For Funsies: Conference Reallignment/Creation

[Ramdog]

But the biggest reasons to move up in classification is better money and better recruiting.

You then enter the facilities arms race with every other school...even Vatech and UVA are struggling to keep up

case study: odu...the better money and better recruiting has positioned them as the worst football program in all of D1.

 

[Ramcounter]

If the AAC were to take Coastal I could see JMU In the Sun Belt. NDSU would probably go to the MAC.

Would the casual JMU fans even want to move to the Sun Belt if they were given a chance? In the CAA they have built in rivalries with other Virginia teams and the FCS playoff system.

 

[Ramcounter]

In the current setup, that’s correct.

If and when the playoff goes to 8 or 12 teams, there’s going to be spot reserved for the highest ranked G5 school. At 12 teams there’s a decent chance that two G5 teams will get in occasionally.

But the biggest reasons to move up in classification is better money and better recruiting.

I can see the 8 team playoff setup causing a further divide between the group of 5 and the power 5 schools. What would the 1 seed be laying at home in the 1/8 quarter final game vs the group of 5 school?

 

[VCU Heel]

I can see the 8 team playoff setup causing a further divide between the group of 5 and the power 5 schools. What would the 1 seed be laying at home in the 1/8 quarter final game vs the group of 5 school?

Having a road game against the #1 team in the country in the playoffs is better than not being in the playoffs.

 

[Havoc City]

Why? The Mt West seems very stable. Logical candidates for B12 additions but apparently not much interest from either end. AAC will need members, but again, doubtful there is mutual interest. Mt West and it’s membership seems content. Entertaining sports, great attendance, like institutions in a logical footprint.

Because if the Big 12 expands again, or if the Pac 12 decides to expand, Boise State and San Diego State will be prime candidates. Also, if Gonzaga is ever going to leave the WCC, the time is now. You say the Mountain West has been stable; I see it as stagnant. I'd hate for it to become the WAC 2.0.

 

[theyaintwantit]

VCU has to get out of the A-10. Writing been on the wall for half a decade. It was a good step up but without a major conference we're never going to get where most fans want to get (and I don't mean just scraping into the NCAA each year and then getting bounced cuz the A-10 can't keep their refs under protocol)

What’s your solution?

Btw - if you simply say “Big East”, well yeah no sh1t all VCU fans would love to play in the Big East, but we’d have to be invited.

 

[theyaintwantit]

VCU has never sniffed the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

This is an incorrect statement. We had a quality sniff in 2012 vs Indiana but we lost our ability to put the ball in the hoop in the final 10 minutes and we blew it against the Hoosiers. We also had a good sniff vs Oklahoma in 2016 thanks to Mike Gilmore playing his only career game like the top 100 recruit that he was, but Buddy Hield and Co came up clutch in their “neutral” site game.

We may not have gotten the full whiff of the second weekend, but that don’t mean we haven’t gotten our sniffs in.

 

[theyaintwantit]

First, I don’t think Fox will do that.

But if they do, schools like Richmond and Davidson might fit their model better than VCU.

Any model where Richmond fits better than VCU is an organization I don’t want to be a part of.

 

[theyaintwantit]

Here's a potential A10 ripple effect: There is one A10 team sponsoring FBS football, as an independent: UMass. Surely the AAC is attractive to them (put aside whether UMass is attractive to the AAC). If they move to the AAC, should the A10 replace them? If so, who should it be?

Personally, before replacing an upper-half team that leaves, I'd try to balance it with a little addition by subtraction at the bottom, first. No one is getting "kicked out," but helping someone land in a conference more in keeping with their aspirations might be possible during the upcoming game of musical chairs.

Not sure if this will happen, but I wouldn’t really have an issue if AAC poached UMass because of their independent football standing. Their best sport is hockey which doesn’t help the A10. I’d prefer to subtract teams rather than add teams.

 

[mrgeode]

This is an incorrect statement. We had a quality sniff in 2012 vs Indiana but we lost our ability to put the ball in the hoop in the final 10 minutes and we blew it against the Hoosiers. We also had a good sniff vs Oklahoma in 2016 thanks to Mike Gilmore playing his only career game like the top 100 recruit that he was, but Buddy Hield and Co came up clutch in their “neutral” site game.

We may not have gotten the full whiff of the second weekend, but that don’t mean we haven’t gotten our sniffs in.

That darn Oklahoma game. I was positive we were winning it by a point in regulation or going away in OT. The reversed Mo and-1 was just an absolute killer.

 

[theyaintwantit]

I would think their additions would come from:

Western Kentucky
Florida Atlantic
Louisiana Tech
North Texas
Marshall
Southern Miss
UAB
Middle Tenneesee

Liberty because of $$$ and and athletic department that clearly seems to care.

I’d keep your eye on Georgia State too. They have quality facilities and are in Atlanta. Also - the state of Georgia has become an absolute hotbed for football recruiting in recent years.

 

[theyaintwantit]

I say we invite Memphis and Wichita. Memphis would have to find a place for it's football team but a move to the A10 would benefit their basketball team as far as conference teams compared to a diminished AAC.

This is a great idea from the A10s point of view, but the part you mentioned about Memphis finding a place for its football team is HUGE. I’d be lying if I knew the inside of the AACs football tv contract, but I sure as heck know they have a contract with ESPN. That’s hard to break because if you are an Independent, you don’t have a guaranteed contract.

 

[GuardTheArc]

Outside of the Final Four run in 2011, VCU has never sniffed the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

1981 - Tennessee
1983 - Georgia
1985 - Alabama
2007 - Pitt
2012 - Indiana
2016 - Oklahoma

Except for those.

 

[theyaintwantit]

If you are not P5 you will never get into playoffs...always be second class citizen
.
JMU should stay where they are and play for championships in front of a large appreciative fanbase.

If JMU were to receive an invite to the CUSA or Sun Belt, that would be VERY hard to pass up. A winning season qualifies them for a bowl game which means $$$.

I’m not naive to know that this is exactly what ODU did, but they clearly weren’t ready. JMU has had a good football program for a long time. I can only imagine that their athletic department would handle this better.

 

[theyaintwantit]

You then enter the facilities arms race with every other school...even Vatech and UVA are struggling to keep up

case study: odu...the better money and better recruiting has positioned them as the worst football program in all of D1.

I agree that ODU fudgeed up, but are you saying UVA’s facilities aren’t keeping up with other schools ?