I figured they deserved their own thread. I’ll admit this has been. Big year for App and they have taken a big step.

2 wins vs P5 teams
Top 25 Ap
Top 25 CFP ranking

Still a semi long shot for the NYD G5 vs P5 bowl game but I think their bowl opponent will be higher level and they can lay the ground work to take another step next year.

Kudos to App they’ve been near perfect since going FBS and it’s really starting to pay off for them.

(11-12-2019 09:46 PM)NJDuke97 Wrote:  I figured they deserved their own thread. I’ll admit this has been. Big year for App and they have taken a big step.

2 wins vs P5 teams
Top 25 Ap
Top 25 CFP ranking

Still a semi long shot for the NYD G5 vs P5 bowl game but I think their bowl opponent will be higher level and they can lay the ground work to take another step next year.

Kudos to App they’ve been near perfect since going FBS and it’s really starting to pay off for them.

Agree and impressed w/ what Appy has accomplished so far. Given their short FBS tenure and the inherent limitations of their location and conference, they have rapidly approached the glass ceiling. Can they break through and get that NYD Bowl game? Or better yet, position themselves for an AAC invite? I actually could see the former but am skeptical about the latter.

My concern for them (and us if we had joined one of the bottom three G5 conferences) is the lack of quality bowl tie-ins. It's kind of all or nothing. Finish as the highest ranked G5 OR be rewarded with a Bowl against another G5 school. They could theoretically finish 10th nationally. But if Boise St. finishes 8th, they are stuck with their conference bowl affiliations-which means no P5 opponent.

As it stands now for the Sun Belt, these are their Bowl tie-ins:

Highest-ranked champion from the AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW & Sun Belt will play in a New Year’s Six bowl.

The Sun Belt doesn’t have a true pecking order after the champion goes to the New Orleans Bowl. The bowl matchups are based on best possible games and geography.

1. R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl vs. Mountain West

– Dollar General Bowl vs. MAC
– Raycom Media Camellia Bowl vs. MAC
– AutoNation Cure Bowl vs. American Athletic
– NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl vs. Mountain West

(11-12-2019 11:02 PM)olddawg Wrote:  

(11-12-2019 09:46 PM)NJDuke97 Wrote:  I figured they deserved their own thread. I’ll admit this has been. Big year for App and they have taken a big step.

2 wins vs P5 teams
Top 25 Ap
Top 25 CFP ranking

Still a semi long shot for the NYD G5 vs P5 bowl game but I think their bowl opponent will be higher level and they can lay the ground work to take another step next year.

Kudos to App they’ve been near perfect since going FBS and it’s really starting to pay off for them.

Agree and impressed w/ what Appy has accomplished so far. Given their short FBS tenure and the inherent limitations of their location and conference, they have rapidly approached the glass ceiling. Can they break through and get that NYD Bowl game? Or better yet, position themselves for an AAC invite? I actually could see the former but am skeptical about the latter.

My concern for them (and us if we had joined one of the bottom three G5 conferences) is the lack of quality bowl tie-ins. It's kind of all or nothing. Finish as the highest ranked G5 OR be rewarded with a Bowl against another G5 school. They could theoretically finish 10th nationally. But if Boise St. finishes 8th, they are stuck with their conference bowl affiliations-which means no P5 opponent.

As it stands now for the Sun Belt, these are their Bowl tie-ins:

Highest-ranked champion from the AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW & Sun Belt will play in a New Year’s Six bowl.

The Sun Belt doesn’t have a true pecking order after the champion goes to the New Orleans Bowl. The bowl matchups are based on best possible games and geography.

1. R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl vs. Mountain West

– Dollar General Bowl vs. MAC
– Raycom Media Camellia Bowl vs. MAC
– AutoNation Cure Bowl vs. American Athletic
– NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl vs. Mountain West

This is correct. It’s all or nothing. NY6 or bust. NO Bowl is actually a fun bowl (heck it’s a great city to visit for a football game) and we’d most likely see someone like a 10-2 La Tech or Marshall, fun games for different reasons. But certainly disappointing ending to an almost perfect season IF (a big if) we win out.


However, the same could be said for an FCS natty. It’s all or nothing. The NY6 has essentially become the defacto G5 natty, though some won’t admit it. We could be in the drivers seat for that right now but we couldn’t take care of business in a rivalry game, but hey that’s football. You could win 10 games in an FCS season and be sent home in the first round. So I liken it to that.

If we sneak into the NY6, what an incredible accomplishment. But if we win out and Boise or Cincy gets it over us, so be it. Ending the season in the CFP Top 25 surrounded by names like Texas and Iowa, playing a bowl game in a great city like New Orleans, besting two Carolina P5 teams and winning the Sunbelt would be one hell of a concession prize. And hopefully tons of momentum rolling into 2020.

App State takes home $950k for New Orleans Bowl last year

Looks like a NY6 bowl pays around $6m plus $4m to the conference

https://fanbuzz.com/college-football/bowl-game-payouts/

What does the low level FCS championship in Frisco pay?

Does Money matter?

But we could never be like App! We can only be like Umass or ODU

JMU

JMU would be a great addition to the Sunbelt Conference. It's not too late.

JMU would instantly elevate the conferences athletic and academic standings, raise overall attendance numbers, and resurrect a great rivalry with App.

For JMU, it provides a chance to get out of FBS and prove your worth on a bigger stage. App will never be in the AAC but JMU could. The "not so lowly anymore" Sun Belt Conference can be your stepping stone.

(11-13-2019 10:12 AM)Capt Ed Wrote:  JMU would be a great addition to the Sunbelt Conference. It's not too late.

JMU would instantly elevate the conferences athletic and academic standings, raise overall attendance numbers, and resurrect a great rivalry with App.

For JMU, it provides a chance to get out of FBS and prove your worth on a bigger stage. App will never be in the AAC but JMU could. The "not so lowly anymore" Sun Belt Conference can be your stepping stone.

I don't think the Sun Belt would send an invite at this point. They seem content at 12 teams, and the geography of the conference is still too wide spread for the JMU Admin. I also don't think it would provide a home for all our sports, which might be an issue if the CAA has any resentment to our leaving.

I would certainly love to play App State again. I hated App, but I did/do respect you all (unlike Montana, Richmond, etc).

(11-13-2019 10:50 AM)AssyrianDuke Wrote:  

(11-13-2019 10:12 AM)Capt Ed Wrote:  JMU would be a great addition to the Sunbelt Conference. It's not too late.

JMU would instantly elevate the conferences athletic and academic standings, raise overall attendance numbers, and resurrect a great rivalry with App.

For JMU, it provides a chance to get out of FBS and prove your worth on a bigger stage. App will never be in the AAC but JMU could. The "not so lowly anymore" Sun Belt Conference can be your stepping stone.

I don't think the Sun Belt would send an invite at this point. They seem content at 12 teams, and the geography of the conference is still too wide spread for the JMU Admin. I also don't think it would provide a home for all our sports, which might be an issue if the CAA has any resentment to our leaving.

I would certainly love to play App State again. I hated App, but I did/do respect you all (unlike Montana, Richmond, etc).

While I would welcome joining the SB, I can understand a handful of the arguments. It's always going to be a better geographical fit when you are closer to the center of a conference rather than on the outside edge and we would most definitely be on the edge. Also, I do understand that there are three of our sports which wouldn't have a home in the SB. Sort of a lazy argument, schools all over the country are in this position and manage to place those "unwanted" teams in other conferences as an associate member. Frankly, I find it difficult to believe the CAA wouldn't want to keep those three sports. It wasn't that long ago that Penn State placed one of their teams in the CAA (I think it was MLAX). Too lazy to look it up, but does anyone know if the AAC has a home for all our sports? I sort of doubt it, if they don't that sure hasn't been brought up as a negative with an AAC invite. I have always been opposed to our being in the MAC. That one conference is simply not the right fit for us and I don't believe it would have been even if UMass had of stayed there. We'd be better as an independent in my opinion than with the MAC. I don't mean anything against the MAC it is just not right for JMU.

(11-13-2019 10:50 AM)AssyrianDuke Wrote:  

(11-13-2019 10:12 AM)Capt Ed Wrote:  JMU would be a great addition to the Sunbelt Conference. It's not too late.

JMU would instantly elevate the conferences athletic and academic standings, raise overall attendance numbers, and resurrect a great rivalry with App.

For JMU, it provides a chance to get out of FBS and prove your worth on a bigger stage. App will never be in the AAC but JMU could. The "not so lowly anymore" Sun Belt Conference can be your stepping stone.

I don't think the Sun Belt would send an invite at this point. They seem content at 12 teams, and the geography of the conference is still too wide spread for the JMU Admin. I also don't think it would provide a home for all our sports, which might be an issue if the CAA has any resentment to our leaving.

I would certainly love to play App State again. I hated App, but I did/do respect you all (unlike Montana, Richmond, etc).

Interestingly enough, we are at 10. And if Texas-Arlington decides to move forward with football as they are discussing, they almost assuredly would become #11 and with an obvious spot in the West division.

I’d assume at that point the Sunbelt would look to add an East team to share a place with App, Ga Southern, Coastal, Troy & Ga State.

(11-13-2019 11:18 AM)ah59396 Wrote:  

(11-13-2019 10:50 AM)AssyrianDuke Wrote:  

(11-13-2019 10:12 AM)Capt Ed Wrote:  JMU would be a great addition to the Sunbelt Conference. It's not too late.

JMU would instantly elevate the conferences athletic and academic standings, raise overall attendance numbers, and resurrect a great rivalry with App.

For JMU, it provides a chance to get out of FBS and prove your worth on a bigger stage. App will never be in the AAC but JMU could. The "not so lowly anymore" Sun Belt Conference can be your stepping stone.

I don't think the Sun Belt would send an invite at this point. They seem content at 12 teams, and the geography of the conference is still too wide spread for the JMU Admin. I also don't think it would provide a home for all our sports, which might be an issue if the CAA has any resentment to our leaving.

I would certainly love to play App State again. I hated App, but I did/do respect you all (unlike Montana, Richmond, etc).

Interestingly enough, we are at 10. And if Texas-Arlington decides to move forward with football as they are discussing, they almost assuredly would become #11 and with an obvious spot in the West division.

I’d assume at that point the Sunbelt would look to add an East team to share a place with App, Ga Southern, Coastal, Troy & Ga State.

You're right. I just assumed it was 12 without looking it up.

(11-13-2019 11:17 AM)BleedingPurple Wrote:  Too lazy to look it up, but does anyone know if the AAC has a home for all our sports?

Looking at the list of schools the AAC sponsors, I think the only one missing is Field Hockey.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_A...nce#Sports

(11-13-2019 10:12 AM)Capt Ed Wrote:  JMU would be a great addition to the Sunbelt Conference. It's not too late.

JMU would instantly elevate the conferences athletic and academic standings, raise overall attendance numbers, and resurrect a great rivalry with App.

For JMU, it provides a chance to get out of FBS and prove your worth on a bigger stage. App will never be in the AAC but JMU could. The "not so lowly anymore" Sun Belt Conference can be your stepping stone.

There's a big problem: Travel costs. JMU would be a big outlier regionally. When there's only one school JMU can travel to by bus (4 1/2 hour ride), that's a huge problem.

Anyway, it's a moot point. JMU has expressed it has no interest in the Sun Belt so it isn't happening and I would doubt Sun Belt would extend an invite under any circumstances.

(11-13-2019 11:28 AM)AssyrianDuke Wrote:  

(11-13-2019 11:17 AM)BleedingPurple Wrote:  Too lazy to look it up, but does anyone know if the AAC has a home for all our sports?

Looking at the list of schools the AAC sponsors, I think the only one missing is Field Hockey.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_A...nce#Sports

This is not an insult period or putting down any sport. Conference realignment or fcs/fbs movement should not ever be stopped by an auxiliary sport (you can always typically find a conference for the one off sports). By auxiliary sports I mean anything not Football/W-BBall/M-Ball/Baseball/Softball/W-Soccer/M-Soccer.

(11-13-2019 11:22 AM)AssyrianDuke Wrote:  

(11-13-2019 11:18 AM)ah59396 Wrote:  

(11-13-2019 10:50 AM)AssyrianDuke Wrote:  

(11-13-2019 10:12 AM)Capt Ed Wrote:  JMU would be a great addition to the Sunbelt Conference. It's not too late.

JMU would instantly elevate the conferences athletic and academic standings, raise overall attendance numbers, and resurrect a great rivalry with App.

For JMU, it provides a chance to get out of FBS and prove your worth on a bigger stage. App will never be in the AAC but JMU could. The "not so lowly anymore" Sun Belt Conference can be your stepping stone.

I don't think the Sun Belt would send an invite at this point. They seem content at 12 teams, and the geography of the conference is still too wide spread for the JMU Admin. I also don't think it would provide a home for all our sports, which might be an issue if the CAA has any resentment to our leaving.

I would certainly love to play App State again. I hated App, but I did/do respect you all (unlike Montana, Richmond, etc).

Interestingly enough, we are at 10. And if Texas-Arlington decides to move forward with football as they are discussing, they almost assuredly would become #11 and with an obvious spot in the West division.

I’d assume at that point the Sunbelt would look to add an East team to share a place with App, Ga Southern, Coastal, Troy & Ga State.

You're right. I just assumed it was 12 without looking it up.

Yeah we dropped NMSU and Idaho. Thank god. Nice programs but the travel was not optimal.

Just to further the hypothetical fun, assuming JMU joined the Sunbelt East and had a schedule similar to App these past couple years, you could imagine something like the following:

@UVA
Vs. Richmond
Vs. Marshall/ODU
@Ga State
Vs. App State - ESPN game
@ Coastal Carolina
Vs Louisiana Cajuns
@ Ga Southern - ESPN game
Vs. Troy
@ Va Tech - ESPN game (really if you’re winning at this point they are all on ESPN/2/U)
@ Ark State
Vs. UL Monroe

SB Championship game (we can pretend you win the East and host UL at home on ESPN here)

@ New Orleans for bowl game vs La Tech/Marshall/Southern Miss - ESPN game

Or the ultimate dream, @ Cotton Bowl. - ABC game

(11-13-2019 11:41 AM)ah59396 Wrote:  

(11-13-2019 11:22 AM)AssyrianDuke Wrote:  

(11-13-2019 11:18 AM)ah59396 Wrote:  

(11-13-2019 10:50 AM)AssyrianDuke Wrote:  

(11-13-2019 10:12 AM)Capt Ed Wrote:  JMU would be a great addition to the Sunbelt Conference. It's not too late.

JMU would instantly elevate the conferences athletic and academic standings, raise overall attendance numbers, and resurrect a great rivalry with App.

For JMU, it provides a chance to get out of FBS and prove your worth on a bigger stage. App will never be in the AAC but JMU could. The "not so lowly anymore" Sun Belt Conference can be your stepping stone.

I don't think the Sun Belt would send an invite at this point. They seem content at 12 teams, and the geography of the conference is still too wide spread for the JMU Admin. I also don't think it would provide a home for all our sports, which might be an issue if the CAA has any resentment to our leaving.

I would certainly love to play App State again. I hated App, but I did/do respect you all (unlike Montana, Richmond, etc).

Interestingly enough, we are at 10. And if Texas-Arlington decides to move forward with football as they are discussing, they almost assuredly would become #11 and with an obvious spot in the West division.

I’d assume at that point the Sunbelt would look to add an East team to share a place with App, Ga Southern, Coastal, Troy & Ga State.

You're right. I just assumed it was 12 without looking it up.

Yeah we dropped NMSU and Idaho. Thank god. Nice programs but the travel was not optimal.

Just to further the hypothetical fun, assuming JMU joined the Sunbelt East and had a schedule similar to App these past couple years, you could imagine something like the following:

@UVA
Vs. Richmond
Vs. Marshall/ODU
@Ga State
Vs. App State - ESPN game
@ Coastal Carolina
Vs Louisiana Cajuns
@ Ga Southern - ESPN game
Vs. Troy
@ Va Tech - ESPN game (really if you’re winning at this point they are all on ESPN/2/U)
@ Ark State
Vs. UL Monroe

SB Championship game (we can pretend you win the East and host UL at home on ESPN here)

@ New Orleans for bowl game vs La Tech/Marshall/Southern Miss - ESPN game

Or the ultimate dream, @ Cotton Bowl. - ABC game

Not going to lie, I like that schedule. But I feel like the SBC ship sailed already unfortunately.