superman7515
February 9th, 2013, 03:44 PM
http://hamptonroads.com/2013/02/wilder-would-jmu-join-odu-conference-usa
Old Dominion football coach Bobby Wilder generated a little news when he sat down in the conference room adjacent to his office on Thursday to do a live chat with The Virginian-Pilot.
Wilder broached a subject that many at ODU have hesitated to talk about – he said he hopes that James Madison will join Old Dominion in leaving the Colonial Athletic Association for Conference USA.
“I am hopeful that eventually James Madison will make the move to Conference USA,” he said in response to a question. “I believe, like ECU, that would create a tremendous natural rivalry that would be good for the league and also good for both schools.”
Here’s a link to Wilder’s live chat :
http://hamptonroads.com/2013/02/odu-coach-bobby-wilder-live-chat-noon-today
ODU announced in May it will move from the CAA to C-USA in 2013 in most sports. After playing as a Football Championship Subdivision independent in 2013, the Monarchs will join C-USA and the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2014.
The move up will cost the school about $3 million per year, athletic director Wood Selig has said. About a third of that will be covered by conference TV revenues, a third by fundraising and the rest with ticket price increases.
ODU will become the state’s third FBS program, joining Virginia and Virginia Tech.
JMU appears well-positioned to become the fourth. The school spent $62.5 million renovating and expanding its football stadium into a 25,000-seat showplace that is surely the best in FCS.
It has luxury suites, a restaurant, opulent seating and a clean, major-college football look to it.
When he first saw the new Bridgeforth Stadium, Wilder said he didn’t believe that JMU spent that much money to remain in FCS.
JMU has a dedicated fan base and a proud football history. The Dukes have beaten both Virginia and Virginia Tech and won an FCS national title.
But for now, at least, it appears the Dukes aren’t going anywhere........
Old Dominion football coach Bobby Wilder generated a little news when he sat down in the conference room adjacent to his office on Thursday to do a live chat with The Virginian-Pilot.
Wilder broached a subject that many at ODU have hesitated to talk about – he said he hopes that James Madison will join Old Dominion in leaving the Colonial Athletic Association for Conference USA.
“I am hopeful that eventually James Madison will make the move to Conference USA,” he said in response to a question. “I believe, like ECU, that would create a tremendous natural rivalry that would be good for the league and also good for both schools.”
Here’s a link to Wilder’s live chat :
http://hamptonroads.com/2013/02/odu-coach-bobby-wilder-live-chat-noon-today
ODU announced in May it will move from the CAA to C-USA in 2013 in most sports. After playing as a Football Championship Subdivision independent in 2013, the Monarchs will join C-USA and the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2014.
The move up will cost the school about $3 million per year, athletic director Wood Selig has said. About a third of that will be covered by conference TV revenues, a third by fundraising and the rest with ticket price increases.
ODU will become the state’s third FBS program, joining Virginia and Virginia Tech.
JMU appears well-positioned to become the fourth. The school spent $62.5 million renovating and expanding its football stadium into a 25,000-seat showplace that is surely the best in FCS.
It has luxury suites, a restaurant, opulent seating and a clean, major-college football look to it.
When he first saw the new Bridgeforth Stadium, Wilder said he didn’t believe that JMU spent that much money to remain in FCS.
JMU has a dedicated fan base and a proud football history. The Dukes have beaten both Virginia and Virginia Tech and won an FCS national title.
But for now, at least, it appears the Dukes aren’t going anywhere........