Author Topic: 2012-2020: Future of SBU Football - Conference Affiliation, FBS Football, etc  (Read 25772 times)

ry1nik

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A whole lot of small minded thinking in this thread. Fortunately Heilbron and Stanley along with their predecessors disagree with you, otherwise we'd probably still be in D3.

Being in a power conference, or even an FBS conference may seem like a pipe dream, but as an FCS school, we fit the profile of a power conference school to the T. We're the public flagship institution for the state of New York and unlike the other three campuses, we're actually near the economic and population engine of the state. We're not some directional backup to the backup school that many of the other FCS programs are. I'm from VA and JMU is a fantastic school. I even considered going there, but at the end of the day, it's the kind of place you choose to go when you don't get into UVA or Tech. SBU doesn't have that issue. NY state students WANT to come here. We're the best public option in the state for NYC and Long Island residents. That's 12 million people within an hour of the campus. You can't ignore that.

Academically, I'm not sure you guys realize this, but we're in the AAU:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_American_Universities#Membership

Only the best research schools are in the AAU and you have to be invited in by existing members. Look at those schools gentlemen, you can't keep any better company than that. I'm not going to say we're peers to Berkely, the Ivies, Stanford, Rice, etc. I won't go that far, but when those schools invite you into their club? That means something. Iowa St.? Rutgers? Pittsburgh? Oregon? Maryland? Those are our academic peers and they're damn good schools. Those schools also want to play us in sports which is part of why we're able to get OOC games against schools like Michigan St., Washington, etc.

Of all the public schools in the AAU with football, only two have the sport in the FCS. UC Davis, and us. Buffalo is the only FBS public school in the club that's in a G5 conference. Every single other school;  literally every single one is in a power conference. The only thing stopping us is that unlike the power conference schools that have been around for over 150 years, we've only been around 60, so we're the new kids on the block. We're ascending at an astonishing rate given how young we are as a school. Don't let the current attendance and fan apathy fool you. Institutionally, we're a power school in every way. Enrollment, research, you name it. The athletics just need to catch up which they are. I'd drop the small minded thinking guys. We're not a Boise State who can tear it up on the field for decades but still never sniff a power conference because of their junior college level academics. We're better than that.

Our academics and location are why I think come the next round of realignment in 7-8 years we could get called up to a better conference. University presidents make realignment decisions on who they want to align themselves with, and the upside of an AAU flagship school within an hour of 12 million people makes SBU a risk worth taking. Our floor is higher than Buffalo, because unlike Buffalo, we're not hours away from most of the state in the frigid cold with nothing to do. They're going to be the ones not wanting us to move up. On the recruiting trail for football, the only thing they have over us is they're FBS and we're FCS. We win in pretty much every other category.

In the meantime, keep fielding competitive FCS teams, and really put out a good basketball product. Nothing can put your school on the map faster than good basketball. People still remember those GMU and VCU final four runs and Gonzaga went from a nobody to a well known school thanks to their basketball.

"Nothing can put your school on the map faster than good basketball. People still remember those GMU and VCU final four runs and Gonzaga went from a nobody to a well known school thanks to their basketball. " This statement weakens the case for big-time football and its link to putting a school on the map. GMU, VCU, and Gonzaga do not have football...let alone FBS football.

Athletics exist ultimately to support the academic mission and student experience. Most people would rather have a degree from MIT or Harvard (small athletic profile) than U. of Georgia or Alabama (large profile). Since SBU is already in the AAU, no need to connect AAU membership with the athletic profile of other AAU schools to try and make a case for FBS football. SBU is already in the AAU group.