[Dr. Sheh]

Big East basketball schools meet with Commissioner Aresco to express their concern for the direction of the conference. Article hints that the non-FBS schools may look at leaving.

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

[Purple Haize]

Dr Sheh's - long post. And can you really expect me to NOT be sarcastic in any response? You ask too much of me!

The current debate is on the video's statement that in terms of exposure and money it's not a big benefit for LU to move up to FBS, so that's what I'm addressing.
I disagree with your premise that our options are between Alabama, USC and ND or Cedarville, Biola and Taylor. By the very nature of our Founder we already have a greater exposure then any other Christian University. Moving to FBS will not increase that exposure a great deal. Remember, we are not talking about a move to the SEC, B1G or Big 12. We are talking about the Sun Belt or heaven forbid WAC. We have wanted to move to 'big time' football for 40 years. Other schools have been able to do that in much shorter time. Why not us? There have been a ton of changes in the football last few years that give us a good chance of moving up and that's not a bad thing.

Would I want to be where Alabama andND are right now? Sure. I also wanted to play college basketball at IU. There are things that are just really far out of reach. While we have a lot of resources committed to athletics and football specifically, it is no where near the resources at those schools.
Football is a drain on our budget, as is athletics in general, and it will only increase. It's the nature of the beast. But ask yourself this: Could LU find it unique niche without BCS football? Is our mission to make Disciples for Christ or play in the MAACO Cars.com Bowl? Are we as Christians charged with feeding the hungry or accumulating power and influence? Because in your post, power, money and influence seem to be what is driving your desire to move up to 'Big Time' football. How much could we do right here in Lynchburg with a fraction of the money we will spend to be on the same level of ND?
We have nice facilities for football. We have put resources behind it. We have wanted to move to 'big time' football for years. Maybe now, with all the tangibles in place we should be good and faithful servants of what God has bestowed upon us. Maybe we should take our 'talents' and find ways to invest them in the Kingdom of God.
Moving up in football is not a bad thing. To claim it is for financial or exposure reasons is silly. To beat our chest and say "look at us, we have Big Time Football' could be one reason. To attract Top Tier Christian football players could be another. We are making this move primarily because of the Founders comments years ago.

Addendum - yes I know we have 1 or 2 Big Money Guys behind the move and that's fine.

[Cider Jim]

Which school is - More popular? Has more influence? More prestige? More alumni? More students? Has the power to do more?

1. Cedarville or Ohio State?
2. Gardner-Webb or North Carolina?
3. Biola or pick one of - Southern Cal / Stanford / UCLA / Berkeley?
4. Bob Jones or South Carolina? Clemson?
5. Pensacola Christian or pick one - Miami, FSU, UF ?
6. Grove City or Penn State?
7. Indiana Wesleyan or IU? Purdue?
8. Wheeling Jesuit or West Virginia?
9. Mercer or UGA?
10. Oklahoma Baptist or Boomer Sooner, Oklahoma State?

What, "Tenn. Temple or UT" didn't make your top ten??? (waiting for Sly to make an Austin comment, 3, 2, 1...).

[Humble_Opinion]

Haize – just a few items.

The statement made by Fulkner was very short and obviously edited. It makes me wonder if he had a bit more to say about collegiate athletics as a whole. Nevertheless, that is pure speculation, so allow me to address some of the items in your post using facts from his reports to the NCAA.

First, of all the schools in the FBS, only 23 reported positive net generated revenues. In the FCS there were 0 programs that reported positive net generated revenues. Second – the money makers for most collegiate programs are Football and MBB. In the FBS there were between 50-60% of schools reporting net generated revenues for the past several years in both of those sports. In comparison, there were only about 2% of football programs and about 7% of MBB programs reporting net generated revenues in the FCS, for those very same years.

As far as exposure goes, you’re probably right – we won’t see a huge jump in exposure right away, unless we pick up a big win, or we go to a bowl game. However, we will see a jump in our ability to recruit, which helps raise the chances of our programs picking up bigger wins. Ultimately, it’s about climbing the ladder though. We can’t just expect to jump from the Big South to the Big East or ACC. That’s not going to happen, and we would not be adequately prepared for it. However, we are prepared to make the jump to the next level in one of the non-AQ conferences and over time, we will better ourselves and be more prepared to continue to move up. That’s the strategy.

Regarding the overall goal and whether it’s worth it for the school to do it? Well, I guess that’s up for debate, but, I will say this… I don't think the goal of Liberty University is to feed the hungry, or accumulate power. Rather, the goal is to become a full-service institution to Christians, much the same as ND and BYU are to their respective religions. Through that process we will educate Christians in all fields so that they can go out and feed the sick and move into positions of power – so that all of those around them can be witnessed to. There have been other 'Chrstian' schools that have done this (ie Baylor and TCU), but they have not remained as firm to the Christian mission. Therefore, the challenge for us is to ensure that we accomplish our institutional goals while steadfastly maintaining the Christian foundation of the school.

[Sly Fox]

What, "Tenn. Temple or UT" didn't make your top ten??? (waiting for Sly to make an Austin comment, 3, 2, 1...).

Baylor or Texas? Wait, let me try again.

HBU or Houston? There, that probably is more appropriate.



And to the posters above, there is no question that any Big East/MWC fallout will have a big impact on all of the leagues below them including CUSA, MAC & Sun Belt. But not even the schools involved have any idea what is going to happen right now. It is not only changing day-by-day but hour-by-hour at this point.

[Purple Haize]

Humble. You and I agree about the basic facts just come to different conclusions. Taking a look at the 23 schools whose football program makes money you have to ask if the foundation is in place to make Liberty the 24th team. Further your argument shows that it is more economically viable to invest resources in MBB but that's another topic.
As for being a 'Full Service University for Christians' what void do we have now that a move to FBS will fill for students?
How will being FBS better equip our students to feed the hungry and clothe the needy? Again, I'm not saying its a good or bad thing to move to FBS but to treat it as some Manifest Destiny and a key to making us relavent is misguided. And too many people see it as such.

[TallyW]

Purple... I just hope some day you are able to break out of your shell and share your true feelings.

[Purple Haize]

Purple... I just hope some day you are able to break out of your shell and share your true feelings.

I'm working on it! I'm not being negative I'm just trying to point out that Liberty IS different and that an be our biggest asset. Trying to get people to think about the WHY can seem negative but it should be reflective

[4everfsu]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketb ... nce-source

[ATrain]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketb ... nce-source

Wow...a 21 team league. How would this work for all the other sports?

[Sly Fox]

This is a preemptive move by the A-10 because if the Catholic 7 were to find a way to legally dissolve the league and keep their tourney revenue then picking the A-10 clean of their top schools would be the logical next step. I am a bit surprised that the league hasn't been clear about Temple's status since this all erupted. Just because Temple claims they have a vote doesn't necessarily mean it is so for anything beyond football rules. If Temple does have the vote, then it should be made public now that the dirty laundry is already on display. This is really starting to get entertaining once again.

[Purple Haize]

The Catholic 7 .

Wow. Haven't heard that in awhile!

So my earlier predictions of Liberty to the Big East aren't looking so crazy now.

[Purple Haize]

LU to BE.

In case anyone doubted my prediction

[From the class of 09]

Purple... I just hope some day you are able to break out of your shell and share your true feelings.

Trying to get people to think about the WHY can seem negative but it should be reflective

simon sinek fan i see

[Purple Haize]

Isn't he the lead singer for Duran Duran?

[logic]

The Catholic 7 .

Wow. Haven't heard that in awhile!

So my earlier predictions of Liberty to the Big East aren't looking so crazy now.

This would be fantastic.

[CajunFlame]

I would still like the MAC. It is a very successful conference and could get us some Ohio recruits(Another big football state.)

On another note, did anyone see this article from May about App state?

http://www.fbschedules.com/2012/05/appa ... rence-usa/

I apologize if it has been posted, but it looks as if everything hinges on where App state decides to go. As the most visible FCS school in the nation they have, unlike Liberty, their pick of the lower FBS schools. Once they decide on the conference that best fits them(which is looking more like C-USA than SBC), we will see a run at other FCS schools getting offers.

[LUconn]

An article from written in May is about as good as one written 5 years ago. App is bascially in the Sun Belt as far as I can tell.

[CajunFlame]

My theory is that they don't want to be in the Sun Belt, or they would have moved already. The Sun Belt is desperate for a top tier FCS/middle of the road FBS team to boost its abysmal conference prestige. App State wants to go to a middle level conference(CUSA, MAC, or Big East) and in my mind they are just waiting for the best offer from those three. They know they can compete at the FBS level and would want the best conference they can get into. Liberty is in an unenviable position that the program can move up, they want to move up, but they are not desirable enough for multiple invites. Liberty has to take what is offered.

[Sly Fox]

They have never been offered a place in the Sun Belt. There have been rumors that they might be part of a packge deal with Delaware & JMU for the MAC. But that appears to just be speculation. They have never been invited to any FBS league unless you consider the crazy WAC possibilities. They are in a position very similar to us.

[CajunFlame]

While it is true they have not been publicly/officially offered an invite into any league, they have been in talks with multiple conferences. App state is like the hot chick at a club, she hasn't been offered a long term relationship but she sure is very popular on the dance floor. Where is Liberty in this analogy? At home waiting for anyone to call. PLEASE RING!!!!!PLEASE!!!!!!

[TH Spangler]

APP State will be sharing Charlotte TV market with UNCC. They will lose recruits to UNCC. They will be in a state trying to fund "7" FBS programs? I'm sure conferences recognize this. I still think they will give FBS a try though.

NC State U. budget cut example ~

http://www.ncsu.edu/budget/faq/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/02/17/ ... riage.html

[Sly Fox]

BYD is correct. We have a ton in common with ASU. There is a reason that Georgia Southern has been hurriedly getting its house in order for FBS. They were on the outside looking in behind us & App in preparation. We are the only two schools that have actively made the necessary preparations to be ready. But we both have challenges to overcome in the process.

[CajunFlame]

I am really not overstating anything. Every mid-major conference has expressed interest in App state(MAC, CUSA, Sun Belt, even Big East) while we have expressed interest in moving up to FBS and are in limbo as to where we could go. Maybe I didn't state my original point clearly. My theory(not a fact just a theory) is that our FBS intentions hinges on the decision that App state makes on moving to FBS. I am not even that sure that ASU WANTS to move up.

[adam42381]

I am really not overstating anything. Every mid-major conference has expressed interest in App state(MAC, CUSA, Sun Belt, even Big East) while we have expressed interest in moving up to FBS and are in limbo as to where we could go. Maybe I didn't state my original point clearly. My theory(not a fact just a theory) is that our FBS intentions hinges on the decision that App state makes on moving to FBS. I am not even that sure that ASU WANTS to move up.

I'd say they definitely want to move up. Apparently Jerry Moore was pretty much forced out of his job because he wanted to stay in FCS.