C-USA Has a Problem

[swilsonsp4]

C-USA just published their 2022 football schedule. The problem is that three schools that announced previously that they will leave for the SBC (Marshall, ODU & So Miss), just announced that they’re jumping this year. The conference schedule includes these schools.

This must be resolved quickly, but the C-USA may not have any leverage. The conference is domiciled in TX, but they may not have the ability to sue there. But trying to sue state entities in state courts is unlikely to prevail. Not helping them is that there is no penalty, beyond a very low exit fee, if the schools bolt early.

Per si.com, adding to the absurdity, one of the three schools called one of the remaining schools to try to schedule a non-conference game this season.

[Lobot]

I saw some of this yesterday. The schools involved are saying thsat CUSA is refusing to negotiate with them on an exit, therefore they're out, now. This will end up in court for sure but the skinny is the schools are out of here and CUSA is going to get left holding the bag. That bag will be empty for the time being. CUSA should cease to exist based on how it's handling all this. It's a bit like they didn't see any of this coming and panicked. Bad management up top.

[longtimefan]

It’s a shame what happened to C-USA. It wasn’t a bad league when we were there, especially in basketball.

[bearcatbret]

""Per si.com, adding to the absurdity, one of the three schools called one of the remaining schools to try to schedule a non-conference game this season."" That is funny if not really sad. However, all schools involved are going to have scheduling shortages.

As for C-USA when it was created, I was glad that UC football was no longer independent. We would have never been able to sustain that path. However, I would have rather had the Metro in basketball and the football schools coming together (FSU, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Loserville, UC..........). That was a heck of a basketball conference.

[Lobot]

Boom 💥 goes the lawyers.

https://www.espn.com/college-sports/...rture-sun-belt

[GoBearcats31]

Thamel:

Sources: The three Conference USA schools departing to the Sun Belt – Marshall, ODU and Southern Miss – have finalized a separation agreement from Conference USA. The terms of the separation have been agreed upon but are not expected to be made public.

[Geaux Juan]

Thamel:

Sources: The three Conference USA schools departing to the Sun Belt – Marshall, ODU and Southern Miss – have finalized a separation agreement from Conference USA. The terms of the separation have been agreed upon but are not expected to be made public.

Which means those three schools are now being allowed to leave CUSA at the end of the 2022 school year and begin play in the Sun Belt conference next year. CUSA wanted arbitration to address them leaving early, but has relented. I wonder what changed? Facing the eventual, or some money changing hands? No details were provided on $.

[Lobot]

Which means those three schools are now being allowed to leave CUSA at the end of the 2022 school year and begin play in the Sun Belt conference next year. CUSA wanted arbitration to address them leaving early, but has relented. I wonder what changed? Facing the eventual, or some money changing hands? No details were provided on $.

There was some money changing hands there but I never saw anyone post specifics.

[swilsonsp4]

Which means those three schools are now being allowed to leave CUSA at the end of the 2022 school year and begin play in the Sun Belt conference next year. CUSA wanted arbitration to address them leaving early, but has relented. I wonder what changed? Facing the eventual, or some money changing hands? No details were provided on $.

The three departing schools had C-USA over a barrel. The conference, which already had published the 2022 schedule that included these three, were up against the clock. They need to publish a revised schedule early enough to set in motion ticket operations. The loss of the scheduled conference matchups involving these three means that the remaining schools have gaps that need to be made up, either by increasing the number of intra-conference games or having the remaining schools scout out replacement OOC opponents.

[Lobot]

Per Pete Thamel, CUSA is set to add Kennesaw State to the conference. KSU would move up to FBS.

[bearcatbret]

^^ I really do feel sad for them.