(12-15-2016 11:52 AM)Buc66 Wrote:  

(12-15-2016 08:57 AM)Mister Consistency Wrote:  D2 is a wasteland for football in the South. West Georgia has a good program, and so does Valdosta State, but after that, it gets really dicey really fast, especially in terms of facilities. Hell, Winston-Salem State plays on the infield of a speedway (which is either an annoyance or a novelty, however you want to look at it).

With that in mind, it's hard to fault UNA for looking up the food chain a little and wanting to get into D1 when there's not much good competition nearby. If memory serves, they have been looking at this move for a while. The Big South will be a positive step for them in football, and joining the Big South and the A-Sun through their strategic alliance bolsters both leagues in the event of a shakeup. Pretty good deal all around.

Noticed that Campbell will start playing scholarship football in the Big South as well. This ASUN/Big South alliance is an interesting (survival) arrangement.

Well, Campbell already jumped ship for the Big South in all sports before we left for the SoCon, so that was just a move they've grown into, but it does bolster the ability of the conference to survive potential realignment, and I agree, the arrangement is an interesting one. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, though; if the A-Sun or Big South were to go away, their AQ spots in NCAA tournaments would simply be at-large bids for mediocre power conference teams instead of other, probably more deserving mid-majors. Fractured and transient as its membership may be historically, I think having the Atlantic Sun is better for D1 sports than not having it.

Don't get me wrong, both leagues are still very poor quality relative to their peers, but a diversity of leagues is good for college sports.