[UrbanBarrister]

UB: Did Bing ever disclose where the $ for baseball came from? Was it the Susquehanna guys? Curious on that.

Not to my knowledge. The donor remains a mystery. Pretty incredible in this day and age for someone to make a donation of that size and not want their name to be all over it.

 

[VCat_2015]

Not to my knowledge. The donor remains a mystery. Pretty incredible in this day and age for someone to make a donation of that size and not want their name to be all over it.

Well the only plausible answer then is Jason Bateman is washing cartel money through Friends of Binghamton Baseball.

 

[UVM Hoop Cat]

The only way an individual is donating 60M to baseball at Binghamton is if that individual has a net worth of 1bn+. So, it def could be a HNW Yankees minority owner; but would need to see that list and then work backwards to see if any of the owners have a tie to Bing, or an offspring there.

My best guess is it's one of the Susquehanna founders, but would be curious/interested if someone figured it out.

 

[Birdistheword]

This realignment in the Northeast continues to be piecemeal...it's fascinating to follow.

Regarding Quinnipiac....they can't be happy with the direction of the MAAC...can they? They are probably pulling every string to be considered for A-10 or CAA membership....it ain't happening. I think that once this CAA stuff settles out....they will announce that they are joining AE.

Albany is pretty cut and dry....if they are offered by the CAA....they are gone. It's a no brainer for them. And unlike Stony Brook they would be leaving on good terms which helps them and others left behind like Maine, UNH and Vermont should unforseen NCAA stuff necessitate further moves involving these schools.

Howard to the CAA makes sense however the CAA brand will continue to drift toward a Patriot League feel with a bigger emphasis on academic and cultural prestige and less emphasis on athletic prowess.

Fairfield.....they are probably begging for a CAA invite. I don't think that they are coming to AE either way.

Delaware....I've added them to the schools to watch mix just because of the A-10 rumors. I feel like the one time we ignore Delaware.....they might pull a shocking move. Of course the A-10 has to pursue and accept them but I think they would have some pretty strong support from the Eastern flank of the league.....I think that UMass and URI would actually go to bat for them. JMU to the Sunbelt was a wake-up call and future NCAA changes probably has their Administration a bit nervous. They would have to be very interested in hoops and Olympic sports schedules that would include URI, UMass, Fordham, St. Joes, GW, Mason, VCU, Richmond and Davidson.

Gee whiz, I go away for a few weeks and my favorite apple orchard owner delivers this bit of unsubstantiated rumors of which he has zero reliable and/or credible sources.
Let's see: He knows Albany going to the CAA is cut and dried, if they're offered. And, UA's departure on good terms helps them and those left behind ... how?
The CAA brand is drifting towards a Patriot League feel with less emphasis on athletic prowess? Um, try to convince Patriot League schools that athletic prowess isn't important. It is, of course, the widest window to the view of any school, and every single college in America, even the Ivies, recognize this and want athletic success.
Neither Fairfield nor Quinnipiac is begging for a CAA invite. Fairfield/Quinn are both smaller, private schools America East is a collection of large public institutions. Neither Fairfield, nor Quinn is a fit for AE, and neither is moving there.
Delaware to A-10 because he feels like "the one time we ignore Delaware ... they might pull a shocking move.
There is good information on this board, but it's unfortunately balanced by wild imagination posts like this.

 

[Birdistheword]

I don’t see any team AE team leaving for the MAAC. Remember they want after Bryant as well, Bryant willingly went to a league with larger schools and a lower RPI in basketball. We BEAT the MAAC for Bryant. I truly think we have another school to land then should stay at 10.

Just stop. No AE team is joining the MAAC, which is a collection of smaller, private colleges with similar financial resources and overall athletic philosophies. The AE is a collection of mostly large public schools with far more finncial resources. An AE team to the MAAC is the square post-in-round-hole issue.

 

[Birdistheword]

No s*** sherlock. People just made comments over some AE teams that would fit good geographically, No AE would actually want to go to the MAAC.... Funny, Bryant still chose us over the MAAC, says a lot.

Hey Watson (if I'm Sherlock, you can be my low-level assistant). A good fit geographically does not begin to merit conversation about an AE team moving to the MAAC. No AE team would ever be allowed to join the MAAC. This isn't a debate about the merits of the two conferences. It's strictly philosophies. The MAAC will maintain its collection of small, private schools with similar philosophies and goals regarding academics and athletics. AE is a collection of mostly large, public schools that have the potential of far greater financial resources to strive for athletic excellence than MAAC programs. Square Peg, Round Hole.
You'll have to tell me what Bryant choosing AE over the MAAC means. It might mean that the MAAC was not willing to add Bryant as a league member.

 

[Wildcat18]

Hey Watson (if I'm Sherlock, you can be my low-level assistant). A good fit geographically does not begin to merit conversation about an AE team moving to the MAAC. No AE team would ever be allowed to join the MAAC. This isn't a debate about the merits of the two conferences. It's strictly philosophies. The MAAC will maintain its collection of small, private schools with similar philosophies and goals regarding academics and athletics. AE is a collection of mostly large, public schools that have the potential of far greater financial resources to strive for athletic excellence than MAAC programs. Square Peg, Round Hole.
You'll have to tell me what Bryant choosing AE over the MAAC means. It might mean that the MAAC was not willing to add Bryant as a league member.

You are spewing the obvious. Thanks for bringing up posts from weeks ago. I’m probably the only poster that hasn’t blocked you, also I guess it comes with time to recognize but a lot of Jeff’s posts are more of a wish list, some have more serious background, but half of the fun in this board IMO is wishful speculation. Hell we’ve all speculated on teams moving conferences. Some more wishful thinking and some with solid details of why a team might move.
Also Bryant was definitely offered by the MAAC why they chose the AE, you can email their AD yourself if you wish.

 

[LongTall]

Not to my knowledge. The donor remains a mystery. Pretty incredible in this day and age for someone to make a donation of that size and not want their name to be all over it.

Billy Martin?

 

[umainealum]

You are spewing the obvious. Thanks for bringing up posts from weeks ago. I’m probably the only poster that hasn’t blocked you, also I guess it comes with time to recognize but a lot of Jeff’s posts are more of a wish list, some have more serious background, but half of the fun in this board IMO is wishful speculation. Hell we’ve all speculated on teams moving conferences. Some more wishful thinking and some with solid details of why a team might move.
Also Bryant was definitely offered by the MAAC why they chose the AE, you can email their AD yourself if you wish.

Might be time for you to block him. I would have never known he commented on this thread had you not responded. Even still, I can't see what he said. This is such a better experience with him being blocked and I would highly recommend it.

 

[RF1]

A-10 Men's Lacrosse is now official.


Richmond
St Bonavenure
St Joseph's
UMass-Amherst
High Point
Hobart


Atlantic 10 Conference Adds Men's Lacrosse as 22nd Championship Sport
High Point University, Hobart College Join League as Affiliate Members
5/23/2022

Atlantic 10 Conference Adds Men's Lacrosse as 22nd Championship Sport

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Atlantic 10 Conference will add men's lacrosse as the league's 22nd sport, with conference play and the initial championship taking place in the 2022-23 academic year. Currently four A-10 institutions sponsor men's lacrosse as a varsity sport, and will participate in the...

atlantic10.com

 

[ccd494]

No Fairfield. Interesting.

 

[mainejeff]

No Fairfield. Interesting.

Very interesting. This almost confirms that Fairfield has their sights set on AE or the CAA.

 

[Dane96]

Very interesting. This almost confirms that Fairfield has their sights set on AE or the CAA.

Precisely. My guess is that both Albany and Fairfield are still in "conversations" with the CAA. If I had a guess, based on what I have been told about Albany...the CAA's preference is Albany. However, dependent on how that goes, Fairfield is a good backup plan. I have also heard that NO southern schools are currently being vetted for the CAA...also interesting. This could mean that TWO schools come from the North if they go to 16. It would be a mild surprise and really interesting because Howard will bring them to 15 for football.

They could end up just keeping football at 15. You play 4 teams in your pod and 4 teams in each of the other two pods, rotating 2 per pod, per year. This would require three pods...and honestly, it would work quite well and could preserver rivlaries.

As an example, the Pods could be:

North
UNH
Maine
Albany
URI
SBU

Mid-Atlantic
Towson
Delaware
Monmouth
Villanova
Richmond

South
W&M
Elon
Hampton
Howard
NC A&T

Richmond / Elon could swap if W&M felt strongly about being with Richmond as a rival. The Mid-Atlantic would arguably be the strongest of the divisions, followed by the North, and then the South. Or the can go divisionless, but still achieve the cost containment by utilizing Pods above solely for travel and maintaining rivalaries.

 

[Dane96]

Not going anywhere

Because I know Dutchman is all hot under the collar about Albany, the not going anywhere comment should be caveated with "now". Discussions, at least at UA, are ongoing. Whether the CAA is still amenable is unknown. However, outside of Howard's announcement, which should come the third week in June, the CAA is DONE for this year.

 

[mainejeff]

The CAA is scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to Southern schools at this point….they still have multiple viable options in the North.

 

[Wildcat18]

I hope Fairfield and not Albany heads to the CAA. FU to CAA, QU to AE. I also really hope with the Bryant surge and UVM, the AE gains some ground on the CAA in terms of RPI
Im sure the Fairfield posters are fuming over not being in the A-10 lax conference.

 

[sittingbull]

I had the impression Fairfield had an open invite. Seems more likely the case given it was High Point that became the needed 6th member. It likely means that Fairfield must still be on the CAA list - at worst they stay in lacrosse which will be an 8 team league next year.

 

[mainejeff]

Sorry guys....no news on expansion here. But somewhat related.....bad news out of Rider as smaller private D1 schools continue to struggle to pay the bills.....

Citing $20 million deficit, Rider University slashes programs, cuts staff ⋆ Princeton, NJ local news %

More than four dozen jobs will not be filled, and some employees have accepted voluntary separation agreements.

planetprinceton.com

Could Rider eventually pull a Hartford? The MAAC continues to look like a downtrending conference.....come on Q & Fairfield....make your move!

 

[umainealum]

Wow, reading that article, Rider appears to be in a mess. And there have to be many more schools across the country in similar situations. The pandemic-caused issues coupled with the surging prices on everything right now are really showing their true effects on these small schools now. Bigger schools are feeling the pinch as well. It's really a rough scene across the board for about 3/4ers of the conferences.

 

[Nick28surf]

Sorry guys....no news on expansion here. But somewhat related.....bad news out of Rider as smaller private D1 schools continue to struggle to pay the bills.....

Citing $20 million deficit, Rider University slashes programs, cuts staff ⋆ Princeton, NJ local news %

More than four dozen jobs will not be filled, and some employees have accepted voluntary separation agreements.

planetprinceton.com

Could Rider eventually pull a Hartford? The MAAC continues to look like a downtrending conference.....come on Q & Fairfield....make your move!

At the end of Spring 2021, they had a $9.5 million deficit. In an years time it has gone up to $20 million!!! Not too long ago there were talks aout the school shutting down! In all honesty, there isn't much demand among kids in NJ to attend Rider. I don't see the schoo surviving much longer!