Sunbelt 2023 or 2022 expansion reverberates

 Ark-Little Rock, a non-football member of the Sun Belt since 1991, is going to the Ohio Valley Conference on July 1st, 2022.

 UT Arlington, another non-football member is is a candidate to join the Missouri Valley Conference.

James Madison HC Curt Cignetti announced the hire of Matt Transue as the new Senior Director of Football Operations.

 Transue joins the Dukes with five-plus years of experience at the FBS level as it relates to the day-to-day operations of a football program. He spent five years in various positions at Va Tech from 2017-21 then was the DFO at Ga Southern last season. I'm sure Helton, the HC at Georgia Southern, ain't digging losing him to a future SBC opponent.

Division travel shouldn't be bad in the Sunbelt East: Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, Marshall, Old Dominion and James Madison.

Jan 15, 2022

Sunbelt will let #herd, USM, and ODU, know on Jan 26 if they can join for 2022 instead of 2023.

Jan 22, 2022

UTA is set to join the WAC, not the MVC, on July 1, in time for the 2022-23 athletic season. The WAC is getting Texas-heavy. 

Feb 2, 2022

Various news outlets reports that JMU will be joining the Sunbelt in all sports starting in the fall of 2022, and the Dukes are slated to open their football season against MTSU on September 3.

Feb 5, 2022

America East bans Stony Brook Seawolves from conference tournaments because it's moving to the CAA, who did the same thing to James Madison for their move to the Sunbelt. Both schools will need to get at large bids to NCAA tournaments.

Feb 23, 2022

Marshall is suing C-USA in Cabell County, WV in a bid to exit early for Sun Belt and are claiming that the current bylaws on arbitration were not in effect when they joined the conference in 2003.

CUSA may want to move Liberty(Independent in football) in earlier than the planned 2023 date.

March 30, 2022

#herd, USM, and ODU got their wish and will join the SunBelt for 2022 football season. Conference USA will play with 11 members next season and has petitioned the NCAA for health and safety reasons, a lack of bye weeks, to play two football games in Week 0 in 2022.

April 23, 2022

Well, if the Sunbelt schedules more games against division opponents than travel should be reduced.

May 4, 2022

Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF are negotiating a settlement with the AAC to leave the league early and make their Big 12 membership official on July 1, 2023 . And watch the AAC try to speed up bringing in these CUSA teams: Florida Atlantic, Charlotte, North Texas, UTSA, Rice and UAB.

May 21, 2022

Sad news for Jax St , who's transitioning to 1A while it on its way to the CUSA in 2023. Assistant head football coach Calvin Magee(59) died after suffering a heart attack. He was an assistant to HC Rich Rod at several schools over the years and played four seasons at TE for TBay Buccaneers.

May 31, 2022

Georgia Southern (40-18) of the Sun Belt Conference will host a Baseball regional for the first time. East Carolina(AAC) and S.Miss (CUSA) are also hosting. BTW, ECU opens against Coppin St (MEAC), a small inner-city schooi in Baltimore, my home town.

June 10, 2022

It's official on July 1, 2023 :Cincinnati, Houston, UCF will join the Big 12 The Big 12 will field 14 teams in 2023 . The three schools will each pay the AAC $18 million over a 14-year period to leave the conference early. As an FBS independent, BYU will only have to pay $500,000 to leave the WCC for other sports, Six CUSA schools six schools will now officially join the AAC :Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB. and UTSA CUSA will also add four schools: Jacksonville State, Liberty, New Mexico State. and Sam Houston State.

July 21, 2022

I took a nap on the Sunbelt. JMU's Homecoming Weekend October 22: The Dukes will face Marshall, a team they’ve only played to twice in the 1990s. Marshall won both matchups.

July 29, 2022

Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall signed an NIL deal with Darlington Raceway( “Too Tough To Tame”). I can see this one working out well.

When I went to a few Nascar races at Dover around from 1998-2000, a lot of the long- time fans told me that Darlington was a track I should visit.

 

Coaching hoop moves or not, post Madness

Is it  the $$$ tempting  #chrismack to consider  leaving a solid hoops program at Xavier (BIg East) for the Louisville swamp?
#TubbySmith had Memphis close to a Dance ticket and he's gone as theyre chasing Penny Hardaway to take over.
#umbc doesn't have a lot of money but I suspect Odom stays.
#hurley sounds like he'll stay at URI.  A10 is a solid hoops conference Why would he take the #Pitt job?
Can #nevada keep the #Mussbus in it's garage?
Pitino Jr Gophers were bad. Is he out?
Pearl is in deep  crap again? Is he out at Auburn
Crean took the #georgia job? Not sure if that's a great fit.
Is Depaul thinking Moser, the Loyola Chicago HC should come on over?

March 22,2018

#padgett out! I thought he did a decent job. Is #utahst  his next stop? Pitt doesn't have enough issues. and now the #seanmiller rumors

March 23, 2018

#coloradost  raids the MVC and hires #Medved, who spent six seasons as an Asst at CSU and was 17-17 at #Drake last season.
Moser's stock rises

march 24 update.

 #markgottfried has had high & lows at Bama and NC St and has landed at Cal  St Northridge(Big West). Lorenzo Romar from St Louis to Washington with a one year pit stop as an assistant at  Zona is back at Pepperdine(WCC).   CUSA news: Dusty May  from Florida assistant to FAU.  Ron Sanchez from UVA assistant to Charlotte.   South Alabama  hired Nicholls State (2018 Southland co-champs) head coach Richie Riley.

march 25: 

#loyolachicago is in the F4. I bet Chicago sportswriters are typing : Wake up DePaul U.
#mtsu hires #McDevitt  who has won at least 20 games in three consecutive seasons at UNC Asheville  which includes trips to the NCAA tournament in 2016, the CIT in 2017 and the NIT this  season.

March 27

#uta (Sunbelt) needs a reality check after firing #scottcross who won 72 games over the past three seasons, including a Sun Belt regular-season title in 2016-17. #UMBC (America East) keeps Odom

March 28

Besides 4M a season for 7 years, Mack must've received assurances that #Louisville isn't facingmore penalties. Pitt hires #Jeffcapel, whose last HC stint at Oklahoma didn't go well.  Tubby Smith takes over at his alma mater High Point  of the Big South.
March 29 : Is Xavier looking at #Moser of Loyola Chicago. How about #UIC, another Chicago team in the #CIT final
April 5: #ECU  hired #JoeDooley of Florida Gulf Coast as its hoops head coach. It's Dooley's second stint at ECU and he faces a tough gig with a team that finished next to last in AAC.
April 9 : Not a big surprise- #lasalle (A10) is expected hire #AshleyHoward , a Villanova Asst, as Head Coach
april 13: #rodneyterry left fresno st for the #utep job. Hutson left the san diego st to take over at Fresno

April 16, 2018

#Patsos resigned from #sienna (MAAC) on April 13 after reports of allegations that he verbally abused a team manager. He left Loyola of Baltimore five years ago because they moved from the #MAAC  to the Patriot League, which was stronger in lacrosse and weaker in hoops. He has been a fiery coach with mixed results on the courts.  Apparently ,Belein's son   has a good chance at the job.

april 20, 2018

#fiu hasn't hired a hoops coach.Is this the curse of #isiahthomas

april 22, 2018

UNC Asheville hired #MikeMorrell , an assistant on Shaka Smart's staffs with Texas (2015-18) and Virginia Commonwealth (2011-15). Morrell knows the area from his VCU. I look forward to the High Point game when he faces Tubby in the Big South regular season.
Shaheen Holloway, a #setonhall, asst, has been named St Peters men's basketball coach.

april 26, 2018

Loyola-Chicago reached a new contract agreement with #Moser that will extend his deal through 2026 with what the Chicago Tribune called a big raise” on his $420,000 per year salary, 
Here's why from Moser : "I am a Catholic kid from Chicago who played in the Missouri Valley Conference,” . He played at Creighton when it was in the MVC.

May 3, 2018

#siena (MAAC)  keeps raiding MD schools for head coaches. They hired #JamionChristian of Mt St Mary's (MD) to replace Patsos, who was hired away from Loyola U in Baltimore MD a few years ago.

may 6, 2018

Cool scheduling : Rematch of the Sweet 16 thriller , Nevade/Loyola-Chicago, headlines the 2018 edition of the annual #mwc #mvc  Challenge. Medved, the new Colorado State coach,  will host #SIU. .

may 15, 2018

Donations up 660% for Loyola -Chicago. The school hasn't tallied the increase in licensing revenue.

may 19, 2018

#CUSA : #FIU hired  #jeremyballard, a long time assistant at  several schools Colgate, as well as Tulsa, Virginia Commonwealth, Illinois State, Pitt and VCU  to his first head coach gig. On a side note to the NCAA , please don't expand March Madness to 72 teams.

may 21, 2018

And now the Houston Cougars (AAC) may need a head coach. Orlando Magic are reportedly targeting Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson  who has had assistant jobs with the Bucks and Rockets

june 3, 2018

Detroit, Delaware State and Chicago State have been without a permanent person in charge of their basketall programs since mid-March 2018. On a side note, we used to pay to park on someones grass near #delawarest  and walk a mile to to Dover Downs Nascar race. 

June 6

#mikedavis is the new HC at Detroit-Mercy.  He's been around: Indiana, UAB , Texas Southern. He took Texas Southern  to four NCAA tournament appearances in six seasons

june 12

It took awhile for the local Baltimore papers to get the news via public records that #UMBC coach #RyanOdom will make $425,000 per season through 2023 -a 200K boost  as part of his new contract agreed to in March, which also  includes $75,000 for appearances and a number of incentives for postseason appearances.

June 14

Will a lot of NBA flavor work at #memphisU ? Hardaway adds #sammitchell , a former NBA Head coach and assistant  to his staff where he joins former NBA player Mike Miller.

June 17

#mtsu new HC  #McDevitt  had a brutal week David Simmons  (17.9 PPG)  and Tyrik Dixon intend to transfer while Antwain Johnson and  Davion Thomas were dismissed. from the team

june 26, 2018

#JohnnyJones who  went 90-72 in five seasons at #LSU, is taking over at #TexasSouthern. You may recall that he was the HC who didn't qualify for the NCAA tournament with a team that featured Ben Simmons.