Conference Realignment

Long game... means passing!!!! Chunk it!

Puddin has the general basis for the longer games. An incomplete pass play takes maybe 7 seconds off the clock so for every incomplete pass that is all the time that runs off the clock compared to the actual amount of time from the start of one play to the start of the next at maybe 45 seconds. Then the clock stops for first down until the ball is set ready for play. Throw in the mandatory media time outs even where there is no media and you wind up with a long game. By the way people are talking about basketball games being to long and to low scoring also.

No New Info: Sam Houston Guy touting his own school.

http://collegesportsinfo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2403&start=1485

Old article:Person not a Lamar fan

http://conferenceexpansion.com/tag/lamar/

Old article:Person not a Lamar fan

http://conferenceexpansion.com/tag/lamar/

 

The guy appears to favor Liberty to a fault. He is also selective, inconsistent, and flat out incorrect on many of his points.

 

In respect to Liberty, there are some very good pluses that might help offset some of the perceived minuses so there should be no reason to inflate anything. Failure to factually report diminishes any credibility.

 

Here are some inconsistencies related to Liberty.

 

1. The blog article falsely inflated Williams Stadium capacity by mention of 25,000 instead of the actual 19,200.

2. Their men's basketball team is currently one of the worst in DI. - at 343 out of 350.

3. It's interesting that there is no mention of Lynchburg's population of 78,014, but Beaumont's 118,000+ is a negative and the blog article fails to take into account the metro areas. (Beaumont's has a population of 404,000). Metro area for Lynchburg is just over 250,000. Population is a negative for Lamar and not mentioned for Liberty even though it is much smaller in both instances.

 

Here are some populations in the current SBC to compare with our 118,000+ in Beaumont and 404,000+ in the metro area. With the exception of the DFW, Atlanta, and maybe the Little Rock areas, we compare favorably. San Marcos, between San Antonio and Austin, is in a good spot, but perhaps too close to FBS competition with the 'Horns to the north.

 

Boone, NC 17,186 (Metro 51,333)

Troy, AL 18,033 (Metro - Not in a metro area)

Statesboro, GA 28,422 (Metro 71,214)

Jonesboro, AR 70,187 (Metro 124,042)

Monroe, LA 49,156 (Metro 170,063)

Mobile, AL 195,111 (Metro 414,079)

Lafayette, LA 120,687 (Metro 479,116) * a couple of parishes were recently added.

Little Rock, AR 193,524 (Metro 724,385)

San Marcos, TX 54,076 (Metro 1,883,051) - Greater Austin

Atlanta, GA 447,841 (Metro 5,522,942)

Arlington, TX 375,600 (Metro 6,700,991)

 

I'm surprised Missouri State rated so low on the blog. Springfield is 160,000+ with 215,000 metro area population, but population again is noted as a negative here. That doesn't make sense to me in light of the current conference makeup. In my opinion, Missouri State has some good things going for it.

 

Another indicator of selective bias: Eastern Kentucky gets a plus for "small town" aesthetic and for attendance, yet their attendance is not much better than ours with a football team rated almost all season. Richmond, KY population is 31,364. In a straw vote, their students voted overwhelmingly against increasing athletics fees to fund the program. Compare that with our 78% approval by students. EKU's attendance has been consistently worse than ours. They drew 1,941 for a football playoff game as a #16 ranked team playing a #25 ranked team this past season. This season with a ranked team, they averaged just over 7,800 vs 8,347 for us. That sounds like good fan support to me.

 

Let's compare average attendance. I don't like our trend, but I'm hoping attendance picks up as the program matures.

 

[TABLE=width: 500]

[TR]

[TD]Year[/TD]

[TD]Lamar[/TD]

[TD]EKU[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2010[/TD]

[TD]16,078[/TD]

[TD]6,220[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2011[/TD]

[TD]14,442[/TD]

[TD]6,570[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2012[/TD]

[TD]11,119[/TD]

[TD]9,800[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2013[/TD]

[TD]8,379[/TD]

[TD]8,617[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2014[/TD]

[TD]8,347[/TD]

[TD]7,857[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

 

 

Let's compare the records since ours is bad and theirs is great. With the exception of 2011 and 2012, the two are pretty comparable despite the fact that ours was a startup program and EKU's is a long established program.

[TABLE=width: 500]

[TR]

[TD]Year[/TD]

[TD]Lamar[/TD]

[TD]EKU[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2010[/TD]

[TD]5-6[/TD]

[TD]6-5[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2011[/TD]

[TD]4-7[/TD]

[TD]7-5[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2012[/TD]

[TD]4-8[/TD]

[TD]8-3[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2013[/TD]

[TD]5-7[/TD]

[TD]6-6[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]2014[/TD]

[TD]8-4[/TD]

[TD]9-4[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

 

There are other glaring errors and inconsistencies which make it very difficult for the blog article to be taken seriously. It is a shame because I like the article's format and I think the discussion is interesting. I just wish it was a little more objective. Blanket statements with little support is not a good way to make a comparison.

Edited February 16, 2015 by LUSportsFan

No New Info: Sam Houston Guy touting his own school.

http://collegesportsinfo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2403&start=1485

 

Don't know who the SHSU fan is on that board but he doesn't speak for most of us. We love being an FCS power. We are dominating in football, baseball and basketball is finally coming around. Plus, our top projects are (in order of priority):

 

SHSU Health Science Center (Med School)

Fred Pirkle Engineering Technology Building

Bio. Building

Ag complex

Lowman Student Center expansion

Pressbox and club seating for Bowers

 

***Our money is locked up hence, the $150 million dollar capital campaign planned to begin this year***

 

Before SHSU can even consider FBS we need to:

1. Boost attendance

2. Win several national championships

3. Improve Bowers

 

Don't get me wrong we probably could hold our own against the Sunbelt, CUSA right now but we love competing for championships. This is Evidenced by our recruiting class, kids would rather play for us and a chance to play for championships than lower tier FBS and insignificant bowl games. I used to be pro-FBS until our success now I love it!

 

Reading the capital campaign outline It does appear that we are positioning to make a move to FBS in the future I just hope not now. http://www.shsu.edu/dotAsset/0a86a68b-25f0-4286-ae74-abbd7bda7423.pdf

Edited February 16, 2015 by PHYSICIANKAT

I was at an event Saturday at the Setzer Center and Lamar President, Dr Kenneth Evans, was at the event. A few interesting facts came to light about Lamar academics. First we has set enrollment records the past two years with a marked increase in foreign students. Next, Lamar is actually No 1 in several academic categories in science and math with several undergrads involved in cutting edge cancer research. Pretty good stuff. Academics is only part of the picture as far as a move to the Sun Belt. Athletics is also a major concern. Right now we are in the first year of a new basketball coach and while we have seen flashes we still have a ways to go to earn some respect in the SLC. Our baseball program is solid if not spectacular and the football program just had its first winning season since before the demise of the program way back in the late 80's and it's resurrection a few years ago. Many people, I'm sure, are glad that OC Coach Kueck decided to hang up his whistle. We shall see if that is a good thing after all or not. We need to show the program is truly on the rise. Win and fans are in the stands and as we all know money talks and BS walks. We need to be a player in the SLC with as strong attendance then a move to say the Sun Belt will be a whole lot more of a sure thing. Quality academics and bankable programs in the big 3 sports is a must for Lamar to be attractive to other conferences. That's my opinion---I could be wrong.

Sunbelt Blog Vote

http://csnbbs.com/thread-728994-page-10.html

New Carl Interview

http://georgiastatesports.blog.ajc.com/2015/03/13/karl-benson-on-sun-belt-expansion-and-a-bowl-game-in-atlanta/

More of the same

http://collegesportsinfo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2403&sid=8bdac806cc9e7fa7a2dc9513e8256da7&start=1575

http://csnbbs.com/thread-733176-page-2.html

Unless it affects LU, the conference realignment talk is a who cares. The question for LU backers is are they willing to do what it takes to win? I'm not complaining about any of the current coaches, but how does one expect to become relevant when the head coach making 1/10 of what the most relevant mid major programs are making. I believe the Mark Few at Gonzaga is in the million dollar a year league and I see where Wichita State is ponying up three million a year to keep their coach from jumping to a Power 5 conference. Tic makes what $125K and Woodard about $175K? LU needs to win consistently before any FBS conference is going to consider them other than one that is about to loose their FBS status such as what happened to the WAC.

I think those are good points and things I would like to see, but I don't think the hurdle is that high to explore options. As the table below illustrates, Lamar is already outspending some current FBS members as well as many of the programs currently mentioned as possible realignment candidates.

 

I see the following as keys.

 

1. Making intentions known.

2. Geographic location.

3. Future commitment.

 

Here's an athletic expense comparison of some Sun Belt conference (including the two recent move-ups) and some of the programs considered as candidates.

 

[TABLE=width: 500]

[TR]

[TD]University[/TD]

[TD]Number

of Sports[/TD]

[TD]Football $[/TD]

[TD]Basketball (Total $)[/TD]

[TD]Basketball $ (Mens)[/TD]

[TD]Basketball $ (Womens)[/TD]

[TD]Total $[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Appalachian State[/TD]

[TD]20[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Arkansas St.[/TD]

[TD]16[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Georgia Southern[/TD]

[TD]15[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Louisiana-Monroe[/TD]

[TD]16[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Lamar[/TD]

[TD]17[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Eastern Kentucky[/TD]

[TD]17[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Jacksonville St.[/TD]

[TD]17[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Missouri State[/TD]

[TD]17[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Tennessee-Chattanooga[/TD]

[TD]15[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

 

 

Data source: http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/

Edited April 3, 2015 by LUSportsFan

Realizing that football is still king in Texas and for a lot of people if your not FBS then your irrelevant LU is competing at the highest level in all sports except football. Why is Lamar not an FBS school? There are probably many reasons but number one IMO is some short sighted administrators elected to leave the Sunbelt nearly twenty years ago. The decision to return to the SLC was as bad for the athletic programs as dropping football was. Since dropping football LU has really only been successful in minor sports. I would suggest that lack of funds to hire and keep good talented coaches is the reason. Looking at last years attendance for football, if LU could fill the stadium each game it would only add maybe $800000 to the athletic budget, selling out the Montange for basketball might add another $400K to 500K. The reason I mention that is it might take another $1.5 million in coaching salaries to get and keep coaches capable of filling the current facilities. Alumni, Cardinal Club members and others need to step up the giving. The students already stepped up by increasing fees to get football back. While I think it would be nice to be in a FBS conference, I would rather just be winning and becoming relevant in all sports. Going to the FCS football playoffs and eventually getting to the championship game is where LU needs to be focused right now. A move to a better conference would be nice even if it were to another FCS conference where the potential for two or three NCAA basketball bids existed would be better than staying in the SLC. Edited April 4, 2015 by geezer

Big XII - II

http://collegesportsinfo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1700&p=76757

Latest Article from NBC sports

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/07/20/sun-belt-putting-expansion-talks-on-table-will-revisit-in-offseason/

Coastal Carolina is joining the Sun Belt, probably to make App State happy. With Idaho and New Mexico state in the west that's one spread out conference.

Before HBU joined the SLC they were part of a conference call the Great West Conference which dissolved in 2013. At one point in time the conference consisted of schools like New Jersey Institute of Technology and Delaware St. in the east, several California schools in the west, North & South Dakota to the north, and UT-Pan Am and HBU to the south. That's a lot of travelling

Their (Coastal Carolina) stadium holds 9000.. Edited September 1, 2015 by puddin tane

How does Coastal Carolina get an invite over so many other schools.

How does Coastal Carolina get an invite over so many other schools.

 

From what I've read the Sun Belt wanted an Eastern school and travel partner for App State. Someone pointed out that the teams in the Sun Belt east are all former FCS school are very recent startups. I guess Myrtle Beach is a nice destination to travel to so you have that.