Who do they go and get? LaTech or us? My money is on LaTech. It would make sense to get LaTech, us and WKU but that probably won't happen.
Fire up the rumor mill: Missouri St to CUSA???
- Thread starter ewglenn
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Who do they go and get? LaTech or us? My money is on LaTech. It would make sense to get LaTech, us and WKU but that probably won't happen.
Makes a lot of sense. We can’t keep slipping behind and being caught on our back foot. MT (and AAC) have to be proactive and aggressive. The geography just makes sense. LATech doesn’t really have a good market per se but they are a program that has been around forever, in a nearby fertile recruiting area.
Whatever gets MT in, I’m all for it. I really feel we are dead if we can’t move out of CUSA soon. The gaps will just be too much to overcome and we might as well go OVC.
If we approached the MAC with WKU, they would take us. That's the only possible shift from here. Other than that, we stay in CUSA.
If the AAC (and all G5 conferences) were smart they would see the writing on the wall. Conferences are stockpiling the best available teams with the goal of creating the most TV value $$$. Big Ten and SEC are not done either and will add more schools the second there are viable options (ACC implosion that is inevitable but likely just got delayed).
All G5 conferences, including CUSA, need to take note here. I do think what's best for the Power 5 is not the same for a G5 conference. For example, you'd never see an east coast G5 adding west coast programs in my opinion. The travel costs are too prohibitive, whereas for a Power conference travel costs mean next to nothing.
The G5 conferences that survive will be the ones that stockpile all solid available programs. I'd say MT is a solid program and does want to join the AAC or SBC. It makes little sense why they wouldn't take the best of the rest from CUSA (WKU, MT, Liberty, La. Tech) to strengthen and protect the leagues future.
Surely Massaro is being proactive here and explaining something similar to the AAC and SBC power brokers ?
All G5 conferences, including CUSA, need to take note here. I do think what's best for the Power 5 is not the same for a G5 conference. For example, you'd never see an east coast G5 adding west coast programs in my opinion. The travel costs are too prohibitive, whereas for a Power conference travel costs mean next to nothing.
The G5 conferences that survive will be the ones that stockpile all solid available programs. I'd say MT is a solid program and does want to join the AAC or SBC. It makes little sense why they wouldn't take the best of the rest from CUSA (WKU, MT, Liberty, La. Tech) to strengthen and protect the leagues future.
Surely Massaro is being proactive here and explaining something similar to the AAC and SBC power brokers ?
It's going to be Army for football only to offset Navy football only.
Agreed. Makes sense.
It should be noted, FIU is already affiliated with the AAC in swimming. Also, James Madison and ODU have women’s sport affiliations already as well.
It seems that if it is not Army, it would be a school that already plays in the AAC in some sports. There are a lot of schools that make sense in the AAC before it gets to us.
That's likely an irrelevant factor.
Football and what ESPN wants take precedence over any of that.
While I agree, I think ESPN and the AAC, would be more interested in those schools or many others before us.
100% there are other options before us. But the above point is 100% valid. CM and McP (and Lee) MUST be proactive and constantly on the phone for us and not in wait and see mode.
I'm not sure they have learned anything. The 1st cusa raid on the Sun Belt MT was left behind only when the choice was table scraps the next year or MT did we go. The last AAC/Sun Belt raids on CUSA, MT was left behind again. The period in between, they coasted, fat and happy, instead of improving the appeal of the MT athletic program to other conferences and the fans/community as well.
I still think Wazoo and Oregon St. should try to rebuild Pac12 conference. The conference has some of the richest history, a known name, and over $60 million in assets through 2029. If the conference is dissolved, all that money would be split 12 ways with the former members.
If Wazoo and Oregon St. keep the conference alive, they can use that money however they see fit. They'd probably have to use a big chunk of it to entice schools to join. I suspect they would raid AAC first since their buyout is much lower. Then MWC schools once the buyout becomes more palatable for those universities.
The big questions are...how fast can the Pac12 get to the required 8 teams ? And how long can they remain below the 8 team threshold ?
There's plenty of solid and viable programs that they could poach from the AAC and MWC. The only thing standing in the way is buyouts and time. If MWC/AAC schools could leave the conference without paying $$$$, they would have already left. Pac12 is much more prestigious even if it's a rebuild. With money being the only obstacle, I have to think serious negotiations are underway.
If Wazoo and Oregon St. keep the conference alive, they can use that money however they see fit. They'd probably have to use a big chunk of it to entice schools to join. I suspect they would raid AAC first since their buyout is much lower. Then MWC schools once the buyout becomes more palatable for those universities.
The big questions are...how fast can the Pac12 get to the required 8 teams ? And how long can they remain below the 8 team threshold ?
There's plenty of solid and viable programs that they could poach from the AAC and MWC. The only thing standing in the way is buyouts and time. If MWC/AAC schools could leave the conference without paying $$$$, they would have already left. Pac12 is much more prestigious even if it's a rebuild. With money being the only obstacle, I have to think serious negotiations are underway.
They have to be at 8 by the start of the '26 school year. They have some time.
I look for the MWC Commish to allow the MWC schools to be consumed by the PAC 12 infrastructure and becoming the Commissioner of that league with the Pac 12 brand.
I look for the MWC Commish to allow the MWC schools to be consumed by the PAC 12 infrastructure and becoming the Commissioner of that league with the Pac 12 brand.
They could actually make a pretty good conference if they took the best from MWC and best from AAC.
Do you think they will just absorb the entire MWC into the Pac12?
There are legal road bumps, but that's the only way they can retain all the assets of the P12. If OSU and WSU join the MWC, all the NCAA tourney credits and CFP revenues will be distributed to the individual teams who are all now moving to other leagues. If the MWC dissolved and by the same measure NCAA tourney credits paid to the MWC would be distributed to the schools, so they would essentially get to keep both.
They have to address the lack of TV deal (and also Boise's individual deal which likely is a fly in the ointment), but from a financial and brand standpoint this is their best option if they can get everyone to agree.
I bet it happens. Too much money left in the Pac12 to let it dissolve
How we perform the next 2 weeks on the field could hold major implications. An upset is not necessary tonight, but to present a respectable fbs team on the field will be important.
Combining the field construction on campus with a nice couple of football games to start the year would hold more of a resonance for an AAC entrance application than anything.
Come on boys, don't poop your sheets like last year at JMU!
Combining the field construction on campus with a nice couple of football games to start the year would hold more of a resonance for an AAC entrance application than anything.
Come on boys, don't poop your sheets like last year at JMU!
Getting passed over twice in a decade should be a huge wake up call for the people that run this University. The Board. McPhee. Massaro. Are they still awake? They kowtowed to state's desires for the University to reduce enrollment. They've failed at adding a law school. They've also failed at adding other professional degrees. And have now been passed over twice in the only place where school is able to create national TV exposure, which is most important to build brand and enhance the University's reputation. That happened for all the obvious reasons we've been articulating on this board for years.
So, if they are reading and listening, it's pretty clear we are not valued in any sort of pecking order. So, the question is what are you going to do about it leadership? Because no one is buying this turd filled bowl of punch we're selling right now. Not the fan base. Not the casual fan. And certainly not another league.
It's a pointless endeavor to waste effort on pimping ourselves for a conference. What needs to happen right now is focus on changing the culture in the athletics department to focus on excellence. Build winning programs in football and basketball. The university needs to take a hard long look if that can be done with the two head coaches in those sports. I'm pretty sure the answer is no in both. But this is the assessment they need to make. With some facilities improvements on the way, we need to make sure that we have the right culture in place to be successful at those two sports. And perhaps even redefine success. Because it's not 7-6 and a bowl appearance or 19-20 win basketball season.
1. Change culture. 2. Win conference championships. 3. Win the fanbase back.
If they do that (maybe make a Top 25 appearance every once in a while) everything else will take care of itself.
So, if they are reading and listening, it's pretty clear we are not valued in any sort of pecking order. So, the question is what are you going to do about it leadership? Because no one is buying this turd filled bowl of punch we're selling right now. Not the fan base. Not the casual fan. And certainly not another league.
It's a pointless endeavor to waste effort on pimping ourselves for a conference. What needs to happen right now is focus on changing the culture in the athletics department to focus on excellence. Build winning programs in football and basketball. The university needs to take a hard long look if that can be done with the two head coaches in those sports. I'm pretty sure the answer is no in both. But this is the assessment they need to make. With some facilities improvements on the way, we need to make sure that we have the right culture in place to be successful at those two sports. And perhaps even redefine success. Because it's not 7-6 and a bowl appearance or 19-20 win basketball season.
1. Change culture. 2. Win conference championships. 3. Win the fanbase back.
If they do that (maybe make a Top 25 appearance every once in a while) everything else will take care of itself.
They kowtowed to state's desires for the University to reduce enrollment.
Is this implied by a state directive or deducted by our admissions numbers?
I could definitely see this happening.
Is this implied by a state directive or deducted by our admissions numbers?
I could definitely see this happening.
I'm very curious to see where Liberty ends up when the music stops. Their budget and endowment is just insane. One of the biggest in the country if I had to guess (1.7 billion)
MT's endowment, by comparison, is one of the lowest in the country for an FBS school, $109 million.
MT's endowment, by comparison, is one of the lowest in the country for an FBS school, $109 million.
I agree. We need to pressure them As I’m not sure what else we can do. Can everyone send Massaro an email At the very minimum. keep is short and sweet but let them know
I'd be surprised if Army goes for it. They are like Notre Dame... not easily swayed by conference play.
Highly unlikely AAC will be allowed to go after any SBC. ESPN already had those team’s content at a fraction of the cost.
Army has been leaning increasingly to looking for a conference. They have an AD that’s pro-conf affiliation and Navy has talked to them about how good the AAC has been for them.
Having another football only member helps AAC from scheduling challenges across all sports.
As I said above we just need to get our own house in order. If we do anything it needs to be with ESPN. That’s who we need to convince. But focus on ourselves and things will work out. We obviously have failed at doing that to this point.
Army has been leaning increasingly to looking for a conference. They have an AD that’s pro-conf affiliation and Navy has talked to them about how good the AAC has been for them.
Having another football only member helps AAC from scheduling challenges across all sports.
As I said above we just need to get our own house in order. If we do anything it needs to be with ESPN. That’s who we need to convince. But focus on ourselves and things will work out. We obviously have failed at doing that to this point.
The endowment listed is not accurate for us. We were at 128.6 million at the end of 2022.
Wanted to get a general idea of the national interest some of the G5 conferences inspired their own fans. Went to the csnbbs boards today for the AAC, Sunbelt, CUSA, & the MAC. Ran a count of each topic that illicited a response from each fan as of 5:00 cdt for nationally for each conference.
AAC - 17 varying topics responded to today.
Sunbelt - 17 varying topic responded to as well
CUSA - 9 topics responded to
MAC - 4 topics responded to
This may be a poor qualifier test, but a comparative fan involvement test nonetheless. Pretty obvious CUSA & The MAC appear to be back burner conferences, even to its own fans.
AAC - 17 varying topics responded to today.
Sunbelt - 17 varying topic responded to as well
CUSA - 9 topics responded to
MAC - 4 topics responded to
This may be a poor qualifier test, but a comparative fan involvement test nonetheless. Pretty obvious CUSA & The MAC appear to be back burner conferences, even to its own fans.
It's a fair assumption, but to be equitable, the majority of the conference are schools still getting to know the ins and outs of conference and message board fandom, if such exists. I'd say take another look in a years time and see if number remains the same/or same proportions.
I don’t regularly visit that board because of reasons I’ll keep to myself.
But yeah, it’s a finger to the air barometer.
But yeah, it’s a finger to the air barometer.
Fair point & I don't disagree. Look forward to seeing if fan interest increases for CUSA come basketball season.
I frequent CSNBBS board daily and I am an active participant. The SBC definitely has more fan engagement but that’s a little deceiving with out some information. 1) there are 14 members in the SBC and the AAC, MAC has 12 compared to 10 in CUSA. 2) a lot of new fans are migrating and I have noticed a lot of new members from SHSU, JSU and a few new from Liberty and NMSU (those schools had good representation already). 3) this is the biggest one imo is that no CUSA team has their primary fan forum on the site. The SBC has both JMU and ODU that is their primary fan forum. The AAC has Memphis and Rice as their primary fan forums. Go Middle is our primary so the majority of our traffic is here and not on CSNBBS.
I'm not really that fond of it either. I think its just a little more than tolerable, but for real fans of other schools and their actual take I rather lurk on their own boards. I expect to find more raw and brutal honesty on those than that board.
I have been doing some additional thinking on these things if anyone wants me to go into it. Willing to take a deep dive analysis into this if the interest is there.
Army's got that spot if it wants it. I think there was some meetings scheduled for the end of this month. They're not in a huge hurry.
To be fair, CUSA has a ton of new teams - i'm not too sure teams like SHSU, JSU, Kennesaw have a ton of message board fans. I'm sure they will grow their fan bases and online presence over time. To what extent, who knows.
I'm not sure in all my surfing around message boards as an MT fan that I recall teams like NMSU, FIU having a big online presence.
I've seen us dwindle down from 3 fairly active message boards just to this one, so we're part of the problem.
And the AAC/Belt took most of our bigger fanbases (Marshall, USM, UAB, FAU).
