UNHFan

Any chance of the Aeast and NEC merging together? Or any chance the Aeast will make a move before the first major snow storm of the year.

umainealum

I really can't see them merging...however, if you had asked me a year ago if Boise State/San Diego State would be playing Big "East" football, Rutgers & Maryland would join the B1G, etc etc I probably wouldn't have believed any of that either. But, here we are so who knows but man, the schools in the respective leagues are so different on many levels.

I am sick & tired of hearing about all these other conferences making moves to survive and yet nothing, absolutely nothing from our conference office.

__________________
UMaine - the epitome of mediocrity

Proud supporter of an AMERICA EAST team that made a coaching change...

BUmbles

Since the last post on this thread, Boise State and San Diego State have decided not to move to the Big East for football and instead stay in the Mountain West Conference.

Anyone have any insight into what might happen from here?

umainealum

Seems as though everything is on hold until the "Catholic 7" creates their new league with whatever additional members they are inviting...at that point, things will happen quickly as the poached leagues look to fill out their membership rosters. I have heard they are making progress and will be making some official announcements in the very near future. I don't know if those announcements are about membership issues, finalized TV deals, the name of the conference, naming the commish or whatever else. But, we shall see...

__________________
UMaine - the epitome of mediocrity

Proud supporter of an AMERICA EAST team that made a coaching change...

TerrierNation

I think the next two big 'decision points' that could affect the AE further are:

1) Does UMASS join the BE remnants in all sports (UCONN, Cincy, Temple, Memphis, USF, UCF, Tulane, ECU, SMU, Houston etc) or remain in the A10/MAC. They've been mentioned as a candidate along with Tulsa. The western experiment appears all but dead for the BE remnants.

2) Does the C7 elect to bring VCU along for the ride or stick with the 5 oft-mentioned schools (X, Dayton, SLU, Creighton, and Butler)

Bottom line: if both of the above happen, the A10 will be incredibly weakened and could actually start to get picked off. The remainder would be:

URI, Fordham, St. Bonnie, Duquesne, Lasalle, St. Joe's, Richmond, GW

The question is do those 8 schools have the power to stick together and bring in some of the next best basketball schools: George Mason, Fairfield, Davidson, Charleston, Drexel, Hofstra, SBU, BU, Northeastern, etc. I don't think the answer is all that clear yet. And do they stay northern or push south is the other question...Certainly George Mason is a no-brainer but after that it's not very clear.

Could the Patriot League take advantage of a weakened league and lure Fordham and Richmond? Not likely, but it's technically possible.

mainejeff

It seems like VCU joining the Catholic 7 league is gaining momentum.........this is starting to look like total devastation for the A-10.

umainealum

I agree...and with them having success again this year complete with Jay Bilas picking them as a team flying under the radar that can make a run to the Final Four, their name is still very hot. That HAS to be very appealing to the C7.

__________________
UMaine - the epitome of mediocrity

Proud supporter of an AMERICA EAST team that made a coaching change...

Alumni96

Oh the irony....

El Shaqtus

The A-10 will be completely different either way.

If SLU doesn't go with C7, conventional wisdom says they go to the Missouri Valley, which leaves the schools y'all mentioned earlier. AE would probably like that a lot.

__________________
Mom, thanks for everything.

RIP Coach Rick Majerus 12/1/12. You were the one that said it was OK to think big at SLU. You were right.

KVBL Lexington Kings

NotDeadYet

Hey, El Shaqtus, welcome back!

El Shaqtus

Haven't spent much time here since we didn't play any AE teams...so I'm catching up a bit.

__________________
Mom, thanks for everything.

RIP Coach Rick Majerus 12/1/12. You were the one that said it was OK to think big at SLU. You were right.

KVBL Lexington Kings

iamsirjoshua

The other thing that's really holding up realignment at the moment is the status of Maryland and the ACC. A lot of riding on what sort of exit fee they have to pay - whether it's the full $50 million, some percentage, or nothing. Once that's determined, there's going to be a lot more movement at the top which is going to trickle down a lot.

__________________
All hail the mighty AU Eagles

mainejeff

Good point........that's what's keeping the BIG, SEC, etc from completing their moves........which in turn is leaving UConn, Cincinnati, Temple, Central Florida, and South Florida in limbo, which in turn is keeping JMU in the CAA (I think that they get invited to the "leftover" league with ODU, Charlotte, East Carolina, etc), which in turn is holding the CAA together (good for them), which in turn is keeping AE at 8 (for now)...........it's all exhausting, but unfortunately necessary to get to the final act.

The fly in the ointment for AE now is the possibility of the A-10 being decimated which would allow the CAA to survive and that may limit the availability of new members for AE. Thankfully, the CAA added C of C which drove the league South and took away a slot for them to add someone else from the AE footprint. I think that ultimately, they will lose JMU which could further fracture the CAA geographically. On one side of the divide you would have W&M, UNCW and C of C.........and the rest GMU and North. Looks like the CAA will probably hang on to GMU because the A-10 will end up being a dog.

One interesting battle could end up being the Patriot vs. the CAA as Fordham, Richmond, and W&M could all be in play and would be attractive to both leagues. The CAA will need to add 3 members to get to 12 (once JMU leaves) while the Patriot has room for 2 new members to get to 12 (once BU and Loyola are added). I would assume that UNCW and C of C will want to add a Southern flavor to the CAA (at least 2 of the 3/4 newbies) while the Northern flank may push for a more Mid-Atllantic feel.

AE may be relegated to the sidelines although it's possible that a few schools may actually have some interest in joining depending how things play out in their current league. Of most interest would be URI. If the A-10 completely falls apart then AE (along with the CAA) will be the Rams ONLY choices to make their new home. I believe that this is why Bryant to AE has not been announced yet. URI will NOT join a league that includes Bryant.......period. While the CAA may be a slightly more attractive basketball situation........travel and expenses will also be a consideration. Obviously, with Hurley at the helm........they could dominate AE for the foreseeable future.

Also of interest is Northeastern and Fordham..........as well as Delaware and Towson (to a lesser extent). Northeastern may be on the verge of making the Dance out of the CAA which could certainly change things up and make them more likely to stay in the CAA.........but it's no secret that they have not been completely happy in that league (and the league may feel the same way about them since they dropped football). They are a true outlier in the CAA. Fordham will be in play too..........but AE would have to beat out the Patriot and the CAA for them. I don't think that will happen. I think that the chances that Delaware and Towson leave the CAA is minuscule..........both their hoops programs are near the top of the league standings and Towson is opening a gorgeous new facility next year. They aren't dropping sports and plowing money into hoops to re-join AE.

So in the end.............I'd love to see AE add URI, Northeastern, Delaware and Towson.

However, what I think will happen (this is predicated on the A-10 no longer existing):

AE: adds NU and URI
CAA: loses JMU and NU and adds Fordham, George Washington, Richmond and Davidson to get to 12
Patriot: stays at 10

Huskyman

From an institutional standpoint Fordham, GW, Richmond, Davidson, W+M, Drexel, Hofstra, and CofC are pretty much exactly they type of school NU wants to be in a conference with. They currently compete near the top in just about every sport the CAA and NU both offer. Why are the leaving to join URI to the AEast if GW, Richmond and Davidson are joining the CAA? Academically and athletically those are the schools NU wants to associate with.

mainejeff

I'll admit........it's a stretch. VCU to the Catholic-7 is really frigging things up. The CAA should be PRAYING that VCU is selected. They are the lynchpin that controls the destiny of both the A-10 and CAA.