(04-07-2022 02:15 PM)jimrtex Wrote:  

(04-07-2022 10:37 AM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  Interesting that UK and SC would pull out of CUSA next season. I thought they might be generous enough to wait until 2023. With CCU, Marshall, and ODU also departing and WVU aborting their move, that leaves CUSA with just 4 men's soccer teams for 2022 (Charlotte, FAU, FIU, and UAB), 3 of which are leaving for the AAC in 2023. Of the incoming CUSA schools that year, only Liberty has the sport. The reinstatement of men's soccer sponsorship in the SBC has left the MAC also short on members for next season, though they have a larger continuing core of 4 full members with the sport. I wonder if CUSA will bother trying to sponsor men's soccer in 2022, or if the 4 remaining teams will shack up with the MAC, at least for a season.

There are going to be a few D1 men's soccer programs in need of homes next season, including Chicago State and D2 callups Lindenwood and Southern Indiana (the OVC does not sponsor the sport). Unlike the CUSA programs, these are at least in the Midwest and so make reasonable adds for the MAC.

So for 2022, perhaps we see a MAC with 11 men's soccer members:

Akron, Bowling Green, Charlotte, Chicago State, FAU, FIU, Lindenwood, Northern Illinois, Southern Indiana, UAB, Western Michigan

Charlotte, FAU, and UAB are headed for the AAC in 2023, and I don't expect FIU to stick around (perhaps also to the AAC?). Meanwhile Liberty joins CUSA without a soccer home and maybe brings the MAC to an even 8 members for 2023:

Akron, Bowling Green, Chicago State, Liberty, Lindenwood, Northern Illinois, Southern Indiana, Western Michigan

Plausible?

The AAC sponsors soccer, so it would be simplest for UAB, Charlotte, and FAU to move in 2022. UCF will need a soccer home when they move to the Big 12, and they might stick with the AAC in 2023.

FIU could play soccer in the ASUN which has four soccer members in Florida: FGCU, Stetson, Jax, and North Florida (plus Central Arkansas, Lipscomb, Bellarmine, and Liberty).

With Belmont and UIC replacing Loyola Chicago in the MVC, they no longer need an affiliate. SIUE moved to the MVC as part of the scramble with Sun Belt soccer collapsed (when Georgia State and Georgia Southern affiliated with the MAC, SIUE shifted to the MVC).

The Summit does not need Eastern Illinois as an affiliate.

So if I were the MAC I would get Liberty in 2023.

This leaves SIUE, Southern Indiana, Eastern Illinois, and Lindenwood as available affiliates (and a possible core for OVC soccer).

But for 2022, SIUE returns to MAC along with Southern Indiana.

Lindenwood gets to pick, and in 2023 might prefer to be with SIUE as a St. Louis-centric pair.

Some good points here! Charlotte, FAU, and UAB moving their men's soccer to the AAC a year early makes sense. As I understand, FIU has too good a program to "slum" with the ASUN. I don't think the Sun Belt would be friendly to them due to bad blood, but the AAC might be happy to take them on. UCF could keep its men's soccer in the AAC, but I think they'll want to move to the Sun Belt to be with fellow Big 12 member WVU and with UK and SC.

I toyed around with OVC starting up soccer, but couldn't find enough members to get them off the ground. Lindenwood and USI won't count toward the minimum of 6 needed for an autobid until 2026, unless the rules around that are changed. Incidentally, St. Thomas won't fully transition to D1 until 2025, so the Summit will probably want to keep EIU for at least one more season so that they're only out of compliance for sponsorship of the sport for the maximum allowed 2 seasons.

So perhaps something like this for next season?

* = affiliate (conference for basketball)
+# = number of members that aren't fully transitioned to D1
School = not fully transitioned to D1
[##] = year school fully transitions to D1 under current rules

AAC (10): Central Florida, Charlotte* (CUSA), FAU* (CUSA), FIU* (CUSA), Memphis, SMU, South Florida, Temple, Tulsa, UAB* (CUSA)

ASUN (7+1): Bellarmine [24], Central Arkansas, FGCU, Jacksonville, Liberty, Lipscomb, North Florida, Stetson

MAC (5+2): Akron, Bowling Green, Lindenwood* (OVC) [26], Northern Illinois, SIU Edwardsville* (OVC), Southern Indiana* (OVC) [26], Western Michigan

MVC (6): Belmont, Bradley, Drake, Evansville, Missouri State, UIC

Summit (6+1): Denver, Eastern Illinois* (OVC), Kansas City, Omaha, Oral Roberts, St. Thomas [25], Western Illinois

Sun Belt (9): Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Kentucky* (SEC), Marshall, Old Dominion, South Carolina* (SEC), West Virginia* (B12)

And then for 2023, maybe we see EIU to the MAC to put them back in compliance and even out the numbers in both the MAC and Summit. Also possibly UCF to the Sun Belt, as previously discussed. IMO, by 2023 the ASUN could potentially lose Bellarmine (to the Horizon) and even Lipscomb (OVC), so the conference may be inclined to house Liberty's men's soccer program even after they move to CUSA.