G3: CONFERENCE USA, SUN BELT AND MAC WILL NEED STRONG VISION AND LEADERSHIP GOING FORWARD

SOUTHERN MISS PLAYERS CELEBRATE AFTER A TOUCHDOWN

B2 VS G3
Marshall fans were understandably upset, when after waiting weeks to see their very good Herd football team finally get ranked by the CFP committee, they found themselves positioned behind a two loss Boise State team. Game over for Marshall.  Game over that is for the coveted Access Bowl slot .(The Access Bowl is awarded to the top G5 school)The CFP committee had sent a not so subtle message to Marshall Athletic Director Mike Hamrick; if you want to play with the big boys, schedule like the big boys. This sounds like reasonable advice, except when you look at Boise State's record and realize that their two losses had come from one P5 school and a good , but not great Air Force team. Something else was going on here. In a sport that has become dominated like no other by pedigree and blood lines, the CFP was essentially telling Marshall, that the league you are in, Conference USA, is not as good as the MWC or for that matter the AAC. The AAC as you recall, had one it's newest members, a one loss( at the time) East Carolina team, also ranked above the undefeated Thundering Herd  in the initial CFP poll. It does not take a  fortunate teller to read the tea leaves on what happened to Marshall this year. The College Football world has quickly and not so quietly divided the the G5 into two distinct categories, the  B2 and the  G3. The MWC and AAC are now the B2(Bridge leagues, bridge to the P5) and the Sun Belt, Conference USA and MAC are G3 (Gang of 3, )

G3
After just one short year in which the G5 and P5 were officially split by both nomenclature and money, there is now a discernible  split between the G5 as well. The AAC and MWC are in their  own B2 division, while the Sun Belt, Conference USA and the MAC are in their own G3 division. Within that G3 division, the ranking goes like this: 1. Conference USA  2. The MAC  3. The Sun Belt
When the CFP ranked both a one loss East Carolina team and a two loss Boise State team in front of an undefeated Marshall team, the split among the G5 was made official. The question for the G3 going forward however, is what now? It is unlikely that we will see a team among the G3 as talented as the Thundering Herd were this year for at least another decade or so. This means that the front runners for the Access Bowl slot in most years will likely come from the AAC or the MWC. This not only means that the G3 are likely to miss out on the Access Bowl money and prestige most years, it also means that the G3 have a full blown existential crisis facing them.

G3 VISION
I will begin this segment  with good news and bad news. First the good news, Conference USA, the Sun Belt and the MAC still have  some very good programs with which to compete. Georgia Southern, NIU, Marshall, La Tech, Ark State, ULL, Ohio, and WKU represent the top of the food chain in these leagues. Schools like MTSU, ODU, App State, Southern Miss, Rice and South Alabama, are teams that have great potential as well. These schools, along with the addition of a few others could form the backbone of a new league capable of making the MWC and the AAC stand up and take notice

The bad news however, is that these 3 conferences also have some of the worst teams in College Football both in terms of on the field play and brand recognition. Both of these facts  spell difficulty for the respect of the 3 leagues and  in the amount of money Tv Networks are willing to pay for their football and basketball product. It is telling for example, that Conference USA's new tv partner this year, The American Sports Network, paid little to no money to broadcast  Conference USA football and basketball this year.

Couple the struggling football product of these 3 conferences with not so good basketball as well as  fading fan attendance and you have some very real structural problems with the business model of the G3 going forward. One has to wonder if the tragic demise of UAB football a few weeks ago, awaits some of the other schools in the G3 as well.

SAVING THE G3
The G3 finds itself in an unenviable  position at the moment. At issue is how to generate more fan support, respect and dollars for the the 3 leagues. Unfortunately the options to  make the G3 more relevant are limited right now. With a clear emphasis in College football now on the P5 and the 4 spot playoff, the G3 are on the verge of becoming irrelevant in College Football.

Perhaps the best and only solution left for the G3 is for the creation of a new best of 3 conference. This conference would take the best schools in the G3 and then hope that this new group  would put pressure on the B2 for both dollars and respect. Any new best of the G3 would need schools like Marshall, La Tech, Ark State ,ULL and NIU to serve as anchors. Add schools like Ga Southern, ODU, Southern Miss, WKU and  Ohio. Add two more schools in addition to these 10 and you have a competitive and compelling new league. A league that would also certainly garner more Network and fan interest than what any of the G3 are doing now on their own.

What has become increasingly clear is that the status quo for the G3 almost certainly equals a slow march towards irrelevancy. Bold thinking and courageous leadership are called for if  the best of the G3 are going to make it in the new world of College Football. Time will tell if these schools understand how much they need each other and how important they are to each others survival. Time will tell also, if anyone will step forward and propose such a league. Stay tuned.