[Maximus]

Heck no! Our girls wouldn't be able to watch away games there, the girls' sidewalk doesn't lead to the football field...

HAHA nice.

[FlameNForest]

Some of you people just don't get it. I'm sorry to play the "I know more than you" card but it's the truth.

In 38 years, we have gone from not existing to the Big South. In those same years, schools that have been around for decades longer have moved up from the SoCon to the ACC and Big East. This stuff takes time. You can't build something overnight. Building a program, and moving up in the ladder of respect, takes decades, not recruiting classes.

Tell that to Elon. They weren't even in the Big South for a decade. They went from DII to the stepping stone Big South to the Southern. I've heard some around here say the Southern is no better than the Big South and not a step up, but these people are delusional.

[ToTheLeft]

Some of you people just don't get it. I'm sorry to play the "I know more than you" card but it's the truth.

In 38 years, we have gone from not existing to the Big South. In those same years, schools that have been around for decades longer have moved up from the SoCon to the ACC and Big East. This stuff takes time. You can't build something overnight. Building a program, and moving up in the ladder of respect, takes decades, not recruiting classes.

Tell that to Elon. They weren't even in the Big South for a decade. They went from DII to the stepping stone Big South to the Southern. I've heard some around here say the Southern is no better than the Big South and not a step up, but these people are delusional.

How is the Southern better? Maybe at football, but anything else and we're just moving laterally. In baseball, it would be a step down. Wouldn't help our women's basketball team at all. The world doesn't revolve around football, I think you really need to consider that.

And Elon isn't doing all that well in anything but football (and probably baseball, last time I checked they had a decent team...), and they still aren't going to be winning a football championship anytime soon.

[FlameNForest]

Some of you people just don't get it. I'm sorry to play the "I know more than you" card but it's the truth.

In 38 years, we have gone from not existing to the Big South. In those same years, schools that have been around for decades longer have moved up from the SoCon to the ACC and Big East. This stuff takes time. You can't build something overnight. Building a program, and moving up in the ladder of respect, takes decades, not recruiting classes.

Tell that to Elon. They weren't even in the Big South for a decade. They went from DII to the stepping stone Big South to the Southern. I've heard some around here say the Southern is no better than the Big South and not a step up, but these people are delusional.

How is the Southern better? Maybe at football, but anything else and we're just moving laterally. In baseball, it would be a step down. Wouldn't help our women's basketball team at all. The world doesn't revolve around football, I think you really need to consider that.

And Elon isn't doing all that well in anything but football (and probably baseball, last time I checked they had a decent team...), and they still aren't going to be winning a football championship anytime soon.

Well, for one thing, the last two years the Southern Conference's football champion wasn't sitting at home watching the playoffs. I also don't see them bringing in DII teams every couple of years either.

Now the CAA would be ideal, with all of the VA schools. And of course I know you have to also be wanted by a conference. But in order to have a chance you'd at first have to actively pursue it. I know before JB that wasn't the case. And lately I've heard that any future move would likely be to a small 1-A conference. But that isn't likely to happen anytime soon and looking at teams like Buffalo and even Marshall, probably wouldn't be wise anytime soon. So the other option is staying put in an entry level 1-AA conference or try to move to a better 1-AA conference. I'm not saying they'd take us, but I don't think we're even trying. And if our ultimate goal is to one day move to 1-A, then I have trouble seeing us build our program up to that point by staying in the BSC.

[ToTheLeft]

Well, for one thing, the last two years the Southern Conference's football champion wasn't sitting at home watching the playoffs. I also don't see them bringing in DII teams every couple of years either.

That's because they have an auto-bid, which we are getting...

And they have DII teams in the conference... Chatty and WCU. They've just been there for a while.

[kingaling42]

Well.. I'm certainly glad that you guys fixed the Kool-Aid vending machines up there.. especially after all of the unexpected news this week..

I guess I'm not sure why some of you blame the conference for holding your institution back?? It's not like LU has been dominating anything consistently except for women's basketball in the time you've been a BSC member.. I'm just not buying the "Baby Jesus" approach to why the conference & KK are detrimental to LU's success- cause that's what some of you sound like on here...

[Blessed1]

I doubt if you guys remember my first post, but I posed the question of Big South expansion. After about a few responses, the theme was clear - CAA/Division 1 conference in all-sports or bust. SuperJon made a great point about LU having nowhere to go. Not everyone supports the "Liberty Way" and was a supporter of Dr. Falwell...no surprises there.

We can 1) be true to what we believe in, jump in an act of faith, risk being an independent and hope for an invite or 2) win as many games in every sport in the Big South and hope interest is mutual from other conferences up the athletic ladder. I think option 2 is our best bet at this point.

What have I learned about the Big South in my 2 years as a fan of LU athletics? No one gives a rat's tail about us! The guys on the MEAC boards feel the same about their conference as well. In basketball, we are always the 15th or 16th seed in the NCAA because of the overall conference reputation. In football, we are always on the outside looking in. The AQ in 2010 will change things a little, but we will probably not be a high seed when one of our teams get in. To me, the BSC sort of feels like being Rodney Dangerfield of athletics....

P.S. - Virginia Tech was not wanted in the ACC! The ACC wanted Miami, Boston College, and Syracuse ONLY. Virginia Tech and VA politicians bum-rushed their way in...I'm just saying though

[ToTheLeft]

In basketball, we are always the 15th or 16th seed in the NCAA because of the overall conference reputation. In football, we are always on the outside looking in.

It's not because of reputation, it's because the conference has a low RPI. It's about the "body of work"... and ours is very poor since we play, and lose to, teams in the bottom 50/100.

And in football, we shot ourselves in the foot. In 2007 we didn't deserve it, we should have beat Toledo and William and Mary and we would have had a better argument. In 2008, we lost to Presby and Laffy. Those weren't the BSC's fault. That was ours.

[FlameNForest]

Well, for one thing, the last two years the Southern Conference's football champion wasn't sitting at home watching the playoffs. I also don't see them bringing in DII teams every couple of years either.

That's because they have an auto-bid, which we are getting...

And they have DII teams in the conference... Chatty and WCU. They've just been there for a while.

Yeah, and when was the last time the SC took an a DII team? And it is a good thing the BSC is finally getting an auto-bid in football. But the way the BSC is such a stepping stone conference, what happens when the next BSC team does what teams like Elon, Towson, or UNCG did and moves up? Wouldn't we lose our auto-bid again?

I don't think conferences like the Southern and CAA have to worry about keeping and maintaining enough football playing members to keep their auto-bid status.

[FlameNForest]

I guess I'm not sure why some of you blame the conference for holding your institution back?? It's not like LU has been dominating anything consistently except for women's basketball in the time you've been a BSC member.. I'm just not buying the "Baby Jesus" approach to why the conference & KK are detrimental to LU's success- cause that's what some of you sound like on here...

Schools like Elon and UNCG didn't dominate every sport in the BSC either, but that didn't keep them from being able to move up.

I'd contend that if we were in a conference like the CAA we would be able to recruit better athletes and play better overall competition and develop a stronger program.

IMO, if we want to one day move to a 1-A conference and be competitive, then we need to develop a high end 1-AA program. That'll be difficult to do staying in the BSC, especially in football and basketball.

[ToTheLeft]

I guess I'm not sure why some of you blame the conference for holding your institution back?? It's not like LU has been dominating anything consistently except for women's basketball in the time you've been a BSC member.. I'm just not buying the "Baby Jesus" approach to why the conference & KK are detrimental to LU's success- cause that's what some of you sound like on here...

Schools like Elon and UNCG didn't dominate every sport in the BSC either, but that didn't keep them from being able to move up.

They didn't move up, they moved laterally, and they aren't being that successful. Neither program is doing much better then they ever have done. But I don't think you're actually thinking about this... you are just frustrated. I've been there... but just think about it. The SoCon would not be a step up, and the CAA would only be a slight step up, but still a step up.

[SuperJon]

I guess I'm not sure why some of you blame the conference for holding your institution back?? It's not like LU has been dominating anything consistently except for women's basketball in the time you've been a BSC member.. I'm just not buying the "Baby Jesus" approach to why the conference & KK are detrimental to LU's success- cause that's what some of you sound like on here...

Schools like Elon and UNCG didn't dominate every sport in the BSC either, but that didn't keep them from being able to move up.

I'd contend that if we were in a conference like the CAA we would be able to recruit better athletes and play better overall competition and develop a stronger program.

I agree with your premise of we can recruit better competition when we get there. However, you're completely off-base comparing us to UNCG and Elon. The SoCon had openings then. They don't have openings now. It's apples and oranges.

[FlameNForest]

I guess I'm not sure why some of you blame the conference for holding your institution back?? It's not like LU has been dominating anything consistently except for women's basketball in the time you've been a BSC member.. I'm just not buying the "Baby Jesus" approach to why the conference & KK are detrimental to LU's success- cause that's what some of you sound like on here...

Schools like Elon and UNCG didn't dominate every sport in the BSC either, but that didn't keep them from being able to move up.

They didn't move up, they moved laterally, and they aren't being that successful. Neither program is doing much better then they ever have done. But I don't think you're actually thinking about this... you are just frustrated. I've been there... but just think about it. The SoCon would not be a step up, and the CAA would only be a slight step up, but still a step up.

IMO, the Southern would be a slight step up and the CAA would be a big step up, especially since they have football now. And, both of those conferences are much more established than the BSC.

If we are serious about eventually moving up to 1-A then we really need to move up to a better overall 1-AA conference first, imo.

Now if we just want to stay at our current level, then the BSC is just fine. We have realistic chances to win the BSC in most sports and get into the postseason. But in most cases we're always be a low end seed that gets clobbered in the opening game. Some are fine with this and if the goal is to do this and try to win more Sasser Cups then fine. But if we really want to improve our program and move up to higher levels then staying in the BSC likely isn't going to get it done.

[ToTheLeft]

Schools like Elon and UNCG didn't dominate every sport in the BSC either, but that didn't keep them from being able to move up.

They didn't move up, they moved laterally, and they aren't being that successful. Neither program is doing much better then they ever have done. But I don't think you're actually thinking about this... you are just frustrated. I've been there... but just think about it. The SoCon would not be a step up, and the CAA would only be a slight step up, but still a step up.

IMO, the Southern would be a slight step up and the CAA would be a big step up, especially since they have football now. And, both of those conferences are much more established than the BSC.

If we are serious about eventually moving up to 1-A then we really need to move up to a better overall 1-AA conference first, imo.

Now if we just want to stay at our current level, then the BSC is just fine. We have realistic chances to win the BSC in most sports and get into the postseason. But in most cases we're always be a low end seed that gets clobbered in the opening game. Some are fine with this and if the goal is to do this and try to win more Sasser Cups then fine. But if we really want to improve our program and move up to higher levels then staying in the BSC likely isn't going to get it done.

Don't make it out like I think winning a Sasser cup is all there is. You really think I don't want this team to improve? It takes time. Winthrop was getting good seeds in the Tourney, and as we get better we will start to get better seeds. Coastal HOSTED a baseball regional and might do it again this year... So don't give me this bottom seed crap. What did Radford deserve this year? They DIDN'T WIN an NON-CONFERENCE DI game. That's not good at all. That's a 16 seed... The ladies had a disappointing OOC year and got the seed they deserved. If the ladies had beat Auburn and Vandy and taken care of some other business they would have had a better seed, and the BSC didn't have a darn thing to do with that. There's a lot on us to perform, and we'll get what we deserve. Look at Siena. Look at Gonzaga. Look at Western Kentucky.

[Realist]

I doubt if you guys remember my first post, but I posed the question of Big South expansion. After about a few responses, the theme was clear - CAA/Division 1 conference in all-sports or bust. SuperJon made a great point about LU having nowhere to go. Not everyone supports the "Liberty Way" and was a supporter of Dr. Falwell...no surprises there.

We can 1) be true to what we believe in, jump in an act of faith, risk being an independent and hope for an invite or 2) win as many games in every sport in the Big South and hope interest is mutual from other conferences up the athletic ladder. I think option 2 is our best bet at this point.

What have I learned about the Big South in my 2 years as a fan of LU athletics? No one gives a rat's tail about us! The guys on the MEAC boards feel the same about their conference as well. In basketball, we are always the 15th or 16th seed in the NCAA because of the overall conference reputation. In football, we are always on the outside looking in. The AQ in 2010 will change things a little, but we will probably not be a high seed when one of our teams get in. To me, the BSC sort of feels like being Rodney Dangerfield of athletics....

P.S. - Virginia Tech was not wanted in the ACC! The ACC wanted Miami, Boston College, and Syracuse ONLY. Virginia Tech and VA politicians bum-rushed their way in...I'm just saying though

Here is where you are wrong. Very few people care about any conference save maybe the top 5-6. It's about the team.

And you can be something greater than a 15th and 16th seed, see Winthrop. 11, 13, 14----it's about how good you are as a team, not your conference when it comes to seeding.

Obviously, a Big South school will never be a one seed and conference has a slight effect on seeding, but very little compared to what you accomplish as a team.

[ToTheLeft]

I doubt if you guys remember my first post, but I posed the question of Big South expansion. After about a few responses, the theme was clear - CAA/Division 1 conference in all-sports or bust. SuperJon made a great point about LU having nowhere to go. Not everyone supports the "Liberty Way" and was a supporter of Dr. Falwell...no surprises there.

We can 1) be true to what we believe in, jump in an act of faith, risk being an independent and hope for an invite or 2) win as many games in every sport in the Big South and hope interest is mutual from other conferences up the athletic ladder. I think option 2 is our best bet at this point.

What have I learned about the Big South in my 2 years as a fan of LU athletics? No one gives a rat's tail about us! The guys on the MEAC boards feel the same about their conference as well. In basketball, we are always the 15th or 16th seed in the NCAA because of the overall conference reputation. In football, we are always on the outside looking in. The AQ in 2010 will change things a little, but we will probably not be a high seed when one of our teams get in. To me, the BSC sort of feels like being Rodney Dangerfield of athletics....

P.S. - Virginia Tech was not wanted in the ACC! The ACC wanted Miami, Boston College, and Syracuse ONLY. Virginia Tech and VA politicians bum-rushed their way in...I'm just saying though

Here is where you are wrong. Very few people care about any conference save maybe the top 5-6. It's about the team.

And you can be something greater than a 15th and 16th seed, see Winthrop. 11, 13, 14----it's about how good you are as a team, not your conference when it comes to seeding.

Obviously, a Big South school will never be a one seed and conference has a slight effect on seeding, but very little compared to what you accomplish as a team.

Precisely. When we start beating Miami and NC State and whoever else Winthrop beat, then we'll get better seeding ONCE we start actually making the tourney.

[Blessed1]

I doubt if you guys remember my first post, but I posed the question of Big South expansion. After about a few responses, the theme was clear - CAA/Division 1 conference in all-sports or bust. SuperJon made a great point about LU having nowhere to go. Not everyone supports the "Liberty Way" and was a supporter of Dr. Falwell...no surprises there.

We can 1) be true to what we believe in, jump in an act of faith, risk being an independent and hope for an invite or 2) win as many games in every sport in the Big South and hope interest is mutual from other conferences up the athletic ladder. I think option 2 is our best bet at this point.

What have I learned about the Big South in my 2 years as a fan of LU athletics? No one gives a rat's tail about us! The guys on the MEAC boards feel the same about their conference as well. In basketball, we are always the 15th or 16th seed in the NCAA because of the overall conference reputation. In football, we are always on the outside looking in. The AQ in 2010 will change things a little, but we will probably not be a high seed when one of our teams get in. To me, the BSC sort of feels like being Rodney Dangerfield of athletics....

P.S. - Virginia Tech was not wanted in the ACC! The ACC wanted Miami, Boston College, and Syracuse ONLY. Virginia Tech and VA politicians bum-rushed their way in...I'm just saying though

Here is where you are wrong. Very few people care about any conference save maybe the top 5-6. It's about the team.

And you can be something greater than a 15th and 16th seed, see Winthrop. 11, 13, 14----it's about how good you are as a team, not your conference when it comes to seeding.

Obviously, a Big South school will never be a one seed and conference has a slight effect on seeding, but very little compared to what you accomplish as a team.

I was talking about historically our conference gets those type of seeds. Winthrop actually beat some "big names" and deserved their seeding last year. Kind of like what Coppin State did back in the day with Fang Mitchell when they received a seed higher than 15/16.

Your out-of-conference schedule does matter! Had LU or VMI won the BSC tourney, both would've been maybe a 13th or 14th seed....You can do a "Memphis" in your conference and still get a high seed because of you non-conference schedule. You have to beat some tourny bound teams to get some respect. As a whole, we're still trying to gain it...

[markymark550]

Your out-of-conference schedule does matter! Had LU or VMI won the BSC tourney, both would've been maybe a 13th or 14th seed....You can do a "Memphis" in your conference and still get a high seed because of you non-conference schedule. You have to beat some tourny bound teams to get some respect. As a whole, we're still trying to gain it...

If VMI or LU had won, they maybe would have gotten a 15 seed. Even though they both had a nice win or two, both LU and VMI had way too bad losses to get a 13 or 14 seed.

[JMUDukes]

P.S. - Virginia Tech was not wanted in the ACC! The ACC wanted Miami, Boston College, and Syracuse ONLY. Virginia Tech and VA politicians bum-rushed their way in...I'm just saying though

anddd ACC fans STILL don't want them

[soccer7]

keep in mind if a spot opens in the CAA, Radford would be in the middle of that battle also haha. One of the first things our president did when she got hired was hire a independent sports consultant to create a report that outlines the state of our athletic programs....one of the main questions she wanted answered was is moving to the CAA a viable option. Shes opened up the sports budget, and it has produced results quickly, i think upgrading conferences is definitey on her list of goals. Shes tight w/ timmy kaine and the folks in Richmond, and I think shes willing to do whatever she can to make it happen. but we arent close to that point yet.

good luck on the race to see who can leave the bsc fastest

WOW!! That is a no brainer. The CAA would take Liberty over Radford any day. Well, we have been hosed by the CAA a couple of times already so I guess I wouldnt be surprised if they did give us the shaft

[Ed Dantes]

Our conference is our Emmanuel Goldstein. We need something upon which to direct our two-minutes of hate.

A 1984 reference on FF?

Just trying to raise the level of conversation...

[WinthropEagleFan]

This is always an interesting topic to me, I feel a little bad that I'm late to the party.

Anyway, I think blaming a conference for shortcomings in your program are a cop-out. And that's not just directed at LU. I didn't buy into that when WU fans would say the same thing in the past. Could the Big South be better? Of course, but I've never felt like that the league is a reason for any failures in a program. As others have said, there are examples in just about every sport of a program in the league seeing national success...where was the Big South anchor then?

I don't have any specific loyalty to the Big South, and I don't agree with every direction the league has gone in, but what has the league done that is so bad? I mean, the football schools wanted football, so now there is football in the league, and the league will have an auto bid in a couple of years. There's always room for improvement, but I've never quite understood the venom directed to the conference office.

And in these discussions, Elon, UNCG, Towson, etc always get brought up. But honestly, what have they done at their new conferences that they couldn't have done in the Big South? Honest question because I don't know and I can't see anything that they've done. So that's why when this discussion comes up, I never really scream for WU to move. If they do, that's fine, but I don't see where it changes much except for the teams that are on the schedule...

[paradox]

This discussion really shouldn't even be about the big south. I think it's bigger than that. I think that we can all appreciate the frustration involved with having a great season and then not getting into the dance. This is life if you're in a low mid-major conference. Take Winthrop for example. They lost at the buzzer to Tennessee three years ago, but just barely got to the dance after a razor thin win against Coastal in the big south final. The next year Winthrop actually knocked off Notre Dame. But do they even get to the dance if they lose to VMI in the big south final. The VMI game came down to the final play.

We can take this a little closer to home and look at what Steph Curry accomplished last year, almost making it to the final four. Would Steph Curry even be Steph Curry the potential NBA lottery pick without that performance? What if they didn't get in? Who would he be then? Just look at what happened in the southern conference this year: Davidson has another great year, gets knocked out by a good Charleston team, who in turn gets upset by a bad Chattanooga team, and Chattanooga goes to the dance and gets blown away. If you're a Curry with three years of eligibility left and Coack K want s you over at Duke. You're gonna take that opportunity. Nothing against the big south, southern, or even the CAA. It's just a far greater opportunity. And let's face it, if you're Duke, you always go dancing in march.

[UNCA Alum]

I think yall should consistently dominate the Big South in mens basketball and football before you start talking about jumping to a better conference.

Instead of saying, "Go to a higher conference and THEN we'll get better!!"

Why don't you get better and then go to a higher conference?

For mens basketball, right now yall could not compete for titles, or even a Top 4 seed, in the CAA. Big South and lower level CAA basketball recruits aren't all that different (if at all) and I'd think you'd have a better chance at getting them if you have somewhat of a realistic shot at getting to the tournament each year.

[Blessed1]

This discussion really shouldn't even be about the big south. I think it's bigger than that. I think that we can all appreciate the frustration involved with having a great season and then not getting into the dance. This is life if you're in a low mid-major conference. Take Winthrop for example. They lost at the buzzer to Tennessee three years ago, but just barely got to the dance after a razor thin win against Coastal in the big south final. The next year Winthrop actually knocked off Notre Dame. But do they even get to the dance if they lose to VMI in the big south final. The VMI game came down to the final play.

We can take this a little closer to home and look at what Steph Curry accomplished last year, almost making it to the final four. Would Steph Curry even be Steph Curry the potential NBA lottery pick without that performance? What if they didn't get in? Who would he be then? Just look at what happened in the southern conference this year: Davidson has another great year, gets knocked out by a good Charleston team, who in turn gets upset by a bad Chattanooga team, and Chattanooga goes to the dance and gets blown away. If you're a Curry with three years of eligibility left and Coack K want s you over at Duke. You're gonna take that opportunity. Nothing against the big south, southern, or even the CAA. It's just a far greater opportunity. And let's face it, if you're Duke, you always go dancing in march.

I agree with you on most of your points, but the Seth Curry thing. Folks are hurt because he didn't stick things out. Who knows, he could've had a "one shining moment" like his big bro. Even if it was only for one year, the NCAA tourny helped Steph reach that national level. I believe most of us here envisioned LU making the tourny at least 2 times while Seth was here. But you know what.....

As much as I hate the Gators and Tim Tebow, I loved it when Tebow said he wanted to finish what he started and that he loves UF's coaches and fans. He said he "owed" it to them to stay for his final year. I have to respect a man that shows that type of integrity.