App season, Sunbelt bowls and Common opponents

[AppDub]

Took a quick look at the Coastal boards. Lot of griping about Liberty playing dirty and hitting players late. Not sure I was watching the same game the Coastal fans were as the roles seemed the opposite way. Another example of the whining we have all said we dislike. Win like a champion, lose with class.

[AppSt94]

Took a quick look at the Coastal boards. Lot of griping about Liberty playing dirty and hitting players late. Not sure I was watching the same game the Coastal fans were as the roles seemed the opposite way. Another example of the whining we have all said we dislike. Win like a champion, lose with class.

Not to be a contrarian, but don’t you suspect that opposing fans read our board after a tough loss and would glean the same?

[Stonewall]

2019 App would thrash 2020 Coastal. Probably should have beaten them in a close one this year.....

[Saint3333]

There are plenty of reasons to dislike this Coastal team starting with their coach. However, in the end a major reason so many of our fans celebrate their loss is because we are jealous or envious of the attention they've garnered at our expense. All understandable, but let's be honest they stole the spotlight this year and relegated us to the shadows of national attention.

I'm gonna disagree with you, at least for me. I rooted for Coastal most of this season. I rooted for them to beat BYU, even after we had lost to them. It was only when the coach started whining that I turned against them. Ducking out of the conference championship game and having their players roaming through the stands taunting App fans at our bowl game sealed it for me. So, no, I am not the least bit jealous of them. In the end, they didn't do anything that I would want App to emulate.

They acted like trash, played dirty, whined and complained and karma got them in the end.

I don't disagree with a thing you said. But, it also doesn't change a thing I said. Our fans have tried to diminish everything they have accomplished. They were lucky, it's only because of COVID, etc. There are a ton of reasons to dislike them, pull against them, I've got no grief with that. But, so many of our fans, not all, want to discount what they have accomplished. You have to at least acknowledge that, along with UL, have elevated the profile of the Sun Belt. And yes we have certainly played a role leading up to this point. Our performance over the last 4 years set the stage for this Belt breakout.

No the majority of our fans congratulated them after our loss to them, pulled hard for them vs BYU, then their coach made huge mistakes and their fanbase backed his play. Let’s not try and forget how this played out.

No one pulls for a whiner and coward.

[AppDub]

Took a quick look at the Coastal boards. Lot of griping about Liberty playing dirty and hitting players late. Not sure I was watching the same game the Coastal fans were as the roles seemed the opposite way. Another example of the whining we have all said we dislike. Win like a champion, lose with class.

Not to be a contrarian, but don’t you suspect that opposing fans read our board after a tough loss and would glean the same?

Contrarian, maybe, accurate, definitely

[hapapp]

There are plenty of reasons to dislike this Coastal team starting with their coach. However, in the end a major reason so many of our fans celebrate their loss is because we are jealous or envious of the attention they've garnered at our expense. All understandable, but let's be honest they stole the spotlight this year and relegated us to the shadows of national attention.

I'm gonna disagree with you, at least for me. I rooted for Coastal most of this season. I rooted for them to beat BYU, even after we had lost to them. It was only when the coach started whining that I turned against them. Ducking out of the conference championship game and having their players roaming through the stands taunting App fans at our bowl game sealed it for me. So, no, I am not the least bit jealous of them. In the end, they didn't do anything that I would want App to emulate.

They acted like trash, played dirty, whined and complained and karma got them in the end.

I don't disagree with a thing you said. But, it also doesn't change a thing I said. Our fans have tried to diminish everything they have accomplished. They were lucky, it's only because of COVID, etc. There are a ton of reasons to dislike them, pull against them, I've got no grief with that. But, so many of our fans, not all, want to discount what they have accomplished. You have to at least acknowledge that, along with UL, have elevated the profile of the Sun Belt. And yes we have certainly played a role leading up to this point. Our performance over the last 4 years set the stage for this Belt breakout.

No the majority of our fans congratulated them after our loss to them, pulled hard for them vs BYU, then their coach made huge mistakes and their fanbase backed his play. Let’s not try and forget how this played out.

No one pulls for a whiner and coward.

It has nothing to do with pulling them. I never argued we should. Just read the comments throughout this thread. Many are discounting what they accomplished this year. Chadwell is a whiner no doubt and reason enough to dislike his squad. And he may be a coward, though I suppose that comes from the questionable claim claim they ducked UL. Not sure that’s any more valid than why we postponed our games with UL and GS.

They had a great year, in the end, however, in many ways it falls short of ours last year overall record-wise and perhaps ranking-wise. In the end, also the irony of being the only Belt squad to lose their bowl. They do have the undefeated regular season record and wins over ranked teams. Something we have yet to achieve.

Next year should be even more exciting as this conference looks be even better top to bottom.

[BayouApp]

Held nose and pulled for Coastal for good of conference, but not easy. 94 (I think) seems to make dirty plays with some repetition, including a vicious, don't let go facemask against Liberty. Bad no call on a clear pass interference call in overtime may have cost Coastal the game.

[Saint3333]

Hap, Many are claiming they didn’t have the best season of any SBC team. That is accurate, not discounting them, actually viewing what they did with perspective.

This thread seems pretty tame.

You tend to read posts in a manner that paints the comments in the worst light possible.

[ah59396]

Regarding the future of the Belt:

I’ve changed my position on Liberty, I think we should add them. Not just due to the success they’ve seen this season but also because I learned how much they and Coastal hate each other.

Coastal needs an actual rival and having a Virginia based team would be good for the Belt. Rivalries build conferences. There’s always a bar you set and that’s to be better than your rival. Having none can create apathy.

I understand the politics are difficult for some, but for what it’s worth I am not a religious person. I am an App State fan though and I think it bolsters the conference.

I’m very skeptical of Keith Gill’s capability as a commissioner, but I’d love for him to go after Liberty and maybe one of Marshall or JMU.

Go to 12 with a focus on schools that are focused on athletic success.

Though a “Sun Belt East” of:

App
Liberty
JMU/Marshall
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State

is quite the gauntlet.

[hapapp]

Hap, Many are claiming they didn’t have the best season of any SBC team. That is accurate, not discounting them, actually viewing what they did with perspective.

This thread seems pretty tame.

You tend to read posts in a manner that paints the comments in the worst light possible.

I don't really want to go down this path any further because I certainly don't want to come across as a defender of Chadwell and company. And, perhaps, I was reading too much between the lines but it just seemed to me that there was a tendency of some to try to put an asterisk beside their name. To each his own and I'm not trying to tell people what they should feel. I'll say no more on this topic.

[AppDub]

Regarding the future of the Belt:

I’ve changed my position on Liberty, I think we should add them. Not just due to the success they’ve seen this season but also because I learned how much they and Coastal hate each other.

Coastal needs an actual rival and having a Virginia based team would be good for the Belt. Rivalries build conferences. There’s always a bar you set and that’s to be better than your rival. Having none can create apathy.

I understand the politics are difficult for some, but for what it’s worth I am not a religious person. I am an App State fan though and I think it bolsters the conference.

I’m very skeptical of Keith Gill’s capability as a commissioner, but I’d love for him to go after Liberty and maybe one of Marshall or JMU.

Go to 12 with a focus on schools that are focused on athletic success.

Though a “Sun Belt East” of:

App
Liberty
JMU/Marshall
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State

is quite the gauntlet.

Liberty would be a great add.

[BambooRdApp]

Regarding the future of the Belt:

I’ve changed my position on Liberty, I think we should add them. Not just due to the success they’ve seen this season but also because I learned how much they and Coastal hate each other.

Coastal needs an actual rival and having a Virginia based team would be good for the Belt. Rivalries build conferences. There’s always a bar you set and that’s to be better than your rival. Having none can create apathy.

I understand the politics are difficult for some, but for what it’s worth I am not a religious person. I am an App State fan though and I think it bolsters the conference.

I’m very skeptical of Keith Gill’s capability as a commissioner, but I’d love for him to go after Liberty and maybe one of Marshall or JMU.

Go to 12 with a focus on schools that are focused on athletic success.

Though a “Sun Belt East” of:

App
Liberty
JMU/Marshall
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State

is quite the gauntlet.

Liberty would be a great add.

not sure I want this at all. This is just glorified Southern Conference like back in the playoff days. I want teams like ECU, Cincy, Tulsa Memphis, UCF...better competition week in and week out. Although EasyU being better competition is debatable at this point. I believe we would evolve in that conference just like we have to initial foray into FBS...It may also help with sellouts for fan attendance, including the conference championship game (which the Sunbelt Championship game in Boone has had relatively poor turnout given it is a conference championship as I have been to both)

[Boonegoon]

Regarding the future of the Belt:

I’ve changed my position on Liberty, I think we should add them. Not just due to the success they’ve seen this season but also because I learned how much they and Coastal hate each other.

Coastal needs an actual rival and having a Virginia based team would be good for the Belt. Rivalries build conferences. There’s always a bar you set and that’s to be better than your rival. Having none can create apathy.

I understand the politics are difficult for some, but for what it’s worth I am not a religious person. I am an App State fan though and I think it bolsters the conference.

I’m very skeptical of Keith Gill’s capability as a commissioner, but I’d love for him to go after Liberty and maybe one of Marshall or JMU.

Go to 12 with a focus on schools that are focused on athletic success.

Though a “Sun Belt East” of:

App
Liberty
JMU/Marshall
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State

is quite the gauntlet.

Liberty would be a great add.

not sure I want this at all. This is just glorified Southern Conference like back in the playoff days. I want teams like ECU, Cincy, Tulsa Memphis, UCF...better competition week in and week out. Although EasyU being better competition is debatable at this point. I believe we would evolve in that conference just like we have to initial foray into FBS...It may also help with sellouts for fan attendance, including the conference championship game (which the Sunbelt Championship game in Boone has had relatively poor turnout given it is a conference championship as I have been to both)

I agree, I want nothing to do with Liberty or JMU. The point wasn't to stay in JV

[Stonewall]

JM who?

[AppDub]

Regarding the future of the Belt:

I’ve changed my position on Liberty, I think we should add them. Not just due to the success they’ve seen this season but also because I learned how much they and Coastal hate each other.

Coastal needs an actual rival and having a Virginia based team would be good for the Belt. Rivalries build conferences. There’s always a bar you set and that’s to be better than your rival. Having none can create apathy.

I understand the politics are difficult for some, but for what it’s worth I am not a religious person. I am an App State fan though and I think it bolsters the conference.

I’m very skeptical of Keith Gill’s capability as a commissioner, but I’d love for him to go after Liberty and maybe one of Marshall or JMU.

Go to 12 with a focus on schools that are focused on athletic success.

Though a “Sun Belt East” of:

App
Liberty
JMU/Marshall
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State

is quite the gauntlet.

Liberty would be a great add.

not sure I want this at all. This is just glorified Southern Conference like back in the playoff days. I want teams like ECU, Cincy, Tulsa Memphis, UCF...better competition week in and week out. Although EasyU being better competition is debatable at this point. I believe we would evolve in that conference just like we have to initial foray into FBS...It may also help with sellouts for fan attendance, including the conference championship game (which the Sunbelt Championship game in Boone has had relatively poor turnout given it is a conference championship as I have been to both)

I agree, I want nothing to do with Liberty or JMU. The point wasn't to stay in JV

Not sure a ranked Liberty team should be considered JV.

[ah59396]

Though a “Sun Belt East” of:

App
Liberty
JMU/Marshall
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State

is quite the gauntlet.

Liberty would be a great add.

not sure I want this at all. This is just glorified Southern Conference like back in the playoff days. I want teams like ECU, Cincy, Tulsa Memphis, UCF...better competition week in and week out. Although EasyU being better competition is debatable at this point. I believe we would evolve in that conference just like we have to initial foray into FBS...It may also help with sellouts for fan attendance, including the conference championship game (which the Sunbelt Championship game in Boone has had relatively poor turnout given it is a conference championship as I have been to both)

I agree, I want nothing to do with Liberty or JMU. The point wasn't to stay in JV

We all want that but I’d love to hear your reasoning on how it happens.

We are not the AAC’s 1st choice for their 12th spot, probably not top 3. In all likelihood if they fill the slot it’ll be Boise or UAB.

The only route to the AAC is after it gets raided by the BIG12, at which point you can say bye to UCF, Cincy or Memphis and probably Houston.

While there’s an (unlikely) scenario at some point where we are in an AAC similar to this:

Tulsa
Tulane
App State
UAB
ECU
Navy
Temple
SMU
USF
FAU
Marshall
Southern Mississippi

That’s obviously a better outcome than my hypothetical Sun Belt above, but I just don’t see it. We don’t fit the AAC mold. The AAC is dominated by massive R1 institutions in large metros, we are none of those things.

Doesn’t mean it can’t happen but again, I think my envisioned Sun Belt East is far more likely to occur than the new AAC (which is basically CUSA 2004).

[Stonewall]

Liberty won the Sunbelt 2020.

[CharlotteApp05]

I’m in on Liberty.

#22 & #24 go down tonight. Anyway we can crack top 25?

[TheAppalachianState]

Regarding the future of the Belt:

I’ve changed my position on Liberty, I think we should add them. Not just due to the success they’ve seen this season but also because I learned how much they and Coastal hate each other.

Coastal needs an actual rival and having a Virginia based team would be good for the Belt. Rivalries build conferences. There’s always a bar you set and that’s to be better than your rival. Having none can create apathy.

I understand the politics are difficult for some, but for what it’s worth I am not a religious person. I am an App State fan though and I think it bolsters the conference.

I’m very skeptical of Keith Gill’s capability as a commissioner, but I’d love for him to go after Liberty and maybe one of Marshall or JMU.

Go to 12 with a focus on schools that are focused on athletic success.

Though a “Sun Belt East” of:

App
Liberty
JMU/Marshall
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State

is quite the gauntlet.

Liberty would be a great add.

not sure I want this at all. This is just glorified Southern Conference like back in the playoff days. I want teams like ECU, Cincy, Tulsa Memphis, UCF...better competition week in and week out. Although EasyU being better competition is debatable at this point. I believe we would evolve in that conference just like we have to initial foray into FBS...It may also help with sellouts for fan attendance, including the conference championship game (which the Sunbelt Championship game in Boone has had relatively poor turnout given it is a conference championship as I have been to both)

I agree, I want nothing to do with Liberty or JMU. The point wasn't to stay in JV

Honestly I think our sights are set a lot higher now and I agree with the sentiment from batchelor.

App State fans mostly see us already on par with the AAC but really I think if we push as hard as we have been since our transition to the FBS we really expect better for our school to be in the highest popular conference, ideally the SEC but that’s the selfish part of me. I think we will be a conference shakedown and more regional alignment before we even touch that level

[bigdaddyg]

Though a “Sun Belt East” of:

App
Liberty
JMU/Marshall
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State

is quite the gauntlet.

Liberty would be a great add.

not sure I want this at all. This is just glorified Southern Conference like back in the playoff days. I want teams like ECU, Cincy, Tulsa Memphis, UCF...better competition week in and week out. Although EasyU being better competition is debatable at this point. I believe we would evolve in that conference just like we have to initial foray into FBS...It may also help with sellouts for fan attendance, including the conference championship game (which the Sunbelt Championship game in Boone has had relatively poor turnout given it is a conference championship as I have been to both)

I agree, I want nothing to do with Liberty or JMU. The point wasn't to stay in JV

We all want that but I’d love to hear your reasoning on how it happens.

We are not the AAC’s 1st choice for their 12th spot, probably not top 3. In all likelihood if they fill the slot it’ll be Boise or UAB.

The only route to the AAC is after it gets raided by the BIG12, at which point you can say bye to UCF, Cincy or Memphis and probably Houston.

While there’s an (unlikely) scenario at some point where we are in an AAC similar to this:

Tulsa
Tulane
App State
UAB
ECU
Navy
Temple
SMU
USF
FAU
Marshall
Southern Mississippi

That’s obviously a better outcome than my hypothetical Sun Belt above, but I just don’t see it. We don’t fit the AAC mold. The AAC is dominated by massive R1 institutions in large metros, we are none of those things.

Doesn’t mean it can’t happen but again, I think my envisioned Sun Belt East is far more likely to occur than the new AAC (which is basically CUSA 2004).

Of course all of this theoretical conference realignment discussion is purely conjecture so for the sake of argument let’s assume a revised AAC as depicted above. Let’s also assume we are back to all aspects of a normal year. I see that, overall the level of competition in conference probably takes a step up. This conference appears to have less dogs than the current Sunbelt. That’s a plus.

Assume that our 4 conference home games in season 1 are ECU, Tulsa, Southern Miss and Navy. We obviously pack KBS to 35k for ECU but how about the rest? I still see expensive travel costs for all sports. Do overall revenues increase to allow for higher coaching salaries which keeps us at the top of the heap? Would our fan base accept 8-4 which most schools kill for? We probably get bowl games against 6-6 or maybe 7-5 P5’s? Is that enough?

If the big AAC guys do leave would this revamped conference be that much better than our current situation? Just asking.