My sources from Springfield said that Missouri State has an open invitation to join the Sun Belt if they want to upgrade. Also this was in the Springfield paper and radio. School said no right now.

Throw Appalachian State in the mix as well.

Article w/speculation regarding possible SunBelt expansion at http://www.al.com/sports/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/sports/1153905625247120.xml&coll=3

If WKU jumps to I-A, will Eastern Kentucky University feel the pressure to move up? Granted, Richmond is only a short drive from Lexington, but EKU is about the same size as WKU, and the two schools have some history as rivals. This could also give the Sun Belt 14 for basketball:

North - WKU, EKU, MTSU, UALR, ASU, UNT, Denver
South - ULM, ULL, UNO, USA, Troy, FAU, FIU

I seriously doubt that UNO, USA, or UALR would leave if the Sunbelt added more teams. The Sunbelt commish and the Sunbelt schools' presidents have told USA, UNO, and UALR that they are welcome for as long as they (UNO, USA, and UALR) want to stay in the 'Belt. However, it is common knowledge that Denver is no longer wanted in the 'Belt, and both the 'Belt and Denver have been looking for a more better geographical fit for Denver.

Assuming the screwdriver that a massive wave of conference reorganization hits Division 1A, and in relevant part:

Kentucky and either Illinois-Chicago, Wayne State, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, or IUPUI move to the Big Ten,

Florida State moves to the SEC,

Central Florida moves to the ACC,

Florida Atlantic, North Texas, and Ohio move to Conference USA

Florida International and Miami (Ohio) move to the Big East

Western Kentucky joins the Sun Belt for all sports (including football).

In addition to having to replace two other outgoing slots, the Sun Belt Conference has been converted to the gospel of a Football Championship game. Which six of the following schools do you folks think would join the Sun Belt for all sports and why?

Eastern Kentucky

Tennessee State

Tennessee Tech

Georgia Southern

Georgia State (Football at the Georgia Dome)

Florida A&M

Florida Tech

North Florida

West Florida

Florida Gulf Coast

South Carolina-Upstate

South Carolina State

North Carolina A&T

South Alabama (Football at GMAC Stadium)

Alabama State

Alabama A&M

Samford

Alcorn State

Southern

McNeese State

Nicholls State

New Orleans (They're restarting football at the club level)

Texas State

Texas-Arlington

Texas-San Antonio (Football at Alamo Dome)

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Texas-Texas A&M-Galveston

Assuming the screwdriver?

4 schools the Big Ten wouldn't take to lunch if those schools were buying are candidates?

PLEASE share the drugs.

Don't understand your sarcasm Pounder and this is play off of Friar Fans' original post who asked for ideas and thoughts on his proposed ND League.

Cuse, Rutgers, and Pitt have often been mentioned as candidates for B-10 expansion if they ever went that route and got tired of waiting for ND. They bring POTENTIAL NORTHEAST MARKETS that Penn St does not entirely cover. They bring markets that Penn St and ND could potential cover together though. There is a great following in the east for ND. If you can't get them you tap the others in the MARKET if that is what you are after. The only other candidate mentioned for B-10 expansion besides ND who they really want, and these potential candidates, is Missouri and their ST Louis MARKET. If B10 expansion EVER took place Cuse, Rutgers, Pitt and Missouri would certainly be viable teams for their markets if the B10 could not reel in their number one candidate - ND.

Maybe you should share some of your drugs if they are not DOWNERS.

_________________
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS - SEC
RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS - BIG EAST / AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE / BIG TEN

I think Pounder was referring to the (I don't mean to be insulting, but rather ludicrous) addition of one of these 4 to the Big Ten:

Illinois - Chicago (just left the Mid-con for Probation)
Wayne State
Wisconsin - Madison
IUPUI

THIS WAS MENTIONED IN THE PREVIOUS POST, and I surmise THIS is what Pounder was referring to.
I had to laugh as well.....

Aside from these schools not having a football program, they are substantially smaller than the gigantic entities (well Northwestern is sort of medium-sized) of the Big Ten. WHY ON EARTH would the Big Ten schools choose such a school for #12 ? The economics of revenue splitting are such that the Big Eleven would efectively be handing over 9% of their collective revenue to subsidize such a school. NOT GONNA HAPPEN !

However, you could get to this situation.
Big Ten adds Notre Dame (currently unlikely, but not ludicrous)
Big East FB schools split and steal Memphis, Central Florida, East Carolina from C-USA and a 12th team from somewhere.

CUSA restocks with La. Tech (WAC), North Texas, one or two SE schools from the Sun-Belt.

Sun-Belt is down to maybe 5 FB schools, say they add WKU, if they had to add 6 more from Gateway, SoCon, OVC, who would it be ? And then you'd be looking largely at those teams listed....l

Tute figured out where I was coming from. I can be a stinker that way.

It has been my observation that college athletics is often an attempt to "re-order" the kind of college "caste" system that exists, starting with the Ivy League schools. How else would a public end up with such high regard? Why else would fans of several schools encourage any number of conference reorganizations?

Meanwhile, I'm still totally lost on the term "assuming the screwdriver" and what that's supposed to mean. Perhaps unfortunately, it sounds so "out there" that it does earn my curiosity.

It comes from an old joke:

A biologist, an engineer, and a physicist are trapped on an island, and the only food to be found is in a palletwith no way to open it. As the biolologist and engineer struggle to find a solution, the physicist cant help but snicker, then chuckle, then finally laugh out loud.

The biologist and engineer turn to him with narrowed eyes, and the physicist says "Let's assume a screwdriver..."

OK, well I started out intending to major in Physics, now I'm an engineer working in BioTech.

But I fail to see how orange juice and vodka will help open the crate....

(No... I get the "physicist humor"....)

So saying: "assuming the Screwdriver" is like prefacing something with "Let's not worry about being realistic, let's just for a minute pretend....."
[I suppose..... I had never heard that expression before this...] Thanks benbreeck.