Would there be any interest from them to join the ASUN for non football sports? Would be a major cost savor for all parties. Football could stay as affiliate in the MEAC since that is the one sport where the distance is not a big deal and playing HBCUs makes sense.

actually not a bad idea

Will be interesting if Savannah's exit prompts interest from these two.

Florida A&M has a very cool arena.

Both schools have been in the MEAC since a year and a half before the Carter administration so i think there would definitely be some hesitancy especially as HBCUs leaving a HBCU conference. However the ASun is Florida centric and needs members while I doubt anyone paying the bills would miss sending him revenue athletes up and down the east coast

A-Sun could also added Savannah State, Albany Ga., Valdosta State, West Florida, Florida Tech, West Georgia, and some others. A-Sun could even sponsor football. that way.

Kennesaw State
Florida Tech
Albany GA.
West Florida
Valdosta State
North Alabama
Savannah State
Florida A&M
Bethune-Cookman
Jacksonville
Stetson
Future football sponsor schools.
North Florida and Florida Gulf Coast plus if Lipscomb get series.

The football travel that way is center on Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee that way.

For non football sports it would be an idea, no way either leaves the MEAC for football though and I'd be shocked if they did for any of the sports. Culturally and historically there's too many ties. I don't see it being supported by the administration.

If the MEAC falls apart completely, yes, but other than that I don't see it happening. The value from the A-Sun side is their football programs, so the goal would be for the A-Sun to start sponsoring football separately from the Big South.

I still think the SWAC is more vulnerable, but essentially it just has to reorganize with the Southland, which is a bit bloated at 13 teams (11 in football) and both conferences will continue. For example, Texas Southern and Prairie View could go to the Southland, while New Orleans, Central Arkansas, and McNeese State would go to the SWAC. If any schools drop out of Division I, you move more schools in Louisiana until you reach equilibrium.

(04-23-2017 08:52 AM)chargeradio Wrote:  If the MEAC falls apart completely, yes, but other than that I don't see it happening. The value from the A-Sun side is their football programs, so the goal would be for the A-Sun to start sponsoring football separately from the Big South.

I still think the SWAC is more vulnerable, but essentially it just has to reorganize with the Southland, which is a bit bloated at 13 teams (11 in football) and both conferences will continue. For example, Texas Southern and Prairie View could go to the Southland, while New Orleans, Central Arkansas, and McNeese State would go to the SWAC. If any schools drop out of Division I, you move more schools in Louisiana until you reach equilibrium.

Yeah those moves are about as likely to happen as it would be to see Tennessee and Georgia move to the ACC.

(04-23-2017 08:52 AM)chargeradio Wrote:  If the MEAC falls apart completely, yes, but other than that I don't see it happening. The value from the A-Sun side is their football programs, so the goal would be for the A-Sun to start sponsoring football separately from the Big South.

I disagree on the value they provide the ASun. The Asun has the bare minimum number of members with one being in New Jersey. Two long-standing D1 programs in the heart of their footprint would put them on much more stable ground, especially when you throw in the fact that football could stay as is with the traditional HBCU rivals

Look at Tennessee State? They have had winning seasons in football in recent years. They have done it without being in an HBCU conference. For the schools in the HBCU conferences that want to get more recognize and be on tv more often? They might have to think about splitting from those conferences to join another conference which they could in a few years be competitive again like they used to be. Maybe Alabama State and Alabama A&M join the A-Sun as well? The non-football schools could join like the Big South?

What would you get?

Here is a somewhat crazy thought: what if the block of Bethune-Cookman, Florida A&M, Tennessee St, Alabama St, and Alabama A&M all left their respective conferences and joined the A-Sun and then the A-Sun booted NJIT.

You get 5 HBCUs who can maintain their heritage and still play schools with similar histories but they also have the benefit of being conference mates with instate schools that are predominately white. You have 6 Florida schools, 3 in Alabama, 2 in Tennessee, a GA school, and a SC school. You also have enough football programs to take over sponsorship of Big South football or break away and play it as a 7 team league with the 5 HBCUs, UNA, and KSU. The smaller conference size would give the HBCUs the scheduling flexibility to still go out and play in the classic games against the MEAC and SWAC

Not only do they value their HBCU heritage, but it is their identity. I don't see them leaving the other HBCUs unless the MEAC becomes untenable for some reason. Certainly there are cost savings to be had with the A-Sun, but the MEAC is aligned with the institutional identity and mission.

(04-25-2017 08:30 AM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  Not only do they value their HBCU heritage, but it is their identity. I don't see them leaving the other HBCUs unless the MEAC becomes untenable for some reason. Certainly there are cost savings to be had with the A-Sun, but the MEAC is aligned with the institutional identity and mission.

This. The only way I can see any of the MEAC schools leaving is if they decide that they want a guaranteed shot at going to the FCS playoffs, and even then, North Carolina A&T got an at-large bid, so it's not as though the NCAAs are completely shut out to them. Institutional commonality and shared heritage trump whatever travel savings are enjoyed by moving to the A-Sun or Big South.

And to the original poster's point about Savannah State: They've only been in the MEAC since 2010. BCC and FAMU joined in 1979. With the exception of FAMU's ill-fated flirtation with I-A, they've shown no signs of discontent. Savannah leaving doesn't isolate them any more than they were in the thirty years prior.

Now had a) South Carolina State closed/dropped sports AND Savannah State downgraded AND one or both of the North Carolina schools moved to FBS, that might be enough to prompt a move for FAMU and BCC. But obviously that would be incredibly unlikely. And even then, they'd be more likely to align with similar institutions in the SWAC than unfamiliar, albeit closer, schools in the A-Sun.

(04-23-2017 07:42 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  Look at Tennessee State? They have had winning seasons in football in recent years. They have done it without being in an HBCU conference. For the schools in the HBCU conferences that want to get more recognize and be on tv more often? They might have to think about splitting from those conferences to join another conference which they could in a few years be competitive again like they used to be. Maybe Alabama State and Alabama A&M join the A-Sun as well? The non-football schools could join like the Big South?

What would you get?

The MEAC and SWAC have the best TV contracts in FCS football plus a bowl game on ABC. Tennessee State's largest attended games are their HBCU rivals and homecoming, after that their attendance drops off dramatically.

This whole thread was started on the premise that the DO NOT leave the MEAC for football, only for non revenue sports. I knew there was zero interest in leaving the MEAC for the money sport. It seems like a win, win for all involved to only remain in the HBCU conference for the money sport.