Honestly, I’d rather be a smaller conference. Give me a choice and I drop Tulsa in a heartbeat.
I’d be open to discussing Tulane and ECU too but at least there are reasons to keep them. Tulsa brings nothing.
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You are thinking of their First Coach, Bower I believe his name was. Larry Fedora was the Coach that left after they beat us Sumlin last game.
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Yes Southern Miss was our Rival at the start of CUSA and I would love for them to be in AAC. Tulsa should have stayed back. East Carolina used to be great at the beginning of CUSA as well. Marshall should have been in Tulsa place. Rice can stay where they are.
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East Carolina can in fact be good again. I believe they will begin to make some strides this season. Replace Tulsa with Marshall, makes it a little travel savings for ECU and Marshall.
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For reference, Jeff Bower went 119-83-1 and had a 63-24 record at Southern Miss. He won four conference titles and went 6-4 in bowl games. He never had a losing season while in CUSA. He also never had a double-digit win season, but that was primarily due to playing ranked BCS schools on the road three times a year.
Dude was a beast. What the hell was Southern Miss thinking?!?
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Crazy under him I remember them beating Nebraska and Alabama!
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Very solid coach but he also won 7 games 3 of his last 4 years there and 7 or less 5 of his last 7. That said, the 2 other years resulted in a conference championship and a runner up the other year.
I wouldn’t have expected him to do better than Fedora. Of course, it got ugly after that.
I understand USM’s decision. Not sure I would have fired him but I get it. USM’s expectations were just a little too big. Over the long haul, they’re better off keeping him, for sure.
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I went to Hattiesburg once, for a baseball game. NOOOOOOO…
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no to smiss bc they ruined our bcs and title shot when sumlim bailed as we were playing
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Greenville NC is in the middle of nowhere and ECU to me is weaker since going to the AAC cause they are trying to be something they aren’t.
What a throwback. Totally forgot about southern miss.
They have a good but old tradition. Hang their hat a lot on Brett Favre. Everyone I’ve ever met that went to school there is an LSU fan first and foremost.
When we were in their conference, a bunch of us used to stay in New Orleans and make the 100 mile drive out for the game and back.
I remember being impressed by their band.
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ECU relatively recently was beating NCState and other P5 schools. They can do it again. I think they have had NO stability in their coaching ranks.
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T-Bones is a very cool college town eatery.
They seem to have the town of Hattiesburg’s attention. Only 14K students! Jimmy Buffet attended USM.
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More than SMU
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Yeah, Bower had a few mediocre – not losing, just mediocre – seasons so they fired the best coach they ever had for a guy that would be gone at the first opportunity. Very shortsighted. I hope they think their temporary flash with Fedora was worth it.
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Sorry…I got it backwards…it is after all, Mississippi…
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Lol, that’s funny.
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More simple humor needed just about everywhere we look Randy…if I can make just one person crack a smile, it has been a successful day😃
And brother I cannot wait til our first game…
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Really shocked Bower never coached again, he was a really solid coach that turned down offers from the SEC and ACC to stay at his Alma Mater you haven’t seen that type of loyalty in a long time and probably never will again at that level.
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Never fear competition. If you do, you suck. I wish they were in the AAC. I’d take them OVER Tulane and Tulsa any day.