*Rumored Lamar to FBS discussion*

[coachacola]

nope

Lamar getting invited to the Sun Belt is not out of the question.

[jdcurran235]

It is still not for sure that the WAC folds. It is going to be interesting to see what happens to the WAC. The rule changes make it very flexible for the WAC to survive as a football conference. I hope for Idaho and NMSU that they can team up and somehow make it survive as a football conference. Also KB directly mentioned LU as a expansion candidate in his last interview, Lamar to SBC is a very real possibility. We are one of the last few good grabs left in the east. And if the WAC does survive as a football conference we might have opportunities there as well.

[jdcurran235]

This stolen from the MWC board. Is Tuesday the day for a Sun Belt announcement?

 

KB "Texas State is a sleeping giant"

 

KB "Several hundred million dollars being spent on facility s at Texas State"

 

KB "When the Texas State Stadium is done it will be the best facility in the Sun Belt"

 

KB 'Texas State has a lot of money and resources"

 

KB "Going to 12 teams and a championship game is no longer a priority" (He was kinda confusing on this answer)

 

KB"FCS schools looking to move up are a possibility" IE Georgia Southern, App State, Liberty, Jacksonville State, Lamar, Sam Houston mentioned by name

 

KB "IF San Diego State and Idaho can play in the Big East then Idaho and New Mexico State can play in the Sun Belt"

 

KB "When all this settles as early as next Tuesday the Presidents will explore all options including adding Idaho and New Mexico State as Football only members" ( He sure did not rule it out but did not sound very optimistic)

 

KB "The Sun Belt will renegotiate its current TV deal" ( Could not give estimate but wants ESPN for exposure, Mentioned what the network did for Boise State as an example)

 

KB "I have not been to App State or Georgia Southern"

 

KB "Too early to speculate on FCS move ups"

 

KB "Feel very good about the 10 members we have moving forward"

 

KB "Trading North Texas and FIU for Georgia State and Texas State is a wash in my book"

 

Did not say much sorry

 

[jdcurran235]

http://katfans.com/forum2/index.php?topic=4855.0

 

there is a rumor on Katfans that the WAC will survive as an FBS conf with a shotgun approach to conference additions

[TBonesLU]

The WAC should have nabbed LU and SHSU while theyhad the chance. It would have somewhat increased the perceived stability and given them more teams to fall back on. I don't think anyone can argue that the WAC losing teams to better conferences is completely out of the blue. however, at this point I'm glad Lamar never got that invite.

 

Interesting question to ponder..... If LU had received and taken a WAC invite, would the Sun Belt be looking at taking us in now?

 

Think about this...would TXST and UT-A be leaving the WAC if LU had gotten an invite?

[LU1991]

The WAC should have nabbed LU and SHSU while theyhad the chance. It would have somewhat increased the perceived stability and given them more teams to fall back on. I don't think anyone can argue that the WAC losing teams to better conferences is completely out of the blue. however, at this point I'm glad Lamar never got that invite.

 

Interesting question to ponder..... If LU had received and taken a WAC invite, would the Sun Belt be looking at taking us in now?

 

Think about this...would TXST and UT-A be leaving the WAC if LU had gotten an invite?

 

Good question. It could have made the difference. We will never know but now I'm glad we didn't .

[Sly Fox]

I'm a Liberty Flames fan (not to be confused with the small town here in Texas) from over here in Houston checking in. Frankly I am a bit surprised by the lack of buzz on here regarding possible addition to the WAC.

 

The WAC is trying to round up six FCS schools willing to make the commitment of FBS membership to join New Mexico State & Idaho plus several non-football members. With the Sun Belt closing the door at 10 schools, the following schools are rumored to be all in for a newly formed WAC:

 

Appalachian State

Georgia Southern

Jacksonville State

Liberty

 

The WAC needs at least two more FCS schools to meet the NCAA minimum of 8 for FBS membership. The following schools are being bandied about on the rumor mill as possibly filling those two slots:

 

Alabama State

Delaware

Florida A&M

James Madison

LAMAR

Sam Houston State

Southern

 

This would likely be for a 2014 launch since the deadline to submit for 2013 additions is less than a week away. Is there any buzz at all in Beaumont about whether or not the school could meet the financial obligations necessary to move up?

[LUSportsFan]

In 2010, the former AD, Billy Tubbs, was quoted as saying that "[Lamar's] ... ultimate ambition was to move up to FBS by 2015...". I don't know what the current feeling is, but I suspect that it has not changed since then for the right situation.

 

We were in the middle of the WAC discussion last year, but the WAC opted to only add universities with no football program at that time. I personally think the WAC made some short sighted decisions then. Going another direction might have mitigated some of the realignment problems the conference is currently facing.

 

2014 is really close to the stated goal, but I don't know if the administration would think any of the available options present the right situation. Personally, it interests me and I think it could be a viable solution if none of the programs were left out on an island.

 

That said, I would be ok with staying where we are if that is the university's decision. Our current conference made a pretty good add with Oral Roberts that will help our basketball. HBU has some potential, and from what I am hearing, is committed to improving their athletics. Just don't want any more of our peers leaving us behind.

 

Who knows. The rumored 10 year moratorium on move ups might outweigh other considerations. There are some very good programs in the group.

 

Here's a 6/8/2010 article from College Sporting News

 

http://www.collegesportingnews.com/content.php?203-BCS-Conference-Changes-and-the-FCS

[Sly Fox]

I remember all of the chatter from Billy when he helped resurrect the football program and also the aspirations made evident during last summer's WAC expansion talks. Yeah, the WAC handled things about as poorly as anyone could. Despite the fact he was leaving the WAC a mess, Karl Benson still managed to land the Sun Belt commissioner gig. He apparently lobbied hard to have a 12-team league but the league presidents voted this past week to hold the line at 10 for now. That's why there is some urgency from the aforementioned four FCS schools in addition to NMSU & Idaho. This could be an opportune time to get a golden ticket to FBS if the administration there in Beaumont is willing to commit.

 

With all due respect, the South land has lost a ton of lustre the past year or so with defections. Do you guys really want to be left holding the bag with SFA and McNeese?

[coachacola]

I don't think Lamar would go to the WAC if the New Mexico State and Jax State were the closest schools. I think the travel costs would be too much. Now if SHSU or LU both joined then that might be a different story but I don't see that happening.

 

Lamar's President or AD have said a word about FBS in over a year so I have no idea where they stand today on the issue. I think the Sun Belt is still their goal for the next year or two, but I'm guessing if they know for sure the Sun Belt won't be inviting them then they'll look into all other options.

 

I think if the WAC does try to reload with FCS schools, it'll have to happen before next June. It should be interesting to see what does happen this next year. Both CUSA and the Sun Belt could lose schools and trigger another round of invites. The WAC might be able to get a bunch of FCS schools to join up.

 

I'm expecting another crazy year.

 

[LUSportsFan]

Here's a link to an article in today's Bleacher Report, "Will June 1 Bring News of a New WAC Eastern Division?"

 

It is a lengthy article, but I found it an interesting read. It's a pretty good summary of a lot of the recent Eastern WAC talk on the various sport boards. It presents various scenarios.

 

We are mentioned several times along with the eastern FCS schools that have been speculated about recently. Sam Houston is mentioned also. I believe a lot of the negative comments about Sam were unfair.

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1197137-will-june-1st-bring-news-of-a-new-wac-eastern-division

[TBonesLU]

Here's a link to an article in today's Bleacher Report, "Will June 1 Bring News of a New WAC Eastern Division?"

 

It is a lengthy article, but I found it an interesting read. It's a pretty good summary of a lot of the recent Eastern WAC talk on the various sport boards. It presents various scenarios.

 

We are mentioned several times along with the eastern FCS schools that have been speculated about recently. Sam Houston is mentioned also. I believe a lot of the negative comments about Sam were unfair.

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1197137-will-june-1st-bring-news-of-a-new-wac-eastern-division

 

 

 

 

Good article. I like this quote:

 

"The lowest hanging fruit are the trio of Lamar, Liberty, and Jacksonville State, IMO.

 

I happen to think all 3 will be better FBS draws than the vast majority of the current membership of the Sunbelt or MAC, but they are the lowest hanging fruit none-the-less."

[coachacola]

I doubt Lamar would join up if the closest conference member is over 600 miles away. They'd have to fly every team to every away game.

[LUSportsFan]

I think travel for us is the big issue. The only reason I could see us going along would be as a way to get our foot in the door, but it would be an expensive foot unless there was some really creative ways to mitigate the travel expense issues.

 

The WAC deal we were looking at last year would have been a challenge, but there was Louisiana Tech, two other Texas football schools, and UTA in the other sports coming in. That's gone now. It made a lot more sense then than it does now.

[Guest CardAmbassador]

The WAC deal we were looking at last year would have been a challenge, but there was Louisiana Tech, two other Texas football schools, and UTA in the other sports coming in. That's gone now. It made a lot more sense then than it does now.

 

Ding Ding Ding! This is exactly what I've been waiting for someone to say.

 

Would it be nice to get into FBS, yes!

 

But last year was that perfect storm of events where it both made sense that we would be invited and it made sense for us to accept because we still had rival schools close at hand.

 

It doesn't matter what Lamar wants because ultimately we have to get an invite first. We are so much farther from being FBS than we were at this point last year. Don't let UNLV fool you guys.

[BigRed98]

So, a 10 school football WAC would look like this:

 

Idaho State

New Mexico State

Lamar

Liberty

Jacksonville State

Sam Houston State / James Madison

Appalachian State

Georgia Southern

Youngstown State

Villanova

 

 

I have mixed feelings about this. With the talk of a moratorium, and a possible separation of FBS into two separate divisions, maybe LU should not pass up a chance to move up. However, I just don't see how we can afford the travel in this league. On top of that, most people in our area have never heard of most, if not all, of the schools on this list. We might have worst attendance with those schools.

 

It's not an easy decision to make. On the surface, I say no way. However, what becomes of FCS in FBS splits and there is a moratorium in place? As the Rticle points out, once we get to FBS the other conferences will take a more serious look at us.

[TexGator]

I don't think Lamar would go to the WAC if the New Mexico State and Jax State were the closest schools. I think the travel costs would be too much. Now if SHSU or LU both joined then that might be a different story but I don't see that happening.

 

Lamar's President or AD have said a word about FBS in over a year so I have no idea where they stand today on the issue. I think the Sun Belt is still their goal for the next year or two, but I'm guessing if they know for sure the Sun Belt won't be inviting them then they'll look into all other options.

 

I think if the WAC does try to reload with FCS schools, it'll have to happen before next June. It should be interesting to see what does happen this next year. Both CUSA and the Sun Belt could lose schools and trigger another round of invites. The WAC might be able to get a bunch of FCS schools to join up.

 

I'm expecting another crazy year.

 

I don't think the difference of 1/2 football game (1 game every other year), 1 basketball game (2 if you count the women), and 1 baseball series make the difference between joining a new conference and staying put. It'd be great if SHSU was still around, but remember that their rivalry with SFA is stronger than their kinship with Lamar.

[TexGator]

The WAC deal we were looking at last year would have been a challenge, but there was Louisiana Tech, two other Texas football schools, and UTA in the other sports coming in. That's gone now. It made a lot more sense then than it does now.

 

Ding Ding Ding! This is exactly what I've been waiting for someone to say.

 

Would it be nice to get into FBS, yes!

 

But last year was that perfect storm of events where it both made sense that we would be invited and it made sense for us to accept because we still had rival schools close at hand.

 

It doesn't matter what Lamar wants because ultimately we have to get an invite first. We are so much farther from being FBS than we were at this point last year. Don't let UNLV fool you guys.

 

Totally agree about last year making more sense. I think that, if we make a move, we need to hope it's because the Sun Belt made an offer to us. At the same time, though, I was mentally bantering creation of a new conference, if the NCAA is even taking applications for new conferences. There are several schools expressing interest in becoming FBS members to fill a new conference. The hardest part was remembering what schools have been offered a spot in a new conference and what schools haven't.

[jdcurran235]

http://www2.newsadvance.com/sports/2012/jun/07/liberty-and-importance-national-scope-ar-1973819/

 

We are getting a lot of chatter because of this article. It sounds bogus to me though. I think it is just a bunch of flame for liberty people being desperate to join FBS.

[coachacola]

http://www2.newsadvance.com/sports/2012/jun/07/liberty-and-importance-national-scope-ar-1973819/

 

We are getting a lot of chatter because of this article. It sounds bogus to me though. I think it is just a bunch of flame for liberty people being desperate to join FBS.

 

I think for Lamar, it's the Sun Belt or bust.

[jdcurran235]

http://www2.newsadvance.com/sports/2012/jun/07/liberty-and-importance-national-scope-ar-1973819/

 

We are getting a lot of chatter because of this article. It sounds bogus to me though. I think it is just a bunch of flame for liberty people being desperate to join FBS.

 

I think for Lamar, it's the Sun Belt or bust.

 

As unpredictable as this realignment stuff has been I am not willing to take that leap. We might even stay FCS not matter who offers.

[Guest LU4LIFE]

IMO the SBC is the only conference LAMAR would consider moving up to join. The WAC is just to risky IMO for LU to join.

[jdcurran235]

if there is a moratorium, LU might push to join so they are not left out in the cold. Or we might decide we are happy at the FCS level. Who know what will really happen if the opportunity is given to us. If the conference is able to have 8 to 10 football playing teams, we might change our minds.

[Guest CardAmbassador]

IMO the SBC is the only conference LAMAR would consider moving up to join. The WAC is just to risky IMO for LU to join.

 

This is exactly right. Lamar was apprehensive about joining the WAC before all the defections. No doubt in my mind that we would reject if offered, unless it was some scenario where half the SLC was coming with us.

 

We would accept the sunbelt, but they're not going to offer us, too many other options for them to go with ahead of us.

[TexGator]

http://www2.newsadvance.com/sports/2012/jun/07/liberty-and-importance-national-scope-ar-1973819/

 

We are getting a lot of chatter because of this article. It sounds bogus to me though. I think it is just a bunch of flame for liberty people being desperate to join FBS.

 

The one thing this article is good for is its emphasis on the fact media markets are driving the movement into the 2nd tier conferences- not quality of athletic program. The BCS conferences look at money- this is why I think the B1G, Big XII, and SEC are about to devour the ACC and Big East.

 

The next tier of conferences (the other FBS conferences that are grabbing for crumbs and table scraps) are trying to get the money by getting their conference into media markets (c'mon, how else does UT-Arlingon, a school w/o a football team, get invited to move up before almost everyone else?).

 

By the way, can we stick a moratorium on Liberty University mentions? They're over 1000 miles away, likely not to be invited to the same conference as us, and has a different blue-print (private, religiously-affiliated, regional vs. state-affiliated and national).