According to some sources USM is on the move to the SBC. I'm not buying it because they can't afford the exit fees.
i guess nobody is going to address this
- Thread starter mtfblue
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We are not going back to FCS. That would mean CM and Stock takes a pay cut. Not happening.
If we retained Marshall and got Liberty, we are a better conference with a lot of dead weight gone. Get rid of UTEP and there you go. More money to go around as well. All but one of those teams leaving to the AAC did anything for us collectively. I'm just not that sad to see the rest go. I wished to hell FIU would jet somewhere. Then we could make a nice offer to a couple of targets. CUSA will still remain. They got too much money involved to let it die.
A lot of assumptions there. The worst case scenario is definitely in play at the moment. The Sun Belt is in a position of strength and could put an end to C-USA by adding four. Our only option would be MAC (if they would still be interested in us and wkcc as a package deal like they were 15 years ago) or dropping back down. These are very plausible scenarios at the moment. Very plausible and I would say better than 50%
Pleas keep in mind there will be no exit fees if C-USA becomes defunct. That’s why it’s either four to Sun Belt or zero. The Sun Belt would have to completely eradicate C-USA to eliminate exit fees.
Man. The incompetence is really showing. I mean…this could be the death of a 20ish year run. How would you like to have the title of “I killed mtsu sports: Rick, Nick, Chris, and Sydney
Who does everyone see as sources? I'm guessing Twitter. What are some good ones to follow through all this?
This and seeing recruits commit are the only reasons I have Twitter. All you have to do is search for CUSA, Sun Belt, etc. and all tweets will come up. You have to filter through them, but you will get accounts similar to the guys that run this or other accounts not officially linked to university, but ones that follow everything. There are also the "blue check" sports guys reporting on some of this.
To me it looks like our only option to remain FBS is to get a package deal with WKU into the MAC. Not so sure the MAC would even entertain that idea, though.
The stability of our conference and fate in FBS depends on our ability to out recruit a FCS and Liberty from the Sun Belt. Great positioning Chris.
All of this falls at the feet of Massaro and McPhee. I don't blame McDevitt or Stockstill for signing those ridiculous contracts, do you? The blame goes to the parties who offered them up.
I don't trust Judy and the CUSA AD's/Presidents to win this battle. And that's exactly what it is, a battle. The Sun Belt will be showcasing some of it's best football tonight, with #14 Coastal Carolina @ App St. Huge game. I personally can't wait to watch it.
Meanwhile, for CUSA, we have MT @ Uconn tomorrow night....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Does it even matter who wins?
I would be flat out shocked if CUSA gets its way here with JMU & Liberty. CUSA Commish is on record saying she thinks college athletics is too competitive, LOL. We are so unbelievably doomed. I fully expect for MT to be completely screwed after all the chips fall. And guess what, we deserve to be. Sun Belt is going to get it's pick of the litter and I expect it all to happen here in short order.
We have one of the worst D1 basketball programs in the country, and our football program has quite literally never done ANYTHING meaningful since joining D1 20 years ago.
Meanwhile, for CUSA, we have MT @ Uconn tomorrow night....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Does it even matter who wins?
I would be flat out shocked if CUSA gets its way here with JMU & Liberty. CUSA Commish is on record saying she thinks college athletics is too competitive, LOL. We are so unbelievably doomed. I fully expect for MT to be completely screwed after all the chips fall. And guess what, we deserve to be. Sun Belt is going to get it's pick of the litter and I expect it all to happen here in short order.
We have one of the worst D1 basketball programs in the country, and our football program has quite literally never done ANYTHING meaningful since joining D1 20 years ago.
I don't think CUSA is going to exist here soon, much less expand. Sun Belt is going to take the remaining good schools from CUSA (Marshall, Southern Miss) + pick up Liberty & JMU which is who CUSA wanted. This will greatly strengthen the Sun Belt into likely the best G5 conference. The Mountain West, American, and Sun Belt will easily rule the G5. The MAC is just there. Nobody really cares about the MAC but it's like a cockaroach that just won't die. It's there. CUSA will cease to exist due to a lack of members or it will be a cesspool of left overs spread across the country that nobody wanted. At that point, just give me death. Nobody here wants to be in that conference.
What you are essentially seeing is the schools who take sports seriously, invest in their programs, build new stadiums, actually hold their coaches accountable, etc.....All those schools have decided they want to be in the same conference. That's the American Athletic Conference, The Mountain West, and The Sun Belt. The MAC is off in their own little do-nothing world. I think Western Michigan got a $60 million donation so they'll build something cool but the rest of the schools don't really care about sports.
Then you have the CUSA left overs. It's no coincidence that if you look at the CUSA left overs, it is all schools that suck almost always, invest little to nothing in their programs, and never have good coaches on their staff. If you look at the schools who left CUSA, they are all either 1. Playing great football/basketball or 2. Investing major dollars into their programs or 3. Bring top shelf academics/non-revenue sports like Rice's baseball program.
North Texas - Obviously god awful football, but they pay their head coach almost 2 million dollars. They have built really nice facilities, done well in basketball, and have a rock star AD. I don't believe North Texas has earned an American invite through its sports achievements (or lack thereof) but because of their commitment to sports from a financial perspective and a rock star AD, they're getting in.
Rice - Travel partner, one of the best baseball programs in the country, academics, Houston Texas is the 3rd largest city in the country.
UAB - Very solid basketball program, and an even better football program. Most importantly, their commitment to athletic excellence is palpable and they have/are investing serious $$$ into their sports.
UTSA - This program is a sleeping giant. Back when Larry Coker was their coach and they had initial success they were averaging 30k plus fans. It's no telling where they could have went if they didn't fall off a cliff. San Antonio is the 6th largest city in the country and trust me it's big I have lived there. UTSA is an absolute sleeping giant with crazy good Texas recruiting + San Antonio market.
Charlotte - Pretty rich basketball history, decent football as of late, but most importantly they appear to be committed to sports excellence. This was arguably the weakest addition for the AAC in my opinion. I don't see the allure of UNC-Charlotte.
FAU - It's a Florida school that's had pretty good success on the gridiron recently. This is obviously a grab to try and replace UCF and the Florida market for the AAC. Terrible sports outside of football but I can see why they wanted FAU. I do question FAU's true commitment to sports & athletics. We'll see.
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Has anyone from CUSA leadership made an official comment? If not that’s weak and should grounds for immediate termination.
Might be better off going independent and just trying to establish foothold as Nashville’s team since, y’know, it is Middle Tennessee.
I would be for this and try to move our other teams to the MVC. Be a travel partner with Belmont.
CUSA desperately need to get back on ESPN. The lack of a real TV deal has destroyed this conference. There are so many problems that need to be fixed that honestly you have to wonder if it's even worth trying. I'm sorry but Judy Macloud(sp?) isn't the answer. She thinks college sports is too competitive. She can go kick rocks. CUSA has got to get back on ESPN. Recruits need to be able to see us play on TV and know they will play on TV, even if it is on a Tuesday or whatever.
Going forward, I can't imagine Marshall staying, they are as good as gone in my eyes. Why would you stay in CUSA if the SBC sends you an invite? Literally everyone is trying to evacuate this mess. This is a joke of a conference with a joke of a TV deal. The death of CUSA is honestly probably for the better.
Going forward, I can't imagine Marshall staying, they are as good as gone in my eyes. Why would you stay in CUSA if the SBC sends you an invite? Literally everyone is trying to evacuate this mess. This is a joke of a conference with a joke of a TV deal. The death of CUSA is honestly probably for the better.
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Despite rumblings ODU was wanting to leave, looks like they want to keep whats left of CUSA together and add teams
https://www.wavy.com/news/national/...it-after-report-that-6-teams-are-leaving/amp/
https://www.wavy.com/news/national/...it-after-report-that-6-teams-are-leaving/amp/
I'm hearing Marshall and Southern Miss have both been officially invited to the SBC. Southern Miss has accepted. Marshall is considering. Liberty and JMU are exploratory options, but nothing has been offered.
Marshall likely seems gone at this point. It does seem they are at least listening to overtures from CUSA, but I just can't see them staying.
Marshall likely seems gone at this point. It does seem they are at least listening to overtures from CUSA, but I just can't see them staying.
IMO, if Liberty and JMU come to CUSA, Marshall stays. If they choose SBC, Marshall goes.
The conference's future (essentially) is in the hands of Liberty.
Remember all the people on here bashing Liberty and saying we should never be in their conference or play them?
Now they are the only thing standing between us being in a stable conference, and being UConn or in the FCS.
I don't recall bashing Liberty. Others may have.
I didn't.
LU Online created a fairly large revenue stream for the physical campus. Now, they have a truckload of money & they aren't afraid to invest in athletics.
I didn’t imply you bashed them. But others have been adamant that we would never be in a conference with them or play them.
Or heaven forbid get steamrolled by them. 😂😂
I'm pretty sure I am one of those who bashed them, and called them an "Online Clown College" and a "Glorified University of Phoenix" so I will take the blame on that one.
The USM move was tweeted but not confirmed. If Marshall stays, CUSA is ok with Liberty and JMU on board. Hell, it would be a stronger conference then we've had. SBC has offered Liberty a few times and they never bit. JMU, Liberty and ODU are proximity partners and according to sources, this is attractive to them plus Marshall. There is a shot there.
We aren't going to FCS. No way that's happening. If NMSU didn't drop down, we won't either.
We aren't going to FCS. No way that's happening. If NMSU didn't drop down, we won't either.
They are technically in the WAC for all sports but football. The WAC is FCS after it’s split from the MWC. So MT being independent FBS and in a FCS for all other sports? That’s dumber than being fully committed to FCS.
Sounds about right. I don't think you could script a bigger blunder/mistake.
It is such a shame we have such stupid people "leading" our university and conference. Their ignorance and stupidity, even in a government bureacracy-type job position, can only shield them from the repercussions of their terrible decision making for so long. The harvesting and fruition of all that stupidity and bad decision making will manifest itself now and the near future. This is what happens when your "leaders" make terrible decisions and ignore it's athletics programs as if all is well.
Conference USA is dead. MT Athletics mise well be dead along with it. Our move up to D1 is an official failure. What do you have to say now, Chris Massaro? Sidney McPhee? ****ing morons.
I seriously vote to just shut it all down and put us all out of our misery.
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I wasn't kidding... go independent, get more $$ than we would otherwise by playing P5 teams, dump money into basketball and get a better coach - renovate the Murphy Center - etc.
Plus, it's obvious that if we do that, we will become the next Notre Dame. Just look at what happened in Knoxville last weekend. People are going to be leaving UT in droves, wanting a new team to cheer for! Lucky us!
Plus, it's obvious that if we do that, we will become the next Notre Dame. Just look at what happened in Knoxville last weekend. People are going to be leaving UT in droves, wanting a new team to cheer for! Lucky us!
Would rather shut it all down and be put out of my misery. It has become very clear MT will never be a successful or respected entity in college sports. So why bother?
That will never happen. We’d might as well put it to good use in a program that hasn’t already been completely driven into the ground and irrelevance, aka basketball (both men’s and women’s).
At this point, we should just drop back to FCS, cut student fees and divert money to our non-revenue sports where we have a chance to be competitive until after Stock and CNM leave.
Hope, our purgatory could end if the MAC picks up the leftovers. That’s us!!
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