[logic]

Of the established FBS options in my opinion I see them ranked this way -

1. CUSA
2. MAC
3. Sun Belt

Overall options I would rank this way -

1. CUSA
2. MAC
3. Sun Belt
4. Regional CAA type FBS conference of JMU, etc as referenced in that article
5. Joining the CAA (assuming it stays FCS)
6. Staying in the Big South


Thoughts?

[bradyfan]

Of the established FBS options in my opinion I see them ranked this way -

1. CUSA
2. Sun Belt
3. MAC

Overall options I would rank this way -

1. CUSA
2. Sun Belt
3. MAC
4. Regional CAA type FBS conference of JMU, etc as referenced in that article
5. Joining the CAA (assuming it stays FCS)
6. Staying in the Big South


Thoughts?

Yeah, you're only correct on the most obvious one(CUSA). The Sun Belt should be number 4 on this list, behind the MAC. Regional CAA FBS conference would be number two on this list because of the attention it would receive and the rivalries it would create. We have a history with MAC opponents, including beating one. Additionally, they have a contract with ESPN on Thursday nights and we all know how sweet that would be. The SunBelt is number 4 because we have nothing in common with any of those teams. The facilities are very poor and the conference is the worst in terms of competition.

[Purple Haize]

We agree on number 6!

[BJWilliams]

Agree with Purple. As I said before, we cannot afford to be so picky/shortsighted about it that we miss out entirely. Staying in the Big South certainly is the least of our options but be cant just turn our nose up (as you seem to suggest) to something more regional either. Remember if you havent eaten for three days and someone offers you food, youre not gonna sit there and turn it down because its not filet mignon.

[bradyfan]

Agree with Purple. As I said before, we cannot afford to be so picky/shortsighted about it that we miss out entirely. Staying in the Big South certainly is the least of our options but be cant just turn our nose up (as you seem to suggest) to something more regional either. Remember if you havent eaten for three days and someone offers you food, youre not gonna sit there and turn it down because its not filet mignon.

+1

[logic]

Cj - agree, I changed my mind and put the MAC ahead of the SBC. I would still rank the SBC ahead of a regional conference though as I'm already thinking ahead to our next move up. Easier out of an already established SBC than a newly formed regional FBS league. Also keep in mind our goal is national, not regional exposure and we want to get into Florida and Texas.

[BJWilliams]

youre missing the crux of what a few of us are getting at I think logic (which isnt very logical if I do say so myself)

[logic]

Yes yes - be thankful, take what we can get, beggars cannot be choosers. I understand all of that. I'm impatient and want to see us in a legitimate FBS conference in the fall of 2013. I wouldn't want to see us in a regional FBS conference with the likes of JMU and Appy. Yes, I realize this is better than the Big South - I just want more.

[bradyfan]

Cj - agree, I changed my mind and put the MAC ahead of the SBC. I would still rank the SBC ahead of a regional conference though as I'm already thinking ahead to our next move up. Easier out of an already established SBC than a newly formed regional FBS league. Also keep in mind our goal is national, not regional exposure and we want to get into Florida and Texas.

Just because you're in a conference with teams from Florida and Texas doesn't mean that you're getting good recruits from there. If that we're true, the SBC wouldn't be the worst mid-major football conference. We need to focus on getting kids out of Tidewater, Roanoke Valley and North Carolina. Going to a conference because you want to tap into certain states for recruiting is stupid. We would be much better off in a regional conference with ODU and JMU and using a non-conference spot for a Texas or NC team. I'll obviously take anything but you need to do more research if you think the SB is better than a regional FBS league.

[logic]

Wasn't just talking about recruiting for football, but the school as well. Florida and Texas are two of the most heavily populated states and also two of the most conservative...hence liberty.edu/Houston and liberty.edu/Miami.

There are millions of high school students around the country who have no idea what Liberty is or what we stand for. The sooner we can get out of the Big South and into a conference with national exposure the better, both for football and for our school. I simply do not see a regional small time FBS league offering the same exposure.

[BJWilliams]

Yes yes - be thankful, take what we can get, beggars cannot be choosers. I understand all of that. I'm impatient and want to see us in a legitimate FBS conference in the fall of 2013. I wouldn't want to see us in a regional FBS conference with the likes of JMU and Appy. Yes, I realize this is better than the Big South - I just want more.

Which is fine...but also bear in mind that that desire needs to be tempered with a little bit of reality.

Also, cj makes a good point...it would not be wise to be part of a conference just for purposes of getting recruits from TX and FL or Louisiana or South Dakota or Missouri or wherever. Chancellor Falwell and AD Barber are in the position they are in (and we are simply a bunch of fanboys and girls talking about it on a message board) for a reason. If Mr Barber was impatient like you are, we'd be moving up far before we were ready and that would do us more harm than good.

[jbock13]

Yes yes - be thankful, take what we can get, beggars cannot be choosers. I understand all of that. I'm impatient and want to see us in a legitimate FBS conference in the fall of 2013. I wouldn't want to see us in a regional FBS conference with the likes of JMU and Appy. Yes, I realize this is better than the Big South - I just want more.

Okay, let's apply for the SEC. Why stop there? Where's your vision?

For what it's worth, WVU under Rodriguez and Stewart had plenty of players from Florida. The Big East was back then a mainly northeastern conference, and only played at USF every 2 years.

[logic]

Yes yes - be thankful, take what we can get, beggars cannot be choosers. I understand all of that. I'm impatient and want to see us in a legitimate FBS conference in the fall of 2013. I wouldn't want to see us in a regional FBS conference with the likes of JMU and Appy. Yes, I realize this is better than the Big South - I just want more.

Okay, let's apply for the SEC. Why stop there? Where's your vision?

For what it's worth, WVU under Rodriguez and Stewart had plenty of players from Florida. The Big East was back then a mainly northeastern conference, and only played at USF every 2 years.

Wasn't just talking about recruiting for football, but the school as well. Florida and Texas are two of the most heavily populated states and also two of the most conservative...hence liberty.edu/Houston and liberty.edu/Miami.

There are millions of high school students around the country who have no idea what Liberty is or what we stand for. The sooner we can get out of the Big South and into a conference with national exposure the better, both for football and for our school. I simply do not see a regional small time FBS league offering the same exposure.

[NotAJerry]

Cj - agree, I changed my mind and put the MAC ahead of the SBC. I would still rank the SBC ahead of a regional conference though as I'm already thinking ahead to our next move up. Easier out of an already established SBC than a newly formed regional FBS league. Also keep in mind our goal is national, not regional exposure and we want to get into Florida and Texas.

Just because you're in a conference with teams from Florida and Texas doesn't mean that you're getting good recruits from there. If that we're true, the SBC wouldn't be the worst mid-major football conference. We need to focus on getting kids out of Tidewater, Roanoke Valley and North Carolina. Going to a conference because you want to tap into certain states for recruiting is stupid. We would be much better off in a regional conference with ODU and JMU and using a non-conference spot for a Texas or NC team. I'll obviously take anything but you need to do more research if you think the SB is better than a regional FBS league.

Actually, it helps tremendously because you can recruit while travelling to play. Then there's the part where Florida, Texas and Georgia (all in the Sun Belt) are in the top 5 states for producing FBS players with Florida and Georgia also being in the top 5 per capita.

Where/who you play does matter in recruiting.

[bradyfan]

Cj - agree, I changed my mind and put the MAC ahead of the SBC. I would still rank the SBC ahead of a regional conference though as I'm already thinking ahead to our next move up. Easier out of an already established SBC than a newly formed regional FBS league. Also keep in mind our goal is national, not regional exposure and we want to get into Florida and Texas.

Just because you're in a conference with teams from Florida and Texas doesn't mean that you're getting good recruits from there. If that we're true, the SBC wouldn't be the worst mid-major football conference. We need to focus on getting kids out of Tidewater, Roanoke Valley and North Carolina. Going to a conference because you want to tap into certain states for recruiting is stupid. We would be much better off in a regional conference with ODU and JMU and using a non-conference spot for a Texas or NC team. I'll obviously take anything but you need to do more research if you think the SB is better than a regional FBS league.

Actually, it helps tremendously because you can recruit while travelling to play. Then there's the part where Florida, Texas and Georgia (all in the Sun Belt) are in the top 5 states for producing FBS players produced with Florida and Georgia also being in the top 5 per capita.

Where/who you play does matter in recruiting.

So, why has the Sun-Belt been the worst mid-major conference over the past 10 years? Also, the top recruits in the country do come out of those states, but you're borderline retarded if you think they're signing with Sun Belt schools. The SEC happens to be in those states and that's where those recruits are going. I'm fine if we get into the Sun Belt, but let's not pretend like it's the best scenario.

[LUaddict]

From the Sun Belt Forum on the next wave of expansion:
http://csnbbs.com/showthread.php?tid=

I'm being told some good news, App St will soon be the next member of the Belt. My source is right about 90% of the time.

App State and NMST might receive an invite by the SBC as soon as next week.

NMST is being added and Georgia Southern maybe added soon after for the 2014 season until the get their financials in order.

Another tidbit is that The Rajun Cajuns might be lost to CUSA soon. This broke out from an annonymous source when the other five schools were added to CUSA. This might be a knee jerk addition of APP State and NMST due to losing the Rajun Cajuns to CUSA soon.

UL has spoken with Conference USA regarding a possible move as well, athletic director Scott Farmer said this week, but CUSA officials have never visited Lafayette to consider the Ragin' Cajuns

http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20 ... nce-shifts

[Sly Fox]

Logic was dead on in relation to the value of the different conference affiliations for the overall direction and mission of the school.

As for New Mexico State, I have a hard time believing the Sun Belt would.want to bring the Aggies back into the fold. It would have to be out of pity & it is further out of footprint than we would be if added.

[Purple Haize]

Yes yes - be thankful, take what we can get, beggars cannot be choosers. I understand all of that. I'm impatient and want to see us in a legitimate FBS conference in the fall of 2013. I wouldn't want to see us in a regional FBS conference with the likes of JMU and Appy. Yes, I realize this is better than the Big South - I just want more.

For the record I do not subscribe to the 'Take What You Can Get' philosophy. It never turns out well.

[NotAJerry]

So, why has the Sun-Belt been the worst mid-major conference over the past 10 years? Also, the top recruits in the country do come out of those states, but you're borderline retarded if you think they're signing with Sun Belt schools. The SEC happens to be in those states and that's where those recruits are going. I'm fine if we get into the Sun Belt, but let's not pretend like it's the best scenario.

Let's see, insulting comment = check. Non Sequitur = check. Completely missing the point about the quantity of FBS recruits, not just the quality = check. It may be time to put your racist, ignorant self back on foe.

As for the entire point of playing in those areas, try again.

The Sun Belt schools are in an area that produces a much higher quantity of FBS recruits than the MAC does. The Sun Belt schools are in areas of the country that are growing while the MAC schools are in areas that are shrinking. Then there's the Sun Belt schools bowl record:

2011: 1-2
2010: 2-1
2009: 1-1
2008: 1-1
2007: 1-0
2006: 1-1
2005: 0-1
2004: 0-2
2003: 0-1
2002: 1-0
2001: 0-1

That's 8-10 with a 6-5 record over the last 5 years and they've moved up to having 3 bowl tie-ins. It's not great, but considering they've got a 10 year FBS history compared to the MAC schools that have been around forever, it's a slowly improving conference.

This year's draft featured 6 Sun Belt (3 3rd round, 1 4th, 1 5th, 1 6th) players and 8 MAC players (2 3rd round, 1 4th, 1 5th, 1 6th, 3 7th). Pretty even split and once again, the Sun Belt is in the better area for high school football. I would prefer the up and coming conference in the better football area to the historic conference in the area that is dwindling.

[bradyfan]

So, why has the Sun-Belt been the worst mid-major conference over the past 10 years? Also, the top recruits in the country do come out of those states, but you're borderline retarded if you think they're signing with Sun Belt schools. The SEC happens to be in those states and that's where those recruits are going. I'm fine if we get into the Sun Belt, but let's not pretend like it's the best scenario.

Let's see, insulting comment = check. Non Sequitur = check. Completely missing the point about the quantity of FBS recruits, not just the quality = check. It may be time to put your racist, ignorant self back on foe.

As for the entire point of playing in those areas, try again.

The Sun Belt schools are in an area that produces a much higher quantity of FBS recruits than the MAC does. The Sun Belt schools are in areas of the country that are growing while the MAC schools are in areas that are shrinking. Then there's the Sun Belt schools bowl record:

2011: 1-2
2010: 2-1
2009: 1-1
2008: 1-1
2007: 1-0
2006: 1-1
2005: 0-1
2004: 0-2
2003: 0-1
2002: 1-0
2001: 0-1

That's 8-10 with a 6-5 record over the last 5 years and they've moved up to having 3 bowl tie-ins. It's not great, but considering they've got a 10 year FBS history compared to the MAC schools that have been around forever, it's a slowly improving conference.

This year's draft featured 6 Sun Belt (3 3rd round, 1 4th, 1 5th, 1 6th) players and 8 MAC players (2 3rd round, 1 4th, 1 5th, 1 6th, 3 7th). Pretty even split and once again, the Sun Belt is in the better area for high school football. I would prefer the up and coming conference in the better football area to the historic conference in the area that is dwindling.

I'm racist? Elaborate please. I would love to know how I'm being racist, if anything, you're the racist one on this board. You're arguing quantity of recruits verse quality? Okay, so if you're a coach and you're given 200 1 star recruits verse 50 5 star recruits, you're taking the 200? Enjoy getting pounded by Bama, LSU, O-St, USC and Oklahoma for the next four years. Look, the high school football in those states is way better than what's in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois...etc. However, that doesn't mean that just because you're getting recruits from Louisiana verse PA means you're going to be better off. FIU, the best team in the Sun Belt from Florida last year finished 8-5, with losses to Louisiana-Lafayette and Duke... Northern Illinois finished with 3 losses (Kansas, Wisconsin and CMU). Not to mention, Northern Illinois took the Sun Belt's best team, Ark St. to the woodshed in the Go Daddy bowl. FIU lost to Marshall while UL-Lafayette struggled against a first year head coach from the MWC. Recruits from those states aren't going to matter until we start playing elite football. Also, the long history of the MAC and the ESPN contract should be enough to attract us into that conference. The Sun Belt's facilities are extremely poor, we would be looking at one close game per year with Mid Tenn State, unless Appy goes. You have no ESPN contract and we have no history with the Sun Belt.

Boise State doesn't get to BCS bowls because they get Florida recruits, they get there because they dominate their regional recruiting grounds. It doesn't matter which conference we land in, we need to be getting kids from VA, MD, NC, WV and TN. VT is in conference with teams from SC, GA and FL, yet they dominate the ACC by owning the Tidewater area in recruiting. I'll agree with anyone who thinks the Florida, Texas, California recruiting grounds are the hot-beds of the country. However, when you're dealing with USC, UCLA, Cal, Texas, Texas A&M, Houston, TCU, Texas Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma St., Florida, Florida St., USF, Miami, UGA, and GT...you aren't going to see much better grounds than what's in your own state.

Honestly, if we get into the Sun Belt, I am more than thrilled. I want to be FBS first and foremost, if that means Sun Belt, I really don't care. However, to argue that the Sun Belt is a better option than the MAC or a regional conference is beyond foolish. I've also never seen anyone get so hung up or offended about one's reasoning behind liking the MAC over the Sun Belt. It's like, if someone doesn't agree 100% with you, they're racist or ignorant. If you prefer the Sun Belt, cool, I could care less. But don't pretend like the quality of teams, or the quality of the conference, is better than that of the MAC. I like the direction the Sun Belt is moving but I'm not going to say that, I've watched both conferences. The Sun Belt has no ESPN, and the majority of their fans don't even want us there. Go look at their message board. The MAC has ESPN, a long history and we've played several of their teams. We've beaten a MAC opponent and most of our fans will be more familiar with seeing CMU or Northern Illinois verses UL Monroe or Florida Atlantic on our schedule.

[Purple Haize]

Is the MAC a better conference then the Sun Belt? I would say YES. Is it a better fit for Liberty at this point? NO
Am I a racist? At my age and the condition of my knees I try not to race anything!

[jbock13]

Isn't that like the 5th time NAJ has called somebody a racist? I agree with the rest of what he said, but...

[4everfsu]

Lets see, NAJ is about as much as a borderline retard as CJ is a racist. Tit for tat. Ok now that is settled lets move on.

[BJWilliams]

From the Sun Belt Forum on the next wave of expansion:
http://csnbbs.com/showthread.php?tid=

I'm being told some good news, App St will soon be the next member of the Belt. My source is right about 90% of the time.

App State and NMST might receive an invite by the SBC as soon as next week.

NMST is being added and Georgia Southern maybe added soon after for the 2014 season until the get their financials in order.

Another tidbit is that The Rajun Cajuns might be lost to CUSA soon. This broke out from an annonymous source when the other five schools were added to CUSA. This might be a knee jerk addition of APP State and NMST due to losing the Rajun Cajuns to CUSA soon.

UL has spoken with Conference USA regarding a possible move as well, athletic director Scott Farmer said this week, but CUSA officials have never visited Lafayette to consider the Ragin' Cajuns

http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20 ... nce-shifts

This could have one of two results...either he's right again (woo hoo, when youre apparently right that much it isnt exactly earth shattering news), or this situation ends up being part of the 10% where he isnt right and it shoots his credibility in the foot for the next month...

[Humble_Opinion]

Well a move up of us, CAA leftovers, and maybe ECU/Marshall - would be the best choice from a financial standpoint. The travel costs would be very minimal compared to a CUSA/Sun Belt/MAC option. While we could afford it, there are other schools that would still struggle to meet the demand, and so they could accomplish their goal of FBS without worrying about the travel costs being as bad. I also think a conference like this would quickly establish itself and attract a large fan base in the states they occupy. I mean think of the potential rivalries that would come from this... the media and fans eat that stuff up...

And I'm not sure why you would call Cj a 'retard'. I mean that was one of the most well-written posts i've seen in this thread so far. Not only that but he was responding to someone who referred to him as a 'racist'... for whatever reason that was lol. NAJ must be a democrat. Whenever they get beat they throw out the race/sexist card.