Bob, I'd like to go through a lot of that point by point.
#1. I think the operation to prove we could establish a Mid-Major conference and compete with the Big-6 is a proven success.
I guess it depends what you mean by "compete." I think we are clearly the best non Big-6. However, we played a total of 17 non-con games as a conference out of 120 vs BCS schools. We went 5-12. 4 of the wins (and 10 of the 17 games) were by 1 school against 4 bottom simai BCS schools. 7 of us did not play any BCS schools, 2 played 1, 2 more played 2. As a conference we scheduled 78 RPI boosting away games against sim or lower quality human coached teams. We knew what we were doing and we made no excuses, but our success is largely artificially driven, and I don't think its exactly proven yet...
#2. I think Rupp was the best possible place to do it since the Big-6 (outside of the SEC), seems to be pretty even and overall fairly weak.
Its the overall fairly weak part of that statement that I agree with. I think it makes Rupp the best place to do this from our standpoint, because it'd be even harder anywhere else. I don't know if that qualifies it as the best place for this experiment, if the experiment is supposed to prove something about mid-major conferences in general...
#3. I would argue we have probably as good a group of coaches here in CUSA (once we shored up the West and got rid of Billy), as any conference in Rupp.
Delicate point - myself included I think if coaches were subject to that same tiered ranking system you use for schools we've probably got a decent bunch of level 3 and level 2 guys with some younger guys i don't know where to place yet, and a few top level guys. Is there a conference with more top level guys altogether, maybe, but I don't think this is an area of particular concern...
I think I'd agree with your tiered rankings. I also think based on that and my 17 season record at Alabama in Tark that I am an upper echelon tier 3 coach. Bama has been a B+ for the past 9 seasons. We are 3-8 in the NT in those 17 seasons, with 1 S16 and 1 NT2. That's with the SEC in Tark consistently finishing 3rd in post season cash averaging maybe $26k per season. If I can't figure out how to get over the hump there, how the hell will I do it here? An anecdote - about 12 seasons ago the #1 PG was 10 miles from my campus. I had come off a PI championship game or PI final 4 or something and was, as usual, a B+. I think I had 5 openings. The kid had Bama as a favorite school and my best player ever (a PG) was one yr removed from the team, so I badly needed his replacement, having failed to secure it before he went EE. I spent every dime I had on the kid and didn't get him. Now a days I would advise me that it was stupid to even try given all the 5+ opening A+ schools nearby in the ACC plus my own fellow SEC schools that had A+ (LSU, UK and Arkansas). I know all that proves is that I don't know what the hell I'm doing, but that's sort of my point anyway.
So now I get to the meat of the message. I am certainly not trying to put words in your mouth or suggest you are suggesting anything improper. Maybe there are a number of things I'm just not thinking off (I'm sure of it). From my POV though, the only substantive action that I could see taking based upon your PPS that would be any different than what folks are already trying to do is actively not recruit against each other. Since this sort of thing is of course against the rules I don't think that is what you are asking us to do - I don't think you are actively asking us to do anything -
Look - all the people who are going to jump down my throat now or whatever - I'm not trying to cause any trouble or anything at all, just trying to explain how I see this...explain to me how I'm wrong but don't just attack, ok? I want this to work as much as anyone. I left behind a D2 team that I had just won my only championship ever with to try this thing...