quote="CaseyGarrisonforPrez"] I mean no offence, but I question how you can be a "huge college football fan" and yet not know more about the SBC. The Sun Belt has a primetime game each Tuesday night on the ESPN family of networks in October and November and I rarely miss a game. [/quote]
Crap, I'm drawn in by another Missouri State fan.... Again. And it's Casey... Again.
I know about the Sun Belt. I know it's horrible. Tuesday night football is just that, Tuesday night football. It is the night of the week that even the most die hard football fans take off. It is when you come home from work and spend time with 5 he wife and kids. It's the night that even fantasy football geeks do something different. And it is the night that the irrelevant leagues play a game because there is literally no other sports taking place. So the Sun Belt gets their broadcast. I don't watch, I bet few others do either. Now a little bit about the vaunted Sun Belt.
In football, the Sun Belt is the lowest FBS league with regards to RPI. Year in and year out, as FBS leagues go, the Sun Belt is last. There are years when the MVFC and a few other FCS leagues pass up the Sun Belt. The Sun Belt doesn't buy games from any FBS programs and doesn't buy games from most FCS programs. They are that low. Here are the final 2013 RPI's by league- according to RealTimeRpi.com:
Southeastern
Pacific-12
Big 12
Atlantic Coast
Independents
Big Ten
American Athletic
Mountain West
Conference USA
Mid-American
Sun Belt
fcs
Missouri Valley
Colonial
Big South
Southland
Big Sky
Independents
Ohio Valley
Southern
Patriot League
Northeast
Mid-Eastern Athletic
Southwestern Athletic
Pioneer League
Ivy League
So there you have it, Casey, in 2013, the Big South finished one lousy spot ahead of the MVFC in football. The relevance of that one spot is insignificant. The financial impact on your budget and the risk for that one spot is huge. Gigantic! The financial risk and the very limited upside probably has a lot to do with Missouri State even being in the discussion for a potential spot in the Big South; more stable and successful FCS programs want no part of the Big South. Location plays a part, but there are a bunch of successful FCS programs in and near the Big South's footprint that want nothing to do with it.
So, now that we have established that the Big South is the worst FBS league, let's see how they do in basketball. I will once again use RealtimeRpi.com:
Year. MVC RPI--------SB RPI
2013. 11--------- 19
2012. 9-------- 15
2011. 8-------------- 19
2010. 12------------ 22
2009. 9-------------- 21
2008. 9----------- 25
2007. 8------------ 27
2006. 6------------- 20
2005. 6---------- 19
2004. 8----------- 12
2003. 11--------' 17
There you have it in black and white, Casey, in basketball the Sun Belt sucks. There is nothing in those RPI numbers to even think that there is a hope for an upward trend. I know Missouri State fan's are pining to move up to FBS, heck, even NAIA teams would love to be FBS. The Sun Belt is a horrible, horrible option. It is almost a death sentence. Missouri State fans want this so badly, they are like the 16 year-old kid dead set on buying a car. They can't get the one they really want, so instead of saving up for a decent ride, they buy the piece of crap they can afford today. Unfortunately, the affordable option will kill them in the long run.
I've said enough. You want this so badly, I hope you get it. Honestly. You want it, you might get it and you'll get what you deserve, too.