If anyone ever asks me about C-USA (as in, "who is in CUSA anyway?"), I usually lead with USM, La. Tech and Marshall, thinking those are the schools most likely to be recognized by a Minnesotan. Rice is still somewhat recognized athletically thanks to Tommy Kramer.

(05-20-2019 03:33 PM)cmett003 Wrote:  I dont think there is any "Flagship" school in C-USA. To me that would mean being at or near the top in Football, Basketball, Women's Basketball and Baseball each of the past 5 years. No team in C-USA is even close to that.

Alabama is only good at football. Wouldn't you call them the flagship of the SEC?

(05-20-2019 05:17 AM)BRtransplant Wrote:  

(05-19-2019 08:14 AM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(05-19-2019 07:31 AM)BRtransplant Wrote:  

(05-18-2019 05:15 PM)BeagleUSM Wrote:  No one in C-USA really has a “legit” athletic program. Let’s be real here.

There may be a very few exceptions, but almost all G5 programs are less "legit" than they used to be. The P5 was created for no other reason than to accomplish this very thing. Once those pesky and uppity programs at places like TCU and Utah managed to break through the P5 wall, and this madness simply had to stop. The powers that be in the conferences that now make up the P5 came up with a plan that would ensure this uppity madness ended right there, and it did. Everyone still in a G5 conference is now totally locked out of ever making the big time.

Some people are able to deal with this reality better than others. I feel for programs like UH, UCF, USF, and Boise. They came so tantalizingly close to making the big time, yet in the end, they were cast away with the rest of us. That's got to hurt.

Think I-AA. Something like it is where we will all end up.

They have been cast away, but just because they appear to be locked out of the P5 does not mean they have been permanently relegated to a lower level. I believe Houston, UCF, USF, Memphis, Boise State, and BYU will reform with other programs that set themselves apart in the current vat of G5 cast aways.

The AAC is the best G5, but carries too many small private schools that can't gain the conference enough strength of schedule credit in the OOC. At some point in the future their will be another airport meeting, and the core programs from the AAC will be entertaining the best programs from the other G5 conferences.

This new conference will be full of programs that can compete against the average middle of the road P5 program (and have opportunities to do it, due to solid scheduling with home and home P5 series). The champ of this new conference will have a shot at a playoff spot as often as some P5 conferences.

Any program that wants in, needs to kick their addition to body-bag games, schedule P5s to home and home series, raise more funds, build and renovate facilities, grow their athletic budget, increase attendance (while attendance averages are decreasing), develop a real marketing strategy, and string together several 9 or 10 win seasons. College football remains an arms race. It may happen in the next 5 years, or it may be another decade, but I believe it will happen.

You're obviously living in the same dream world that the fans of UH, UCF, USF, Memphis, and Boise do. I hate to break it to you, but even the very best G5 programs have been cast aside by the P5.

The intended mission of the powers that be in the P5 was to totally and completely separate from G5 schools. They're not quite finished, but they will succeed.

Any attempt to officially separate from the rest of the FBS will result in very costly law suits, which the P5 will lose. And they know it. The only course of action for actually separating, is to out spend the G5 programs and force them to quit trying to keep up, or bankrupt their programs. Once they have forced enough G5 programs to expand their budgets to their breaking point, the P5s will use their autonomy to restrict their programs from signing G5 teams on their schedules. Then the G5 $2 million payday games go away, with big bills that still need to get paid. In the end, I think Houston, UCF, USF, Memphis, Boise, and a few others have the right combination of resources and will keep investing and keep the spending gap between them and the P5s from growing too big.

(05-20-2019 02:02 PM)TardisCaptain Wrote:  If it helps, here is some outside viewpoints on the C-USA Schools that have come up in conversations with other sports fans in the Intermountain West (primarily Utah).

...Middle Tennessee State- The only reason this school was brought up is that BYU went to MTSU for a football game a few years ago. The question asked was "Why is BYU playing at an FCS school? They're not FCS? With an name like that?" Nothing since then.
.....

grrrrr.....

I have given up on having any change to fix that until our current president is gone and our disappointing Board of Trustees not too long ago gave the man a five year contract.

(05-19-2019 09:13 AM)Lizard Breath Wrote:  

(05-19-2019 06:46 AM)Saint Greg Wrote:  

(05-19-2019 02:53 AM)Lizard Breath Wrote:  

(05-18-2019 11:16 AM)ODU1986 Wrote:  

(05-18-2019 11:01 AM)Jack Bauer Wrote:  I’d say the only ones should be usm and Marshall. They are the only programs that outside people know well. Marshall might be because of the crash but everyone knows who they are and cause southern miss was pretty good a long time ago. Everyone else is the same

This


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have followed CFZb for a long time and all family went to large P5 schools. Until we moved to C USA I had never heard of USN. Marshall yes , USM no

Really? You never paid attention to bowl games or Brett Favre? I have a USM flag from the 1988 independence bowl. The first I heard of Marshall was 10 years later when they had Randy Moss.

Maybe it’s the age gap. I’m 28. So maybe if I was 40 or 50 I would know. That’s similar to Terry Bradshaw at La Tech

You didn’t play the NCAA Football games? My kids know where every D-I school is and what conference they are in just from playing.

clt asks if this chat page is tied to games of thrones somehow

Just did some back of the envelope counting from this thread and here's the tally. Giving some benefit of the doubt votes to UAB, Rice, UTEP, UTSA, WKU and MTSU, with a few posts counting 2 or 3 schools. Looks pretty clear to me who the top 2 are (and who's in last - ODU, FAU, FIU and Charlotte). Btw, this year, I think USM will finally start its domination of CUSA 3.0 (but don't sweat it...that just jinxed us).


USM - 15
Marshall - 14
La Tech - 5
Rice - 5
WKU - 2
MTSU - 2
UAB - 2
UTSA - 1
UTEP - 1

CUAB
;-)

(05-20-2019 02:24 PM)hooverblazer Wrote:  Surprised at the lack of mentions for UAB. We're a founding member of the conference, have a nationally recognized medical enterprise (Top 20 medical school, top 20 in public universities in research funding, and a world-renowned hospital), the football shutdown/return created a decent amount of brand awareness, football success since the return, and basketball history.

And, most importantly, Bear Bryant Jr. could not kill you! And God knows, he tried.

Non homer picks.

Football: Southern Miss. They were always the program I associated with greatness in CUSA 2.0, they will be back someday.

Basketball: WKU. They built their brand on the roundball.

Baseball: Rice. No doubt.

Overall: Southern Miss, with Marshall not far behind.

If you’ve lost to a school that hasn’t had football more than ten years, you’re ineligible for flagship recognition.

(05-20-2019 09:32 PM)wh49er Wrote:  If you’ve lost to a school that hasn’t had football more than ten years, you’re ineligible for flagship recognition.

Son, Charlotte football could compete for championships in CUSA for the next decade, and never achieve the kinds of heights Marshall football has accomplished since coming back to D1.

I know I’m late to the party on this but didn’t we have this same thread last year?

(05-20-2019 09:50 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  I know I’m late to the party on this but didn’t we have this same thread last year?

Well, yes and no.

We had a “best brand” thread.

I distinctly remember that one, because we all came up with “the wife test.” It’s still IMHO the most accurate and scientifically proven form of analysis.

Found it...

https://csnbbs.com/thread-855681.html

(05-20-2019 09:32 PM)wh49er Wrote:  If you’ve lost to a school that hasn’t had football more than ten years, you’re ineligible for flagship recognition.

Call me when you've done even 1/3 of what Marshall has at any division. Also call me when you have a proper stadium.

Charlotte has exactly 4 wins in their long illustrious football program over schools with a winning record.

I apologize to everyone else on this thread. It was me who upset Reggie simpleton so much that he continues to spew is outdated nonsense. USM certainly is not the flagship, they have done nothing in recent history.

From a Central Texas perspective: when someone here asks us who we play in conference, I lead with Rice and La Tech. Those are the C-USA names that would probably be most familiar to a casual fan in this area.

However, if I had to name a flagship program, I'd agree with the consensus of Marshall and Southern Miss. Also, I've been really impressed with what WKU has accomplished athletically in the last 5 years, but it hasn't translated to much prestige in the same way as Marshall and USM yet. Just imo.

(05-20-2019 11:12 PM)HerdZoned Wrote:  

(05-20-2019 09:32 PM)wh49er Wrote:  If you’ve lost to a school that hasn’t had football more than ten years, you’re ineligible for flagship recognition.

Call me when you've done even 1/3 of what Marshall has at any division. Also call me when you have a proper stadium.

Charlotte has exactly 4 wins in their long illustrious football program over schools with a winning record.

Dude relax. This is not a big big and a stupid question. I’d say marshall is but things can change in 5-10 years. A lot of new team need time to build their program. I think UTSA in their shoe history has like the 2’d or 3rd highest draft pick.

In the long run it will changeva lot. You need a team to go 4 - 6 years playing at a high level and that team will be leading the conference & being talked about.