This is an excellent add for the CAA. Gives UNCW and CoC a conference rival. Gives football another solid FCS program. Their baseball team is in the NCAA tournament this year too. They will be able to recruit better talent now that they are in a better overall league.

I can't believe we are still discussing JMU staying in the CAA long term. It is beyond amusing to read some of the posts. JMU is leaving the CAA just as soon as a better conference arrangement is made. If you don't see this happening, there is something very wrong with your ability to gather information and come to a logical conclusion.

Today, the CAA is our conference and the best place for JMU to be. The new schools that are being brought into the conference are excellent additions for football and all sports. Their programs will get better as a result of their membership in the CAA. I expect the CAA to continue to fill the gaps with the best schools available within the footprint.

The CAA needs to focus on re-building with schools that are like minded institutionally. This will create stability for the long term. I do believe the conference needs at least 9 football schools as full time members to have that stability and it isn't happening this go round. The best the CAA can do is add two more football playing schools to get to 7. The non-football playing schools will likely block this and the compromise will be 6.

If I am commissioner of the CAA, I would like to move Hofstra and NU to the A10. Replace them with SB, Albany & Liberty. I would then push UR, Nova and URI to join the Patriot and/or NEC. I now have 9 football schools and a conference that should be stable for many years to come. The CAA and Patriot could have a scheduling agreement and some very exciting out of conference match ups. The rivalries between the conferences would be great and the playoff games memorable for FCS fans.

^^^ ugh, you make me sick

(05-28-2013 11:40 AM)JMUNation Wrote:  If I am commissioner of the CAA, I would like to move Hofstra and NU to the A10. Replace them with SB, Albany & Liberty. I would then push UR, Nova and URI to join the Patriot and/or NEC. I now have 9 football schools and a conference that should be stable for many years to come. The CAA and Patriot could have a scheduling agreement and some very exciting out of conference match ups. The rivalries between the conferences would be great and the playoff games memorable for FCS fans.

Having a 9 team league with that footprint is a bad idea IMO. The CAA just wants to be the best of the rest, and needs to get to 12 to be solid. I believe this was the plan back before Umass bolted. With Elon as a full member and likely Albany joining soon, this will put the future CAA at 12 football and 11 all sports, so it'll just need SBU to join all, or find someone else for 12 in each. Poaching will happen as long as you have good teams in your lower conference and there's still room in FBS/A10/Big East/AAC/Whatever, so there's no real way to avoid it, other than being a crappy conference *cough*big south.

After that, it's just a matter of reloading with the best of the rest, while trying to minimize travel.

Speaking for the A-10, I'm not sure any of us want NU or Hofstra. They'd probably be better off going to the MAAC or back to America East.

I see both being good fits in the MAAC actually with a ton of regional rivals that have similar support and basketball focus.

As an outsider JMU to the MAC makes a lot of sense. Miami (Ohio) is a very similar school and the travel isn't nearly as bad as several other FBS leagues out there.

I can't imagine the a10 would have any interest in NE or HU either.

HU to the MAAC seems like a good fit. But I would guess there is reasons for the MAAC not to want them. I think both are stuck in the CAA for the foreseeable future.

One can't underestimate the impact of a preponderance of foreign-born players on the Elon men's basketball program as it relates to JMU and its affiliation with the CAA. Yes, I know I'm beating a dead-horse here, but it's not to be dismissed.

(05-26-2013 06:27 PM)JMUDDOG Wrote:  I see that you're a Zips fan...what's your thoughts on the match-up between JMU and Akron?

Take the Over.

The CAA will continue to have instability for as long as it tries to be all things to all schools. Football and non-football schools will continue to look outside for a conference that emphasizes either football or basketball. This is what broke up the Big East who was sending 8-9 teams to the NCAA mens bball tourney every year and was the best basketball conference in the country. If the best basketball conference in the country can't keep its schools together, then I can't imagine the CAA will be able to either.

The CAA will continue to have its best schools poached as long as there is room for schools to move up.

(05-28-2013 10:41 PM)JMUNation Wrote:  The CAA will continue to have its best schools poached as long as there is room for schools to move up.

How is that any different than the A10, AAC, CUSA, Southern, AEast, etc? You can say the same thing for nearly any non BCS conference or Ivy. You act like this is something specific to the CAA.

Re-read it SB. I said "if the best basketball conference in the country can't keep its members together, than I can't imagine the CAA will be able to either". Aren't you and I saying the same thing? There is no difference.

The Ivy will never lose its membership by the way. They are as stable as the SEC.

I feel the CAA could gain more stability by what I suggested. That doesn't mean I think it will happen though. It is unlikely it will. The CAA Presidents will continue to do patch work as schools leave.

I thought more about it last night. Why doesn't NU move to an all sports conference with other good hockey schools? Their premier sport is hockey so why not position themselves based upon their premier sport? NU basketball averaged about 1,500 fans last year in a season when they won the league. Why focus on basketball when no one on campus seems to care about attending games?