Is WKU to CUSA a Mistake?

Last night, the Arkansas State Red Wolves won the GoDaddy.com Bowl (a game that most would admit WKU belonged in) by 3 points. By blocking a field goal attempt from Ball State in the waning moments. Pretty exciting stuff.

Earlier this bowl season, Louisiana Lafayette won a 3 point game themselves, by posting 21 in the opening half, and having to fight off a fierce comeback from Tulane in both school’s home state.

The Sun Belt will escape this bowl season – the final one in which WKU is a member of the conference – with a perfect 2-0 record. On the other hand, CUSA, who sent 6 teams to the post season, split all their  contests, with wins coming from Eastern Carolina (who wont be in CUSA when WKU joins), North Texas and Marshall, while the losses belong to that Tulane squad who ULL beat, Rice (who, in fairness, played Mississippi State) and those Blue Raiders, who got annihilated by Navy (who, if you recall, the Tops beat).

Last year, when WKU dropped the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl to Central Michigan, the Sun Belt split their four games, with ULM also dropping their bowl game to Ohio, and ULL and Arkansas State won the same games as this year. CUSA sent all 5 bowl eligible teams, and went 4-1, with the only loss coming TO the Sun Belt (ULL beat Eastern Carolina in New Orleans).

Okay, so it’s a small sample size, and to be fair, yes the bowl opportunities are plenty for teams in CUSA. But, the Sun Belt, in this writer’s opinion, is a better football league (at the very least). In 2013, the SBC won 4 of the 5 regular season football contests against CUSA. And, isn’t all of this conference expansion all football based, anyway?

While everyone, myself included, was excited when it was finally announced that the Tops would be joining MTSU, FAU, FIU and North Texas in July, I had apprehensions about the move. Notably, the competition on the gridiron. While CUSA does have more bowl tie-ins, which will almost ensure WKU doesn’t ever get snubbed again, is it worth trading the exposure for the competition?

I’m a sentimental fellow. I’m excited for the new rivalries CUSA will create, and the renewal of the 4 who left last year, especially MTSU, but honestly, I’m going to miss playing ULL. And ULM. And Arkansas State. Heck, I’ll even miss playing South Alabama, although there was only one football game between the two schools, it was a dandy, and who knows what games year after year could have produced?

Next year, Georgia Southern and Appalachian State (along with…Idaho?) will be joining the Sun Belt, and while the former 2 schools will have some work to do, they’ll make an immediate impact in the conference, and I have no doubt that they’ll be at the top of the SBC sooner rather than later. And it’s such a shame that the Tops wont be able to take on that challenge.

The exposure WKU will get from joining CUSA is far and away better than they have now in the Sun Belt (especially with the conference having an FS1 mid-week deal). Old and new rivalries will be fun. But I will miss the Sun Belt. Especially in the fall. And when the Tops get blown out in bowl games in the future due to weak CUSA schedules, don’t come crying to me. I tried to warn you.