Appalachian St. to Conference USA??

DFWMiner brought it to my attention that comment threads are filling up with chatter of Division 1-AA Appalachian St. making the jump to Division 1, and Conference USA would be their landing spot.

First let me say that this is complete rumor, until someone, anyone from within Conference USA comes out and says anything at all relevant to the situation.

Second, I just want to know what it is that Appalachian St. would bring to the table. Normally, when joining a conference, there are reasons. It may be that the new school will help generate revenue, it may be adding a new tv market, or it may be bringing new recruiting grounds into play. What, if anything, does App St. bring to the table?...Don't worry, I'll wait.

4 months ago asalom 6 comments 0 recs |

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Stull needs to be looking to upgrade conferences for us.

Otherwise we’ll eventually be stuck with the UTSA’s and Texas State’s and the App St’s of the world.

by TooLegitToQuit on Jan 25, 2012 4:27 PM MST reply actions

You may be right

But right now there’s not really anywhere else for us to go. Let’s face it, El Paso is no great TV market that appeals to larger conferences, we can’t fill our stands, and our football program (which is really what conferences care about) is mediocre at best at this point. We just need to continue to improve athletically. Our facilities are great, and the school itself is making a lot of moves to be classified with the best institutions in the country. Unfortunately, our athletics programs, namely football just aren’t appealing to the big boys right now.

by asalom on Jan 25, 2012 4:41 PM MST up reply actions

They've been pretty good in football at the FCS level and mediocre in basketball over the past decade or so

Eh. Not really worth it to expand the conference even farther east. I’d much prefer adding UTSA before we add anyone else on the East coast, lest CUSA alienate UTEP even more geographically

by bamfor on Jan 25, 2012 4:28 PM MST reply actions

I'm not sure UTEP factors into the geographic equation

Only because in the whole MWCUSA merger, UTEP would likely shift west, and not have to worry about traveling often to the eastern schools. But, you’re right, there are a ton of other schools, including those like UTSA, that I would much rather add before looking at App St. Sure, they’re a great football program at the D-1AA level, but what do they really add to the conference?

by asalom on Jan 25, 2012 4:32 PM MST up reply actions