The NORSE! That's a badass name! and original! And the logo is totally awesome.

Welcome to the ASUN! I have to admit, that until a few days ago, I knew nothing about you but from the looks of it, you seem like a solid addition.

Great job ASUN on making this happen.

Cheers!

(12-08-2011 05:42 PM)Stetson_1883 Wrote:  The NORSE! That's a badass name! and original! And the logo is totally awesome.

Welcome to the ASUN! I have to admit, that until a few days ago, I knew nothing about you but from the looks of it, you seem like a solid addition.

Great job ASUN on making this happen.

Cheers!

Same with Stetson!

Glad we're a part of the ASUN. Although you don't see much Atlantic Sun around here this time of year (hah), I think this is a great fit for us.

The A-Sun is kind of like the practice girl before you're ready for the homecoming queen. NKU will learn about Division I, grow their department into something solid and then as soon as the opening is there, you'll run.
A-Sun alums include:
Troy
Ga. Southern
Central Florida
Florida Atlantic
College of Charleston
Ga. State
Arkansas-LR
Florida International
Belmont
Campbell
Gardner-Webb
You've come to the homeless shelter of Division I until you get on your feet.
That said, welcome to the conference, enjoy your stay.

(12-09-2011 01:26 PM)Buccaneerlover Wrote:  The A-Sun is kind of like the practice girl before you're ready for the homecoming queen. NKU will learn about Division I, grow their department into something solid and then as soon as the opening is there, you'll run.
A-Sun alums include:
Troy
Ga. Southern
Central Florida
Florida Atlantic
College of Charleston
Ga. State
Arkansas-LR
Florida International
Belmont
Campbell
Gardner-Webb
You've come to the homeless shelter of Division I until you get on your feet.
That said, welcome to the conference, enjoy your stay.

Since the ASun's roots are actually in Texas and Louisiana, the full list of conference alumni is quite a bit longer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Sun_Conference

NKU's next move would likely be the Horizon, but that may be a long wait.
The four Florida schools have really no where to go (as long as they don't start football), so the ASun may be settling into a time of reasonable stability with those four schools and Mercer as core members. Kennesaw St is probably the biggest flight risk.

Hasn't Nova Southeastern also expressed interest in the ASun?

Oh I just included a short list of schools, not the full. Kennesaw and Lipscomb are both flight risks. It's just too easy for the OVC to take Lipscomb as soon as Jacksonville State moves on. It's all just a holding pattern until C-USA replaces UH, SMU, UCF, etc...

UCF leaves the A-Sun in 2005.
UCF becomes a member of the Big East in 2013.

This blows my mind.

It doesn't blow mine. School size, location, and a desire to improve (remember the Culpepper era when so many commentators said that UCF would be the third-best program in Florida by the 21st Century)- the A-Sun was always beneath UCF.

(12-10-2011 02:01 PM)PittsburghBucs Wrote:  It doesn't blow mine. School size, location, and a desire to improve (remember the Culpepper era when so many commentators said that UCF would be the third-best program in Florida by the 21st Century)- the A-Sun was always beneath UCF.

Yeah my sentiments exactly. What's so surprising? They actually should've been invited years ago.

(12-10-2011 03:00 PM)Stetson_1883 Wrote:  

(12-10-2011 02:01 PM)PittsburghBucs Wrote:  It doesn't blow mine. School size, location, and a desire to improve (remember the Culpepper era when so many commentators said that UCF would be the third-best program in Florida by the 21st Century)- the A-Sun was always beneath UCF.

Yeah my sentiments exactly. What's so surprising? They actually should've been invited years ago.

I would say the entire chain of events that has lead to it is surprising. Seeing the map of the teams in the Big East as it will be in comparison to what it was is surprising. Seeing that Memphis got passed over for some of the schools going is surprising (obviously, the fact that they suck at football had something to do with that).

That's not what blows my mind though.

Just looking at the Atlantic Sun conference as it is now, and thinking that any of these teams could go, much less compete in a power 6 conference is insane. I'm not saying that there have not been talented teams in the A-Sun, but if you told me that any of the teams currently a part of this conference would go to a power 6 conference in the next 8 years, I would disregard any opinion about anything you have ever had in your life. The fact that any team that has been a part of this conference in recent years (good or bad program) is doing this does blow my mind.

(12-10-2011 02:01 PM)PittsburghBucs Wrote:  It doesn't blow mine. School size, location, and a desire to improve (remember the Culpepper era when so many commentators said that UCF would be the third-best program in Florida by the 21st Century)- the A-Sun was always beneath UCF.

+1

FAU and FIU have the same kind of potential...just takes time, location, and lots of money dedicated to athletics.

Guess I now live in big east country and an NBA market. Etsu suddenly seems so small.