Mark this one in one to watch. It's a bit confusing but basically the ASun believes they have found a way to split their conference so that no one loses an auto bid
Step 1: The 10 team Atlantic Sun expands to 20 by 2023
Step 2: The core ASun 7 (Florida Gulf Coast, North Florida, Jacksonville, Stetson, Kennesaw St, Lipscomb, NJIT) move all their sports to what is now the CCSA Swimming Conference.
Step 3: The CCSA will become a multisport conference, rename itself Atantic Sun and be eligible for auto bid since the ASun 7 will be apart of it
Step 4: The 3 schools left behind: Liberty, North Alabama, and Belleramine plus they added schools will play together in a new conference that will supposedly be entitled to auto bids
Sounds a little far fetched to me, but with the talk of how the CAA just doesnt work anymore it seemed relevant
Mark this one in one to watch. It's a bit confusing but basically the ASun believes they have found a way to split their conference so that no one loses an auto bid
Step 1: The 10 team Atlantic Sun expands to 20 by 2023
Step 2: The core ASun 7 (Florida Gulf Coast, North Florida, Jacksonville, Stetson, Kennesaw St, Lipscomb, NJIT) move all their sports to what is now the CCSA Swimming Conference.
Step 3: The CCSA will become a multisport conference, rename itself Atantic Sun and be eligible for auto bid since the ASun 7 will be apart of it
Step 4: The 3 schools left behind: Liberty, North Alabama, and Belleramine plus they added schools will play together in a new conference that will supposedly be entitled to auto bids
Sounds a little far fetched to me, but with the talk of how the CAA just doesnt work anymore it seemed relevant
It always seems impossible until it is done. ASUN must have found a commissioner and ADs not worried about their next jobs. Might be liberating.
(01-23-2020 12:02 AM)TDenverFan Wrote: So are they going to have to call up a ton of D2 schools for this to work? It seems like this has a lot of moving parts
They are probably hoping targeting some current D1 teams
Mark this one in one to watch. It's a bit confusing but basically the ASun believes they have found a way to split their conference so that no one loses an auto bid
Step 1: The 10 team Atlantic Sun expands to 20 by 2023
Step 2: The core ASun 7 (Florida Gulf Coast, North Florida, Jacksonville, Stetson, Kennesaw St, Lipscomb, NJIT) move all their sports to what is now the CCSA Swimming Conference.
Step 3: The CCSA will become a multisport conference, rename itself Atantic Sun and be eligible for auto bid since the ASun 7 will be apart of it
Step 4: The 3 schools left behind: Liberty, North Alabama, and Belleramine plus they added schools will play together in a new conference that will supposedly be entitled to auto bids
Sounds a little far fetched to me, but with the talk of how the CAA just doesnt work anymore it seemed relevant
I like the way they are thinking outside the box. And they seem to have precedent.
Isnt this basically what happened, except in reverse, with the big east/aac where it kinda dissolved into 2 league but both kept auto bids since enough members stayed together or am I remembering things wrong?
(01-23-2020 10:24 AM)dan10 Wrote: Isnt this basically what happened, except in reverse, with the big east/aac where it kinda dissolved into 2 league but both kept auto bids since enough members stayed together or am I remembering things wrong?
Basically that is how it is being presented except instead of starting a new conference structure they are using the existing conference structure ofbthe CCSA to facilitate the 2nd conference and new autobid
(01-23-2020 10:24 AM)dan10 Wrote: Isnt this basically what happened, except in reverse, with the big east/aac where it kinda dissolved into 2 league but both kept auto bids since enough members stayed together or am I remembering things wrong?
In its first year in 2013-2014, the AAC was eighth in the Conference RPI, and it had three ranked teams. Number 5 Louisville went 31-6, Number 15 Cincinnati went 27-7, and Number 18 UConn went 32-8 and led with 8 wins over AP ranked teams. That includes the postseason. The past success or expected success of teams shouldn't let teams or conference get an exception to the rules, but media and fans would have complained if the NCAA didn't give the AAC in automatic bid. Louisville, who was a lock, won the AAC tournament, so the AAC would have gotten the same amount of bids without an automatic bid, but it still would have been strange to not have given the AAC an automatic bid.
What teams would join the Atlantic Sun and not consider it going to a worse conference? Would anybody leave the Big South or Ohio Valley? Would any HBCUs leave the Mid-Eastern Athletic (MEAC) or Southwestern Athletic (SWAC)? Would a team in the eastern part of the Southland like Northwestern State or Southeastern Louisiana join?
Should the NCAA limit how many teams a conference can have? With 20 teams, there would need be be 20 conference games (round-robin makes 19 and a rival you place twice) in order to play every opponent.
The CAA (Not "CAA Football") is currently comprised of 5 football playing schools and 5 non-football playing schools.
If, as is often rumored, JMU leaves to go to a FBS conference the non football playing schools will have a majority. And - if the Presdients/ADS have any vision - they could hold the whip hand by keeping the CAA a majority non FCS Conference going forward, at least until there was a plan in place to institute a 'velvet divorce' from the FCS schools.
The Big East Schools did it by having 7 schools together for 5 years before forming a new conference. The Atlantic Sun seems to be trying a similar maneuver by taking 7 schools to an existing conference structure. So add a couple of non football schools, wait 5 years and then bingo - we too could have a new DI basketball only conference. If you add football schools too with the understanding that it is a prelude to eventual divorce, so be it.
But it does seem that with a little imagination and initiative there could be organized "swaps" of teams between existing conferences that accomplish the same thing. I'm just convinced that there is zero incentive for anyone at CAA HQ to be thinking through these schemes , and concerned that there is zero evidence that anyone at the campus level is organizing their peers to proactively make anything creative happen.
(01-02-2021 10:38 AM)Seahawk2010 Wrote: We are a reactionary conference and not a proactive conference, unfortunately.
I was reading back over the history of the founding of the original Big East. There was really one guy, Dave Gavitt, in one of the schools that had a vision, put together a game plan, then rounded up the other schools to get on board.
I suspect that's what it would take in our case. Instead of saying , "here are our choices - the CAA, Big South, Southern Conference", perhaps we need -say - a Chancellor with the desire to reset the chess board and create a new set of choices.
If I were running the show at UNCW I would think about beginning by putting together a regional alliance of similarly situated basketball schools - regardless of current conference membership - to at least get together and confer on an ongoing basis about things that might make sense for all concerned.
(01-02-2021 11:41 AM)tke75hawk Wrote: I would look at winthrop,uncg,and unca since they do not have football. I am sure there are other schools.
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There is a wide-open need for a basketball-only conference in the southeastern US. One just does not exist. There would have to be a host of schools that would have serious interest.
(01-02-2021 10:38 AM)Seahawk2010 Wrote: We are a reactionary conference and not a proactive conference, unfortunately.
I was reading back over the history of the founding of the original Big East. There was really one guy, Dave Gavitt, in one of the schools that had a vision, put together a game plan, then rounded up the other schools to get on board.
I suspect that's what it would take in our case. Instead of saying , "here are our choices - the CAA, Big South, Southern Conference", perhaps we need -say - a Chancellor with the desire to reset the chess board and create a new set of choices.
If I were running the show at UNCW I would think about beginning by putting together a regional alliance of similarly situated basketball schools - regardless of current conference membership - to at least get together and confer on an ongoing basis about things that might make sense for all concerned.
The problem with that is the NCAA has new rules for auto bids to prevent such a thing.
A new conference would have to contain at least 7 schools that are willing to stick together for 8 years to get an autobid.
That simply isn't practical.
The CAA either needs divisions or to pick a direction.
At this point what would be best for all is if us and CoC went to the SoCon so the CAA can focus on the north.
(01-02-2021 10:38 AM)Seahawk2010 Wrote: We are a reactionary conference and not a proactive conference, unfortunately.
I was reading back over the history of the founding of the original Big East. There was really one guy, Dave Gavitt, in one of the schools that had a vision, put together a game plan, then rounded up the other schools to get on board.
I suspect that's what it would take in our case. Instead of saying , "here are our choices - the CAA, Big South, Southern Conference", perhaps we need -say - a Chancellor with the desire to reset the chess board and create a new set of choices.
If I were running the show at UNCW I would think about beginning by putting together a regional alliance of similarly situated basketball schools - regardless of current conference membership - to at least get together and confer on an ongoing basis about things that might make sense for all concerned.
The problem with that is the NCAA has new rules for auto bids to prevent such a thing.
A new conference would have to contain at least 7 schools that are willing to stick together for 8 years to get an autobid.
That simply isn't practical.
The CAA either needs divisions or to pick a direction.
At this point what would be best for all is if us and CoC went to the SoCon so the CAA can focus on the north.
This way the CAA can be the premier FCS conference as that is thier top goal for whatever reason.
I guess.
Problem with that is JMU has made it quite clear they’re not willing to stay put in the CAA regardless of what it does. Eventually, they’ll leave. The CAA believing JMU is a main stay in the conference would be another catastrophic failure by the leadership regardless of if we stay or not.
To a similar point, UNCW has shown zero desire or inclination to leave this crap conference. Which is why I find these threads pointless. I know some of y’all get your rocks off discussing it, so go for it. I just think it’s a lot of futile pipe dreams.
(01-02-2021 10:38 AM)Seahawk2010 Wrote: We are a reactionary conference and not a proactive conference, unfortunately.
I was reading back over the history of the founding of the original Big East. There was really one guy, Dave Gavitt, in one of the schools that had a vision, put together a game plan, then rounded up the other schools to get on board.
I suspect that's what it would take in our case. Instead of saying , "here are our choices - the CAA, Big South, Southern Conference", perhaps we need -say - a Chancellor with the desire to reset the chess board and create a new set of choices.
If I were running the show at UNCW I would think about beginning by putting together a regional alliance of similarly situated basketball schools - regardless of current conference membership - to at least get together and confer on an ongoing basis about things that might make sense for all concerned.
The problem with that is the NCAA has new rules for auto bids to prevent such a thing.
A new conference would have to contain at least 7 schools that are willing to stick together for 8 years to get an autobid.
That simply isn't practical.
The CAA either needs divisions or to pick a direction.
At this point what would be best for all is if us and CoC went to the SoCon so the CAA can focus on the north.
This way the CAA can be the premier FCS conference as that is thier top goal for whatever reason.
I guess.
Problem with that is JMU has made it quite clear they’re not willing to stay put in the CAA regardless of what it does. Eventually, they’ll leave. The CAA believing JMU is a main stay in the conference would be another catastrophic failure by the leadership regardless of if we stay or not.
To a similar point, UNCW has shown zero desire or inclination to leave this crap conference. Which is why I find these threads pointless. I know some of y’all get your rocks off discussing it, so go for it. I just think it’s a lot of futile pipe dreams.
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Exactly right about JMU. If they get another chance at FBS they are gone. I also think that W&M is a flight risk to the Patriot League irregardless of JMU.
Better get out now on our terms instead of waiting until the Northern schools have the votes.
One way or the other, the northern half of the CAA is going control the conferences future. Better get out now.
(01-02-2021 03:14 PM)70shawk Wrote: There is a wide-open need for a basketball-only conference in the southeastern US. One just does not exist. There would have to be a host of schools that would have serious interest.
The one that exists is in the topic title. The 10 conferences that do not exist for Football are:
Atlantic Sun
Big East (New England*/northeast/midwest)
Atlantic 10 (New England*/northeast/northern part of the south/midwest)
Metro Atlantic Athletic (New York/New Jersey/Connecticut
America East (New England, New York, and Maryland)
Horizon League (midwest)
Summit League (western part of the midwest/north central)
Western Athletic (scattered in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones with giant travel)
Big West (California state schools and Hawaii)
West Coast (all are Christian)
* New England is Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
/
Atlantic Sun with a bold expansion plan
