CAA Expansion

[Michigan_Dane]

According to this site, the CAA invited Davidson, College of Charleston and App State!

 

http://www.goblueridge.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16294

 

Like Hamlet, "To be, or not to be. That's the question. The answer, well right now, nobody knows. On Friday, the Colonial Athletic Association, which will lose member schools Old Dominion (Conference USA), Virginia Commonwealth (Atlantic 10) and Georgia State (which will join the Football Bowl Subdivision in April) after the 2012-13 season, made a formal invitation to Davidson, College of Charleston and Appalachian State---yes, ASU, to become league members. The CAA is

 

eagarly looking for new membes, and what better place to look, but at one of its biggest rivals----the Southern Conference. The CAA has not been shy about approaching the Southern Conference and its member schools. The CAA initially extended an invitation to Davidson and the College of Charleston to join the league back on May 17. Furman and Elon joined the conversation a short while later. In turn, the Southern Conference is giving its member schools contacted by the CAA until July 4 to make a decision either way. Stay tuned, the drama just keeps growing....and in an era, where teams are jumping from conference to conference, it's become a normal day of life in college athletics. And look at it this way, if nothing happens, it makes for good conversation and gossip.

[UAalum72]

If true (and this is after all an internet article which may be true, incomplete, or false) it's good that Fiore is happy in America East.

[madDOG]

If true, the CAA became suddenly less apealing

[danefan]

CAA football is way more attractive though.

[mainejeff]

In terms of Albany's chances to join the CAA Football league...........you guys have to cross your fingers that Davidson doesn't get its way and strong-arms the CAA into inviting Furman and Elon as well. That would pretty much squash Albany's chances to become a CAA Football affiliate. Seems to me either the CAA becomes a 14 members all-sports league and football looks like this:

 

 

Maine

UNH

Stony Brook

Villanova

Delaware

Towson

 

JMU

Richmond

W&M

App State

Furman

Elon

 

Or the CAA only invites App State, C of C, and Davidson and CAA Football then has 2 more spots to fill if they want to go to 12. Then Albany is next on the list IMO........and maybe URI returns as well:

 

 

Maine

UNH

URI

Albany

Stony Brook

Villanova

 

Delaware

Towson

JMU

Richmond

W&M

App State

[danefan]

It appears there have been formal invitation out to Davidson, College of Charleston and Appalachian State.

 

http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20120628/PC20/120629183/report-socon-issues-july-4-deadline-for-college-of-charleston-s-decision-regarding-caa

 

The SoCon has given the schools until July 4th to make a decision.

 

 

The conference reportedly has given three of its member schools until next week to declare their intentions of staying in the SoCon or leaving for the Colonial Athletic Association.

 

The Times-News of Burlington, N.C, reported that the SoCon has given a tentative deadline of July 4 for the College of Charleston, Appalachian State and Davidson.

[Dane Pound]

It appears there have been formal invitation out to Davidson, College of Charleston and Appalachian State.

 

http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20120628/PC20/120629183/report-socon-issues-july-4-deadline-for-college-of-charleston-s-decision-regarding-caa

 

The SoCon has given the schools until July 4th to make a decision.

 

 

 

This is for all sports. I'm guessing CAA football might still add schools. In any event, I'm looking for the Stony Brook to the SoCon rumors to start.

[danefan]

http://articles.dailypress.com/2012-07-06/sports/dp-spt-caa-yeager-realign-update-20120706_1_caa-tom-yeager-realignment

 

Expect the Colonial Athletic Association to unveil its new look in the coming weeks, commissioner Tom Yeager said, as he and his conference mates enjoy a blessedly private respite from the public anguish and upheaval of the previous couple of months.

 

"We're making progress," Yeager said. "But at this time of year, you're working around other people's schedules, with things like graduations and vacations. It slows some things down, but everyone still understands how important it is."

 

Yeager, as expected, wouldn't bite on specifics of membership discussion or possible candidates. He wouldn't even get into the north-south or basketball-football dynamics of an all-sports conference that, for one more year, stretches from Boston to Atlanta, and a football league that extends from Maine to Atlanta.

 

"We've told people all along that we're not trying to establish any artificial deadlines," Yeager said. "You want to have everybody ask and answer all the questions. We're all agreed that at the end of this thing, we want everyone to make a decision that they're comfortable with and put it behind them and move forward."

 

The departures of VCU, Old Dominion and Georgia State leave the CAA with nine all-sports members. The football league is down to seven schools, with ODU, Georgia State and Rhode Island headed elsewhere.

 

Though the CAA figures to absorb schools both north and south of its mid-Atlantic base in attempts to shore up both marquee sports, Yeager said that the primary criteria for expansion candidates is "institutional fit."

 

"We're all different in a lot of ways, but we have a lot of institutional similarities, as well," he said.

 

He talked in general terms about bringing in schools that will suddenly become part of a different geographic footprint than that to which they're accustomed (Southern Conference? Big South? America East?).

 

There are academic components, he said, as well as competitive factors, in areas of talent, track record and facilities.

 

"These are schools that want to compete, that want to be successful," he said. "They want to be able to match the resources and some of the bells and whistles that the schools they'll be competing against have. They don't want to be just another body on the schedule."

 

The biggest surprise in the present realignment frenzy, Yeager said, is the secrecy and subterfuge of movement among the principles, whether it's between conferences or between institutions and conferences.

 

"That's been disappointing," he said. "I was at the conference commissioners' meetings a couple weeks ago and there was almost universal surprise at the lack of candor among partners. That's why I vowed to be open with everybody — schools and other leagues. I told people all along, I'm going to give you the good, the bad and the ugly, because I didn't want anyone feeling like they weren't dealt with openly."

 

The CAA underwent a major makeover in 2000, as well, after Richmond, East Carolina and American departed for various leagues and reasons, leaving the conference with only six teams. The CAA moved quickly and added Towson, Delaware, Drexel and Hofstra, then eventually added Northeastern in 2005 and Georgia State in '06.

 

Like then, the CAA endured forecasts of its demise. Though this time, the Internet and the proliferation of social media often turned that into a steady drumbeat.

 

"Back then, we had about five media members paying attention," Yeager said. "Now, stories and rumors and opinions kind of take on a life of their own."

 

Unlike 2000, the CAA's profile now is significantly greater and its footprint far broader than the cozy, Virginia-based bus league of the 1980s and '90s, thanks in part to two NCAA Final Four runs and the success of the league's FCS football programs.

 

"We're in a much better position to deal with it now than we were," Yeager said.

 

Yeager also said that the 2013 men's basketball tournament remains unsettled. Right now, there appear to be only seven teams eligible.

 

VCU already has departed for the Atlantic 10, and Old Dominion and Georgia State aren't eligible as lame-duck members, per conference rules. ODU is headed to Conference USA in the summer of 2013, while Georgia State will go to the Sun Belt. UNC Wilmington and Towson are ineligible for the NCAA tournament because of Academic Progress Rate (APR) penalties, so the league won't permit them to compete for the title.

 

Yeager said that the conference is still contractually obligated to the Richmond Coliseum, but without draws such as VCU and ODU, the league is talking to city officials, as well as a couple of other municipalities about a tournament site.

 

"Everything is under review at this point," he said. "Everything."

 

Edited July 7, 2012 by danefan

[Michigan_Dane]

I've seen UAlbany mentioned as a possible candidate on a few boards and in a few papers. My guess is that we need App State and some of the other primary candidates to decline for us to get an offer. Is that your sense as well? What's your objective view of us getting a football only offer? I'll guess 1 in 4. So not out of the question but not great either.

[danefan]

"These are schools that want to compete, that want to be successful," he said. "They want to be able to match the resources and some of the bells and whistles that the schools they'll be competing against have. They don't want to be just another body on the schedule."

 

The University Administration has not really done anything over the past 10 years (President Hall excluded) to show it wants to compete and be successful on a CAA level of football. And if even if they want to, they've proven inept at matching resources or the bells and whistles of the CAA.

 

I'd say its a 10% chance we're in and only if about 3 or 4 teams reject offers.

 

Hopefully I'm wrong.

Edited July 8, 2012 by danefan

[uofalbany]

"These are schools that want to compete, that want to be successful," he said. "They want to be able to match the resources and some of the bells and whistles that the schools they'll be competing against have. They don't want to be just another body on the schedule."

 

The University Administration has not really done anything over the past 10 years (President Hall excluded) to show it wants to compete and be successful on a CAA level of football. And if even if they want to, they've proven inept at matching resources or the bells and whistles of the CAA.

 

I'd say its a 10% chance we're in and only if about 3 or 4 teams reject offers.

 

Hopefully I'm wrong.

 

 

The SOCON imposed deadline for its schools to make a decisioin was July 4. Somebody's got to know something.

 

"north and south of its mid-Atlantic base...

schools that will suddenly become part of a different geographic footprint..."

Charleston, Davidson, App State, Elon & Furman are all mid to southern in geographic location....

 

There's a glimmer of hope for UAlbany football, right? Especially with Maine and UNH football programs to keep happy.

 

Time to start a northeast football conference? Travel for Maine and UNH is going to be hell, if Albany and SBU aren't added.

If we were able to draw away Maine and UNH to a new football conference, who would we need to make up the conference to make

it equal to the CAA football conference, in your opinions?

[Michigan_Dane]

I've been fixated on this college expansion especially in regards to any chance Albany may have. It really looks like the CAA is trying to raid the SoCon. Unless that is a complete failure, we're not getting in. I feel even SBU's chances have diminished a bit. They looked like a lock for full membership but the consensus now seems to be a football only membership.

 

We still have a shot but we need the SoCon to hold together and reject the CAA advances. It wouldn't hurt if SBU, UNH and other northern schools to demand more northern representation. That may be a long shot as the northern schools seem more interested in sabotaging fellow schools than the southern approach of helping their regional travel partners.

[danefan]

Interseting tweet from Jim Fiore (Stony Brook AD)

 

The hypocrisy in leadership decision making throughout D1 athletics is numbing & disappointing. Selfishness will be demise of our profession.

 

[Clickclack]

Interseting tweet from Jim Fiore (Stony Brook AD)

 

The hypocrisy in leadership decision making throughout D1 athletics is numbing & disappointing. Selfishness will be demise of our profession.

 

 

Someone should take this dopes twitter account away...

[danefan]

Interseting tweet from Jim Fiore (Stony Brook AD)

 

The hypocrisy in leadership decision making throughout D1 athletics is numbing & disappointing. Selfishness will be demise of our profession.

 

 

Someone should take this dopes twitter account away...

 

Why?

 

I think he's right. It started with high paid coaches bailing on student athletes. Now its highly paid administrators doing the same thing to conferences.