[LUconn]

haha, I guess he changed his mind.

[Purple Haize]

SLY For starters I would never call you a name, but I REALLY want to scratch behind your furry ears!!!! Don't feel bad about grasping the entire epistle I wrote earlier, you would have fit in well in my classes!!!

We have a long way to go to get there, everyone agrees on that. As for DOX, I am sorry you are confused! YOu are correct it is not that complicated to make the move to D1A, it is all laid out in economic impact studies, NCAA requirements, revenue streams, conference memberships etc. Easy to understand, difficult to do!!

I am pretty firm on this one. I am not sure this is a good idea at any time. While I don't think IF we make the move we need to be D1A champions for years and years, I think we should have a quality program. IMHO, when making plans and decisions about our athletic department, and football in particular, we should make them based on what would be best for a quality program. Case in point, the football building is a nice addition, regardless of our level. The field is a quality improvement, regardless of where we move. In the theme of SJ why not try to make what we have the BEST and go from there. Being THE BEST may not necessarily mean a move to IA football.

And who says ND won't play a 1AA school? Do you not believe in miracles?? And if they did play us would that fulfill Falwells "prophecy"?

[SuperJon]

Michigan wouldn't play I-AA teams until this coming season.

[paradox]

You guys can say what you want, but when the right opportunity presents itself, we're going to make the move into 1A, and it can happen sooner than you think.

If the right opportunity doesn't occur, then LU will force the issue at some point and become a 1A independent. Personally, I don't find this notion as frightening as others on this board do. At the very least we should have the potential to schedule big money away games at UVA and VT with virtually no travel expenses. Dare I mention that U of Tennesee is only a few hours away. In addition, there is a slew of medium to lower tier 1A teams in the region that could be potentially interested in scheduling us because it could be beneficial for both institutions: East Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest, Marshall, Maryland, Duke, UNC. Also, there several 1A's within a 6-7 hour drive from LU: Pitt, UWV, Louisville, Rutgers, Kentucky, South Carolina, ect. The reality is, we are in a favorable geographical location for 1A football. We will not be hamstrung, finacially. In fact, our finacial situation for football would improve, if managed correctly, and I think it will be.

As far as losing early on goes, it's all part of the process. It's not like we have this winning tradition here that we are walking away from now. C'mon, we're scheduling 4-5 wins right now. We'll do the same, if we become a 1A independant, and in this scenario, we'd be scheduling home wins against JMU, W&M, and Richmond, rather than Concord, St.Paul's, and Shippensburg. I'll leave Tusculoomuninan out for obvious reasons...just a casual friendly little

[Sly Fox]

I'd rather not go the independent route if at all possible. It would be tough to schedule home dates with other I-As. But it could be done if necessity dictated.

[paradox]

Our schedule could look something like this:


UVA (away)
VT (away)
ECU (home or away)
JMU (home)
W&M (home)
Wake Forrest (home or away)
Rutgers (home or away)
Western Carolina (home)
Marshall (home or away)
Bowling Green (home or away)
VMI (home)

Give Rocco a couple of D1 recruiting classes, and there are 5-7 wins on that schedule. Once we get rolling, we can downsize the 1AA's and grab a few lower tier 1A's and be in a position to be bowl eligible.

It's really not that complicated and not as far away as ya think, however, we are still light years away from playing ND for the title, but who knows, if the next Jim McMahon shows up at LU at the right time, ya never know, but again, it's a ways off from the present.

[jcmanson]

If we were to become an independent, we would probably try to hook up with some of the other IA indy's like Army and Navy.

[Sly Fox]

Army & Navy are indy by choice after bolting CUSA. They actually like the flexibility.

[paradox]

Being independent in 1A can have its advantages, depending on our scheduling options, which seem favorable to me. 1A's need to schedule 1A's in order to increase their chances for bowl eligibility, so it shouldn't be a problem scheduling within the region. In addition, we are in an ideal situation, located just an approximate hour away from both UVA and VT. Both schools would benefit from scheduling us and we can guarantee sell-outs for both venues.

As far as Army/Navy goes, I'm not so sure that we could schedule one or both every year, but wouldn't be surprised if they showed up on our schedule every now and then, once we go 1A.

[SuperJon]

Dox, what you fail to realize is that VT, UVA, and the big boys like that already have their OOC schedules finalized through like 2012. I know VT doesn't have a single open OOC game until the 2014 season. It's not as easy as a phone call.

[paradox]

Dox, what you fail to realize is that VT, UVA, and the big boys like that already have their OOC schedules finalized through like 2012. I know VT doesn't have a single open OOC game until the 2014 season. It's not as easy as a phone call.

It may not be as easy as a phone call, but it can and will be worked out. Those OCC's are not as much of a lock as you assume, especially the 1AA's and the non-BCS opponents. Once we go 1A, neither school will pass on the opportunity to work us in. From an administrative standpoint, it's too much of a win-win across the board, and it would be counterproductive for any of the parties involved to neglect it.

[SuperJon]

Why is a game against us a win-win over a school like JMU, W&M, or Richmond?

[jcmanson]

Army & Navy are indy by choice after bolting CUSA. They actually like the flexibility.

I wasn't saying that as to say we could join a new conference with them, but we could definitely play them both some. It would help both sides by being able to have someone they could count on for a game.

[jcmanson]

Why is a game against us a win-win over a school like JMU, W&M, or Richmond?

If we were IA and they were all still IAA then it would be a win-win compared to them. Tech and UVa would both schedule us, if we were IA, not every year, but at least every 3-5 years.

[SuperJon]

Dox is saying every year.


There's really no difference in us being I-A and them scheduling us and us being I-AA and them scheduling us. Either one counts towards their BCS ranking, and a loss to either one would be an embarrassment. The only way UVA would schedule us is because of Rocco, and, well, we don't have to be I-A for that to happen.

[paradox]

Why is a game against us a win-win over a school like JMU, W&M, or Richmond?

If we were 1A and they were all still IAA then it would be a win-win compared to them. Tech and UVa would both schedule us, if we were IA, not every year, but at least every 3-5 years.

1A wins weigh into their bowl eligibility. Therefore, UVA or VT could have an average season and still get in a bowl game with the additional 1A win. In addition, we would be able to guarantee high energy sell-outs at their stadiums. Gaining an eventual in-state rivalry, especially a private school like us, should be very intriguing to both schools.

[SuperJon]

Dox, a I-AA game helps their bowl eligibility. The rule changed a year or two ago. That's why you see schools playing more I-AA teams.

Do you think VT or UVA need us to guarantee a high-energy sell out?

[jcmanson]

I think the new rule is that you can count a IAA towards your bowl eligibility once every few years. I'm not sure how many years but I'm thinking 4. I may be wrong, but that is the impression I was under.

[SuperJon]

One I-AA, every year.

You're thinking of the old rule.

[Sly Fox]

We would be more enticing to schedule as a I-A for everyone.

[jcmanson]

Alright, I guess I was wrong, not the first time

[SuperJon]

There is the potential for more upsets this year because of the 12-game schedules. Of the 119 I-A teams, 75 play I-AAs this year, an increase of almost 40% from 2005's total of 53. Since a I-A team can now use a win against a I-AA to count toward bowl eligibility every year (the old rule was only once every four years), the prospect of scheduling I-AAs is even more attractive.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/ ... side_x.htm

[paradox]

We would be more enticing to schedule as a I-A for everyone.

No doubt.

[paradox]

There is the potential for more upsets this year because of the 12-game schedules. Of the 119 I-A teams, 75 play I-AAs this year, an increase of almost 40% from 2005's total of 53. Since a I-A team can now use a win against a I-AA to count toward bowl eligibility every year (the old rule was only once every four years), the prospect of scheduling I-AAs is even more attractive.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/ ... side_x.htm

Ok. We can take that part out of the equation.

An in-state rivalry with a private 1A school that recruits nationally rather than regionally would be both advantagous and appear alluring to both UVA and VT. Again, it's win-win, and as we move further along as a D1, they could schedule a big-time road game which would be just a bus ride of an hour or so with plenty of their fans in our seats.

[jcmanson]

In order for one of them to come to our place, we would have to be an established IA program. That would be setting themselves up for suicide.