[ATrain]

Syracuse did not belong in ACC in 2004, nor do they belong now, even though they are in. No northern schools should be in ACC, i.e. Syracuse, Pittsburg and Boston College. Neither does Louisville.

East Carolina and Liberty would have been better fits for ACC than those schools.

Umm, no, no and no. The ACC has always been a BBall conference, tried to go football by adding BC, Miami and VT. Louisville, Pitt, Syracuse, BC, Notre Dame and even UConn would've all been better fits for the BBall-first conference than VT and Miami were. Liberty and East Carolina better fits? I'm in tears from laughing so hard.

[Purple Haize]

You forget his self proclaimed exemption to Stream of Consciousness postf. C'mon Man

2 things:
1) that post actually wasn't stream of consciousness, and I actually was trying to make sure the right punctuation was used along with appropriate grammar and syntax. I mean if you're trying to be a bully to me on here, I get it and all...its just sad.
2) Postf? seriously?

This thread is 193 pages of BJ spouting random crap, PH correcting him on it, BJ trying to redeem his crap by correcting the punctuation or typo of another user and then some random user making a claim that we are better fit in the ACC/SEC/B1G/Pac12/Big12/American than at least one of their current conference members.

That about sums it up

[rmiller1959]

Ann Richards & Bob Bullock saved the Baylor athletic department. The Bears had no business being in the Big XII over UH. It was all about the timing. And UH simply doesn't have the clout in Austin to force anything these days. Tech played the system well to keep UH out back in '95.

They probably kept Houston out since we couldn't beat them on the football field! We were 1-3 against them in my four years there, and 6-7-1 until the SWC disbanded.

The two schools seem to be rekindling their relationship, and the current Tech coaching staff has roots in the Houston program. Kliff Kingsbury, the head coach, started his coaching career in Houston, and they just lured their new defensive coordinator from Houston. The two schools just signed an agreement to play a four-game football series starting in 2017 in Houston and concluding in Lubbock in 2022.

I'll say this for Houston - judging from their activities at UHS Day at the Capitol, they're not shy about trumpeting their desire to move up to the Big 12 - and yes, the pun was fully intended:

http://thedailycougar.com/2015/02/23/uh ... ence-play/

If the NCAA rejects the ACC waiver request for a conference championship game with just 10 teams, things in the Big 12 will get very interesting indeed. I get the impression their biggest objection to expansion is that they really don't want to split their TV revenue 12 ways.

[ATrain]

Ann Richards & Bob Bullock saved the Baylor athletic department. The Bears had no business being in the Big XII over UH. It was all about the timing. And UH simply doesn't have the clout in Austin to force anything these days. Tech played the system well to keep UH out back in '95.

They probably kept Houston out since we couldn't beat them on the football field! We were 1-3 against them in my four years there, and 6-7-1 until the SWC disbanded.

The two schools seem to be rekindling their relationship, and the current Tech coaching staff has roots in the Houston program. Kliff Kingsbury, the head coach, started his coaching career in Houston, and they just lured their new defensive coordinator from Houston. The two schools just signed an agreement to play a four-game football series starting in 2017 in Houston and concluding in Lubbock in 2022.

I'll say this for Houston - judging from their activities at UHS Day at the Capitol, they're not shy about trumpeting their desire to move up to the Big 12 - and yes, the pun was fully intended:

http://thedailycougar.com/2015/02/23/uh ... ence-play/

If the NCAA rejects the ACC waiver request for a conference championship game with just 10 teams, things in the Big 12 will get very interesting indeed. I get the impression their biggest objection to expansion is that they really don't want to split their TV revenue 12 ways.

That last sentence states why the Big 12 doesn't want to expand.

[ATrain]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr- ... 56569.html

BYU wants a home

[VAGolf]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr- ... 56569.html

BYU wants a home

Why do they want a home when they get to claim their own planet?

[alabama24]

lol

[Sly Fox]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr- ... 56569.html

BYU wants a home

Why do they want a home when they get to claim their own planet?

[rmiller1959]

The Sun Belt just announced their 2015 schedule:

http://www.fbschedules.com/2015/02/2015 ... m=referral

We get another audition with them on October 3, when we travel to the Georgia Dome to face Georgia State. It's not a great challenge since Georgia State was 1-11 last year and 0-8 in the Sun Belt, but it still would be nice to go 2-0 against Sun Belt teams on the road.

Would I be reading too much into the schedules to assume that someone in the Sun Belt wants Liberty to show what they can do on the field?

[VAGolf]

The Sun Belt just announced their 2015 schedule:

http://www.fbschedules.com/2015/02/2015 ... m=referral

We get another audition with them on October 3, when we travel to the Georgia Dome to face Georgia State. It's not a great challenge since Georgia State was 1-11 last year and 0-8 in the Sun Belt, but it still would be nice to go 2-0 against Sun Belt teams on the road.

Would I be reading too much into the schedules to assume that someone in the Sun Belt wants Liberty to show what they can do on the field?

I don't think that is too far fetched. But I don't think we have played or will play any school that voted against us joining. Having this on-field success certainly helps though.

[Sly Fox]

We scheduled that game about a year ago. And as mentioned above, beating them won't impress too many folks in the Sun Belt. But ut sure would be fun considering the fact that some of the GSU posters on the Sun Belt board have been our biggest critics.

[Blessed1]

We scheduled that game about a year ago. And as mentioned above, beating them won't impress too many folks in the Sun Belt. But ut sure would be fun considering the fact that a GSU poster by the name of Panama on the Sun Belt board have been our biggest critic.

FIFY, Sly.

[Sly Fox]

No argument from me. But he isn't alone.

[flameshaw]

So............... who are we asking to dance now?

[rmiller1959]

So............... who are we asking to dance now?

I don't think we'll know who our dance partners are until the NCAA makes a decision on whether or not a conference can host a championship game with less than 12 teams. If the answer is no, then the Big 12 and Sun Belt will have to consider at least the possibility of adding teams so they can host a championship game. Here's my humble opinion on the options:

Big 12 - They're currently working on a tiebreaker system so that they can have "one true champion" without the need for a scheduled conference championship game. That way, they don't have to add teams and split the TV revenue, which seems to be the primary driver in their decision-making right now. If, after another season, they are snubbed by the CFP, even if they have an undisputed conference champion, because the other Power Five conferences have championship games and they don't, only then would they consider expansion, which would create a domino effect and potentially create some openings for Liberty.

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.co ... on-policy/

Conference USA - C-USA is primed to make a decision in the coming weeks on whether or not to allow UAB to stay in the conference, even without a football program. This article sums up the consequences of that decision:

If UAB is forced to find a new home, realignment is happening. UAB will need to find a new home for its other teams as soon as possible. That could be in the Sun Belt, Atlantic Sun, Colonial Athletic Association or elsewhere. There's also the possibility UAB would have to play as an independent for a year as it seeks conference membership, which is the worst-case scenario.

Conference USA could stay pat for a year as it looks at options or it could immediately try to add a 14th football-playing member. Middle Tennessee State athletic director Chris Massaro mentioned Liberty and James Madison as two schools looking to move up to the FBS-level for football, and either could be an attractive option. The conference has recently dipped into that well when it added Charlotte and Old Dominion before either had a fully-fledged FBS football program.

Or it could try to poach from other conferences like the Sun Belt as it has frequently done in recent years.

Note that the Middle Tennessee AD is mentioning Liberty as a potential candidate, which is a first. Add to that the ODU AD, who is high on the Liberty program, friendly with Jeff Barber, and interested in an in-state rivalry, and there could be some momentum there. It all depends on the UAB decision, however, and for what it's worth, UAB fans and boosters are pushing back on the decision to end the football program, and trying to reverse it by obtaining deposits for 10,000 season tickets for the 2016 season, and bringing in an independent review board to study the Carr report.

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2015 ... _does.html

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootbal ... t-deposits

Sun Belt - If the NCAA decides against the conference championship waiver, then the Sun Belt is back in play. I'm not "in the know" so I don't know if the dynamics have changed that prevented them from considering us in the past, but Liberty's football fortunes last season sure made a lot of people stand up and take notice. We need to repeat that performance in 2015, but we've got a tough schedule ahead of us.

These are just my uneducated musings on the topic. Feel free to comment!

[Purple Haize]

I kinda have re alignment burn out

[ATrain]

Wake me up when something's official. In the meantime, I'm curious to see if this thread will hit 200 pages?

[alabama24]

Wake me up when something's official. In the meantime, I'm curious to see if this thread will hit 200 pages?

That's quite a bit of "will we or won't we." lol

[Sly Fox]

I fully expect this thread to roll well past 200 pages.

I agree in principle with rmiller1959's summary. But I would sugest that I dont see any possible way that the Big XII expands. That would only come as a result of a Texas-OU exit. So movement is not happening from that direction anytime soon. It certainly would start dropping dominoes in a hurry. I just don't see it.

CUSA looks to be in no hurry to make a decision. I fully expect them to wait until UAB football looks forever gone before they boot them out. That likely won't happen in time for them to make a move before the June 1st date we have all come to know so well. Most Sun Belt folks assume that Lousiana-Lafayette will get the call. But for a number of reasons, I suspect it will be an eastern school getting added. We would be in the mix along with JMU and some others.

Sun Belt is going to be make moves one way or the other. If UAB comes available, the league will be begging them to join. One way or the other, it is expected that next year the Sun Belt will give 2-years notice to Idaho to exit the league. So openings are on the horizon. I'm getting the feeling that our availability is wearing them down. It seems inevitable that they will need to bring us in. Even the most diehard LU haters in the Belt recognize that we are an upgrade over Idaho.

Incidentally, our name keeps getting brought up in regard to possible membership in one of the major hockey leagues. It is pure speculation but our arena expansion has certainly been noticed.

[Sly Fox]

Oh here's some fun from the Belt ...

Karl Benson on Sun Belt expansion and a bowl game in Atlanta
March 13, 2015 |

Doug Roberson
@DougRobersonAJC



Sun Belt commissioner Karl Benson took a few minutes before Friday’s quarterfinal game in the men’s basketball tournament between Louisiana-Lafayette and Texas State to catch me up on the state of the conference.

Of particular note for us ...

Q: With June deadline coming up, any chance of news that a 12th team will be added?

A: No idea.

Q: Does it seem likely?

A: I don’t want to speculate.

Q: Any chance New Mexico State joins for all sports?

A: Highly unlikely. It’s important for the Sun Belt to maintain its geography. Right now, the six teams in the West are the six that we planned three years ago at this time. We added Texas State and Texas-Arlington three years ago to create a Western Division with two teams in Texas, two in Arkansas and two in Louisiana. That was our plan. That’s, right now, the perfect grouping for our Western Division.

Click Here for Full Story

The NMSU comment is fairly new and revelatory. There has long been speculation that NMSU would be added as a full member and not just a football affiliate because of their relatively strong mens hoops program. At least fromt he commish's perspective, that likely isn't going to happen. That is certainly good news from our perspective. Any additions are likely to come from the east. And it brings into question whether or not NMSU will join Idaho getting the boot following the 2017 season if the league enacts the 2-year notice as expected.

[jlread]

I thought the last answer was an interesting one in that article.


Q: What has been the biggest challenge you’ve yet to overcome in the Sun Belt?
A: Getting to 12 teams.

[Sly Fox]

The heartbreak of fans of Western teams on the Sun Belt board is rather entertaining. Their last hope out west is Missouri State. If that's a no go then there is no choice but to expand east.

[LUGrad2000]

Liberty and JMU would seem to be the only options based on the NMSU statement.

[Sly Fox]

We would certainly be the top two alongside Jacksonville State and Eastern Kentucky. But do not rule out Missouri State. I could see circumstances where Missouri State comes in only if an eastern school balances it out.

JMU is not going to the Sun Belt when there is even the most remote chance that they could land a CUSA or MAC invitation. That works in our favor since apparenty there is practically no support right now for financially strapped JSU or years away from being ready EKU.

[ATrain]

I fully expect this thread to roll well past 200 pages.

I agree in principle with rmiller1959's summary. But I would sugest that I dont see any possible way that the Big XII expands. That would only come as a result of a Texas-OU exit. So movement is not happening from that direction anytime soon. It certainly would start dropping dominoes in a hurry. I just don't see it.

CUSA looks to be in no hurry to make a decision. I fully expect them to wait until UAB football looks forever gone before they boot them out. That likely won't happen in time for them to make a move before the June 1st date we have all come to know so well. Most Sun Belt folks assume that Lousiana-Lafayette will get the call. But for a number of reasons, I suspect it will be an eastern school getting added. We would be in the mix along with JMU and some others.

Sun Belt is going to be make moves one way or the other. If UAB comes available, the league will be begging them to join. One way or the other, it is expected that next year the Sun Belt will give 2-years notice to Idaho to exit the league. So openings are on the horizon. I'm getting the feeling that our availability is wearing them down. It seems inevitable that they will need to bring us in. Even the most diehard LU haters in the Belt recognize that we are an upgrade over Idaho.

Incidentally, our name keeps getting brought up in regard to possible membership in one of the major hockey leagues. It is pure speculation but our arena expansion has certainly been noticed.

Which hockey league?