(02-13-2021 04:43 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  

(02-12-2021 02:36 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  Howard has the best chance, followed by Norfolk State, North Carolina Central and Delaware State in no particular order. Is South Carolina State financially/academically stable now? I know there were questions not that terribly long ago. Morgan State is probably the weakest of the football schools. Coppin State and UMES might need a miracle if the MEAC dies.

So let's say Howard to the NEC, North Carolina Central, Norfolk State and possibly South Carolina State to the Big South, which now needs to fortify football with the ASUN sponsoring it. Morgan State, Coppin State, UMES probably have to accept D2 at that point. Delaware State for the sake of this discussion go down to 2 as well, though they'd stand a better chance at hanging on in the NEC.

At this point, you might be better off (presuming all principals agree) to reestablish the MEAC as a D2 conference and then redistribute the D2 HBCUs into three conferences: MEAC (Mid-Atlantic), CIAA (Carolinas) and SIAC (Southeast).

MEAC: Lincoln (Pa.)*, Morgan State*, Coppin State, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Bowie State*, Virginia State*, Virginia Union*, Elizabeth City State* (Delaware State)
CIAA: Shaw*, St. Augustine's*, Fayetteville State*, Winston-Salem State*, Johnson C. Smith*, Claffin, Benedict*, Allen (South Carolina State)
SIAC: Albany State*, Savannah State*, Clark-Atlanta*, Paine, Fort Valley State*, Morehouse*, Tuskgee*, Spring Hill, Miles*, Lane*, LeMoyne-Owen, Kentucky State*, Central State (Ohio)*
*-football

The SIAC is probably always going to have a big footprint; there's no obvious way to split it into two.

Assuming that of the remaining 8 MEAC schools, only Howard (NEC), NCCU (Big South), and NSU (Big South) manage to find other D1 homes, there will be 32 schools (plus 1 FB-only affiliate) among the MEAC schools dropping to D2, the CIAA and SIAC schools, and potential future D2 member Edward Waters. Here's how I might split them into 3 conferences:

CIAA (10 schools in NC and SC + 1 FB affiliate in NC)
FB (9+1)
East: Chowan (FB only), Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State, Shaw, St. Augustine's
West: Allen, Johnson C. Smith, Livingstone, SC State, Winston-Salem State
NFB (1): Claflin

MEAC (10 schools in DE, KY, MD, OH, PA, and VA)
FB (8): Bowie State, Central State, Delaware State, Kentucky State, Lincoln, Morgan State, Virginia State, Virginia Union
NFB (2): Coppin State, UMES

SIAC (12 schools in AL, FL, GA, SC, and TN)
FB (10)
East: Albany State, Benedict, Edward Waters, Fort Valley State, Savannah State
West: Clark Atlanta, Lane, Miles, Morehouse, Tuskegee
NFB (2): LeMoyne-Owen, Spring Hill

So the demoted MEAC adds 4 schools from the CIAA (Bowie, Lincoln, VA St., VA Union) in exchange for SC St., and also adds 2 schools from the SIAC (Central St., KY St.). The remaining CIAA schools (now incl. SC St.) add 1 school from the SIAC (newcomer Allen). This leaves 11 schools in the SIAC, who are joined by Edward Waters.

As an alternative to the 3-conference D2 alignment above, here's a more conservative 2-conference D2 alignment for the CIAA and SIAC wherein they take in 5 MEAC schools that drop to D2 plus Edward Waters. In this scenario, no schools are exchanged between the CIAA and SIAC. Current MEAC members are underlined.

CIAA (16 schools in DE, MD, NC, PA, SC, and VA + 1 FB affiliate in NC)
FB (13+1)
North: Bowie State, Chowan (FB only), Delaware State, Lincoln, Morgan State, Virginia State, Virginia Union
South: Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State, Johnson C. Smith, Livingstone, Shaw, St. Augustine's, Winston-Salem State
NFB (3): Claflin, Coppin State, UMES

SIAC (16 schools in AL, FL, GA, KY, OH, SC, and TN)
FB (14)
East: Albany State, Allen, Benedict, Edward Waters, Fort Valley State, Savannah State, SC State
West: Central State, Clark Atlanta, Kentucky State, Lane, Miles, Morehouse, Tuskegee
NFB (2): LeMoyne-Owen, Spring Hill

Note that both conferences maintain an even number of FB (14) and MBB (16) members.

You might want to remove Delaware State from the downgrading to D2. They shut down Wesley's D3 athletics, and I suspect that the two departments are merging which would give Delaware State with men's golf, men's LAX and men's soccer, softball and women's field hockey for a shot at another conference. The 4 possible conferences that Delaware State could try to get into are the CAA, NEC, OVC or Patriot. That is if they do merge the two departments and get the players from Wesley and coaches. They would be offering all the sports mostly for the women's side for all four conferences outside of the MEAC.

DSU already has softball and there's absolutely no indication DSU is adding any of Wesley's unique sports to its own lineup. I mean, they might, but I really doubt it.

I'm sure that with all the excess money they must have just lying around, Delaware State would love to add scholarships for a bunch of new sports that have little to no bearing on its desirability to other conferences.

(02-16-2021 12:49 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  I'm sure that with all the excess money they must have just lying around, Delaware State would love to add scholarships for a bunch of new sports that have little to no bearing on its desirability to other conferences.

DSU was spending for two athletic departments. Merging the overlap sports and add the 4 sports they do not have might be a ticket for them to leave MEAC to join another D1 conference.

The fact that Wesley College, a private school, is going out of business and has to be absorbed by the state should tell you that there's not enough money to go around. Individual universities have taken losses of tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars due to COVID. With few exceptions, now is not the time for schools to be expanding athletic budgets. Which is why you've seen so many schools cut sports and will continue to see it. Get a clue already, Davey. Seriously.

They shut down all athletics for the D-III campus they purchased. It's highly unlikely it will even continue as a school, rather simply be absorbed as buildings and adjunct campus for UDel. The State of Delaware does not have money to allocate for athletics.

There wont be any athletics there. There wont be any transfer.