(03-12-2023 04:21 PM)Dukes94 Wrote:  The biggest problem with the AAU is that there are no admission criteria. If they want you, they invite you. If they don’t, they don’t. If they want you out, they kick you out. It’s the very definition of elitism. It’s not an accreditation or an accolade; it’s an invitation-only country club.

JMU has always been the scrappy underdog. The outsider. “Just Missed UVA.” Hell, even the Sun Belt underestimated us, even if Keith Gill and ODU knew better. We’ve earned everything we’ve ever been given. That’s why we’re not Radford or Longwood or Mary Washington. We invite ourselves to the party and steal the keg. It’s how Ron Carrier did it and it’s who we are.

Nice try, but that’s not true.

Yes, institutions can’t fill-out an online application and automatically seek AAU admission. Still, there are standards and criteria for membership, and those criteria (for schools like VT and Texas Tech) work against their joining. Part of that disadvantage is being founded as an agricultural and mechanical schools.

Your friends at VT know what I’m sharing is true, and they can whine and be pissy about membership, but it doesn’t change a thing. No sitting Governor can intervene and twist arms to force the AAU to invite VT.

Holding AAU membership is a mark of excellence, representing a higher standard for Higher Education. Such a marker for excellence is not a bad thing, even if membership is limited and elusive to institutions who would like to be considered as one of the “best of the best.”

By the way…isn’t limiting freshmen admission to JMU a “thing” some posters desire to see happen? To see JMU reduce admission offers so that JMU can be thought more exclusive and more favorably when comparing JMU’s academics to other schools? Instead of offering admission to 80% of all qualified applicants, to limit offers to say 50%? Or maybe even lower, to something under 20% (ala UVA)?

Bottom line, not all schools serve the same purpose. That’s a good thing too, as is the AAU. And I wouldn’t lose any sleep over the VTs of the world not being invited. They’re not worthy.

MACtion

I would have rather seen us in the Big East with ODU and Liberty, but the MAC should be a better home than Independence.

I bet we'll continue to lobby a higher caliber conference. But this takes care of the short term scheduling nightmares and gives us a chance at the auto-bid.
Hope we continue a tough, out of conference schedule, with an emphasis on teams in a conference we would like to join in the future.

Not a horrible league as MoO lost 2-1 (3-2 SO) to eventual National runner up Northwestern.

Interesting result. ODU and Flibberty are in the Big East; VCU and RU are in the A10 (naturally); and App State is in the MAC. So, I wonder if there were some lobbying amongst us and App to get us in the MAC. We’ll have a familiar dance partner at least.

We may be the best team in the conference out of the gate. Miami (OH) was ranked 25 at the end of last season I think, and we were 22.