Nuts & Bolts re: Sunbelt
-> People in the Sun Belt were largely surprised by the AAC’s decision to go big and feel it’s a sign of desperation. The Mountain West stayed pat and the Sun Belt could too if it doesn’t see enough value in the other options. So what are those options?
Southern Miss and Marshall are largely viewed by people in the Sun Belt as the strongest choices. Both have football history, long runs of success and, most importantly, engaged fans who travel, especially when they’re successful. Much like the Sun Belt benefited from adding App State and Georgia Southern from the FCS because they had solid fan bases (as opposed to “TV markets”), Southern Miss in particular is smack dab in the middle of the Sun Belt’s footprint.
Old Dominion and James Madison are in Virginia and a bit outside the footprint, but they could work as travel partners. They have large athletic budgets, in the $50 million range, though those budgets are heavily subsidized by student fees. ODU is a young program but recently rebuilt its football stadium, while JMU has good facilities. JMU is one of the top FCS programs, and the Sun Belt has found a lot of success adding from the top of the FCS with App State, Georgia Southern and Coastal Carolina.
Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee could be options to return to the Sun Belt, but there remain hard feelings over how they left for C-USA in the early 2010s. They also may not provide enough clear value from a competitive or television money standpoint.
Liberty is in a unique position and has been for some time. Its outspoken political affiliations have turned off many conference presidents in the past. Former president Jerry Falwell Jr. is no longer at the school, but past controversy still hangs over everything. The other factor is money. Liberty reportedly offered tens of millions to join an FBS conference when it moved up from the FCS, but throwing that kind of money around also scared schools that can’t financially compete with them. From a success standpoint in football, Liberty brings a lot, and the Flames are interested in joining the right conference. Whether or not a conference wants them remains to be seen.
Whatever the Sun Belt does, travel will be a factor. Much of the conference can travel by bus to competitions, which saves a lot of money. The league also wants to make sure the East/West split stays even. <-
(… and keep the Liberty commentary on topic)