10th Member: Kennesaw State

[Amos Moses]

It sounds like Tech is destined to go back in time to the days of the Southland conference. Our supposed leadership has failed us and fallen flat on their faces. Once your not riding the wave of ever improvement you’re scraping bottom and getting your hide ripped off on the barnacles. That’s where we’re at.

...or the Gulf States Conference.

[Bulldog Tom]

Kennesaw St appears to be similar to Charlotte and Georgia State. They started their football program in 2015 and they have actually been competitive in the FCS Big South conference. They have won three conference championships and been to the playoffs 4 times. They have a stadium designed for soccer and football that completely wraps around their field. It only holds less than 9,000 but appears to be easily expanded. They do not seem to pull a lot of fans compared to G5 standards but moving up could possibly help.

No one outside of Judy and the head honchos really seem to know for sure so this is all conjecture. The theory is the Kennesaw is a suburb of Atlanta and is basically a part of the ATL market and thus will help with a better media deal. It also mildly helps out geography but that's mainly only helpful to WKU, MTSU, and JXST with how spread out the conference is. The only way for the addition of KST to be beneficial is for the media deal to significantly increase so that adding them adds more money into each program while taking into account travel and other expenses. Who knows if that will happen.

Atlanta is a giant tv market, millions of people. Problem is nobody watches Kennesaw State. It's a UGA/Georgia Tech city. ESPN, Fox whoever isn't going to chomping at the bit to televise KSU games. Giant enrollment but most still live with parents in the metro area, live off campus, or are older adults finishing a degree or are career changers getting a second degree. 5k for a football game. This one is a head scratcher.

[Dawgonit]

Atlanta is a giant tv market, millions of people. Problem is nobody watches Kennesaw State. It's a UGA/Georgia Tech city. ESPN, Fox whoever isn't going to chomping at the bit to televise KSU games. Giant enrollment but most still live with parents in the metro area, live off campus, or are older adults finishing a degree or are career changers getting a second degree. 5k for a football game. This one is a head scratcher.

I agree. I don't understand it. I'm just repeating the theories people are repeating. I don't understand the move and I am not a fan.

[dawg80]

Probably a proactive move anticipating the loss of some members, namely WKU and MTSU.

[Bulldog Tom]

I agree. I don't understand it. I'm just repeating the theories people are repeating. I don't understand the move and I am not a fan.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was disagreeing with you. I used to live in the Atlanta area. KSU is a non sports entity. The networks won't care, just like they do not pay big bucks for the Houston market because Rice is there. I total agree with "I don't understand the move and I am not a fan." They will bring nothing to the table, but another mouth to feed.

[SicemDawgz]

Try McNeese and Northwestern State. The Belt is superior to our current conference…can you really be on a collision course with improvement?

The Sunbelt will fall apart the next round of realignment. It’s inevitable.

[PawDawg]

Probably a proactive move anticipating the loss of some members, namely WKU and MTSU.

Where will they go?

[FriscoDawg]

Where will they go?

Nowhere now. But who knows in the future.

[Bulldog Tom]

The Sunbelt will fall apart the next round of realignment. It’s inevitable.

Curious how do you see the next round of realignment playing out and when do you see it happening?

[dawg80]

Where will they go?

The MAC or to a new conference spurred by JMU, Marshall, and others. And I am NOT saying WKU/MTSU are going anywhere. I meant that CUSA leadership (can you even use those two words together?) might think they have to be better prepared than they just were.

[Tech52]

Regionally the MAC makes sense.

But the MAC isn’t good. Idk why they’d leave. C-USA and the Sun Belt jab at each other, but we kinda just ignore the MAC because they usually just aren’t very good overall….

[inudesu]

They came darn close to joining the MAC but MTSU didn't go for it. WKU was ready to go.

[qng001]

To me, Chattanooga and Missouri State seems would be above Kennesaw.

[tigtoo30]

UTC is growing slowly but surely (good women's basketball), but KSU (great baseball) has exploded in Georgia. I saw someone on another board say KSU was near the ATL airport. Nope, not even close. With ATL traffic, maybe 30 minutes away or longer. If you were flying into Dobbins AFB, I could see, but Kennesaw for people who are from the area, know that it is north of Marietta. Good thing is it's much closer for me to drive to Kennesaw than to Birmingham to watch a game. Wish it had been UTC, but KSU has potential.

[johnnylightnin]

The Sunbelt will fall apart the next round of realignment. It’s inevitable.

They can look at CUSA…we already fell apart.