Tommy Hicks from AL.com: Mid-majors should not wait for chips to fall

With conference re-alignment on the horizon he has an interesting take on what conferences like Conference USA should do:

Here’s one idea: Take the East Division of C-USA — East Carolina, Southern Miss, Memphis, UAB, Marshall and Central Florida — and combine it with Sun Belt members South Alabama, Troy, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Florida International and Florida Atlantic.


It’s simple, allows for in-state rivalries and helps teams reach into key recruiting states such as Florida and Alabama. It is also more advantageous for team and fan travel.

There are other possibilities. Maybe drop Marshall in favor of Georgia State and the Atlanta recruiting area and a more regionally acceptable matchup. Or bump up the membership to 14 or even 16 teams and grab some other attractive programs.

Link: http://blog.al.com/tommy-hicks/2010/05/sports_columnist_tommy_hicks_mid-majors_should_not_wait_for_chips_to_fall.html

My take: If Conference USA came calling, we'd be accept there in a heartbeat. No brainer.