If Caslen was still the supe, do you think he would have given the go ahead to join another conference?

[armyftball]

I dont think he would have...

Thoughts?

[RABBLE]

NO.
West Point has taken the money bait.
Sure of course but it is the way it is now in college football.
No longer do we have the regional rivalries we once did years ago.
Today a mish-mash of non-descript second tier teams that 15 years ago were nothing in football with no history and no appearance in decades of anything.
We now play teams like Tulsa, Alabama Birmingham, Charlotte, North Texas, East Carolina and BS like that with absolutely no fans interest if we beat them or not. Who cares if we win or lose with no national appeal to any of the teams we play this year.
OK, we beat Tulsa. So what? What ever happened to teams like Boston College, Pitt, Penn State and the like. We had those great programs and now we have become a second tier road show.
No more Stanford from the west. No more A&M from the southwest, No more Duke from the southeast. No more an occasional Big Ten team from the midwest. No more UCONN and Massachusetts from the north.
We used to be AMERICAS TEAM but today we have shriveled to playing a bunch of nobodys who only wish they were in the loop of better teams. WE have shrunk, like Navy, into a conference that means nothing and even if you do manage to win a conference title you MAY just squeeze into the playoff as a 12th seed playing the number 1 seed. Give me a break.
They did this to ensure we had a schedule from now on. Tell those guys we ALREADY had a schedule for the next 10 years but we got lazy. We took a schedule that will be the same damn thing ad infinitum.
Such boredom on the horizon! Taking the easy road. I'm sure when we play Florida Atlantic, we will be so excited just to play our first game down in Boca Raton, that my excitement for this game will overflow my very body and just think, 7 more of these games to follow with this kind of crap.
Oh sure, we will make some money, maybe, but it will not be because of the quality of the teams we will play, but the TV deals that will be forthcoming, maybe.
I say maybe, because the damn league will be out of business in 10 years in my opinion and so will we, back to our independent status, where we should not have left in the first place and like our last attempt in that last run of the mill league, the C-USA. We never learn from history.

[RABBLE]

This year we have a two- game schedule.
Air Force and Navy.
Lehigh may be a warm -up game. OK.
Notre Dame ? Oh sure, you may make a buck or two, but really a close, competitive affair? I hardly think so.
So there you have it folks. The rest of this mush, forgetaboutit.
Get used to it. This crap is now permanent from now on.
In 2025? The same kind of show. Just throw in Lafayette and for the tough game, let us try Alabama, Georgia or Ohio State. How about another game with LSU? I think we can take another 62-0 thrashing. So what? We are getting used it this kind of whipping.
But WOW! What a payout guarantee !! We fans just love those big guarantees. It's the big defeats I could do without. How about you?

[gabn92]

Caslen valued winning and had the vision to see that continuing to do things the same way as West Point was handling football wasn’t going to work…so he made a number of changes to allow the football program improve and compete and win.

The football world isn’t static…there are so many things that have changed recently that impact competitive balance, revenues, etc.

I think Caslen would have come to the same conclusion about joining a conference. Complaining and wishing things hadn’t changed and college football was how it always has been doesn’t help. You’ve got to adapt and change with the environment as it changes…Caslen did that and helped Army get back to winning. I think he would adapt to keep us there as well.

[RABBLE]

Army's HOME schedule for 2025 has just been released from the AAC.

It includes Charlotte, North Texas, Temple and Tulsa plus probably a Patriot League team and one more opponent to be named down the line, if we just are satisfied with a 5-game home slate.

It will NOT be Air Force of course because we will play them out there next year.

My opinion is that we will NOT have a sellout on any game even if we can only sit 30,000 at Michie due to construction going on even next year.

I sincerely believe that the administration doesn't really give a damn whether we get a crowd or not anymore. The AAC and CBSSPORTS will make up any financial shortfall that may occur next year and as long as we are associated with this league and its influx of cash into the athletic coffers.

The AWAY games are in various venues not exactly conducive to large throngs.

So, there you have it. No more Michigans , Oklahomas, Ohio States which have tremendous followings and LARGE stadia. We got stadiums seating 30K or less on the visiting portion of our schedule in places where football ranks as high as a Saturday night dance.

Welcome to the AAC. You win that trophy, and it is about the same as winning your grandmas tin cup.

Listen fellas, we will now have a 2-game schedule from now on---Air Force and Navy where the trophy upon winning, it is the only trophy that means anything to us.

[WrekDivr]

Caslen valued winning and had the vision to see that continuing to do things the same way as West Point was handling football wasn’t going to work…so he made a number of changes to allow the football program improve and compete and win.

The football world isn’t static…there are so many things that have changed recently that impact competitive balance, revenues, etc.

I think Caslen would have come to the same conclusion about joining a conference. Complaining and wishing things hadn’t changed and college football was how it always has been doesn’t help. You’ve got to adapt and change with the environment as it changes…Caslen did that and helped Army get back to winning. I think he would adapt to keep us there as well.

Totally agree with this. Caslen drove huge change in the program and would not have hesitated to change again when needed. Can’t imagine he was too excited when we missed a bowl two years in a row because 2 of our wins were FCS teams.

[wpgrad]

Interesting topic only because Army DID get offered an AAC spot when Caslen was the supe after Navy was added, and then were offered a spot again in 2019 (right after caslen left) when Uconn left the AAC.

I hate being in a conference, I think it was as bad an idea as it was joining cusa 25 years ago, and I think it will negatively impact recruiting because we do not play in key recruiting states anymore. It was the lazy move but this ship has sailed.

[Oliphant]

RABBLE,

It has been a two-game schedule for most of the last 50 years.

[Oliphant]

Army's HOME schedule for 2025 has just been released from the AAC.

It includes Charlotte, North Texas, Temple and Tulsa plus probably a Patriot League team and one more opponent to be named down the line, if we just are satisfied with a 5-game home slate.

It will NOT be Air Force of course because we will play them out there next year.

My opinion is that we will NOT have a sellout on any game even if we can only sit 30,000 at Michie due to construction going on even next year.

I sincerely believe that the administration doesn't really give a damn whether we get a crowd or not anymore. The AAC and CBSSPORTS will make up any financial shortfall that may occur next year and as long as we are associated with this league and its influx of cash into the athletic coffers.

The AWAY games are in various venues not exactly conducive to large throngs.

So, there you have it. No more Michigans , Oklahomas, Ohio States which have tremendous followings and LARGE stadia. We got stadiums seating 30K or less on the visiting portion of our schedule in places where football ranks as high as a Saturday night dance.

Welcome to the AAC. You win that trophy, and it is about the same as winning your grandmas tin cup.

Listen fellas, we will now have a 2-game schedule from now on---Air Force and Navy where the trophy upon winning, it is the only trophy that means anything to us.

RABBLE,

I'm unhappy with joining a conference but the independent concept is essentially dead in the FBS.

Listen, we have played a two-game schedule ever since AFA joined big-time football and we fell from national power contention. Heck, the Commander-in-Chief trophy was essentially a conference title for us. (The Lambert Cup counted except we never had a good enough team to counter Paterno's PSU program.)

We technically have something else to play for beyond six wins and a bowl now. Objectively, we went from a two-game schedule to something more meaningful. Mileage may vary on how prestigious a battered AAC title is.

[gaetano01]

I hate being in a conference, I think it was as bad an idea as it was joining cusa 25 years ago, and I think it will negatively impact recruiting because we do not play in key recruiting states anymore. It was the lazy move but this ship has sailed.

You are not playing in key recruiting states of (checks notes) Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee? Interesting.