https://247sports.com/college/arkansas- ... 179987610/
With rumors circulating, but still no official word, the Sun Belt Conference leadership will meet this month to discuss the league’s future.
The big item is whether the four new league members will join this year in time for the 2022 football season or wait until June of 2023.
There have been rumors a plenty that Southern Mississippi, Marshall, James Madison and Old Dominion will join the Sun Belt this summer as opposed to the 2023 date originally mentioned by the conference office.
“That is a discussion that has been on-going with my colleagues in the Sun Belt,’’ said Tom Bowen, Arkansas State’s vice chancellor for intercollegiate athletics. “The athletic directors and I have been trading a lot of calls and text messages to prepare for a meeting on Jan. 25 and I think that will be the priority and topic of the discussion. To talk about what does that mean, how does that work, what are the options, what are all of the logistics.
“I have a lot more questions than I have opinions right now.”
Whatever decision is reached by the athletic directors it will be voted on by the conference’s CEOs (chancellors and presidents) on Wednesday, Jan. 26.
“We had originally believed that it would happen in ‘23 in football and now if there is anything different we are going to really have to figure that out,’’ said Bowen. “It is a moving target right now. I think it is going to be a very long discussion and I think there is a lot of interest by some of the members to come in early and some have said they would be open to that. I don’t know if interest is the right word. I do think it is something we are going to have to address in January and put to bed.”
Old Dominion, Marshall and Southern Miss are leaving Conference-USA. James Madison is a member of FBS in football, where it has been one of the division’s super powers, and a member of the Colonial Athletic Association.
“I do think we will have a consensus on what we are going to do,’’ said Bowen. “If it is ‘23 we set up the ‘23 dynamic, if it is different we set up that. I just think right now we are going to have a really in-depth discussion of all the unintended consequences of doing that.
“This is not something that has been done. It hasn't been done in the realignment since I have been involved in realignment and this is my fourth realignment dynamics since I have been an athletic director. It has usually been a year in the conference that you are in and then you enter into the new conference. This will be different.”
If the new members are immediate there is a big issue of scheduling. The league will remain at eight conference football games and each school will have to face two from the opposite division.
The Red Wolves will be in the West Division with Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana-Lafayette, Texas State, South Alabama and Troy and newcomer Southern Miss.
In the East Division there will be Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, Marshall, Old Dominion and James Madison.
“I’ve seen it all kinds of ways,” said Bowen, who while at Memphis helped in the formation of the American Athletic Conference. “In the American we created a pod rotation every two years and rotated three, so I don’t know.
“It is really going to come down to how we see this as a collective membership and allow everyone to give their thoughts on it .. I do think it is important to have some type of rotation and I liked the way we did it in the American … I always thought that was pretty strong.”
Here is the link to the fall sports streaming schedule.
https://appstatesports.com/news/2023/8/ ... edule.aspx
https://appstatesports.com/news/2023/8/ ... edule.aspx
New Members Starting in 22 or 23. Vote on 1/26
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Re: New Members Starting in 22 or 23. Vote on 1/25
Hopeful for this year, although unsure who we'd pick up OOC to replace Marshall.
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Re: New Members Starting in 22 or 23. Vote on 1/25
JMU I believe will count as an OOC game. Just guessing here.