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  1. DENTON The football has never been in the air on Saturdays as much as it has been in todays college game. In 2000, just one college team passed for 4,000 yards and only 17 amassed as many as 3,000 yards. That was before the explosion of spread offenses. Teams now fan out three, four and five receivers across the formation and throw, throw, throw. There were 58 teams that passed for 3,000 yards in 2013, 14 of which passed for 4,000 yards and two that hit 5,000 yards. College football has become a game of finesse. Its become fast-break basketball on turf. But not at Michigan State. The Spartans major in physical football. They run it on offense and smash you in the mouth on defense. Despite finishing 82nd in the NCAA in passing, the Spartans won both a Big Ten title and Rose Bowl and claimed a No. 3 final ranking. Stanford also majors in physical football. The Cardinal run it on offense and smash you in the mouth on defense. Despite finishing 92nd in the NCAA in passing, Stanford won a Pac-12 title and claimed a No. 11 final ranking. Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/columnists/rick-gosselin/20140818-gosselin-old-school-approach-does-big-things-for-unt-aka-the-stanford-of-c-usa.ece
  2. The best part about recapping last season for the University of North Texas is there are only four losses to digest for the entire season. Even better only one was by double digits, to a Georgia team that was supposed to contend for the SEC West title until half the team apparently contracted the Ebola virus. That game also featured a Mean Green punt block that tied the game in the third. Oh, you want to see another highlight from that game? How about a Brelan Chancellor 99-yard kickoff return??? So yes, even though moral victories are like hooking up with your crush's sister, there were a ton of positives from that game. Read more: http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2014/8/11/5990897/unts-worst-loss-of-2013-unt-becomes-road-head-for-runners
  3. With all the talk regarding the future landscape of college football and what that may mean for Conference USA, one thing is for certain — the conference survived realignment and is fairly sturdy at the present day. Beyond that is anyone’s guess, but the stability falls on the shoulders of C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky and his ability to replace the three most recent departing schools with quality programs that offer the same amount of upside. “That’s our last piece of the realignment puzzle, which makes me very happy because realignment was a very taxing and challenging thing for all of us,” Banowsky said last week at Conference USA Media Day in Dallas. “It’s nice to put all the pieces together and get in a position to move the conference forward.” ---- Thanks to coaches like Texas San-Antonio’s Larry Coker, Rice’s David Bailiff, North Texas’ Dan McCarney, Middle Tennessee’s Rick Stockstill and Marshall’s Doc Holliday, along with some new faces at FAU, UAB and Western Kentucky, the conference is still earning respect. read more: http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20140730/SPORTS/307300038/C-USA-holding-tight-additions-WKU-ODU-Charlotte
  4. BTW - if you didn't know, we are playing UAB this season.... The Blazer offense will be an improved group and could approach putting up 30 ppg. The defense is another story, as they were so bad last year that even if the improve, they will still probably allow 35+ ppg. The Schedule is tough with their tough, with North Texas, La Tech and Marshall at home, while having to travel to MTSU, FAU and WKU, in the conference and Miss State and Arkansas out of the conference. They should bag wins vs FIU and Alabama A&M at home, which means the only way they get to 3 wins will be by beating Southern Miss on the road to end the year. This is an improved team, but it will not show up in their record. KEY TREND: 1-7 ATS on the road vs a .500 or better opponent. Read more: http://pregame.com/sports/stories/b/news/archive/2014/07/28/uab-blazers-2014-football-schedule-amp-preview.aspx
  5. While Marshall was predicted in the preseason poll to coast through the East Division and finish first, the coaches thought much differently of the West Division with North Texas edging defending champion Rice, 66 points to 65. Texas San-Antonio was a close third with 62 points as Tech (38), Southern Miss (24) and UTEP (18) accounted for the bottom three slots. “I think there’s great balance, and the difference between winning and losing can be a play or can be an injury,” Holtz said at Conference USA Media Day last week. “That’s why one of the things that’s going to go a long way in determining the team that wins this league is the team that can stay healthy and the team that can make some plays down the stretch in some close football games because you’re going to have them.” As many of the coaches pointed out, preseason rankings don’t mean much. Tulsa, which is now in the American Athletic Conference, was picked to win the west last season before finishing in last place at 3-9. Read more: http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20140729/SPORTS/307290039/Wide-Open-West-Parity-litters-half-Conference-USA-no-clear-favorite
  6. It’s taken all the negotiating skills of Henry Kissinger for Conference USA to survive the chaotic realignment process that recently caused a seismic upheaval in college athletics. But who would have thought that nearly three years after more powerful conferences began feasting upon those with fewer resources that C-USA would improve its football TV profile and stabilize its postseason bowl contracts? That’s exactly what C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky has managed to do for his oft-maligned, far-flung league. For that, Banowsky probably hasn’t received enough recognition. Banowsky led an aggressive expansion process that added nine new members, including Old Dominion. Even shorn of some of its best football programs, Banowsky negotiated a TV deal this summer that nearly doubled the number of conferences games on the tube. And he managed to sign 10-year agreements with ten football bowl games that guarantees C-USA at least five postseason bids per season. Eleven of ODU’s 12 games this season will be on television, and when the Monarchs are ready for prime time, there will be bowl game opportunities. ODU president John Broderick, who had the final call when the school decided in 2012 to leave the Colonial Athletic Association for C-USA, said Banowsky had much to do with the decision. “When we were in the process of discussing our future, talking with people from around the country, his name kept coming up,” Broderick said. “We heard from a lot of people that he was really a quality commissioner. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2014/07/cusa-has-benefitted-banowskys-leadership
  7. C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky has confirmed what we had been hearing for a while, that the C-USA champion will get first pick among the conferences bowls. Now, thats if the conference champ isnt the Group of Five pick for the College Football Playoff access bowls, as a few pundits have picked Marshall to be this season. Now that C-USAs relationship with the Liberty Bowl is over, the conference is giving the champ its choice. Here are the contenders: Bahamas vs. Mid-American on Dec. 24 in Nassau, Bahamas Boca Raton vs. Mid-American on Dec. 23 in Boca Raton, Fla. New Mexico vs. Mountain West on Dec. 20 in Albuquerque, N.M. Heart of Dallas vs. Big Ten on Dec. 26 in Dallas, Texas Hawaii vs. Mountain West on Dec. 24 in Honolulu, Hi. Read more: http://blogs.charlestondailymail.com/marshall/2014/07/24/for-this-years-bowls-its-c-usa-champions-choice/
  8. "Let's firm up our financial foundation, build our fan base and position ourselves for a bigger future. Our aspiration, let me clear, is to play at the highest level of Division-I athletics in the very best conference that we can play in and it remains to be seen where that is." "I'm going to be working everyday and everybody on this campus, I think certainly in the athletic department, will be working everyday to build a championship program in Conference USA while we're in it, while positioning ourselves for success beyond Conference USA." Read more: http://www.wdam.com/story/26122225/southern-miss-ad-bill-mcgillis-speaks-on-programs-future-with-conference-usa
  9. In the new system, a mid-major team simply needs to be ranked higher than any team in the other mid-major conferences. "It's more open now," Banowsky said. "In the BCS, we could get a team in, but not only would they have to be our champion and be better than all the other champions, but it would have to be ranked in a certain place in the top-12 or top-16 and ranked above the other champions. With this, the best of our (mid-major) champions is in automatic. We need to find out a way to get a team to run the table, have a great season and be better than teams in our other peer conferences." As for a Cinderella bid in the College Football Playoff, Hancock said the door is still open if a mid-major team has a very strong resume. But that would likely mean a combination of an undefeated record and a challenging schedule. "Absolutely, it's open because there is no automatic qualification (in the College Football Playoff)," Hancock said. "It's wide open. Their opportunity is significant." Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2014/07/24/undefeated-c-usa-team-maybe-not-enough-for-playoff-spot/13099055/
  10. Conference USA has seen schools come and go, but only one football program has been there throughout its 20 years and been a consistent winner – Southern Miss. Before the last two seasons of 1-23 football, USM ran off a string of 18 consecutive winnings, 16 of them coming in C-USA. That's why Southern Miss tops this C-USA Top 5, which ranks the top football programs in league history. USM has had its recent struggles, but top programs such as Louisville and East Carolina have also had miserable seasons in C-USA. Louisville went 1-10 in 1997 and ECU went a combined 3-20 from 2003-04. TCU comes up short of making it in this top five because its stint in C-USA was so short (2001-04) and included two great seasons in 2002 and 2003 (a combined 21-4 in that stretch) framed by 6-6 and 5-6 campaigns. read more: http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/27/5716649/c-usa-top-5-southern-miss-is-top.html?sp=/99/228/ Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2014/07/27/5716649/c-usa-top-5-southern-miss-is-top.html?sp=/99/228/#storylink=cpy
  11. IRVING, Texas -- Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky knows at least one thing won't change with autonomy for the five power conferences to make their own bylaws. "There's been a differentiator whether you call them BCS, non-BCS," Banowsky said Wednesday. "I'm not naive to think that there won't be some continued differentiation." Asked then what he'd like C-USA and similar NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision leagues to be called moving forward, Banowsky said, "Call us the second five, and note there's 32 (conferences)." Regardless of whatever labels and differences there are, Banowsky expects that "second five" leagues to be able to co-exist in major football like they always have with the big-money conferences -- the SEC, Big 12, Pac-12, ACC and Big Ten. "Our five conferences and their five conferences have a lot of history together, and we've always found a way to get in a room and to be good listeners and work it out," Banowsky said Wednesday during C-USA football media day. "I also think having 60 schools together is just not enough for them to be able to have a base from which to operate. You need a bigger base." read more:http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11255364/c-usa-britton-banowsky-says-second-5-conferences-relevant
  12. IRVING — North Texas coach Dan McCarney on Wednesday discussed one of his most painful memories from last fall. A home loss to UTSA. The topic came up innocently enough at Conference USA media day when a reporter suggested that any one of six teams in the West could win the division this fall. “I don’t think there’s any doubt,” McCarney said. ”Who was saying anything about North Texas last year? Except, ‘We can’t wait to play ‘em and kick their ass.’ Everybody (was saying that). It’s the way it was, and we won nine games. “So, who knows who that next (upstart team) is going to be? We don’t want it at our expense, but as I mentioned earlier, the quality of the coaches in this conference … it’s a great lineup. So I think there’s going to be tremendous competition.” Read more: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/utsa/2014/07/north-texas-mccarney-suggests-that-c-usa-west-race-is-wide-open/
  13. Conference realignment is over for now, but college athletics face major changes in the next few years, Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky said. Old Dominion was among the last schools to move up to the Football Bowl Subdivision from the Football Championship Subdivision when it joined C-USA two years ago. Speaking at media day this week, Banowsky said his conference is set with 14 members and he doesn't foresee expansion for years. That's bad news for FCS schools considering a move, such as Liberty and James Madison. College administrators have turned their attention to potentially seismic changes in the governance of sports. The NCAA likely will grant the five power conferences, including the ACC and SEC, more autonomy early next year. The amateur nature of college sports is being challenged in the courts and the disparity of revenues between the power conferences and mid-major leagues, such as Conference USA, continues to grow. "I believe we're transitioning from a time of conference realignment to system realignment," Banowsky said during a 40-minute discussion with reporters. Excerpts of that conversation: Q: In the last two years, Conference USA has lost seven schools and added nine. Is conference realignment over? A: "I believe it is for now. The realignment seas are pretty calm. Not only was it very taxing, people learned better ways to create legal structures that pulled associations together, whether it was a formal assignment of TV rights like the Big 12 did or what the ACC did" in requiring a $50 million exit fee. "The idea that being a member of an athletic conference is like you're a member of a country club that you can basically leave, that probably wasn't the best model for college athletics." Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2014/07/cusa-chief-athletics-are-facing-big-changes
  14. UNT coach Dan McCarney was a popular guy at Conference USA media day this week. He took a minute or two to shoot a video with me. We talked a little about the upcoming season and where the Mean Green is at as the beginning of two-a-days on Aug. 5 looms. I wrote a story and a notebook for today’s paper on what went down at media day. The big topic of the day was the changing landscape in college athletics and full cost of attendance scholarships. Conference USA will go in that direction, one that will provide players more money to live than they have in the past. That issue ties in with the top five conferences in college football potentially being granted autonomy from the rest of the schools in college athletics. It’s going to happen — likely in a couple of weeks. We covered both topics in today’s main story. Read more and video here: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2014/07/mgb-video-mccarney-talks-about-season-at-c-usa-media-day-notes.html/
  15. The BCS is history, and at its June meeting, C-USA university presidents gave the OK to a tweaked tiebreaker formula for the football championship site selection. Its similar to what another Group of Five conference the Mountain West will utilize for the same purposes: 1. Highest regular-season winning percentage based on overall C-USA play. 2. If tied, head-to-head between tied teams. 3. If still tied, the most recent College Football Playoff Selection Committee poll will be used if one team or both teams are ranked. 4. If still tied, highest average computer ranking (computed after eliminating the highest and lowest rankings; then averaging the four remaining rankings). Those six computer rankings are the same ones the former BCS utilized Sagarin, Massey, Billingsley, Colley, Wolfe and Anderson/Hester. Point No. 3 could be crucial if Marshall plays up to preseason expectations, because the Herd could find itself in those CFP top 25 polls that make their debut Oct. 28 for the first of seven weeks. Read more: http://www.herdzone.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/072214aaa.html
  16. IRVING — At this time a year ago, North Texas felt pretty secure when it came to a few aspects of its team. Linebacker Zach Orr, running back Brandin Byrd and wide receiver Brelan Chancellor all seemed to be locks to start. And while Derek Thompson didn’t nail down the starting quarterback job until right before the Mean Green’s season opener, he had two years of experience as a starter under his belt heading into his senior year. UNT will have a little less certainty when it opens fall practice Aug. 5 in advance of its Aug. 30 season opener at Texas, especially at skill positions. What coach Dan McCarney and his players have come to believe over the last few weeks is that while UNT doesn’t have as many proven commodities, it does have several options at a few key positions and players who are growing into their new roles. That is true both on the field and off it. “Every year you have guys who graduate and leave,” senior linebacker Derek Akunne said at Conference USA’s annual media day on Wednesday at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Marriott. “It’s a new team every year. There are different personalities. We are adjusting to it. read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/sports-headlines/20140724-notebook-leaders-emerge-for-mean-green-ahead-of-season.ece
  17. Banowsky said it's too early to determine what model each university will adopt in paying full cost-of-attendance, but he said it will likely vary between schools. "I think we'll compare notes. My sense is that cost-of-attendance is going to be what the university says it is because it is different in each place, and the federal guidelines contemplate it being different in each place," Banowsky said. "That's one of the problems with (an estimated) $2,000 (per athlete) across the board, is that it's arbitrary. "Each institution is going to have to make a decision on allocating resources, so that's a TBD (To Be Determined). Basically, issues of equity will be part of the discussion. We'll figure that part out." The NCAA Board of Directors will vote on Aug. 7 whether to accept a proposal from the Power Five conferences (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC) for autonomy in decision-making, including the group's push for paying full cost-of-attendance. Banowsky said C-USA could follow suit by voting on a similar measure in January and begin paying student-athletes full cost-of-attendance by the start of the 2015-16 academic year. Read more: http://www.dnj.com/story/sports/2014/07/23/c-usa-schools-ready-pay-athletes-beyond-scholarship/13045867/
  18. A few schools have a head start in that regard. UTEP and Rice have been playing annually since 1996 when they were in the WAC together and both jumped to C-USA in 2005. Louisiana Tech and Southern Miss have some history that will now be enhanced with Southern Miss moving to the Western Division, while Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee were geographic rivals in the Sun Belt who are now reunited in C-USA. As one of the nation's newest programs, the fourth year team at UTSA doesn't have much history on its side, but can develop some quickly. "I'll say it will be Rice, North Texas," Roadrunner offensive lineman Scott Inskeep said. "It's all still fairly new competition, but we can all sense it coming. There's going to be rivalries with all the Texas schools. We're still all getting to know each other." "Not everybody can jump on a plane and fly; our fans can drive to Houston," UTSA coach Larry Coker said. "North Texas could be a good rivalry for us." Read more: http://www.elpasotimes.com/sports/ci_26203930/realignment-settling-c-usa-schools-can-finally-find
  19. RVING, Texas (AP) — Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky knows at least one thing won't change with autonomy for the five power conferences to make their own bylaws. "There's been a differentiator whether you call them BCS, non-BCS," Banowsky said Wednesday. "I'm not naive to think that there won't be some continued differentiation." Asked then what he'd like C-USA and similar NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision leagues to be called moving forward, Banowsky said, "Call us the second five, and note there's 32 (conferences)." Regardless of whatever labels and differences there are, Banowsky expects that "second five" leagues to be able to co-exist in major football like they always have with the big-money conferences — the SEC, Big 12, Pac-12, ACC and Big Ten. "Our five conferences and their five conferences have a lot of history together, and we've always found a way to get in a room and to be good listeners and work it out," Banowsky said Wednesday during C-USA football media day. "I also think having 60 schools together is just not enough for them to be able to have a base from which to operate. You need a bigger base." Read more: http://www.chron.com/sports/article/C-USA-commish-sees-bright-future-in-changing-times-5641833.php
  20. DALLAS — Conference USA schools are prepared to pay their student-athletes a full cost-of-attendance beyond their athletic scholarship, following the lead of the Power Five conferences pushing for autonomy within the NCAA. Calling the task part of "the most challenging time in college athletics," at C-USA Football Media Day on Wednesday, C-USA commissioner Britton Banowksy said his league's universities are ready to adjust to change. He said presidents at C-USA universities support the move to pay their student-athletes full cost-of-attendance because it is "the right thing to do, and it does not obviously violate the principles of the collegiate model." Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2014/07/23/conference-usa-britton-banowsky/13045909/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomcollegefootball-topstories
  21. 9. Conference USA Top four: Marshall, North Texas, Rice, UTSA Conference USA does house the non-major team with the best shot at an undefeated season: Marshall has the talent, experience and schedule to make a run at 13 wins. But the well quickly runs dry after the Thundering Herd, UTSA, Rice and North Texas; Conference USA's bottom third is as bad as it gets, so the pressure is on Doc Holliday's gang to do all of the heavy lifting. Well, at least most of it: UTSA could be one of the great surprises in the country. The league as a whole is still one of the nation's weakest. Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2014/07/14/fbs-football-conference-rankings-aac-acc-big-12-big-ten-cusa-mac-mwc-pac-12-sec-sun-belt/12613255/
  22. MTSU now plays at a higher level in Conference USA, where at least one-third of football schools permit the signing of academic non-qualifiers, according to The Daily News Journal's survey of member institutions. Two of the league's top teams – Marshall and North Texas – regularly sign NCAA non-qualifiers. C-USA and the Sun Belt Conference, MTSU's current and previous leagues, do not have a policy against signing NCAA non-qualifiers. Both leave that to the discretion of member schools. The Big Ten, Atlantic Coast and Mid-American conferences also let their schools decide. The Southeastern Conference and Pac-12 – arguably the top two football leagues – both permit moderation. Per current league rule, the SEC allows each school to sign four non-qualifiers in men's sports and four in women's sports per year, with a maximum of two in football per signing class and no more than one in any other sport. Read more: http://www.dnj.com/story/sports/college/mtsu/football/2014/06/29/special-report-mtsus-decade-long-block-on-signing-non-qualifiers-outdated/11673535/
  23. The Mountain West Conference will send a team to the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl this season, giving the conference six bowl affiliations, the conference and bowl game announced Monday. The New Orleans Bowl on Monday announced a contract extension with the Sun Belt and Conference USA for this six-year bowl cycle, but a Mountain West team will take the place of the C-USA team this year, when the game is played at 8 a.m. (Pacific time) on Dec. 20 at the Mercedez-Benz Superdome. It will be televised by ESPN. Javan Hedlund, a spokesman for the MWC, said there are talks for the MWC to get a spot in three of those six years, but nothing has been finalized yet. He said there are "several moving parts" to the agreement. Colorado State took part in the inaugural New Orleans Bowl in 2001, and San Diego State did so in 2011. Read more: http://www.rgj.com/story/sports/college/nevada/2014/07/14/mountain-west-send-team-new-orleans-bowl/12653461/
  24. We are all familiar now with the 'C-USA as a crossroads' narrative. Color commentators use this narrative when calling games involving formerly big-name coaches who try to rebuild their careers coaching in C-USA (i.e. Larry Eustachy, Tim Floyd). What has recently become a trend in the new collegiate athletic landscape is that C-USA and other conferences like it have become 'crossroads' for players as well. Every year there is a growing list of star players who realize they have the talent to compete in a Big 6 conference and decide to transfer to a big time school. In my opinion, this is probably the biggest challenge C-USA faces in ascending to a multiple-bid league. 10 years ago, Nevada, UTEP and Louisiana Tech hit homeruns in recruiting sleepers like Nick Fazekas, Paul Millsap, and Omar Thomas and were able to develop those guys over years. Nowadays a mid-major school is lucky to keep its surprise players once the players realize they can jump to a bigger stage. We need look no further than last year's list of out-transfers to see the negative impact on C-USA: Imagine the battle for Player of the Year Award in C-USA if Josh Davis hadn't left Tulane for San Diego State and DeAndre Kane hadn't left Marshall for Iowa State. Read more: http://www.minerrush.com/2014/7/7/5878771/c-usa-mens-basketball-summer-transfer-list
  25. Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky, who was in Bowling Green last Tuesday to welcome Western Kentucky to the league, spoke recently with The Courier-Journal’s Michael Grant. What kind impact do you expect WKU to make in 2014-15? “I think about it in the long haul. I normally don’t think about it in a one-year increment. But I think they will make an immediate impact. They add a lot of history and tradition, particularly in men’s basketball. We expect them to give us a lift.” What does it mean for the league to have a Kentucky school back in C-USA? “We had a great experience with (the University of) Louisville and really enjoyed the leadership of (athletic director) Tom Jurich. To reassociate with the state and make new connections and create a platform from which Western Kentucky might be able to thrive and grow is a neat opportunity for us.” Read more: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/2014/07/04/qa-c-usa-commissioner-addition-western-kentucky/12235299/
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