[Kiwon]

A few items...

1) The FBSReady campaign was designed as a full-court press to get our name and our progress as a university out there. Believe it or not, outside of Lynchburg, very few people know who we are and more importantly the progress we've made in a short period of time. Growth of our type doesn't happen in the higher education industry. So everyone can play MMQB all they want... to some degree I get it and I've mentioned similar thoughts, but at the end of the day, we had a great piece of PR (The Carr ) that we had every reason to believe would make us a top candidate for any conference

2) Who says we aren't focused on success on the field now? I think this tagline from the "Dark Side" is ridiculous and has gone unchallenged long enough. Barber/Guridy and co. have done a quality job at improving the gameday environment, scheduling better, hiring bigger name and more accomplished coaches, and supporting their coaches and the program by advocating for larger budgets and building world-class facilities. There doesn't appear to be any distractions on the field at this point for the coaches... from the sound of it, they all seem focused and primed on winning right now. So where does this come from? Who is distracted at LU and what sort of proof do you have that it's having an impact on the performance of our program?

+1 (again)

[Kiwon]

The FBS intentions have already been made perfectly clear so there is no turning back now. That’s the goal and it’s one of the reasons JB wants to schedule at least two FBS teams a season.

At the same time, another goal has to be a championship at whatever level you currently are. North Dakota State has been FCS champs for four years straight and they play one FBS team a year. Of course, they also play in the Missouri Valley Conference which is much stronger league than the Big South.

The FCS playoff format is exciting, especially for the home team, and if it looks like there will not be a FBS invite on the horizon soon, I wonder if JB might be open to scheduling just one FBS game and replacing the other with a contest against an elite FCS team. Of course, LU should win its conference each year and get the auto bid, but in case they did not, wouldn’t a win against a solid FCS opponent look better than a loss against a FBS team? (Yes, I know, it would depend on the loss, close game vs. blowout, but generally speaking, I think you get my point.)

Your thoughts?

[olldflame]

We are playing elite FCS teams now. 3 of them on this years schedule are probably better teams than one of our FBS opponents. I like the idea of playing 2 FBS teams a year with one being a high profile opponent and the other a ¨winnable¨ game. That could include some teams in the MAC or even C-USA, but pretty much anyone in the SBC will do just fine.

[flamesfilmguy]

Thank you PH.

This thread has me singing blues travelers song Run around.

"And I'll lie too and say I don't mind
And as we seek so shall we find
And when you're feeling open I'll still be here
But not without a certain degree of fear
Of what will be with you and me
I still can see things hopefully

But you
Why you wanna give me a run-around
Is it a sure-fire way to speed things up
When all it does is slow me down"

yup, that basically sums it up.

[BJWilliams]

I just want to get ready for some football, because regardless of the level we are at, I will be wearing my red every Saturday from opening night until after our last game...I have the over/under for margin of victory against DSU at 27.5

[LUconn]

Am I the only one who is skeptical about Coastal being able to make the jump?

[olldflame]

Am I the only one who is skeptical about Coastal being able to make the jump?

Nope. Of course, all it really takes to ¨make the jump¨is an invitation, but I have serious reservations as to whether being in The SBC as opposed to the BSC will give their attendance anything like the boost it needs to come close to filling what they say will be a 20,000 plus stadium. The couple of times I´ve attended football games there they couldn´t fill the student sections playing for a championship against their biggest football rival, and I believe their current capacity is less than 10,000.

[Purple Haize]

' We might as well go all the way

That's what she said

You mean he...

Actually....
[youtube]

[/youtube]

[olldflame]

Tell me what team in the SBC people in Conway/Myrtle Beach are going to get excited about going to the stadium to see? To most fans those teams are FBS in name only. At least in the BSC they have a natural rival just down the road in CSU, a team they hate in Liberty and a couple of others that are closer to home than anyone in the SBC in Gardner-Webb and Presby. Their travel expenses for all sports are going to double (at least), and this is a state school whose funding has to be approved by the legislature. There are issues for sure.

[Purple Haize]

The bigger question in my mind, is what will happen when Daddy Warbucks leaves for a better gig?

[SuperJon]

Am I the only one who is skeptical about Coastal being able to make the jump?

No. Some of their fans think the same thing.

I think they have the potential to be incredibly successful. They have dumped something like $240 million into their campus in the past three years. They're benefiting greatly from a penny tax in Horry County. Their campus transformation is the public school version of what ours has been. In reality, they're the perfect juxtaposition to Liberty. They became an Independent about the same time Liberty moved to Division I. If they can keep that money coming in, they'll be able to build the stadium upgrade and provide the scholarships.

At the end of the day, the only thing that can hold them back is infrastructure and scholarships. Their location is incredibly attractive to recruits. If they've been able to get top 5 nationally talent in FCS with a Big South affiliation, they could pull in Conference USA type talent while in the Sun Belt.

As far as students and fans not showing up to games, it's the same argument we use here: people see FCS football as a JV/Division 2 type of football. It's even more magnified at Coastal when you have a ton of kids from Ohio, Maryland, and Jersey. Being FBS will give them legitimacy to the out-of-state students and local residents who have moved to Horry County. On top of the talent they can bring in, they're much more likely to pull in a home game with the lower P5 schools because of their location. Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern schools wanting to come into the southeast are much more likely to take an away game in Myrtle Beach than in Lynchburg.

If they can pay for it - which is still the big if at this point - they will be very successful.

[SuperJon]

At least in the BSC they have a natural rival just down the road in CSU, a team they hate in Liberty and a couple of others that are closer to home than anyone in the SBC in Gardner-Webb and Presby.

CSU, Gardner-Webb, and Presby are complete non-starters when talking about generating a gate or fan response.

They may have CSU, but CSU has all of 12 fans.

I'm pretty sure they'd trade CSU for Georgia Southern.

I'm pretty sure they'd trade Liberty for App State.

They'll trade the horrible fan base of Gardner Webb for the horrible fan base of Georgia State with its location in Atlanta.

And they'll trade Presby for Troy.

It's so funny how hypocritical we become when someone else gets what we want. All the things we found positive for us are now negatives for our rival.

[Equinox]

The bigger question in my mind, is what will happen when Daddy Warbucks leaves for a better gig?

BAM!!!! and I don't mean Be A Man...I just hate that Costal mantra

[olldflame]

At least in the BSC they have a natural rival just down the road in CSU, a team they hate in Liberty and a couple of others that are closer to home than anyone in the SBC in Gardner-Webb and Presby.

CSU, Gardner-Webb, and Presby are complete non-starters when talking about generating a gate or fan response.

They may have CSU, but CSU has all of 12 fans.

I'm pretty sure they'd trade CSU for Georgia Southern.

I'm pretty sure they'd trade Liberty for App State.

They'll trade the horrible fan base of Gardner Webb for the horrible fan base of Georgia State with its location in Atlanta.

And they'll trade Presby for Troy.

It's so funny how hypocritical we become when someone else gets what we want. All the things we found positive for us are now negatives for our rival.

Those things were negatives for us too, but we could afford it.

You say all those things like they are stone cold facts. I don´t see ANY of them as being a given, Do you honestly think CCU fans will hate App St the way they hate Liberty? CSU may not have a huge fan base, but there is no denying the natural rivalry there just 2 hours away on US17 . The mere fact that GA St. is in Atlanta may make a few CCU fans want to go to a road game there, but it won´t put any more butts in the seats in Conway. In the SBC, App St. will be their CLOSEST road trip. The only school in the BSC that is further away is football-only Monmouth. I notice that in making your point you carefully avoided the mention of schools in Lousiana, Texas and Arkansas they will have to travel to for sports like softball and soccer. There are major issues.

[Purple Haize]

It is easier and less expensive to get to Myrtly Beach than it is to Lynchburg

[SuperJon]

You weren't in the stands when App slaughtered Coastal in 05. To say there's no way they could hate App the way they hate us is completely uninformed and looked at through Liberty glasses. They can easily hate App just as much as they don't like us.

And for the record, Georgia Southern and App are both closer to Coastal than Liberty.

[olldflame]

I have to say citing a beatdown that happened 10 years ago when CCU´s program was in it´s infancy as the basis for a rivalry is a stretch. It could happen, but it´s far from a given. Boone may be a few miles closer than Lynchburg, but that doesn´t mean it´s easier to get to. Still waiting for you to explain how great it will be to travel to Monroe, Little Rock and San Marcos.

You mentioned the county tax that has been instrumental in campus expansion. Is that earmarked for capital improvements, or can it be used to subsidize athletic department operating expenses?

[SuperJon]

I used that example to show that rivalries can happen overnight. For 2-3 years in CCU's infancy, they didn't like App and App didn't like them, especially when CCU was trying to get into the SoCon. That ship sailed, Liberty concocted a made up rivalry with Coastal, and Coastal played along. Once Coastal decides to move on, they'll find a new rival just like we will.

I also don't know the ins and outs of their financing. In your effort to be right, you seem to have overlooked a statement I made multiple times in my original post:

At the end of the day, the only thing that can hold them back is infrastructure and scholarships.

If they can pay for it - which is still the big if at this point - they will be very successful.

Part of infrastructure is the financing of the entire program. It's not just buildings. At this point, I don't know they can finance that anymore than you don't know they can't. It's the biggest variable in play and if they can figure it out, they're a sleeping giant.

[olldflame]

While Liberty certainly promoted Coastal as a rivalry at a time when we lacked one, I would think even you would have to admit that as things have played out, it is now very real. 6 and 6 head to head including some of the most exciting and intense football played in the FCS over that time period, and as often as not with the conference championship on the line. That´s not made up, and the idea that Coastal just ¨went along with it¨is silly. They have benefitted from it almost as much as we have. If CCU goes to the SBC, they will be in a position where they have no natural rivalries and will need to find them and promote them, just as we did.

[SuperJon]

They didn't have a natural rival in the Big South either until we made one up and called them out. It was a good move on everyone's part.

If they can create a rivalry in the Big South, they can manufacture one in the Sun Belt as well.

Also - the reason Coastal became a rivalry across the board isn't because we had close games. The rivalry escalated because we called them out with a billion Beat Coastal shirts and they responded. Again, it was a good move on all sides.

[flameshaw]

Based on their current sports budget, CCU would still be competitive with most SBC schools. Plus the conference payout is much more significant with the SBC. I don't think finances will be a major problem. The only concern that I have is, will they be able to put butts in the seats. I am not convinced they will. They will easily be able to come up with rivalries if they make the move. However, the support they receive currently for a top level FCS team is very poor. I don't see the attraction getting better for a low-level FBS conference schedule. A lot of the people that reside in the area are retired and/or from out of state and have no reason to support or attend games for a local team. It is not really much of a place to visit in the fall unless you enjoy golf/shopping. With no playoff system, a very low-level bowl game every 5-10 years isn't going to create much local buzz either. Don't envision them traveling well to any away games. I guess we will see if they get an invite. Should be interesting to watch.

[flameshaw]

I take issue with the idea that Coastal is, or ever has been a legitimate top 5 team.

Secondly, with all due respect, it's a good time to point out that SJ still has feelings for Coastal. Sometimes it shows more than others.

I agree. They have played a very weak OOC schedule the last couple of years that actually helped them in the polls. (it will again this year). Their toughest game last year and this year will be against us. Please raise your hand if you thought that CCU was the best team in the country when we beat them last year. They were obviously ranked #1 and may be again this year, but they seem to get more than their share of love from the voters. Again, we will see.

[bluejacket]

It's the biggest variable in play and if they can figure it out, they're a sleeping giant.

Coastal is not a sleeping giant. They have the ability to be very competitive, but not a sleeping giant.

[SuperJon]

It's the biggest variable in play and if they can figure it out, they're a sleeping giant.

Coastal is not a sleeping giant. They have the ability to be very competitive, but not a sleeping giant.

Should've clarified: I'm talking in the G5 world, not P5. They could become one of the top G5 schools in 15-20 years if the funding is there. That's the biggest hinge point.

Edit: I also believe we are a sleeping giant. We could easily be a top G5 school in that same time if given the chance.

[rogers3]

I'll weigh in, fwiw. Coastal would likely be a stronger member than several of the current SBC members. App would make a great rival- Carolina teams, beach versus mountains, etc. I would wager that Independent opportunities might open up for us and others like us; the NCAA is making changes in football that weren't even thought of 10-15 years ago, and a major shift in the fbs outside of the big power conferences wouldn't be unprecedented. LU will be fine and while I once was hopeful for SBC, I now see that our school is on a much better trajectory than most SBC schools. Even at these early stages of our drive to move to the next level, we rate favorably against the SBC, based on this neat little graph from their forum. I think we'll see even more success on both the field and in our academic programs moving forward.