RE: JMU to the DumbBelt
One thing bugging me about this is how JMU fans keep saying "well, no other conference does it this way". Here's the rebuttal to that.
1. It is irrelevant, both logically and legally, what any other conference is doing. All conferences are separate entities with separate rules. The JMU argument is akin to saying to the VA State Trooper who pulled them over for speeding on I-81: "hey officer, the speed limit on highways in Montana, Nevada, and South Dakota is 80, so I wouldn't have been speeding there".
2. I saw a tweet several days ago that the America East Conference did the same thing as the CAA when Boston University left for the Patriot League several years ago. So, hey, there seems to be at least another league that does it (and see below about what the AE and the CAA have in common but these other leagues mentioned do not).
3. Here's a clue to the JMU fans: IT IS ALL ABOUT MONEY. That is the reason why the Big 12, AAC, and C-USA did not apply similar rules to their departing schools. Take Oklahoma and Texas as an example. They are not leaving until summer 2025. So Oklahoma is very likely to get invited to the NCAA Tournament (or earn the autobid) in '22, '23, '24, and '25. They are likely to play at least 2 games each year. Texas is very likely to do the exact same thing. So that is most probably at least 16 NCAAT games' money that those schools will earn for the Big 12. Then there is football. One of those schools (most likely Oklahoma but it could be either) is likely to be invited to the 4-team playoff at least one of those years, maybe two or more. If they don't go to the CFP then those two schools are very likely to be in the better (read: more lucrative) bowl games. So that also is a ton of money going into the Big 12. The other schools in the conference know all about the gravy train and it is not in their best financial interest to kick out or otherwise impede Ok and Texas in the meantime. Also note that this same scenario applies to the AAC, where Cincinnati, Houston, and Central Florida are all leaving but those are the three currently most successful schools and, until departure, would be the ones bringing in the most money to the conference. The same thing trickles down to C-USA. So the bottom line of this section is that there is big money in those other leagues and penalizing your best members is not financially sound. Obviously there is no money in CAA Football and only one team makes the NCAAT in basketball -- therefore JMU does not and would not bring in any more money there than would any other CAA representative. The CAA is a non-entity in big-time (read: big money) athletics. That is why the CAA can have a different paradigm than the Big Boys. That is what the CAA also has in common with the America East (and quite a few other conferences).
4. It is also likely that the schools in those other conferences are not willing to penalize the deserters because each of those schools secretly or overtly wishes to be just like them. The remaining Big 12 schools might need the Texas or OK vote some day in a future expansion -- so why piss them off. Also, perhaps those conference commissioners have designs or dreams of someday "moving up" themselves, such as from C-USA or AAC to the Big 12 or SEC. So, again, why piss them off. (I would assume that Joey D could not be seriously contemplating any higher leagues).
5. Another reason why maybe the CAA has this bylaw but other conferences do not is because the CAA has already lost NINE schools (counting JMU; Navy, American, ECU, UR, VCU, ODU, GMU, GSU); so perhaps it is more understandable that they would have this bylaw whereas other conferences would not. Also note that one reason to deny tournament participation is because monetary penalties alone are really no deterrent when a school (and its wealthy boosters) have dreams of moving up. By the way, note that the AAC is penalizing Houston (twice) and UCF (once) by not letting them host conference tournaments in non-revenue sports (that is, they don't upset the money train but they do penalize them in sports where there is no money to be made and it doesn't matter which team(s) represent the conference).
So, JMU fans, stop whining about what every other conference does and recognize the fact that what has occurred is allowed by the CAA bylaws that you voted for and previously enforced on others.
(This post was last modified: 11-05-2021 02:52 PM by Zorch.)
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