Talk of Stony Brook & Fordham Joining the CAA

[Ruler 79]

On AGS under the CAA split a news article discusses the advantages to adding SBU and Fordham to the CAA. Albany's football Gods better get moving or we are going to get left behind by SBU again. The straw that could break this camel's back!!!!

 

http://hamptonroads.com/2009/06/additonal-...coming-soon-caa

[mainejeff]

This is a 3 horse race and Albany is currently in 3rd place. I still think that there are other very real possibilities that will change all of this (Northeastern, Hofstra or URI dropping football or Georgia State jumping ship) by 2012.

[Michigan_Dane]

UAlbany better get in the game!

[danefan]

No time to really comment but this kind of ruined my day.

 

Only thing I can say is this: if the CAA does expand the only thing that would keep SBU out is Hofstra.

Fordham is a mortal lock, given their association with other CAA football members in the A-10.

[Michigan_Dane]

UAlbany needs to pull off the unexpected and get into this conference. I'm just constantly frustrated. Between SUNY Buffalo being a complete a$$. The flagship disaster and now this. I'm just plain upset.

[UBBulls]

Reading that CAA thread gave me a headache. As good as the league is, membership is just a crap-shoot. The GA State "market" argument is laughable. The idea that SBU and Fordham would get in just shows results mean squat. Market-schmarket. Wins-losses...Who cares! It's about 63 rides and a decent stadium. A full scholly UA would be a shoe-in...the proponents seem to outnumber the naysayers. Who would say no to UA? Any SBU invite might be tenuous with Hofstra and potentially Fordham.

 

This is not meant as a thread-jack, just my daydreaming. In a bit of twisted logic, one good thing has come UA's way from UB being FBS; We probably left an opening in the current CAA, if UA finally gets in the game and an invite comes your way. In the 6 seasons of being a FCS, full-scholly independent, we played these teams more than once (with the teams' conference at the time UB played them listed):

 

Maine [6] (Yankee/CAA)

Hofstra [6] (Indy)

Youngstown St [5] (Indy/Gateway)

UMASS [4] (Yankee/CAA)

Illinois St [4] (Gateway)

Villanova [3] (Yankee/CAA)

Lafayette [3] (Patriot)

UConn [3] (Yankee)

Lehigh [2] (Patriot)

Colgate [2] (Patriot)

Cornell [2] (Ivy)

Fordham [2] (Patriot)

Towson [2] (Indy)

Central Florida [2] (Indy)

 

Being Independent was not a big deal. As that changed and if UB had not been guarantied a spot in the MAC there's no doubt we'd be a CAA football school, based on who we were playing, offering 63 rides, and UB stadium seating 15,000 back then [and see UB's rowing team joining the CAA next season]. And you know what? UB being CAA Football would have been about as crazy an outlier as GA State, PLUS we had only 1 winning FCS season. Both points would, shockingly, be moot. UB then is where SBU is now.

 

Who knows, if Boston U. had kept football...if UB were not MAC and not happy to go the CAA route....if UA got in the game sooner.....maybe, just maybe:

Albany, Boston U., Buffalo, Hofstra, Maine, New Hampshire, Northeastern, Rhode Island, Stony Brook, UMass

[Ruler 79]

UA's football people(decision makers) are going to have to show their hand pretty soon. I can't imagine they are content in the NEC, unless the NEC goes to 57-63 rides.

 

Fordie needs the support and 63 rides. They have to stop tying Fordies hands behind his back and keep expecting 8-9 win seasons. He has been doing it for 35-40 years at UA. Even in the DIII days he was undermanned(present poster excluded of course) against the Ithaca's and Southern Conn's of the world. GIVE HIM THE RESOURCES!!!!

 

Raise student fees, rebuild University Field and go Big South or Indy and give 63 kids free educations.

[Clickclack]

UA's football people(decision makers) are going to have to show their hand pretty soon. I can't imagine they are content in the NEC, unless the NEC goes to 57-63 rides.

 

Fordie needs the support and 63 rides. They have to stop tying Fordies hands behind his back and keep expecting 8-9 win seasons. He has been doing it for 35-40 years at UA. Even in the DIII days he was undermanned(present poster excluded of course) against the Ithaca's and Southern Conn's of the world. GIVE HIM THE RESOURCES!!!!

 

Raise student fees, rebuild University Field and go Big South or Indy and give 63 kids free educations.

 

*sigh* very discouraging topic.....I'm not sure what the powers that be are waiting for but the FCS world is passing them by. Has anyone tried to talk to Mr. Coe or Dr. McElroy about what's going on? When will we do something/anything to improve our lot?

[UBBulls]

This was posted today in the AGS thread:

 

The future of URI might look a lot like the past. Re: New Yankee Conference

 

Robert L. Carothers is completing an 18-year term as president at the University of Rhode Island. Carothers has been involved in the athletic program as much as any university president in recent years.

 

“I’d like to bring back the old Yankee Conference plus a couple of SUNY schools,” Carothers said during an interview in his office in May.

[Clickclack]

The AGS boards are abuzz with Fordham and SB to the CAA banter....no mention of UA in any of these discussion....*sigh*

[Michigan_Dane]

This was posted today in the AGS thread:

 

The future of URI might look a lot like the past. Re: New Yankee Conference

 

Robert L. Carothers is completing an 18-year term as president at the University of Rhode Island. Carothers has been involved in the athletic program as much as any university president in recent years.

 

“I’d like to bring back the old Yankee Conference plus a couple of SUNY schools,” Carothers said during an interview in his office in May.

 

That would be great. The Northeast/New England needs an enquivilent to the SEC, PAC-10 etc. I'm not saying it has to be FBS (although I wish it were).

 

Finally, a post from UBBulls that I like and can agree with.

 

My dream lineup: URI, Maine, UMass, New Hampshire, UAlbany, SBU, Delaware (and a money game at Army)

 

No schools that start with St. or I need to Google to figure out who they are. Just NE state schools!

[alum73]

Would a football league made up of Maine, NH, UMass, URI, Hofstra, Northeastern, UA, SBU get an automatic bid as the first 6 have been playing together already?

[UAalum72]

Would a football league made up of Maine, NH, UMass, URI, Hofstra, Northeastern, UA, SBU get an automatic bid as the first 6 have been playing together already?

That league should be immediately eligible for an auto bid. But would all-sport CAA members Northeastern and Hofstra be allowed by the CAA to play football in a different league?

[UA_MA_2000]

This was posted today in the AGS thread:

 

The future of URI might look a lot like the past. Re: New Yankee Conference

 

Robert L. Carothers is completing an 18-year term as president at the University of Rhode Island. Carothers has been involved in the athletic program as much as any university president in recent years.

 

“I’d like to bring back the old Yankee Conference plus a couple of SUNY schools,” Carothers said during an interview in his office in May.

 

That would be great. The Northeast/New England needs an enquivilent to the SEC, PAC-10 etc. I'm not saying it has to be FBS (although I wish it were).

 

Finally, a post from UBBulls that I like and can agree with.

 

My dream lineup: URI, Maine, UMass, New Hampshire, UAlbany, SBU, Delaware (and a money game at Army)

 

No schools that start with St. or I need to Google to figure out who they are. Just NE state schools!

 

I AGREE!!! I'd love a FBS New England/Northeast/Yankee Conference featuring the schools you mentioned. Would Central Conn. State ever jump to FBS as well? I wouldn't mind it if a private school solid in academics (although they are private) rounded out such a FBS conference; kinda like the Northwestern of the Big Ten or Vanderbilt of the SEC: good solid academic school that we can pound once a year.

[danes05]

I want OUT of the NEC as fast as possible. No offense to other schools in the league, but we need to be with our peers and the they are not in the NEC. Hope the Doc is making some behind the scenes moves cause it looks like were doing nothing