New Round of Realignment Now Following UT & OU Action

[Affirm]

I doubt anyone has any thoughts about how the latest round of major conference realignment now underway may affect FCS football and mid-majors basketball. Specifically, how will Furman and similar schools be affected? If anyone does have sensible thoughts on the topic, please speak up. Within the last hour, I have read articles about how various people are saying this may affect not only SEC and Big 12, but also ACC, Big 10, Big East, AAC, PAC 12, Mountain West, as conferences and certain schools in those conferences. Lots of talk going on. How will changes trickle down to affect FU and SoCon and FCS, if at all?

[Sir William]

As soon as the SEC invites Furman to join, we need to make the move - if for nothing more than the TV revenue. The SoCon has been great, but that daggum SEC money will be too hard to pass up. My two cents.

[Roundball]

There is no doubt that realignment is coming, including the break up of the NCAA.. The big question is, will the teams at the top level continue playing FCS schools? I expect the big boys to break away from the NCAA, leaving teams like App State in the middle and then Furman at the third level. Do we need to move up to join the mid level teams? We cannot continue the sport of football without the support of games against ACC and SEC schools. IMHO, we will need to move up to keep football at Furman.

[Furmanoid]

If the new NFL lite stops playing FCS teams I wonder if FCS might just drop the scholarship limit to reduce costs. There is a big gap between DII and FCS. We could shed 10 or 15 and still be clearly better than that division. There may be other division requirements that could be tweaked to save money.

I know many on here are horrified at the idea of dropping down a division so what if the whole division dropped down together but could still have the snob appeal of being sorta kinda DI in football and still play DI basketball?

Personally I could live with us playing DII fb in the SAC as long as we play DI basketball. Losing the tradition, prestige and pageantry of the ETSU and Samford games is something I could handle.

[FUBeAR]

FUBeAR has it on good authority that FU will be dropping both Men’s & Women’s Basketball to financially support a move of our Football Program to the MVFC as the replacement for NDSU, as the Bison are moving to the MAC to replace Buffalo (makes zoological sense), as the Bulls move to the ACC as a travel partner for Syracuse.

Announcement coming in next 2 weeks. #BookIt

[Affirm]

FUBeAR has it on good authority that FU will be dropping both Men’s & Women’s Basketball to financially support a move of our Football Program to the MVFC as the replacement for NDSU, as the Bison are moving to the MAC to replace Buffalo (makes zoological sense), as the Bulls move to the ACC as a travel partner for Syracuse.

Announcement coming in next 2 weeks. #BookIt

OK.
No real thoughts from FUBeAR or Sir William, other than jokes, which obviously did take thought but produced no insight into the topic (but possibly some additional lack insight into them).
Admittedly no thoughts from Affirm, but genuine curiosity about the topic.
**Good input from Furmanoid and from Roundball, thanks.**
Will be looking for additional good input, more good questions, more bad jokes, and more more avoidance.
Feel free to speak up, even if all you have is a bad joke or “don’t know” or “don’t care”.
10% “real thoughts” will be worth reading through the other 90% for.
Again, Affirm is “don’t know but curious and wondering”.

[Affirm]

We have SEC opponents scheduled for 2023 and 2024. I am concerned those will get cancelled if SEC expansion takes effect by then. And I am concerned we will have fewer opportunities to go and play SEC teams after then. A 16-team SEC may provide fewer opportunities for us, especially from UofSC, UGA, and UF, who already have 1 obligatory OOC opponent every year. Maybe UK does also, and probably OU will.
Also, it will not surprise me if the ACC expands, so our 2025 game at Clemson may get cancelled, in addition to our finding it harder in the future to get games versus ACC schools.

[Sir William]

I believe your concern about playing SEC teams is legit. If 3-4 superconferences emerge from this upcoming realignment, then it could be that the future for most FCS teams would be to play teams from such a conference once every 4-5 years, while playing yearly money games with G5 type schools moving forward. I don’t know. The college football landscape is about to possibly change radically. FCS could become 2-tiered before things finally shake out (pure speculation). I think the Furmans and Woffords and Mercers and Samfords and Colgates and Richmonds and Elons will be fine long-term, especially if FCS becomes 2-tiered. If I’m an FCS directional or smaller state university, I’d be more concerned about the long term.

That said, the one thing I know for sure is that I don’t know.

[FurmAlum]

It is my understanding that 11 out of the 14 SEC Presidents have to vote yes to allow Texas and Oklahoma to join.

Wouldn't it be hilarious if at least 4 of them voted no? I think I would vote no. The SEC doesn't need them.

On the subject of FU's OOC future scheduled games with SEC foes. Don't we have signed contracts? And what would be the penalty, if any, if those teams cancelled? Is there an out clause in those contracts?

I guess my old school way of thinking is you sign a contract, you honor it.

[Furmanoid]

What if all of the private smart kid schools got kicked out of the P5’s? You could have a league of:
Stanford
USC
Baylor
Northwestern
Notre Dame
BYU
Vanderbilt
Duke
Wake Forest
Maybe you exempt the smart kid part and add
Miami
OK throw in some Rice too.
So that’s 12.
Put in Cal, UVA and GATech for smartness
OK add 3 Service Academies.
That’s 18 I think so why not two 10 team divisions in the Legit College Football Conference and why not Furman as #19 in the LCFC?

[Affirm]

It is my understanding that 11 out of the 14 SEC Presidents have to vote yes to allow Texas and Oklahoma to join.

Wouldn't it be hilarious if at least 4 of them voted no? I think I would vote no. The SEC doesn't need them.

On the subject of FU's OOC future scheduled games with SEC foes. Don't we have signed contracts? And what would be the penalty, if any, if those teams cancelled? Is there an out clause in those contracts?

I guess my old school way of thinking is you sign a contract, you honor it.

They all have more than enough money to buy out those contacts.

[Affirm]

Big Ten, PAC-12, and Big 12 are all going to probably change in some manner (in addition to the latter just losing 2 of their prime members).
Might it end up with four 16-team conferences, totaling 64, with Notre Dame keeping it’s present status?
Or what about four 20 team conferences totaling 80 or four 24 team conferences totaling 96? Who would be in and who would be out in any of these scenarios? What would them become of all the D-1 schools that would be left as the outs? Where would schools such as Furman and Wofford end up?

[FUBeAR]

FUBeAR has it on good authority that FU will be dropping both Men’s & Women’s Basketball to financially support a move of our Football Program to the MVFC as the replacement for NDSU, as the Bison are moving to the MAC to replace Buffalo (makes zoological sense), as the Bulls move to the ACC as a travel partner for Syracuse.

Announcement coming in next 2 weeks. #BookIt

bad joke

Bad joke?

You’re designating FUBeAR’s wry commentary regarding certain posters’ ubiquitous responses to everything from a cataclysmic giant meteor striking TR as ground zero to a QB’s high ankle sprain being compelling reasons to consider deemphasizing or discontinuing Furman Football as nothing more than a “bad joke!”

Where is a link to the Message Board Transfer Portal? FUBeAR needs to evaluate the benefits of taking his talents elsewhere!

[Affirm]

FUBeAR has it on good authority that FU will be dropping both Men’s & Women’s Basketball to financially support a move of our Football Program to the MVFC as the replacement for NDSU, as the Bison are moving to the MAC to replace Buffalo (makes zoological sense), as the Bulls move to the ACC as a travel partner for Syracuse.

Announcement coming in next 2 weeks. #BookIt

bad joke

Bad joke?

You’re designating FUBeAR’s wry commentary regarding certain posters’ ubiquitous responses to everything from a cataclysmic giant meteor striking TR as ground zero to a QB’s high ankle sprain being compelling reasons to consider deemphasizing or discontinuing Furman Football as nothing more than a “bad joke!”

Where is a link to the Message Board Transfer Portal? FUBeAR needs to evaluate the benefits of taking his talents elsewhere!

I encourage you.

[Affirm]

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