Questions for the 2022-23 Football Season

[Austintacious]

Here are 6 questions for the 2022-23 football season and the C-USA membership fight explained

https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/sports/2022/03/17/analysis-conference-usa-membership-fight-explained/7060921001/

[SisyphusMiner]

I'm not going to pay for access.  If anyone is willing to provide a brief summary I would much appreciate it.

[Austintacious]

1.  Old Dum, Dum, So. Miss and Marshall heading for the Sun Belt immediately is leading to lawsuits because they are still listed on UTEP's and others football schedules while showing Sun Belt opponents on their schedules for those same dates.  LAWSUIT

2.  Seems the Sun Belt encouraged this early exit.  The teams going to the AAC are still keeping their schedules next year. 

3.  UTEP's geographical footprint didn't fit the Sun Belt and former Sun Belt members who left for C-USA were not invited back. 

4.  No conference championship game with only 11 teams next year. 

5.  Basketball looks good.

6.  Others waiting to be picked up by C-USA. 

Probably not a concise summary but enough. 

[kyyote]

Just my opinion, but the lawsuits will be settled.  A little money.  You can't make a team play another.  The three teams can simply tell their Cusa opponents to mark it down as a win, a forfeit, who cares.  Those teams will be in other places playing games.

Sooo, that means that our schedules are nonsense.  And if they are, what will C-USA do to make up for the lost games.  And they better do something about it before real schedules are finalized.  NMSU would love to get out of their independent scheduled slaughters for a cusa schedule.  This gets into possible lawsuits with scheduled big names, but the same rule of you can't force players to suit up and play a game they don't want to play.  What are they going to do when the aggies refuse to tackle?  Run up the score when its meaningless?  You win OU  150-0.  Now pay up. Could Sam jump up this year?  All of this shit is going to have to be sorted out pretty soon. I believe it is very possible that C-USA could end up being stronger when it is done.  Remember that the biggest deadwood in the conference for football for years was UTEP.  If UTEP could continue to be a normal team, and sometimes a good team, it would help the conference quite a bit. 
One more thing.  There is no reason that CUSA couldn't still have a championship game.  The big 12 manages it.  Besides, all of this shit is up in the air as long as nobody has agreed on anything.  Also, all of this is somewhat connected to the OU UT move to the SEC.  They will probably pay off the Big 12 and get into the SEC early.  That will move the Big12 and AAC to fill spots.

I don't know how this will all turn out, especially the legal parts, but I do know that you cannot force a player to tackle.  You may legally be able to make a guy wear a football uniform and stand on a field, but what will the refs do when every play is a penalty for offsides as guys wander around.  The courts can tell the teams they can't play.  Maybe.  But they can't make those teams play teams they don't want to play.   

[SisyphusMiner]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the summary and insights.

Kyy, I realize you're exaggerating, but given that OU and their compadres run the NCAA I'm sure the consequences to refusing to play or deliberately throwing the game would be severe.  Of course, you could (cough cough) have a covid outbreak.

If you have to, you make the bottom feeders in your conference play any nearly bowl-eligible team even if it's for the second time to ensure that you get enough games and maximize the number of bowl teams you get.

[kyyote]

Yes,I exaggerate, but the underlying principle is true.  How much half-hearted play is throwing a game, and how much is just I didn't want to be here.  Nobody wants to be on either side of that and there have to be better ways to solve it than forced play.  Rescheduling would seem to be the best fix.

But, you did bring up a very important point.  C=USA had a whole bunch of bowl tie-ins.  Eight, at one time I think.  My question is how many will the new C-USA still have.

"College Football Bowl Tie-Ins, Affiliations 2023-2023
? The College Football Playoff hasn?t expanded yet, so just as before, the top four teams according to the final College Football Playoff rankings will make the mini-tournament. This year, the two CFP semifinal bowls are the Fiesta and Peach on Saturday, December 31st.

? The two CFP semifinal winners will play in the College Football Playoff National Championship in Los Angeles on Monday, January 9th, 2023.

? The highest-ranked conference champion from the American Athletic, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, and Sun Belt will automatically get one spot in Cotton Bowl if it?s not in the College Football Playoff.
...The Conference USA bowl tie-ins and affiliations will mostly be based on geographic location while avoiding repeat appearances. There?s a slot in the Hawaii Bowl this season ? along with 2024 ? but the spot in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl is off until 2025.

Conference USA doesn?t have a true pecking order. The bowls matchups are based on best possible matchups.

? Bahamas Bowl vs MAC
? EasyPost Hawaii Bowl vs American Athletic Conference or Mountain West
? Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl vs American Athletic Conference
? New Mexico Bowl vs Mountain West
? R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl vs Sun Belt

To be determined among the Group of Five conferences ?

? Cure Bowl vs Group of Five or Army
? RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl vs Group of Five
? SERVPRO First Responder Bowl vs Group of Five
? Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl vs Group of Five

Conference USA has an affiliation to fill-in if needed ?

? Camellia Bowl vs MAC or Sun Belt
? Fenway Bowl vs ACC or American
? LendingTree Bowl vs MAC or Sun Belt
? TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl vs American or SEC
? Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl vs ACC, American, SEC
? Myrtle Beach Bowl vs American, MAC or Sun Belt