C-USA stinks
- Thread starter FiliUTEP
- Start date
So the final results of CUSA’s innovative bonus play scheduling for 2018-2019:
1 team to NCAA Tournament (auto bid)
0 NIT selections
1 team to NCAA Tournament (auto bid)
0 NIT selections
This has turned into a subpar season for C-USA. Middle Tennessee is in the toilet after a several year run of success. Western Kentucky did ok but not nearly as well as expected with their recruiting buzz going into the season. UTEPs season is in the toilet too, though we expect much better next year. The new format sounded interesting, still does, but it was designed to make good teams look better, not mediocre teams look good. Give it one more year, then decide its' fate. Go Miners anyway.
Based on ODU's RPI alone they earned a 12th or 13th seed. St. Louis who was mediocre during conf play and won the tourney has 12 losses and a much lower RPI and got a 13 seed. To me it doesn't make much sense. We can all talk crap about how the league sucks, but what's happened the last 4 years in the 1st round with an underestimated and under seeded CUSA team? I hope it happens again and again, until they learn!
CUSA won't do any better until the bottom feeders like UTEP start pulling their weight. If UTEP was who it was supposed to be when it signed with CUSA, maybe our conference champ would be a higher seed.
I feel like I have to keep making this point. If CUSA was so terrible we'd be winning it. We'd have a reason to complain if we won 25+ games and didn't get a look, but we haven't.
You guys have it flipped. CUSA doesn't hurt UTEP, UTEP hurts CUSA. Everytime UTEP loses to NMSU it's a black mark on our conference.
If our conference mates could kick us out now, they would, and it's not because they fear us. And if we were suddenly without a conference, there's no guarantee the Sun Belt would even want us because we haven't done anything to deserve it.
I feel like I have to keep making this point. If CUSA was so terrible we'd be winning it. We'd have a reason to complain if we won 25+ games and didn't get a look, but we haven't.
You guys have it flipped. CUSA doesn't hurt UTEP, UTEP hurts CUSA. Everytime UTEP loses to NMSU it's a black mark on our conference.
If our conference mates could kick us out now, they would, and it's not because they fear us. And if we were suddenly without a conference, there's no guarantee the Sun Belt would even want us because we haven't done anything to deserve it.
Wow. Just.....wow.
CUSA better get off it's ass and start attacking the problem. You can only cry about "Memphis left us" so much. The conference shifted their focus to football over the last few years and now looked what happened? CUSA started and was devoted to basketball and is now basically Sun Belt v 2.0. This is bad, really bad. Just drop the DII and NAIA schools and get aggressive in scheduling and don't complain. Do a three for one deal if need be. UTEP did a two for one with Arizona I believe?
Utep can't be considered a bottom feeder after only two years of being in the bottom bro. Even though we weren't happy with Floyd they were still in top 5 most years and before with Barbee dominated before he left. Gotta spend more than two years out of 10 in bottom half to be a bottom feeder bro. Your post was a bit over exaggerated my man. We as miner fans are not happy with what's gone on since Barbee left, but we haven't spent many years in the bottom of the conference. We haven't dominated like most of is feel we should, but a bottom feeder? Check the conference record since CUSA started if you find it's below .500 then let me know, but I'm 100% you won't find that to be the case. I see your point, but your over exaggeration makes it a tad laugh. Just to be clear you were talking about basketball, so dont try and say you meant football, which is a different story.
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We're certainly a bottom-feeder in football, which is usually considered the most important sport. Hell, these last two seasons, we're not even bottom-feeders; we're what the bottom-feeders feed on.
Yes, but this thread was about Basketball and the NCAA Tournament and NIT, so those are two completely different topics. He was calling Utep a bottom feeder in Basketball. While that's been the case last year and this year that has not been the norm.
On another post, I mentioned how I hope things will start to change with the new regime.
On how long you can suck before the label bottom feeder is appropriate. We'll agree to disagree. I think if you suck now, then it's okay to say the team sucks.
The larger point is, and I hope you agree, our programs problems are not caused by the conference. UTEP is the cause of UTEPs problems, not CUSA.
And we didn't dominate with Barbee, we made 1 NCAA tourney in 4 years. Won 1 regular season championship in 4 years. But those years were definitely better years. And I believe a realistic expectation for our program.
I said when Barbee left we dominated 15-1 in Conference. I agree with everything, except we're not a traditional bottom feeder in Basketball. We are no where we as Miner fans expect us to be, but hope that changes next couple of years!
That’s the main reason why I believe our success will fall short of expectations. We will have good seasons and win lots of games but it will be very difficult to make the NCAAT.
CUSA gets zero respect. There’s a lot of parity in the league. Anyone can and will beat anyone on any night. Three games is the only thing that separates the #2 seed from the #12 seed.
Only two current CUSA coaches have led their team to the NCAA as members of CUSA. It took D’Antoni four years and Jones six.
Predicting who will take the sole bid really is a crapshoot in this conference.
CUSA gets zero respect. There’s a lot of parity in the league. Anyone can and will beat anyone on any night. Three games is the only thing that separates the #2 seed from the #12 seed.
Only two current CUSA coaches have led their team to the NCAA as members of CUSA. It took D’Antoni four years and Jones six.
Predicting who will take the sole bid really is a crapshoot in this conference.
And that's not the point of being in a conference. A conference is to come at a point of strength and CUSA is not there in basketball.
only thing I would say is that it's a two way street. UTEP doesn't do any favors to cusa's image, but being in this conf definitely hurts us as well.
Just look at our former members. They're all doing remarkably better since leaving this conference
I agree except for Tulane and E. Carolina for some reason they can't get things going in the new conference. The American Athletic Conference is consistently getting 4+ bids in NCAA and even getting in the BCS. So they have left us way behind! We need a good 2 or 3 years of winning in both sports before we can talk about moving though.
The greatest concern is lack of urgency on the part of school officials. We've been performing at the lowest levels of Division 1 in football and basketball, not to mention softball, tennis, volleyball soccer, and there doesn't seem to be any urgency in getting things going again. Brand new division 1 programs are performing better than we are almost immediately upon entering D1. Several in our own conference. Its a wonder to me that we still even care.
I always though the MWC and the AAC schools didn't include UTEP in their exodus plans because they looked down their noses at UTEP academically and market size wise. Now that UTEP is Tier 1, our programs are in the dumpster and nothing has changed with out market size...
I would argue that things are being done. The tennis team is under its second season with a new coach. Volleyball got a new coach as did soccer. I think the softball coach will be let go at the end of the year as well. So since Senter came on board he will have replaced or hired a new coach in every sport but rifle, men's and women's golf, men's and women's XC and Track, and of course softball but that will most likely change. That is a sense of urgency if you ask me.
Just hope he demands excellence from his coaches, not like the previous regime.
The AAC is a very good football conference. They will never get "power conference" status but they are by far the best g5 conference.
The AAC will be one of the top 3 hoops conferences. Houston is back to perennial. Penny has Memphis back and they will be a perennial power. Wichita state had a down year but are a perennial top 20 program. Cincinnati is perennial winner. UCONN is a blue blood and will be back shortly. SMU has millions to throw at a coach and world class facilities. The AAC is going to be every bit as good a hoops conference as the ACC.
I didnt even mention UCF or Temple.
With Memphis and UCONN getting back to their standard, they will get six bids to the dance annually. Great hoops conference.
I agree that the AAC has/is positioning themselves to be the best G5 conference by far. Essentially, when compared to other G5 conferences, the AAC is today what CUSA used to be back when CUSA had Louisville, Marquette, TCU, Cincinnati, South Florida, etc.
Disagree, about being as good as ACC, but a top 5 conference possibly, maybe. More likely top 7 consistently.
Most relevant thread I could find to post this. Inevitable changes to the conference coming in the near future.
https://collegefootballtalk.nbcspor...discussed-trading-schools-with-other-leagues/
https://collegefootballtalk.nbcspor...discussed-trading-schools-with-other-leagues/
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I dont know about trades but would like to see promotion and relegation in college sports. We always talk about parody in the NFL, NBA, MLB, etc...... but one place where there is very little is college athletics. It is truly an uneven playing field that is ridiculously slanted.
Yes, and purposely so.
I’d like to see some kind of relegation system implemented as well, however it is my belief the powers that be will never allow for it.
Not sure how accurate the article will prove to be, but there will certainly be changes at the G5 level, without a doubt.
OD who? East Tenne who?
Most El Pasoans likely don't give a rat's patootie about C-USA. There is NO relevant rivalry with ANY school in C-USA. Our historic and cultural rivalries are with the schools in the MWC and others like BYU and Utah.
UTEP might as well be playing in a conference with schools in Nunavut, and Nova Scotia. There's just as much historic and cultural relevance there as there is in C-USA.
Most El Pasoans likely don't give a rat's patootie about C-USA. There is NO relevant rivalry with ANY school in C-USA. Our historic and cultural rivalries are with the schools in the MWC and others like BYU and Utah.
UTEP might as well be playing in a conference with schools in Nunavut, and Nova Scotia. There's just as much historic and cultural relevance there as there is in C-USA.
Maybe I’m reading the article wrong but it seems like major realignment is over. There might be a school or two that gets replaced here and there but for the most part everyone is stuck where they are at.
The Sun Belt is comfortable at 10 as they’re able to maximize their limited revenue among less members.
There’s no incentive for the MW or MAC to go past 12.
No one is voluntarily leaving CUSA.
The AAC isn’t accepting new members at the moment.
Better make the best of what we have and start beating some of those West teams so we can develop new rivals.
The Sun Belt is comfortable at 10 as they’re able to maximize their limited revenue among less members.
There’s no incentive for the MW or MAC to go past 12.
No one is voluntarily leaving CUSA.
The AAC isn’t accepting new members at the moment.
Better make the best of what we have and start beating some of those West teams so we can develop new rivals.
Yeah, the best hope of a major conference expanding was the Big 12, but that went away when the NCAA ruled that they can have a conference championship game with only 10 teams. It used to be 12. (What's the point of having a conference championship with only 10 teams? With 10 teams you can play round robin and determine the champion outright. But I guess when the Longhorns want more money, the NCAA just gives in to their demands.)
I would love to hear something from Senter, Terry and/ or Dimel about their sentiments regarding CUSA and MWC. I actually emailed Senter and asked him to comment, but no response. I'm sure he can't spill any opinions or desires at this point which is understandable. It's so apparent that without exception, the fan base is MWC 100%
I know that the Sun Bowl is run by the city but I wish the city, the university, and all required parties would agree to partner for the greater good. A partnership between the city and the university would be a win-win for everyone. It would help get UTEP into a more sensible conference ::cough cough, MWC:: and enable the Sun Bowl to become relevant again with the right conference partnerships ::cough cough, MWC vs Big-12::.
Meh, off-season pipe dreaming...
