Great idea / scheduling move. I'm hoping Sunbelt keeps trying to schedule better OOC slates for the teams to bolster conference profile / increase chances of an at-large bid. These should be winnable peer games for many conference teams.

I wish we would do this with the AAC each year around the 10th week with our 1 vs their 1 and our 2 vs their 2 and the rest be a dedicated close opponent. IE if we are 1 or 2 we play their 1 or 2. If not we play Charlotte or ECU week 10 (Alternating Home/away)

The overlap of the AAC/Sunbelt conference footprint sets up nicely for meaningful games and low travel expenses and most importantly fan interest.

MID American will be nice but seems like some high travel expense for not much in return as far as ticket sales. ESPN needs to pay up for travel if they are the one pushing the MAC/SUNBELT Challenge.

I just realized they are talking basketball...I was thinking football. For basketball the MAC if fine.

More details on this. The games will be determined by NET rankings. The second game in February will be decided a few weeks beforehand, ala Bracketbusters (I'm guessing with set home and away teams for ticker purposes).

A major thing for Sun Belt Basketball, IMO, is cutting down on sub-D1 games. There's around 35 total among the 14 Sun Belt members this season, with App having 3. A main reason is there's no limit is because scheduling is hard for mid-major MBB teams (not so much for WBB). Having two guaranteed D1 games should help cut down on sub-D1 games and help the top teams in the league.

T-Dog wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 08, 2022 5:03 pm

More details on this. The games will be determined by NET rankings. The second game in February will be decided a few weeks beforehand, ala Bracketbusters (I'm guessing with set home and away teams for ticker purposes).

A major thing for Sun Belt Basketball, IMO, is cutting down on sub-D1 games. There's around 35 total among the 14 Sun Belt members this season, with App having 3. A main reason is there's no limit is because scheduling is hard for mid-major MBB teams (not so much for WBB). Having two guaranteed D1 games should help cut down on sub-D1 games and help the top teams in the league.

Win-Win for both conferences then. Hopefully it’s successful!

love this