Is CUSA trading UTEP for Louisiana Tech

[Stallion]

IF-and I'm not saying this is accurate- Hawaii, TCU and more schools are involved in rapid fire realignment then this looks more like a pre-arranged plan-perhaps CUSA/MWC merger?

http://boards.espn.go.com/boards/mb/mb? ... 1105&lid=3

[SMU89]

What is Bleacher Report saying?

[leopold]

Nope - Auburn!

[reddevil]

The only benefit of LaTech would be not having to play in El Paso, although I am not really in favor of this trade off. I would like to see the proposed merger between CUSA and MWC, but how many teams get included and who is left out?

[PK]

La Tech is in the WAC...not MWC. I'm pretty sure that UTEP is not interested in joining the rapidly sinking WAC. Granted, if UTEP were to leave CUSA and join MWC, CUSA might, maybe, go after La Tech to replace it, but I would hardly call that a trade which would imply a negotiated deal between all parties.

[Stallion]

your one step behind-it would if the MWC and CUSA were planning a merger

[PK]

your one step behind-it would if the MWC and CUSA were planning a merger

That still wouldn't necessarily include La Tech...there is always NTSU or a few other spare schools out there.

[NickSMU17]

BLACK BALL!!!!

[Insane_Pony_Posse]

"The only benefit of LaTech would be not having to play in El Paso"

I dunno 'bout that.
Did you go to Ruston the last time we played there?
No flights available into Ruston
No nice hotels. Holiday Inn Express ok...but about the only choice.
K-Bobs would be considered an upscale restaurant.
Their stadium is a sewer.
Stadium parking is a freaking field.

[Charleston Pony]

All of this actually makes sense to me with conferences that end up looking like this:

MWC West - Hawaii, SDSU, Fresno, UNLV, Nevada, Boise

MWC East - TCU, UTEP, UNM, CSU, AFA, Wyoming

CUSA West - SMU, Tulsa, Houston, Rice, Tulane, La Tech

CUSA East - USM, Memphis, UAB, Marshall, ECU, UCF

Probably wouldn't last if/when Big XII and/or Big East came to pick some of this group

Hard to say who the backfills would be; would depend on when it fell apart.

[Big Hoss]

When it was imminent we were joining CUSA, and it wasn't clear about the 4th team going, I kinda thought La Tech might have been the choice. At the time, they were decent in football, and geographically, it is closer to the other schools in the West.

What if UTEP stays in, and Central Florida leaves for the Big East (or elsewhere). Does La Tech become a CUSA target? Maybe Troy, Middle Tennessee St, or one of the better Sun Belt schools? Please Lord, not UNT.

[Samurai Stang]

What if UTEP stays in, and Central Florida leaves for the Big East (or elsewhere). Does La Tech become a CUSA target? Maybe Troy, Middle Tennessee St, or one of the better Sun Belt schools? Please Lord, not UNT.

If Central Florida leaves, it will be replaced by a school in the American East (not the superior East that is Asia). Troy is a reasonable choice due to their success, but one imagines CUSA will wish to maintain a presence in Florida.

NTSTC will only be considred by CUSA if SMU is no longer a member.

[Big Hoss]

What if UTEP stays in, and Central Florida leaves for the Big East (or elsewhere). Does La Tech become a CUSA target? Maybe Troy, Middle Tennessee St, or one of the better Sun Belt schools? Please Lord, not UNT.

If Central Florida leaves, it will be replaced by a school in the American East (not the superior East that is Asia). Troy is a reasonable choice due to their success, but one imagines CUSA will wish to maintain a presence in Florida.

NTSTC will only be considred by CUSA if SMU is no longer a member.

Who does that leave in Florida? Perennial cellar dwellars FAU or FIU?

The main reason I thought of Middle Tennesse St is because of Memphis, so that would fit regionally I guess. Same thing with La Tech compared to Tulane & SMU.

[Stallion]

There is no way that the academic institutions will EVER allow Troy in CUSA. They are the lowest common denominator.

[Samurai Stang]

Who does that leave in Florida? Perennial cellar dwellers FAU or FIU?

The main reason I thought of Middle Tennessee St is because of Memphis, so that would fit regionally I guess. Same thing with La Tech compared to Tulane & SMU.

Taking a team that is not even Division-I is something that only the Big East is able to accomplish without being ridiculed. I would expect Middle Tennessee State to be targeted by the MAC or Sun Belt.

FIU and FAU are both terrible in football, but they are not much weaker than Troy while providing a far superior market. UCF would be the fifth BCS school in Florida, and it is unlikely that there will be another. As such, adding FIU or FAU to CUSA will not create new competition for the Eastern conference members that desire to be taken by an AQ conference.