(01-15-2022 12:53 PM)KickItToScotty Wrote:  ECU is one that would be worth adding if that opportunity ever comes along. They've sucked in football for a while now, but still have very good fan support and that would obviously only get better if they turn it around on the field(which it looks like they're starting to). Would instantly be a solid rival to most of the SBC East.

Not sure who I'd say would be an ideal but realistic 16th. It'll probably be a while before there's any chance it actually matters though and at that point hopefully we aren't also looking at losing any of our 14. If we are though, it's a strong enough 14 that it can still be strong even if losing a couple. Regardless we've got 14 to be very happy about. Still always fun to think about what changes could be down the road though, some of us on here wouldn't know what to do with ourselves otherwise

Besides the school being tied to Marshall though Nov 14th 1970 there is nothing I feel for ECU or especially the people who root for them. Most of their fan base sees themselves as even to good for the AAC, what do you think they would feel if they so happened to be "bumped down" to the Sun Belt. The only fan base Ive seen more delusional is in Morgantown WV.

Don't need that kinda of vibe in or around us.

(01-15-2022 12:18 PM)HerdZoned Wrote:  Why the @!$ do we need any of those schools. Sorry but ECU has been looking for that brass ring for 30 years and still hasn't got to the bottom of the cereal box to get it.

Tulane are you kidding me. Besides 1999 what the frig have they ever done. They have had count them, 3 winning seasons since then. Do I have to have them or you for that fact to go to New Orleans. Ive been to New Orleans many times, not one of them did I say lets go tour the Tulane Campus.

May I remind you the people that tried to shut UAB football down are all still in place, enough said.

South Florida besides their #2 fraudulent ranking in the early 2000s what else has this program ever done. Their last winning season was 2018 when they went 7-6 and lost the last 6 games in a row with a bowl loss to Marshall.

Temple, no thanks I don't want or need a dumpster fire that is the only school to be kicked out of a major conference.

If the American happens to lose 3 maybe even 4 members (Memphis, SMU to B12, Tulsa and maybe someone else to the MWC) I hope this conference sticks together and tells the others in the leftover AACUSA to go pound sand.

Thank you.

(01-15-2022 01:24 PM)HerdZoned Wrote:  

(01-15-2022 12:53 PM)KickItToScotty Wrote:  ECU is one that would be worth adding if that opportunity ever comes along. They've sucked in football for a while now, but still have very good fan support and that would obviously only get better if they turn it around on the field(which it looks like they're starting to). Would instantly be a solid rival to most of the SBC East.

Not sure who I'd say would be an ideal but realistic 16th. It'll probably be a while before there's any chance it actually matters though and at that point hopefully we aren't also looking at losing any of our 14. If we are though, it's a strong enough 14 that it can still be strong even if losing a couple. Regardless we've got 14 to be very happy about. Still always fun to think about what changes could be down the road though, some of us on here wouldn't know what to do with ourselves otherwise

Besides the school being tied to Marshall though Nov 14th 1970 there is nothing I feel for ECU or especially the people who root for them. Most of their fan base sees themselves as even to good for the AAC, what do you think they would feel if they so happened to be "bumped down" to the Sun Belt. The only fan base Ive seen more delusional is in Morgantown WV.

Don't need that kinda of vibe in or around us.

I see that more as something that would make them easy to hate and would add another good rivalry to the east. You do have a point though that they don't really fit the rest of the Sun Belt in that regard, no one really acts like they're too good for the others here and whenever someone acts a bit like one of the others isn't good enough for the rest that gets shot down hard. I hate ODU and App State but if we're all being completely honest instead of fun trash talk I don't think any of us feel like the other is lucky to share a conference with us and we're completely above them or anything. A good percentage of ECU fans probably would feel that way about conference mates here.

On the other hand they care about sports(especially football), they very much fit the SBC East footprint, they bring viewers/attendance, and they'd add to the regional rivalries of the Sun Belt. We'll see if this ever even becomes relevant, I'd enjoy having them but I'm extremely happy with the 14 we have and won't really care if the Pirates go down with the AAC marketz ship instead of getting a Sun Belt invite.

(01-15-2022 12:18 PM)HerdZoned Wrote:  If the American happens to lose 3 maybe even 4 members (Memphis, SMU to B12, Tulsa and maybe someone else to the MWC) I hope this conference sticks together and tells the others in the leftover AACUSA to go pound sand.

Word. Aside from the chance to put Tulane back in its place after getting our butts kicked these last 2 meetings, I don’t care if we ever see any of those schools again. If we weren’t good enough to be invited to your party, then kindly go have relations with yourself.

I think ECU would be in the SBC right now if it weren’t for the $7M a year. Once it runs out they prob want to be here. They’re on an island there.

ECU East
UTSA west

I’d be ok with that.

I’d still like USF for Florida trip and recruiting.


Sorry to pies everyone off with the ULM comment. I know they’ve been here since the beginning.
I hope they do well and we can all grow.

(01-17-2022 05:47 PM)ThunderDent Wrote:  I think ECU would be in the SBC right now if it weren’t for the $7M a year. Once it runs out they prob want to be here. They’re on an island there.

ECU East
UTSA west

I’d be ok with that.

I’d still like USF for Florida trip and recruiting.


Sorry to pies everyone off with the ULM comment. I know they’ve been here since the beginning.
I hope they do well and we can all grow.

Dude one of the main reasons we left CUSA is because all the damn Texas schools. No way Marshall and ODU would go for adding UTSA

(01-17-2022 05:47 PM)ThunderDent Wrote:  I think ECU would be in the SBC right now if it weren’t for the $7M a year. Once it runs out they prob want to be here. They’re on an island there.

ECU East
UTSA west

I’d be ok with that.

I’d still like USF for Florida trip and recruiting.


Sorry to pies everyone off with the ULM comment. I know they’ve been here since the beginning.
I hope they do well and we can all grow.

A lot of Marshall fans list FL schools for recruiting reasons, but if you're the only ones that want it then it should be OOC games scheduled.

(01-18-2022 01:04 PM)Luckyshot Wrote:  A lot of Marshall fans list FL schools for recruiting reasons, but if you're the only ones that want it then it should be OOC games scheduled.

If you need to be in a state so badly for recruiting purposes, schedule a regular OOC series with schools in that state. Florida has 7 FBS schools to choose from.

(01-20-2022 10:29 AM)APPdiesel Wrote:  

(01-18-2022 01:04 PM)Luckyshot Wrote:  A lot of Marshall fans list FL schools for recruiting reasons, but if you're the only ones that want it then it should be OOC games scheduled.

If you need to be in a state so badly for recruiting purposes, schedule a regular OOC series with schools in that state. Florida has 7 FBS schools to choose from.

I don't get the "we need a Florida school" mantra.

(01-20-2022 11:00 AM)GreenBison Wrote:  I don't get the "we need a Florida school" mantra.

Never understood this either. Most players commit to the coach and not the conference or region. Why do you think most programs have a high attrition rate when you have a coaching change.

The number of schools in a conference is limited like the number of blades on a safety razor. The normal limit exists until someone exceeds it and creates a new normal. So let’s not be limited to 16 or 18. I would vote for adding ECU and Charlotte one day. They would really shore up the center of the east division.

MTSU, WKU are good targets for the west.

More schools allows us to get creative with scheduling and really cultivate a cultural niche. Maybe we could do mid season tournament for part of our regular season conference basketball format. Maybe make the last two weeks of football season open to schedule a four team tournament format for the conference championship.

Let the AAC schools travel across three time zones to get to games. We can grow right where we are.

(01-20-2022 11:49 AM)HerdZoned Wrote:  

(01-20-2022 11:00 AM)GreenBison Wrote:  I don't get the "we need a Florida school" mantra.

Never understood this either. Most players commit to the coach and not the conference or region. Why do you think most programs have a high attrition rate when you have a coaching change.

Growing the conference because of recruiting doesn’t make sense. We need to energize fans, students and the local community - not whatever FIU is offering.

Just watch a few A10 games and it’s clear they have the magic formula. They are a bunch of small schools with middling name recognition but there are sellouts at almost every game and really competitive play. That’s what gets them good ratings. The 2005-2012 CAA had this at times.

I’d be down with WKU in the West and ECU in the East. Again, in the event we go to 16.

Growth for growth's sake has it's pitfalls. At 16 or 18 you basically have two conferences sharing a name. What's the upside for a G5? At that point you might as well split, if you can preserve your tourney autobids, etc. The travel would be less, the payouts would be higher.

I'm not advocating that. I'm just saying you have to be careful what you wish for and have an end game in mind.

(01-20-2022 02:56 PM)Maryland Monarch Wrote:  Growth for growth's sake has it's pitfalls. At 16 or 18 you basically have two conferences sharing a name. What's the upside for a G5? At that point you might as well split, if you can preserve your tourney autobids, etc. The travel would be less, the payouts would be higher.

I'm not advocating that. I'm just saying you have to be careful what you wish for and have an end game in mind.

I think anything above the 14 that we have would be overkill, and might as well split the conference, which Im not for or advocating for. A 16 team conference might work at the P5 level where they are raking in millions due to TV contracts, not so much at our level, just two more mouths to feed on the welfare check we get.

(01-20-2022 09:13 PM)HerdZoned Wrote:  

(01-20-2022 02:56 PM)Maryland Monarch Wrote:  Growth for growth's sake has it's pitfalls. At 16 or 18 you basically have two conferences sharing a name. What's the upside for a G5? At that point you might as well split, if you can preserve your tourney autobids, etc. The travel would be less, the payouts would be higher.

I'm not advocating that. I'm just saying you have to be careful what you wish for and have an end game in mind.

I think anything above the 14 that we have would be overkill, and might as well split the conference, which Im not for or advocating for. A 16 team conference might work at the P5 level where they are raking in millions due to TV contracts, not so much at our level, just two more mouths to feed on the welfare check we get.

I agree 100%.