Davidson, Delaware, and Northeastern to A10?

[BigSouthFB]

With credit for JMU DUKE Dog for finding this...
https://twitter.com/marchenrysports

Any truth to this rumor reported by a Newsday writer?

The CAA would have 7 teams remaining:

Charleston
Drexel
Hofstra
James Madison
Towson
UNC-Wilmington
William and Mary

[henfan]

The bigger question is whether or not the UD BOT would be willing to abandon their decades-long love affair with the broad based athletic philosophy and put the FB program at risk. What sort of academic concessions would UD have to make to compete in MBB in the newly reconfigured A-10?

IMO, UD will only leave the CAA when they feel that they have no other viable options available. I'd be less surprised if they moved all sports to the MAC or, to a lesser extent, the Patriot League. A move in any direction will represent a philosophical change in how they've approached athletics and won't come easily.

[danefan]

It would make sense if UD got a football-only offer from the MAC.

Align itself with UMass in the A10 for all-sports.

If JMU and UD leave, could it be possible that the CAA stops administering the CAA football league? At that point, there would only be 2 CAA members playing CAA football (Towson and W&M).

Could we see Towson get recruited to the AEast? William & Mary to the SoCon?

We could end up with a Northeastern FCS conference of misfits afterall:

Albany
Stony Brook
Maine
UNH
URI
Richmond
Towson
Villanova

[ccd494]

This would be delightful solely to see the amount of teeth gnashing on BU's campus.

[henfan]

How long would VU last in that lineup? How long is VU FB going to last anyway?

Could maybe CCSU and/or Monmouth be added to that group?

[DFW HOYA]

How long would VU last in that lineup? How long is VU FB going to last anyway?

The same as they've lasted in the Yankee/A-10/CAA.

[henfan]

The same as they've lasted in the Yankee/A-10/CAA.

Yeah, but the configuration listed above is much different than the original conference VU joined in the '80's. UR would be their only remaining long-time FB rival. And then there's the Andy Talley retirement factor looming...

With the prospect of FBS FB gone forever, might this be their chance to kill a program that has little support and loses big bucks? Don't know the answer to that.

[danefan]

How long would VU last in that lineup? How long is VU FB going to last anyway?

Could maybe CCSU and/or Monmouth be added to that group?

Monmouth could be for sure, but I'd want to see at least an 8,000 seat stadium.

Georgetown is the natural fit of course if they had any kind of committment to scholarships or facilities.

[danefan]

Yeah, but the configuration listed above is much different than the original conference VU joined in the '80's. UR would be their only remaining long-time FB rival. And then there's the Andy Talley retirement factor looming...

With the prospect of FBS FB gone forever, might this be their chance to kill a program that has little support and loses big bucks? Don't know the answer to that.

It might be, but I still think you have a good A10/AEast league. Replace VU with CCSU and add Monmouth and it could be a decent league in the new world of FCS football.

[MplsBison]

Yeah, but the configuration listed above is much different than the original conference VU joined in the '80's. UR would be their only remaining long-time FB rival. And then there's the Andy Talley retirement factor looming...

With the prospect of FBS FB gone forever, might this be their chance to kill a program that has little support and loses big bucks? Don't know the answer to that.

Or they could pull a Georgetown or what any number of FCS schools do: minimally support the program even by DII standards but still have a "varsity" team in NCAA Division I football "yay!".

[aceinthehole]

CCSU just needs the AE/CAA Football invite, and then they would hold their own within that group. You just can't compare the program "as is" in the scholly-limited NEC to what can be done under the CAA banner.

CCSU already has a facility bigger (5,500) and nicer (new video board) than Monmouth, and we still have the ability to add seating, if required, to get to up to 8,500. Arute Field will never be like Delaware Stadium or the new facilities that the SUNYs have, but it would be on par with the other New England schools (Meade, Alfond, and Cowell).

In all honestly, CCSU's floor can't be any lower than URI and its ceiling is probably comparable to Maine.

[GannonFan]

Or they could pull a Georgetown or what any number of FCS schools do: minimally support the program even by DII standards but still have a "varsity" team in NCAA Division I football "yay!".

I could see them do that, or just drop it altogether. Right now, Talley and their respect for him is the only thing holding nova football together. Once he retires or leaves the program, that will be the telling moment. And if UD moves into football conference where nova can't follow (i.e. go FBS) then that will just be one more nail in the coffin. But it's clear with the reformation of the Big East, that nova is content to find a soft landing spot for basketball, even if it's a significant step down from the former Big East (probably the best they can do, though) and to let football wither on the vine. I'm sure their attitude is, to quote Ivan Drago, "If it dies, it dies".

[Original_RMC]

Are the membership requirements to apply to the CAA online?
I read all these posts that this program would have to upgrade their stadium or arena....just looking to see if there was something actually out there.

[Go...gate]

This would be delightful solely to see the amount of teeth gnashing on BU's campus.

Word is that BU is pretty happy in the Patriot League. If only they had football.

[Redwyn]

Gotta hope SBU and Albany quickly petition the state to slam through their stadium upgrades and get a MAC invite. Both would be decently competitive in basketball, and united with fellow univ center Buffalo (who absolutely wants us in). That FCS conference is a deadend, and not where the trajectories of either program should have us going.

[Sader87]

Gotta hope SBU and Albany quickly petition the state to slam through their stadium upgrades and get a MAC invite. Both would be decently competitive in basketball, and united with fellow univ center Buffalo (who absolutely wants us in). That FCS conference is a deadend, and not where the trajectories of either program should have us going.

Aren't we getting uppity????

[Redwyn]

Aren't we getting uppity????

It has nothing to do with FCS. I'm personally very happy here. But the per-school relative expenditure in this conference tanks substantially as soon as Delaware and JMU leave. The only large publics are SBU and Towson, and Towson really isn't in our target group of peer institutions.

With the much greater sums being spent on football/athletics by the schools leaving than the schools staying - I have a hard time saying SB would still be a "developing" program if left in that conference.

Get me an FCS conference that has peer institutions - both demographically and athletically - and I'm 100% fine with staying. But the CAA has to stay pretty much as is for that to happen.

[Dave195]

I don't see an 8,000 seat stadium in Monmouth's immediate future. Not in WLB anyways. I know this is a football board, but Monmouth needs to think about Basketball first (that's their priority), then football. I would like to see Drexel and Hofstra come to the MAAC for basketball, and I would like to see Monmouth compete in the Patriot League or CAA w/ Albany & Stony Brook in football. Football moving from NEC to Independent to Big South to one of those schools will take 5 years. One as an independent and four in the BS while they add scholarships (should only take 2 years to get to at least 57) and improve the stadium (whatever that means). Remains to be seen how they will improve stadium, obviously a new video board, press box, concessions, and bathrooms, but not sure about adding seats just yet cause of WLB zoning. Also, sorry for the run-on sentences haha

[Pard4Life]

There might be a window for Patriot League expansion. W&M was more than just interested last year, but could have purely been a negotiating tactic. I hope the PL realizes their opportunity again.

[danefan]

Gotta hope SBU and Albany quickly petition the state to slam through their stadium upgrades and get a MAC invite. Both would be decently competitive in basketball, and united with fellow univ center Buffalo (who absolutely wants us in). That FCS conference is a deadend, and not where the trajectories of either program should have us going.

Amen. Our new President is nowon record asking where our 20,000 seat stadium is. The foundation has been laid for us to get there relatively easily. Our new stadium is modularly expandable to 24,000. It was designed to handle an entire second deck of luxury/press boxes with relative ease and we have a pretty good TV market.

The question is, whether anyone has the balls big enough to make it happen?

[WestCoastAggie]

The MEAC & OVC look very stable right now.

[Seawolf97]

If the CAA shrinks then Monmouth and CCSU would be likely candidates to fill the void. They are both capable of getting up to 60-63 scholarships over 2-3 seasons and would be competitive Im sure. As for StonyBrook if and when we go FBS then the MAC is the likely the choice and probably Albany. That puts the three SUNY Football programs in the same conference and would make for some good rivalry games. We both would have to figure out where our lax programs will go since I dont think the MAC is a lax conference. That could be a major sticking point for any conference move except the CAA.

[Redwyn]

Amen. Our new President is nowon record asking where our 20,000 seat stadium is. The foundation has been laid for us to get there relatively easily. Our new stadium is modularly expandable to 24,000. It was designed to handle an entire second deck of luxury/press boxes with relative ease and we have a pretty good TV market.

The question is, whether anyone has the balls big enough to make it happen?

After seeing how Montana State upgraded, I've heard rumors around campus that SBU eyes a size around the 35K mark for total expansion, potentially going 3 tiers on the side opposite the current fieldhouse.

25K would put both of us at about the average size for stadiums. Given that many MAC teams have tracks around their fields, very high potential to be one of the premiere stadiums in that conference.

That all said - how bout our programs focus on getting in 8K first?!? SBU vs. Albany has another chance of getting capacity up around SRO 10-11K mark.

[Dave195]

Where would CCSU go for basketball if they left nec football for caa? AEast would be HUGE downgrade from NEC bball esp w/ albany and sb likely leaving to become full-time caa members

[DFW HOYA]

Or they could pull a Georgetown or what any number of FCS schools do: minimally support the program even by DII standards but still have a "varsity" team in NCAA Division I football "yay!".

Do schools like Wagner and Albany "minimally support the program"? Because Georgetown's funding formula is closer to the NEC than the other PL schools, and far beyond that of the Pioneer. It's hard to raise budgets when you've reached maximum attendance at its threadbare facility.

[fc97]

there's a lot of stuff in the media of elon and furman to the caa. wofford is now being mentioned to.

on the other side, there are unofficial reports of uncw and william & mary with the socon

[WestCoastAggie]

Wouldn't Bill & Mary be better off in the PL now than the CAA or SoCon?

[DFW HOYA]

Wouldn't Bill & Mary be better off in the PL now than the CAA or SoCon?

As long as the PL clings to the Ivy Index, W&M, Nova, and UR will stay elsewhere.

[MplsBison]

Gotta hope SBU and Albany quickly petition the state to slam through their stadium upgrades and get a MAC invite. Both would be decently competitive in basketball, and united with fellow univ center Buffalo (who absolutely wants us in). That FCS conference is a deadend, and not where the trajectories of either program should have us going.

No way! Those spots are going to the Dakota State U schools and we're taking Northern Iowa with us to bridge the gap to Northern Illinois! :D

[ccd494]

Where would CCSU go for basketball if they left nec football for caa? AEast would be HUGE downgrade from NEC bball esp w/ albany and sb likely leaving to become full-time caa members

What?

[Dane96]

Where would CCSU go for basketball if they left nec football for caa? AEast would be HUGE downgrade from NEC bball esp w/ albany and sb likely leaving to become full-time caa members

This is just an uniformed statement.

[downbythebeach]

AEC might as well be in Canada
I was in New Hampshire and Maine in August and it was freakin freezin:D

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

IMO, one, or two, of the PSAC schools need to move up to FCS. I know there's equal funding issues that need to be addressed first.

One of the western schools recently built a 6k seat arena. Why does a D2 school need that? And where did that money come from?

[Dave195]

UMass Lowell?? C'mon now. AE might as well be in purgatory between D1 and D2

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Monmouth would be a good fit for the A10 if they would step up their funding. I don't know what they would do about football though.

[BlueHenSinfonian]

The bigger question is whether or not the UD BOT would be willing to abandon their decades-long love affair with the broad based athletic philosophy and put the FB program at risk. What sort of academic concessions would UD have to make to compete in MBB in the newly reconfigured A-10?

IMO, UD will only leave the CAA when they feel that they have no other viable options available. I'd be less surprised if they moved all sports to the MAC or, to a lesser extent, the Patriot League. A move in any direction will represent a philosophical change in how they've approached athletics and won't come easily.

Does the A-10 sponsor fewer sports than the CAA? Moving everything but Football to the A-10 wouldn't seem to hurt any of the other sports, and travel costs shouldn't be any worse than they are in the CAA. Pulling a UMass and moving football to the MAC while keeping everything else in the A-10 would be ideal (well, finagling an invite to the Conference-Formerly-Known-As-The-Big-East would be ideal, but I don't see that happening).

Costs would go up some with a move to FBS, but the improved TV revenue from the MAC and A-10, not to mention potentially improved attendance, would offset that. We'd have to hire a competent coach, but that's been the only thing holding back UD basketball since '01 or thereabouts.

[The Cats]

Davidson doesn't go to the A10 for the same reason they didn't go to the CAA.

[NHwildEcat]

AEC might as well be in Canada
I was in New Hampshire and Maine in August and it was freakin freezin:D

Such a hot summer last year, it got up into the 70's. Yikes.

I'll give you Maine on that...that state is so huge it really is like a southern province of Canada.

[NHwildEcat]

UMass Lowell?? C'mon now. AE might as well be in purgatory between D1 and D2

Uninformed. UMass-Lowell has made huge strides to get to where they are today. And they more then fit the mold of the AE. They didn't belong with the schools they were playing with in D2. This fixes that misalignment.

[walliver]

Davidson doesn't go to the A10 for the same reason they didn't go to the CAA.

I agree. Although Davidson basketball would be a good fit for the A-10, Davidson has de-emphasized sports in general. I think they will stay within the short-bus-trip SoCon.

[henfan]

I agree. Although Davidson basketball would be a good fit for the A-10, Davidson has de-emphasized sports in general. I think they will stay within the short-bus-trip SoCon.

Plus, their MBB coach seems to be in love with the autobid, which is close to a given in the SoCon. Chances diminish at landing an autobid in a conference so singularly focused on one sport like the A-10.

[aceinthehole]

AEC might as well be in Canada
I was in New Hampshire and Maine in August and it was freakin freezin:D

Says the guys from Loretto ;)

For CCSU, AE travel is the same or better than the NEC. Hartford, Albany, UVM, UNH are easy very trips and even Binghamton is closer than you guys. UMBC is slightly closer than the Mount. And Maine is no worse than out trip to Western PA.

[Dane96]

UMass Lowell?? C'mon now. AE might as well be in purgatory between D1 and D2

Academically hate the school...but athletically they are beyond gifted. Track, Field Hockey, Basketball, Hoops, Baseball...all good. Their facilties BLOW away just about all of the NEC and AE.

Do some research before you speak. Now that said, they are not a peer institution in my eyes and I was not happy with the add. Athletically, I have no issues.