[LUOrange]

TSN has the Big South behind the MVC, CAA, and Big Sky naturally. Not too bad, even if they gave the Beach Chickens and Chuck South more love.

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnf ... 6_2015.htm

[PAmedic]

CSU does seem to get that, probably since they are working with next to no resources

most years they roll out dreck but pound on OOC teams that are multiple levels < DI so they look great at 4-0

[BJWilliams]

Indeed...and then when they have a chance to snag even a share of the Big South and cement themselves as that third team along with us and Coastal, they throw up all over themselves in some way or another:

2014- Started out 5-0, lost to PC AND Coastal, beat Liberty, finished 3rd
2013- Started out 7-0, beat Coastal, lost to G-W and Liberty to end the year, finished 3rd
2012- Started 0-3, lost to SB, Liberty AND Coastal, finished 4th

2015 schedule does not set up well either: North Greenville, rebuilding ETSU, a The Citadel team that also hasn't quite taken the next step up either, even with App State and GaSoU both gone to FBS, and FBS games against Troy and 2014 CFP team Alabama to close the year.

[phoenix]

I was just thinking about this thread, and how 5 years ago if you'd said this to anyone they'd have laughed you off the message board. Funny what just a few years can do.

[BJWilliams]

Our win over JMU was big not only for our perception but the conference as well. For the longest time. it was pretty much just Coastal (and Stony Brook briefly before they went to the CAA). Now, with us, plus CCU's success the last couple years (including nearly knocking off NDSU), The Big SOuth is WAY past the "one/two and done" conferences like the Patriot League and the Ohio Valley. The SoCon took a major hit with App and GaSou leaving, and Wofford taking a step back along with Furman. Western Carolina has taken some pretty significant strides and UTC finally got a playoff win so if they can sustain their success, Furman and Wofford get things back on track and Mercer and ETSU get things rolling, they could be back in that upper third of FCS in a few years in my opinion

[Humble_Opinion]

Our win over JMU was big not only for our perception but the conference as well. For the longest time. it was pretty much just Coastal (and Stony Brook briefly before they went to the CAA). Now, with us, plus CCU's success the last couple years (including nearly knocking off NDSU), The Big SOuth is WAY past the "one/two and done" conferences like the Patriot League and the Ohio Valley. The SoCon took a major hit with App and GaSou leaving, and Wofford taking a step back along with Furman. Western Carolina has taken some pretty significant strides and UTC finally got a playoff win so if they can sustain their success, Furman and Wofford get things back on track and Mercer and ETSU get things rolling, they could be back in that upper third of FCS in a few years in my opinion

While our win against JMU was certainly good for us, I think it pales in comparison to what CCU has done for the conference. CCU has beat teams from multiple conferences that people always considered to be above the Big South. If we can beat Montana this year and get to the post-season again, then we will play a much larger role in the perception change. The JMU win though was far more important to LU than it was to the overall landscape of power rankings in I-AA football.

[BJWilliams]

Having multiple teams in the conference with postseason success certainly helps, which is what I was getting at. The Big South now isn't merely a "one trick pony" in the postseason. What needs to happen now is not only us beating Montana and getting to the postseason again as you suggest, but we need to see a team like CSU step their game up in the non-conference portion of the schedule.