Division 1 College Conference Realignment

[Geoff]

21 hours ago, CrimsonBull9584 said:

 

I interviewed for a position with FIU football about 5-6 months ago. I was interviewed by Coach Davis as the final part of the day-long interview. While talking about the position, and the program overall, he brought up all these points about issues with shoulder pads and money. I don't think that he is lying nor is he being petty or anything else. He was genuine with me. His attitude was "it is what it is and I've been doing my best to make it better since I got here." He addressed it to me so I knew the situation I may be getting into.

 

So to me, telling a prospective employee this and brining it up here, illustrates that there are problems within the FIU program and he is still very upset that they haven't been corrected. 

 

That may be the case on those points but unless FIU is over reporting how much they spend on football (aka committing fraud). a big chunk of what Butch said is demonstrably false via a FOIA request or photos of the uniforms. 

 

Hell, I'm not invested enough to do it but it should be easy enough to submit a FOIA request to see if they actually bought used pads. We could also find tweets from recruits talking about coaches visiting that would disprove that claim. 

[Burmy]

13 hours ago, sportsfan7 said:

Loyola Chicago will be joining the A-10 in 2022-23 giving them 15 members. Apparently La Salle is struggling in terms of both finances and enrollment, which could doom the schools D1 athletic program. Also the Big East sits at 11; in order to get to 12, it almost certainly would poach from the A-10

1. Nice move for both sides.  The surging Ramblers program takes another step up, and the A-10 gets more geographic stability on its western front (which means Saint Louis might not be so desperate to get out).

2. I had a feeling that was coming...La Salle's been dropping non-revenue programs left and right lately (which perhaps could be restored with a move to D2 or D3).  An Explorers' relegation would also be good news for Drexel, as it would be their opening to not only be the A-10's next target, but also to finally join the "Philly Big 5."

3. And now speculation runs wild over which A-10 team the Big East would try to pursue...though I often joke about trading DePaul for Loyola, I have a feeling they'll want to expand their geographic footprint, so I'm guessing they'll pursue somebody like VCU or George Mason.

[BrySmalls]

15 minutes ago, Burmy said:

1. Nice move for both sides.  The surging Ramblers program takes another step up, and the A-10 gets more geographic stability on its western front (which means Saint Louis might not be so desperate to get out).

2. I had a feeling that was coming...La Salle's been dropping non-revenue programs left and right lately (which perhaps could be restored with a move to D2 or D3).  An Explorers' relegation would also be good news for Drexel, as it would be their opening to not only be the A-10's next target, but also to finally join the "Philly Big 5."

3. And now speculation runs wild over which A-10 team the Big East would try to pursue...though I often joke about trading DePaul for Loyola, I have a feeling they'll want to expand their geographic footprint, so I'm guessing they'll pursue somebody like VCU or George Mason.

 

I honestly could see GMU in the Big East in the future. Their campus has grown exponentially in the last 10 years. The Men's and Women's teams participate in 10 sports apiece. Plus, they're the largest public university in Virginia. 

[Seadragon76]

4 hours ago, BryanSmalls said:

 

I honestly could see GMU in the Big East in the future. Their campus has grown exponentially in the last 10 years. The Men's and Women's teams participate in 10 sports apiece. Plus, they're the largest public university in Virginia. 

 

That might be a hard sell since a large chunk of the Big East is private Catholic schools and the only public school in there is UConn, a legacy member from before the split.

 

There might also be the fact that the Big East may not want to add another member from the A-10 unless it's one of the private Catholic schools.

[Dilbert]

Good move for Loyola, for now anyway.  I can see the Big East gunning for Dayton or Saint Louis, maybe even St Bonaventure. Even Loyola could move up to the Big East and play alongside DePaul.

[sportsfan7]

4 hours ago, Dilbert said:

Good move for Loyola, for now anyway.  I can see the Big East gunning for Dayton or Saint Louis, maybe even St Bonaventure. Even Loyola could move up to the Big East and play alongside DePaul.

I think Dayton and St Louis make the most sense. The Billikens are the top basketball team in St Louis, a new and somewhat large market for the Big East. Dayton would make Ohio the only state with multiple Big East teams, but I think they would be a better competitive fit for the Big East. I've said it a few times, but I think Dayton was one of the most impacted sports teams by COVID-19. They had a solid, Obi Toppin led team and a Final Four run wouldn't have been out of the question. The Big East had just expanded to 11 and adding a Catholic school that just made the Final Four to get the conference to 12 would've made too much sense.

[rams80]

13 hours ago, Burmy said:

1. Nice move for both sides.  The surging Ramblers program takes another step up, and the A-10 gets more geographic stability on its western front (which means Saint Louis might not be so desperate to get out).

2. I had a feeling that was coming...La Salle's been dropping non-revenue programs left and right lately (which perhaps could be restored with a move to D2 or D3).  An Explorers' relegation would also be good news for Drexel, as it would be their opening to not only be the A-10's next target, but also to finally join the "Philly Big 5."

3. And now speculation runs wild over which A-10 team the Big East would try to pursue...though I often joke about trading DePaul for Loyola, I have a feeling they'll want to expand their geographic footprint, so I'm guessing they'll pursue somebody like VCU or George Mason.

 

St. Louis was never, ever going to leave the A-10 because they are very happy associating with it and the Catholic/Jesuit schools in its membership (and it helps their institutional enrollment priorities.)

[GDAWG]

Well.....this is a weird one

 

Three football teams to join LSC as affiliate members - Lone Star Conference

 

Quote

Central Washington University, Simon Fraser University, and Western Oregon University will join the Lone Star Conference as affiliate members in football, the league announced Thursday.
 
      The decision to invite CWU, SFU and WOU was reached this fall with the teams beginning LSC play in 2022.
 
      “We are excited to welcome the Central Washington, Simon Fraser and Western Oregon football programs to the Lone Star Conference. As affiliate members these three institutions will strengthen our football membership and add to the rich history and already strong competition in our league,” said LSC Commissioner Jay Poerner. “We look forward to their continued association with the LSC.”
 
      The multi-year agreement specifies that the teams are eligible to compete for the LSC team championship and earn weekly and postseason awards.  They are also entitled to representation as a voting member of the football coaches’ advisory group.
 
      With the addition of CWU, SFU and WOU, the LSC will have 10 football teams competing in 2022.
 
      In 2021, the three Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams played six games against LSC teams via a scheduling alliance between the two leagues.
 
      Central Washington is in Ellensburg, Washington.  The Wildcats are 8-2 this season and claimed the 2021 GNAC title with a 4-0 league record.  CWU was selected for the 2021 NCAA Division II Football Championship field.
 
      Simon Fraser is located in Burnaby, British Columbia.  SFU, the only NCAA Division II member based in Canada, was 1-7 this season.
 
      Western Oregon is in Monmouth, Oregon.  The Wolves finished 4-6 this season.  In 2019, WOU earned a share of the conference title for the first time in program history.
 

 

[LMU]

47 minutes ago, GDAWG said:

Well.....this is a weird one

 

Three football teams to join LSC as affiliate members - Lone Star Conference

 

 

 

Canada is Texas.

[Red Comet]

Tbf, Austin might as well be a part of Canada. So, it’s not completely out of nowhere. 

[rams80]

2 hours ago, GDAWG said:

Well.....this is a weird one

 

Three football teams to join LSC as affiliate members - Lone Star Conference

 

 

 

Those 3 teams are all that was left of GNAC football after Azusa Pacific dropped it back in December and Concordia Portland was killed by the Missouri Synod.  The general dearth of D II football teams in the Western US (there are NO Cali teams left at that level) makes for some weird outcomes at this level.  Apparently there was a pre-existing scheduling alliance, and the RMAC is comparatively full.

[heavybass]

I mean if two teams in the Northwest and a team in Canada can be a part of Texas.... why can't UConn and UMass join the CUSA as football affs?

This just forces the convo back to them.

[rams80]

Because they don't NEED to or want to?

 

The old GNAC schools were incredibly islanded to the point where assembling a schedule was a major challege.

[JayMac]

They should just call it the Lone Star Invitational Conference so that they can invite college athletic programs from around the world!

[buzzcut]

12 hours ago, rams80 said:

 

Those 3 teams are all that was left of GNAC football after Azusa Pacific dropped it back in December and Concordia Portland was killed by the Missouri Synod.  The general dearth of D II football teams in the Western US (there are NO Cali teams left at that level) makes for some weird outcomes at this level.  Apparently there was a pre-existing scheduling alliance, and the RMAC is comparatively full.

Concordia Portland never sponsored football. It was Humboldt State that canned football.

[Seadragon76]

Concordia of Portland did shut its doors, though. Kind of a big deal out here.

 

Anyway - The three GNAC schools needed a home since it was already rough enough for them to keep it afloat. The Lone Star was possibly in danger of being poached by the Southland, so it's a marriage of necessity.

[heavybass]

So basically a shotgun was involved?

[Geoff]

15 hours ago, rams80 said:

Because they don't NEED to or want to?

 

The old GNAC schools were incredibly islanded to the point where assembling a schedule was a major challege.

Don't use logic. It doesn't work.

[Brian in Boston]

On 11/18/2021 at 6:59 PM, heavybass said:

.... why can't UConn and UMass join the CUSA as football affs?

Because neither of the schools' football teams represents a "get" or "must have" program at the FBS level.

In ten seasons of play at the FBS level, UMass has compiled a record of 20 and 91 (.180). The program's best finishes have been a pair of 4-and-8 campaigns.

As for the "better" of the two programs, UConn's 21 seasons of FBS play have resulted in an overall record of 101 and 151 (.401), including just six winning campaigns... the last occurring over a decade ago. Credit where credit is due, the Huskies' FBS portfolio includes a 3 and 2 mark in the Motor City, Meineke Car Care, International, PapaJohns.com, and Fiesta Bowls. Of course that last one ended up being a 48-20 shellacking at the hands of Oklahoma. 

At the end of the day, it can be argued that the goal of having UMass and UConn achieve sustained relevance - hell, any relevance - at the FBS level is a pipe dream... and one that stands to waste tax dollars that could be better spent elsewhere at the educational institutions. Instead of buying into the delusions of FBS glamour harbored by the likes of ambitious athletic department personnel and starry-eyed boosters, the state politicians and school administrators respectively responsible for financing and managing both universities should be insisting that the football teams at the schools operate at the FCS level of competition to which they're better suited.      

[Wings2]

Dead college football programs in California

 

Loyola Marymount (1951)

Cal Baptist (1955)

Pepperdine (1961)

San Francisco (1971)

UC San Diego (1968)

UC Riverside (1975)

Cal State Los Angeles (1977)

Cal Poly Pomona (1985)

Long Beach State (1991)

UC Santa Barbara (1991)

Cal State Fullerton (1992)

Santa Clara (1992)

Cal State Hayward (1993)

San Francisco State (1994)

Pacific (1995)

Chico State (1996)

Sonoma State (1997)

Cal State Northridge (2001)

Saint Mary's (2003)

Humboldt State (2018)

Azusa Pacific (2019)