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Posted on Wed, Aug. 04, 2004



C-USA loses its momentum

By Damien Pierce
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Over the past decade, Conference USA has established itself as a rising league on the college football landscape.

The conference has gained more bowl access, developed bitter rivalries between once-unfamiliar schools and produced nearly as many victories in 2003 over BCS league teams as any other conference in the country.

It just couldn't sustain the momentum.

With five football schools packing their bags for new conferences next season, Conference USA will celebrate its 10th anniversary this season with more anxiety than festivity. Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida are heading to the Big East Conference in 2005, while TCU will join the Mountain West Conference, and Army will opt for independent status.

The five schools leave behind a league that could be facing a new television contract that isn't as impressive as its last, and another rebuilding project. The league will add Central Florida, Marshall, Rice, SMU and UT-El Paso next season, and will once again spend time getting foes acquainted with one another.

The daunting task the conference will soon face had several coaches talking about the upcoming changes during Tuesday's Conference USA media kickoff.

"This is the best the league has ever been from top to bottom, and it's disappointing it won't continue to get better with the same teams," UAB coach Watson Brown said. "We're going to miss the stability and the rivalries, because we have to build that up over time. We can't fix that quickly. I just hope this can settle down and this is the last time we have to go through this. I kind of doubt it."

The conference will return six schools in 2005, but the league's visibility could be hurt with the changes. Only four of the schools that will make up the new C-USA attended bowl games last season, and the new alignment that is void of marquee names could make it even more difficult for C-USA teams to impress voters and gain a Bowl Championship Series invitation. The new alignment could also affect the league's upcoming television contract negotiations. C-USA is in the fourth season of an eight-year deal with ESPN.

C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky, who believes the conference will receive another long-term television deal, believes the league simply has to re-establish what it has developed over the past decade.

"I think building rivalries is the key," Banowsky said. "It was part of the key when we realigned the conference. We have natural rivals Houston and Rice in the same league, and there are already some regional rivalries. I think our future is bright."

The future, of course, won't include TCU.

The school is heading to the Mountain West because it believes the long-term stability and financial benefits are more promising out west.

However, TCU coach Gary Patterson believes his school will miss Conference USA.

"The Mountain West commissioner has said the league is not going to play weekday games," Patterson said. "We made a living by playing Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It's not a problem, but it's a concern, because it obviously affect our exposure if we're not on TV."

There's also that rivalry factor. TCU has nothing established with teams in the Mountain West.

"I say it all the time: You don't know who to hate," Patterson said. "In order to be successful on the field, you have to make it personal in about three hours. If you don't know people, it's hard to do that. It's hard moving into a new conference and trying to establish something new."


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ONLINE: www.gofrogs.com
Damien Pierce, (817) 390-7760 [email protected]

C-USA only loses when cincy and l'ville leave. south florida is no biggie in a state well dominated by uf, fsu, and lesser to miami. The froggies were stupid enough to believe their arrogance. They'll learn to regret the move.

Most indications are that, yes, there will be some time for the schools and conference to readjust. But, it should serve everyone well in a long run. I'm glad, as I feel good about joining in with many of the C-USA schools. They are ones we can learn to love and compete with in both football and basketball. Playing uab, memphis, and ecu will help this. Playing in and against the (especially basketball) talent rich area should help our recruiting. Rejoining cougar high and keeping utep keep some of our past rivals of SWC days of old.

Most folks back here seem to think that the expansion and broader exposure will only help C-USA down the line.

Go Ponies!

The new CUSA may just surprise people, including those over in Ft Worth. Marshall has a great football tradition and has beaten as many BCS programs as anyone in recent years. UCF has tremendous potential and will certainly offset the loss of USF. I expect ECU to bounce back from their recent down years. In the west, UTEP appears to be making a commitment to winning in both bball and football and Houston is making progress as well. Tulsa bball will bounce back and it appears they may be on the upswing in football as well. Rice has been reasonably competitive in recent yearsin both fball and bball, leaving only SMU as the program that hasn't shown much of anything.

For the so called "mid-majors", it's all about beating teams from the BCS conferences. Until we can schedule the Texas Techs and Okla States of the world and win more than we lose, we won't be a valuable conference mate. Gotta win some games this year and build on what appears to have been some respectable recruiting since Bennett took over.