Professional and College Basketball Forums banner

Is AE expansion on the way?

11K views 92 replies 27 participants last post by  BingGrad 
#1 ·
Here's something from William Paxton of the Connecticut Post. He broke the QU/MU to the MAAC story more than a week before it happened.

Bryant University is among the schools that America East is looking at adding, according to multiple sources that spoke to Hearst News Group.

With Boston University heading to the Patriot League after the 2012-13 school year, the AE will be down to eight members. According to a source, the conference could add up to four new members with the Bryant among the top choices.

Bryant, which began the transition to NCAA Division I status in the summer of 2007, became a full-time member of the Northeast Conference this year.

The NEC has already lost two schools to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, with Quinnipiac and Monmouth announcing last week they were switching conferences. The MAAC added two schools after losing Loyola to the Patriot League and could still add another school at some point.
http://blog.ctnews.com/college/2012/12/19/america-east-looking-at-bryant/
 
#2 ·
4 new members? Interesting- we know Bryant and CCSU are probably two of those, wonder who the other two would be?

As an aside, what the heck happens to the NEC if they lose more schools?

I saw LIU also loss Boyd for the season as well- tough year in the NEC.
 
#5 ·
For what it's worth, NJIT has beaten an AE team this year (UNH) and Army, who has beaten Binghamton and Maine.

They also only loss games by 8 points to St. John's and Seton Hall, which I don't think the majority of AE teams would pull off.

Doesn't seem like they'd be hurting the conference RPI any more than most of the bottom feeders already in the conference.
 
#8 ·
Well looking at the pool of teams in the northeast

Patriot- no one is leaving for us
A-10 I doubt URI would leave, no chance for umasss
MAAC- no one is leaving for us
NEC- CCSU Bryant SHU Wagner im sure would all leave if invited
Independent- NJIT wants a home more than anything
CAA- UD TU NU HU could return, but i doubt it.

I really don't see where 4 schools would come from unless its 3 nec plus njit
 
#9 ·
I'm more interested in conference stability than RPI at this point- that's what happens though when you're a last-mover like the AE is.

And honestly, not NJIT as much but Bryant and CCSU would both be plug-and play at this point.
 
#13 ·
Just one thought on NJIT (not an endorsement, nor a rebuke)...remember, when assessing the status of their hoops program right now, every win they've earned thus far they've earned with players who were ostensibly told "there is currently no path to the NCAA Tournament if you come here." That is the plight of the school without a conference affiliation (no, the Great West doesn't count...no bid = no league).

If they join the America East, they *will* improve. Fact.
 
#14 ·
I appalud the AEast if this is true that the league could add 4 schools. I like the idea of NJIT just from the fact of its a good recruiting area and a location the Aeast is not currently in. Does anyone have any thoughts on who the fourth team could be and secondly what would happen to the NEC? Does everyone feel confident in Bryant, CCSU and NJIT to the Aeast?
 
#15 ·
I appalud the AEast if this is true that the league could add 4 schools. I like the idea of NJIT just from the fact of its a good recruiting area and a location the Aeast is not currently in. Does anyone have any thoughts on who the fourth team could be and secondly what would happen to the NEC? Does everyone feel confident in Bryant, CCSU and NJIT to the Aeast?
I do!
 
#20 ·
Explain Northeastern to me.

They would have a hefty CAA exit fee to pay. And they stand at least a decent chance chance to get an A10 invite in the next 5 years if the BE rocks that conference with 4-5 schools. And why do they want back in the AE? I think they would at least wait for the A10 to pass them over and raid the CAA (Mason, Drexel, etc) before even considering that.
 
#21 ·
Miss Universe USA! The new pride of Boston University! lol. Sophomore becomes Miss Universe
 
#23 ·
It doesn't appear as though the NEC is long for this world, does it? If the AE goes to 12, I think Bryant + 2 NECs + NJIT sounds about right.

In the long run, depending on what this new Catholic Big East looks like, they'll raid the A-10, who will raid the MAAC, who will raid some combination of the AE and NEC.

I leave the Patriot out because they just expanded and I don't see any schools leaving there. There are HC people who seem to think the Catholics or the A-10 might want them. If that happened, I'd be so shocked I might convert.
 
#24 · (Edited)
NJIT isn't happening, they don't offer enough AE sports and just look at the Athletics/MBB budgets below:

Bryant - $11.2 / $1.4
CCSU - $10.5 / $1.2
NJIT - $7.6 / $1.3

Actually, Sacred Heart is the biggest budget in the NEC at $20.1 / $1.2 (their tuition is about $32k)
That is actually bigger than QU, Monmouth, and even Stony Brook :)

FYI - Every budget in the AE is at least $11 / $1

I'll say it again, they should just at 2 teams and wait:
CCSU - top notch basketball, plus adds strong baseball and soccer programs; has Women's Lax, plus it a public univ. and has instant rivals.
Bryant - adds nationally-ranked MLax, an improving hoops product, a baseball team, and puts a team in RI

10 teams - 18 game home/home round robin schedule. Adds great Lax, and improves basketball and baseball.

After that, the potential candidates have much more downside to consider.
NJIT - public school, in NJ market - BUT no M/W Lax, no softball, small budget
SHU - very good all around, but nothing great – BUT does anyone want another CT program?
RMU - decent programs and excellent men's hoop – BUT a huge geographic outlier
WAG – solid programs, NYC, and good academics – BUT tiny enrollment with limited financial resources
LIU - solid hoops and NYC location - BUT academics are far worse than anything in the AE
 
#25 ·
My guess is they will add Bryant and CCSU and sit back; they should.

If the Catholic 7 raid the A-Ten...and some of the oldies don't get invited there (A-Ten)...maybe they come to the AE. Unlikely...but maybe. No reason to cap expansion by adding four now. Add two...stabilize.
 
#37 ·
NJIT has to be one as UTPA has accepted a WAC invite for 2013. So NJIT is the only Great West full member left. Equity in Athletics has NJIT's AD budget at $8.2M, but you have to figure the resouces they had to spend for shipping teams to Utah, Texas, North Dakota, and Chicago, would be re-allocated for better useslike adding softball, with savings from EA bus trips. Academic rankings and research are very strong, and playing baseball in a pro park, with some of their BB games played at Prutential, are both assets. And it's a sausage-fest since it's a public tech school, so student excitement for athletics would be easier than a school of 60% females. Though, its environs fit some of the private NEC schools more than AE members.
 
#38 ·
NJIT has to be one as UTPA has accepted a WAC invite for 2013. So NJIT is the only Great West full member left. Equity in Athletics has NJIT's AD budget at $8.2M, but you have to figure the resouces they had to spend for shipping teams to Utah, Texas, North Dakota, and Chicago, would be re-allocated for better useslike adding softball, with savings from EA bus trips. Academic rankings and research are very strong, and playing baseball in a pro park, with some of their BB games played at Prutential, are both assets. And it's a sausage-fest since it's a public tech school, so student excitement for athletics would be easier than a school of 60% females. Though, its environs fit some of the private NEC schools more than AE members.
I guess I was not totally wrong on page 1. I thought I read somewhere about Prudential and NJIT.

I just hope that if AEC is planning to expand, then they act quick. Quinnipiac would have been a good addition, but MAAC didn't waste time.
 
#42 ·
If NJIT's administration is committed to adding sports and upping the athletic budget a bit, I'd take them. No name recognition, but when UA, SBU, and BUNY joined AE, I remember thinking the league was desperate and was scraping the bottom of the barrel (no offense to the SUNY fans, I just did not know anything about the sports programs at the time and had barely heard of any of the schools). Obviously that thinking was wrong, as all the SUNY schools were committed to building their athletics program and are key to the conference at this point.
 
#43 ·
Very well said. It'd be nice if conferences could conditionally invite other schools in. Like, within 8 years you will spend this much on your AD and if you don't meet the threshold, it isn't a good fit for either party and we'll give you two years to move on. Of course the AE doesn't have that leverage, but it would be nice.
 
#45 ·
+2 on what Hoopcat and umaine said. I thought the league was going to fall apart previously and vaguely knew about Albany and knew nothing about Binghamton and Stony Brook- and all three have certainly turned into being assets for the conference. That's why I think BU leaving has been more..."eh".

I agree with Dane 96, add two teams in Bryant and CCSU now for stability, but the league should give itself flexibility should more changes occur- Catholic 7 raiding A10, A10 raiding CAA/MAAC, on down to whatever might be in play for AE.

That being said, I would not say no to NJIT for the reasons mentioned but I don't feel like we have to add another NEC team to make 4- considering at this point there's very few I'd actually want after Q-Pac and CCSU.
 
#47 ·
+2 on what Hoopcat and umaine said. I thought the league was going to fall apart previously and vaguely knew about Albany and knew nothing about Binghamton and Stony Brook- and all three have certainly turned into being assets for the conference. That's why I think BU leaving has been more..."eh".
I'm hanging around because I pull for another AEC team (UNH) in several sports, but losing BU is more than "eh" because the conference hasn't been proactive enough to add suitable replacements. There is no conference in the country with enrollment like AEC, academics like AEC, or market penetration like AEC (although the markets are regarded as smaller), that is regarded as being as weak as AEC. The potential is big but the future is bleak. The only thing going for the conference, and this is sort of bizarre, is that the conference offers few expansion targets for other conferences. It gets to maintain a strong core by default, despite weak leadership. No other conference is in an analogous position.
 
#49 ·
I think we're in for a wait. If the AEC was going to be proactive, they would have made a move already... and may have beaten the MAAC to the punch on some of their recent adds. The fact that they've done nothing so far likely means that they are waiting for more Big East/A-10/CAA expansion trickle-down fallout. They are probably hoping the A-10 or CAA will be weakened enough that they can poach more attractive membersfrom those leagues. I think that, in the end, the AEC will pick from the same group of NEC schools (minus those that get poached while the AEC waits) that we've talked about ad nauseum, sometime in the spring/summer.
 
#50 ·
I think the waiting game is the right move. We can argue semantics about Monmouth and Quinnipiac versus Central Connecticut and Bryant versus NJIT and UMass-Lowell all we want, but honestly none move the needle in a huge way. Some combination of similar schools will be there in the summer.
 
#65 ·
I don't disagree that some combination of NEC/Independents/D-II schools will always be there for the taking, but isn't something telling if it was true that the AE really wanted QU and they bolted for the MAAC instead?

Waiting is a fine strategy. It assures you that the conference doesn't jump and make a move too soon and only adds when they have to. However, I still don't see why any of the former AE school in the CAA returns with that massive exit fee and a NBC Sports contract. The AE can't offer those schools anything but geography. Does anyone really think that is enough?

Conference Realignment is a ladder and it has a hierarchy. The Big East is still above C-USA and the MAC, but we know it is below the ACC, Big12, etc. The CAA has already taken 5 AE teams in the past, what dynamic would anyone think change that trend?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top