[JMUDukeDawg]

Thought I would try to bring some optimism over here in light of the Chapman debate.

Article in the Harrisonburg paper (subscription required) quotes our AD as saying it's very likely you could see FBS movement in the next 18-24 months. The quote from the article that's relevant to this board is:

Bourne said, without prompting, that he could see JMU becoming a charter member of a conference comprised of upper-level I-AA schools and lower-level I-A schools – schools such as Appalachian State, Delaware, Marshall, Ohio University and Old Dominion.

Obviously, LU isn't mentioned, but this doesn't happen too often and might be an ideal spot/chance for LU to jump up.

[BiggAl57]

Bourne said, without prompting, that he could see JMU becoming a charter member of a conference comprised of upper-level I-AA schools and lower-level I-A schools – schools such as Appalachian State, Delaware, Marshall, Ohio University and Old Dominion.

.

Guess he doesn't feel we qualify as an upper level 1-AA school

[JMUDukeDawg]

Bourne said, without prompting, that he could see JMU becoming a charter member of a conference comprised of upper-level I-AA schools and lower-level I-A schools – schools such as Appalachian State, Delaware, Marshall, Ohio University and Old Dominion.

.

Guess he doesn't feel we qualify as an upper level 1-AA school

That's not exactly how I would read it...he mentions ODU, but I think most recognize that Liberty is currently at a higher level than ODU.

Call me an optimist, but if ODU is being considered, LU can at least get its name into the discussion.

[Schfourteenteen]

Liberty has already made the jump to big time football. See Chapman, Asa

[JMUDukeDawg]

Cool. We can be in the new 1-AA, which will be slightly better than the new 1-AAA. I guess that's still improvement.

Yea, I'm against the move from a JMU standpoint. We would be FBS in name only. The conference might be looked at as worse than the Sun Belt...

[BiggAl57]

Liberty has already made the jump to big time football. See Chapman, Asa

Maybe we can call ourselfs "The L"

[jbock13]

Yeah guys, because we're ready to compete with the UNC's and Michigan's and Alabama's of the world. Right?

[From the class of 09]

I know we are all pretty down right now with the loss last Saturday and the whole Asa thing. But this could really be a great developement if we are able to be part of this group stepping up. It would allow us to play some regional games while building the program on the next level. It's not BCS buts it's closer than where we are now.

[LUconn]

Is it just me or is Ohio and Marshall already in FBS conferences? Kind of ballsy to put them out there like that.

[TDDance234]

With the way Ohio undressed Marshall last week, it is hard to believe MU is actually FBS.

[ballah09]

Marshall and Ohio would never leave an established conferences w/ bowls (ala Liberty bowl). If they do it's bigger and better conferences. Alumni/Boosters would probably be P.O'ed and wouldn't allow it to happen.

With Big East splitting C-USA is probably going to lose UCF and ECU. I read they might do a super conference with 6-8 new teams involving FCS.



anyway if Liberty was to move up they need to upgrade some facilities as in finish stadium, lounges, etc... I'm not saying they are division 1 quality, they are but other schools are upgrading and now they competing with bigger schools with bigger budgets, etc....remember there will be 5 FBS schools in VA if Liberty, JMU and ODU were to move up.

[Cider Jim]

With the way Ohio undressed Marshall last week, it is hard to believe MU is actually FBS.

Ouch! That hurts.

[prototype]

That's not exactly how I would read it...he mentions ODU, but I think most recognize that Liberty is currently at a higher level than ODU.

Call me an optimist, but if ODU is being considered, LU can at least get its name into the discussion.

Your coach hates Liberty... He has never hid this fact. Doubt he will play us again after this year, if he has the choice. Which is sad.

I think that this would be a HUGE opportunity for us to move up and make a whole lot of sense... We will get better players if we move up and be competitive.

[JMUDukeDawg]

That's not exactly how I would read it...he mentions ODU, but I think most recognize that Liberty is currently at a higher level than ODU.

Call me an optimist, but if ODU is being considered, LU can at least get its name into the discussion.

Your coach hates Liberty... He has never hid this fact. Doubt he will play us again after this year, if he has the choice. Which is sad.

I think that this would be a HUGE opportunity for us to move up and make a whole lot of sense... We will get better players if we move up and be competitive.

Our coach hates Liberty??? When did that happen? I'd like to get the quotes on that. Pretty sure prior to this game he said Liberty was a Top 10 team and Mike Brown was the best QB in the state. Also, this is our AD, who I don't think has ever said anything about Liberty.

If you read on here, both LU and JMU fans mostly agree that continuing our OOC series isn't really beneficial for either party. Especially for JMU who adds another in-state foe with the addition of ODU to the conference.

[rogers3]

I don't think MM hates LU or really any team in particular. If you listen to his press conference from ~ 10 days ago, you'll see that the only person he seems to hate is a press member that is the JMU beat writer!

[JMUDukeDawg]

I don't think MM hates LU or really any team in particular. If you listen to his press conference from ~ 10 days ago, you'll see that the only person he seems to hate is a press member that is the JMU beat writer!

THAT is undisputed....Mike Barber does a good job of getting Mickey irritated, particularly after a bad game like the CCSU one...

[Liberty22]

Yeah guys, because we're ready to compete with the UNC's and Michigan's and Alabama's of the world. Right?

This argument gets on my nerves.. No we are not ready to compete against them on a regular basis, but if we were to move up (even to the worst conference in FBS) then we would gain 20 more scholarships, we would upgrade our facilities which would attract more players, and we would be playing the Marshalls, Ohio Universities, etc of the world, not the top tier schools just yet. I would take a spot in the toilet bowl at 6 wins, if it means national recognition and being in the FBS.

[JMUDukeDawg]

Yeah guys, because we're ready to compete with the UNC's and Michigan's and Alabama's of the world. Right?

This argument gets on my nerves.. No we are not ready to compete against them on a regular basis, but if we were to move up (even to the worst conference in FBS) then we would gain 20 more scholarships, we would upgrade our facilities which would attract more players, and we would be playing the Marshalls, Ohio Universities, etc of the world, not the top tier schools just yet. I would take a spot in the toilet bowl at 6 wins, if it means national recognition and being in the FBS.

Yep, before you can run with the big dogs, you gotta wrestle some pups.

The first step is to increase scholarships. You're not doing anything until you do that. Then you've got to beat up on your "lower" conference enough that you get noticed. It's a progression and nobody jumps right to competing with the BCS...that's the way they like it.

[prototype]

Yeah guys, because we're ready to compete with the UNC's and Michigan's and Alabama's of the world. Right?

This argument gets on my nerves.. No we are not ready to compete against them on a regular basis, but if we were to move up (even to the worst conference in FBS) then we would gain 20 more scholarships, we would upgrade our facilities which would attract more players, and we would be playing the Marshalls, Ohio Universities, etc of the world, not the top tier schools just yet. I would take a spot in the toilet bowl at 6 wins, if it means national recognition and being in the FBS.

Yep, before you can run with the big dogs, you gotta wrestle some pups.

The first step is to increase scholarships. You're not doing anything until you do that. Then you've got to beat up on your "lower" conference enough that you get noticed. It's a progression and nobody jumps right to competing with the BCS...that's the way they like it.

Agreed! Even though JMU has had some tough years as of late - they have consistently proved that they are very competitive against everyone. We need to get to that same level and win all the games we should win. We should have beat JMU this year. This was the year. Next year - how good are we going to be without Mike Brown? Go to a practice and watch the QB's - Mike is a man amongst boys when it comes to the type of ball he throws. Unless we get a transfer or someone I didn't see steps up - we will be taking a substantial step backwards at QB. And I love Rocco, but we don't have the most creative scheming going on and we don't seem to have any hope in establishing a running game.

BUT, we would be a LOT better if we were in the CAA - those 3 letters make a big difference for JMU, W&M, and Richmond. We are fighting uphill in the Big South...

[Purple Haize]

Agreed Proto. Of course, it could be argued we aren't exactly beating up the competition in our weaker/lower level conference.

[rogers3]

Agreed Proto. Of course, it could be argued we aren't exactly beating up the competition in our weaker/lower level conference.

JMU plays teams like ours or better regularly. They schedule an FBS, and usually a weaker FCS (sometimes D2); their other OOC could be a crap shoot, but their conference schedule is tough. If we had that type of scheduling, we would be on our way to being recognized as a tougher opponent- maybe ready for a move. It will be hard to make that happen in the Big South. A rough couple of years would be expected if we moved into a conference like the CAA.

[No Fear]

Why don't we:
1. Beat everyone in the Big South first.
2. Represent Big South in play-offs at least once.
3. Beat JMU, or some of the other schools, before we say LU should move to FBS before them.
4. Complete the stadium construction and other facilities before we actually start planning the games.

just a thought...

[JDUB]

I agree with No Fear. I think BCS is definitely in our future, but I think we have a few more steps before we are ready for that big one.

[LUconn]

Why don't we get get a veterinary school established and running. THEN we can talk about moving up to FBS. It's ridiculous that we think we can move up without having a top notch vet program.

[JDUB]

So you think it's reasonable to move up without ever even playing in the playoffs, much less winning a game? How are we qualified more than teams who consistently play in the playoffs and move forward? I don't think being cochamps over and over of a horrible conference means we're ready for bcs. We need to win our conference outright before we start moving on to other conferences.