Finally...a glimpse of how it all went down -- a GREAT read

[ChuckK3]

All the more reason why Guice needs to stand up and speak up... loudly and sternly that the schools leaving CUSA pay their exit fees and absolutely positively do not host any conference tournaments. To name names, SMU better not be hosting the baseball championship tournament this season. Tech has to be the leading contender for who is left in CUSA, so it should be ours.

Think you mean "USM" -- but to your point about tournaments, I'm going back over 20 years in my memory, but snatching tournaments away from departing conference members is PART of the historic axe-to-grind between LaTech and the Sun Belt. Some of my fellow "older" posters keep me honest here, but I believe we were lined up to host the SBC basketball tournament (can't remember if it was Mens/Womens or BOTH)...until we announced we were leaving for the WAC. The Belt pulled the tournament from us, which we protested greatly, and true-to-Tech form, probably were not wise in our public commentary about the situation.

Learning from our own past could be very valuable here. Personally, I don't care to rub ANY SALT on USM, Marshall, UTSA or any of the departing schools. As we've PAINFULLY been reminded in all this realignment junk, we actually may NEED them at some point down the road. By all means, let the CUSA Conference BY-LAWS be the "enforcer"...the "Bad Guy" or whatever, and don't let it get personal between Tech and anybody else ever again. I'm super sick of our University...being NATIONAL headlines for stupid, petty crap.

[dawg80]

All the more reason why Guice needs to stand up and speak up... loudly and sternly that the schools leaving CUSA pay their exit fees and absolutely positively do not host any conference tournaments. To name names, SMU better not be hosting the baseball championship tournament this season. Tech has to be the leading contender for who is left in CUSA, so it should be ours.

They're not even in CUSA!

[BhadDawg]

Think you mean "USM" -- but to your point about tournaments, I'm going back over 20 years in my memory, but snatching tournaments away from departing conference members is PART of the historic axe-to-grind between LaTech and the Sun Belt. Some of my fellow "older" posters keep me honest here, but I believe we were lined up to host the SBC basketball tournament (can't remember if it was Mens/Womens or BOTH)...until we announced we were leaving for the WAC. The Belt pulled the tournament from us, which we protested greatly, and true-to-Tech form, probably were not wise in our public commentary about the situation.

Learning from our own past could be very valuable here. Personally, I don't care to rub ANY SALT on USM, Marshall, UTSA or any of the departing schools. As we've PAINFULLY been reminded in all this realignment junk, we actually may NEED them at some point down the road. By all means, let the CUSA Conference BY-LAWS be the "enforcer"...the "Bad Guy" or whatever, and don't let it get personal between Tech and anybody else ever again. I'm super sick of our University...being NATIONAL headlines for stupid, petty crap.

Really short notice for tournaments that are happening between now and June. There are multiple entities involved in these tournaments, you have the university, city, TV, etc... Maybe we should be the bigger person in this and let a couple of those tournaments happen. We let those happen with the understanding that there will be multiple acknowledgements that the Conference was gracious enough to do so. Therefore the departing Universities would not have an axe to grind with the CUSA members down the road, maybe even owe us all a favor or two.

Although these guys did know what they were sacrificing when they announced and sat through a two day meeting knowing this, what is best for CUSA?

Take a look at the ASUN's actions, after the loss of conference members they made a real classy move.

https://asunsports.org/general/2021-...20211105n7ian8

[inudesu]

I'm very surprised at how candid WKU Athletic Director Todd Stewart was during this interview. Not only did he admit that WKU would have accepted an invitation to join the MAC if WKU had been offered an invite, but he exacerbates this issue --and runs the risk of alienating future CUSA partners-- by openly admitting he will readily have WKU join the MAC in the future if asked.

Who wants to marry someone that tells you up front, "Hey, if that girl asks me to marry her, YOU'RE HISTORY!" I know this guy Stewart is just trying to cover his ass with angry WKU fans, but at some point you have to shut your mouth and move on. IMO, admitting that you were never asked to join the MAC is fine. But STOP. That's as far as you need to go. Telling the world --including future CUSA partners-- you will be gone as soon as you're offered "down the line" is just stupid, and smacks of desperation.

It was impolitic to say so out loud, but it's true of every current member and hardly a secret (well, maybe not true for MTSU and the MAC, but no CUSA team is going to feel much loyalty here).

And that's fine. We're all here of necessity. Nobody should be caught off guard again.

[BhadDawg]

It was impolitic to say so out loud, but it's true of every current member and hardly a secret (well, maybe not true for MTSU and the MAC, but no CUSA team is going to feel much loyalty here).

And that's fine. We're all here of necessity. Nobody should be caught off guard again.

WKU should have let things lay as they were, those statements created some animosity that other members will not soon get over. Those of us that have stayed are here out of necessity, but we are here and have a conference to rebuild. We really need to have our own GOR, a short term one so that everyone can reevaluate every five to seven years and stay or go. We cannot rebuild a conference with half of the members having one foot out the door, and that includes us.

No one cares about us, the rest of G5, P5, ESPN, NCAA, and other networks. We better figure out how to be a cohesive group with a mission and begin carrying it out.

[inudesu]

We cannot rebuild a conference with half of the members having one foot out the door, and that includes us.

Sure we can.

We just did.

We're not trying to be family with these schools. It's a business arrangement. The WKU president just said the quiet part out loud is all. We'd all leave for something better (as we each define it). But that's ok. The other 8 members of CUSA are just the 8 other bodies we need to have a conference. We need them to exist so we can play for a championship, get playoff money, get bids to postseason tournaments, and fill a schedule. I'd expect them to all feel the same about us.

But to that end they're more or less replaceable. Do you really care that we'll be conference mates with JSU instead of say Stephen F. Austin or Eastern Kentucky or Missouri State? I mean, I hope we picked the "best" program, but it's somewhat arbitrary. Nobody available was going to make us really happy, it just mattered that they got somebody. And they did.

We can get new members so long as it's hard to get from FCS to FBS. So if someone gets a lifeline that isn't us, we just replace them. Who'd be irreplaceable in this group?

And that's all ok. I'll wish the best for them (mostly) while it's helpful for Tech. But mostly just because it's helpful for Tech.

[Amos Moses]

It was impolitic to say so out loud, but it's true of every current member and hardly a secret (well, maybe not true for MTSU and the MAC, but no CUSA team is going to feel much loyalty here).

And that's fine. We're all here of necessity. Nobody should be caught off guard again.

[DawgyNWindow]

3. IF (and this is a BIG IF), you have commitment and BUY IN from those left in the C-USA you could actually make it into something like the Mountain West. Probably the most stable and most vital G5 conference. But this requires every single president to commit to GROWING their school’s athletic programs through investment and scheduling.

This is it....exactly right. We control our destiny.

If Judy is horrid at her job, it's up to the presidents to remove her. If our program is wilting on the vine, it's up to our AD to fix it or up to our president to find an AD who will. If you wait too long, the job becomes that much harder.

Something has knocked the enthusiasm out of our programs. We could get invited to join the SEC and that wouldn't change (Vandy would be relieved because they'd have a conference opponent they could invite for homecoming every year, though). Somehow we have to re-capture what we were building before the micromanagement took the wind out of our sails.

If the impediment to moving upward is based on population, we have to market ourselves regionally.

[sportdawg]

I think all 5 of the remaining schools are thinking the same things, so the WKU AD statements aren’t that big of a deal.

[Amos Moses]

This is it....exactly right. We control our destiny.

If Judy is horrid at her job, it's up to the presidents to remove her. If our program is wilting on the vine, it's up to our AD to fix it or up to our president to find an AD who will. If you wait too long, the job becomes that much harder.

Something has knocked the enthusiasm out of our programs. We could get invited to join the SEC and that wouldn't change (Vandy would be relieved because they'd have a conference opponent they could invite for homecoming every year, though). Somehow we have to re-capture what we were building before the micromanagement took the wind out of our sails.

That, too, is exactly right. That's the scary part. We have a weak leader in Guice, and a rookie AD whose jury is still out and deliberating his future.

[BhadDawg]

Sure we can.

We just did.

We're not trying to be family with these schools. It's a business arrangement. The WKU president just said the quiet part out loud is all. We'd all leave for something better (as we each define it). But that's ok. The other 8 members of CUSA are just the 8 other bodies we need to have a conference. We need them to exist so we can play for a championship, get playoff money, get bids to postseason tournaments, and fill a schedule. I'd expect them to all feel the same about us.

But to that end they're more or less replaceable. Do you really care that we'll be conference mates with JSU instead of say Stephen F. Austin or Eastern Kentucky or Missouri State? I mean, I hope we picked the "best" program, but it's somewhat arbitrary. Nobody available was going to make us really happy, it just mattered that they got somebody. And they did.

We can get new members so long as it's hard to get from FCS to FBS. So if someone gets a lifeline that isn't us, we just replace them. Who'd be irreplaceable in this group?

And that's all ok. I'll wish the best for them (mostly) while it's helpful for Tech. But mostly just because it's helpful for Tech.

Yes we did, were the schools we picked part of a CUSA contingency plan or were we just doing the best we could with the situation? I don't know. Yes, maybe having one foot out the door is just business, but your conference is never attractive to anyone when they know most members want to leave first chance they get. You are not going to turn yourself into a desirable conference with that approach. Do you want this conference to be known just as a place holder stepping stone? That is what it is now, but like it or not, we may be stuck here for some reasons within our control and some reasons out of our control. Why not make it the best it can be, do I think Judy Jeep can, most likely not, we really need a commissioner.

I think we need to be looking at some other schools for possible expansion and/or member replacement, stay where we are at right now, but have another date waiting. We need to be able to offer them some stability, a revolving door does not do it, at least not for me anyway. All members constantly expressing that they cannot wait to get out of this conference all the time just does not encourage much camaraderie. We came very close to not having a home, if everyone keeps that "it's just business" attitude, we may be homeless next time. I realize no one has any kind of loyalty to anyone in this business to a great extent, I do not care for that, but I guess that is just business.

[HogDawg]

Really short notice for tournaments that are happening between now and June. There are multiple entities involved in these tournaments, you have the university, city, TV, etc... Maybe we should be the bigger person in this and let a couple of those tournaments happen. We let those happen with the understanding that there will be multiple acknowledgements that the Conference was gracious enough to do so. Therefore the departing Universities would not have an axe to grind with the CUSA members down the road, maybe even owe us all a favor or two.

Although these guys did know what they were sacrificing when they announced and sat through a two day meeting knowing this, what is best for CUSA?

Take a look at the ASUN's actions, after the loss of conference members they made a real classy move.

https://asunsports.org/general/2021-...20211105n7ian8

CUSA might want to hire that guy --ASUN Commissioner Ted Gumbart-- to replace Judy. She's got to go anyway, and now's the perfect time to push her out the door.

Of course, Gumbart and Company were in a much better position to maintain their dignity and look diplomatic, because they only lost 2 members, not 9 (or maybe 10, if WKU gets offered).

[FriscoDawg]

Think you mean "USM" -- but to your point about tournaments, I'm going back over 20 years in my memory, but snatching tournaments away from departing conference members is PART of the historic axe-to-grind between LaTech and the Sun Belt. Some of my fellow "older" posters keep me honest here, but I believe we were lined up to host the SBC basketball tournament (can't remember if it was Mens/Womens or BOTH)...until we announced we were leaving for the WAC. The Belt pulled the tournament from us, which we protested greatly, and true-to-Tech form, probably were not wise in our public commentary about the situation.

Learning from our own past could be very valuable here. Personally, I don't care to rub ANY SALT on USM, Marshall, UTSA or any of the departing schools. As we've PAINFULLY been reminded in all this realignment junk, we actually may NEED them at some point down the road. By all means, let the CUSA Conference BY-LAWS be the "enforcer"...the "Bad Guy" or whatever, and don't let it get personal between Tech and anybody else ever again. I'm super sick of our University...being NATIONAL headlines for stupid, petty crap.

2022-2023 championships other than Rice for baseball have not been finalized. And 2023 baseball should 100% be moved.

But any departing schools that host championships should not get any extra revenue that might normally be earned from hosting. Allow them to cover expenses, but that's it. All profit goes to the conference.

[HogDawg]

WKU should have let things lay as they were, those statements created some animosity that other members will not soon get over. Those of us that have stayed are here out of necessity, but we are here and have a conference to rebuild. We really need to have our own GOR, a short term one so that everyone can reevaluate every five to seven years and stay or go. We cannot rebuild a conference with half of the members having one foot out the door, and that includes us.

No one cares about us, the rest of G5, P5, ESPN, NCAA, and other networks. We better figure out how to be a cohesive group with a mission and begin carrying it out.

You're right. No one cares about us. We have to take care of ourselves. Since Football and Basketball attendance is down at LA Tech, I think Tech officials should be doing a better job of embracing the Shreveport and Monroe area "markets" with both, a short and long term advertising.marketing blitz. Specifically, here's the recipe for Tech to revive its' athletic fortunes quickly:

Three ways to do that are,

1) Fire Skip Holtz, because he's a HUGE part of the football attendance problem. Send Skip packing at the end of this season, and thank him for his 9-years of service. But it's time for a change, at LA Tech. Move on. No regrets.

2) Blitz the Shreveport and Monroe markets with billboard, periodical, TV and radio advertising. FORCE our head coaches to seek and be interviewed regularly by local print, radio and TV media representatives. This should be happening anyway, but it's not.

3) Play a multi-game football series (say 5 years, minimum) in Shreveport's Independence Stadium. It doesn't matter who the games are against, just get it done. Tech hasn't played a regular season football game at Independence Stadium since losing 59-57 to Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M in 2012. That was fun wasn't it? I can't believe Tech hasn't played a regular season football game there since. Oh, and schedule ULM too. That's right. It's time to get aggressive, and claim what's ours. That means we're claiming Shreveport AND Monroe! Besides, now that ULM is supposedly in the "superior" conference, it will be fun to send the Sunbelt an OOC loss every year by beating the Indians.

LA Tech needs to let these 2 north Louisiana markets know just how important they are to LA Tech University. They are everything to Tech. We draw most of our students from these two communities, and more LA Tech alumni live in these two communities than in any other community in the WORLD! Investing back into these two communities is SMART BUSINESS, for LA Tech. And any LA Tech officials that don't like it should STFU, and just get these 3 things done ASAP.

It's time for things to change.

[PawDawg]

Really short notice for tournaments that are happening between now and June. There are multiple entities involved in these tournaments, you have the university, city, TV, etc... Maybe we should be the bigger person in this and let a couple of those tournaments happen. We let those happen with the understanding that there will be multiple acknowledgements that the Conference was gracious enough to do so. Therefore the departing Universities would not have an axe to grind with the CUSA members down the road, maybe even owe us all a favor or two.

It's business. Being nice left the building a few weeks ago. None of them are obligated to any outside sources at this point. How do I know? We were not obligated to any sources at this point in 2020 for our 2021 hosting of baseball.

We should have ALREADY announce the moving of tournaments. We will be with holding revenues. Moving the tournaments away from them simply keeps them out of the money handling process.