In case you haven't been paying attention, there seems to be a growing restlessness among the coaches at the DI level.  The domination of the Big 6, along with the lack of movement among their head coaches (blame the firing logic and high standards of hiring) have caused many to grow a bit bored with those teams.  Inspired by the great success of Conference USA in Rupp, there's been somewhat of a revolution at the top level of HD.  Very good coaches are leaving top tier DI jobs for the lower DI conferences.  The aforementioned CUSA in Rupp, the Summit and MVC of Allen, the WCC of Iba, and now some talk of a similar revolution in Smith.  

Will this work?  Can the Summit take over as the top conference in the Midwest?  Can the WCC wrestle top recruits away from the Pac 10?  It may be too early to tell.  Certainly the CUSA Rupp has had great success landing many top recruits and winning national championships.  What is clear is that no one coach can go it alone.  It's practically impossible to take a mid major and build it into a national powerhouse without a strong conference to support it.  This is something that has to be done as a group.  10-12 coaches who are willing to pick up a d- team and build the conference as a whole. 

It looks as if WIS is in no big hurry to make changes to HD.  Hiring/firing doesn't seem to be changing any time soon.  Baseline prestige may be here to stay.  If we want to make the DI game more challenging and fun, then we have to take it upon ourselves.  I would urge many of you DI and DII coaches out there to consider taking part in this.  Personally, I've enjoyed the move from my cushy Big 12 team to the WCC.  The strategy has been more intriguing and the banter in the CC has been more lively.  Hopefully, this will become the trend for DI.

I don't disagree with most of what you say, at least in principle. Don't make the mistake of thinking any group of 12 human coaches can get together and make a mid-major into a powerhouse though. That CUSA group has a metric ****-ton of some of the top coaches in the game...and even then its a rough go. Baseline is always there waiting to drag your sorry *** back into the depths with just 1 or 2 down years, and its not there to support the rebuilding years and mitigate the drop-off that can happen with the lower tier schools. 

I do applaud any effort to gather a bunch of humans into a mid conference though, if for no other reason than all of you working together should be more fun and rewarding (even if you never reach CUSA Rupp levels) than beating against the gilded gates on your own...

PS: I think girt hand-picked the initial core group of coaches for CUSA. Not sure what he used for criteria, but he might respond to sitemail looking for some advice. GL, this is a noble venture (in a Don Quixote kind of way maybe...)

Thanks dac, and I agree to some extent.  I think it takes coaches who are committed.  A group of casual coaches who are gonna get frustrated after a season or two will make no difference. 

Sure, the CUSA was a handpicked group with a ton of talent, but I think its the commitment to the idea that made them successful.  

commitment is a key component, to be sure. Try to find some folks who like the whole writing up team forecasts and conference breakdowns and what-not on the world forums. I always enjoy reading those as a player (I enjoy writing them far less heh...) and it seems to help keep folks engaged. GL.

Jobs are currently open in Knight if anyone is interested in giving this a shot...check out the Southern Conference...we have 5 coaches already there...could certainly use the help.

hey, leave my talented D2 Knight coaches alone. I've got a MUSDUC to fill...

4 seasons in and the WCC Iba has finished the regular season as the #3 conference.  6 teams got NT bids (with another 2 just barely missing the cut) and 3 teams are in the PT.  WCC teams are seeded at 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 11.

Posted by creilmann on 6/27/2014 12:10:00 PM (view original):
4 seasons in and the WCC Iba has finished the regular season as the #3 conference.  6 teams got NT bids (with another 2 just barely missing the cut) and 3 teams are in the PT.  WCC teams are seeded at 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 11.

very nicely done!

Thank you.

Posted by creilmann on 6/27/2014 12:10:00 PM (view original):
4 seasons in and the WCC Iba has finished the regular season as the #3 conference.  6 teams got NT bids (with another 2 just barely missing the cut) and 3 teams are in the PT.  WCC teams are seeded at 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 11.

Awesome job!

Since the Summit in Allen was mentioned, we put 8 in the dance in year 4, racked up $275K in cash as a conf (I think), and finished #2 in conf RPI.  It's gonna take awhile to reach CUSA levels, but we're moving in the right direction at least.

dacj mentioned it, but the baseline prestige advantage of CUSA and A10 conferences vs. the truly low D/D- conferences cannot be emphasized enough in this kind of endeavor.  Makes a world of difference just as he described.  Ditto for the commitment part.

This is the only way I enjoy D1. My few experiences in the Big 6 had bored the crap out of me. 

Currently I'm in the MAC in Naismith (Kent St.), the MWC in Crum (Col St.),  and just joined the MVC in Allen (Indiana St.). All three conferences are full or nearly-full with very dedicated coaches. The MWC in Crum has the #6 RPI over a weak SEC, and we're looking to break through a few seasons down the road.  

I'd join the changing coach landscape but both of my coaches in worlds smith and wooden are not qualified enough :( I have been eyeballing Marquette in smith and if anyone else has suggestions I'm welcome to help in Smith, that coach will be the first qualified.

Dont forget about the Southern conference in Knight, yes the Southern, the most lowly of the mid-majors. We have 9 committed coaches (we got to the full nine, 3 seasons ago and are just now starting to see the impact); RPI's just came out and we are sitting at #7 as a conference right behind the Big 6. We have a ton of national title winning coaches on board so we should continue to climb in the coming seasons.

Wait a minute. You mean we are supposed to do this with other people? All this time I've been trying to do it alone in The Patriot in Smith.

Ok, not really. I just like coaching Army.