The Grounds

That's what it sounds like, the guy coming from Rutgers is all about athletics. Plus, JMU is planning a new basketball arena , possibly early 2014 start of construction which, which would more than likely be the earliest that JMU would join the MAC.

I have a couple connections up there, they are saying that it will be on the front burner as to building a new arena possibly starting sometime in 2014 . Money has been an issue , but the new prez has it high on his list of things he wants done ASAP.

ODU has kinda forced the hand of JMU , and your comments regarding what Alger has said about Rutgers and The Big East is an indicator of what he will not let happen at JMU.

I think there are too many FBS schools to start with. I don't really like this to be honest.

As a JMU alum, I think it's necessary. With ODU going up, VCU leaving, and Ga. State going up, it's a move that has to be made, plain and simple. JMU's bread and butter is its football program, and with a stadium like they have and the attendance, they have to go. It's possibly JMU might steal a lower level recruit, but no way they can compete with UVa for the big names (they can compete with Big East, C-USA, and MAC to a degree). I think the much bigger enemy will be ODU based on location. If anything, this makes picking out some of the borderline recruits, and offering early, much more important. Guys like Mason Thomas, Josh Marriner, etc.... decisions on these guys have to be made earlier or they could jump at offers from JMU, ODU, etc.

What scares me much more than FBS teams going up is that we're going to end up with three tiers - the FBS will split into two tiers so the teams going up from the FCS become a tier 2 with some current FBS teams, then the teams that languish in the FCS become tier 3.

Its not only the FBS conferences that have to worry about re-alignment, but also the FCS teams..... in the end, its all money drive and darwinsm....

I am with you HooPerk, but this non-revenue coach from Appy State said that some major donors barked at the thought of climbing because the school was known for being in the playoffs every year and winning a few titles.
The coach told me that in his travels nobody knew the school for that (ESPN ratings are better for poker than FCS playoff games, he said) and that the lone thing that put the school on the map was the win over Michigan. Some outside of the 1,000-mile window surrounding JMU would say the same for the Double-AA-batteries-light-up Lane exhibition (Dukes over Hokies).
In some odd way, the climb of the smaller in-state schools could help the bigger brothers. Scholarships would hurt with preferred walk-on types, but the FCS playoff system and the additional TV time and the EXTRA games played had to be a selling point for JMU. Join a league and suffer through the transition time and the program is set back almost five years and will need even more tie to compete with proven programs in the league that lands them. Ross Metheny explained that to me with his move. He could win the starting job and win every game and will not get a postseason experience unless he comes to watch the Wahoos play in January (wishful thinking).
Perhaps my opinion is off - and just an opinion - but I doubt a jump makes Liberty or JMU or ODU any closer to the bigger schools, but would merely provide 60 or so full scholarships to kids that settled for partials or preferred walk-on ventures.