[TH Spangler]

As I have stated many times:

"if Louisville can get into ACC, then anything is possible"

Heck, UAB football was dead a couple years ago.

[tyndal23]

As I have stated many times:

"if Louisville can get into ACC, then anything is possible"

Heck, UAB football was dead a couple years ago.

Yes, as stated before one if the most impressive feats in CFB - zero to conference final In 2 years. Only one compatible in circumstance was SMU which took over 25 years to crawl back. Louisville may have narrowed gap on academics but we aren’t getting in to ACC politically. What are the details of AAC academically and politically? If those of you who want AAC, please do a comprehensive post on the subject with compatibles on athletic budgets to LU and who they are rumored to be looking at, student body size, geography, odds of AAC Presidents voting us in,etc.

[Sly Fox]

Still a long shot. The league is still made up primarily of large publics in major cities based on their ill-fated drive into media markets pursuing big TV money. SMU, Tulane and Tulsa are the obvious exceptions with the latter the clear oddball of that group being tiny and in a small market and without the academic status of the others. That major market concept didn't work out as planned but they remain the unquestioned top tier below the P5/A5. We do not fit their profile well which will make our selection a tough challenge. But it should be noted that of available teams we are on a very short list of potential candidates. We just are not likley atop that list right now.

Let the record show that they do not need to expand at all based on current rules. And they have shown little inclination to do so since th beginning of the pandemic. The westerward exploration was done with a TV deal in mind. Right now they are likely to hang low and wait until the deck chairs start moving above them

If we could ever get some stability and credibility in our administration it would certainly incrase our chances. The league presidents don't likely look at Prevo's honorary doctorate from Hyles-Anderson and see a peer in him.

[tyndal23]

Thanks Sly. Latest rumor is a 12 team expansion being most popular among Presidents. Top G5 a guaranty spot and NY6 bowl model going away and participating in larger playoff field. I don’t see any real benefit for AAC adding another team at this point either.

[Jonathan Carone]

Not trying to be That Guy, but given everything that's come out about the Falwells and what Liberty has covered up over the last 14 years, and seeing as there's no movement towards a future permanent president, there's no way the presidents of a top-tier conference give us a look at conference membership no matter how good our teams are on the field.

[JK37]

@tyndal23 If we went with your plan, but we didn’t win - would it change your plan?

[Sly Fox]

The most likely shot at relaignment this summer remains in our conference. The ASUN needs another FCs school to meet their minimum requirement for an auto bid. Speculation remains high around Western Illinois and Chattanooga. The league would prefer Chatty but could still bring in the Leathernecks this summer.

[Purple Haize]

@tyndal23 If we went with your plan, but we didn’t win - would it change your plan?

A question asked many times

[tyndal23]

@tyndal23 If we went with your plan, but we didn’t win - would it change your plan?

For how long? Would I sacrifice a decade to come out the other side where no one ever mentions LU and G5 in the same sentence ? Absolutely.

[flamehunter]

@tyndal23 If we went with your plan, but we didn’t win - would it change your plan?

For how long? Would I sacrifice a decade to come out the other side where no one ever mentions LU and G5 in the same sentence ? Absolutely.

A decade of losing? That'll fire up the fanbase for sure!

[tyndal23]

@tyndal23 If we went with your plan, but we didn’t win - would it change your plan?

For how long? Would I sacrifice a decade to come out the other side where no one ever mentions LU and G5 in the same sentence ? Absolutely.

A decade of losing? That'll fire up the fanbase for sure!

All 18k of them....

[Purple Haize]

For how long? Would I sacrifice a decade to come out the other side where no one ever mentions LU and G5 in the same sentence ? Absolutely.

A decade of losing? That'll fire up the fanbase for sure!

All 18k of them....

You mock the 18k but that’s a lot more than we had in other years not all that long ago.

[tyndal23]

A decade of losing? That'll fire up the fanbase for sure!

All 18k of them....

You mock the 18k but that’s a lot more than we had in other years not all that long ago.

Like 10 years ago maybe? Watch what happens to Rutgers fan base this year and next with Schiano. Even IF we couldn’t win 7 games with 6 P5 and Army BYU on schedule with a full blown P5 budget and recruiting classes over 10 years ( a really Big IF ) and the fans dipped, the year it comes back is way better than G5 level.

[Ill flame]

You know my version of how to do that = P5 Indie scheduling/budget philosophy and avoid G5 conference path at all costs. P5 road games nationally ( 1 Pac 12 annually, 1 Big 12 annually. Focus on Future TV $ first and Lynchburg fan base and stadium expansion last - what is your ( or anyone) alternate recommendation and reasons why. ( other than just win and go to cure bowl forever and someday we will x.....Tell me where the loyal local fan base is coming from if Lynchburg residents despise LU and our alumni are scattered nationally. Doesn’t have to be Purple, but someone lay out the plan. Also, if your goal is AAC, give me the odds of Presidents of those schools voting us in ( especially if they are about to get a guaranteed seat in playoff expansion - what is in it for them? I assume Ian is in their ear and has some $ to play with to entice an offer, but just politically, what are our chances ( immediate ) and what would change ( politically )if we took a longer term goal of eventually being worthy of an AAC invite. I haven’t seen anyone break down the academic and political roadblocks ( like you did ACC ). Maybe it is dramatically better, I haven’t researched that aspect. Anyone?

There are several major conference with tv contracts expiring in the coming years. This usually means realignment is coming. Liberty right now is just doing the best they can to position themselves to join the best conference available. I think joining a conference is still a part of the long term goals at the moment, declaring ourselves a P5 equivalent and giving up all our home games would be a strategy we should only use as a last resort.

One of the best things about liberty that will put them in the same conversation as BYU or Notre Dame is that alumni base spread throughout the country. We need to keep winning and building a strong culture of support so that those alumni start going to away games everytime we come to their area.

I don't see anything wrong with us staying on the current trajectory for the next 5ish years and seeing how things play out while continuing to build up the academics and fanbase

[JK37]

Nothing helps recruiting more than winning; nothing hurts more than losing.

[tyndal23]

You know my version of how to do that = P5 Indie scheduling/budget philosophy and avoid G5 conference path at all costs. P5 road games nationally ( 1 Pac 12 annually, 1 Big 12 annually. Focus on Future TV $ first and Lynchburg fan base and stadium expansion last - what is your ( or anyone) alternate recommendation and reasons why. ( other than just win and go to cure bowl forever and someday we will x.....Tell me where the loyal local fan base is coming from if Lynchburg residents despise LU and our alumni are scattered nationally. Doesn’t have to be Purple, but someone lay out the plan. Also, if your goal is AAC, give me the odds of Presidents of those schools voting us in ( especially if they are about to get a guaranteed seat in playoff expansion - what is in it for them? I assume Ian is in their ear and has some $ to play with to entice an offer, but just politically, what are our chances ( immediate ) and what would change ( politically )if we took a longer term goal of eventually being worthy of an AAC invite. I haven’t seen anyone break down the academic and political roadblocks ( like you did ACC ). Maybe it is dramatically better, I haven’t researched that aspect. Anyone?

There are several major conference with tv contracts expiring in the coming years. This usually means realignment is coming. Liberty right now is just doing the best they can to position themselves to join the best conference available. I think joining a conference is still a part of the long term goals at the moment, declaring ourselves a P5 equivalent and giving up all our home games would be a strategy we should only use as a last resort.

One of the best things about liberty that will put them in the same conversation as BYU or Notre Dame is that alumni base spread throughout the country. We need to keep winning and building a strong culture of support so that those alumni start going to away games everytime we come to their area.

I don't see anything wrong with us staying on the current trajectory for the next 5ish years and seeing how things play out while continuing to build up the academics and fanbase

My plan wouldn’t be able to start until 2027 earliest ( the schedule aspect )and it is giving up 1 home game not all )the first 5 years. We can’t do anything different until then anyway. So by all means do all the normal small things you can to enhance game day and build local fan support until then. The problem is you have to schedule 5 years out, so 5 years from now you are already locked in to another 5 of current strategy while you were waiting to see how things shake out with conferences who currently show no desire to add us based on our politics, REGARDLESS of how well we do on the field.

[tyndal23]

Nothing helps recruiting more than winning; nothing hurts more than losing.

So a winning G5 program will recruit better athletes than a losing P5. Got it.

[olldflame]

Nothing helps recruiting more than winning; nothing hurts more than losing.

So a winning G5 program will recruit better athletes than a losing P5. Got it.

Better than an actual P5 that loses? Probably not, although when I look at Kansas, I'm not so sure. Better than a losing P5 "equivalent"? I believe so.

[Purple Haize]

Nothing helps recruiting more than winning; nothing hurts more than losing.

You know that. I know that. People who have never recruited don’t know that

[olldflame]

Nothing helps recruiting more than winning; nothing hurts more than losing.

You know that. I know that. People who have never recruited don’t know that

Some of us do. (But I do get your point.)

[Purple Haize]

Nothing helps recruiting more than winning; nothing hurts more than losing.

You know that. I know that. People who have never recruited don’t know that

Some of us do. (But I do get your point.)

That’s the point. Only those who have never recruited disagree. You can have no recruiting experience and see the unassailable logic of that statement

[tyndal23]

So no losing team has a chance to recruit when they hire a hot new coach. Makes perfect sense. By that logic, Since LU hasn’t had a losing season since 2005, we should have and currently be dominating recruiting rankings Scrolling now to see where we ranked....why can’t I find us anywhere?

[thepostman]

Our recruiting classes continue to improve every single year, if we were losing AND didn't invest in facilities/coaching like we have then that would not be the case. Of course you could invest all the money in the world in coaching and facilities but if you can't win, it won't matter.

Nothing helps recruiting more than winning; nothing hurts more than losing.

You know that. I know that. People who have never recruited don’t know that

Trust me, I was never recruited for a thing in my life. Not even close and even I know that

[tyndal23]

So same crowd that was saying stay FCS until we win are saying stay G5 Indie because there is a chance we might lose if we play bottom 1/3 of FBS coming off winning 2 ACC games and losing by a point to a 3rd with an O Line recruited as FCS. 2 of those teams are in middle 1/3 of ACC. Got it. What do I know, I only played the game, never recruited for a D1 football Program like Purple.

[thepostman]

Technically we aren't even a G5 which makes things even more difficult. The P5's already aren't big fans of Notre Dame getting the special treatment they get, why in the world would they be ok for us to get that kind of treatment.

I'd love to play a bunch of P5's and win consistently and be considered a P5 without actually having to be in a P5 conference. It sounds awesome but there is a reality that you love to overlook. That vision takes a lot of schools wanting to help us out and the reason we had to threaten to sue in order to become a FBS independent is because schools haven't exactly been lining up to help us out.

But I get it, this is your thing. I've got to hand it to you, you really stick to your guns.