*real* rivalry? UVM?

[purplenorange]

Okay -- if the Albany / UVM goes down to the final game (which it should!), the real rival school for UA will be UVM. Hats off to Siena -- fun little catholic school up the road -- but UVM is almost a clone of Albany as a university. Both about the same academically, both about the same size, etc. I know the locals think the Siena thing will be a real rivalry, but it won't. UA is breaking through nationally at some level, at least in terms of being known if not actually recruiting lots of students (think it's easy to get an undergrad from San Diego to live in the permafrost?)

 

I hope the administrators and faculty continue to see the light in how a strong athletic program in men's basketball, and (someday) football raises the overall profile of the university. Although these programs won't really generate revenue, it is easy to see that large state universities with great athletic programs seem, by-and-large, to do well all around. It's what we call a 'distal determinate'.

 

I started undergrad at Syracuse before xfer to Albany, so it's great that we have a basketball program (finally!) Rivals were schools like Georgetown, Penn State (in football), etc. Think big, act big. The future of this school is not as a mid-major forever.

 

So, what are the next steps for the program? And, YES, I'm completely enjoying where we are today. Watched the Maine/Albany game last night on NESN here in Boston. Great to see some UA on prime time TV!

[UA_MA_2000]

I just read on Siena's website the other day that their enrollment is about 2,900 right now. Isn't our average attendance for a basketball game over 3,100 or so? If so, we're averaging more at our games than Siena has students. That is refreshing.

[UAalum72]

I don't see UVM as the top rival - they may be for now, as long our two basketball teams are at the top of the conference - but they don't have football and we don't have hockey. More likely, if we went FBS, would/should be Buffalo, in a Michigan/Mich. State kind of way. Unless the two schools are too far apart. With football at FCS, if we get into the same conference for all sports, UMass might be about right.

 

But that's several years in the future.