Huge day for CUSA!

[VIKING '87]

But …. Isn’t this a “meaningless bowl game”? /s/

The benefits of the new neighborhood are already self evident. Of course, some will miss it anyway.

EVERY bowl game is somewhat irrelevant since they don't allow you to win a NC. Isn't playing for a championship the ultimate goal for any competitor? Or are players happy just being the "tallest midget" playing for a conference title? Bowls are simply for fun and program revenue, in my view. Hope to see an eventual 16 team playoff with all 10 conference winners and and 6 at large teams. Teams like FSU and even Liberty deserve a chance to play for something meaningful like a NC.

That won’t happen. The best the non-power school conferences can hope for is 1 or maybe 2 spots. The rest of the playoff field will be reserved for the big boy conferences. But at least even UD will have a shot at a playoff spot, just like Liberty.

One can hope that over time something changes!!

[Bluewyn Gold]

There may be some news about UMass & CUSA forthcoming.

[jd of de]

There may be some news about UMass & CUSA forthcoming.

I’m hoping your intel is correct. A positive move for us, them and CUSA IMO.

I was looking through FBS Schedules, future schedules, and the number of OOC slots UMASS and UCONN take up with teams we’d probably would like to schedule (Temple, etc.) is amazing.

[Jaxhen1]

Seems like it would make sense for CUSA to split into two divisions, an Eastern and Western or Southern Division, which would take advantage of geographic proximity to reduce travel costs and more traditional rivalries. The Eastern Division could include Delaware, Liberty, and possibly newcomers like UMASS, UCONN, and others.

[Henny]

Sounds like UMass might not hear anything this month. They are posting on this topic in the CUSA Realignment board on CSN.

[Bluewyn Gold]

I’m hoping your intel is correct. A positive move for us, them and CUSA IMO.

I was looking through FBS Schedules, future schedules, and the number of OOC slots UMASS and UCONN take up with teams we’d probably would like to schedule (Temple, etc.) is amazing.

Sorry. To clarify, this is my opinion, a hunch, not based on any particular intel, if you know what I mean. It seems logical a UMass-CUSA pairing will happen, given UMass' needs and lack of FBS conference options, along with CUSA's apparent desire for a 12th team. The MAC doesn't appear to be expanding, so UMass has no other options.

Hard to believe that the A-10 doesn't have a post-season penalty similar to the CAA for departing schools, so UMass could announce a move for 2024-25 now without those type of repercussions. The A-10 does have a $4M buyout though, which is still less in total than what UD will pay to enter the FBS and depart the CAA. According to Matt Brown, the amount will jump to $5M if UMass waits until after July to make a decision. Seems like UMass & CUSA might be making a call before summer, maybe long before summer. It's possible UMass could be in CUSA a season before UD is scheduled to enter, but probably not likely given the calendar.

Interesting comment you made about future schedules. Thanks for that info.

[topstraight]

Hoping the UD President and AD are "working on" the UMASS leaders to encourage them to join CUSA.

Industry sources have said the MAC is NOT expanding for the foreseeable future.

WKU vs ODU in our bowl game in Charlotte.

Only Sixteen teams have gone to a bowl EVERY year for the last five seasons.

ONLY Four of those from the Group of Five:

CUSA>>> WKU, Liberty

SBC>>>>>Marshall, Louisiana

[Steve1981]

There may be some news about UMass & CUSA forthcoming.

Probably months away but, now believe it will happen for 2025-26. Particularly after watching the video and hearing words "if it means the department, we'll have to evaluate and we are an outlier in the A10 with hockey and FBS football".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP4BZZCUISM