[Wildcat18]

How about a trifecta of CCSU, Howard, and LIU?

However, my gut says they will simply announce Stonehill as #10 after March Madness.

I’m going to pray everyday hoping that it’s not lowly Stonehill. IMHO it has to be SHU.
I agree on the March madness timeline.
I will say out of any HBCU Howard would be my number one choice to add if I were the AE.. Who knows if they would even entertain the idea.

 

[Dane96]

I’m going to pray everyday hoping that it’s not lowly Stonehill. IMHO it has to be SHU.
I agree on the March madness timeline.
I will say out of any HBCU Howard would be my number one choice to add if I were the AE.. Who knows if they would even entertain the idea.

They will not. They want either the A 10 or at the worst case as a backup, the patriot league

 

[ccd494]

If it is Stonehill we should all just shut down our athletic programs. NJIT sucks at sports but at least we can kinda hand waive at the academics/NYC metro of it all. Stonehill is worse athletically and would likely give a welding certificate to your pet cat if you asked nicely.

 

[catpower]

Asked on whether FCS realignment is done, Matt Brown had this to say in his mailbag:

"
I don’t think it’s ever really at a close.

Just last week, I wrote a quick update about what I had been hearing about the ASUN, UAC, SoCon and OVC. All four of those leagues, as I understand it, are very much looking for new members, and may be fishing in similar ponds.

Several readers have asked about this, but my current understanding is that any D-II “call-ups” in the immediate future would be limited to the three schools that filed formal paperwork with the NCAA prior to the reclassification moratorium. That makes other D-II schools much less attractive as potential expansion options, since they wouldn’t be allowed to accept a conference invitation until either a) the moratorium ends, or b) they sue and win.

So I’m not hearing, or expecting to hear, anything about any schools from say, the NE-10, GLIAC, GAC or elsewhere.

Not quite related to the FCS, but I’m also hearing there could be some mid-major college basketball realignment announced in the very near future…but not from a school that sponsors a football team."


----

I think the 3 schools that filed to go up are Lincoln Memorial, Nova Southeastern, and West Florida? It also puts to rest some of the Bentley talk...for now. I think the moratorium is going to be in place until membership in D1 goes below a certain threshold, and I think as we've discussed here, there's going to be a few teams that are current D1 members who have to change course, and when it gets to a state where multiple conferences are not able to meet the championship access threshold, and there's not a natural solution (dissolving/merging etc.) we'll see some let up to it...but, if I had to guess, those in control (aka the power conferences) would much rather see the D1 ranks shrink down to 325 or something before allowing more teams to choice. That's just me spitballing, but it seems reasonable.

As for the basketball announcement...there's a rumor out there that would make a certain league that's struggled with stability into arguably a power position to possibly even use the first move as a catalyst to then kick a conference that's already down even more. We'll see what happens, but it's an interesting and very intriguing rumor (not northeast/mid-atlantic based).

 

[Dane96]

As for the basketball announcement...there's a rumor out there that would make a certain league that's struggled with stability into arguably a power position to possibly even use the first move as a catalyst to then kick a conference that's already down even more. We'll see what happens, but it's an interesting and very intriguing rumor (not northeast/mid-atlantic based).

I presume this is about the MVC/OVC/WAC/ASUN world.

 

[catpower]

I presume this is about the MVC/OVC/WAC/ASUN world.

It involves the ASUN, SoCon, and I think if the move happens, it will impact the Big South, by virtue of that, the OVC, because it will make the ASUN look much more attractive as a place to cast your lot than those leagues that are in varying degrees of trouble. We'll have to see; it's a rumor, and surprising, but not fully, if the league this school is currently in has decided it wants to elevate a sport that this particular school does not sponsor.

 

[Dane96]

It involves the ASUN, SoCon, and I think if the move happens, it will impact the Big South, by virtue of that, the OVC, because it will make the ASUN look much more attractive as a place to cast your lot than those leagues that are in varying degrees of trouble. We'll have to see; it's a rumor, and surprising, but not fully, if the league this school is currently in has decided it wants to elevate a sport that this particular school does not sponsor.

Oh...intriguing. And by pure guess-work, and presuming the league elevating is the Southern and NOT the UAC (UAC/ASUN arrangement):

Greensboro leaves the Southern

Southern stays at 10 (Great for football scheduling) or poaches two football schools.

Greensboro heads to the ASUN, a strictly hoops conference. But i don't see that as a power conference. Therefore, the move for Greensboro is to the Big South...and that hoops league looks solid.

The other option is UT-Arlington out of the UAC. That is a different circumstance.

 

[catpower]

Oh...intriguing. And by pure guess-work, and presuming the league elevating is the Southern and NOT the UAC (UAC/ASUN arrangement):

Greensboro leaves the Southern

Southern stays at 10 (Great for football scheduling) or poaches two football schools.

Greensboro heads to the ASUN, a strictly hoops conference. But i don't see that as a power conference. Therefore, the move for Greensboro is to the Big South...and that hoops league looks solid.

The other option is UT-Arlington out of the UAC. That is a different circumstance.

It's Greensboro to the ASUN. The thought is that the ASUN is targeting UNCG + the top half of the Big South and others. Will it work or happen? I don't know. But, it appears the ASUN is trying to score big and reshape the balance of power so they're not the ones in a weaker position, and place the Big South in a very precarious one.

Edit: from my first post I could see where you might cross those two up...I was mostly thinking the Big South is "down" because I think there's a real threat that a few of their members aren't in D1 and the fact that HPU seems pretty active in working the lines to get out. The ASun is def more "down" right now with just 7, but, they're going aggressive it appears.

 

[Aceinthehole]

The Matt Brown 'rumor' is about a mid-major basketball school (no FB) WEST of the Mississippi.

 

[WDB Sports]

Interesting.

Is it a D2 school moving to D1? Or is it perhaps something else

 

[Dane96]

The Matt Brown 'rumor' is about a mid-major basketball school (no FB) WEST of the Mississippi.

Ummm...nowhere in Matt's mailbag does he say it is west of the Miss. It is KC speculating in his own tweet. The brush fire about Greensboro has been ongoing for quite a bit.

Sure, it can be St. Mary's (I consider them more than a mid-major) to the PAC, which would make tons of sense. Sure it can be some MVC moves. Sure it can be UT-Arlington (as I noted above). But from what I am hearing (and have been for about a month) as well as what catpower is hearing, it is Greensboro.

Catpower's message (as he noted above) threw me off a bit because I don't consider the A-Sun a rising hoops power. However, if, with Greensboro, they pull 4 of Ark Little Rock from the OVC, High-Point, Winthrop, Radford, UNC-Ashville, or Longwood, then the ASUN is looking like an excellent hoops focused league. Or they can pivot, to grow UAC football, and go after schools in the OVC with football such as UT-Martin and / or Tenn State.

The Big South takes a hit, and i can see some schools dropping or reclassifying. The remainder will likely hook up or try to with the MEAC or OVC.

 

[Dane96]

Interesting.

Is it a D2 school moving to D1? Or is it perhaps something else

Only THREE D2 schools can move up (so Bentley to the NEC is dead for now)- Lincoln Memorial, West Florida, and Nova Southeastern. There is a moratorium on all other schools.

 

[WDB Sports]

Only THREE D2 schools can move up (so Bentley to the NEC is dead for now)- Lincoln Memorial, West Florida, and Nova Southeastern. There is a moratorium on all other schools.

Alright just checking

 

[catpower]

The ASun to me it's a question of if they view themselves as a 12-team conference or a 14-team or 16-team conference. The former is the most sensible, but the ASun always zigs when everyone zags, and it wouldn't shock me if they went to 14-16 either.

 

[WDB Sports]

Honestly thinking about realignment lately and I've got two thoughts.

1. I did hear talks about UL Monroe and budget issues and them possibly being in the FCS within the next 5 years. The question is who else might join them? Better yet, who really doesn't deserve FBS?

I've got a bit of a list

Kennesaw State
UNC Charlotte
FIU
New Mexico State
Hawaii
Temple
Massachusetts
Connecticut


The other question is conferences who have the weird mix of mostly basketball playing members and a few football members and vice versa

Are we gonna start seeing conferences collapse from that? I wondered if conferences like the OVC are gonna start focusing on basketball while conferences like the SoCon focus on Football

 

[Aceinthehole]

 

[Aceinthehole]

Only THREE D2 schools can move up (so Bentley to the NEC is dead for now)- Lincoln Memorial, West Florida, and Nova Southeastern. There is a moratorium on all other schools.

My understanding of Matt Brown's reporting on this was, yes there is a moratorium in place. And yes, a school must have documented proof of consideration by a D-I conference, however the form and content was not defined by the NCAA and these letters are non-binding.

He also reported that he only knows about those 3 schools having a "letter." Rumors here and elsewhere was that Bentley AD had met with the NEC. So while a Bentley letter has not been reported yet, is it possible that they have one and it just has not been made public until/unless an offer is actually extended and accepted?

 

[mainejeff]

That's a great addition to the WCC and will make a great rivalry with the USD Toreros.

 

[mainejeff]

So what would the latest rankings be for possible AE expansion candidates from most to least likely?

My list:

1. Sacred Heart
2. Merrimack
3. Stonehill
4. Quinnipiac
5. Monmouth
6. Drexel
7. Hofstra
8. Towson
9. Central Connecticut
10. Northeastern

 

[Aceinthehole]

So what would the latest rankings be for possible AE expansion candidates from most to least likely?

My list:

1. Sacred Heart
2. Merrimack
3. Stonehill
4. Quinnipiac
5. Monmouth
6. Drexel
7. Hofstra
8. Towson
9. Central Connecticut
10. Northeastern

Your list can be boiled down to:
1. Stonehill
2. CCSU

None of these other schools would consider playing exit fees to join the AE.