[Sly Fox]

Actually the MAC is not a BCS league. They sit alongside the Sunbelt as the bottom tier of FBS (the WAC will be there next season when Boise State bolts to the Mountain West).

Cider Jim can go over some of the particulars but there were some issues at play that allowed Marshall to have some initial success in the FBS before sliding back to the pack. Old SoCon fans love to call out the Herd for their cooked books.

I-AA success has not proven to be a great indicator of FBS success in the past. And some of the more surprising lower level FBS programs didn't have glowing I-AA resumes either.

[FlameNForest]

Actually the MAC is not a BCS league. They sit alongside the Sunbelt as the bottom tier of FBS (the WAC will be there next season when Boise State bolts to the Mountain West).

Cider Jim can go over some of the particulars but there were some issues at play that allowed Marshall to have some initial success in the FBS before sliding back to the pack. Old SoCon fans love to call out the Herd for their cooked books.

I-AA success has not proven to be a great indicator of FBS success in the past. And some of the more surprising lower level FBS programs didn't have glowing I-AA resumes either.

Yes, FBS not BCS - hanks for the correction, I stlll like to refer to it as I-A, less confusing that way.

I also remember when Buffalo went I-A. They were just a mediocre team at the lower level and then jumped to 1A and had no business being there. Now some of the FL schools that made the jump have had success, but they also have one of the best recruiting bases in the country in their backyards.

As for LU, I guess it's possible we could go from the Big South to success in a lower tier FBS conference. But it just seems more logical to try to get in a conf. like the CAA first, both for competitve reasons and geographical ones.

[Sly Fox]

I agree that the CAA would be a great move for us. Of course there remains the possibility that the CAA steps up to FBS as a football league. Under those marginally plausible circumstances we could kill two birds with one stone.

Buffalo is a great example that in lower level FBS you can make great strides in a short time with the right people in place.

[Schfourteenteen]

I agree that the CAA would be a great move for us. Of course there remains the possibility that the CAA steps up to FBS as a football league. Under those marginally plausible circumstances we could kill two birds with one stone.

Buffalo is a great example that in lower level FBS you can make great strides in a short time with the right people in place.

And a great example that if you don't have those people you could sit at the bottom for 8 years.

[Cider Jim]

And when you look at a school like Marshall, they were dominating I-AA and after some initial success in the MAC have more recently just become another run of the mill MAC team, whereas before they were a dominate 1-AA team attracting the likes of Moss, Pennington and Leftwich to name a few.

Marshall dominated the MAC from day 1. It was an unbelievably smooth transition from 1AA to 1A. Their problem, in my opinion as an alum, is that they should have stayed in the MAC instead of upgrading to Conference USA, where they just can't compete nearly as well in that conference.

[JK37]

Could they have competed in CUSA with more monetary readiness?

[Sly Fox]

There is no reason they can't compete in C-USA right now. The eastern division is weak behind ECU.

[jcmanson]

MAC considering expansion

http://www.annarbor.com/news/emu-ad-mac ... ar-future/

“I think the MAC is going to try to extend invitations to one or two institutions in the next year or two,” he said

[thepostman]

thats interesting. We could do decent if we moved to the MAC. It would be a good conference to get our feet wet, but I still think FBS is 10 years down the road.

[From the class of 09]

MAC considering expansion

http://www.annarbor.com/news/emu-ad-mac ... ar-future/

“I think the MAC is going to try to extend invitations to one or two institutions in the next year or two,” he said

I'm game... you can always leave if the better opportunity arises.

[jcmanson]

What if they offered invites to JMU and LU?

[Sly Fox]

I guess this means Youngstown finally gets their invite and I'll bet SIU has to be under consideration as well.

[Schfourteenteen]

I guess this means Youngstown finally gets their invite and I'll bet SIU has to be under consideration as well.

They mentioned the WAC as a possibility....

[kuntryboimike]

What if they offered invites to JMU and LU?

Then JMU and LU will dominate the MAC OH yeah...!

[ATrain]

Where is Temple going? The article mentioned they would probably leave once their agreement with the MAC was up.

[Schfourteenteen]

Where is Temple going? The article mentioned they would probably leave once their agreement with the MAC was up.

To the CAA

[jcmanson]

From a 3rd party, no ties to LU, who covers FCS football:

Word on the street is that Liberty will be FBS soon. One of my sources there did indeed confirm the stadium upgrades were mainly done with the idea they would move up. I would be surprised if Liberty is FCS in 5 years.

[From the class of 09]

From a 3rd party, no ties to LU, who covers FCS football:

Word on the street is that Liberty will be FBS soon. One of my sources there did indeed confirm the stadium upgrades were mainly done with the idea they would move up. I would be surprised if Liberty is FCS in 5 years.

So this is a reliable source???

[jcmanson]

From a 3rd party, no ties to LU, who covers FCS football:

Word on the street is that Liberty will be FBS soon. One of my sources there did indeed confirm the stadium upgrades were mainly done with the idea they would move up. I would be surprised if Liberty is FCS in 5 years.

So this is a reliable source???

Sorry, meant to include the link. About halfway down the 1st page. Honestly, I don't know how reliable this guy is.

http://www.championshipsubdivision.com/ ... =4&t=18854

[jcmanson]

http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=18 ... um=twitter

The new seating and football tower have not only expanded the fan experience, they have become impressive campus markers and symbols of the direction Liberty hopes to take all Flames sports programs.
“It is already helping to recruit the best football players and I believe it will be the catalyst that will take Liberty Flames football to the FBS (NCAA Division I-A) in years to come,” Falwell said.

[jcmanson]

The East Coast needs a WAC

[From the class of 09]

I know its been said before but get some CAAs SoCos and LU together and you have a good start.

[jcmanson]

I know its been said before but get some CAAs SoCos and LU together and you have a good start.

JMU, LU, ODU, App State, Delaware, Georgia State, Charlotte

That's a solid conference right there. Then maybe we could steal a couple CUSA teams (UCF, ECU, Marshall, etc.)

[ToTheLeft]

Sorry, meant to include the link. About halfway down the 1st page. Honestly, I don't know how reliable this guy is.

http://www.championshipsubdivision.com/ ... =4&t=18854

He's very knowledgeable and seems connected. He also picks and chooses his spots when he posts. I'd tend to believe him when he posts something like that about anyone.

I'd love to see us and App join the Sun Belt or CUSA (especially an eastern version of CUSA if the western ones go to the WAC/MWC). I think that would be a solid place to start.

[ballah09]

Carr’s Liberty consultation isn’t being done with a specific goal in mind -- i.e., a quick move from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision once the NCAA moratorium on moving between subdivisions ends in August 2011.

With conference affiliations in a state of flux right now, though, Liberty wants to be in the best position possible when the next shift happens.

“For us to get better -- and we’re not good enough at anything yet -- we need an outside set of eyes to say, you know what, we need to do X, Y and Z,” Barber said. “That’s what he’s going to do.”

http://www2.newsadvance.com/sports/2010 ... ar-539544/