Open Records Request Shows List of 21 Schools For Possible Sun Belt Expansion

[superman7515]

www.tennessean.com (http://www.tennessean.com/article/D4/20120708/BLUERAIDERS01/307080044/SBC-commissioner-Benson-explored-membership-options-league?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Sports|p)


On April 1, Benson emailed a powerpoint presentation to Sun Belt presidents/chancellors and athletic directors, laying out the league’s various realignment options.

One slide listed 21 schools to be considered as “possible additions/replacements” – including Idaho, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, San Jose State, Texas State, Utah State, UT-San Antonio, Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Jacksonville State, James Madison, Liberty, Charlotte, Old Dominion, Belmont, College of Charleston, Florida Gulf Coast, North Florida, St. Louis and Texas-Arlington.

“That was just to demonstrate that the Sun Belt had many options,” Benson said. “We needed to think out of the box, but it was just an exercise in showing that the Sun Belt is in a good spot.”

The same presentation included several maps of potential conference mergers – one of which was titled “Makes Too Much Sense” and proposed a 33-school superconference combining the Sun Belt, C-USA, WAC and Mountain West Conference.

“I had very quiet inquiries with (Mountain West commissioner) Craig Thompson and (C-USA commissioner) Britton Banowsky to see if, ‘Hey, would you be interested?’” Benson said. “But that was dismissed quickly. No interest.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

On April 1...

Any significance?

[DSUrocks07]

First thing I noticed was the absense of a certain flagship school on the East Coast...

Sent from my VM670 using Tapatalk 2

[MSUBear42]

Ouch. Not even listed!

[clenz]

Ouch. Not even listed!I've said it before (on multiple sites) regarding your CUSA/FBS rumors that ran amuck last year...

MSU isn't even close to being on the radar....regardless what "sources" are saying.

[MSUBear42]

I've said it before (on multiple sites) regarding your CUSA/FBS rumors that ran amuck last year...

MSU isn't even close to being on the radar....regardless what "sources" are saying.

Ah, yes, thank you for my annual reminder of how much you hate Missouri State. A nice little pick-me-up...

The rumors last year took off like wild fire, but there are still truths hidden around inside of them. YES, there were four men in blue C*USA Polos taking a stadium tour with our school President before our game against you guys last year. Then there were also C*USA reps in town for a few basketball games that sat in the Presidential Suite at JQH. From what I can gather, they were just looking at potential candidates. Nothing more, but definitely not what I would consider 'not on the radar,' either.

Since UNI is so well of... How's that baseball program treating you?

[clenz]

Since UNI is so well of... How's that baseball program treating you?
Oh...I can play that game....


How's your wrestling program?

[MSUBear42]

Oh...I can play that game....


How's your wrestling program?

Touché

[TheBisonator]

North Florida, Florida Gulf Coast???? Is the Belch reaching a bit here???

I've seen a bit of UNF basketball. That school is like Western Illinois without football. FGCU has a nice arena though.

[TheRevSFA]

North Florida, Florida Gulf Coast???? Is the Belch reaching a bit here???

I've seen a bit of UNF basketball. That school is like Western Illinois without football. FGCU has a nice arena though.

618,000 people in the Fort Myers market...UNF gets that Jacksonville market.

As stated..it's not about what you've done, it's where you are located.

[Apphole]

618,000 people in the Fort Myers market...UNF gets that Jacksonville market.

As stated..it's not about what you've done, it's where you are located.

Indeed. If realignment has taught us anything, it's that no matter if a school is a steaming pile of newco-JUCO doo doo, if it's near a population center, it will get the nod.

These smaller FBS leagues (SBC, CUSA ect) are shooting themselves in the foot. Having major metro areas has it's advantages, but if you keep adding startups with no history and no hint of a fan following and you're pushing the conference further into obscurity.

[UNDColorado]

618,000 people in the Fort Myers market...UNF gets that Jacksonville market.

As stated..it's not about what you've done, it's where you are located.

Unfortunately you are correct in that it is not what you have done, but rather where you are located and what you have. There are plenty of FCS programs in the midwest / west that should be FBS over some of these schools out east that many people have never heard of. It mostly comes down to media market; I.E. money that can be made. It is really a joke of a system because media market should never be considered more important than the product that you put out on the field.

[DFW HOYA]

Can anyone explain how St. Louis got on the list?

[Lehigh Football Nation]

So he seized other schools that he thought would be targets for other conferences in the near future. The Sun Belt announced in April it would add Georgia State in 2013. Soon after, Texas State and UT-Arlington (non-football) were also added.

“If someone wanted to say we got our third choice, then they don’t understand how lucky the Sun Belt ended up in this,” Benson said. “The Sun Belt had alternatives to pursue that didn’t materialize. But what we ended up with was a huge accomplishment.

“We have three schools that already have a lot to offer, but all three also have the potential to deliver results very soon that others might not have. I don’t look at it as getting the short end of the deal.”

Man, some massive disrespect from Georgia State, Texas State, and UTSA's new commissioner! xlolx

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Once Benson’s merger attempt was squashed, he tried to snag some current C-USA members that might appreciate the Sun Belt’s tightly-knit geographic footprint in the southeast.

Benson contacted UAB, Southern Miss, East Carolina and Marshall in hopes of pulling them away. He pitched his 10 reasons for “southern-based universities (to join) ... a new southeastern focused athletic conference.”

Renaming and rebranding the Sun Belt (which was No. 1 on the list) hinted at the branding study that the Sun Belt will soon undergo, which will examine its conference name, logo and reputation on a national scale.

Reading this stuff just makes me laugh.

The Sun Belt is supposedly to be this great, southeastern-based, compact conference - yet Plan A was to convince C-USA and the Mountain West to become a 36 team megaconference. (Anyone see the irony of Benson going to the WAC or Mountain West offices with this deal?) "Makes too much sense?" For whom? Obviously not C-USA or the Mountain West, who must have laughed it off the table.

Then, Plan B is to peel off C-USA schools like ECU and Marshall. Seriously? Would there be any earthly reason for them to seriously consider such a move for a second?

Then, all of this leaks out... and then Georgia State, Texas State, and UTSA are listed as Plan C, and it's not like Benson makes them feel particularly great about their decisions with his weird statements. "Well, you're not East Carolina... but you'll do." If I'm a Georgia State fan, how else am I to take this?

To cap it off, Benson is now pushing the Sun Belt as a "compact, Southeastern-based conference" - the polar opposite of what he was looking to achieve with the 36-team megaconference that "makes too much sense" - and Priority 1 on his new agenda is... rebranding the conference, basically acknowledging that its reputation is basically ****.

Yeah, life in FBS is grand. xlolx

[Dane96]

Honestly, my first inclination when I read this last night was:

1) He is just saying what the admins of the Sun Belt schools want to hear; or
2) He should be fired if he actually believes any of this ****...including a 33 team merger.

It's so out there...

[SpiritCymbal]

Indeed. If realignment has taught us anything, it's that no matter if a school is a steaming pile of newco-JUCO doo doo, if it's near a population center, it will get the nod.

These smaller FBS leagues (SBC, CUSA ect) are shooting themselves in the foot. Having major metro areas has it's advantages, but if you keep adding startups with no history and no hint of a fan following and you're pushing the conference further into obscurity.

Not necessarily. All that needs to happen is one or more of those schools to become competitive and pull off a couple of upsets. It's a gamble for sure, but one that many would see as an acceptable risk. Think of it this way....the end result that the SBC and CUSA are looking for is a successful program in a large metropolitan area, correct?

You have your choice between:
1). a successful program in a small-market area (ASU)
2). an unsuccessful program in a large-market area (Ga. St).

Now ask yourself...which is more likely to happen?

1). Boone becomes a large-market area.
2). Ga. State becomes a successful football program.

I'm not saying that either is going to happen, but if you were in Vegas and had to put your money on one of these two bets, which has the higher percentage of success?

[Lehigh Football Nation]

I'm not saying that either is going to happen, but if you were in Vegas and had to put your money on one of these two bets, which has the higher percentage of success?

I would put my good money nowhere near these two bets. xlolx

[HappyAppy]

Not necessarily. All that needs to happen is one or more of those schools to become competitive and pull off a couple of upsets. It's a gamble for sure, but one that many would see as an acceptable risk. Think of it this way....the end result that the SBC and CUSA are looking for is a successful program in a large metropolitan area, correct?

You have your choice between:
1). a successful program in a small-market area (ASU)
2). an unsuccessful program in a large-market area (Ga. St).

Now ask yourself...which is more likely to happen?

1). Boone becomes a large-market area.
2). Ga. State becomes a successful football program.

I'm not saying that either is going to happen, but if you were in Vegas and had to put your money on one of these two bets, which has the higher percentage of success?

That might be true, but what is going to happen if Georgia State becomes a successful football program? CUSA or Big East is going to jump in and take them away.

You make a good point, but I would counter that a conferences like Sun Belt and (to a lesser extent) CUSA are in a lose/lose situation. If the big market schools get any kind of success, they will bolt for a bigger conference. As it stands now, any Sun Belt team would leave for CUSA or higher, any CUSA team would leave for Big East or higher. Only way that changes is if one conference consistently out performs another, but that is not going to happen in the short term. The startup programs the Sun Belt/CUSA added are not going to contribute for atleast 5 years, maybe more.

I'm obviously biased because I want App to move up, but I think the Sun Belt/CUSA should be looking for more than just markets. I would try to find the next potential ECU over the next potential SMU. That would help solidify your conference in the long run, decrease turnover, put a better product on the field, and maybe give you a shot to move up in the pecking order. As it stands now, the Sun Belt is just giving schools like Georgia State and Texas State a tryout for CUSA. If they are a success, they are gone before the Sun Belt reaps the benefits. If they are terrible, they stay and you have a terrible team in the conference. Lose/Lose

[darell1976]

It will be interesting what the FBS will look like (mainly conferences like the MAC, WAC, MW, and SB) when UND does an FBS study...in about 10+ years (IMO).

[alvinkayak6]

Great post. Thanks for sharing.

The 33-school thing is like an ad for Freemasonry. Idaho for Sun Belt = contradicton. And Florida Gulf Coast??? Wow, that was unexpected.

[PaladinFan]

I still have reservations as to why a university would want to jump onto a sinking ship.