Savannah Morning News: Would Sun Belt Be A Good Fit For GSU/ASU?

[superman7515]

Would Sun Belt Be A Good Fit For GSU,ASU? (http://savannahnow.com/share/blog-post/donald-heath/2011-10-28/would-sun-belt-be-good-fit-gsu-asu)

Georgia Southern is positioning itself for a potential move to the Football Bowl Subdivision. Appalachian State is already checking its options at the next level.

How about the Sun Belt Conference?

But not the current Sun Belt you know. Right now, the league consists of nine teams – Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Western Kentucky, North Texas, Middle Tennessee State, Troy, Florida Atlantic and Florida International.

But with ambitious programs like Georgia Southern, Appalachian State, James Madison, South Alabama, Old Dominion and Georgia State in the area (all among the top in attendance in the FCS), maybe the conference wouldn’t mind expanding and adding to its fan base.

No one’s asking, but here’s my plan:

East Division – Georgia Southern, Florida Atlantic, Appalachian State, James Madison, Georgia State, Troy and Old Dominion.

West Division – Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Western Kentucky, North Texas, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee State and South Alabama.

I’m assuming a major conference will scoop up Florida International for the Miami market.

The Sun Belt has ties to two minor bowls in New Orleans and Mobile.

So you play six games in your division and two crossover games. You schedule two non-conference games against SEC or ACC teams for bigger bucks and a FCS team for homecoming.

At the end of the season, you play a championship game. Winner goes to the New Orleans Bowl. (Believe me, there’s nothing bad about a trip to New Orleans.)

The runnerup goes to the GoDaddy.com bowl in Mobile. (Maybe Danica will show up.)

Would you be playing for a FBS national championship? I doubt it. But you’d be playing natural rivals, many within driving distance, and have potential to get major payouts annually from SEC and ACC teams.

[Apphole]

Sounds a hell of alot better than the FCS, but with CUSA losing a few teams yesterday, we've got a better shot there.

[walliver]

Sounds a hell of alot better than the FCS, but with CUSA losing a few teams yesterday, we've got a better shot there.

But with the C-USA - MWC football "merger", does C-USA have any encentive to replace those schools? C-USA will have to give up their championship game in order to play the new game vs. the MWC champion. It might be in their best interest to shrink the size of the league.

[I-16Bandit]

How about the Sun Belt Conference?

No.

[henfan]

What a great league. Good luck selling that TV package.xlolx

[Go Apps]

Sounds a hell of alot better than the FCS, but with CUSA losing a few teams yesterday, we've got a better shot there.

Look unless ASU goes big - I have no interest in leaving FCS - I like supporting a team that plays for something - I think our attendance would dwindle if we were a nobody in the FBS - for ASU and GSU we are like the Alabama and LSU of this division why would you want to give that up?

[asumike83]

An interesting idea I suppose but I don't like it. This is just the opinion of one person who blogs for the Savannah newspaper, do not see this happening.

[Apphole]

Look unless ASU goes big - I have no interest in leaving FCS - I like supporting a team that plays for something - I think our attendance would dwindle if we were a nobody in the FBS - for ASU and GSU we are like the Alabama and LSU of this division why would you want to give that up?

Because it's a lower tier division with little to no national respect. Would you be happy being the Alabama and LSU of D-2? D-3? We've hit the glass ceiling in the FCS and we will decline if we don't move up. I'm not saying SBC is the promise land, but it's a least a stepping stone to a better place.

[dgtw]

A couple points....

1. South Alabama is already an all sports member of the Sun Belt. They will become a football member once their transition is over.
2. His proposed schedule.....six divional, two crossover, two money, and one FCS game adds up to 11 games. The fBS season is 12 games.
3. Not everyone likes New Orleans. I think the place is a toilet. If you like it fine, but don't say everyone likes it.

Not a bad proposal (other than his factual errors), but I doubt all the teams he mentioned would want to be in the worst FBS league in the country.

I'm having serious doubts about that proposed CUSA/MWC alliance. How are they going to get an AQ when neither league has one now? Especially if Boise joins the Big East? If I were CUSA, I'd offer bids to Georgia State and Charlotte for the markets and one of the very good FCS teams in the east for the talent.

[PaladinFan]

Wouldn't the SunBelt offer less competitive football, no geographical rivalries, and increased travel costs?

[Apphole]

A couple points....

1. South Alabama is already an all sports member of the Sun Belt. They will become a football member once their transition is over.
2. His proposed schedule.....six divional, two crossover, two money, and one FCS game adds up to 11 games. The fBS season is 12 games.
3. Not everyone likes New Orleans. I think the place is a toilet. If you like it fine, but don't say everyone likes it.

Not a bad proposal (other than his factual errors), but I doubt all the teams he mentioned would want to be in the worst FBS league in the country.

I'm having serious doubts about that proposed CUSA/MWC alliance. How are they going to get an AQ when neither league has one now? Especially if Boise joins the Big East? If I were CUSA, I'd offer bids to Georgia State and Charlotte for the markets and one of the very good FCS teams in the east for the talent.

Why would CUSA want a team that they already gave the boot? UNCC offers nothing. They barely have a stake in their own market, a non-existent fan base and they have yet to play a game. They should add App and a CAA team like JMU. App has more of a presence in Charlotte than UNCC fan wise and would also bring a good football program to the table, something UNCC could never offer.

[WH49er]

Why would CUSA want a team that they already gave the boot? UNCC offers nothing. They barely have a stake in their own market, a non-existent fan base and they have yet to play a game. They should add App and a CAA team like JMU. App has more of a presence in Charlotte than UNCC fan wise and would also bring a good football program to the table, something UNCC could never offer.


You guys have more of a presence in the Charlotte market? We both play basketball games November 22nd in Charlotte. Watauga Teachers College plays ECU and we play ETSU. Check the attendance records afterwards and eat crow. I'll be surprised if there are more than 2K at that game.


That being said, going to the Sunbelt would be a death wish for the Highway 321 School of Liberal Arts and Georgia Southern. If something isn't broke, don't try to fix it.

Your athletic program is a joke other than football. ****, our men's soccer team attendance averages are right there with your men's basketball.

[WH49er]

Anyone know how much those 2 bowls payout to the teams from the Sunbelt?

[Mntneer]

Wouldn't the SunBelt offer less competitive football, no geographical rivalries, and increased travel costs?

Sounds about right.

[Apphole]

You guys have more of a presence in the Charlotte market? We both play basketball games November 22nd in Charlotte. Watauga Teachers College plays ECU and we play ETSU. Check the attendance records afterwards and eat crow. I'll be surprised if there are more than 2K at that game.


That being said, going to the Sunbelt would be a death wish for the Highway 321 School of Liberal Arts and Georgia Southern. If something isn't broke, don't try to fix it.

Your athletic program is a joke other than football. ****, our men's soccer team attendance averages are right there with your men's basketball.

30,000 for our football games to your 3-4 thousand at basketball games. You put us to shame in fanship alright. Yeah, this conference realignment stuff is all about basketball and soccer. You Concord grads sure are out of touch. It must be because you've never had a football game. I'd also like to know how our AD is a joke. Please provide evidence. We beat you in basketball last time, our T&F team is the perennial champion just like football, and we're in the top of the SoCon in most other sports. Please keep digin around in you a$$ to find more "facts." Maybe you'll find your head up there eventually.

[Mntneer]

You guys have more of a presence in the Charlotte market? We both play basketball games November 22nd in Charlotte. Watauga Teachers College plays ECU and we play ETSU. Check the attendance records afterwards and eat crow. I'll be surprised if there are more than 2K at that game.


That being said, going to the Sunbelt would be a death wish for the Highway 321 School of Liberal Arts and Georgia Southern. If something isn't broke, don't try to fix it.

Your athletic program is a joke other than football. ****, our men's soccer team attendance averages are right there with your men's basketball.

It just occurred to me that a funny difference between our schools is that our athletic program uses Appalachian's actual name, and you guys resort to making up fictitious names to make fun of us, while we only have to use UNCC's real name to poke fun, and your athletic program uses the made up name "Charlotte".

[Redbirdz]

I hate to break any one's bubble but as of now the Sunbelt has said no to any FCS school; they will only take current FBS members. The Savannah paper should have known this.

[PaladinFan]

Please don't let this turn into another Charlotte/App measuring contest.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

It would suck.

[WH49er]

Please don't let this turn into another Charlotte/App measuring contest.


Sorry man. 49ers fan try not to but everytime certain App trolls hear our name, their complexes start creeping again.

[WH49er]

We beat you in basketball last time, our T&F team is the perennial champion just like football, and we're in the top of the SoCon in most other sports. Please keep digin around in you a$$ to find more "facts." Maybe you'll find your head up there eventually.

After this unless the discussion involves conference realignment, I'm not saying anything.

Here are the "facts" (2010 Men's results) take them as you will but seems it won't matter to you:

Men's Baseball:

App St. 6th in the SoCon 15-15 (33-27)
Charlotte 1st in the Atlantic 10 (43-16) NCAA Appearance

Men's Basketball:

App St. 7th in SoCon 16-15 (Avg. Attendance 1,748)
Charlotte 13th in A10 10-20 (Avg. Attendance 6,069)

Men's Soccer:

App. St. 4th in SoCon 9-4-4
Charlotte 1st in A10 12-3-2 (Avg. Attendance 1,389)
Men's Golf:

App. St. 10th in SoCon Championship
Charlotte 1st in A10 Championship (6th straight NCAA Appearance)

Men's Tennis:

App. St. 4th in SoCon 15-7
Charlotte 5th in A10 8-16 (App St. won match 5-2)


Track & Field

App. St. Indoor 1st in Socon, Outdoor 1st in Socon

Charlotte Indoor 2nd in A10, Outdoor 2nd in A10

[WH49er]

Look unless ASU goes big - I have no interest in leaving FCS - I like supporting a team that plays for something - I think our attendance would dwindle if we were a nobody in the FBS - for ASU and GSU we are like the Alabama and LSU of this division why would you want to give that up?

I wish more of your fans thought this way. I just couldn't see Black Saturday being too much fun for you when the is opponent is North Texas or MTSU.

[asumike83]

Not a single one of the sports mentioned above, even basketball, will have ANY effect on potential conference bids in realignment. Conferences care about football and football only, that is where they make their money. If that were not the case, UNC Charlotte would not have been asked to leave Conference USA despite having a great track record in basketball.

I personally have no problem with UNCC and would be happy to see them on the schedule once their football program starts but until a solid record of success and strong attendance is established in football, their attractiveness to FBS conferences will be limited.

[WH49er]

Not a single one of the sports mentioned above, even basketball, will have ANY effect on potential conference bids in realignment. Conferences care about football and football only, that is where they make their money. If that were not the case, UNC Charlotte would not have been asked to leave Conference USA despite having a great track record in basketball.

I personally have no problem with UNCC and would be happy to see them on the schedule once their football program starts but until a solid record of success and strong attendance is established in football, their attractiveness to FBS conferences will be limited.

I don't disagree with you one bit. Those sports don't matter when talking about this issue and it was a total lack of foresight from our previous adminstration that put us in this position now, on the outside looking in. I personally think we should go to the CAA for awhile until the next shake up but the higher powers think they have something up their sleeves.

Your App. St. friend just wanted facts and I gave them to him.

[asumike83]

I don't disagree with you one bit. Those sports don't matter when talking about this issue and it was a total lack of foresight from our previous adminstration that put us in this position now, on the outside looking in. I personally think we should go to the CAA for awhile until the next shake up but the higher powers think they have something up their sleeves.

Given the strength of football in the CAA and that the drop-off would not be terrible in terms of basketball quality, that would be a great conference to align yourself with. There are several CAA schools with FBS ambitions.

[WH49er]

Given the strength of football in the CAA and that the drop-off would not be terrible in terms of basketball quality, that would be a great conference to align yourself with. There are several CAA schools with FBS ambitions.

What happens to the BE is the key to us. If the BE dies and turns to basketball only, there is no doubt in my mind they will raid the A-10 and add Xavier, Dayton, Temple, St. Joe's, and probably St. Louis. If that happens, we have no choice but to go CAA for all sports. Richmond would probably do the same. Between ODU, VCU, GM, Richmond, Drexel, and Charlotte (even though we haven't done much lately) that would make for a good top half of the conference. I just cringe at the thought of Wilimington playing us twice a year.

[youwouldno]

I don't think the Sun Belt would look at App St much even if they went against their "no FCS" policy. The Sun Belt has a lot of programs with shoestring budgets and App St would present increased travel costs. Besides which, the Sun Belt doesn't want to be used as a stepping stone... it causes instability and doesn't do much for their non-existent image.

GSU is a pretty good fit and I think will probably wind up in the Sun Belt even though it doesn't help them in any way. The Sun Belt wouldn't have to worry about another conference being interested once GSU moved up. The location isn't directly in the SBC footprint but it's more accessible than App St.

[asumike83]

I don't think the Sun Belt would look at App St much even if they went against their "no FCS" policy. The Sun Belt has a lot of programs with shoestring budgets and App St would present increased travel costs. Besides which, the Sun Belt doesn't want to be used as a stepping stone... it causes instability and doesn't do much for their non-existent image.

I agree with you. This is just one guy's opinion, I see no benefit to ASU or the Sun Belt in making that move. It would increase travel costs for everybody and ASU would be making what is basically a lateral move in terms of revenue and exposure.

[Mntneer]

I hate to break any one's bubble but as of now the Sunbelt has said no to any FCS school; they will only take current FBS members. The Savannah paper should have known this.

I don't think you're breaking many (any?) ASU fans bubbles. The Sun Belt would be a step down in every way except classification.

[dgtw]

I mentioned Ga. State and UNCC for CUSA because they are in big markets and CUSA is losing Orlando, Dallas and Houston. I am well aware they add very little football-wise at this point. If it were all about football production, neither would merit a promotion.

I don't think App State would be a good fit for the Sun Belt. They'd have increased budgets and little extra revenue coming in.

[I-16Bandit]

You Mountainers and 49ers need to get a damn room.