FBS Realignment

[SDHornet]

And yes I'm good with the CFB "1%ers" doing their own thing...as if that is not how this has been trending towards since the first ESPN/$$$ driven realignment in the not so distant past.

I'll disagree again. I think we were heading towards 8-12-16 team playoffs which would have included the little guys.

Doubt it. They "they play too many games" argument will kick in at some point. The top teams are already entering the playoffs with 13 (possibly 14) games under their belt.

[SDHornet]

I'll disagree again. I think we were heading towards 8-12-16 team playoffs which would have included the little guys.

Filling a 16 team field from 48 teams (four 16 team super conferences) while leaving out the G5 teams that were making noise is going to suck.

I don't think I'll watch as much FBS football this fall and don't see that changing in future years.

If the super conferences truly break off, they won't need a 16 team playoff.

[UNI88]

Filling a 16 team field from 48 teams (four 16 team super conferences) while leaving out the G5 teams that were making noise is going to suck.

I don't think I'll watch as much FBS football this fall and don't see that changing in future years.

If the super conferences truly break off, they won't need a 16 team playoff.

No they won't need it but they'll do it if there's money to be made and ESPN wants them to.

[SDHornet]

If the super conferences truly break off, they won't need a 16 team playoff.

No they won't need it but they'll do it if there's money to be made and ESPN wants them to.

Agreed.

[UNI88]

Any chance the non-SEC conferences could pass the 12 team playoff but with a cap of 3 on participants from a single conference?

MIght make Clemson or Florida State think twice about jumping ship to the SEC.

[UNI88]

Why don't they set up separate football conferences? That way they can chase cash for football while maintaining rivalries and keeping travel costs lower for the Olympic sports.

[UNI88]

What's next in college football realignment? A common sense plan to bond Group of 5

“We really should hit pause before we start poaching each other’s teams and explore what this would look like if we started over today,” said an athletic director in the Group of Five. “TV has made it obvious they’re only paying for the big brands moving forward. If there’s a way to cut our travel costs by millions, let our student-athletes spend more time in class and sell more tickets because fans actually know the teams, know alums from the universities and can travel to games, we should at least spend a few weeks to discuss the thought that maybe there’s a better solution.”

Consider this a back-of-the-napkin idea for how to re-organize the Group of Five. And the collective power of the 60 or so schools could end up yielding a decent-sized television contract that could end up being weighted to the teams that command the most streams and eyeballs. And it can be done without Old Dominion and UTEP or SMU and East Carolina being in the same league but nearly 2,000 miles apart.

[SDHornet]

What's next in college football realignment? A common sense plan to bond Group of 5

“We really should hit pause before we start poaching each other’s teams and explore what this would look like if we started over today,” said an athletic director in the Group of Five. “TV has made it obvious they’re only paying for the big brands moving forward. If there’s a way to cut our travel costs by millions, let our student-athletes spend more time in class and sell more tickets because fans actually know the teams, know alums from the universities and can travel to games, we should at least spend a few weeks to discuss the thought that maybe there’s a better solution.”

Consider this a back-of-the-napkin idea for how to re-organize the Group of Five. And the collective power of the 60 or so schools could end up yielding a decent-sized television contract that could end up being weighted to the teams that command the most streams and eyeballs. And it can be done without Old Dominion and UTEP or SMU and East Carolina being in the same league but nearly 2,000 miles apart.

Pete Thamel?

CUSA isn't raiding anyone with their garbage TV deal and shitty geography. The days of TV networks throwing money at a far flung 16 team conference comprised of also-rans and never-was' is long over. Smaller (10-12) conferences that are more geographically tight and like minded universities is the way forward. Case in point, the Sun Belt.

[UNI88]

What's next in college football realignment? A common sense plan to bond Group of 5

Pete Thamel?

CUSA isn't raiding anyone with their garbage TV deal and shitty geography. The days of TV networks throwing money at a far flung 16 team conference comprised of also-rans and never-was' is long over. Smaller (10-12) conferences that are more geographically tight and like minded universities is the way forward. Case in point, the Sun Belt.

He's proposing a geographically tight alignment.

[AZGrizFan]

Pete Thamel?

CUSA isn't raiding anyone with their garbage TV deal and shitty geography. The days of TV networks throwing money at a far flung 16 team conference comprised of also-rans and never-was' is long over. Smaller (10-12) conferences that are more geographically tight and like minded universities is the way forward. Case in point, the Sun Belt.

He's proposing a geographically tight alignment.

Utah State might argue that point.

[SDHornet]

Pete Thamel?

CUSA isn't raiding anyone with their garbage TV deal and shitty geography. The days of TV networks throwing money at a far flung 16 team conference comprised of also-rans and never-was' is long over. Smaller (10-12) conferences that are more geographically tight and like minded universities is the way forward. Case in point, the Sun Belt.

He's proposing a geographically tight alignment.

He threw darts at a map and called it good while ignoring all other factors. Did you serious not at some off his conference lineups?

[UNI88]

He's proposing a geographically tight alignment.

He threw darts at a map and called it good while ignoring all other factors. Did you serious not at some off his conference lineups?

Sure but we he proposes makes more sense than the current G5 conference makeup.

[SDHornet]

He threw darts at a map and called it good while ignoring all other factors. Did you serious not at some off his conference lineups?

Sure but we he proposes makes more sense than the current G5 conference makeup.

Geographically, sure. In reality, no.

[UNI88]

Sure but we he proposes makes more sense than the current G5 conference makeup.

Geographically, sure. In reality, no.

Maybe you're taking this too seriously.

He took every G5 team and placed (all but 2 of) them into 4 "leagues". You can't do that without pushing some boundaries. Do I think the West Coast League is interested in NMSU? No, but like UMASS, he had to put them somewhere unless they drop down. UTEP had to move for numbers purposes and they're the closest school left (and they're closer than former MWC team, TCU). Utah State is the victim of numbers as far as which division they're in. You could pick another school to be in the "West" but there is no easy choice.

Do you have a better solution?

[SDHornet]

Geographically, sure. In reality, no.

Maybe you're taking this too seriously.

He took every G5 team and placed (all but 2 of) them into 4 "leagues". You can't do that without pushing some boundaries. Do I think the West Coast League is interested in NMSU? No, but like UMASS, he had to put them somewhere unless they drop down. UTEP had to move for numbers purposes and they're the closest school left (and they're closer than former MWC team, TCU). Utah State is the victim of numbers as far as which division they're in. You could pick another school to be in the "West" but there is no easy choice.

Do you have a better solution?

This post just shows how nonsensical the idea is. He "realignment" was good for some lols, nothing more.

[UNI88]

Maybe you're taking this too seriously.

He took every G5 team and placed (all but 2 of) them into 4 "leagues". You can't do that without pushing some boundaries. Do I think the West Coast League is interested in NMSU? No, but like UMASS, he had to put them somewhere unless they drop down. UTEP had to move for numbers purposes and they're the closest school left (and they're closer than former MWC team, TCU). Utah State is the victim of numbers as far as which division they're in. You could pick another school to be in the "West" but there is no easy choice.

Do you have a better solution?

This post just shows how nonsensical the idea is. He "realignment" was good for some lols, nothing more.

He's an internet writer, he's throwing something out there to get views.

It's easy to criticize something, coming up with a better alternative is harder.

[UNI88]

From top to bottom, conference realignment is gripping college sports. Here's what's next.

Though not directly tied to Oklahoma and Texas, the consolidation of power and the threat of some kind of football breakaway from the NCAA structure is roiling the FCS leagues. In January, the Western Athletic Conference reinstated football and added four Texas-based schools from the Southland Conference. On Tuesday, the Southland began its journey to reinvention by announcing that Texas A&M-Commerce would move up from Division II.

The Atlantic Sun Conference has also been aggressive about football-focused expansion, adding Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State and Austin Peay. Three of those schools were in the Ohio Valley Conference, which also lost non-football playing Belmont on Tuesday to the Missouri Valley Conference. Murray State is also a candidate to be poached from the OVC, which would leave the league with just seven members.

In the broader picture, realignment gravity is pulling schools with big football ambitions together while the rest are more interested in regional-based competition. There’s concern that some smaller leagues with hybrids of football and non-football members might end up separating.

“Some of these presidents and ADs and trustees have delusion of grandeur thinking, ‘We could be the next Appalachian State or Coastal Carolina,' ” said one administrator in a league that has lost multiple members recently. “Do I think it’s fool’s gold? Probably. But there’s going to be a lot more movement between now and the end of the calendar year.”

[Baldy]

From top to bottom, conference realignment is gripping college sports. Here's what's next.

Though not directly tied to Oklahoma and Texas, the consolidation of power and the threat of some kind of football breakaway from the NCAA structure is roiling the FCS leagues. In January, the Western Athletic Conference reinstated football and added four Texas-based schools from the Southland Conference. On Tuesday, the Southland began its journey to reinvention by announcing that Texas A&M-Commerce would move up from Division II.

The Atlantic Sun Conference has also been aggressive about football-focused expansion, adding Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State and Austin Peay. Three of those schools were in the Ohio Valley Conference, which also lost non-football playing Belmont on Tuesday to the Missouri Valley Conference. Murray State is also a candidate to be poached from the OVC, which would leave the league with just seven members.

In the broader picture, realignment gravity is pulling schools with big football ambitions together while the rest are more interested in regional-based competition. There’s concern that some smaller leagues with hybrids of football and non-football members might end up separating.

“Some of these presidents and ADs and trustees have delusion of grandeur thinking, ‘We could be the next Appalachian State or Coastal Carolina,' ” said one administrator in a league that has lost multiple members recently. “Do I think it’s fool’s gold? Probably. But there’s going to be a lot more movement between now and the end of the calendar year.”

On a related note, the Sun Belt is about to eviscerate C-USA. Southern Miss (definitely), Marshall (very likely), WKU (very likely), and possibly either USTA or FAU (with a wildcard or two...JMU...UAB...JSU in the mix) will soon be joining the conference. This will pretty much put C-USA on life support. They may survive (barely) if they can back fill with a few FCS moveups.

[SDHornet]

From top to bottom, conference realignment is gripping college sports. Here's what's next.

On a related note, the Sun Belt is about to eviscerate C-USA. Southern Miss (definitely), Marshall (very likely), WKU (very likely), and possibly either USTA or FAU (with a wildcard or two...JMU...UAB...JSU in the mix) will soon be joining the conference. This will pretty much put C-USA on life support. They may survive (barely) if they can back fill with a few FCS moveups.

There are also some Indy's (NMSU, UMass, UConn) that can be grabbed for either full or FB only membership if needed. The CUSA schools will also have the MWC targeting their TX schools now that AF and CSU are going to the AAC.

I think CUSA will backfill with ASun and WAC programs if the MWC raids their TX members.

Interesting times ahead.

[Baldy]

On a related note, the Sun Belt is about to eviscerate C-USA. Southern Miss (definitely), Marshall (very likely), WKU (very likely), and possibly either USTA or FAU (with a wildcard or two...JMU...UAB...JSU in the mix) will soon be joining the conference. This will pretty much put C-USA on life support. They may survive (barely) if they can back fill with a few FCS moveups.

There are also some Indy's (NMSU, UMass, UConn) that can be grabbed for either full or FB only membership if needed. The CUSA schools will also have the MWC targeting their TX schools now that AF and CSU are going to the AAC.

I think CUSA will backfill with ASun and WAC programs if the MWC raids their TX members.

Interesting times ahead.

Conventional thinking is that USTA will get an invite to MWC. The problem with UTEP and NMSU is that those two are on a very isolated island, but the good part is that they are on that island together so they could be a package deal.

Looks like the only winners in this round will be the SEC and the Belt. The Big 12, AAC, C-USA, and MWC are gonna take it in the rear without any lube.

EDIT:
NMSU will be a must have for C-USA in order to keep UTEP in business. UConn and UMass are Hail Mary band aids. A footprint from New England all the way to the South West with little to no TV deal would be unsustainable long term.

You do have that horrifically ugly step-sister that nobody wants to date sitting out there too.
Liberty

[SDHornet]

There are also some Indy's (NMSU, UMass, UConn) that can be grabbed for either full or FB only membership if needed. The CUSA schools will also have the MWC targeting their TX schools now that AF and CSU are going to the AAC.

I think CUSA will backfill with ASun and WAC programs if the MWC raids their TX members.

Interesting times ahead.

Conventional thinking is that USTA will get an invite to MWC. The problem with UTEP and NMSU is that those two are on a very isolated island, but the good part is that they are on that island together so they could be a package deal.

Looks like the only winners in this round will be the SEC and the Belt. The Big 12, AAC, C-USA, and MWC are gonna take it in the rear without any lube.

Yeah I heard the MWC wants into TX. They'll probably want two so say UNT goes too. I don't see what UTEP brings aside from closer travel, but no way UNM allows NMSU to get an invite. Also don't see what NMSU brings if they take UTEP. That would be 3 members in the same region with scarce recruiting grounds and the NM schools with budget issues. There are FCS programs that have more upside than that.

[UNI88]

Boise State Rejects AAC Invite in Hopes of Future Big 12 Invite: Report

[SuperHornet]

How about UTEP to the Southland?

[Baldy]

The AAC extends invitations to Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UTSA, and UAB. Southern Miss is and Marshall will most likely be joining the Fun Belt (any combination of WKU, FIU, ODU, and MTSU could be in play too). Conference USA is now on life support and dying a long slow painful death. JMU and others, now is your chance.

[UNI88]

The AAC extends invitations to Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UTSA, and UAB. Southern Miss is and Marshall will most likely be joining the Fun Belt (any combination of WKU, FIU, ODU, and MTSU could be in play too). Conference USA is now on life support and dying a long slow painful death. JMU and others, now is your chance.

Aren't WKU, FIU, ODU, and MTSU all former members?