East Coast FCS Conference Rejiggering

[BlueHenSinfonian]

With today's announcement of the Patriot League deciding to not decide about scholarships, the shakeup with the CAA-North schools, and the impending addition of several new southern eastern teams, it seems like certain conference realignments are all but assured. Here's how I see it possibly playing out:

The Neo-Yankee Conference Scenario
'Nova goes Big East
UMass goes MAC

Neo-Yankee Conference: (with flexible scholarship demands)
Maine
UNH
Fordham
Stony Brook
Albany
Lehigh
Colgate
URI

New CAA: (full scholarship)
Delaware
Towson
Richmond
William and Mary
Old Dominion
James Madison
Georgia State
UNC Charlotte

New Patriot League: (no scholarships)
Lafayette
Georgetown
Holy Cross
Sacred Heart
Marist
Bucknell
St. Francis (PA)
Presbytarian

The Super-CAA Scenario
'Nova goes Big East
UMass goes MAC

CAA-North (full scholarship)
UNH
Maine
Stony Brook
Albany
Colgate
Fordham
Lehigh

CAA-South (full scholarship)
Delaware
Towson
Richmond
JMU
William and Mary
Old Dominion
Georgia State

New Patriot League: (no scholarships)
Lafayette
Georgetown
Holy Cross
Sacred Heart
Marist
Bucknell
St. Francis (PA)
Presbytarian

Mostly Status Quo Scenario

UMass stays in the CAA
'Nova stays in the CAA
Fordham moves to the CAA
Marist replaces Fordham in the PL

Share your feedback for the most/least likely scenarios, or even alternate shakeups.

[letsgopards04]

This is good but I don't think that Marist, Sacred Heart, St. Francis and Presbyterian can meet the AI. By all means if someone has better info, do tell.

[Franks Tanks]

With today's announcement of the Patriot League deciding to not decide about scholarships, the shakeup with the CAA-North schools, and the impending addition of several new southern eastern teams, it seems like certain conference realignments are all but assured. Here's how I see it possibly playing out:

The Neo-Yankee Conference Scenario
'Nova goes Big East
UMass goes MAC

Neo-Yankee Conference: (with flexible scholarship demands)
Maine
UNH
Fordham
Stony Brook
Albany
Lehigh
Colgate
URI

New CAA: (full scholarship)
Delaware
Towson
Richmond
William and Mary
Old Dominion
James Madison
Georgia State
UNC Charlotte

New Patriot League: (no scholarships)
Lafayette
Georgetown
Holy Cross
Sacred Heart
Marist
Bucknell
St. Francis (PA)
Presbytarian

The Super-CAA Scenario
'Nova goes Big East
UMass goes MAC

CAA-North (full scholarship)
UNH
Maine
Stony Brook
Albany
Colgate
Fordham
Lehigh

CAA-South (full scholarship)
Delaware
Towson
Richmond
JMU
William and Mary
Old Dominion
Georgia State

New Patriot League: (no scholarships)
Lafayette
Georgetown
Holy Cross
Sacred Heart
Marist
Bucknell
St. Francis (PA)
Presbytarian

Mostly Status Quo Scenario

UMass stays in the CAA
'Nova stays in the CAA
Fordham moves to the CAA
Marist replaces Fordham in the PL

Share your feedback for the most/least likely scenarios, or even alternate shakeups.

I don't think Colgate will leave the PL. Lehigh may, but little chance on Colgate.

Don't forget that the PL wont simply allow a school to move their FB program out of the league without ramifications in other sports.

[Original_RMC]

You are taking 3 current NEC programs and 1 future one in URI so in your scenario is that NEC dead?
I would think that if you consider Albany for either the Neo-Yankee Conference or CAA-North (full scholarship) then you also have to consider perhaps CCSU.

Base off your layout - Possible New NEC Conference
Robert Morris
Duquesne
Bryant
Wagner
Monmouth
Dayton?
Drake?
Butler?
Bucknell?

[DFW HOYA]

New Patriot League: (no scholarships)
Lafayette
Georgetown
Holy Cross
Sacred Heart
Marist
Bucknell
St. Francis (PA)
Presbyterian


How did a 50-scholarship team in South Carolina make this list?

[BlueHenSinfonian]

How did a 50-scholarship team in South Carolina make this list?

I was having trouble coming up with a final PL member, and as a small private institution with a good academic reputation and limited football success at large scholarship conference I figured they might make a good PL fit, although I thought Presbyterian was in NC, SC might be a bit of a travel issue.

[BlueHenSinfonian]

You are taking 3 current NEC programs and 1 future one in URI so in your scenario is that NEC dead?
I would think that if you consider Albany for either the Neo-Yankee Conference or CAA-North (full scholarship) then you also have to consider perhaps CCSU.

Base off your layout - Possible New NEC Conference
Robert Morris
Duquesne
Bryant
Wagner
Monmouth
Dayton?
Drake?
Butler?
Bucknell?

Killing off the NEC is a problem that I wasn't sure how to work around. Having thee tiers of scholarships - none, limited, and full, and a smallish number of teams to work with, my guess was that the larger NEC institutions would probably prefer full scholarship football, while the smaller ones with less football success might prefer to drop down to a no scholarship league, I was just spitballing.

[bostonspider]

As I think Villanova, UMass, ODU, JMU, and GSU are not really long for the FCS world, I could forsee a new East Coast full scholarship FCS Conference

Lambert Conference
Maine
UNH
Colgate
Fordham
Lehigh
Delaware (questionable if they stay FCS)
Towson
Richmond
William & Mary

[aust42]

Here we go with another thread about conference realignments which are compelte fantasy.

[bostonspider]

Of course they are complete fantasy. What esle do we have to go on. The ones you need to look for are teams that play in either "football only" conferences, or are just associate members for football in a conference. Teams like UNH, Maine, Villanova, Richmond, Fordham could go to any conference they chose without affecting their olympic sports.

[Fordham]

This is good but I don't think that Marist, Sacred Heart, St. Francis and Presbyterian can meet the AI. By all means if someone has better info, do tell.Wouldnt the ai just move corresponding to the stats of the new member institutions? It's a composite, right?

[aceinthehole]

Here we go with another thread about conference realignments which are compelte fantasy.

Exactly! The NEC is as strong as ever and with the AQ and there is little reason for any of its members to go elsewhere. Albany, might be the only team looking really for a full scholly conference, but that oportunition is not going to start out of thin air. (I also doubt the resources and willingness of the UA administration to make the move).

The "New Yankee Conference" is dead because of UNH. A few years ago, if UNH got UMass, Maine, and URI to go along with a new northern-based conference (add Albany, Stony Brook, CCSU, and Fordham) this change might have had a chance at happening. Now it won't.

URI is signed on for the NEC.
UMass all but announced they will go FBS to the MAC in 2 years.
Maine is so remote, they may have no choice but to join URI in the NEC.

Sure UNH can stubbornly hang on in the CAA and maybe they do add Fordham (or longshots SBU or UA), but W&M and Richmond aren't leaving the CAA for the PL.

I can't help but laugh at this whole PL secenario - I (and many others) saw this a mile away while the diehard PL appoligist keep their head in the sand and think that certain PL institutions can call the shots and break up other conferences like the CAA or NEC. It won't happen :)

[letsgopards04]

Wouldnt the ai just move corresponding to the stats of the new member institutions? It's a composite, right?

Then why does Fordham hate it so much if it is reflective of the members. I think it has minimum SAT floors and the like but I am by no means an expert, anyone?

[LeadBolt]

As I think Villanova, UMass, ODU, JMU, and GSU are not really long for the FCS world, I could forsee a new East Coast full scholarship FCS Conference

Lambert Conference
Maine
UNH
Colgate
Fordham
Lehigh
Delaware (questionable if they stay FCS)
Towson
Richmond
William & Mary

I don't see this one happening.

[henfan]

Here we go with another thread about conference realignments which are compelte fantasy.

+1. It's pure silliness.

[BlueHenSinfonian]

+1. It's pure silliness.

The whole forum is silliness, it's not as if any of our game analysis, predictions, smack, etc, has any real effect. With all of the conference turmoil going on, it's just fun to play around with what the possibilities are.

[jmufan999]

The whole forum is silliness, it's not as if any of our game analysis, predictions, smack, etc, has any real effect. With all of the conference turmoil going on, it's just fun to play around with what the possibilities are.

it's fun until you are beaten over the head with the same idea over and over and over and over and over and over, except mixing up a few teams and/or conference names. it's a free country, so you can write whatever you want... but these scenarios NEVER happen... if we're going to draw up fake scenarios, why don't we just have JMU join the Pac-10? i'd like that a lot better.

[yorkcountyUNHfan]

Exactly! The NEC is as strong as ever and with the AQ and there is little reason for any of its members to go elsewhere. Albany, might be the only team looking really for a full scholly conference, but that oportunition is not going to start out of thin air. (I also doubt the resources and willingness of the UA administration to make the move).

The "New Yankee Conference" is dead because of UNH. A few years ago, if UNH got UMass, Maine, and URI to go along with a new northern-based conference (add Albany, Stony Brook, CCSU, and Fordham) this change might have had a chance at happening. Now it won't.

URI is signed on for the NEC.
UMass all but announced they will go FBS to the MAC in 2 years.
Maine is so remote, they may have no choice but to join URI in the NEC.

Sure UNH can stubbornly hang on in the CAA and maybe they do add Fordham (or longshots SBU or UA), but W&M and Richmond aren't leaving the CAA for the PL.

I can't help but laugh at this whole PL secenario - I (and many others) saw this a mile away while the diehard PL appoligist keep their head in the sand and think that certain PL institutions can call the shots and break up other conferences like the CAA or NEC. It won't happen :)

there goes UNH stubbornly doing whats best for UNH again

[Go...gate]

How did a 50-scholarship team in South Carolina make this list?

All those southern chicks in blue hose, of course! : )

[Go...gate]

The whole forum is silliness, it's not as if any of our game analysis, predictions, smack, etc, has any real effect. With all of the conference turmoil going on, it's just fun to play around with what the possibilities are.

Not that silly. No question that the plates are in full shift in eastern football right now.

[BlueHenSinfonian]

Not that silly. No question that the plates are in full shift in eastern football right now.

Which is one of the reasons I started this. Yes, my predictions may be off, but there is no question that in a couple years, and maybe even by the start of next season, the current FCS eastern conferences aren't going to look like they do today.

[jmufan999]

Which is one of the reasons I started this. Yes, my predictions may be off, but there is no question that in a couple years, and maybe even by the start of next season, the current FCS eastern conferences aren't going to look like they do today.

fair enough.

deep down, i'm probably just pissed that JMU is going to end up in a non-BCS conference and Nova will end up having a chance to play for a national title, almost right away. i guess these threads just remind me of that notion. dear god, i hope rufus doesn't read this. it just makes me nauseous that we'll go from "playoff football" to "every game is essentially meaningless". meaningless to me, anyway. 0% chance at a national title = meaningless to me

[BlueHenSinfonian]

fair enough.

deep down, i'm probably just pissed that JMU is going to end up in a non-BCS conference and Nova will end up having a chance to play for a national title, almost right away. i guess these threads just remind me of that notion. dear god, i hope rufus doesn't read this. it just makes me nauseous that we'll go from "playoff football" to "every game is essentially meaningless". meaningless to me, anyway. 0% chance at a national title = meaningless to me

I know there have been rumors of JMU making the FBS jump, but I haven't seen anything concrete yet. Have you heard anything mentioning a likely conference affiliation? I'm guessing that it would either be C-USA, the MAC, or the SunBelt. With all of the FCS to FBS talk, there has been very little out of the two programs who would seem the most ready (aside from Montana that already turned down an invite) UD and App State (ready in terms of both a history of success at the FCS level and already averaging well over the 15,000 per game attendance threshold for FBS). I'm sure the ADs at both schools are far more well informed and in-the-know than any of us are, so it makes me wonder if they are holding their cards close to their chests in anticipation of some FBS conference shakeups, namely, what is going to happen if the Big East splits, and/or is raided by the ACC. Depending on what happens to the Big East, there could conceivably be room for a new FBS conference - maybe the A-10 coming back with whoever is squeezed out of the BigEast/ACC mess, plus Temple, and several FCS schools moving up to flesh it out.

[Seawolf97]

All these scenarios are not that far fetched. Look back at the FCS landscape along the East Coast in December 2005 just 5 years ago. Now take a look today. All kinds of change. True no new conferences but all kinds of downgrades, upgrades and programs that no longer exist-remember Iona, St Peters? So 5 years from today given the climate of FCS/FBS football anything is possible. The question is who will survive,drop their programs or move to FBS.

[BlueHenSinfonian]

All these scenarios are not that far fetched. Look back at the FCS landscape along the East Coast in December 2005 just 5 years ago. Now take a look today. All kinds of change. True no new conferences but all kinds of downgrades, upgrades and programs that no longer exist-remember Iona, St Peters? So 5 years from today given the climate of FCS/FBS football anything is possible. The question is who will survive,drop their programs or move to FBS.

You bring up a very good point regarding programs that no longer exist. Northeastern, Hofstra, and Boston U get all of the attention for dropping football because they played in a very visible conference, and were generally competitive. Your post prompted me to Google around a bit and I found this quote on the Iona athletics site:



From 2002 until the present, six of its member programs chose to discontinue its football program (Canisius, Fairfield, La Salle, Saint Peter's, Siena, and St. John's).

I remember LaSalle and Canisius dropping football, I don't think the other schools ever even showed up on my radar. It's a huge shame that so many northeast schools are choosing to discontinue a sport that is loved by so many and adds so much to the campus life experience.

I realize that football is expensive to offer, but there has to be a better solution than shuttering so many programs. Scholarship free conferences don't really alleviate the issue because even if a school remains competitive inside of that conference, they are hopelessly outmatched outside of it (for purposes of this argument I consider the PL's aid system at least equivalent to partial scholarships). If the NCAA allowed a school to support Div I athletics in all sports other than football, where it could play in Div II or III at the schools discretion, so you think it would encourage some of these smaller colleges to bring programs back?

[DFW HOYA]

If the NCAA allowed a school to support Div I athletics in all sports other than football, where it could play in Div II or III at the schools discretion, so you think it would encourage some of these smaller colleges to bring programs back?

No. The MAAC schools went down with the ship, in part, beause the MAAC offices told its schools to focus on sports other than football to raise the conference's standing and the home office scaled back promotion of the football conference as a result. As teams started dropping programs, the other schools took note; Marist was the only MAAC school to hang in there.

Football did not have deep roots at many MAAC schools--how many even have club teams going right now?

[Redwyn]

Which is one of the reasons I started this. Yes, my predictions may be off, but there is no question that in a couple years, and maybe even by the start of next season, the current FCS eastern conferences aren't going to look like they do today.

This is mostly the only post in the whole thread I wholeheartedly agree with.

I will say this - SBU isn't investing PILES into football and everything to do with it to stay where it is. However, that being said, I don't see it making a single sport move unless it's FBS or an all sports invite follows.

[henfan]

Gentleman, simply saying that change is going to occur isn't wise or insightful, as change is natural, obvious and ongoing. NCAA conference switcheroos have been happening since the very beginning and will continue for as long as conferences exist.

What's silly and not particularly interesting is the endless speculation of FB conference scenarios, which are bandied about with little basis in reality and often completely without consideration for institutional/academic matches or sports beyond FB.

[wr70beh]

I don't see this one happening.

I don't either. I think UR and W&M look south if ODU, JMU, GaState bail out (leaving the CAA football conference in shambles). I think a hookup with Elon, Furman, and Wofford would be much more likely than with northern schools.

[LeadBolt]

I don't either. I think UR and W&M look south if ODU, JMU, GaState bail out (leaving the CAA football conference in shambles). I think a hookup with Elon, Furman, and Wofford would be much more likely than with northern schools.

Agreed. Love the CAA and hope to stay there, but change is in the air, not too far down the road...

[Seawolf97]

Gentleman, simply saying that change is going to occur isn't wise or insightful, as change is natural, obvious and ongoing. NCAA conference switcheroos have been happening since the very beginning and will continue for as long as conferences exist.

What's silly and not particularly interesting is the endless speculation of FB conference scenarios, which are bandied about with little basis in reality and often completely without consideration for institutional/academic matches or sports beyond FB.

Agreed - academic profiles, olympic sports and travel will all play a part. With the exception of Villanova I dont see anyone making the leap from FCS to a BCS conference. So it would be the MAC, Sunbelt maybe C-USA.

[Seawolf97]

This is mostly the only post in the whole thread I wholeheartedly agree with.

I will say this - SBU isn't investing PILES into football and everything to do with it to stay where it is. However, that being said, I don't see it making a single sport move unless it's FBS or an all sports invite follows.

It is bizarre- 5 years ago we were Co Champs in the NEC with CCSU-now we open with back to back FBS games in 2011. Only concern is injuries -losing guys like Gowins and Porter at USF hurt us this year.