Football: Sun Belt’s stock rises after bowls – Hudspeth Contract – Division Suggestion Baseless

Tim Buckley, Daily Advertiser, Jan. 28, 2014

Wins by UL over Tulane in the New Orleans Bowl last month and by Arkansas State over Ball State in the GoDaddy Bowl at Mobile earlier this month vaulted the Sun Belt Conference into first place in BCS performance-based revenue distribution among non-automatic qualifying conferences.

The leap means $1 million-plus more in revenue than originally anticipated will go to the Sun Belt, whose 2013 football championship was shared by UL and Arkansas State.

The revenue standings are computed by averaging the rank of each school in six BCS computers, and UL’s and Arkansas State’s victories boosted their rank and pushed the conference ahead of other non-AQ leagues.

UL, for instance, jumped from 66th to a Sun Belt-high 52.5 in the final computer rankings.

The Sun Belt will take in almost $4 million of 2013 BCS money (actually $3,996,000) as a result, topping the Mountain West’s $3.425 million, Conference USA’s $2.854 million and the MAC’s $2.284 million.

Sun Belt commissioner Karl Benson said in a phone interview that he takes great pride in the fact the SBC “performed at higher level than it ever performed before” and that “for the first time (the conference) outperformed our peer conferences.”

Benson said the conference distributes about 95 of all revenue back its member schools, and that the nearly $4 million will be distributed equally among seven programs.

Western Kentucky, which is leaving the Sun Belt for Conference USA prior to the 2014, will not receive a share of the BCS money.

At 95 percent, that’s almost $543,000 each for UL, Arkansas State, UL Monroe, Georgia State, South Alabama, Texas State and Troy.

It’s also $135,000-plus more for each school than originally expected for each of the seven from the Sun Belt, which jumped from first to third among the non-AQs with UL’s and Arkansas State’s bowl wins.

The MAC, meanwhile, plummeted from first to fourth by going 0-5 in postseason play.

Revenue for non-AQ conference schools jumps dramatically next year, when the new College Football Playoff system replaces the BCS.

According to a recent CBSSports.com report, “the five power conferences (Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, Big 12, SEC) will split 71.5 percent of the approximately $400 million revenue in the first year of the playoff’s 12-year deal.”

Five non-AQ conferences – including the American Athletic Conference, which falls from AQ status – “will split approximately $86.5 million in revenue,” the report said. That’s “up from a maximum of $28 million in the BCS.”

For the Sun Belt, CBSSports.com also reported, that means “a 10-fold increase in revenue, from approximately $100,000 per team to $1 million.”

HUDSPETH CONTRACT

UL’s contract-extension proposal to head coach Mark Hudspeth remained on his attorney’s desk over the weekend, Hudspeth said early this week.

But the Ragin’ Cajuns coach still seems confident agreement on a new deal will soon be reached.

“I’m very appreciative they got something to me and just excited about moving forward,” Hudspeth said.

UL presented its offer, which includes a raise in pay, to Hudspeth last week.

His current contract runs through the end of 2016 and pays $750,000 in annual salary and contingent premium benefits, plus supplemental compensation and incentive-based bonuses.

DIVISION SUGGESTION BASELESS

A recent internet report suggesting Sun Belt football teams will be divided into Eastern and Western divisions next season is baseless, a conference spokesman said.

With the additions of Idaho, New Mexico State, Appalachian State and Georgia Southern combined with the loss of Western Kentucky, the Sun Belt currently plans to play with 11 teams in 2014.

According to the spokesman, the conference has no need to divide into divisions until if and when it adds a 12th football member.

With the Sun Belt’s schedule for the coming season slated for release in early March, the likelihood of expanding to 12 in time for the 2014 seems slim for now.

Expansion possibilities were discussed during the NCAA Convention earlier this month at San Diego, but no further talk on the matter among league presidents and athletic directors is expected until they gather in New Orleans for the mid-March Sun Belt basketball tournament.

LOOKING AHEAD

The website Bleacher Report recently wrote what it called “early predictions for the Top 25 offenses” in 2014, and the Cajuns checked in at No. 25.

Wrote Bleacher Report, which noted the return of starting quarterback Terrance Broadway and first-team All-Sun Belt running backs Alonzo Harris and Elijah McGuire: “The only potential stumbling blocks for the Cajuns will come in non-conference play against solid defensive squads Ole Miss and Boise State.”