GET REAL! How am I wrong? If I say they are in the top ten and they are number three, then they are still in the top ten. I said they were not number one like some other idiot said. Is three, one? No. Way to sound smart!

Dustin,
You are the idiot. I hope that CMU can move-up. We have a good program, and we would make an excellent candidate. If we do, it will be to CUSA. By the way, you may want to re-check your facts about UCF. It is not just top-ten, but third largest in the COUNTRY. Here is a link for you: http://www.centralfloridafuture.com/ucf-bumped-...
Diss it all you want. CUSA is a step-up; one that I hope we make soon.

Markets they play in, please explain. According to my research UCF is not THE LARGEST University by enrollment, top 10 but not number one. You must not have watched football for a while since Marshall has not had a winning season in six years, Southern Miss is pretty consistent with many 7 winning game seasons and a couple 9 win seasons, but nothing AMAZING, Houston is by far the best team right now and is a great team, but can they continue? I laugh when you say SMU, 7-5 this season but 2-22 through 2007 and 2008. Would you like to know why Conference USA gets a whole 2 more bowl bids? Not because of strength but, because of location. Most of there schools are in the south and where are most bowl games played? The South. Oh and why did Cincy and Lousville leave Conference USA? Because it is a weaker conference just like the MAC.

Dustin, I'm a TRUE Chippewa fan and have lived in Michigan nearly all my entire adult lift. But to say that C-USA is not a step up in a conference? Have you not seen how many bowl games they get? Have you seen the markets they play in? You obviously have no clue and do not seriously watch college football. UCF plays in Orlando Florida, which is the largest enrolled school in America. East Carolina University, Marshall University, Southern Missisipi, University of Houston, Southern Methodist Univeristy.....whats wrong with you? Name me 5 comparible schools in 5 comparible Markets. You cant do it! Your making yourself look like a total goof. Not to mention that Cincy was in C-USA until just the last several years along with Louisville. Wake up Dustin, we just lost Jones to Cincy and if he wouldnt had gone there he would have ended up at Marshall. Stop drinking to much of the maroon Koolaid huh?

Like I said everyone conference USA is equal to the MAC, as you can see that is why he chose Cincinnati. In all reality it doesn't matter from what conference you move to unless it is a BCS conference. There is no real solid or consistent evidence that one non BCS is better than another, to argue that fact makes you look stupid. For all you Marshall lovers why don't you go to a C-USA blog and talk them up there, because me and other TRUE CHIPPEWA fans don't want to hear it. As a current student I know our players work way to hard for you alumni who watch 2 games a year to bad mouth the team.

I would just love to see a coach stick around for longer than 3 years. How is this going to help recruiting if you have a coaching staff that is ready to jump ship as soon as something nicer comes by?? CMU will never be able to get to another conference with the way things are going. The boys played an amazing season admit it and how do they get paid back?? Their coach leaves. Way to show true sportsmanship. Chippers if you knew our place then why not support him staying?? At least for another season. It may not help him in the bank if left after next season but at least we would have a little bit of help rebuiding our team, and really he is making plenty of money right now so cmon spare us Butch, dont be another Brian Kelly.

Kelly, I am not a Marshall person; however, I know our place. Unfortunately, you soon will too. Butch will leave to either Cincinnati or Marshall. In this order: 1. Cincinnati, 2. Marshall, and 3. CMU.

The bottom line is that CMU is no Cincy or Marshall. Butch has taken CMU as far as it will EVER get. Thats why Butch is interviewing with these schools. Butch is going to one or the other. Sorry.

I stopped reading with when people tried to compare Dan to Byron's bum ass. Dan has took a massive dump on anything that has come out of Marshall.
lol @ people trying to smack talk like Marshall would be a threat

Also if CMU is so horrible like most of these people seem to be saying when they are saying that C-USA and Marshall are so great then why are we rank 25th???...Thats right CMU a low and poor MAC team is in the top 25 and there are no C-USA teams....and even when I looked at the top 100...CMU was still ahead of ANY C-USA team. So chill the heck out on OUR website. Go complain on yours how much better C-USA and Marshall are.

This talk is all just silly. I watch football all of the time and dont really ever see Marshall on. Maybe I'm watching the wrong times you know friday and saturdays...but maybe you guys are on different nights. The MAC is on ESPN and ESPN2 on a regular basis. It may not be on the saturday football days but we all know the MAC is a smaller conference. Actually attendance does matter so whoever was saying it doesnt you might want to rethink that. If you dont have the fans there then you lose your division status trust me on that look it up. CMU has the fans there we could have a smaller stadium but we fill it up and people show up. Presonally I would hate to see Butch leave, you have been here 3 years and you think its time to go already?? Really?...you know if a star QB left for another school there would be an uproar as there should be, you dont just walk out on your team. It seems very two-faced to sat "hey I'm with CMU all the way" and then jump ship, sounds a little familiar...oh wait Brian Kelly did that to us 3 years ago. Gosh I would hate to think what Butch is doing to his family if he has any kids...this moving around every few years is reallly going to be great for them in the long run. If he was going to leave why cant he stay for another season to help rebuild our team since lets face it, it's going to be a different year without Lefevour. Dont you at least owe us that Butch??

Dustin....In all honesty, you are really making yourself sound silly. To say C-USA or Marshall is not an upgrade is totally irrational. To say the Mac and C-Usa are on the same level? Be realistic for once. Have you not forgotten that when Marshall was in the Mac we were DOMINATED every single year by Marshall? Have you forgotten the whoopin we took on a regular basis by them? There is a reason they got the invite to C-USA. Another thing, why do you think coach Jones is in West Virginia interviewing for that job? Seriously? Lets face it, we play in the weakest conference in America. I'm hoping coach stays but right now I dont think he is going to and I cant blame him if he goes to Marshall or Cincy. We all thought the world was going to end when coach Kelly left but it didnt. We'll be fine. I'm hoping one of these days we can compete in the C-USA and get away from the Akrons, Buffalo's and Kents of the Mac. If the big east ever expands its conference to 12 teams that should create us an oppurtunity for us to join C-USA if its Marshall, and East Carolina etc. that gets the call from the Big East. Until then, lets just take care of our own business and beat Troy! Fire up Chips!

dustin, it is apparent that you will not listen to reason seeing all the other posts... a Conference game once a week on espn? C-Usa has quite a few a week, and a few per team, cmu was on espn.... espn2 against the bobcats? lol. And leftwich went first round draft pick, wouldn't say he got no respect.


Just suck it up and realize that, in fact, C-Usa is a better conference with more money flowing in and more competition. IT is like an MU fan saying that the Big East isn't a better conference, you're silly. MAC < C-USA < Big East < Pac-10 < Big Ten < Big 12 < SEC, pretty much in that order, barring the mwc and west conferences. Someone above said it best, IF CMU could have sustained success and get to the level that Marshall is, then they too, could move up to C-USA, whether you like it or not, it is the next step up for the mac, despite your personal attacks on everyone.

Like it was said before, it doesn't matter how many your stadium holds if you can't fill it. Byron did get votes but was not asked to come to New York equaling no respect. As for how many times C-USA plays on TV one of you say 2-3 a year the other says all the time, like I said the MAC plays 1-2 mid week every week. And for the arguement of the head to head competition between the two conference.....I guess you could say the MAC was bigger then the Big Ten last year, that of course using all of your thinking, real smart arguement.....not!


Oh and Dave36,
You are stupid 2-3 games a year on national television is not constant. You must not watch football or espn since the MAC is on every week....look it up. And who cares about the 90's, having a #10 ranking 10 seasons ago, not very impressive.

Um, dustin.... moss and pennington were finalists, leftwich was 4th and didn't go to new york. And just like the other guy said, tulsa and rice killed best mac teams by combined 60 pts. Huge difference in competition. Putting pride and emotion before logic and reasoning..... keep playing well and you can be in cusa one day to, until then, come down to reality. A coachless mu team will dismantle ohio by more than 10.

Just a little heads up from Cincinnati. Jones' name has started
to turn up on talk radio here. Runs Kelly's offense etc etc.
Just heard Artrel Hawkins (who played at Uc and in the NFL)when
asked who He liked to replace BK, "I'm a Butch Jones guy"

Dustin is the only person who knows anything about football. Perhaps, he should coach for CMU. One caveat: don't put much faith in his knowledge of conference levels.

Oh, by the way Dan broke all those Marshall QB's records!

You shouldn't say more! You are an idiot, the most recent thing you talk about is seven seasons ago! I was talking about an automatic bowl bid to the BCS Bowls, because in all reality no other bowls matter.Yes Randy Moss and Chad Pennington were good, but even yourself said they were not Heisman finalists. Ever hear of Dan Lefvour he was considered for Heisman, Northern Illinois also had a running back Garret Wolfe (had one of the best stats among backs) a couple years ago, if your not from a BCS conference it is near impossible to win the Heisman, so none of that really matters. Conference USA 2-3 games a year on ESPN networks, MAC 1-2 A WEEK so you really have no argument there, I don't know why you would bring that up since the MAC plays every Wednesday middle to late season. You must have loved the 90's because thats all you talk about, way to be stuck in another decade. Right now Central is much better team than Marshall and the MAC and Conference USA are equal. So congratulations you also know nothing about college football, well at least not within the last ten years. Hey Michigan won the title in 1997, and yeah they're still really good aren't they? Congratulations you could teach History!

Ok so yes LeFevour, Anderson, Gordy and Zombo will be gone but Radcliffe is not bad at QB and we have depth at each one of those positions. I mean 55 players on the current roster are freshman whether true or red-shirted. Plus Central has a good incoming recruiting class to add onto that. If I was Butch, (idc if marshall is or isn't an upgrade) I would play out my contract, I know he is getting bigger schools interested but the program is not going down and will compete for another MAC title next year and even if they don't if you are a good coach and put a good interview together, you can still have a good chance to get hired by a lower team in a BCS conference

Dustin,

Here are the answer to your questions.

1. Do they qualify for an automatic bowl bid? Yes. You are wrong in saying no. C-USA Champion gets automatic bowl bid to the "Liberty Bowl". Six total bowl tie-ins. How many Bowls does the Mac get?

2. Do they ever have Heisman finalists? Here are a few you might notice. Randy Moss, Chad Pennington. Byron Leftwich was considered for Heisman consideration but didnt make the final call to New York. How many have you had?

3. Do you see them play on T.V. constantly? Not "constantly" but usually always on ESPN nationally 2-3 times a year.

Those three answers speak for themselves.

Besides, lets be honest. I dont think you guys would have a problem leaving the Mac for C-USA if offered. Would you? Seriously? I'm not trying to put down your program. I respect that you guys have been the best in the Mac for several years. For that, I say congratulations. But to say that C-USA or even Marshall for that fact is not an upgrade is silly.

During the 1990s, Marshall posted the most wins of any NCAA Division I program, winning 114 games. The Thundering Herd won two Division I-AA national championships. Set a Division I, FCS (formerly I-AA, now the Football Championship Subdivision of Division I athletics) record by advancing to the "Final Four" of the I-AA Tournament for six consecutive seasons. Marshall has gone to eight bowl games in I-A, posting a 5-3 record, and the Herd finished No. 10 in the nation in 1999 in both the Associated Press poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll when MU was 13-0. 1996's I-AA Championship team, rated the best-ever in I-AA history by the AP. Marshall extended its string of consecutive MAC titles to four, over Toledo (1997 & 1998) and Western Michigan (1999 & 2000). The Herd lost in the MAC championship game in 2001, but reclaimed the conference title in 2002. At the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, Marshall rallied from a 8-38 lead by East Carolina behind five second half touchdowns from Leftwich, to win 64-61 in double overtime, the highest scoring bowl game in NCAA history.....need I say more?

C-USA is a step up. I can't help but remember what Rice & Tulsa did to our 2 best MAC teams last year. about a 60 pt loss combined. Word is he could get 900k from them. I also think winning there could put you in a SEC school, not just a BCS school like now.

Dustin......Sorry to break it to you but Marshall is on ESPN quite often. They have a much nicer up-to-date stadium, better tradition and a better overall national appeal. Not only that, if Jones goes to Marshall and succeeds his accomplishments will be much more seen due to the better national exposure. Just take a look at all the players in the NFL from Marshall. Its insane. Moss, Bradshaw, Pennington just to name a few. The only thing we have that they dont is an indoor practice facility. I would say that the practice facility isnt that far off for them. Also the way they sit geographically they will likely recieve an invitation for a Big East slot if the oppurtunity comes that they expand to 12 teams. I'm just trying to be realistic. I want Butch to stay like the rest of us but I dont think we can realistically compete with Cincy, Marshall or Kansas. There is a reason why Marshall is in C-USA and we are stuck in the MAC. If I was Jones it would be Cincy 1 and Marshall 2. We'll just have to see what happens.

I have to laugh at dustin," are they on tv constantly? No!" Lmao!! C-USA teams usually have a few espn games a year, and other locally. The mac NEVEr has a televised game except the championship game.

C-USA has several bowl tie ins (5) to the macs 1, and a much higher level of competition. For you to say that CMU could beat Houston is ludacris. Houston beat TTU, oklahoma state, mississipi state among others, hell, you could only dream of cmu playing teams that c-usa teams play! Marshall plays Ohio State, wvu, and va tech coming to town I 2011. You'll never have a top 25 program come to cmu.

Marshall was ranked #10 in ap in 99, and beat cincy and lousiville in 01-02. And provided they didn't have a horrible coach last 5 years, who knows!? I love the chips, but to say its not an upgrade is putting your pride in front of logic.

I have to agree with Chippers. Marshall is an upgrade. Just to avoid the flamers, I will agree that the past 5 years under Snyder has not been impressive; however, they did win the most games in the 1990's, have had three Heisman trophy candidates, and moved up from the MAC to CUSA. At one time, the school was also ranked 10th in the country. Can CMU make the same claim? There is more to this school than just Hollywood hype. I am proud of CMU, but we have more to do before reaching that level. No, Marshall is not a BCS school, but I wouldn't be so dismissive of thier legacy. They were impressive, and in my opinion, are just a good coach away from coming back. Yes, I follow football, and I hope that CMU can make the move to CUSA. In the meantime,Marshall is already there.

No, thats not an upgrade. Questions: Do they qualify for an automatic bowl bid? NO. Do you see them play on T.V. constantly? No. Do they ever have Heisman finalists? No. They haven't been good since the 90's. So Chippers you are WRONG! I love how everyone comes on here and says that Conference USA a is an upgrade, and then has nothing to back that up with. Just because you say something doesn't make it true. Honestly you probably don't watch football. Come with some evidence and we'll talk. Maybe you are a movie buff and saw We Are Marshall, and think wow they have a movie they must be pretty good. So Chippers stick to your day job and stop analyzing football.

While I love CMU, Marshall is an upgrade. No, it is not the BCS, but they are in a better conference. If this too difficult to understand, ask yourself a question. If CMU left the MAC, what is the next level (i.e. upgrade)? C-USA!

Marshall is not an upgrade at all. Anytime a coach goes from non-BCS to non-BCS it is not an upgrade...I don't care if it is TCU or Boise. As good as those teams are they are still being held back because of their conference and schedule. If you are a college coach you want to go to a BCS school.

And even if you don't agree with my assessment, look at Marshall for a moment. Marshall has not been good for 10 years...they had a nice string, but that is over. Their history consists of the 90's and a plane crash...why would you want to build that? He would be better off taking a job at a terrible BCS conference school.

Exactly, thanks Alum09

Who cares what a stadiums capacity is if they average 22,000 fans

Oh by the way there stadium holds 6,000 more people, I quess your next arguement will be that they have a movie.

Steve,
Obviously you must not watch a lot of football. Do you even realize what you are saying? Last time I checked it was not a Conference USA school playing in BCS games, but WAC and MWC schools. Sure they had ECU last year, same hype as Ball State. An overrated Houston this year, which I feel Central could beat. Then you have the same road to nowhere schools like Tulane, Rice, UTEP; just like some schools in the MAC. Marshall has a good winning record in the 1990s, but thats when they were stacked and destroying a very weak MAC conference at the time, so yes they should be winning. What have they done lately though, the 90's were 10yrs. ago. To say they are going to be a Cincy, lol, they are 4-4 in conference with to other wins coming against a 1AA and a 7 point win over Bowling Green. Remember I said the conferences were equal, and I will now say Central is much better than Marshall, there is no arguement there.

It's too bad that money is such a deciding factor in this whole situation. It would be nice to have a coach that is fully committed to the CMU football program and building it into a power. Nothing has been set in stone yet though, so Coach Jones may still be "that guy."

This is a move to see what the market would be for his services. I'm sure Heeke will make Jones a comparable offer with maybe more years than what Marshall offers. Jones will be set up for 5 years or more at CMU at a very good salary so his family will be taken care of. Marshall isn't a BCS school so they don't have millions and millions of dollars to pay their coaches. Lets just wait and see.

Marshall? Are you kidding me? That's the gig Butch Jones has worked hard to attain? I can understand leaving for a better situation, but Marshall can't possibly be a better situation. If he wants that job, let him take it. Fans thought we lost momentum when Brian Kelly left for Cincy. Butch Jones proved that the "next guy in" could do the job. If you think about what CMU has to offer, eight returning starters on offense, six returning starters on defense plus a ton of folks who saw significant time on defense and a top 25 ranking, CMU is an attractive destination. Let's not start acting small and humble. One thing I've learned from watching Brian Kelly operate is, you have to act like and expect to be a top 25 program in order to become one. If you act like a run-of-the-mill MAC school(see Eastern Michigan) that can be achieved too.

Maybe DJ, not Jason. Too small of a QB for D-1 football. He would get killed physically.

The Chips need to recruit Sterling Heights Stevenson's QB Jason Fracassa and receiver DJ Meershman. Jason has set new records in Michigan and CMU could do the same thing they did with Dan - and the record continues!

I understand that money talks, and something else walks. But why leave a program like Centrals? If Butch does decide to leave why doesn't he stay in Michigan and apply for the "Head Coach" position at University of Michigan, I hear that RR wants to re-F-ired..

I really feel the only way Central will ever retain a Championship caliber coach would be to move to a better conference. Brian Kelly split town to a larger / more competitive conference with Cincy, and look what that guy has done with their program. Not quite a National Title hopeful anymore, but they came damned close.

Until we get into a conference that gets noticed, we'll stay a staging ground for great talent on the move upward.

Yeah, the whole Marshall thing doesn't sound like enough to lure him away. But you also have to look at the fact that his meal ticket, #13, is gone. No one really has a clue how good Central is going to be from here on out. He may see a brighter (short term) future at Marshall, which would also serve as a stepping stone to a larger program. And as far as Kansas goes, he would be stupid to stay in the MAC instead of leaving for the BIG 12.

Dustin,

To say Marshall would be a dumb move? Not an upgrade? Are you kidding? The level of the MAC and C-USA is on the same level? Lets be real here. I love CMU but lets not get ahead of ourselves. First of all, C-USA does have better competition from top to bottom. #2 Guess who is the winningest football program in the decade of the 1990's....Florida State?...nope...Ohio State...Nope...Michigan...Nope....Its Marshall University. Yep thats right. Look it up. Reason #3...Marshall can afford to pay Butch more with a bigger fan base, ESPN games, bigger stadium etc. Marshall is one step away from Being a big time school in football like Cincy and Louisville is....who icronically came from C-USA. I'f i'm Jones I'm gone. I hope he stays but we have to be realistic. Chuck Martin may not be a bad option if Butch decides to leave.

Hopefully Dave Heeke will be able to get a new contract that will keep Coach Jones in Mount Pleasant. He has had more success than any other coach in the MAC in his three years at CMU, and his salary should reflect that. He is a great coach and the university will lose out on a great opportunity to elevate its profile if it loses him--especially to a program like Marshall. We may not be able to compete with the multi-million dollar contracts that BCS schools may offer, but if we lose him to another non-BCS program, then I have lost a lot of faith in our athletic department's competency.

CMU will be very competitive for years to come. This staff has roots in MP. Money talks, but Butch needs to go where he can win in a big conference. There's no rush. It's rare these days to have long coaching stints in many of these large leagues. CMU can be a very stable & successful program for many years with Jones & his staff.

Unless Marshall has a ton of money to throw at Butch Jones, I really don't see why he would leave Central. I could see some of the other schools that has mentioned his name such Louisville, and Kansas making a strong push for him. Central at this present moment is a better program than Marshall and he has some nice recruits coming next year.

He won't go to Marshall, that would be a dumb move. That is not an upgrade since the level in Conference USA is the same as the MAC.

Reports out of GVSU are saying that Chuck Martin is off to Notre Dame as the D-coordinator as soon as they hire Brian Kelly

Simply cannot fault him for trying to make the best of his current situation - riding a star quarterback and the best iteration of a team this school has ever seen, he may never get this chance again. Do I think we're going to be this year's Ball State? Not nearly to that extreme, but it may be a long time before we have another season like this... which is why if he's a smart man, he'll be "gettin' while the gettin's good".

I hope Coach Jones stays at CMU, but I realize that with a small program it'll be difficult keeping an up and rising coach. I hope if he goes Central will try and get Chuck Martin from GVSU.