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Post by nolejcl on Jun 11, 2006 12:13:11 GMT -5
Who would you like to see? and What do you think they will bring to the Sun Belt?
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Post by FIUFan on Jun 12, 2006 16:48:06 GMT -5
I'd like to see an established D-IA team or a perennial D-IAA power join the conference.
The most reasonable choices for us in those two categories would be LA Tech. They have a good football tradition and have just recently moved to the WAC for all sports. They are within our 'footprint' geographically and the travel costs to places like HI, CA and Idaho must be eating them alive.
As far as IAA is concerned, we have a strong team in our own conference in Western KY. They won the D-IAA championship a couple of years back and it would take very little in the way of scheduling to get them in.
Those are my two choices; both are reasonable and both would strengthen the conference.
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Post by devonsmom on Jun 12, 2006 23:02:29 GMT -5
Georgia Southern or Valdosta State would also be good choices. Though of those two I would say GaS would be the better selection just because of its history. Back in the days of Erk Russell they were unstoppable.
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Post by SunBeltBob on Jun 20, 2006 12:31:30 GMT -5
Most every other I-A conference would see the Sun Belt as a step down, at least these days. Maybe in another couple years we can surpass the MAC in peoples hearts and minds (not just the RPI)... but until then, LA Tech will stay where they are, making WAC money with their TV contracts and multiple bowl tie-ins.
If anything, the Sun Belt will see a football only member, to bring our football total to nine. I'd love to see Texas State join up (or any Southland Conference team, really) to give North Texas a natural in-state rival. Right now the closest team geographically to UNT is either ASU or ULM, and those two are already rivals with each other and ULL.
FIU has FAU, Troy has Middle Tennessee... so we Texans are just kind of stuck... our games have the highest attendance when we have a natural local rival play there, like when 29,000 people came to watch us thump Baylor in 2003.
So, yeah. Any I-AA team from Texas, though I noticed Missouri State is moving up in the world, too. That'd be cool.
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Post by meangreen61 on Jun 22, 2006 15:12:30 GMT -5
Most every other I-A conference would see the Sun Belt as a step down, at least these days. Maybe in another couple years we can surpass the MAC in peoples hearts and minds (not just the RPI)... but until then, LA Tech will stay where they are, making WAC money with their TV contracts and multiple bowl tie-ins. If anything, the Sun Belt will see a football only member, to bring our football total to nine. I'd love to see Texas State join up (or any Southland Conference team, really) to give North Texas a natural in-state rival. Right now the closest team geographically to UNT is either ASU or ULM, and those two are already rivals with each other and ULL. FIU has FAU, Troy has Middle Tennessee... so we Texans are just kind of stuck... our games have the highest attendance when we have a natural local rival play there, like when 29,000 people came to watch us thump Baylor in 2003. So, yeah. Any I-AA team from Texas, though I noticed Missouri State is moving up in the world, too. That'd be cool. Don't believe that a 'football only' member would even be considered. The simple solution for 9 football members would be for WKU to move up to 1A and stay in the conference. |
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Post by arsetrumpet on Nov 3, 2006 8:02:22 GMT -5
Wish granted.
WKU and MTSU are old, bitter rivals. Definitely more rivalry than MTSU/Troy. TX State is still on my wish list for adding another team.
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Post by devonsmom on Nov 10, 2006 22:39:38 GMT -5
I'm glad to see WKU join us. That will spread the conference out a little more. Maybe one day we will even have a conference championship game like the SEC and ACC do.
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Post by FIJIGabe on Dec 4, 2006 15:29:42 GMT -5
and they'd call that game... "the Toilet Bowl"
I keeed, I keeed...
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TEARING IT DOWN TO BUILD IT UP
