C U S A Of The Future

[Guest GrayEagleOne]

NT80's paraphrasing of Rick Villareal remarks at the Football Banquet which essentially said that CUSA will likely not be the same in the future led me to think of ways that CUSA could change.

The first way would be caused by the Big East's desire to become a nine team league so that the schedule would be balanced with four home and four away games per year. If that happened, I believe that UCF would become the 9th football member. UCF would be an excellent travel partner for South Florida if UCF were admitted for all sports. That would put the Big East at an awkward 17 teams but it could be done. If that were the case within the next year then I believe that Troy would be the logical replacement for UCF.

Another scenario involving CUSA also results from Big East expansion. Should the Big East split those that play football from the non-playing fottball schools, it's possible that CUSA could lose two, three or four teams in the expansion. If the Big East only took two, then it's anyone's guess as to whom CUSA might use as replacements. If it's three or more, I don't see the Conference USA as ever being a 12-team conference again.

Still another possibility might be the Sun Belt and CUSA dividing along more regional lines. The present CUSA is a far-flung conference; however, it does maintain decent football attendance. That could be a problem in trying to divide the conferences. Of the six CUSA teams that average 25,000 or better, five are in the east (or east of the Mississippi River).

It still seems to me that CUSA is our only hope for conference teams closer to home. RVs statements seem to eliminate the MAC and the WAC. If not CUSA, the only other alternative would be the Mountain West. That would be great but I don't see them going to ten teams. We might have a remote chance IF they went to 12 teams but even then, Hawaii, Boise and Fresno seem the more likely candidates. Of course, with a new 50,000 seat stadium and an attendance average of 30,000......

[eulesseagle]

GEO-

IF.....IF.....IF.....I would much rather be in a conference with Texas regional schools than what we have currently.

We all know conference "shake ups" will happen and to "guess" to what schools are going where is, at best, conjecture and prolonged topics of a plethora of "what if" scenarios.

Personally, I would like North Texas to get into CUSA only because of the regionality of teams that, IMHO, would draw larger crowds. Houston, Rice, UTEP, SMU along with Tulsa and Tulane makes more sense than LaLa, LaMo, Troy, MTSU, ASU, FIU and FAU. Besides, CUSA has more NCAA bids in FB and BB.

Bottom Line: UNT Prez GB appears to be very pro-active on NT athletics. What other NT prez has attended as many FB & BB games as she has since her arrival?

Bottom Line: NT has to be ready to make the jump.....facilities, $$, attendance, and a committment to win.

Unfortunately, we have not a clue what "politics" are "played" behind the closed doors of athletic realignment & I certainly hope we are playing a winning game in that arena......which probably is the largest aspect of conference acceptance.

[eulessismore]

GEO-

IF.....IF.....IF.....I would much rather be in a conference with Texas regional schools than what we have currently.

We all know conference "shake ups" will happen and to "guess" to what schools are going where is, at best, conjecture and prolonged topics of a plethora of "what if" scenarios.

Personally, I would like North Texas to get into CUSA only because of the regionality of teams that, IMHO, would draw larger crowds. Houston, Rice, UTEP, SMU along with Tulsa and Tulane makes more sense than LaLa, LaMo, Troy, MTSU, ASU, FIU and FAU. Besides, CUSA has more NCAA bids in FB and BB.

Bottom Line: UNT Prez GB appears to be very pro-active on NT athletics. What other NT prez has attended as many FB & BB games as she has since her arrival?

Bottom Line: NT has to be ready to make the jump.....facilities, $$, attendance, and a committment to win.

Unfortunately, we have not a clue what "politics" are "played" behind the closed doors of athletic realignment & I certainly hope we are playing a winning game in that arena......which probably is the largest aspect of conference acceptance.

We certainly need effective "lobbying", whether it's in the state legislature concerning academic programs, or in athletic circles concerning conferences and other athletic matters.

[UNTflyer]

If not CUSA, the only other alternative would be the Mountain West. That would be great but I don't see them going to ten teams. We might have a remote chance IF they went to 12 teams but even then, Hawaii, Boise and Fresno seem the more likely candidates. Of course, with a new 50,000 seat stadium and an attendance average of 30,000......

If the PAC-10 expand then you can bet Hawaii, Boise St, or Fresno would be candidates.

I would absolutely LOVE to go to the MWC, with CUSA my 2nd choice. I've said it before... our most valuable asset as a university is the size of our student body but for some reason the BOR refuses to impose even the most modest of athletic fees to improve our stature.

Edited February 25, 2008 by UNTflyer

[Hook 'em & Go Green]

I think UNT's best prospects would be if the Big East decided to go to 12 football members, adding possibly some football-only schools into their conference mix from C-USA. Say if they took UCF, Memphis, East Carolina, and Marshall. I'll play this as a "what if" scenario and assume that C-USA would expand back to 12 members:

Imagine this for C-USA of the future:

East Division

FAU

FIU

Southern Mississippi

Tulane

Troy

UAB

West Division

Houston

North Texas

Rice

SMU

Tulsa

UTEP

I realize this is far-fetched, especially for the Big East adding 4 football-only schools. It doesn't hurt to think about the what ifs. Should the MWC want to expand to 12 members in all sports by adding 3 more schools to its conference, then perhaps UNT could be considered as a geographical complement to TCU. Think about a possible 12 team MWC:

East Division

Air Force

Colorado St.

New Mexico

North Texas

TCU

Wyoming

West Division

Boise St.

BYU

Fresno St.

San Diego St.

UNLV

Utah

Which of these two "what if/dream" scenarios would you all prefer?

[Pen Yan Fan]

GEO-

What other NT prez has attended as many FB & BB games as she has since her arrival?

Bottom Line: NT has to be ready to make the jump.....facilities, $$, attendance, and a committment to win.

Al Hurley and Norval Pohl

[RETSO]

...What if Troy bolts to CUSA and leaves us the Belt to die....

a new WAC could be created.

WEST

Boise St

Fresno St

San Jose St

Hawaii

Idaho

Nevada

EAST

Utah

New Mex St

LA Tech

ULL

UNT

Ark St

[Hook 'em & Go Green]

...What if Troy bolts to CUSA and leaves us the Belt to die....

a new WAC could be created.

WEST

Boise St

Fresno St

San Jose St

Hawaii

Idaho

Nevada

EAST

Utah

New Mex St

LA Tech

ULL

UNT

Ark St

A new WAC like that would be interesting and certainly an upgrade for UNT. There would be better competition in Hawaii, Boise St., and Fresno St. I wouldn't mind seeing something like this play out for UNT.

[adman]

...What if Troy bolts to CUSA and leaves us the Belt to die....

a new WAC could be created.

WEST

Boise St

Fresno St

San Jose St

Hawaii

Idaho

Nevada

EAST

Utah

New Mex St

LA Tech

ULL

UNT

Ark St

No thanks.

[TIgreen01]

With Texas State recently voting to add $$ to their athletic fund, what are the chances they leap-frog us by the time this shake-up occurs??

Just a thought---and a sickening one, at that.

Our Pres and BOR need to start moving NOW if we are even going to keep up with our in-state competition.

[Quoner]

With Texas State recently voting to add $$ to their athletic fund, what are the chances they leap-frog us by the time this shake-up occurs??

Just a thought---and a sickening one, at that.

Our Pres and BOR need to start moving NOW if we are even going to keep up with our in-state competition.

I thought Texas State passed us by two years ago? I remember reading that on this board...

[Eagle1855]

I thought we were headed to the Big 12... not sure what all this C-USA talk is about...

[UNTflyer]

No thanks.

Agreed, just say "NO" to the WAC.

[Guest GrayEagleOne]

Agreed, just say "NO" to the WAC.

What RETSO is proposing is that if Troy is accepted into CUSA (replacing UCF) then the WAC would be a better alternative IF they would agree to 12 teams.

Are you saying that WKU, MTSU, FAU, FIU, ULM and Appalachian State would be a better conference than La Tech, Boise, Hawaii, Fresno, Nevada, NMSU, Utah St., SJSU, and Idaho? Not for my money.

I know that your favorite is the MWC and I'd take it over the WAC but our chance of getting in that league are somewhere between slim and none and Slim's leaving town.

To have a prayer, we'd have to have STRONG support from TCU and can you see that happening? Me neither.

[RETSO]

I agree the WAC as is, is not a good place for us. CUSA is the best option with the other Texas schools.

However, having the other western Belt schools + LA tech and our only real rival New Mex St would be better than staying in the Belt as the farthest western school.

And if Boise St jumped ship to go to the MWC.....The WAC could add Texas St or ULM to the EAST division

WEST

Hawaii

San Jose St

Fresno St

Nevada

Utah

Idaho

EAST

UNT

Texas St

Ark St

ULL

LA Tech

New Mex St

With a 8 game conference schedule, we would only end up traveling to hawaii once every 4 years!

The conference Champ game could be rotated between Vegas, San Fran and Dallas....

wow I have way too much time on my hands!!!!!!

Edited February 25, 2008 by RETSO

[untjim1995]

My thoughts are this on the subject: I would prefer to get in the MWC if at all possible for one reason--prestige. But, BYU and Utah are often mentioned as teams that could move up to the PAC-10 if the politics of the situation could get settled. If that happens, the MWC immediately gets Boise, Fresno, and Nevada to come over, and probably entertain getting Hawaii, since they used to be in the same conference for years with most of the MWC as it currently sits. That would leave 11 teams in the MWC, meaning that they would need one more to get that coveted championship game. The perfect fit would be a Texas school. Our dream would be that they got us to come over. Reality probably suggests that an Original WAC member, UTEP, would get the call. I just can't see TCU jumping up and down to get us in the league with them. Even if BYU and Utah never leave the MWC, it is not out of the question to see them get Boise, Nevada, and Fresno to move over to get to 12 for a championship game and petition to become a BCS conference, which could happen with another power conference forming and a bowl slot available in the new game that was created last year. This last scenario is why the WAC makes no sense to me for us now--cost is too high and the power teams in the WAC want to move up, too. Trust me, out west, this is discussed often. Unfortunately, I think that our days in the Belt and having teams like Ark. State, ULL, ULM, FAU, FIU, WKU, and Middle Tennessee as our peers will continue for a long time. What I would do if I worked for UNT right now, is propose that Texas State be admitted to the SBC in 2011 (?) and immediately begin talking to UH, UTEP, So. Miss., and UAB about the why it is more important and beneficial for them to be partnered with large public universities in the Belt vs. their current benefits of being partnered with the private schools that have limited potential, support, resources, etc. Schools like SMU and Rice and Tulane may have dollars, but not much else--not much of a base to travel to watch games in your stadiums/arenas. This is where you could get some realignment that could get us in a better fit with schools that fit our mold--large, public, and, in many cases, metropolitan. Any thoughts?

[Guest GrayEagleOne]

My thoughts are this on the subject: I would prefer to get in the MWC if at all possible for one reason--prestige. But, BYU and Utah are often mentioned as teams that could move up to the PAC-10 if the politics of the situation could get settled. If that happens, the MWC immediately gets Boise, Fresno, and Nevada to come over, and probably entertain getting Hawaii, since they used to be in the same conference for years with most of the MWC as it currently sits. That would leave 11 teams in the MWC, meaning that they would need one more to get that coveted championship game. The perfect fit would be a Texas school. Our dream would be that they got us to come over. Reality probably suggests that an Original WAC member, UTEP, would get the call. I just can't see TCU jumping up and down to get us in the league with them. Even if BYU and Utah never leave the MWC, it is not out of the question to see them get Boise, Nevada, and Fresno to move over to get to 12 for a championship game and petition to become a BCS conference, which could happen with another power conference forming and a bowl slot available in the new game that was created last year. This last scenario is why the WAC makes no sense to me for us now--cost is too high and the power teams in the WAC want to move up, too. Trust me, out west, this is discussed often. Unfortunately, I think that our days in the Belt and having teams like Ark. State, ULL, ULM, FAU, FIU, WKU, and Middle Tennessee as our peers will continue for a long time. What I would do if I worked for UNT right now, is propose that Texas State be admitted to the SBC in 2011 (?) and immediately begin talking to UH, UTEP, So. Miss., and UAB about the why it is more important and beneficial for them to be partnered with large public universities in the Belt vs. their current benefits of being partnered with the private schools that have limited potential, support, resources, etc. Schools like SMU and Rice and Tulane may have dollars, but not much else--not much of a base to travel to watch games in your stadiums/arenas. This is where you could get some realignment that could get us in a better fit with schools that fit our mold--large, public, and, in many cases, metropolitan. Any thoughts?

There are some talking points about having no private universities in a conference but as long as they are considered FBS I think that they should be a part of every conference. The WAC is the only conference without a private university and it seems to be poison to even mention them and conference member in the same sentence. My only real problem is with CUSA, where a full 1/3 are private schools and can vote as a bloc to stop any legislation that requires a 3/4 majority (such as membership). Other than that, regardless of how much money they have, they play by the same rules. Some are among the top in their conference (USC, BYU, TCU, both Miamis) while most are at or near the bottom (Baylor, Duke, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, SMU, Rice). But that only applies to football. Duke, Baylor and Vandy have very good to excellent basketball programs, as do other privates at times. While private schools are usually smaller, many have a very good following. TCU doubles our average attendance.

So, until private universities get their own division of the NCAA (which I don't think will ever happen), it's better to keep a few in every conference.