5 conferences. This will encourage play between Go5 conferences to vie for that top conference designation and will further push FCS/FBS games into obscurity. The playoff structure will be wildly successful and $$$ and fans will lure the format into expansion.

(06-17-2013 08:15 AM)b0ndsj0ns Wrote:  

(06-16-2013 07:57 PM)Bleeds_Purple Wrote:  

(06-16-2013 05:28 PM)GoApps70 Wrote:  

(06-16-2013 12:25 PM)blunderbuss Wrote:  After the moving up announcement and considering the efforts by the P5 to undermine the G5, are you guys still excited about the move to FBS? Maybe that's a dumb question but after seeing how much of a sham FBS football really is, I wonder if the excitement is still there.

They're slowly killing it for this ECU fan. I hope we continue to improve at basketball b/c FBS football is pretty much a joke now.

You're not punking us are you? Would think you Pirate fans would be glad to be moving onto the AAC next year. ECU sure wanted to move to the Big East long enough. Maybe the BE name change & AQ dropping has killed some fervor for football. Know some of your fans hate to leave SoMiss, and a few Marshall. Cannot understand missing MU. But in the AAC you will be with a lot of old conference mates and that should improve things.
FBS football is certainly not a sham to a lot of people. It's what you make it to be.

I think he just means he's frustrated. We moved to the American/Big East and they lose BCS status or whatever it's called or going to be called plus the bowl situation looks to be about the same as it was in the old cusa . Most fans are still very excited about the new league. Getting to be the same conference with Cincinnati Connecticut Temple UCF South Florida Navy Houston etc will be great. Plus the exposure the league will get with its new ESPN contract starting in 2014 will be unlike anything ECU has ever had in the past. It's all about perception really Appalachian State is clearly taking a step up and ECU felt like they were but it's really almost just keeping up with where we were rather than taking a step-up. But had we been forced to stay in the new conference USA that would've been taking a step back.

Yeah the honest truth is ECU by moving got back to where they were in 2001 when we got in all sports to the original C-USA. It's been a struggle for over a decade to just get back where we originally were, and we weren't really that pleased with it at the time either. Of course on the other side of the equation not moving would have resulted in a tangible step down from even C-USA 2.0 and an even further step down from what C-USA was at it's best.

Can see why a lot are feeling it is putting you back into where you were in 2001. However, like was said, sometimes you have to just keep jogging, just to stay where you were because of previous other moves. But one good thing about it, you will be playing some schools that you have not played or played much in years. The positioning is maybe the big thing to come out of all this. Next to the G5's, reestablishing with schools that thought they had moved on. You have also eliminated the barrier of the Big East that your administration fought to join for years, so really it is an advance by way of elimination.

I easily understand the frustration of ECU fans. Since the mid 70's you guys have done whatever it took to play with the big boys. Your school has a deep tradition of competing with some of the top programs in the land. Sadly it now looks as though it was all for naught. The power conferences are creating brand exclusivity and everyone else is going to have to live with it. I don't think it will come to the point they only play one another but the G5 schools can put away any thought to elbowing their way into the big boy playoffs. They didn't particularly appreciate N Illinois horning in on that Orange Bowl cash and this playoff is going to eliminate any chance of that happening again. ECU and Boise needed a few more things to go right for them, unfortunately I don't see it happening. It is extremely hard to get a seat in the good old boys locker room. IMO, TCU and BYU are the only ons that have pulled it off in the last 15 years.