Why not just realign the CAA and A-10?

[aztecjim]

With G Mason moving to the A-10 why don't all the non-football playing schools of the two leagues move to the A-10 and the football schools form an all sports Colonial? It's practically this way anyway or getting there. Just make it official.

A-10:G Mason, G Washington, St. Bonnie, St. Joe, Drexel, La Salle, VCU, UNC-W, Hofstra, Northeastern,

Colonial: Maine, UNH, URI, Richmond, W&M, JMadison, Delaware, Villanova, Albany, Stony Brook, Towson

America East: Boston, Vermont, Fairfield, Hartford, Quinnipiac, Mass(Lowell), Niagara, Binghamton plus one or two more

[Dane96]

Yup-- this is what SHOULD occur. Danefan has discussed this.

If cooler heads prevailed...this is what would happen.

You forgot Towson in the Colonial. I'd add one more all-sport football school...boom, 12 team league...8 conference games (5 division, 1 rivalry, 2 crossover); it's genius.

[LeadBolt]

Because this makes way too much sense and ignores egos...

[danefan]

Too much sense. Never happen.

[aztecjim]

Dane96,
Thanks for catching Towson. That gives to Colonial 11. I may be old school but I don't like nor see the need for multi-division leagues. In most sports you would have 12 schools battling for one autobid. Why not increase the odds by staying at 8-10? If you ask most FBS coaches they dislike the CCG immensely. That is why the Big 12 (minus two) is in no hurry to add schools.

Also, I know Charleston is joining the CAA and would be in my A-10 but that would give the A-10 eleven schools. Again, why? OTOH I was just really bored and started realigning all D-I and Belmont and Charleston are geographic outliers if I stick to my own two rules of realignment. 1)FBS, FCS, and non-football schools shall not mix. Except for maybe Pioneer and Patriot League schools. 2)There is no need for leagues to have more than 10 schools.

[DFW HOYA]

With G Mason moving to the A-10 why don't all the non-football playing schools of the two leagues move to the A-10 and the football schools form an all sports Colonial? It's practically this way anyway or getting there. Just make it official.

These are three separate organizations across 20+ schools. Conferences do not behave rationally, which is why the Big East is what it became, or why West Virginia plays in the Big 12 and Colorado plays in the Pac-12.

This would make just as much sense (and therefore less likely) if the three leagues morphed into the old pre-1980 ECAC regional divisions, with one football league of schools between the three (FB schools in bold):

Colonial (aka ECAC South): Richmond, W&M, JMadison, Delaware, Towson, George Washington, George Mason, VCU, UNC-W, CofC(10)

A-10 (aka ECAC Upstate-NY): St. Bonaventure, St. Joe's, Drexel, La Salle, Albany, Stony Brook, Hofstra, Niagara, Binghamton, Monnmouth (10)

America East (aka ECAC-New England): Northeastern, Maine, UNH, URI, Vermont, Fairfield, Hartford, Quinnipiac, Bryant, Central Connecticut (10)

[Dane96]

Why on earth would we want that; that's just silly. Name/Peer recognition is a component and the big publics don't want to be grouped with the Niagara's. There can be a beautiful all-sport football league...and two hoop leagues.

Again, too much sense for it to occur.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

With G Mason moving to the A-10 why don't all the non-football playing schools of the two leagues move to the A-10 and the football schools form an all sports Colonial? It's practically this way anyway or getting there. Just make it official.

A-10:G Mason, G Washington, St. Bonnie, St. Joe, Drexel, La Salle, VCU, UNC-W, Hofstra, Northeastern,

Colonial: Maine, UNH, URI, Richmond, W&M, JMadison, Delaware, Villanova, Albany, Stony Brook, Towson

America East: Boston, Vermont, Fairfield, Hartford, Quinnipiac, Mass(Lowell), Niagara, Binghamton plus one or two more

* BU's in the Patriot League next season
* Villanova's in the Big Priest
* Putting UMass in the same conference as Vermont and Fairfield would violate everything the Minutemen stand for
* Richmond in the CAA would decimate its hoops and would invalidate more than a decade of pissing off the CAA and enriching itself basketballwise in the A-10
* URI's hoops in the CAA would also be decimated

You get the idea.

[DFW HOYA]

* Villanova's in the Big Priest

It's the Big East and should be referred to as such.

[Dane96]

* BU's in the Patriot League next season
* Villanova's in the Big Priest
* Putting UMass in the same conference as Vermont and Fairfield would violate everything the Minutemen stand for
* Richmond in the CAA would decimate its hoops and would invalidate more than a decade of pissing off the CAA and enriching itself basketballwise in the A-10
* URI's hoops in the CAA would also be decimated

You get the idea.

He wrote UMASS- LOWELL!!!

[Lehigh Football Nation]

He wrote UMASS- LOWELL!!!

So where does UMass go then? xconfusedx

[Dane96]

They are in the MAC...and if they move it would likely be to the FBS America 12 or whatever emerges with UCONN.

Who knows anymore. This is pure chaos.

[henfan]

These far-flung, media driven conferences are not in the best interests of the student-athletes or the fans. It's really sad to see how far college sports has degenerated. Several schools are now forced into making moves that are they see as the lesser of two evils.

[Dane96]

Yep! Spot on!!!!

[DSUrocks07]

With G Mason moving to the A-10 why don't all the non-football playing schools of the two leagues move to the A-10 and the football schools form an all sports Colonial? It's practically this way anyway or getting there. Just make it official.

A-10:G Mason, G Washington, St. Bonnie, St. Joe, Drexel, La Salle, VCU, UNC-W, Hofstra, Northeastern,

Colonial: Maine, UNH, URI, Richmond, W&M, JMadison, Delaware, Villanova, Albany, Stony Brook, Towson

America East: Boston, Vermont, Fairfield, Hartford, Quinnipiac, Mass(Lowell), Niagara, Binghamton plus one or two more

CAA should add Delaware State xsmiley_wix

[MplsBison]

Well since none of these fantasy scenarios are going to happen, here's my two cents:

There are now four CAA FB members who are members of the America East conf (Maine, New Hampshire, Albany and Stony Brook). Likewise, there are four CAA FB members who are members of the CAA conf (Delaware, Towson, W&M and JMU).


First of all, it's possible that JMU and maybe Delaware could jump for FBS now that App St and GSU are gone. But nonetheless, the AEC need to say "screw you" to the CAA, particularly Delaware and Towson for blackmailing and ultimately double crossing the America East. Demand that football conference administration come from the America East conference.

You reap what you sow, Delaware.

[Dane96]

Yeah, I am sure that tactic will work.

[MplsBison]

Yeah, I am sure that tactic will work.

Start the football conference up, first four members are UNH, Maine, SB and UA. Give the middle finger to Delaware and Towson and their supposed ace in the hole TV deal (which is all but dead now - no NBC execs care about Delaware football, they wanted VCU bball). Nova and Richmond have no allegiance to the CAA or Delaware, they'll quickly come over.

If Delaware and Towson want to crawl back over to the AEC for a football conf....maybe you let them in. Make them sweat it out.

[henfan]

Well since none of these fantasy scenarios are going to happen, here's my two cents:

There are now four CAA FB members who are members of the America East conf (Maine, New Hampshire, Albany and Stony Brook). Likewise, there are four CAA FB members who are members of the CAA conf (Delaware, Towson, W&M and JMU).


First of all, it's possible that JMU and maybe Delaware could jump for FBS now that App St and GSU are gone. But nonetheless, the AEC need to say "screw you" to the CAA, particularly Delaware and Towson for blackmailing and ultimately double crossing the America East. Demand that football conference administration come from the America East conference.

You reap what you sow, Delaware.

Your lack of understanding of FCS history is stunning. It's also kinda creepy that a guy from MN would have such a boner for Delaware.

First off, UD led the effort to get a FB league for the NAC then America East from the time they joined the conference until 2000. They were rebuffed time and again by those schools with no football. In fact, several conference schools with FB (namely, Maine, BU and Rhody) continued to push for scholarship reductions.

Still, UD almost had a deal worked out in Sept/Oct 2000 that would have seen the AEC absorb the CAA (minus UNCW), which would have created a FB league. Again though, AEC schools allowed that deal to be torpedoed by Hartford, BU and UVm. If they hoped to play all sports in a single conference and have the proper attention paid to its FB program, UD felt that they had to get out of the AEC. They hardly shafted any school in the AEC, as everyone understood what would likely happen if they failed to deliver a FB league. The AEC had ample time and opportunity to start a FB league and failed or refused to do it.

Secondly, there is no chance of NBCSports & Comcast nullifying the 5-year TV deal with the CAA. It may not be renewed on the same terms 4 years from now but the conference is fine for now.

AEC FB is a non-starter. They have no media deal and no large markets to which they can shop their programs.

[superman7515]

If you ask most FBS coaches they dislike the CCG immensely. That is why the Big 12 (minus two) is in no hurry to add schools.

The Big 12 is trying to get a waiver so they can have a conference championship game with only 10 members.

[DFW HOYA]

The Big 12 is trying to get a waiver so they can have a conference championship game with only 10 members.

Since when? Texas is happy w/o a playoff, and when it comes to the Big 12 , what Bevo wants, Bevo gets.

[superman7515]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8900124/big-12-wants-ncaa-allow-conference-title-game


STILLWATER, Okla. -- Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby says the league likely will seek permission from the NCAA to hold a championship game even though it doesn't have the 12 members required under the current rules.

Down to 10 members after the departure of Nebraska, Colorado, Missouri and Texas A&M in recent years, the Big 12 was forced to do without a championship game the last two seasons. Kansas State and Oklahoma tied for the championship with matching 8-1 records in conference play last season, and the Wildcats earned the automatic BCS berth after winning the head-to-head matchup.

Oklahoma got left out of the BCS when Northern Illinois made a late charge up the rankings.

Bowlsby had said before this week's Big 12 athletic directors' meetings in Dallas that he expected the topic of pursuing the return of a championship game to come up. With shifting membership, Big Ten and Pac-12 added conference title games in recent years. The SEC and ACC already had them.

"At a time when lots of deregulation is taking place, it seems a little bit odd that the NCAA would be describing how we determine our champions," Bowlsby said Wednesday night, when he watched the Iowa State-Oklahoma State men's basketball game.

"I think it's reasonable to say if you're going to have a champion that you're going to have to designate it in one fashion or another. But to say it has to be between 12 schools or that there has to be divisional play or there has to be a round-robin, we're deregulating lots of things and that certainly is a candidate."

As he has done repeatedly, Bowlsby reiterated that the league is comfortable with proceeding forward with 10 members because conference members are receiving high payouts per school and pleased with their access to the postseason.

"We are unconvinced at this point that larger is better," Bowlsby said.

The Big 12 doesn't want two more teams, but does want the CCG revenue.

[DSUrocks07]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8900124/big-12-wants-ncaa-allow-conference-title-game



The Big 12 doesn't want two more teams, but does want the CCG revenue.

Going the SWAC route...the precedent is there...

[MplsBison]

Since when? Texas is happy w/o a playoff, and when it comes to the Big 12 , what Bevo wants, Bevo gets.

That was with the old formula...too easy to punish the top ranked team in a conference that loses its championship game to the underdog.

Now, with the selection committee choosing teams - the humans are going to be able to tell that the Big XII champion dodges the championship game while the SEC, B1G, Pac 12 and ACC champions had to go through that hurdle.

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

* Richmond in the CAA would decimate its hoops and would invalidate more than a decade of pissing off the CAA and enriching itself basketballwise in the A-10.

xnodxxnodx

[aztecjim]

superman,

I had not seen that BUT like I said in my post the coaches hate them.

[aztecjim]

I just noticed I forgot Duquesne. Would their football program fit in my "Colonial"? Or do I make another exception to my own rules and place them in the A-10?

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

I just noticed I forgot Duquesne. Would their football program fit in my "Colonial"? Or do I make another exception to my own rules and place them in the A-10?

Their on-campus facility is terrible. They would have to make major upgrades to compete in a top level FCS conference. Unfortunately, their location makes any expansion almost impossible. There are plenty of great FCS type HS stadiums in the area if they wanted to go that route.

[danefan]

Their on-campus facility is terrible. They would have to make major upgrades to compete in a top level FCS conference. Unfortunately, their location makes any expansion almost impossible. There are plenty of great FCS type HS stadiums in the area if they wanted to go that route.

They could piggyback the local soccer club and expand Highmark Stadium right across the river. Plenty of room for a 10,000 seat stadium.