[quote=“919R, post:1534, topic:23766”][quote=“Niner National, post:1527, topic:23766”]The email from the Duquesne official today stating that the A10 would be upgrading soon with the addition of quality programs makes me think that VCU and GMU will be added to the conference.
What’s funny is that the A10 will legitimately be a 4-6 bid conference every year with the addition of Butler, VCU, and GMU and we might be leaving to go to a conference that will likely offer mediocre football and a lesser quality of basketball.[/quote]
2 of those 3 didnt make the tourney this season.[/quote]George Mason finished 24-9 and 14-4 in conference. A record like that playing A10 competition gets you in the dance. Being in the A10 also helps you schedule higher quality competition OOC.
Butler had a down year because they lost a ton, but no reason to suspect they won’t be back. They have two national championship games in the last three years. Putting them in the A10 only helps their ability to recruit better players.
If we can’t get into the Alliance I would suspect that we have been told we can’t make a leap from where we are into that league. One of the articles said that there was some push back on UTSA from the MWC that they couldn’t make the jump. If that is the case then all sports to the sunbelt would have to happen because we can’t get to the alliance or the BE or any other league without getting to FBS first. I wouldn’t be happy with basketball there but this is the price we pay for not protecting basketball 15 years ago. HUGE mistake by our AD.
Now with that said I think ECU and Marshall desperately want us in and if the league doesn’t bring in the eastern teams they need/want I think they would walk. Holland pretty much said as much that they are participating in the process but if anything lands in a situation ECU doesn’t like they will leave. Well then they only have 2 choices - new league or Sunbelt.
What I take from all this is we will be in an FBS conference, we will be with ECU and Marshall and we will be playing all sports in this conference. The only question is this conference the alliance, the sunbelt or a new one.
[quote=“ninersfan99, post:1523, topic:23766”][quote=“X-49er, post:1521, topic:23766”][quote=“ninersfan99, post:1517, topic:23766”][quote=“itsbraille49, post:1511, topic:23766”]Absolutely, Charlotte’s days in the A10 are clearly numbered.
How long was the A10 invitation on the table before we accepted? The Sun Belt invite has been out for nearly two weeks, if we were going that direction would we have already accepted?
I’m confident The Alliance is our destiny, the AD must be as well not to have accepted SBC invite yet.[/quote]
The shitty thing is if we’d just have WON playing in the A-10 we would of had plenty of TV games and easy entry into the NCAA’s. Hard to say with the teams in the alliance that will be the case. But, it seems nobody cares about the A10 teams down here win or lose.[/quote]
Winning would have only guaranteed us TV games in the postseason. We might have had some money to put some of the games on local TV, but with the crappy A10 TV contract we wouldn’t have been on TV any more than we have been under that contract. Xavier and Temple have their on TV deals in addition to the CBS contract games, which is why they are on more. ESPN has only had them on a few times (2-3), even with X being a regular in the Sweet 16 the last 5 seasons.[/quote]
The A10 is right there with ACC, etc. All we would have to do is win and the rest would of worked itself out.[/quote]
No amount of wins that we would have put up over the last 5 years would have fixed the crappy A10 TV deal. It was a terrible agreement by the conference, and one they better get right after next season. It hurts recruiting, pisses off fans, and doesn’t help the revenue stream for the conference very much.
Have to believe that the A10 is in a much better bargaining position now than they were 5(?) years ago when they struck the deal. Xavier’s run, the overall improvement in scheduling and league RPI, and the now inevitable addition of 2 or 3 new teams that have good pedigrees (assuming Butler, VCU, GMU or a combination of 2 of the 3) are golden nuggets of negotiation. If the MWC can land a deal with NBC Sports, no reason why A10 can get something similar on standard tier television network(s).
[quote=“Niner National, post:1541, topic:23766”]George Mason finished 24-9 and 14-4 in conference. A record like that playing A10 competition gets you in the dance. Being in the A10 also helps you schedule higher quality competition OOC.
Butler had a down year because they lost a ton, but no reason to suspect they won’t be back. They have two national championship games in the last three years. Putting them in the A10 only helps their ability to recruit better players.[/quote]GMU wouldn’t have had that overall record in the A10, but their OOC rpi was around 120, so you’d have to think with a decent conference schedule they’d have been top 100 rpi still. VCU had an OOC rpi of 54, so they’d almost certainly be a top 50 team overall in the A10, a nice win possibility for bubble teams.
In addition to the recent results from Butler, they also apparently have a top-flight recruiting class coming in, possibly their best-ever ratings-wise.
All three of these programs would be quality additions to the A10. The only reservation I’d have would be adding VCU, when the A10 already has U. of Richmond in the smallish Richmond t.v. market. Three teams in Philly was a really bad idea, I’m thinking 2 in Richmond might also be a bad idea. Could add ODU instead (where conference HQ are now), but then they’d be adding another team with football aspirations and one that hasn’t had nearly the recent run of success that VCU has had.
So we’ll leave and the A10 will strike a huge TV deal… [size=0.7em]figures.[/size][/quote]They won’t. Networks strike deals based on football. Football is a bargaining chip for a basketball television contract. The A10 doesn’t have that ability.
I am confident a better deal will be struck than last time (a worse one certainly cannot be made), but the A10 will never see a television contract on par with what any of the BCS conferences have for basketball likely not better than what the Alliance will be able to achieve.
The Alliance would be great, but if we do not get in there now I am not sure that I don’t like staying in the A-10 better than moving to the Sunbelt. With the addition of Butler, VCU, and GM the conference would be even better and more Southern-friendly. We have our first two football seasons locked up, but finding a football-only home would even sweeten the deal. Plus, getting out of this arrangement to move where we want to be when the opportunity arises would have to be far more affordable than anything else we are likely to sign now. It is nice to have options.
Yep. After our 1st 2 seasons, conferences (plural) will be wanting US. We’ll be ready and the time will be right for US to do the picking for a change. Being in the Charlotte market is our ace in the hole. That is huge!
[quote=“Niner National, post:1541, topic:23766”][quote=“919R, post:1534, topic:23766”][quote=“Niner National, post:1527, topic:23766”]The email from the Duquesne official today stating that the A10 would be upgrading soon with the addition of quality programs makes me think that VCU and GMU will be added to the conference.
What’s funny is that the A10 will legitimately be a 4-6 bid conference every year with the addition of Butler, VCU, and GMU and we might be leaving to go to a conference that will likely offer mediocre football and a lesser quality of basketball.[/quote]
2 of those 3 didnt make the tourney this season.[/quote]George Mason finished 24-9 and 14-4 in conference. A record like that playing A10 competition gets you in the dance. Being in the A10 also helps you schedule higher quality competition OOC.
Butler had a down year because they lost a ton, but no reason to suspect they won’t be back. They have two national championship games in the last three years. Putting them in the A10 only helps their ability to recruit better players.[/quote]
Yes, but I’m guessing they wouldn’t have had that record this season in the A10. I like all those teams, but it seems that people are often way to quick to assume 2 or 3 good seasons (even runs like these guys had) means they will continue. Most often, they do not---- especially outside of the 6 BCS leagues.
This is exactly how I feel. Take a look at this proposal by a Richmond poster from the A10 board.
This gives us a very solid 4 team A10 “south” division. You could swap out ODU for VCU etc, but the general idea remains. That also finally gives us some reasonable travel games. They arent close, but at least they are doable road trips:.
[QUOTE=bostonspider;6794787]Interesting that UR’s beat reporter John O’Connor’s blog brings up VCU and Mason to go along with Butler as possible additions. Mooney seems to be in favor of adding both the VA schools as well. In some ways I think 16 works better than 14 for scheduling. Divide the conference into 4 pods, play your podmates 2 times and everyone else 1 time and you have 18 games
North
UMass
URI
SBU
Fordham
East
SJU
LSU
Duquesne
GWU
South
Mason
UR
VCU
Charlotte
West
XU
UD
Butler
SLU
Also sets up the conference to easily survive if a few schools leave for football reasons
[quote=“919R, post:1552, topic:23766”]Yes, but I’m guessing they wouldn’t have had that record this season in the A10. I like all those teams, but it seems that people are often way to quick to assume 2 or 3 good seasons (even runs like these guys had) means they will continue. Most often, they do not---- especially outside of the 6 BCS leagues.[/quote] I agree about GMU, but like I said above, they probably would’ve still been ~ top 100 and helping out other A10 teams’ ratings. The 2 or 3 good seasons might apply to the Virginia schools (though check their NCAA records, they have had other good years getting past the first round than the final four runs), but not Butler. They’ve been good for many years with many different coaches. In addition to the two runs to the final, they’ve had 2 sweet 16’s, 2 2nd round, and 4 other NCAA berths since 1997. Pretty impressive stuff.
VCU has also had good seasons under 3 different coaches (Capel, Grant, and now Smart).
The one negative, is they got into the tournament a number of those years by winning a weaker conference, then making a run. Probably can do well in the A10, but it’s no guarantee (see LaSalle, though these schools invest more money in the program and have better arenas).
[quote=“919R, post:1552, topic:23766”][quote=“Niner National, post:1541, topic:23766”][quote=“919R, post:1534, topic:23766”][quote=“Niner National, post:1527, topic:23766”]The email from the Duquesne official today stating that the A10 would be upgrading soon with the addition of quality programs makes me think that VCU and GMU will be added to the conference.
What’s funny is that the A10 will legitimately be a 4-6 bid conference every year with the addition of Butler, VCU, and GMU and we might be leaving to go to a conference that will likely offer mediocre football and a lesser quality of basketball.[/quote]
2 of those 3 didnt make the tourney this season.[/quote]George Mason finished 24-9 and 14-4 in conference. A record like that playing A10 competition gets you in the dance. Being in the A10 also helps you schedule higher quality competition OOC.
Butler had a down year because they lost a ton, but no reason to suspect they won’t be back. They have two national championship games in the last three years. Putting them in the A10 only helps their ability to recruit better players.[/quote]
Yes, but I’m guessing they wouldn’t have had that record this season in the A10. I like all those teams, but it seems that people are often way to quick to assume 2 or 3 good seasons (even runs like these guys had) means they will continue. Most often, they do not---- especially outside of the 6 BCS leagues.[/quote]
Just to build on the point about the arenas for these three schools, they are better than half the A10 and would help their programs compete in the tougher conference:
VCU Seigal Center (seats 7,617)
[quote=“49er1, post:1555, topic:23766”][quote=“919R, post:1552, topic:23766”][quote=“Niner National, post:1541, topic:23766”][quote=“919R, post:1534, topic:23766”][quote=“Niner National, post:1527, topic:23766”]The email from the Duquesne official today stating that the A10 would be upgrading soon with the addition of quality programs makes me think that VCU and GMU will be added to the conference.
What’s funny is that the A10 will legitimately be a 4-6 bid conference every year with the addition of Butler, VCU, and GMU and we might be leaving to go to a conference that will likely offer mediocre football and a lesser quality of basketball.[/quote]
2 of those 3 didnt make the tourney this season.[/quote]George Mason finished 24-9 and 14-4 in conference. A record like that playing A10 competition gets you in the dance. Being in the A10 also helps you schedule higher quality competition OOC.
Butler had a down year because they lost a ton, but no reason to suspect they won’t be back. They have two national championship games in the last three years. Putting them in the A10 only helps their ability to recruit better players.[/quote]
Yes, but I’m guessing they wouldn’t have had that record this season in the A10. I like all those teams, but it seems that people are often way to quick to assume 2 or 3 good seasons (even runs like these guys had) means they will continue. Most often, they do not---- especially outside of the 6 BCS leagues.[/quote]
Yeah. Kinda like US![/quote]
Actually I sort of agree, yes like us… although we had more than 2-3 “good” seasons. We had a “good” 10 year run (95-05 with 7 NCAAs).
We’d dominate the conference, easy access to the NCAA’s. ::)[/quote]
I swear I heard that about 8 years ago.[/quote]
You sure did. Those of us that knew college basketball knew better though. Things are different this time. Not dominating the A10 is one thing. Not dominating the Sun Belt is a whole 'nother ballgame. If we can’t recruit players to play against Xavier Temple etc just think how difficult it will be to recruit players to be in the same league as ULL, ULM, FIU, FAU, MTSU, etc. I know we need FBS football but I’m not convinced the Sun Belt is the answer.
