CAA South 14, CAA North 4.

[BDKJMU]

Just for a little CAA South vs CAA North bragging:

JMU, Nova, UR and W&M are all 3-0 against the north this year. UD and Towson are 1-2. No north team had a win against the top four teams in the south. No north team has a winning record against the south.

[BlueHen86]

Just for a little CAA South vs CAA North bragging:

JMU, Nova, UR and W&M are all 3-0 against the north this year. UD and Towson are 1-2. No north team had a win against the top four teams in the south. No north team has a winning record against the south.

Wow. Good stats.

[JMU-MRD-DAD]

Just for a little CAA South vs CAA North bragging:

JMU, Nova, UR and W&M are all 3-0 against the north this year. UD and Towson are 1-2. No north team had a win against the top four teams in the south. No north team has a winning record against the south.

Good stuff........any idea what the final numbers were last year?

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

CAA North still gets 2 bids though, right?

[BlueHen86]

CAA North still gets 2 bids though, right?
One if they are lucky. UNH or Maine, and maybe neither.

[BDKJMU]

In 07' top 3 from CAA South (UR, UD, JMU) went 8-1 vs the North. Add in Nova for top 4 and it was 10-2. Overall South vs North was 11-7, as W&M & Towson went 1-5 against the North.

[Hansel]

kinda like the Big 12

[DSUrocks07]

Just for a little CAA South vs CAA North bragging:

JMU, Nova, UR and W&M are all 3-0 against the north this year. UD and Towson are 1-2. No north team had a win against the top four teams in the south. No north team has a winning record against the south.

I miss Citdog :(

[Hoyadestroya85]

I miss Citdog :(

what happened to Citdog, what did he do this time?

[Jackman]

The North will rise again!

[mainejeff]

The North will rise again!

Or the North will say take ODU and Georgia State and shove it! :)

[UMass922]

No doubt about it, the power in the CAA is in the South.

[art vandelay]

oh yeah well my dad can beat up your dad...

SHUT UP YOU BIG BULLY JERKS

xbawlingx xbawlingx xbawlingx

[Reign of Terrier]

just an observation but isn't all the good CFB in the southern part of the country? (Big 12, SEC, SoCon, and CAA south)

[headdressguy]

just an observation but isn't all the good CFB in the southern part of the country? (Big 12, SEC, SoCon, and CAA south)

Nah, the most successful program in the nation over the past dozen or so years is from Ohio. Seriously, I'm not sure we all fully appreciate what Mount Union has been doing.

[Jackman]

just an observation but isn't all the good CFB in the southern part of the country? (Big 12, SEC, SoCon, and CAA south)
If Villanova and Delaware are southern by virtue of playing in the CAA South, then I need to get those southern-fried Boston College fans to start calling me a yankee.

[Jackman]

Or the North will say take ODU and Georgia State and shove it! :)
I think the current plan is for Georgia State to play in the CAA North, since they have to fly everywhere they go anyway, and it'd be unfair for the South teams to get two games against the two noob programs while some of the North get none (URI doesn't count).

Then these arguments will get really confusing when the northerners at Georgia St. are playing the southerners at Villanova.

[smcwildcat]

idc what u southerners say although u guys own the north..... im not so sure about next year....but lets focus on now

[mainejeff]

I think the current plan is for Georgia State to play in the CAA North, since they have to fly everywhere they go anyway, and it'd be unfair for the South teams to get two games against the two noob programs while some of the North get none (URI doesn't count).

Then these arguments will get really confusing when the northerners at Georgia St. are playing the southerners at Villanova.

I'd like to see them force the Northern schools to fly down to Atlanta every other year.......if that happens.......see ya CAA!

xcoffeex

[Jackman]

Well, any team they move from the South to the North to bring both divisions to 7 is going to be a plane trip for Maine. And Atlanta is cheap. I can't fly anywhere in this country without the damn airlines trying to make me stop in Atlanta.

If not Georgia St., then it's Villanova. I doubt they're going to let the mostly non-CAA North division have Delaware. Villanova is a tough out. If the South has Georgia St., you're basically giving them a free additional conference win during the early years. At least let GSU get up to speed before swapping them for a good CAA team.

[ChickenMan]

My guess is that Towson goes to the North.. the new schools to the South


North

Maine
N'eastern
UNH
URI
UMass
Hofstra
Towson


South

Delaware
Villanova
JMU
W&M
Richmond
ODU
Georgia St

[Tim James]

My guess is that Towson goes to the North.. the new schools to the South


North

Maine
N'eastern
UNH
URI
UMass
Hofstra
Towson


South

Delaware
Villanova
JMU
W&M
Richmond
ODU
Georgia St

Villanova should be in the north division because Philadelphia is a northeastern city.

[ChickenMan]

Villanova should be in the north division because Philadelphia is a northeastern city.

they WON'T separate Nova and Delaware

[Dukie95]

But what about that epic JMU/Towson rivalry? Isn't that game sold out years in advance?

[andy7171]

My guess is that Towson goes to the North.. the new schools to the South


North

Maine
N'eastern
UNH
URI
UMass
Hofstra
Towson


South

Delaware
Villanova
JMU
W&M
Richmond
ODU
Georgia St

I'm all for moving to the North! xnodx Baltimore is only 40 miles SOUTH of Nova and UD. It's not that geographically odd.

[89Hen]

they WON'T separate Nova and Delaware
Given Delaware's "creative" scheduling of CAA teams for OOC games, they could still meet every year. xsmiley_wix

Actually, they could just do what the ACC is doing and have each team have a "primary rival" from the other division that play each other every year. It's a little different in that the ACC only has 12, but there will be an odd number in each CAA division. So you would have one permanent rival and rotate through the other six. xeyebrowx

[Hoyadestroya85]

If they ever separate Villanova and Delaware i might have to drive to Richmond and punch Tom Yeager in the testicles

[grayghost06]

they WON'T separate Nova and Delaware

The Big 12 separated Nebraska and Oklahoma, ruining a great rivalry...so anything is possible.

[Jackman]

Given Delaware's "creative" scheduling of CAA teams for OOC games, they could still meet every year. xsmiley_wix

Actually, they could just do what the ACC is doing and have each team have a "primary rival" from the other division that play each other every year. It's a little different in that the ACC only has 12, but there will be an odd number in each CAA division. So you would have one permanent rival and rotate through the other six. xeyebrowx
They'd need to increase the number of conference games to 9 to accommodate that. You don't want kids to go their entire collegiate careers without ever playing two of their conference mates. And it'd be 12 years between Delaware's trips to Amherst. When the hell are we going to even up that series at that rate?

[mcveyrl]

They'd need to increase the number of conference games to 9 to accommodate that. You don't want kids to go their entire collegiate careers without ever playing two of their conference mates. And it'd be 12 years between Delaware's trips to Amherst. When the hell are we going to even up that series at that rate?

That's the only problem I have with 14 teams. Even if you don't give a "rivalry" game, it's a LONG time between meeting out of division opponents. And 9 games is a crappy answer, IMO. I like having an OOC schedule like we had this year. Top level conference FCS opponent, FBS, and lower level FCS. I really like having three games.

[GannonFan]

Given Delaware's "creative" scheduling of CAA teams for OOC games, they could still meet every year. xsmiley_wix


They'd only meet every year as OOC rivals if nova agreed to play all or most of the games in Newark. I don't see UD committing themselves longterm to any home and home arrangements with anyone. Such is the power of the purse.

[89Hen]

They'd need to increase the number of conference games to 9 to accommodate that. You don't want kids to go their entire collegiate careers without ever playing two of their conference mates. And it'd be 12 years between Delaware's trips to Amherst. When the hell are we going to even up that series at that rate?
They'd have that problem to some extent regardless. If you play all division opponents and only two from the other division rotating, there would be a team that you wouldn't play for four consecutive years. This is just one of the reasons I'd hate a 14 team conference. xoopsx

BTW, don't think increasing to 9 is completely out of the question. The Yankee has done that before.

[whitey]

Increasing to 9 conference games would be the easiest solution to what would be a huge scheduling problem in a 14 team conference wouldn't it?

[Dukie95]

Increasing to 9 conference games would be the easiest solution to what would be a huge scheduling problem in a 14 team conference wouldn't it?

It would be easy, but we'd be cutting out a lot of OOC games which would make it more challenging to compare the CAA's teams against the other leagues, like the MEAC and Big Sky does today.

[whitey]

It would be easy, but we'd be cutting out a lot of OOC games which would make it more challenging to compare the CAA's teams against the other leagues, like the MEAC and Big Sky does today.

I'm well aware of the OOC negatives this solution would produce. After everyone's FBS money maker you'll see all these AD's scheduling lower tier FCS schools to round out the schedule. Good bye CAA/SoCon OOC matchups in that scenario...

In all likelihood wouldn't this arrangement only last for a few years? Some of these schools are going to move up and/or you'll see a new FCS conference take shape.

[mainejeff]

I'm all for moving to the North! xnodx Baltimore is only 40 miles SOUTH of Nova and UD. It's not that geographically odd.

I agree. I had never thought about placing Towson in the North........but it really makes the most sense from a competitive and geographical standpoint. Bravo ChickenMan! xthumbsupx

[Jackman]

I'm all for moving to the North! xnodx Baltimore is only 40 miles SOUTH of Nova and UD. It's not that geographically odd.
Well, but Towson's over 100 miles southwest of Philly by car. Almost 2 hours. And every CAA North member would be passing Philly on the way to Towson.

If you figure 5 hours is the maximum desired range for a bus trip (the longest bus trip I know of in the CAA is Maine to UMass), then Philadelphia is within bus range of Hofstra, UMass, URI, and even Northeastern in a pinch. Whereas Towson is only within 5 hours of Hofstra. They're about as close to UNC-Wilmington as they are to UMass.

Do UMass or URI currently bus to Nova/Delaware? I'm not sure we do, so this could be irrelevant, but I do think there's a geographic difference if air travel becomes more expensive.

I'd rather have Delaware (attendance boost and tradition), Villanova (shortest trip) or Georgia St. (easiest opponent early on). Nothing against Towson, they're just a less advantageous choice in each category. We can't even count on them to continue playing badly, anything could happen by 2012 when GSU starts conference play.

[Jackman]

What if we move both Villanova and Delaware to the North and move Hofstra to the South? Hofstra to the South is about the same as Towson to the North.

[Jackman]

They'd have that problem to some extent regardless. If you play all division opponents and only two from the other division rotating, there would be a team that you wouldn't play for four consecutive years. This is just one of the reasons I'd hate a 14 team conference. xoopsx
We could pull it off if return games are deferred. Example for a UMass player (if GSU is in the North):
Freshman year: Delaware and @Towson
Sophomore: ODU and @Villanova
Junior: JMU and @Richmond
Senior: W&M and @Delaware
Redshirt Senior: Towson and @ODU
Etc.

In a 9 game conference schedule, 1 opponent from the other division would still go missing for 4 years unless we deferred return games until the next cycle (like in the example above).

[Dukie95]

What if we move both Villanova and Delaware to the North and move Hofstra to the South? Hofstra to the South is about the same as Towson to the North.


Because all the South teams will be flying to GSU, one flight game a year in the division is enough.

[89Hen]

We could pull it off if return games are deferred.
I hadn't really thought of that and I will have to stew on whether it's good to defer the second part. xeyebrowx

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

Well, but Towson's over 100 miles southwest of Philly by car. Almost 2 hours. And every CAA North member would be passing Philly on the way to Towson.

If you figure 5 hours is the maximum desired range for a bus trip (the longest bus trip I know of in the CAA is Maine to UMass), then Philadelphia is within bus range of Hofstra, UMass, URI, and even Northeastern in a pinch. Whereas Towson is only within 5 hours of Hofstra. They're about as close to UNC-Wilmington as they are to UMass.

Do UMass or URI currently bus to Nova/Delaware? I'm not sure we do, so this could be irrelevant, but I do think there's a geographic difference if air travel becomes more expensive.

I'd rather have Delaware (attendance boost and tradition), Villanova (shortest trip) or Georgia St. (easiest opponent early on). Nothing against Towson, they're just a less advantageous choice in each category. We can't even count on them to continue playing badly, anything could happen by 2012 when GSU starts conference play.

UNH flies to 'Nova, Delaware and Towson, all commercially on SouthWest. From the travel perspective for UNH, it really doesn't make any difference which one moves to the North. From a historical rival point of view, Delaware would be UNH's choice since we've played since the 50's. We've played 'Nova more than Towson, but Towson was in America East with UNH for a few years and they are a public institution. So, I'd make Towson my second choice.

I think you can take it to the bank that GA State wouldn't be in the CAA North.

JMHO, but for balance I think it would be beneficial for another CAA all sports member to come into the North (Delaware or Towson). From a competitive point of view, it would be beneficial to move a team with a solid history into the North (Delaware or 'Nova).

From my selfish point of view, I hope Delaware comes North because I love to attend games down there, would prefer to play them every year (because they are really the only South team UNH has a long history with) and feel that UNH and Delaware have institutional similarities, Henfan could continue to make road trips to the NH/Maine Seacoast area :p , etc.

[BDKJMU]

Well, any team they move from the South to the North to bring both divisions to 7 is going to be a plane trip for Maine. And Atlanta is cheap. I can't fly anywhere in this country without the damn airlines trying to make me stop in Atlanta.

If not Georgia St., then it's Villanova. I doubt they're going to let the mostly non-CAA North division have Delaware. Villanova is a tough out. If the South has Georgia St., you're basically giving them a free additional conference win during the early years. At least let GSU get up to speed before swapping them for a good CAA team.

That means you're flying either Delta or Airtran.

[BDKJMU]

I'm all for moving to the North! xnodx Baltimore is only 40 miles SOUTH of Nova and UD. It's not that geographically odd.

xconfusedx xconfusedx xconfusedx
I'm only 14 miles from the Nova stadium, and Baltimore ain't 40 miles from either Nova or UD. Not even close.

By mapquest:
Nova to Towson about 98 miles. Nova to Baltimore 103.
Newark to Towson about 57 miles, Newark to Baltimore about 61.

So yes, Towson in the North with UD & Nova in the South would be geographically odd. I assume its going to be 7 teams in the North and South once GA State FB come aboard. That should mean each team will play the other 6 in their division and 2 from the other division. Nova could be put in the North, with the stipulation that one of the 2 south teams they played every year would be UD in order to keep that rivalry intact.

[BDKJMU]

Increasing to 9 conference games would be the easiest solution to what would be a huge scheduling problem in a 14 team conference wouldn't it?

With a 12 game schedule no problem as teams could play 9 league games and still have 3 OOC. But it is a problem with an 11 game schedules, as that would allow for only 2 OOC. Now the playoffs appear to not be starting a week earlier in the future as initially thought in order to accomodate the extra round, since apparently the NC will be pushed back to late Dec/early Jan. About 2/3 of seasons you'll have 12 weekends Sept-Nov before the playoffs start the last weekend in Nov, and most teams are going to schedule 11 games with a bye. The other about 1/3 of seasons like this season you'll 13 weekends end of Aug-Nov before the playoff start the last weekend of Nov, and those seasons a team could schedule 12 and still have a bye, like this season.

Overall, I don't see 9 league games working. This 14 team CAA is going to be very unwieldy.

[BDKJMU]

Bruce Dowd talks about the South's dominance in his weekly recap & preview article:
http://www.championshipsubdivisionnews.com/index.php?blog=5&title=the-caa-today-week-11-aamp-12-chaos-in-t&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1