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(07-03-2013 06:11 PM)AdoptedMonarch Wrote:  

(07-03-2013 05:22 PM)ODUBB35 Wrote:  

(07-03-2013 05:05 PM)AdoptedMonarch Wrote:  There are lots of reasons for the collapse of the CAA. Most of them lead directly back to Tom Yeager.

I'm not sure if that is fair. Most of the reasons for the collapse of the CAA started with BCS realignment. The CAA, being too top-heavy in basketball, was bound to lose it's top teams once the ball started rolling. Football-wise, however, it remains pretty much the same conference as it was 2 years ago.

Not a fan of how Yeager treated us once we announced we were leaving. Perhaps some blame can be attributed to him for the CAA being a 3 team basketball conference (which is usually was). Aside from that, it's just the way things go.

The disparity in strength of basketball programs was not unique to the CAA. Yet the CAA turned out to be more vulnerable to realignment than other "mid-major" conferences.

I don't pretend to be anywhere near as conversant on this topic as others, but I blame this on an unhealthy, Richmond-centric, VCU-first default setting in the Yeager administration. Particularly for the former American East schools, but also for all other CAA schools, there is little cause for family loyalty when papa loves only one child.

This assessment is not an exercise in hindsight. Virtually every school forum in the old CAAZone had multiple threads devoted to the conference disparate treatment -- regarding tournament location, regarding the manner in which refs were calling games, regarding fan behavior, regarding slanted promotional endeavors, etc. That, in my mind, all falls back on Comm'r Yeager.

That also, at least in my mind, is why the CAA, which was clearly the equal of -- if not superior to -- the Mo. Valley Conference is now no better than the Southern Conference. Tom Yeager, by his leadership decisions, eroded the foundations of an otherwise strong conference. As a result the CAA was far less able to weather the realignment storm.

While disparity of strength from top to bottom in conferences is not uncommon the magnitude of the disparity the CAA displayed is. I believe the events that did the most to cause the breakup of the CAA were the Final Four appearances of George Mason and then VCU. I think if VCU had not advanced that far they might not have gotten the A-10 invitation. As there were other teams on C-USA's radar ahead of us, it sure seems like VCU's departure from the CAA did more to hasten the departures of both GMU and ODU than any other single event. In a way we should thank the team from Richmond for our early entry into FBS football.

Probably the reason we are not seeing higher profile schools jumping to get into the CAA.