(11-14-2023 12:57 PM)Bobcat2013 Wrote:  It will be a good litmus test for the "rivalry" and could change my mind, but I dont have any hope it will be UTSA-TXST like a lot of outsiders seem to think it will be.

UTSA - Texas St. should be a no brainer. Based on proximity alone the rivalry should develop nicely. Likewise, based on proximity and name, Texas St. vs. Texas could become a rivalry, if yall become competitive enough. That would be great for yall and the Sun Belt.

Only time I think a scheduling alliance would work in the G5 world is if you can't fill in your OOC games. If the P5s were to decide tomorrow that they didn't want to play any G5 programs during the course of a regular season, then I could see where such an alliance would be beneficial or if programs like Liberty and NMSU that were Indy last season needed a way to round out their schedule, then I could see it. That is not a slight to CUSA, Liberty, nor NMSU.

For most GS fans likely Liberty would be fine. History between the two goes way back to our starting restarting football. For that reason they fit the Sun Belt brand. At least for the older fan aware of the history.

Liberty should have remained independent and stayed the course. The pressure to continue down the road of transparency and more accountability was significant.

That's gone now with CUSA kissing their rings.

Their entry into the Sun Belt could still be on the table but their conforming to whatever demands is less likely now.

So no there's no reason to associate with CUSA unless it's absolutely necessary.

(11-14-2023 02:33 PM)army56mike Wrote:  

(11-14-2023 12:57 PM)Bobcat2013 Wrote:  It will be a good litmus test for the "rivalry" and could change my mind, but I dont have any hope it will be UTSA-TXST like a lot of outsiders seem to think it will be.

UTSA - Texas St. should be a no brainer. Based on proximity alone the rivalry should develop nicely. Likewise, based on proximity and name, Texas St. vs. Texas could become a rivalry, if yall become competitive enough. That would be great for yall and the Sun Belt.

Will never happen. The CFB dynamic in Texas will never allow it. UT and A&M are on a whole other level in the hierarchy of TX CFB. Even from the other P5s. Even in baseball where we're like .500 against them over the past few seasons they'll never see us as anywhere close to their level to warrant it ever being called a rivalry. We missed our window to beat them in basketball as well. Of course they end up back on our schedule as we are on a downswing and they're returning to form.

Only if you omit Loser Tech, and only basketball.

No way Jose! We need not have any alliance with coosa. Plain and simple. We are SBC!

(11-13-2023 10:39 PM)army56mike Wrote:  A Troy fan came over to the CUSA board talking about a CUSA & Sun Belt merger or at least a scheduling alliance.

What do you think? I thought a first week of the season conference challenge would actually be a great idea. It would give the winning conference bragging rights for the whole season right out of the gate and it would all be settled on the field rather than on the message boards. You can schedule a couple different ways. First, match the predicted strongest teams to play each other and the weaker teams to play each other. This would help SOS for the top teams and provide winnable games for the weaker teams. It can be based on the previous years conference/season records. Second, play in-state teams, or near teams, as much as possible.
Have a trophy that goes to the winning conference and they keep it for the year.

Could you imagine the bragging rights of the winning conference for the rest of the season if these games were played Labor Day weekend, the opening weekend of the football season….

THURSDAY - 4 SEP - 2025
*UMass @ Coastal Carolina 6:00 pm
La. Monroe @ New Mexico St. 8:00 pm

FRIDAY - 5 SEP - 2025
ODU @ *Delaware 6:00 pm
Sammy @ Texas St. 8:00 pm

SATURDAY - 6 SEP - 2025
*Missouri St. @ Arkansas St. 12:00 pm
Troy @ Jax St. 1:00 pm
Kenny @ Georgia St. 3:00 pm
Marshall @ *EKU 4:00 pm
WKU @ App St. 7:00 pm
JMU @ Liberty 8:00 pm

SUNDAY - 7 SEP - 2025
MTSU @ S. Alabama 6:00 pm
S. Miss @ UTEP 8:00 pm

MON - 8 SEP - 2025 (Labor Day)
La. Tech @ Louisiana 3:00 pm
Ga. Southern @ FIU 6:00 pm

* I added four teams that CUSA can expand with to even out the number of teams in both conferences. Please don’t get wrapped around the teams listed. Half of them are hypothetical.

Thought since one of yours came for friendly conversation and common ground to the CUSA board, I would do the same here.

Stay on the coosa board please. We don't need this BS!

(11-14-2023 03:57 PM)JoeJag Wrote:  

(11-13-2023 10:39 PM)army56mike Wrote:  A Troy fan came over to the CUSA board talking about a CUSA & Sun Belt merger or at least a scheduling alliance.

What do you think? I thought a first week of the season conference challenge would actually be a great idea. It would give the winning conference bragging rights for the whole season right out of the gate and it would all be settled on the field rather than on the message boards. You can schedule a couple different ways. First, match the predicted strongest teams to play each other and the weaker teams to play each other. This would help SOS for the top teams and provide winnable games for the weaker teams. It can be based on the previous years conference/season records. Second, play in-state teams, or near teams, as much as possible.
Have a trophy that goes to the winning conference and they keep it for the year.

Could you imagine the bragging rights of the winning conference for the rest of the season if these games were played Labor Day weekend, the opening weekend of the football season….

THURSDAY - 4 SEP - 2025
*UMass @ Coastal Carolina 6:00 pm
La. Monroe @ New Mexico St. 8:00 pm

FRIDAY - 5 SEP - 2025
ODU @ *Delaware 6:00 pm
Sammy @ Texas St. 8:00 pm

SATURDAY - 6 SEP - 2025
*Missouri St. @ Arkansas St. 12:00 pm
Troy @ Jax St. 1:00 pm
Kenny @ Georgia St. 3:00 pm
Marshall @ *EKU 4:00 pm
WKU @ App St. 7:00 pm
JMU @ Liberty 8:00 pm

SUNDAY - 7 SEP - 2025
MTSU @ S. Alabama 6:00 pm
S. Miss @ UTEP 8:00 pm

MON - 8 SEP - 2025 (Labor Day)
La. Tech @ Louisiana 3:00 pm
Ga. Southern @ FIU 6:00 pm

* I added four teams that CUSA can expand with to even out the number of teams in both conferences. Please don’t get wrapped around the teams listed. Half of them are hypothetical.

Thought since one of yours came for friendly conversation and common ground to the CUSA board, I would do the same here.

Stay on the coosa board please. We don't need this BS!

I mean the poster is coming in peace and just providing discussion we don't need to send them back if they're not being rude.

I strongly agree with not being rude but strongly disagree with a scheduling alliance.

I wouldn’t trade a P5 game or a game with meaningful history like ECU or a FCS warm up game for annual games with cusa.

I’d do a basketball alliance with CUSA, football? No

I'm sure if Louisiana Tech ever wanted to "lower themselves" to play stAte in any sport we'd still do it. Same for MTSU and WKU.

Arkansas has finally done it - so why don't these schools? Separation?

(11-13-2023 10:39 PM)army56mike Wrote:  A Troy fan came over to the CUSA board talking about a CUSA & Sun Belt merger or at least a scheduling alliance.

What do you think? I thought a first week of the season conference

SATURDAY - 6 SEP - 2025
*Missouri St. @ Arkansas St. 12:00 pm
Troy @ Jax St. 1:00 pm
Kenny @ Georgia St. 3:00 pm
Marshall @ *EKU 4:00 pm
WKU @ App St. 7:00 pm
JMU @ Liberty 8:00 pm

AState opens with SEMO. They are 80 miles closer.

That specific date AState plays Arkansas in Little Rock, the first ever meeting.

The next week hosts Iowa State.

AState long wanted Missouri State in the Sun Belt but post-expansion that’s died.

We tried to schedule WKU and MTSU to no avail after they left. La Tech is low priority we go to Monroe every other year, how much more exposure do we need in NE Louisiana?

(11-14-2023 05:18 PM)Bleed Green Wrote:  I strongly agree with not being rude but strongly disagree with a scheduling alliance.

I wouldn’t trade a P5 game or a game with meaningful history like ECU or a FCS warm up game for annual games with cusa.

I mean..technically, CDOA is the same as a warm up game..

(11-14-2023 05:18 PM)Bleed Green Wrote:  I strongly agree with not being rude but strongly disagree with a scheduling alliance.

I wouldn’t trade a P5 game or a game with meaningful history like ECU or a FCS warm up game for annual games with cusa.

I think our fan base is perfectly happy playing ECU, VaTech and Ohio U and then an East Coast P5.

(11-13-2023 11:28 PM)rileylives Wrote:  You're not going to get any fans of Marshall, Southern Miss or ODU on board with any collaboration whatsoever with Conference USA.

Amen to that!

Then our AD goes and schedules Kennesaw State. FFS our athletic director and university just keeps crapping on the fans.

Wouldn't mind MTSU football...close drive. A CUSA challenge in BB to rotate with the MAC would be OK. That should help with clearing our schedules of non D1 teams.

YEAH, LET'S SCHEDULE AN OOC GAME AT UTEP IN FOOTBALL. SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT IDEA!

Lol, who comes up with this garbage?!

(11-15-2023 12:48 PM)OsageJ Wrote:  Wouldn't mind MTSU football...close drive. A CUSA challenge in BB to rotate with the MAC would be OK. That should help with clearing our schedules of non D1 teams.

Mohajir wanted to play them and couldn't calls returned. They may be more willing these days.

Thing about these sorts of proposals is they lack an organic basis. Someone or several someones end up with games they would NEVER bother to schedule if left to their own devices. You get four dates to schedule who you want to schedule. Not enthusiastic about cutting that to three even though I wouldn't be surprised if we eventually migrate to a nine game schedule down the road depending on how realignment shocks eventually play out with the P4 growing so large.