http://www.aseaofred.com/liberty-to-make...ouncement/

Thoughts

A-SUN is a cooler name than Big South.

Seriously, is this even an upgrade? What sports are better in the A-SUN compared to the Big South? Does A-SUN have better basketball? I noticed FGCU is in it. I'm guessing field hockey stays in the Big East?

Still hoping LU can position itself for an A-10/BE type of conference.

This is a lateral move in my book. The competition doesn't look noticeably better. The recruiting territory does look better though. I like the Florida exposure but anything west is not exactly where we get a ton of students from. We are an east-coast school for residential students.

I don't hate the move but maybe we can parlay this into something more.

Slight upgrade from a league that really doesn't want us anymore. On the upside, we will have conference games in cities where we actually have alumni and LUO students living.

This move really doesn’t excite me. It’s pretty “Meh.” We lose a lot of history and proximity. But we do gain some great places to visit. These conferences are basically interchangeable. They should have just combined the two conferences, but that’s just my opinion.

I think these are some pros from an ASOR poster:

1) Destination cities people want to visit and places we already have large alumni bases. We're swapping out Clinton, SC; Buies Creek, NC; and Farmville, VA for Atlanta, Nashville, and multiple trips to Florida.

2) In baseball the conference RPI is 7. Big South is 22. 7 of 8 teams are inside the top 200. 6 in the top 150.

3) Basketball is 6 spots behind the Big South but with us coming in it should go higher. Also has a better program (FGCU) than any team in the Big South.

4) WBB had 2 top 100 RPI teams this year and Stetson is traditionally in that mix although they were down this year. WBB RPI was 23. BS is 27. But take us out and that drops. Add us to ASun it goes up. So there’s another plus.

5) It helps MBB recruiting because now you go to Florida multiple times per year. Thats a state that has tons of private Christian schools with good programs. You tell those kids and their parents they can play in front of family for half the conference schedule and that’s big.

6) For softball, 4 of the 7 teams in the league won 30+ this year.

7) We essentially replace USCU and are better across the board than they are. That's an instant RPI boost to a league that is already rated better than the Big South in most sports.

Plus NJIT spent over 100 million on their new basketball arena

If this is a step up, it's a princess step.

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The article below explains some of the benefits from this move. I'm warming up to this move. It looks like a slight overall upgrade.

Assessing the ASUN move.
http://www.aseaofred.com/assessing-the-asun-move/

I heard rumors the A-Sun wasn’t finished with expansion, that possibly High Point is joining as well.

Are there any BSC teams that are expansion worthy? Or teams from other similar conferences?

A-SUN from north to south.
1. NJIT - Newark, NJ
2. Liberty - Lynchburg, VA
3. Lipscomb - Nashville, TN
4. North Alabama - Florence, AL
5. Kennesaw - Kennesaw, GA
6. Jacksonville - Jacksonville, FL
7. North Florida - Jacksonville, FL
8. Stetson - Deland, FL
9. FGCU - Ft. Myers, FL

High Point is in the works.

They just swapped their version of Longwood (Upstate) for Liberty. The RPI in all sports is going to change dramatically.

All sports is better minus Basketball which is about the same.

Golf had 3 teams make it to the NCAAs with North Florida advancing.
FGCU has had their WBB teams ranked and they're usually a top 100 team. Same with Stetson.
FCGU MBB is better than what anything the Big South has to offer.
Baseball is significantly better with super regional appearances. Same with softball.

I don't know enough about soccer or volleyball to comment on that.

Northern Alabama is transitioning and they have a couple national titles in basketball. They have a nice facility to go with that as well. If and when High Point joins with Tubby Smith and their facilities ASUN is going to be a very competitive conference.

We're joining a conference that has schools that are investing in athletics. It's not a downgrade.

Let's not act like the A-Sun is great. It may be a step up (debatable), but it only inches us closer to a destination. At least it should be progress.

(05-17-2018 06:12 PM)GE and MTS Wrote:  Let's not act like the A-Sun is great. It may be a step up (debatable), but it only inches us closer to a destination. At least it should be progress.

I’m not acting like it’s great but I am happy to be somewhere that wants us and has programs that are known nationally.

(05-17-2018 06:12 PM)GE and MTS Wrote:  Let's not act like the A-Sun is great. It may be a step up (debatable), but it only inches us closer to a destination. At least it should be progress.

Yeah, I think all of the benefits have more to do all the external things more than the competition. Newer, bigger markets, recruiting outreach, a fresh start with FBS move, being a full conference member, and extending the brand to new audiences. The huge uptick in competition for Golf, Baseball, and Softball is a bit of the cherry on top, since we have invested pretty high on the last 2.

Another underrated note: ASun sponsors Women’s Golf and Beach Volleyball, both sports we will likely add to become title IX compliant with new football scholarships. This will be nice to add teams that already have a natural conference home, an issue we had in staying BSC.

(05-19-2018 10:11 AM)Have_a_Gansett_2011 Wrote:  

(05-17-2018 06:12 PM)GE and MTS Wrote:  Let's not act like the A-Sun is great. It may be a step up (debatable), but it only inches us closer to a destination. At least it should be progress.

Yeah, I think all of the benefits have more to do all the external things more than the competition. Newer, bigger markets, recruiting outreach, a fresh start with FBS move, being a full conference member, and extending the brand to new audiences. The huge uptick in competition for Golf, Baseball, and Softball is a bit of the cherry on top, since we have invested pretty high on the last 2.

Another underrated note: ASun sponsors Women’s Golf and Beach Volleyball, both sports we will likely add to become title IX compliant with new football scholarships. This will be nice to add teams that already have a natural conference home, an issue we had in staying BSC.

I'm not saying there aren't positives or nobody should be excited. If anyone wants to be excited, go for it! Don't let me stop you! I just think we should temper our expectations and not expect this to solve our problems or think of this as a stepping stone to the Big East, a P5 conference, or anything of those sorts.

On a side note, I was under the impression that we were already Title IX compliant in anticipation of moving to FBS prior to our waiver so we don't need to add anything. Now if we happened to move our hockey team up to Division I... (And didn't move our women's team up too)

(05-19-2018 03:59 PM)GE and MTS Wrote:  

(05-19-2018 10:11 AM)Have_a_Gansett_2011 Wrote:  

(05-17-2018 06:12 PM)GE and MTS Wrote:  Let's not act like the A-Sun is great. It may be a step up (debatable), but it only inches us closer to a destination. At least it should be progress.

Yeah, I think all of the benefits have more to do all the external things more than the competition. Newer, bigger markets, recruiting outreach, a fresh start with FBS move, being a full conference member, and extending the brand to new audiences. The huge uptick in competition for Golf, Baseball, and Softball is a bit of the cherry on top, since we have invested pretty high on the last 2.

Another underrated note: ASun sponsors Women’s Golf and Beach Volleyball, both sports we will likely add to become title IX compliant with new football scholarships. This will be nice to add teams that already have a natural conference home, an issue we had in staying BSC.

I'm not saying there aren't positives or nobody should be excited. If anyone wants to be excited, go for it! Don't let me stop you! I just think we should temper our expectations and not expect this to solve our problems or think of this as a stepping stone to the Big East, a P5 conference, or anything of those sorts.

On a side note, I was under the impression that we were already Title IX compliant in anticipation of moving to FBS prior to our waiver so we don't need to add anything. Now if we happened to move our hockey team up to Division I... (And didn't move our women's team up too)

No, I’ve read in a few places that we won’t be Title IX compliant once we hit July 1. Even then, there is a grace period to remedy the situation. ASUN commish even mentioned it as a possibility of adding Women’s Golf in the presser.

I’m with you, I think our ultimate goal should be Big East. I don’t see a scenario where we end up in a P5, but could see FB Indy being for the long haul. I could also see AAC down the road, depending on how they get raided, mostly by big 12 (or most/all P5’s going to 16 teams).

Granted neither is an option, but given between the two, Big East vs. AAC, I’ll take AAC. I like the much wider audience and variety within the AAC.

(05-19-2018 06:39 PM)army56mike Wrote:  Granted neither is an option, but given between the two, Big East vs. AAC, I’ll take AAC. I like the much wider audience and variety within the AAC.

I would rather be in the Big East, especially if we had to put football in the American. No disrespect to the American but at least we could make the argument that we are P5 if we were independent and in the Big East. There would be no question we'd be G5 in the AAC.

But the AAC would have an "easier" (however unlikely) chance for a NY6 bowl. The basketball would be a probable decline but not unusual to be the same or better than the Big East.

A-Sun 5 Year Progress Report

MENS BASKETBALL
114-58 (57-17) - FGCU
90-78 (47-27) - UNF
84-76 (45-29) - Lipscomb
79-79 (18-24) - NJIT
75-93 (40-48) - Liberty
70-90 (33-41) - Jacksonville
51-105 (27-47) - Kennesaw
51-109 (19-55) - Stetson

FGCU
18: 23-12 (12-2)
17: 26-8 (12-2)
16: 21-14 (8-6)
15: 22-11 (11-3)
14: 22-13 (14-4)

Lipscomb
18: 23-10 (10-4)
17: 20-13 (11-3)
16: 12-21 (7-7)
15: 14-17 (7-7)
14: 15-15 (10-8)

UNF
18: 14-19 (7-7)
17: 15-19 (8-6)
16: 22-12 (10-4)
15: 23-12 (12-2)
14: 16-16 (10-8)

Jacksonville
18: 15-18 (8-6)
17: 17-16 (5-9)
16: 16-16 (8-6)
15: 10-22 (4-10)
14: 12-18 (8-10)

NJIT
18: 14-16 (7-7)
17: 11-20 (3-11)
16: 20-15 (8-6)
15: 21-12
14: 13-16

Kennesaw
18: 10-20 (6-8)
17: 14-18 (7-7)
16: 11-20 (7-7)
15: 10-22 (4-10)
14: 6-25 (3-15)

Stetson
18: 12-20 (4-10)
17: 11-21 (3-11)
16: 12-22 (4-10)
15: 9-22 (3-11)
14: 7-24 (5-13)

(05-17-2018 04:14 PM)army56mike Wrote:  I heard rumors the A-Sun wasn’t finished with expansion, that possibly High Point is joining as well.

Are there any BSC teams that are expansion worthy? Or teams from other similar conferences?

A-SUN from north to south.
1. NJIT - Newark, NJ
2. Liberty - Lynchburg, VA
3. Lipscomb - Nashville, TN
4. North Alabama - Florence, AL
5. Kennesaw - Kennesaw, GA
6. Jacksonville - Jacksonville, AL
7. North Florida - Jacksonville, FL
8. Stetson - Deland, FL
9. FGCU - Ft. Myers, FL

FIFY