If PL DOES NOT adopt FB scholarships and Fordham departs, how 'bout Union College

[Go...gate]

Very similar in size to Lafayette and much stronger academically than Marist.

I know this is not a popular topic, but you never know....xpeacex

[Fox 94]

Us Marist Foke take uffence to being cauled Dum!

[Go...gate]

Us Marist Foke take uffence to being cauled Dum!

Not saying Marist has dumb kids! Very poor choice of words on my part.

[brownbear]

Union is in DIII. They would have to make the transition, so they couldn't be in the PL for at least a few years.

[TheValleyRaider]

I can't say I see Union making a jump to D-I. I'd guess they're less likely to do so than my pipe dream of RPI (though if they want to bring the Dutchman's Shoes to the PL, I wouldn't be opposed)

Truthfully, don't see it happening xtwocentsx

[ccd494]

Didn't Union vote against the D-III schools playing D-I hockey offering scholarships?

Why would they go D-I as a result?

[Seawolf97]

Even if they wanted to move up it wouldnt be until after 2011, then 5 years to move up. How is 2016 sound ?

[Franks Tanks]

Very similar in size to Lafayette and much stronger academically than Marist.

I know this is not a popular topic, but you never know....xpeacex

Schools like Union, Gettysburg, Hopkins and Franklin & Marshall would all be great additions to the PL. The chances of these schools moving up is rather slim I fear however.

[danefan]

No way Union moves to DI.....not a snowball's chance in hell.


And why would the PL go after Union and not RPI? RPI is a much better school and has oodles and oodles of money. They could go DI in a second if they wanted to and they are building a $78 million athletic complex, including a small but beautiful stadium.

Check out the January construction photos:
http://www.rpi.edu/about/ecav_progress/index.html

[DFW HOYA]

Forget the D-III choices. At that point the PL would look to the better NEC schools for help, or get American to get off the stump and play football again.

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

Didn't Union vote against the D-III schools playing D-I hockey offering scholarships?


Why would they have voted that way? Union is one of the D-III schools playing D-I ice hockey. I believe Middlebury and the rest of the unhappy D-III schools were just as upset with Union as they were with RPI, Clarkson, St. Lawrence, etc.

[TheValleyRaider]

Why would they have voted that way? Union is one of the D-III schools playing D-I ice hockey. I believe Middlebury and the rest of the unhappy D-III schools were just as upset with Union as they were with RPI, Clarkson, St. Lawrence, etc.

Union voted that way because their President, Roger Hull, didn't want to give scholarships. He is no longer President at Union, though I'm quite certain the two are not related. I am not 100% certain that the new President would be pro-scholarships, but it wouldn't surprise me

[carney2]

Better yet, why not someone/anyone/everyone from the NESCAC? Academic matches abound.

Let's get real here. We are talking a D-1 commitment. Why is this topic even being considered?

[DFW HOYA]

Let's get real here. We are talking a D-1 commitment. Why is this topic even being considered?

Isn't that the larger problem? People outside it don't perceive the PL as a D-I commitment.

[Jackman]

Surely moving Northeastern to the Patriot League makes the most sense for everyone involved. They want the move. Northeastern would love to be associated with the Patriot League schools. The majority of their fans (or at least the ones who make their views known on message boards) want the move. And while the CAA would never come out and say it (Mickey Matthews excluded), it would solve several problems for us, including realigning the divisions so that Villanova and Delaware aren't separated. And finally the Patriot gets to head off concerns about their AQ. Northeastern is a serious football program that actually wants to be in a non-scholarship Patriot League. Name another.

So what's the hold up? Yes, NU's academics aren't currently PL level, but they've been on a relentless march upward and PL affiliation would only accelerate their rate of improvement. And yes, NU's enrollment is larger than any PL member's, but I'm sure they'd agree to any regulation needed to prevent them from using their larger enrollment as an advantage. They behave like a smaller private school anyway. How picky does the Patriot League want to be if Fordham bails?

[LUHawker]

No way Union moves to DI.....not a snowball's chance in hell.


And why would the PL go after Union and not RPI? RPI is a much better school and has oodles and oodles of money. They could go DI in a second if they wanted to and they are building a $78 million athletic complex, including a small but beautiful stadium.

Check out the January construction photos:
http://www.rpi.edu/about/ecav_progress/index.html

I've been a pitch man for trying to attract RPI in the past and still think it could be a really great addition. Other than the not-so-insignificant issue of moving from DIII to DI, it fits based upon enrollment, academics, geography, and with new stadium, also facilities.

[Franks Tanks]

Surely moving Northeastern to the Patriot League makes the most sense for everyone involved. They want the move. Northeastern would love to be associated with the Patriot League schools. The majority of their fans (or at least the ones who make their views known on message boards) want the move. And while the CAA would never come out and say it (Mickey Matthews excluded), it would solve several problems for us, including realigning the divisions so that Villanova and Delaware aren't separated. And finally the Patriot gets to head off concerns about their AQ. Northeastern is a serious football program that actually wants to be in a non-scholarship Patriot League. Name another.

So what's the hold up? Yes, NU's academics aren't currently PL level, but they've been on a relentless march upward and PL affiliation would only accelerate their rate of improvement. And yes, NU's enrollment is larger than any PL member's, but I'm sure they'd agree to any regulation needed to prevent them from using their larger enrollment as an advantage. They behave like a smaller private school anyway. How picky does the Patriot League want to be if Fordham bails?

If Fordham leaves the PL will be in no position to be choosy. With that said Northeastern would be a fine addition to the league and the only real concern is their size, but as long as they keep academic guidelines somewhat within the range of other PL schools I have no real issues with that.

[LUHawker]

If Fordham leaves the PL will be in no position to be choosy. With that said Northeastern would be a fine addition to the league and the only real concern is their size, but as long as they keep academic guidelines somewhat within the range of other PL schools I have no real issues with that.

Hasn't the PL already been down this path with NU in the past?

[Franks Tanks]

Hasn't the PL already been down this path with NU in the past?

I believe the PL has at least had discussions with Northeastern-- I have no idea how serious they were or what issues had existed at the time.

[OLPOP]

Would Northeastern be able to cope with the new league-wide academic index?

[Go...gate]

Hasn't the PL already been down this path with NU in the past?

The PL rejected Northeastern earlier this decade, as they did Hofstra in the mid 1990's.