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Post by lions09 on Feb 28, 2018 14:40:53 GMT -6
July 1 is when UNA is officially in the A-Sun. What is weird, by NCAA rules, we will still have to recruit by D2 rules until July 1. The transition rules are strange to me. Like when you move up you can't play in the post-season, etc. But if you move down, you get to participate for championships immediately. Seems backwards. Remember when Winston-Salem State was so good in football a few seasons right after they moved back to D2?
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Post by northalaspectator on Feb 28, 2018 23:30:03 GMT -6
Only speculation at this point, but could Florida Gulf Coast be getting an invite to the Sun Belt.
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Post by brandon on Mar 1, 2018 6:37:07 GMT -6
Only speculation at this point, but could Florida Gulf Coast be getting an invite to the Sun Belt. I was thinking the sun belt would only go after football schools. I know they had said that at one point, but would not let Ark. Little Rock be made to add football.
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Post by unafied on Mar 1, 2018 7:33:55 GMT -6
First off, I hope FGCU doesn’t leave. They are the marquee basketball program in the conference and I think the ASUN should do as much as possible to keep them.
That being said, IF they were to leave, I think it would almost force the ASUN to go back to the GSC and offer some teams. There just aren’t any D1 independents or schools in other conferences that I can realistically see coming to the ASUN. So, it’s possible it would speed up the process of offering West Georgia, Valdosta, or maybe even one of the two Florida schools. Would that be good for the conference? Good for us? Would any of those even accept? I’m not sure. Personally I think UWG or Valdosta would accept, even if their fans and administration have preached they “aren’t ready”. Those feelings might change when it’s nut-cutting time.
Fun fact, can you believe the Sun Belt has no Florida teams? For a conference with its name, that’s pretty hard to believe. They also have 12 members. So, despite my long-windedness, unless somebody is leaving (doubtful) I don’t see why they’d offer FGCU right now. And if they do have a plan for doing that, they would certainly approach another school to keep an even number.
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Post by brandon on Mar 1, 2018 8:48:50 GMT -6
First off, I hope FGCU doesn’t leave. They are the marquee basketball program in the conference and I think the ASUN should do as much as possible to keep them. That being said, IF they were to leave, I think it would almost force the ASUN to go back to the GSC and offer some teams. There just aren’t any D1 independents or schools in other conferences that I can realistically see coming to the ASUN. So, it’s possible it would speed up the process of offering West Georgia, Valdosta, or maybe even one of the two Florida schools. Would that be good for the conference? Good for us? Would any of those even accept? I’m not sure. Personally I think UWG or Valdosta would accept, even if their fans and administration have preached they “aren’t ready”. Those feelings might change when it’s nut-cutting time. Fun fact, can you believe the Sun Belt has no Florida teams? For a conference with its name, that’s pretty hard to believe. They also have 12 members. So, despite my long-windedness, unless somebody is leaving (doubtful) I don’t see why they’d offer FGCU right now. And if they do have a plan for doing that, they would certainly approach another school to keep an even number. I read somewhere a while back, before UNA was invited, the AD was asked about changing conferences. He said something like I would be hard for FGCU to go to another conference because of their location. I don't know if they have changed their mind since then? If the A-Sun lost FGCU, we would probably lose at least 1 more. At that point, with the current roster, the A-Sun would not have an AQ to tournaments, and it would be impossible to find other schools willing to join, D2 or otherwise.
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Post by brandon on Jun 4, 2018 13:55:42 GMT -6
Since the Addition of Liberty, the conference stands as this-
NJIT Liberty Lipscomb UNA KSU UNF Jacksonville Stetson FGCU
I read a interview between a Virginia sports reporter and Ted Gumbart (A-Sun commish) and I am just going through the gist of it. I will post a link if I find it, but i think it was on Liberty's message boards (a sea of red) if you want to look there.
Basically it talked about how this is a great fit between the A-Sun and Liberty.
I got the impression that Liberty isd in for the long haul.
Also got the impression that everyone in the conference is happy and stable.
The commissioner also briefly commented on an agreement with Liberty to schedule current A-Sun football programs (only UNA and KSU would be eligible) to consistently play each other. (I also heard that before I read this interview, from a private source).
All in all, I believe the A-Sun is as stable as it has ever been. It will be and get even more competitive. It is a great mix of public and private schools. I think UNA stumbled into something that will end up being better than any of our other conference options that may have been strived for.
They also said the conference is not currently seeking any more additions. So that tells me that NJIT is staying and they are happy with 9.
Now, we as fans need to start letting both the Times Daily and the Huntsville news stations know we want the A-Sun to get meaningful coverage.
This roster can eventually get at least 2 basketball bids consistently, witch equal $$$ for all schools in the conference witch will equal stronger programs.
Baseball and Softball will end up being the power conference not in the P5. Will probably be just as good as P5 conferences.
It's looking better and better for UNA athletics.......ROAR LIONS
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Post by northalaspectator on Jun 4, 2018 14:40:59 GMT -6
Since the Addition of Liberty, the conference stands as this- NJIT Liberty Lipscomb UNA KSU UNF Jacksonville Stetson FGCU I read a interview between a Virginia sports reporter and Ted Gumbart (A-Sun commish) and I am just going through the gist of it. I will post a link if I find it, but i think it was on Liberty's message boards (a sea of red) if you want to look there. Basically it talked about how this is a great fit between the A-Sun and Liberty. I got the impression that Liberty isd in for the long haul. Also got the impression that everyone in the conference is happy and stable. The commissioner also briefly commented on an agreement with Liberty to schedule current A-Sun football programs (only UNA and KSU would be eligible) to consistently play each other. (I also heard that before I read this interview, from a private source). All in all, I believe the A-Sun is as stable as it has ever been. It will be and get even more competitive. It is a great mix of public and private schools. I think UNA stumbled into something that will end up being better than any of our other conference options that may have been strived for. They also said the conference is not currently seeking any more additions. So that tells me that NJIT is staying and they are happy with 9. Now, we as fans need to start letting both the Times Daily and the Huntsville news stations know we want the A-Sun to get meaningful coverage. This roster can eventually get at least 2 basketball bids consistently, witch equal $$$ for all schools in the conference witch will equal stronger programs. Baseball and Softball will end up being the power conference not in the P5. Will probably be just as good as P5 conferences. It's looking better and better for UNA athletics.......ROAR LIONS I agreed with you NJIT will remain, No more D2 football schools will be added. Maybe one more D1 non-football in the future, but not in the short term. The way I read that article is that The two football schools will only be able to schedule Liberty if Liberty otherwise can’t find enough opponents.
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Post by brandon on Jun 4, 2018 15:55:42 GMT -6
Since the Addition of Liberty, the conference stands as this- NJIT Liberty Lipscomb UNA KSU UNF Jacksonville Stetson FGCU I read a interview between a Virginia sports reporter and Ted Gumbart (A-Sun commish) and I am just going through the gist of it. I will post a link if I find it, but i think it was on Liberty's message boards (a sea of red) if you want to look there. Basically it talked about how this is a great fit between the A-Sun and Liberty. I got the impression that Liberty isd in for the long haul. Also got the impression that everyone in the conference is happy and stable. The commissioner also briefly commented on an agreement with Liberty to schedule current A-Sun football programs (only UNA and KSU would be eligible) to consistently play each other. (I also heard that before I read this interview, from a private source). All in all, I believe the A-Sun is as stable as it has ever been. It will be and get even more competitive. It is a great mix of public and private schools. I think UNA stumbled into something that will end up being better than any of our other conference options that may have been strived for. They also said the conference is not currently seeking any more additions. So that tells me that NJIT is staying and they are happy with 9. Now, we as fans need to start letting both the Times Daily and the Huntsville news stations know we want the A-Sun to get meaningful coverage. This roster can eventually get at least 2 basketball bids consistently, witch equal $$$ for all schools in the conference witch will equal stronger programs. Baseball and Softball will end up being the power conference not in the P5. Will probably be just as good as P5 conferences. It's looking better and better for UNA athletics.......ROAR LIONS I agreed with you NJIT will remain, No more D2 football schools will be added. Maybe one more D1 non-football in the future, but not in the short term. The way I read that article is that The two football schools will only be able to schedule Liberty if Liberty otherwise can’t find enough opponents. The only thing I had heard prior to the interview was that after Liberty gets through their already set schedules, I don't remember what year they are set to, they will play UNA and KSU on rotation. Example- UNA 2020, KSU 2021, UNA 2022, KSU 2023. (That's not real, just an example, we have not made any scheduling like that as far as I know)
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Post by brandon on Jun 4, 2018 15:56:42 GMT -6
That could also cause a rivalry between the 3 schools that would transcend into other sports.
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Post by unafied on Jun 5, 2018 4:04:43 GMT -6
I’d have two questions on the Liberty issue...
1. Would these be “money” games? If not, we’d potentially be sacrificing a chance to play another FBS school for a big payday, right?
2. If it wouldn’t be a money game, could we still play another FBS school if we wanted? Does FCS have a limit on how many FBS teams you can schedule in a season? Seems like I’ve heard you can’t schedule more than one, but I’m not sure.
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Post by ladigahills on Jun 5, 2018 4:32:09 GMT -6
All your non-conference games can be FBS. Austin Peay played 3 FBS (Cincinnati, Miami(OH),UCF). Thats what help keep them out of the playoffs.
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Post by brandon on Jun 5, 2018 5:03:52 GMT -6
As far as money, I have no idea. But it will not impact how many FBS games we can schedule. But you also have to look at the Big South. The first couple of years we will have 7 conference games. If this is the deal with Liberty, it will not likely happen until after Presbyterian goes to the Pioneer league anyway. That would drop our conference games to 6, unless in the mean time the Big South adds a Football member. If and while there is no added program for football in the Big South, UNA and KSU can have guaranteed scheduled game every other year with Liberty, that's worth a lot just cutting down 5 games that you have to schedule to 4. It could also be worth it to Liberty having a guarantee game on an Indy schedule. Also, there is no rule saying a FBS can't play at an FCS home. Some conferences have rules about it, but in this case it would be up to Liberty. Not saying they would, but that could have also came up between the A-Sun and Liberty. All in all it could be a great partnership in all sports between Liberty and the A-Sun.
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Post by unafied on Jun 5, 2018 8:29:43 GMT -6
All your non-conference games can be FBS. Austin Peay played 3 FBS (Cincinnati, Miami(OH),UCF). Thats what help keep them out of the playoffs. Good deal, thanks.
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Post by brandon on Jun 5, 2018 8:53:14 GMT -6
Also, Liberty has their own sports network, it seemed to me that the A-Sun wanted to take advantage of that. The A-Sun may use Liberty's blueprint and creat it's own A-Sun network. I think the A-Sun and ESPN+ has a deal in place if I'm not mistaken, could see an A-Sun network on ESPN+.
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Post by brandon on Oct 10, 2018 9:31:16 GMT -6
Since Liberty joined the ASun, that got the conference back to 9. I have been mulling over who could be 10. After last weeks game against West Florida, all I have been able to do is come up with reasons why they would be the best fit.
1- Fits the conference profile perfectly. (Other than NJIT)
2- even though they are in Florida, we all know the Panhandle is more Alabama and Georgia.
3- they are a strong athletic program in everything, like us, the transition would be frustrating, but I think they would do well.
4- you could break sports into division for better travel (ASun) 10 schools, North and South divisions, play all division schools home and home, all non division schools 1 time rotation home one year away the next. So UNA would play Lipscomb home and away every year and FGCU home this year and away next.
North would be
NJIT Liberty Lipscomb UNA KSU
South
West Florida North Florida Jacksonville Stetson FGCU
And if NJIT left, it would be easy to be 9 again, or pick up another school for the North side.
Then you have the football deal, (side note, FGCU is starting club football, taking the path of South Alabama it seems.) West Florida would easily replace Presbyterian for football in the Big South, and there is the possibility of Presbyterian joining the ASun as well.
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