FIU2011? wrote:
Allow me to throw the first tomato
I don't think it's a good idea.
First, negligible TV money is better than no TV money
Second, no bowl tie ins (and the way we attend / travel as a fan base)would likely make us the last choice for a bowl big
Third. there is no guarantee that we could get on the schedule with ND, and unless you're a football fan anyway, BYU and the service academies aren't going to get you into the stadium.
4 - no opportunity to play for a conference championship
5 - are Northwestern and Vanderbilt really going to be better draws than WKU and Marshall?
6 - If we actually get good, do you think the Florida teams are going to schedule us. If we don't get good, do you really want the other teams fan base to sell out your stadium (Financially maybe, but from a fan experience perspective that would suck)
7 - I don't think a move back to the A-sun would be good for our other sports teams.
First... If my numbers are right, FIU's getting around $200,000 or so every year from CUSA's TV deal. I don't know what the travel budget is for athletics... but I'm fairly confident it's over 6 figures for all sports every calendar year. It wouldn't surprise me if FIU's spending more than that in travel costs. Football alone is pretty expensive. I'm not completely confident in those numbers, though. If anyone has something more specific, I'd love to see it.
Second... FIU's already dead last (if not close) for bowl bids. No bowl outside of Florida could take FIU and reasonably expect a huge blue and gold wave to follow. Even with the Florida ones, it's dicey. As an independent, FIU can do their own bowl tie-ins. Hell... if you really want to think outside of the box... FIU could spearhead its own bowl and guarantee that they'd play in it if they finish over-.500 and no other bowl takes them. Miami's a fairly nice destination. I don't think it'd be that hard to do. Hell, Boca has a bowl. And I remember the Miccosukees having interest in doing that in the past.
Third... I agree regarding Notre Dame. I also agree about BYU and the service academies. But if you're not a football fan, you're probably not going to games, anyway. Casual football fans know BYU and Army (or Navy or Air Force) a lot better than anyone in CUSA. I think it would absolutely draw more interest from those people. If nothing else, the local soldiers, sailors, cadets and vets would be motivated to come out. Not sure how big the Mormon crowd is in South Florida, but BYU has fans nationwide.
Fourth... does a conference title mean anything if most of the FIU community doesn't care about the conference?
Fifth... I believe so. People know Northwestern, Vandy, Illinois, Indiana, Rutgers, Maryland, Minnesota, Wake, Duke and all of the other bottom-dwellers in the P5. They certainly know them better than anyone in CUSA. The attendance numbers bear that out.
Sixth... winning is the big key. If FIU doesn't win, the rest doesn't matter. But if they do... FAU certainly would want to play no matter what, if only for the rivalry's sake. USF and UCF would absolutely have motive to schedule a good FIU team, especially at home. It would improve strength of schedule. Being that the American will be the Access bowl conference of choice most years, it benefits them to play as tough an out of conference schedule as possible. As for UF, FSU and Miami... probably not... but if FIU gets that good, I'm not sure Miami could duck a yearly matchup forever. The other two probably could.
Seven... the A-Sun is definitely worse. But there's just no way FIU could stay in CUSA or join any other conference without bringing football along. You'd have to go to a conference that doesn't offer football. The A-Sun is the only regional fit that makes any sense. For what it's worth... I think it probably helps basketball, men's and women's. FIU is probably the worst hoops program in CUSA right now and it's a 1-bid league anyway. The A-Sun would definitely be an easier path to March Madness. It would hurt baseball and soccer... probably softball, too... but those aren't your revenue sports, so I don't think it would hurt that much.