RE: CAA History Lesson
Interesting discussion guys. What is being proposed is almost like the old Atlantic Coast Conference in terms of geography. That was based originally around the big 4 in NC and then fanning into Virginia, Maryland and SC. Eventually Georgia Tech and Florida State came on board.
The real issue for the CAA is that there are only a few institutions that play both football and basketball. The football league historically has been either the best FCS league, or the 2nd best for the last 20+ years. The basketball league was a very good league when it had you guys, VCU, ODU, George Mason, Richmond and even ECU and Navy. While the league is still competitive, the travel is now more extensive and there is less in common than in the past. I'd feel much better if we had better leadership in the league, but I don't see much indicating that the CAA is going to change much( or add teams) unless someone leaves. JMU fans on this board think they are going to leave(or they wish they already had). There were a few rumblings that Delaware might look to go as well. Personally, I'd love to see more Virginia based institutions in the league with at least 1-2 more NC schools as well. But, I'll admit, Tribe fans have enjoyed the rivalry with Hofstra in basketball. Nearly every game comes down to one play in the last minute to decide the outcome. The fit with all the non-revenue sports and basketball is better than the fit with football. Richmond, Villanova, Stony Brook, Albany, Maine, Rhode Island and New Hampshire are only members for football. So, in a 12 team league, we have more affliate members than not.(JMU, Delaware, Towson, W&M, and Elon).
I see nothing from the Commissioner office that would indicate any of that will change or improve. No TV contract for either sport and a game of the week, no one can watch without significant issues. So, a very limited footprint for either basketball or football.
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