Patriot League: The New Realities, Part III

[Lehigh Football Nation]

I just released it. Did I write over my head on this one? No suggestions on "where to go from here", at least not yet - but some interesting things to ponder for next week and Part IV.

http://lehighfootballnation.blogspot.com

[carney2]

I am enjoying your articles immensely and am anxiously awaiting your "conclusions." A minor point however, the last school to drop from the Patriot League in football was Towson State.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

:doh:

Geez! I will fix that when I get a chance. Was Towson's place in the Patriot League that unmemorable?

[LeopardFan04]

good job LFN...I too, eagerly await Part IV...this is a huge, complex issue to tackle, thanks for covering it in so much detail...

[Tribe4SF]

Man, I thought part III was going to end this!:bang:

As an outsider, all the talk about the ill-defined AI seems to obfuscate the real issue. None of the Patriot schools are going to change their academic requirements for athletes. Each school has its own student profile to deal with.

The issue is that the members see themselves as less competitive for good football players under the current set up, and offering scholarships will help in that regard.

So somebody needs to propose scholarships and get the schools talking about it. But if you think that's going to eliminate the need to maintain expanded recruiting zones, I think you're mistaken.

[Tribe4SF]

:doh:

Geez! I will fix that when I get a chance. Was Towson's place in the Patriot League that unmemorable?

Apparently so. They saw what they needed to do, and are making it happen. They haven't lost an out-of-conference game since joining the CAA, and have beaten Delaware the last two years.

Let's hope the current Patriot members can exhibit such clarity.

[carney2]

:doh:

Geez! I will fix that when I get a chance. Was Towson's place in the Patriot League that unmemorable?

Yes.