Quote Originally Posted by smilo View Post
Yeah, this strategy might be impossible now, and it was a longshot to begin with due to the lack of interested teams (needing 7-10 to make it work). I think it's still pretty clear something needs to be done to make the Atlantic Sun more cohesive though. Liberty and Bellarmine is not a feasible future for their conference mates. The other schools were looking to ditch those two and instead they got ditched by NJIT - the other infeasible travel destination, which may be for the best.

If the future really is a mass drive towards reduced travel, the A-Sun has really ought to make a concerted push for Jacksonville State and someone like Chattanooga just so they can tell Liberty to beat it and kindly suggest Bellarmine find a better arrangement. It's not even just to create a football power conference; it's just to have a sensible league! If Chattanooga's ties to the SoCon are too strong, then even one of the two more recent SoCon additions would be perfectly fine to invite. (I just think a public school makes a bit more sense while retaining close FCS opponents for OOC match-ups.)
I dont think Liberty and Bellarmine is a problem.
We all have known NJIT was going to leave, it was just a matter of when. And there is no reason either party needed to stay together.

Liberty will stay until they get a FBS invite, if they ever get one. Until then, they are satisfied with the ASUN and FBS indy.

Bellarmine president said they want a strong presence in the Southeast, which the ASUN is.

As much as I would like Jacksonville State and Chattanooga in, it dont make any sense without a football solution other than the Big South.