(03-29-2017 03:12 PM)CenterSquarEd Wrote:  

(03-29-2017 05:14 AM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  Are they too good for the MAAC or something?

I, for one, would welcome them. 11 members works, but so would 12. Expanding the footprint is a good thing. The Western New York teams would probably appreciate getting into Pittsburgh, and it's not too hard on the New Jersey teams either.

I think they'd be a great fit, with exactly those same reasons. NEC's in PA already, but MAAC isn't. It should be. And that's a good area for recruiting.

(03-29-2017 11:10 PM)DawgNBama Wrote:  UPMC sounds like a really good deal for the city of Pittsburgh & western Pennsylvania as well as the US & the world. Does UPMC collaborate with the University of Texas' MD Anderson Hospital on anything?

No, they don't have any collaborations with MD Anderson.

(03-29-2017 05:14 AM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  Are they too good for the MAAC or something?

If they leave the NEC, football would likely need to leave the NEC too (Duquesne is the only NEC football-only affiliate). MAAC doesn't sponsor football, of course.

MAAC Olympic Sports and Big South football is theoretically possible (Monmouth does this), but SW Pennsylvania is not exactly in the Big South's footprint.

(03-30-2017 07:38 PM)Nittany_Bearcat Wrote:  

(03-29-2017 05:14 AM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  Are they too good for the MAAC or something?

If they leave the NEC, football would likely need to leave the NEC too (Duquesne is the only NEC football-only affiliate). MAAC doesn't sponsor football, of course.

MAAC Olympic Sports and Big South football is theoretically possible (Monmouth does this), but SW Pennsylvania is not exactly in the Big South's footprint.

You could actually bridge the gaps.

Indiana, PA.
Carson-Newman
Bellarmine
Shepherd
Charleston
LIU-Post
New York Tech
Wilmington
Bowie State
University of District of Columbia
Ashland
Kutztown
Slippery Rock
West Chester
Kentucky Wesleyan

Those could help out.

(03-30-2017 07:38 PM)Nittany_Bearcat Wrote:  

(03-29-2017 05:14 AM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  Are they too good for the MAAC or something?

If they leave the NEC, football would likely need to leave the NEC too (Duquesne is the only NEC football-only affiliate). MAAC doesn't sponsor football, of course.

MAAC Olympic Sports and Big South football is theoretically possible (Monmouth does this), but SW Pennsylvania is not exactly in the Big South's footprint.

A "scratch the itch" kind of thing, but, maybe this is how Patriot gets a new football play thing. If the Patriot can stand doing business with that school, RMU doesn't even have to change a thing for its football. What it currently offers with scholarships can stay. Nothing has to change.

But, I'm sure Patsy doesn't want them. If they didn't want Stetson or Monmouth football, they aren't going to want RMU, either.

I could see NEC letting RMU stay for football, actually. It's not bringing new members; it's shedding or repulsing. No doubt, Big South will probably want some more programs to keep it going, and like Stony Brook and Monmouth before them, maybe that's the next step for RMU football.

I don't know that ROMO changes Conferences....

I could see the Big South taking Robert Morris just to give itself a cushion - North Alabama is joining, but that's on the heels of Liberty moving to FBS. It also allows for schools to budget for a trip north every year, either to Robert Morris or Monmouth. The footprint is still comparable to the CAA.