Well, CoC has potential...

But, really, I think UNCC has potential. I just think Carolina politics in the realm of education and athletic endeavors make for an interesting situation for UNCC. By some accounts, ECU and AppState are at the same level...at the mercy of schools like UNC and NCST who, iirc, operate under the same board? And UNCC, as a derivative, operates under that same one?

UNCC, however, has an interesting past athletically, with some potential allies in nice places. It was in the Metro with Louisville and VT. It was a charter member of CUSA with UL, Memphis, USF, Cincy, Tulane. Some of those old buddies are still in CUSA now...more were there when UNCC got that visit.

It took a mighty effort for ECU to find inclusion into CUSA, and then the AAC. Schools, some of which UNCC used to run with, didn't make it easy on the Pirates. But, those schools could still thwart ECU for UNCC in favor for some reason (such as that market discrepancy, or that UNCC is a pretty big school in terms of enrollment and a respectable one academically).

CSNBBS MB thread discussing unconfirmed report that JMU will be joining C-USA in the future at http://csnbbs.com/thread-669433.html

JMU to the MAC fits and its an upgrade from the SBC. Start there and if an opening for CUSA comes they will be more ready to take it.

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The problem for JMU is that there isn't a MAC invitation there--fb only or for full membership. The MAC cannot make a move on JMU until they get their UMass problem resolved. The MAC wants UMass for all or nothing and can cut them loose this off-season if they so choose. UMass has no interest being an all sports member of the MAC--they are playing their best season of basketball in a decade. Their hoops program deserves consideration by the American but their football program is in the gutter right now; they even lost to Maine. What JMU needs to do is get another school like Delaware to step up and put themselves in consideration for FBS membership so they could market themselves as a pair to the MAC. If the MAC is willing to give up the Boston market they could get back in Philadelphia and get a sliver of DC.

JMU needs to take the offer they have on the table and join the Sunbelt even if its just until the next round of expansion. The Sunbelt East would be relatively friendly to the Dukes--Troy is the only school that's been FBS for any amount of time--I believe they came up in 2008. Georgia St and South Alabama are both start up programs still trying to get on their feet and Georgia Southern and Appalachian St are FCS upgrades the same as the Dukes. With cross-division play they probably won't get UL Lafayette and Arkansas St both in the same year. James Madison would be instantly competitive.

well they should figure it out and then invite JMU & UMass for full. But yeah if that is the only offer take it then make yourself more attractive to the MAC after proving yourself in the SBC

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The MAC has really been secretive about their plans. To that point, I don't know where things stand in terms of expansion, UMass, etc. I kind of think MAC's been swinging really hard for both JMU and ODU (and who knows, maybe Charlotte) because of the athletic department likenesses and other traits/benefits. Before the Big East fell apart, there was no doubt that CUSA > MAC. That's no longer true.

I think JMU is CUSA's next-in, regardless of whether the decision is wise for the Dukes. The questions that creates:

-who's leaving CUSA?
-who replaces JMU in CAA?
-what other conferences and programs will be impacted by such a move?

What would be funny (to me, at least)...does CUSA lose schools to the MAC? My, how the tables may turn...

Just a question that's been on my mind recently...but why hasn't UAB athletically rebranded themselves as Birmingham? The SUNY and CUNY schools do, UNC-Charlotte is known as simply Charlotte, etc. Is that something the school can decide or the system to which the school belongs? Same question for schools like UTEP and UTSA

Good question BePcr. The same happened with Wisconsin-Green Bay and Wisconsin-Milwaukee as Green Bay and Milwaukee (respectively), minus the other Univ. of Wisconsin campuses of the D-III WIAC. Most recently, Nebraska-Omaha as Omaha.

Oh, look at most of the Cal State campuses. Some are rebranded as "campus name" State. (i.e.: Fresno State instead of Cal State-Fresno; Long Beach State instead of Cal State-Long Beach; San Jose State instead of Cal State-San Jose; San Diego State instead of Cal State-San Diego; Sacramento State instead of Cal State-Sacramento)

How about UT-Arlingotn as Arlington and UA-Little Rock as Little Rock and UL-Lafayette as Lafayette and UL-Monroe as Monroe? And so on!

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Florida State Seminoles fan for life (mostly on football, basketball and baseball)! 2013 ACC football Atlantic Division champions; 2013 ACC football regular season champions; 2013 ACC football conference bowl tournament champions; 2014 NCAA D-I FBS BCS national champions!

Some schools have been popularized with such a name like UCLA and UNLV. I know ULL and ULM fought over the name "Louisiana" but had to settle on their current names. Buffalo is emphasising the "New York" in their official name.

Like Buffalo's the official "University of New York" in terms of rebranding? Damn!

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Florida State Seminoles fan for life (mostly on football, basketball and baseball)! 2013 ACC football Atlantic Division champions; 2013 ACC football regular season champions; 2013 ACC football conference bowl tournament champions; 2014 NCAA D-I FBS BCS national champions!

Not quite, they are the State University of New York at Buffalo but they're trying to be known as New York or New York St while deemphasizing Buffalo

Not quite, they are the State University of New York at Buffalo but they're trying to be known as New York or New York St while deemphasizing Buffalo[/quote]

I know that they're SUNY-Buffalo. But within the other top campuses in the SNUY system, was Buffalo the main flagship campus? Just wondering. It's like reminding me of which of the first Cal State schools was the main flagship campus of that system.

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Florida State Seminoles fan for life (mostly on football, basketball and baseball)! 2013 ACC football Atlantic Division champions; 2013 ACC football regular season champions; 2013 ACC football conference bowl tournament champions; 2014 NCAA D-I FBS BCS national champions!

I know that they're SUNY-Buffalo. But within the other top campuses in the SNUY system, was Buffalo the main flagship campus? Just wondering. It's like reminding me of which of the first Cal State schools was the main flagship campus of that system.[/quote]

That's a good question. According to wiki, San Jose St is the oldest Cal St system school. Also, Albany is the oldest SUNY school, beating Buffalo out by 2 years. All that makes sense since Albany is the capital of New York and San Jose is in the Bay Area like Berkeley which is the origin campus of the UCal system.

When it comes to rebranding, it might change the face of college sports, like not most certain campuses of a university system don't wanna be as "state name"-"campus name" or something in that format.

But on a side note, in case most "super-conferences" plan to have 16 (the closest would be C-USA), will there be a 4-pod system? Or a 2-division, 4-section system?

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Florida State Seminoles fan for life (mostly on football, basketball and baseball)! 2013 ACC football Atlantic Division champions; 2013 ACC football regular season champions; 2013 ACC football conference bowl tournament champions; 2014 NCAA D-I FBS BCS national champions!

I think geographicallyb and schedule-wise the 4-pod system is best but I don't know how a CCG would be selected. The 2 division system is better for a CCG. I think the 2 division system will be used unless someone comes up with a way to work the 4-pod system.