Conference realignment only happens on a grand scale around once or twice a decade, and the latest cycle has proved to be divisive.
Everything began when Oklahoma and Texas decided to leave the Big 12. The Big 12 is one of the Power Five conferences (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, SEC and Pac-12).
Their destination? The SEC, which boasts dominant teams like Alabama and Georgia.
Raided by the SEC, the Big 12 had to respond. They tried to by stealing three teams from the AAC — a group of five conferences that has, in recent years, seen itself as a “Power Six.”
The Big 12 stole UCF, Houston and Cincinnati (Cincinnati is currently ranked No. 2 in all of college football). To keep the number of new teams even, they also added former independent BYU.
I think you can see where this is going. SEC steals from the Big 12, the Big 12 steals from the AAC. So, what do you think the AAC did?
They followed the other conferences and stole from just about everyone. The AAC stole six members from conference USA: Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA.
CUSA is now down to eight members, so how would they respond? Well, they would not really get the chance.
The Sun Belt conference raided them, picking up Old Dominion, Marshall and Southern Mississippi. The Sun Belt has also been rumored to be picking up JMU, who is looking to transition from FCS up to FBS.
So where does Liberty stand in all of this?
Liberty asked to join CUSA and Sun Belt years ago, but the Flames were unsuccessful. Former Big South rival Coastal Carolina was given the nod over the Flames, and they have been a successful Sun Belt addition.
I honestly believe Liberty would have accepted a Sun Belt or AAC invite, but it looks like that is not on the cards at this point with all the other teams being chosen instead of the Flames.
CUSA, who once rejected Liberty, is now reaching out to the Flames. They have five members, and they are attempting to survive by asking several independents to join as well as some FCS teams to come up to compete at the FBS level in the CUSA.
Will Liberty join? Maybe. The Athletic reported that the conference was in negotiations with the Flames, but Marshall was still in the conference at that time. Now down to five teams, CUSA may just be a sinking ship that the Flames will want to avoid.
For other sports, it could help. CUSA is a stronger league than the ASUN in most sports, so the Flames could trade ASUN dominance for harder opposition.
The Big East may be an option as well, though Athletic Director Ian McCaw said that realignment option is not currently a possibility. In basketball, dominant programs like Villanova and UConn have emerged. This would not solve the football issue because Big East is not FBS for football, so the Flames would have to stay independent on that front.
McCaw was a vocal advocate of a more regionalized approach for non-power five conferences, suggesting that it would lead to better revenue streams from local rivalries. For now, it looks like that will not be happening, at least in Liberty’s case.
Ultimately, time will tell what happens for the Flames.
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