[paradox]

How many conservative/moderate evangelicals enjoy college hoops?

For an hour or so, on a Friday afternoon in March of 1994, they were all LU fans.

The fanbase is out there, we just have to deliver the goods.

Let me add this:

Most LU fans also support and follow their state school. For instance, Medic is both an LU fan as well as a PSU fan.

Back in '94, I knew quite a few Christians with no affiliation to LU who had the "sign me up" kind of attitude. It can happen. It's all about identification.

[thepostman]

USF is the third largest school in Florida with 34,000 in the undergrad program...

UCF is the largest with 41,000...and UF the second largest with 34,600

according to an article I read in the Orlando sentinel a couple of months ago

schools in Florida have an advantage anyways....its not smart to compare LU with USF...but that is not to say that I don't think LU can be successful in I-A...because I believe they can...but we must take our time...we are not in a position where we should rush this thing

[vastrightwinger]

I think another big distinction is that USF is a state school and here in Florida where we love our football, that makes it a little easier to aquire funding for projects. LU has been blessed with leadership that has/had a remarkable talent to get money when he needed it. I pray that does not end.

[Schfourteenteen]

throw in the possibility of an occasional upset and sign me up.

Im with lou on this one, but not because of anything football related. By moving conferences wed be in a better conference in almost every sport, and that in itself is worth making the jump. If we got the right offer in the next 3 or 4 years when we actually accomplish something, like idk beat a team we lost 56 - 0 to a couple years ago(take your pick there are plenty) then lets do it. Overall its worth it. We get in a decent conference in basketball (which will make all our losses look better than lets say....UNCA). We then get in a conference most people have heard of, and almost every sport benefits from that.

[SuperJon]

Are you talking about FCS or FBS football?

Fact of the matter is, the Big South is only bad in one or two sports: basketball and football. I know those are the only two that matter to most people, but the Big South isn't horrible across the board.

[JK37]

throw in the possibility of an occasional upset and sign me up.

Im with lou on this one, but not because of anything football related. By moving conferences wed be in a better conference in almost every sport, and that in itself is worth making the jump. If we got the right offer in the next 3 or 4 years when we actually accomplish something, like idk beat a team we lost 56 - 0 to a couple years ago(take your pick there are plenty) then lets do it. Overall its worth it. We get in a decent conference in basketball (which will make all our losses look better than lets say....UNCA). We then get in a conference most people have heard of, and almost every sport benefits from that.

Why are we approaching this as if an offer to change conferences is just out there waiting for us, or that they happen all the time? What in the world makes us marketable in the eyes of a low- or even mid- major conference at the FBS level?!

The next, and maybe only real conference change in the hypothetically forseeable future would be to the SoCon, and it isn't happening. They don't want Liberty. I think the CAA might work, but that isn't happening either. Neither conference wants Liberty. And even then, we would still be looking at football in the FCS. A move such as that would have to happen before we could truly consider a jump to the FBS, and that type of move isn't happening A-N-Y-T-I-M-E in the forseeable future.

[Schfourteenteen]

I was saying FBS. If we get in ANY of those conferences its worth it across the board IMO. I could be very wrong and I apologize

Also LU would be in NCAA Football and thatg would just be really cool.

Also itd be nice to be in a conference that has more than 6 teams in all their sports. Schools not having football just makes it feel like being one of the kids from "Little Giants" when they went to get their equipment. It just didnt feel like the real thing

[Schfourteenteen]

throw in the possibility of an occasional upset and sign me up.

Im with lou on this one, but not because of anything football related. By moving conferences wed be in a better conference in almost every sport, and that in itself is worth making the jump. If we got the right offer in the next 3 or 4 years when we actually accomplish something, like idk beat a team we lost 56 - 0 to a couple years ago(take your pick there are plenty) then lets do it. Overall its worth it. We get in a decent conference in basketball (which will make all our losses look better than lets say....UNCA). We then get in a conference most people have heard of, and almost every sport benefits from that.

Why are we approaching this as if an offer to change conferences is just out there waiting for us, or that they happen all the time? What in the world makes us marketable in the eyes of a low- or even mid- major conference at the FBS level?!

The next, and maybe only real conference change in the hypothetically forseeable future would be to the SoCon, and it isn't happening. They don't want Liberty. I think the CAA might work, but that isn't happening either. Neither conference wants Liberty. And even then, we would still be looking at football in the FCS. A move such as that would have to happen before we could truly consider a jump to the FBS, and that type of move isn't happening A-N-Y-T-I-M-E in the forseeable future.

Im pretty sure I said if somewhere before, so my bad. But to say we need to be good in order to make the jump isnt necessarily true. Im not citing USF because they had different circumstances. But if we had an offer that would take us up a level, why not take it?

[jcmanson]

Are we having this conversation again

[Stevev]

Fact of the matter is, the Big South is only bad in one or two sports: basketball and football. I know those are the only two that matter to most people, but the Big South isn't horrible across the board.

Actually in baseball the big South is very well respected and I think was ranked as high as 10th and right now is rated over the Colonial conference. Golf, soccer, softball, and tennis are pretty good. But the money sports really suck like football, M & W hoops.

I am not even thinking 1A at the moment considering where we are at right now and how far we have to go. I would like to see us in the Colonial conference in all sports so we can compete with JMU, W& M, GMU, VCU, and ODU in all sports on a consistent basis so we could get some good recognition in the state if anything. We have the facilities to make it happen but need to make some changes and start pushing to get in. This is where we need Jeff Barber to do his thing and make it happen.