[PAmedic]

another stupid thread with the same stupid argument.

wake me up when its over



600+ guys on here, half "for" and half "agin" moving up, neither half willing to concede the others' point.

and guess what- it doesn't matter anyway. Batman and Robin will be the ones to decide if/when we're ready.

have a nice day.

[truedrewdawg87]

Liberty wasn't 'ready' for Elon, they'll never be 'ready' for BCS football. They need to focus on making the playoffs, winning a conference title or not choking away a lead against a D-1 team, not about joining a BCS Conference.

[LUconn]

I think you're confused about what an AD does vs what a coach does. If we only ever did one thing at a time, LU would still be 50 kids in the TRBC janitor's closet.

[FlamingChick]

I think at this point the main focus for LU Football should be on winning the Big South Conference a few times, and then, possibly move into a stronger FCS conference. If we could could play one FBS game a year, and the rest of our out of conference games be against strong FCS teams (Delaware, Appy St, Elon, etc.), I think that would be great for the program. No more D-II games if we're trying to take this program to the next level!

[Ed Dantes]

USF for all you geography buff is in FLORIDA. Florida is about as close to heaven as college football coaches can get when it comes to recruiting. They have a distinct advantage at offering kids a chance to stay close to home, while playing for a school in a BCS conference with a program on the rise. Even when USF was in its humble beginnings as a football program, it still had the nations best crop of talent in its back yard to recruit from.
On the other hand, Liberty is in a middle of the road 1-AA Conference, and is a program with minimal tradition as a selling point. And no offense to kids in Virginia, but the recruiting pool in that state doesn't exactly have a deep end.

What about Marshall? Granted, they've sucked in year's past (and this year), but they followed the I-AA powerhouse-to-I-A respectability model... and West Virginia isn't exactly the recruiting hotbed that Florida is.

[LUconn]

USF for all you geography buff is in FLORIDA. Florida is about as close to heaven as college football coaches can get when it comes to recruiting. They have a distinct advantage at offering kids a chance to stay close to home, while playing for a school in a BCS conference with a program on the rise. Even when USF was in its humble beginnings as a football program, it still had the nations best crop of talent in its back yard to recruit from.
On the other hand, Liberty is in a middle of the road 1-AA Conference, and is a program with minimal tradition as a selling point. And no offense to kids in Virginia, but the recruiting pool in that state doesn't exactly have a deep end.

What about Marshall? Granted, they've sucked in year's past (and this year), but they followed the I-AA powerhouse-to-I-A respectability model... and West Virginia isn't exactly the recruiting hotbed that Florida is.

well... they cheated really. I don't think we want to follow that model.

[truedrewdawg87]

If you consider Marshall being a cellar dwellar in the not-so-stout Conference USA a model for Liberty to follow then obviously you're expectations for Liberty football are a bit low. Convince me why Appalachian should EVER leave 1-AA and then you MIGHT convince me why Liberty should leave. Plus, Liberty (which by the way isn't WE unless you're on the football team or something) would have to find a 1-A conference willing to take them. Good luck finding a conference that makes sense for Liberty to join. I would rather see them Flames become successful in 1-AA and join the Southern Conference and be competitive, than go 1-A and go 3-8 or whatever every year. Be careful what you ask for folks.

[Hold My Own]

so you dont think Appy St should move up either?

[SuperJon]

Not yet. They're in a bad situation in terms of conferences at the FBS level.

[ATrain]

And getting back on topic: Lets play Florida International

[truedrewdawg87]

Why would App. St. EVER leave 1-AA. They're at the TOP od 1-AA football...if they leave 1-AA they would go from the mountaintop to the valley for sure. Don't trade your spot as a king for a shot at being a peasant.

[Hold My Own]

USF is glad your not their AD!

[SuperJon]

No, if App moved up, they'd do good. They have the resources available to be successful at the FBS level and they have the talent right now to be successful at the mid-major level. The thing holding App back is their location. They are two hours away from a commercial airport, so anyone who comes to Boone would have to fly, then get a bus and travel another two hours. That's the only thing preventing them from moving up in the next few years.

[LUconn]

I'm sure App St. is happy being king of the subdivision nobody gives a lick about. Do you think minor league baseball players would rather stay on a championship team rather than play for the Royals? It's nice to dominate where you're at, but lets not pretend anything more than 2% of football fans care about FCS football.

(which by the way isn't WE unless you're on the football team or something)

Are you serious? My 4 years of tuition that I'll have paid off by the time I'm 35 says I can say "we".

[SuperJon]

App's good enough to move up. Once they finish their renovations (new field house that's going to be huge and insanely nice, possibly expanding one side of the stadium, and putting stands in one of the end zones) they'll have some of the best facilities in the region. They've got the talent as it is to make the jump. It all comes down to their location though.

[thepostman]

I'm sure App St. is happy being king of the subdivision nobody gives a lick about. Do you think minor league baseball players would rather stay on a championship team rather than play for the Royals? It's nice to dominate where you're at, but lets not pretend anything more than 2% of football fans care about FCS football.

(which by the way isn't WE unless you're on the football team or something)

Are you serious? My 4 years of tuition that I'll have paid off by the time I'm 35 says I can say "we".

schools you attended is "we"...but man i hate when people talk about their favorite pro team or college that they never attended and say "we"....its a little thing, but annoying...

but all of us current and past LU students should refer to athletic teams as "we" we are part of the student body....

and there is my opinion

[truedrewdawg87]

Just because something seems like a good idea in the case of App. St. moving up doesn't mean it always is. For every USF in there world, there's plenty of Marshall's, and UCONN's and a boatload of other school's that have made the jump and regret it or haven't had the success yet to justify the move. Location isn't the only thing holding Appalachian back from moving up. I've heard the administration isn't crazy about the idea either. Plus, one win over Michigan doesn't mean you can play like that every week. App got ran by Wofford a few weeks after the shocker at the Big House. Take from a guy who has family that graduated from App., most Mountaineers fans don't want to see their school make the jump. It's a bad idea for them, and its certainly a bad idea for LU. Just because it works for one school doesn't mean it will work for everyone. How many guys on Appalachian's roster could HONESTLY start for a USC or LSU right now? Probably a handful, MAYBE two handful's? When LU can HONESTLY say that it consistently draws in maybe even i don't know 20 guys or so that could start at MAJOR D-I programs like a Florida or LSU EVERY YEAR, and the Flames consistently make the playoffs and win a game or two, THEN this BCS discussion will start to be remotely credible. The fact that LU fans even think moving up is a good idea, when the school has ZERO playoff appearances let alone wins is RIDICULOUS. You've got to learn to crawl before you can walk, and as far as I'm concerned, Liberty football hasn't been out of the crib for too long.

[LUconn]

This discussion is as old as LU football. I'll say what I always say. Success at the FBS level has so little to do with success at the FCS level. If the circumstances were right, we could make the jump coming off of an 0-12 season and do well within a few years at the next level. There are over 100 FBS teams and only 10 of those are "elite", maybe 30 have a shot at a championship in the current BCS model. I'd bet that you could only find 2 or 3 of the 100+ teams that would rather be down a level. Would you rather play D2 basketball? We should dominate there first right? No, because they have nothing to do with each other. The entire key to making this type of change is the situation we're in when making a move. Who is moving up with us? Will we be an indy team? etc.

[ATrain]

Well right now, no one is able to move up whether they want to or not b/c of the NCAA moratorium on moving up. Lets revisit this topic in 4 years after the moratorium is over.

[bigsmooth]

i really do not think marshall or Uconn regret moving up. they are on TV quite a bit and are reaping those revenues. i would love to see LU playing on any of the ESPN family of networks, but again this issue should die for at least four years.

[thepostman]

I don't think LU should move up just for the heck of moving up...but if they can get into a respectable mid-major conference and the AD feels we are ready then go for it...it will give us much more exposure and that is always good...as some of you guys have said this debate has been going on forever and I am sure it will keep going on...and once we move up the debate will be "should we have moved up"....It would be great to put in a solid 10 year plan within the next couple years that is going to change....if i remember right next season was the season we were suppose to be in I-A, but things changed because we did not have the right people in place...I think we have the right people in place now to go ahead with a ten year plan, but we have got to make sure everybody is committed to stick around for 10 years....that is probably the biggest chanllenge in this whole thing.

[jcmanson]

Are we having this conversation again

[Knucklehead]

Are we having this conversation again

I was thinking the same thing earlier. It will happen or not on it's own without our help!

[Hold My Own]

I agree with what you said SJ and I too believe that's whats holding them back...but I dont think that's what Truedog thinks...I believe he'd still tell them to stay where they were if they lived in Charlotte


That to me makes no sense...they are good enough to make the jump...they are making 3% of what they could make just being a top 50 national team....no matter what you'll find reasons not to do something...I'm sure EVERYONE told UCF that they were crazy for trying to get athletes from all the schools that swarm that area

[SuperJon]

I agree with what you said SJ and I too believe that's whats holding them back...but I dont think that's what Truedog thinks...I believe he'd still tell them to stay where they were if they lived in Charlotte

Speaking of Charlotte, it's likely that if they ever start football they'll do the USF way of FCS for a few years with the intent on going FBS.

the people I know at App are split 50-50 on the move up. I think they could be the next Boise St with the commitment, atmosphere, and athletes they have, but I don't think any of them are ready yet. You have to remember, they're just two seasons removed from 6-5 and losing to Western. They haven't been great for long.