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Post by unafan on Feb 24, 2021 11:46:24 GMT -6
This last Big South season will give us a chance to get our wheels under us more before the ASUN competition starts in 2022 for football. Folks, that is going to be a tough conference. Excited to see who the next members will be. I presume they will be announced this year.
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Post by roaringsince96 on Feb 24, 2021 20:11:26 GMT -6
ASUN will be impressive. I hope by the 2022 season end we will be a big part of the reason why ASUN will be impressive. Any guesses on which team wins first conference title in ASUN football? I am ready ASUN conference football, but also ready to see how this seasons schedule shakes out too.
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Post by unafied on Feb 25, 2021 7:04:38 GMT -6
The transfer portal will (and has already) change so much about how college football operates. What I fear is, what stops an FBS team from "poaching" a guy that blows up in his sophomore or junior season at the FCS level? If we have a guy that is all-conference or better, will he transfer to an SEC school in hopes of getting noticed more? I do want the best for the players, but I'm really nervous about how free transfers will work out for us.
On the flip side, it's hard to gauge what we'll look like in 2022 simply because of the portal. Who's to say we don't plug some holes with guys that are looking to transfer for more playing time? If nothing else, the guys we are recruiting right now, who would be coming in in 2022, will have zero restrictions as we will be a full FCS member. So it's time for the coaching staff to step up and get our talent level up to compete with the other talented teams in the ASUN.
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Post by unalions on Feb 25, 2021 8:20:08 GMT -6
On the flip side, it's hard to gauge what we'll look like in 2022 simply because of the portal. Who's to say we don't plug some holes with guys that are looking to transfer for more playing time? If nothing else, the guys we are recruiting right now, who would be coming in in 2022, will have zero restrictions as we will be a full FCS member. So it's time for the coaching staff to step up and get our talent level up to compete with the other talented teams in the ASUN. I agree that the flip side could really help the program (any UNA teams really) to shore up the talent and depth that may have been deterred from coming during the transition years. It would great if we could get some grad transfers also. |
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Post by brandon on Jun 21, 2021 16:18:34 GMT -6
So, I had an interesting conversation today... Talked to someone about the AD search and got nothing but we also talked about who the ASUN is going after.
Yes, Chattanooga is the get... We all suspected it and it was confirmed. Chattanooga wants to be as quiet as possible about it because if they do make the move, it will cost them a good bit of money up front. But they are interested. They are basically in wait mode because of a couple of issues.
Issue number 1 is can the current lineup be strong enough in basketball for them to leave the SoCon?
Issue number two is can we get another Tennessee school to join?
They have told the president council of the ASUN that if it was purely football they would have no hesitation of joining. They like the schools and the footprint. But they would like to have 1 more Tennessee school in to help justify the move.
They also like the idea of a split division conference, it would offset travel costs across the athletic department.
They also said if they join the ASUN, they would seriously consider (don't mean it will happen) bringing baseball back to Chattanooga. Being that the ASUN is a better baseball conference.
That being said, you have to imagine that because of were Chattanooga stands, Austin Peay is a very serious consideration. And possibly ETSU is being talked to by Chattanooga to join.
According to ETSU fans, they would never support coming back to the ASUN, but it's a totally different ASUN now.
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Post by roaringsince96 on Jun 21, 2021 18:35:58 GMT -6
Brandon this will read a little off, but glad you were not able to get inside information on the athletic director. The hire for the future of North Alabama athletics is huge. We do not need to scare away any potential hires. I am anxious and excited about the future athletic director. We need someone who can sell the University locally to investors and also bring a vision for the future growth of our athletics.
I would think UTC would want to join our conference with the big changes that are happening. Maybe our first home game will be loaded with fans and show UTC how exciting this conference will become?
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Post by brandon on Jun 21, 2021 23:08:27 GMT -6
Brandon this will read a little off, but glad you were not able to get inside information on the athletic director. The hire for the future of North Alabama athletics is huge. We do not need to scare away any potential hires. I am anxious and excited about the future athletic director. We need someone who can sell the University locally to investors and also bring a vision for the future growth of our athletics. I would think UTC would want to join our conference with the big changes that are happening. Maybe our first home game will be loaded with fans and show UTC how exciting this conference will become? That was also part of our conversation... Expect some very important people to be at the UNA Chattanooga game this year... And I totally understand what your saying about the AD hire. I have heard a rumour though, but it's just people talking, don't know how true it is. It comes from people who are hit and miss sometimes... If I couldn't get any info from the person I was talking to, there shouldn't have been any way they got this on good authority. But they keep saying Hudspeth may be interested. |
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Post by unafied on Jun 22, 2021 6:57:27 GMT -6
Thanks for the info, Brandon.
I selfishly want UTC to join so I can easily attend a lot of games, but I do get their hesitation. Image means a lot in D1 sports. If there's an image of the ASUN being inferior to the SoCon, whether it's true or not, they might feel that future recruiting in Olympic sports will be starting off on the wrong foot. You also don't want your fans and donors to think you're moving backward. Of course, fans like us that follow this stuff in detail are in the minority. For the "average" Moc fan, they might see Jacksonville State (especially) and Kennesaw being on the schedule as improvements over anyone not named ETSU.
The flip side of the recruiting issue is, if you're Chattanooga, you tell recruits that unlike the other schools in the SoCon, UTC isn't standing still. They're joining "the next big thing".
I'd like to think Austin Peay would jump if given the chance to join, but I wonder if they are looking at an OVC without JSU and think they can have an easy road to the playoffs every year (in football at least)? And I know ETSU burned the ASUN bridge on the way across, but do they really want to be in the SoCon without Chattanooga? The leverage UTC has in this situation is insane. They can potentially affect dozens of schools with their decision.
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Post by brandon on Jun 22, 2021 8:17:38 GMT -6
Yeah, Chattanooga has a ton of leverage in a few different directions...
A. They can offset exit fees if the ASUN really wants them with no entry fee. They will also sell a crap ton more tickets to games across the board.
B. Even if ETSU is stubborn and don't join to start, how long do you think they will last if Chattanooga does move. ETSU will start begging.
C. They could just as easy say no to the ASUN and SoCon and join the OVC... Don't think they would, but...
They can also sell to basketball recruits that they don't have to play in cold weather much. "We get to go to Florida regularly during the winter."
I think even with the amount of private schools the ASUN has, they are more in line with the public's in the ASUN than the majority of the SoCon.
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Post by unafan on Jun 22, 2021 8:32:03 GMT -6
I had heard back in March that UT-Chattanooga, East Tennessee and Western Carolina were the ones being targeted by the ASUN. All public SoCon schools. Get those three and another one (who knows who) and that makes a whopper of a 16 team conference.
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Post by northalaspectator on Jun 22, 2021 9:31:47 GMT -6
How about a complete new Conference with 10 members?
8 public schools that play football plus 2 private schools
Kennesaw State
North Alabama
Jacksonville State
Central Arkansas
Eastern Kentucky
UT-Chattanooga
East Tennessee State
Western Carolina
Then take 2 from these 3
Lipscomb
Bellarmine
Belmont
If the goal is to eventually become an FBS Conference I would only go after UT-Chattanooga and then Missouri State, James Madison, Delaware, Youngstown State.
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Post by brandon on Jun 22, 2021 23:34:37 GMT -6
How about a complete new Conference with 10 members? 8 public schools that play football plus 2 private schools Kennesaw State North Alabama Jacksonville State Central Arkansas Eastern Kentucky UT-Chattanooga East Tennessee State Western Carolina Then take 2 from these 3 Lipscomb Bellarmine Belmont If the goal is to eventually become an FBS Conference I would only go after UT-Chattanooga and then Missouri State, James Madison, Delaware, Youngstown State. If you listen to Gumbart talk in various interviews, and read between the lines, conferences with 10 or less schools are about to be a thing of the past. I think 12 will probably be the min. And 14-16 is probably the sweet spot. Especially after the Covid thing, schools will want less OOC travel and more conference games, if you can have a 16 school conference with 8 in a division playing by the same rules, it's almost like having 2 conferences in 1. Even if you are traveling from Richmond Kentucky to Ft. Myers Florida once a year, (per athlete) the risk reward may be better than trying to schedule EKU vs UC Davis and have different protocols. (I don't know how to explain what I'm trying to get across in the best way.) |
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Post by unafied on Jun 23, 2021 6:06:49 GMT -6
If you listen to Gumbart talk in various interviews, and read between the lines, conferences with 10 or less schools are about to be a thing of the past. I think 12 will probably be the min. And 14-16 is probably the sweet spot. Especially after the Covid thing, schools will want less OOC travel and more conference games, if you can have a 16 school conference with 8 in a division playing by the same rules, it's almost like having 2 conferences in 1. Even if you are traveling from Richmond Kentucky to Ft. Myers Florida once a year, (per athlete) the risk reward may be better than trying to schedule EKU vs UC Davis and have different protocols. (I don't know how to explain what I'm trying to get across in the best way.) It makes a lot of sense (at least to the people in charge) when you look at the events of the past year. Basically, group as many "like-minded" schools as you can into your conference, so you are all playing by the same rules. On stuff like COVID, you could have 12, 14, 16 schools, whatever, that all agree to have the same health guidelines. Just look at how the FCS season went down. A good chunk of schools went ahead and played in the fall. Some waited to spring. Some didn't play at all. I'm guessing the hope would be that if we ever faced a pandemic or something similar again (God forbid), everyone in the ASUN would agree to at least all play at the same time. But more so than that, with all the changes coming in regards to players being paid for their likeness or endorsements, and of course the transfer portal - it's just another reason to make sure as many schools as possible are on a level playing field. That's my uneducated guess, anyway. The future of sports like basketball may be playing 20+ conference games and fewer non-conference opponents. I'm not sure how great that will be for the fans, but I'm not sure the NIL or transfer portal are great, either. Unfortunately the fans are NOT a very big priority in all of this. |
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Post by brandon on Jul 2, 2021 17:22:40 GMT -6
Per source
Chattanooga is out...
After the inaugural full season of ASUN football, Austin Peay and West Florida will be invited for 14.
Also, for all sports, the ASUN is going East and West divisions...
East
Liberty
KSU
Jacksonville
North Florida
Stetson
FGCU
West
EKU
Bellarmine
Lipscomb
UCA
UNA
JSU
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Post by unalions on Jul 2, 2021 18:16:33 GMT -6
Per source Chattanooga is out... After the inaugural full season of ASUN football, Austin Peay and West Florida will be invited for 14. Also, for all sports, the ASUN is going East and West divisions... East Liberty KSU Jacksonville North Florida Stetson FGCU West EKU Bellarmine Lipscomb UCA UNA JSU Very interesting. |
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