[Sly Fox]

Stony Brook nearly beat UTEP this past season and I agree that I would have liked my chances against either team this past fall. But you might be surprised that there are a number of Miners fans on here (Shout out to TTL & bozlady).

Some of that dirt along the Rio Grande is pretty spectacular heading into Big Bend.

And I wouldn't rule out the WAC just yet.

[Southwestfan]

Stony Brook nearly beat UTEP this past season and I agree that I would have liked my chances against either team this past fall. But you might be surprised that there are a number of Miners fans on here (Shout out to TTL & bozlady).

Some of that dirt along the Rio Grande is pretty spectacular heading into Big Bend.

And I wouldn't rule out the WAC just yet.

Being in the WAC would be even better. I went to a New Mexico State vs. New Mexico game last year and there were five fumbles in the second half. Granted they were probably the two of the worst teams in all of FBS that year.

[NotAJerry]

This conference re-allignment is getting rediculous. BTW Mac is already at 16 teams and im not sure if they will add anymore...Big East is finished raiding. ACC is finished as well. Looks like sunbelt, CUSA, or start a new conference with other I-AA schools.

I thought the MAC was a 14 teams with the addition of UMass. Who else did they add?

[Innocent Bystander]

This conference re-allignment is getting rediculous. BTW Mac is already at 16 teams and im not sure if they will add anymore...Big East is finished raiding. ACC is finished as well. Looks like sunbelt, CUSA, or start a new conference with other I-AA schools.

I thought the MAC was a 14 teams with the addition of UMass. Who else did they add?

You are correct....the Mac has 12 all sports members (N Illinois, C Mich, W Mich, E Mich, Ball St, Toledo, Bowling Green, Miami, Akron, Kent, Ohio and Buffalo) and two football only members (Temple and UMass).

The MAC has long looked to expand their footprint by taking on schools like Buffalo, Temple, UMass and Central Florida. Liberty is no further outside the footprint than those schools.

[TDDance234]

I think Temple is gone as soon as the Big East knocks.

[NotAJerry]

I think Temple is gone as soon as the Big East knocks.

They aren't knocking. The Big East has already gotten its 12 team setup for football and the basketball schools make it nearly impossible for them to go bigger than that without the hoops schools moving their teams up.

[Sly Fox]

I agree, NotAJerry. But there does remain the possibility they could be brought back in for another football-only affiliation if they chose to add another western football school to go to 14.

[FlameNForest]

CUSA would be a heckofa jump from the BSOUTH.

Not too realistic though I don't think we'd have turned it down.

The future CUSA isn't going to be the same as the current CUSA. The CUSA used to be a really solid conference until the Big East raided them a few years ago. Now with the current and future raids, the CUSA will basically be the current Sunbelt. And then the new Sunbelt will be comprised of whatever scraps they can gather and from teams moving up from I-AA.

[Sly Fox]

To Medic's point, everything is a big jump from the Big South.

[Blessed1]

I think Temple is gone as soon as the Big East knocks.

They aren't knocking. The Big East has already gotten its 12 team setup for football and the basketball schools make it nearly impossible for them to go bigger than that without the hoops schools moving their teams up.

The Big 12 may or may not be finished with expanding. If they decide to go to 12, Louisville and BYU might be the first ones called. If this happens, the Big East will react by inviting either Temple or ECU. This is why I am laughing at the BE for telling C-USA "uh we're done expanding..."

I truly believe the BE does not know what to do. This explains why Miami, Virginia Tech, and BC left. And it further explains why PITT, Syracuse, and WVU are trying to jump into their new conferences for the 2012-13 season. The BE has never been proactive towards football. The lawsuit filed by WVU explains why the BE stinks.

IMHO, if Temple gets a BE invite, they're gone. To be honest with you... I wouldn't be surprised if Liberty opts for the MAC over a depleted C-USA or a restructured Sun Belt.

[GillsHill2013]

Eventually the Big East will have to go to 14 members when Villanova decides to move up to FBS because they already have their hand in the cookie jar with being a bball school. But by then we could see a Louisville/Cincinatti bolt for the Big 12/ actually 10 teams. Who knows what will happen next... Maybe the Mayans werent predicting the end of the world but this gigantic of a mess in college football..haha (Joking)

[Sly Fox]

You'll be waiting a L O N G time for Villanova to move up. They had their opportunity and exposed themselves as FCS at best.

[flamesfan30]

nova's a weird case. they're in a rich neighborhood that refuses to let them expand their stadium and the extra traffic moving up would create. the community hates their football team as it is... let alone do they want to move up.

[Innocent Bystander]

C-USA and MWC to announce this afternoon that they are disbanding both conferences to form a new combined conference.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story ... ources-say

[LUminary]

So, could this possibly open the door for a new group of programs (including those looking for an FBS home) to fill a void left by a disbanded conference? There will be one less conference. Perhaps there is a "new" conference to be had. Hmmm....

[Innocent Bystander]

And from the MWC...

http://www.themwc.com/genrel/021312aab.html

If they want 18-24 teams, they are obviously going to be looking for some teams from outside the MWC and C-USA.

[Blessed1]

I hope this alliance goes up to 24 teams. If they do, they will probably need a few east coast teams since the current set-up has a heavy dose of western teams. I am hopeful that we can be invited to join an "eastern" pod with the likes of ECU and Marshall.

If we aren't invited to the alliance, then I feel the Sun Belt is our best bet. Another thing to watch out for is Temple. If Temple is asked to join the Big East for all-sports, then the MAC could be another realistic option for Liberty since we have some sort of history with their conference.

[El Scorcho]

I like our chances with this.

More coverage: http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2 ... -mwc-c-usa

[bluedevilflame]

I'm going to go ahead and doubt that C-USA is an option for us anymore. The 2 shots we have I believe are the MAC(my preferred) or the Sun Belt after the Big East and WAC have taken what they want.

[TDDance234]

I'm going to go ahead and doubt that C-USA is an option for us anymore. The 2 shots we have I believe are the MAC(my preferred) or the Sun Belt after the Big East and WAC have taken what they want.

A Liberty/App. State pairing for the new C-USA/MWC would be exactly what the Eastern division would be looking for; ECU and Marshall would be fantastic pairings for us.

[Cider Jim]

ECU and Marshall would be fantastic pairings for us.

[Sly Fox]

I think Marshall & Temple might be a more likely scenario. They still have visions of grandeur at ECU despite once again being passed over.

[ATrain]

Is Temple willing to move all their sports to this new conference though? I think the reason they're not a full MAC member is they prefer their BBall programs being in the stronger A-10. I can see Charlotte trying to re-unite with some of its former conference mates as they get their football program up and going.

[NotAJerry]

I'm going to go ahead and doubt that C-USA is an option for us anymore. The 2 shots we have I believe are the MAC(my preferred) or the Sun Belt after the Big East and WAC have taken what they want.

A Liberty/App. State pairing for the new C-USA/MWC would be exactly what the Eastern division would be looking for; ECU and Marshall would be fantastic pairings for us.

I'm guessing JMU would be higher in the pecking order than LU right now. They've got the bigger stadium currently, they've got fairly close proximity to a major metro area, and they've been more successful on the field with a pretty good 8-9 year run.

[Chris Lang]

Not to pick your argument apart, but a) Harrisonburg is close to what major metro area? D.C.? It's 2 1/2 hours from D.C. to Harrisonburg ... and b) on-field performance means nothing in the scheme of conference affiliation. It's about what a school can add to a conference going forward in terms of revenue streams. Liberty has a much more broad appeal on a nationwide basis than JMU does.