Here is a post from the main CMU message board that may interest some of you because it deals with James Madison and the Sun Belt. I guess I did not know JMU wanted into the MAC. And I don't think the MAC will ever get Army for football only. Army was in the old C-USA and did not make out well in terms of win-loss records. I think they would prefer to go it alone for a while.

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=340&f=2793&t=12403684

And the guy writing this post, BeatWestern, is the guy who first set up this message board and was our moderator for quite some time. I believe he is in the military and serving on active duty now and only posts from time to time although he does keep up on what is happening inside the MAC.

And BeatWestern does have a typo in his post - should have said hear instead of here. Just let it go.

Who will be the Sun Belt's 12th for football if not JMU?

AppAttack wrote:Who will be the Sun Belt's 12th for football if not JMU?

Missouri State.

It may be Missouri State anyway. The western schools in the Belt prefer them to JMU.

If Mo St is #12, who joins the East Division. Does Benson pull an SEC and add Mo State to the East?

Do the other SBC schools have poor academic reputations or something? Appalachian is easily of the same caliber as JMU and I don't remember academics being a concern for our decision.

Even if it is, this is an athletic conference. We just left a conference with Wofford and WCU for goodness sake. That is the grand canyon of academic gaps.

Almost all of the MAC schools are national doctorate-level institutions. The Sun Belt is a mix of regional masters-level schools and doctorate-level schools. ULM and Troy specifically are not regarded well academically.

I agree App State is right up there with James Madison. In fact, one of the rankings I saw for public, regional universities in the South listed The Citadel, James Madison and Appalachian State as #1, #2 and #3. No one is ever going to question the academics at Appalachian State. It may be that App State really didn't have much choice when it came to FBS conferences. The Sun Belt was the only offer being made and the university took it although C-USA would have been the first choice. James Madison on the other hand seems to be holding out for an option other than the Sun Belt. But if an offer doesn't come from the MAC they could very well end up in the Sun Belt as well.

And I don't understand why the MAC would be holding back on offering James Madison. It almost looks like the conference is not real interested in moving into the South. If that is true it's a shame. Conference members are still concentrated in the Midwest but with the addition of Buffalo, UMass and Temple (former member) the MAC has shown a lot of interest in the East. Army is also in the East. The experiments with Marshall and Central Florida didn't go well. And the MAC had a chance to take Western Kentucky several years ago but passed on that university as well - something I never really understood.

Might be the "southern" in me, but personally, I am glad App is in the Sun Belt and not the MAC.

TheMoody1 wrote:Might be the "southern" in me, but personally, I am glad App is in the Sun Belt and not the MAC.

Me too if for nothing else than fanship. Fox Sports had a special the other day about the "Best Gameday Experience You've Never Heard Of" and for some reason it was on Ohio University. They showed footage of their blackout game and it reminded me of an FCS game. There couldn't have been more than 10k people there. VERY smalltime. If that's the MACs best gameday experience then they can have JMU and their academic prestige.

Again I couldn't agree more. App State is a Southern university and belongs in a Southern conference. Forget about the academics part of it which I think is hogwash or drivel. The Southern university thing is what made Marshall and Central Florida bad fits for the MAC. Both considered themselves Southern schools and somewhat out of place in the MAC. Truth is they also wanted to move up and they got two birds with one stone when they joined the old C-USA - they got a Southern conference and they moved up. I just don't think the MAC will make that mistake again. I think App State is in a good spot.

midlandchip wrote:Again I couldn't agree more. App State is a Southern university and belongs in a Southern conference. Forget about the academics part of it which I think is hogwash or drivel. The Southern university thing is what made Marshall and Central Florida bad fits for the MAC. Both considered themselves Southern schools and somewhat out of place in the MAC. Truth is they also wanted to move up and they got two birds with one stone when they joined the old C-USA - they got a Southern conference and they moved up. I just don't think the MAC will make that mistake again. I think App State is in a good spot.

Thanks for the kind words Chip! I agree, the "academic fit" argument is simply garbage. It's nothing but posturing by JMU, if it's really their administration stating that, and not just fans. However, from a geographic standpoint, the MAC seems to be the best fit for JMU.
I thought it was best for us as well, but I am still completely thrilled with the SBC!

Academics don't bother Florida or Vanderbilt I agree with you guys that that argument is junk.

Academics is only an excuse some conferences use to rule against a university - total BS --- example - Why is West Virginia University not in the ACC? - bogus ACC reason = Academics --- However WVU is ranked #6 in public universities in the nation for graduating Rhodes Scholars ---

Couldn't begin to count all the comments made on this board over the years about Ga Southern's & Marshall's success being attributed to lax academics. Schools don't send debate teams against one another but academic profiles play a larger role at the FBS level. Can't say the thought hasn't crossed my mind a few times with App being in the SB.

I'd like to see JMU in the SB but their campus is 2 hours from DC. They have a lot of alumni there and get a lot of students come from that area and farther north. They may technically be in the South but a lot changes when you get into northern Virginia. The JMU grads I know look at things a lot differently than we do. They seem to have a lot more in common with MAC schools.

WVAPPeer wrote:Academics is only an excuse some conferences use to rule against a university - total BS --- example - Why is West Virginia University not in the ACC? - bogus ACC reason = Academics --- However WVU is ranked #6 in public universities in the nation for graduating Rhodes Scholars ---

The ACC made a big blunder there and they know it.