{"id":3785,"date":"2012-04-03T21:10:37","date_gmt":"2012-04-04T01:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=3785"},"modified":"2012-04-06T10:35:41","modified_gmt":"2012-04-06T14:35:41","slug":"jmu-facing-potential-penalty-of-one-guaranteed-win-a-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=3785","title":{"rendered":"JMU Football Facing Potential Loss of One Guaranteed Win a Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Georgia State playing in front of its largest crowd ever.<\/p><\/div>\n

With all of the scandals that have rocked college football recently, I’ve still never heard of a school being penalized by taking away future wins. If the reports are true and Georgia State is indeed headed to the Sun Belt<\/a> however, then that is exactly what could happen to JMU. The Dukes, and every other football program in the conference really, will be robbed of of one guaranteed win each season going forward that they have rightfully earned by allowing Georgia State to play CAA football. It just doesn’t seem fair. Other schools pay players, forge transcripts, or run completely afoul of the legal system and they lose a few scholarships or vacate past wins. Now JMU, William & Mary, Delaware, and the rest of the CAA are giving up infinite future wins. All as a result of inviting Georgia State to join the conference in 2005. I guess there’s no statute of limitations on stupid.<\/p>\n

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And Now the Snark Free Take<\/strong><\/p>\n

This would be a good move for Georgia State. As a former resident of Atlanta, I can honestly say that it’s home to some of the most passionate and knowledgeable college football fans in the country. They love their SEC football. They love their ACC football. You’ll even find some folks that are passionate about FCS Football. No, Georgia Southern definitely doesn’t move the needle like the Dawgs, Yellow Jackets, Crimson Tide, Gators, or any other big time FBS program. \u00a0They’ve at least got a punchers chance of someone tuning in briefly if they stumble up it while waiting for the Dawgs, Yellow Jackets, Crimson Tide, Gators, or some other big time program to take the field. Georgia State isn’t even in the picture. And they never will be playing against a bunch of schools from 8+ hours away. The CAA is rightly called the “SEC of the FCS”. That doesn’t mean much when your school is in the heart of SEC country.<\/p>\n

I definitely wouldn’t want JMU to jump ship for the Slum Belt, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the right thing to do for Georgia State. It’s still not big time football, but the Panthers wouldn’t be a geographic outliers in the league like they are in the CAA. And while nobody is going to confuse South Alabama or Troy for Auburn or LSU, playing either of the former would draw more interest in the Atlanta area than playing any CAA team. And that includes JMU. That’s not a knock on JMU or the CAA. It’s just reality. The heart of the Sun Belt is in the Deep South. The heart of the CAA is in Virginia. This move makes sense for Georgia State. The timing is a bit unfortunate for the CAA with GMU and VCU potentially on their way out. I hope the CAA has contingency plans in place, because good decisions rarely get made when someone is backed into a corner.<\/p>\n