CUSA Expanding to 14

CUSA has added FIU, ODU, Charlotte, La Tech, North Texas, and UTSA to make 14 members. I don't really know what to think, the only one I like is FIU the others are just blah. At least now we will have two schools within driving distance in Charlotte, and ODU.

RE: CUSA Expanding to 14

Other than La Tech, these are FCS schools or recent upgrades. It makes C-USA look like the Sun Belt conference. If you're going to go that route, why not just pick actual Sun Belt teams (like Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State) that make geographic sense and split off from C-USA altogether? Why stick with Tulane, Rice and Tulsa, or add North Texas and La Tech?

RE: CUSA Expanding to 14

What Ken said makes more sense than what I'm looking at. Both Charlotte and ODU will have to wait 'til 2015 to play football, if then as thet must meet NCAA requirements to play D1 fotball( 15000 fans at home games for two years and a host of other things) Have read that some fans for ODU don't want to join C-USA. Also read that ODU has 'til Friday to say yes.

RE: CUSA Expanding to 14

I suppose what matters is what kind of a league do you want to be in, and what role do you see yourself playing in it.

If App State, William and Mary and Richmond were also to move up in class, you could have a nice geographically compact league, like the MAC, that won't get any respect from the bigger leagues. The Pirates could dominate a league like that, but at what price? I would rather be in a league where all the schools were of ECU's stature than one that's just a little better than an FCS conference.

RE: CUSA Expanding to 14

When you think about it, wouldn't it just make more sense for ECU to join those schools in the FCS and compete every year for a national championship?

RE: CUSA Expanding to 14

I worry that if ODU moves up to CUSA, we would lose our recruiting pipeline in the 757. All our sports recruit the 757 area hard and ODU could hurt that. And we consider the Tidewater VA area to be part of our TV market ODU could also hurt that. CUSA adding both Charlotte and ODU could really hurt ECU, I just hope us, USM and MU do not get lost in this conference full of no bodies.

RE: CUSA Expanding to 14

I don't know that I'd consider Marshall a "somebody" when it comes to college football. I don't see them going anywhere, because they aren't that attractive to other conferences. I worry about Southern Miss bailing out, and trying to hook up with the western schools. ECU could well wind up on an island, with no good FBS options.

RE: CUSA Expanding to 14

This is a no win situation for ECU.
Time to jump ship and become an independent.
The new Conference USA is a poor product. Nothing to gain by being associated with it.

RE: CUSA Expanding to 14

There is another story underlying all these changes that isn't being talked about. It has to do with playoffs vs bowls.

Around the turn of the century, there were 107 FBS schools. All the other D-I schools had opted to play at a level where their postseason hopes were to make the playoffs, not to be invited to a bowl. Since then, no FBS school has decided they want to be able to play for a championship instead of going to some cheesy bowl game. Thirteen schools before last season, most of them in the Sunbelt Conference, decided to go the opposite route.

If you hadn't noticed, there has been a small flood of teams in the past year announcing that they were going to join them. It's obvious that there is some attraction to playing in the FBS, even if you will have zero chance of ever playing for a championship, and even if you know you will be cannon fodder for much more powerful programs.

If there were no playoffs in what used to be called Division I-AA, would fans be clamoring for it, the way they clamor for one in the FBS? Or do we really only care about what we consider the "major leagues" of college football? American culture, IMO, demands that every enterprise worth pursuing has a clear cut #1. There can be no other team(s) left standing on the field of battle if we are to be satisfied in our quest to proclaim our champion.

If being #1 in a minor league like the FCS doesn't really count in our culture, why not opt to have a party (bowl) instead?

RE: CUSA Expanding to 14

This is a step back for ECU. They want to upgrade their conference but CUSA is basically turning into the equivalent of the Sun Belt (like Ken said).

WRAL Sports Fan