http://www.herald-dispatch.com/spor...cle_485f48a7-3625-5e48-993f-7cb9418486d9.html
it's from June 2016...
Many of Marshall's fans seem to believe the Thundering Herd is too good for Conference USA.
Part of that belief obviously is based on the league's recent debacle of a new television contract.
But is that premise true based strictly on the field of play? Competition-wise, is Marshall really too good for C-USA?
A story in Thursday editions of The Herald-Dispatch shed some surprising light on those queries. It seems C-USA crowned 28 regular season and overall champions during the 2015-16 school year. Further examination revealed 10 all-sports members won championships. Only four were shut out. The quartet included Old Dominion, Charlotte, UTSA and. ... Marshall.
That's embarrassing for MU. But considering the other three empty-handed schools are newcomers to C-USA while MU is one of five mainstay members. ... well, that makes it even worse. The other holdovers - Southern Miss, UAB, Rice and UTEP - combined for 10 championships.
So, can this be chalked up as an anomaly? Or an aberration? Was 2015-16 merely a freakish year for Marshall's athletics?
The answer is no.
Since joining C-USA in 2005, Marshall has won seven championships. In 2005, volleyball won both the regular-season title and the conference tournament crown. In 2007, volleyball won the regular-season championship again. Then, in 2013, softball won the C-USA tournament title. Also that year, MU's football team won the East Division title. Finally, in 2014, football won both the East Division crown and the C-USA championship.
That's only seven championships in 12 years. Twelve years!
Seven other league members have accomplished more success than that during the same time-frame.
Here's a breakdown.
Rice - The Owls have 41 championships in 11 sports. Baseball leads the way with 15 titles, followed by women's tennis with five.
UTEP - The Miners have 18 titles in eight sports. UTEP is particularly strong in cross country and track with five championships in men's cross country and three a piece in men's outdoor track and women's indoor track.
Western Kentucky - Here's the wakeup call. The Hilltoppers already have captured 14 championships despite being a member of C-USA for only two years. WKU has won titles in seven sports.
UAB - The Blazers have 10 championships including three in men's basketball.
Southern Miss - The Golden Eagles have nine titles with football (four) and baseball (three) leading the way.
Middle Tennessee - This is another shot across the bow. The Blue Raiders have won eight championships in three years. Six of MTSU's eight titles have occurred in women's sports.
UTSA - The Roadrunners have won the same total of championships in three years - seven - as Marshall has in 12 years.
In fact, C-USA has awarded 134 championships in 12 years with MU winning only five percent of the titles.
The other six league schools have combined for 20 titles with North Texas leading with five, followed by FIU (four), Louisiana Tech (four), Charlotte (three), FAU (three) and Old Dominion (one).
But, again, those schools are newcomers to C-USA. Marshall isn't. What's worse, Marshall's seven championships have occurred in only three sports - football, volleyball and softball.
What about the other 13 sports? Do the other sports struggle because football gets so much more support from MU's athletic administration? The questions abound, but the answers are few.
All I know is MU isn't too good for C-USA.
it's from June 2016...
Many of Marshall's fans seem to believe the Thundering Herd is too good for Conference USA.
Part of that belief obviously is based on the league's recent debacle of a new television contract.
But is that premise true based strictly on the field of play? Competition-wise, is Marshall really too good for C-USA?
A story in Thursday editions of The Herald-Dispatch shed some surprising light on those queries. It seems C-USA crowned 28 regular season and overall champions during the 2015-16 school year. Further examination revealed 10 all-sports members won championships. Only four were shut out. The quartet included Old Dominion, Charlotte, UTSA and. ... Marshall.
That's embarrassing for MU. But considering the other three empty-handed schools are newcomers to C-USA while MU is one of five mainstay members. ... well, that makes it even worse. The other holdovers - Southern Miss, UAB, Rice and UTEP - combined for 10 championships.
So, can this be chalked up as an anomaly? Or an aberration? Was 2015-16 merely a freakish year for Marshall's athletics?
The answer is no.
Since joining C-USA in 2005, Marshall has won seven championships. In 2005, volleyball won both the regular-season title and the conference tournament crown. In 2007, volleyball won the regular-season championship again. Then, in 2013, softball won the C-USA tournament title. Also that year, MU's football team won the East Division title. Finally, in 2014, football won both the East Division crown and the C-USA championship.
That's only seven championships in 12 years. Twelve years!
Seven other league members have accomplished more success than that during the same time-frame.
Here's a breakdown.
Rice - The Owls have 41 championships in 11 sports. Baseball leads the way with 15 titles, followed by women's tennis with five.
UTEP - The Miners have 18 titles in eight sports. UTEP is particularly strong in cross country and track with five championships in men's cross country and three a piece in men's outdoor track and women's indoor track.
Western Kentucky - Here's the wakeup call. The Hilltoppers already have captured 14 championships despite being a member of C-USA for only two years. WKU has won titles in seven sports.
UAB - The Blazers have 10 championships including three in men's basketball.
Southern Miss - The Golden Eagles have nine titles with football (four) and baseball (three) leading the way.
Middle Tennessee - This is another shot across the bow. The Blue Raiders have won eight championships in three years. Six of MTSU's eight titles have occurred in women's sports.
UTSA - The Roadrunners have won the same total of championships in three years - seven - as Marshall has in 12 years.
In fact, C-USA has awarded 134 championships in 12 years with MU winning only five percent of the titles.
The other six league schools have combined for 20 titles with North Texas leading with five, followed by FIU (four), Louisiana Tech (four), Charlotte (three), FAU (three) and Old Dominion (one).
But, again, those schools are newcomers to C-USA. Marshall isn't. What's worse, Marshall's seven championships have occurred in only three sports - football, volleyball and softball.
What about the other 13 sports? Do the other sports struggle because football gets so much more support from MU's athletic administration? The questions abound, but the answers are few.
All I know is MU isn't too good for C-USA.
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