Big South Conference current status: Better, worse, or unknown

[Bucs2016]

The Big South has been among the most unstable conferences in FCS. Liberty, Stony Brook, Coastal, VMI, Elon all left, I think even Samford flirted with it before joining the SoCon.

But now, CSU has become a fairly strong program, Kennessaw St is a playoff team. Monmouth too. North Alabama appears to be a team that will become a very good FCS program.

But the rest? PC is awful. Campbell and Gardner Webb...meh, GWU is a tough out and could be a conference championship caliber team some years. Hampton joined, not sure what to make of them.

Wish BSC would get NC A&T.

Its definitely not getting better. But Im not sure its worse either. KSU and UNA might be just fine in replacing LU and Coastal. The conference just lacks a consistent identity, and seems its just become a random collection of teams that dont seem to have any reason to be together other than...just being together.

[ASU33]

Right now Unknown. We'll know by mid-October though

[grizband]

Losing the name recognition of Liberty and Coastal Carolina hurts, but is potentially mitigated by the additions of Kennesaw State and North Alabama. Hampton has also been succesful in FCS, which should give additional stability to the Big South.

[Lion1983]

I figure, if the ASun goes to 10 schools, I would figure it would go after a football school, who would then be in the Big South for football of course. That being said, I have heard by multiple sources that there are a few schools flirting with the idea of joining the ASun. I do know said schools, but was asked to keep them in confidence. And that being said, the ASun needs back in the Carolinas......


But, I think the Big South, as far as football, is okay this year, but should get stronger going forward. Hopefully yall get your stadium deal worked out, and hopefully we do too.

[bonarae]

Unknown at the moment.

[SU DOG]

Eventually, Campbell will be a great addition IMO. Really nice facilities and forward thinking administration.

[katss07]

Well they had more playoff teams last season than the OVC so...

[FUBeAR]

Eventually, Campbell will be a great addition IMO. Really nice facilities and forward thinking administration.
Agree. I thought Mike Minter was just going there on a lark or to check a box, but he seems to be committed to staying & building a program. I think the Camels may get over the hump & be rather formidable in a short while. Good add for the Big South. Full disclosure though, there’s some connection between Samford & Campbell - Prez there or some other mucky-muck is a Samford man, so SU DOG is boosting ‘em. And, FUBeAR is from that nape of the woods...and possibly having an excuse to get over there & get some Eastern NC style BBQ makes FUBeAR a BIG Campbell Fan!

And I think PC is doing EXACTLY what they needed to do. If their Alums will just ‘get real,’ I think they will like being in the PFL..and, as Butler, San Diego, Dayton, and Jacksonville have shown, there’s no rule requiring them to lose to other FCS Playoff-quality FCS Teams. It’s really win-win-win, as I think the PFL & the Big South also will benefit from that move. I like the Hampton add & of course, getting UNA in the fold. They need to help Monmouth find a new home in their own neighborhood though...and then pick up another solid program. A&T would be a big ‘get’ for them, though I would prefer the Aggies would join the SoCon. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the BeachChickens come Idaho’ing back to the Big South also at some point, which might provide an ever-present reminders to the Owls that a perch in FCS is a pretty fine place to roost.

G-W...you said it...meh.

[kdinva]

Eventually, Campbell will be a great addition IMO. Really nice facilities and forward thinking administration.

agree. 5 years ago, they got rid of that 700 seat gym and got a nice, 3400 seat arena for hoops. Hopefully, soon they'll get demand (and $$$) to expand FB venue to 8500 or so......

[WestCoastAggie]

Agree. I thought Mike Minter was just going there on a lark or to check a box, but he seems to be committed to staying & building a program. I think the Camels may get over the hump & be rather formidable in a short while. Good add for the Big South. Full disclosure though, there’s some connection between Samford & Campbell - Prez there or some other mucky-muck is a Samford man, so SU DOG is boosting ‘em. And, FUBeAR is from that nape of the woods...and possibly having an excuse to get over there & get some Eastern NC style BBQ makes FUBeAR a BIG Campbell Fan!

And I think PC is doing EXACTLY what they needed to do. If their Alums will just ‘get real,’ I think they will like being in the PFL..and, as Butler, San Diego, Dayton, and Jacksonville have shown, there’s no rule requiring them to lose to other FCS Playoff-quality FCS Teams. It’s really win-win-win, as I think the PFL & the Big South also will benefit from that move. I like the Hampton add & of course, getting UNA in the fold. They need to help Monmouth find a new home in their own neighborhood though...and then pick up another solid program. A&T would be a big ‘get’ for them, though I would prefer the Aggies would join the SoCon. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the BeachChickens come Idaho’ing back to the Big South also at some point, which might provide an ever-present reminders to the Owls that a perch in FCS is a pretty fine place to roost.

G-W...you said it...meh.

A&T in the SoCon would be a great move, especially since UNCG doesn’t have Football.

You could also move the basketball tournament to Greensboro or Winston-Salem at that point.

[Professor]

The Big South has been among the most unstable conferences in FCS. Liberty, Stony Brook, Coastal, VMI, Elon all left, I think even Samford flirted with it before joining the SoCon.

But now, CSU has become a fairly strong program, Kennessaw St is a playoff team. Monmouth too. North Alabama appears to be a team that will become a very good FCS program.

But the rest? PC is awful. Campbell and Gardner Webb...meh, GWU is a tough out and could be a conference championship caliber team some years. Hampton joined, not sure what to make of them.

Wish BSC would get NC A&T.

Its definitely not getting better. But Im not sure its worse either. KSU and UNA might be just fine in replacing LU and Coastal. The conference just lacks a consistent identity, and seems its just become a random collection of teams that dont seem to have any reason to be together other than...just being together.

And that is exactly what it is . It's a holding spot for better things. I personally hope we never make the jump. Rather do Southern Conf if we going to leave the MEAC. The conference needs to develop some rivalries

[WestCoastAggie]

UNA and Kennesaw State will be FCS playoff staples. Hopefully, Hampton and Charleston Southern will keep things a 4-way battle royale for the conference title in football. If Monmouth could ever keep things trending upwards, the top half of the BSC could end up rivalring the top of the CAA in a few years.

[wcugrad95]

It is interesting looking at the make-up of the Big South and Southern conferences. Both have a bunch of relatively small (3k or less) private schools, a handful of what I'll call mid-size (~5k) mostly private schools, then there are 4 larger (10k+) public schools. The newest members of each conference include the addition of the largest public that is more than twice as big as the next school (KSU), the re-birth of one of the larger public programs (ETSU), adding in a coupe of members between mid and large (Mercer and the new addition of UNA), and then a couple that are in the medium to medium/small (I think Hampton and Campbell are under 5k students). The obvious outliers are KSU because of size (well over 30k) and Monmouth because of geography.

I think we all expect a major round of shuffling is on the horizon when the biggest P5 programs and the major networks decide they want to make $$$ trillions instead of $$$ billions. I think schools like App, Georgia Southern, Liberty, etc. have probably made their moves more in an attempt to end up in the 2nd-tier of football when the dust settles more than to compete directly with the big boys. I can see a school like Kennesaw with its size and resources trying to make that move as part of the next shake-up (if not sooner). Most of the SoCon and Big South are not going to be in that position, so longer-term the conferences are going to end up with 14-16 total schools with all of the "big" ones (enrollment-wise) being in the SoCon. Maybe there would be some kind of re-alignment then to have the conferences break into more "like-looking" sets of schools. Maybe that is when a NC A&T would be added.

But who knows??? Right now I think the SoCon is fairly happy with its footprint and members, but sometime soon there will most likely be opportunity for change.

[Bucs2016]

And that is exactly what it is . It's a holding spot for better things. I personally hope we never make the jump. Rather do Southern Conf if we going to leave the MEAC. The conference needs to develop some rivalries

Exactly right. BSC needs rivalries badly. Right now there arent any. Liberty and CSU at least had original foundinf member history. And LU/Coastal/CSU was good for a little while. PC vs GWU should’ve been good from their old days in D2 SAC, but never panned out.

If BSC ever added Jacksonville and Savannah State you’d have a nice coastal trio with CSU all within 4 hours but thats unlikely.

[Lion1983]

It is interesting looking at the make-up of the Big South and Southern conferences. Both have a bunch of relatively small (3k or less) private schools, a handful of what I'll call mid-size (~5k) mostly private schools, then there are 4 larger (10k+) public schools. The newest members of each conference include the addition of the largest public that is more than twice as big as the next school (KSU), the re-birth of one of the larger public programs (ETSU), adding in a coupe of members between mid and large (Mercer and the new addition of UNA), and then a couple that are in the medium to medium/small (I think Hampton and Campbell are under 5k students). The obvious outliers are KSU because of size (well over 30k) and Monmouth because of geography.

I think we all expect a major round of shuffling is on the horizon when the biggest P5 programs and the major networks decide they want to make $$$ trillions instead of $$$ billions. I think schools like App, Georgia Southern, Liberty, etc. have probably made their moves more in an attempt to end up in the 2nd-tier of football when the dust settles more than to compete directly with the big boys. I can see a school like Kennesaw with its size and resources trying to make that move as part of the next shake-up (if not sooner). Most of the SoCon and Big South are not going to be in that position, so longer-term the conferences are going to end up with 14-16 total schools with all of the "big" ones (enrollment-wise) being in the SoCon. Maybe there would be some kind of re-alignment then to have the conferences break into more "like-looking" sets of schools. Maybe that is when a NC A&T would be added.

But who knows??? Right now I think the SoCon is fairly happy with its footprint and members, but sometime soon there will most likely be opportunity for change.

The only thing that would make remote sense for me would be one or the other conferences get all the private schools and the other get the public schools.

Public
Western Carolina
Chatty
ETSU
UNA
KSU
JSU (added)
Austin Peay (added)
Eastern Kentucky (added)
NCAT (if they wanted to)

Private
Hampton
VMI
Furman
Wofford
Citadel
Gardner Webb
Campbell
Charleston Southern
Samford
Mercer

I think it makes more sense institutionally and regionally.

[DFW HOYA]

Private
VMI
Citadel


(Someone don't tell the taxpayers.)

[Lion1983]

(Someone don't tell the taxpayers.)

I always thought they were.....

My bad...

[Lehigh Football Nation]

The Big South managed to jettison its Liberty headache and rid itself of ungrateful Coastal Carolina, has added a good, growing program in Monmouth for football, has gotten another in Campbell for football, has a potential FCS powerhouse in KSU and is awaiting another in UNA. Their top teams appear to be better than, or at absolute worst are equal to, the top teams in the SoCon. And if NCAT were to abandon the MEAC and join the Big South, they'd be miles better than the SoCon, period.

They have a farm system with the A-Sun and PFL so that the teams that don't want scholarship football have a clear path from one to the other. When teams are unhappy with their current conferences, the Big South has a big tent and can take them in. I'm finding it hard to find any downsides or in fact anything to critique. Their forward-thinking and innovation has them on the brink of being an FCS power conference, eclipsing the SoCon.

[wcugrad95]

The Big South managed to jettison its Liberty headache and rid itself of ungrateful Coastal Carolina, has added a good, growing program in Monmouth for football, has gotten another in Campbell for football, has a potential FCS powerhouse in KSU and is awaiting another in UNA. Their top teams appear to be better than, or at absolute worst are equal to, the top teams in the SoCon. And if NCAT were to abandon the MEAC and join the Big South, they'd be miles better than the SoCon, period.

They have a farm system with the A-Sun and PFL so that the teams that don't want scholarship football have a clear path from one to the other. When teams are unhappy with their current conferences, the Big South has a big tent and can take them in. I'm finding it hard to find any downsides or in fact anything to critique. Their forward-thinking and innovation has them on the brink of being an FCS power conference, eclipsing the SoCon.

I am not arguing with that IF they were to see NC A&T come in; or IF you think KSU is going to be in this conference long-term (same with Monmouth, who I would see as somebody who would move in the next major re-alignment simply because of geography); or IF UNA proves to be as good as we think they will be. They do seem to have an innovative approach with the tie-ins with other leagues. But as several other posts have pointed out, the BSC has been volatile and unstable with its membership with so much turnover, so the question is will they settle in with this grouping of teams longer-term and add another good football school, or will that inevitable shake-up that comes cause lots of changes?

Maybe it is just me, but I see KSU and its money and location and 32k students going FBS sooner rather than later.

[Lion1983]

I am not arguing with that IF they were to see NC A&T come in; or IF you think KSU is going to be in this conference long-term (same with Monmouth, who I would see as somebody who would move in the next major re-alignment simply because of geography); or IF UNA proves to be as good as we think they will be. They do seem to have an innovative approach with the tie-ins with other leagues. But as several other posts have pointed out, the BSC has been volatile and unstable with its membership with so much turnover, so the question is will they settle in with this grouping of teams longer-term and add another good football school, or will that inevitable shake-up that comes cause lots of changes?

Maybe it is just me, but I see KSU and its money and location and 32k students going FBS sooner rather than later.

KSU will have to have an invitation, dont think they can pull the same deal that Liberty did. So who would invite them? And you also have to realize that football is not necessarily the priority for and invite from conferences.

[wcugrad95]

I am saying re-alignment is right around the corner when the big boys change. KSU in my opinion will try to make a move (for better or worse) when that happens - SunBelt, C-USA, etc. And I agree that an invite from conferences at the FCS level is not all about athletics, but it is all about either football or basketball when you are talking FBS - and I expect KSU to be going "up" and not to another FCS league. In the domino-effect that is when I think KSU leaves.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

I am saying re-alignment is right around the corner when the big boys change. KSU in my opinion will try to make a move (for better or worse) when that happens - SunBelt, C-USA, etc. And I agree that an invite from conferences at the FCS level is not all about athletics, but it is all about either football or basketball when you are talking FBS - and I expect KSU to be going "up" and not to another FCS league. In the domino-effect that is when I think KSU leaves.

Things could happen in the FBS that causes the Sun Belt to lurch around and make a reach pick for FBS (which is precisely what happened with Coastal Carolina). But they're not going to prioritize the Big South over other FCS schools. The Sun Belt will be looking for what the Sun Belt thinks it needs. And it's not like the Sun Belt prioritizes basketball.

The AAC and C-USA are different, but these are not exactly healthy conferences in general. Personally I think the go-go years of TV money are over. Everyone is going to struggle, except for the regular cast of characters (Notre Dame, USC, Ohio State) which you would expect not to struggle.

[wcugrad95]

I still think it will be that domino effect. A school like UCF (and maybe even USF) get picked up by a bigger conference like the Big 12 (UCF has apparently been pretty close recently). When that happens, the AAC goes looking for a team to fill that spot. Let's say they take another Florida school like FAU or FIU, or they pick somebody like App State because of how well they have played and because they are a "hot" name. Let's say both UCF and USF get picked up, and that is now 2 G5 spots. All of those are football-driven decisions, and on the surface seem to be about the Big 12 and to a lesser extent C-USA or the Sun Belt. But then those G5 leagues are going to want to replace what they just lost, and if KSU does well again this season and next, I have no doubt they would be an attractive option for those G5 leagues. And maybe it is just me, but I thought when KSU started football up they planned on being an FBS program given the size of the student population, resources, etc. Charlotte did that - and it was a mistake for them. But schools that size for whatever reason often WANT to be FBS.

That is what I am saying - this is more about the 2nd and 3rd parts of the equation that happen because of the top move.

Personally, I like what one of the other posters had with these mixture of conferences realigning to look more like each other (public and private, smaller and larger, making the geographies work, etc.). But that idea further complicated things because it raided 3 conferences (BSC, SoCon, and OVC) and would seem really hard to pull off.

[walliver]

The current top two Big South teams are football-only. If UNA develops as expected, then three of the top 4 will be football-only, and members of the A-Sun for other sports. The A-Sun is a geographic mess with teams stretching from South Florida to New Jersey to Alabama. It doesn't have a neutral-site basketball tournament. It is basically the Sun Belt of basketball conferences, willing to take just about any move-up teams just to keep their March Madness spots. On the other hand, KSU, UNA and Monmouth are well outside the Big South's Carolina/Virginia footprint.

Since the majority of the Big South's membership doesn't play football, KSU, Monmouth and UNA are not particularly attractive to the conference. All three are at risk of leaving if an attractive all-sports membership is offered.
Kennesaw was at one time considered by the SoCon as a non-football member back when the conference was adding non-football schools, but likely won't be considered unless someone leaves the SoCon. KSU would be a good fit in the Sun Belt, but I suspect Georgia State might try to keep them out. KSU and GSU could eventually be candidates for C-USA. Kennesaw needs to upgrade their basketball program to be seriously considered by any FBS or power FCS conference, however.
UNA would be geographic fit for the OVC - I don't know what Jax States's opinion would be on the matter. They are geographic outliers to all other FCS conferences except the SWAC.
Monmouth at some point will find a northeastern spot.

I don't see major conference shake-ups for a few more years at least. The ACC, Big 10, PAC 12, and SEC have their networks set up, media markets established and aren't making any major moves any time soon (unless Oklahoma and/or Texas decide to jump ship). The Big 12 may make a few moves when their current TV contract expires: Memphis would be an option. UCF and USF could compete but expanding into Florida would be a stretch. I think the real shake-up will occur when the G5 realize that their current mega-conference makeups make no sense. There is no big TV money in G5 football. The SEC makes enough football money to fly their tennis, golf, and volleyball teams around. The Sun Belt has a very similar geographic footprint, but not a similar budget. Conference USA is a geographic mess. If the G5 come to their senses and reorganize their conferences geographically, there will be options for KSU, Jax State and others to make a move.

[Reign of Terrier]

The Big South managed to jettison its Liberty headache and rid itself of ungrateful Coastal Carolina, has added a good, growing program in Monmouth for football, has gotten another in Campbell for football, has a potential FCS powerhouse in KSU and is awaiting another in UNA. Their top teams appear to be better than, or at absolute worst are equal to, the top teams in the SoCon. And if NCAT were to abandon the MEAC and join the Big South, they'd be miles better than the SoCon, period.

They have a farm system with the A-Sun and PFL so that the teams that don't want scholarship football have a clear path from one to the other. When teams are unhappy with their current conferences, the Big South has a big tent and can take them in. I'm finding it hard to find any downsides or in fact anything to critique. Their forward-thinking and innovation has them on the brink of being an FCS power conference, eclipsing the SoCon.

Though the top tier of the Big South is on the level of the SoCon, let's not get ahead of ourselves. The Big South only has 6 teams. The Socon may have the Kansas of FCS in VMI, but I'll take teams 3-8 in the Socon against Campbell, Monmouth, PC, Hampton(?), and Gardner Webb any day and Charleston Southern 60% of the time.

I have no doubt Northern Alabama will be a competitor ASAP, but I highly doubt that A&T will leave the MEAC. In all, if that hypothetical situation came about, I would concede that the top 3 in the Big South would be on par with the top 3 in the Socon, but there really is lightyears difference between the bottom 6 teams (or so) teams in a hypothetical conference.

In the socon, right now we have 3 good teams at the top (pending on what year it is), one dumpster fire in VMI and 5 teams that are consistently competitive with everyone else.

All of this is counterfactual. Big South is still a second tier conference at best.

[UNAPride]

Though the top tier of the Big South is on the level of the SoCon, let's not get ahead of ourselves. The Big South only has 6 teams. The Socon may have the Kansas of FCS in VMI, but I'll take teams 3-8 in the Socon against Campbell, Monmouth, PC, Hampton(?), and Gardner Webb any day and Charleston Southern 60% of the time.

I have no doubt Northern Alabama will be a competitor ASAP, but I highly doubt that A&T will leave the MEAC. In all, if that hypothetical situation came about, I would concede that the top 3 in the Big South would be on par with the top 3 in the Socon, but there really is lightyears difference between the bottom 6 teams (or so) teams in a hypothetical conference.

In the socon, right now we have 3 good teams at the top (pending on what year it is), one dumpster fire in VMI and 5 teams that are consistently competitive with everyone else.

All of this is counterfactual. Big South is still a second tier conference at best.

North. North Alabama.

Not trying to be rude at all, please know that. But, our branding is very important as we educate DI and FCS who we are.

It happens to us a lot, though, as I'm sure it does with all directional schools.

In FCS, I'm sure having had Northern Arizona here so long would put "Northern" automatically in front of another north-specific "A"-school for most.

I could be wrong, but I think UNA and NAU are the only schools with the NA in their initials.

[UNAPride]

The ASUN has 5 football teams (4 FCS/1 FBS). From my perspective, we are very excited about competing in the ASUN. The OVC snubbed us a few years back, so I think that bridge is pretty burnt. I'm just wondering if there will be a time soon where the ASUN won't need an affiliate deal with the Big South.

Not that I'm not excited and thankful for the current arrangement. Just thinking out loud, a bit.

Liberty (FBS - Indy)
KSU (FCS - Big South affiliate)
Jacksonville (FCS - PFL)
Stetson (FCS - PFL)
UNA (FCS - Indy/BSC in 2019)

[hebmskebm]

The ASUN has 5 football teams (4 FCS/1 FBS). From my perspective, we are very excited about competing in the ASUN. The OVC snubbed us a few years back, so I think that bridge is pretty burnt. I'm just wondering if there will be a time soon where the ASUN won't need an affiliate deal with the Big South.

Not that I'm not excited and thankful for the current arrangement. Just thinking out loud, a bit.

Liberty (FBS - Indy)
KSU (FCS - Big South affiliate)
Jacksonville (FCS - PFL)
Stetson (FCS - PFL)
UNA (FCS - Indy/BSC in 2019)

The word on Jacksonville a few years ago was they were planning on adding scholarships and joining the Big South for football but got sticker shock, and ended up totally deconstructing the football program, letting their long time coach walk and becoming a triple option team.

[UNAPride]

The word on Jacksonville a few years ago was they were planning on adding scholarships and joining the Big South for football but got sticker shock, and ended up totally deconstructing the football program, letting their long time coach walk and becoming a triple option team.

Yeah, he's at Valdosta State now.

[DFW HOYA]

I don't see major conference shake-ups for a few more years at least. The ACC, Big 10, PAC 12, and SEC have their networks set up, media markets established and aren't making any major moves any time soon (unless Oklahoma and/or Texas decide to jump ship). The Big 12 may make a few moves when their current TV contract expires: Memphis would be an option.

There is a conspiracy theory out there that the Big 5 wants to become the Big 4 for playoff purposes, but to do that they would scatter the Big 12 to the other conferences, as follows:

Pac12 becomes the Pac 16 and adds Texas Tech, TCU, Kansas State, Oklahoma State

SEC goes to 16 with Oklahoma and Texas

Big Ten goes to 16 with adds Kansas and Iowa State

ACC adds West Virginia and Baylor

Put another way, there are no more vacancy signs at the top, and the AAC's lame "Power 6" campaign isn't working.

[Lion1983]

There is a conspiracy theory out there that the Big 5 wants to become the Big 4 for playoff purposes, but to do that they would scatter the Big 12 to the other conferences, as follows:

Pac12 becomes the Pac 16 and adds Texas Tech, TCU, Kansas State, Oklahoma State

SEC goes to 16 with Oklahoma and Texas

Big Ten goes to 16 with adds Kansas and Iowa State

ACC adds West Virginia and Baylor

Put another way, there are no more vacancy signs at the top, and the AAC's lame "Power 6" campaign isn't working.

In my opinion, that's exactly what it is, a theory....
I think it would be bad for College athletics in the long run.

[FUBeAR]

North. North Alabama...our branding is very important as we educate DI and FCS who we are.

I’m sure the good people at West Carolina, Eastern Tennessee, (“The”-less) Citadel, Wooferd, Stamford/Sanford, and the Furnam/Ferrum Palladians, who have all been D1 and FCS for many years, support your fight for proper branding; as does Don Quixote.

*Chattanooga does not. They created their own branding problems.

Edited to add...see what I mean...
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DmqStCDVAAA2vEj.jpg

[Thumper 76]

In football the Big South is the Summit league. A jumping off point for teams. They have a chance to become a good conference if they can keep some of the programs they’ve gotten and snag another good program or two, but I don’t see it happening. A smaller, better OVC with a ton of turnover.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Four years ago Monmouth joined the Big South, and everyone, including me, thought that was going to be at best a temporary solution until the PL or CAA took them on. The Hawks are now going on their fifth year in the conference, there's no CAA or PL invite in sight, and by all accounts Monmouth is extremely happy with their arrangement. It works well for them, they have built their program significantly, and they've become an FCS Playoff team.

Point being that a "jumping off point for teams" more often than not becomes a permanent home. It's hard to see Monmouth going anywhere. When Hampton joins, with the bad blood they have with the MEAC, it's hard to see anywhere else they could go. If NCAT goes, same.

[Lion1983]

The Big South managed to jettison its Liberty headache and rid itself of ungrateful Coastal Carolina, has added a good, growing program in Monmouth for football, has gotten another in Campbell for football, has a potential FCS powerhouse in KSU and is awaiting another in UNA. Their top teams appear to be better than, or at absolute worst are equal to, the top teams in the SoCon. And if NCAT were to abandon the MEAC and join the Big South, they'd be miles better than the SoCon, period.

They have a farm system with the A-Sun and PFL so that the teams that don't want scholarship football have a clear path from one to the other. When teams are unhappy with their current conferences, the Big South has a big tent and can take them in. I'm finding it hard to find any downsides or in fact anything to critique. Their forward-thinking and innovation has them on the brink of being an FCS power conference, eclipsing the SoCon.

.