Coach Bill Lewis

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Something in there is very weird. http://businessofcollegesports.com/2012/...lass-rank/ View the full article

http://espn.go.com/college-football/stor...ight-teams "Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson sees positives in the recently announced four-team college football playoff, but said Tuesday he believes it will expand to eight teams sooner rather than later. "I know we're saying four teams for 12 years," Thompson said. "But I don't see it as a four-team playoff for 12 years. I just don't see it. If there is success with four, I think we will go to what is most ideal, which is eight. That would double the access points." ... View the full article

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Mean Green have a lot of talent returning. https://admin.xosn.com/pdf8/849133.pdf?&...EM_ID=1800 View the full article

Quote:The common denominator in all these athletics-charged towns is they all give their fans plenty of opportunity to pay attention. To become attached to players and coaches. To fully indulge themselves in a pro sports culture. The University of North Texas sits some 40 miles northwest of Dallas, home to the NFL's Cowboys, the NBA's Mavericks, the NHL's Stars and, to an extent, MLB's Rangers. Dallas is one of the 12 to have them all. North Texas is one of the many colleges that has to compete in a pro market. "It's tough," said Brett Vitto, the North Texas beat writer for the Denton Record-Chronicle newspaper. "Say on a weekend during football season, you have the Cowboys playing at home and then the Texans play a home game down in Houston. And Texas plays, Texas A&M plays, Texas Tech plays. The Mavs have a home game. The Stars play at home... Huntington Herald Dispatch View the full article

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http://www.herdzone.com/sports/m-baskbl/...12aaa.html A budding rivalry in green with the 49ers, perhaps? "Sure," Herrion said. "I think among four teams, East Carolina, Charlotte, Old Dominion and us, the potential is there to create some compelling games, some rivalries, games that fans of those schools will want to see." "ODU is a wonderful addition," Herrion said. "Great tradition, a real track record of success and not just under (Coach Blaine Taylor), but back through the years (11 NCAA bids since 1980, after a 1975 Division II national title under Coach Sonny Allen, the former Marshall guard and Moundsville native). "Charlotte has been really good before and has been in the conference before (10 seasons, from C-USA founding in 1995-96 through 2004-05). It's a nice campus and they've got tradition, reached the NCAA a bunch (seven bids in 10 C-USA seasons). "Those are good markets for the conference, too. ODU is well-supported with a good fan base, and has (Norfolk, Va.) one of the most-populous cities in the country without a pro team. I don't know if a lot of people know really how good that program is." Herrion said a scheduling format for a 14-team basketball group hasn't been devised, but said models for Conference USA to follow will be out there from the SEC (14 teams this coming season) and the ACC. The ACC already has announced its hoops scheduling format for when expansionists Pitt and Syracuse join the conference. Each team has one primary scheduling partner. Over a three-year cycle, teams will play the other 12 foes at least once with the primary partners playing home and away annually while the other 12 rotate in groups of four: one year both home and away; one year at home only; and one year away only. Over the course of the three-year cycle, primary partners play six times and other conference opponents play four times. . View the full article

There is one coach in the country who truly knows what it is like to be a part of a disjointed conference. Just consult Google. For Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes to get from Ruston, La., to a WAC game in Hawaii, he needs 15 days, and a sturdy kayak to get him 2,756 miles across the Pacific. Quick pause while you consult Google Maps. Airline travel obviously alleviates the need for a kayak, but you get the point. Louisiana Tech has experienced what teams such as West Virginia, Boise State, San Diego State and Missouri are about to go through as they enter new conferences with tumbleweeds as neighbors. During the recently completed football season, New Mexico State was the closest WAC road game for the Bulldogs, at 935 miles. The average distance between Louisiana Tech and its seven conference rivals in 2011? That would be 1,812 miles. more http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_...onal-model View the full article

North Texas #77 http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college/ TO DATE: SUN BELT #77 North Texas (to CUSA 2013) #90 ULM #108 Troy #113 Middle Tennessee #117 FAU CUSA #82 East Carolina #97 Rice #107 UTEP #112 Memphis (to Big East '13) #114 UAB #116 Tulane MWC #79 Nevada #81 Hawaii #105 Colorado State #109 Fresno State #118 UNLV #120 New Mexico MAC #80 E. Michigan #86 Ball State #89 Kent State #91 Bowling Green #106 Miami (O) #110 C. Michigan #115 Buffalo #119 Akron WAC #100 New Mexico State #102 Idaho View the full article

The Bulldogs' football team, likely members of the West Division, could avoid all three of its new league's longest trips (East Carolina, Florida International and Old Dominion) depending on how scheduling pans out. Van De Velde foresees a potential $150,000 to $250,000 reduction in travel costs when the Bulldogs and Lady Techsters join C-USA for competition in the fall of 2013 — those savings on top of about $100,000 he and Tech hope to see next academic year because of membership changes within the WAC. "We don't know right now exactly because we're still budgeting for next year with the existing WAC membership," the athletic director said. "But we can already see some savings even in the reconfigured WAC. With teams like Nevada, Fresno State and Hawaii on their way out and Texas-Arlington, Texas-State and Texas-San Antonio coming in, it will certainly affect our travel budgets, and the following year we'll realize even more benefits. http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20120.../205270312 View the full article

CONFERENCE USA'S 2013-15 re-invention is long on larger television markets, short on football tradition. The newcomers won't have respect handed to them. The six new schools had a combined 2011 record of 35-26, which means zilch. From highest to lowest, we have Old Dominion 10-3, Florida International and Louisiana Tech 8-5, North Texas 5-7 and Texas-San Antonio 4-6. No meaning there, especially when ODU and UTSA were playing in the classification formerly known as I-AA. And then there was the 2011 record at North Carolina-Charlotte - 0-0. Betcha it will be 0-0 this fall, too. And that makes the 49ers the most interesting case of C-USA's third rendition. Their inclusion doesn't give C-USA much respect nationally, but that isn't the point here. http://www.wvgazette.com/Sports/Marshall/201205270119 View the full article

How sweet is this? I love it. View the full article

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