What does the next decade hold?

[Redwyn]

"The Big East will react by adding Memphis, East Carolina, Central Florida and Temple." Well if something like this happens, it obviously means that the Big East will have split into two conferences, the current football playing members, and the non football playing + ND members. This will end up affecting other conferences like the A10 and CAA I am sure. Maybe UR, UD, XU and SLU all leave the A10 for the new basketball focused big east. After those 4 leave, and Temple bolts for the football focused former big east, the CAA and A10 will duke it out for members, with maybe schools switching leagues (UMass, UNCC and URI to CAA, Hofstra, Drexel and Northeastern to the A10)

It's likely that Stony Brook would head to the CAA before URI. Football is a CAA mainstay, and URI doesn't fit that profile. Stony Brook is also demographically not aligned with the America East (this ignores Boston Univ..which is a very strange animal), and fits far better into the size and academic profile of the CAA. If our key sports (football, basketball, lacrosse, baseball) continue to emerge, it's unlikely that we'd be ignored. Then again, it might also be possible that we have larger intentions. It's hard to really tell given how fast things have developed here. We've only been D1 for 10 years and we're not doin too bad if you ask me. To bring in SBU would return CAA football to metropolitan NYC. Next year's attendance figures should show what a fully mobilized LI fanbase can do.

Now, the clear drawback is SBU really would have no CAA football rival....Not sure how that would affect mindsets in this process. Then again...we ARE in the Big South, so that didn't seem to be an initial concern (though the Liberty rivalry is a little interesting right now).

[Dane96]

Praytell how Stony Brook is not demographically aligned with America East schools.
You always say some interesting stuff...so I am reaaaaallllly looking forward to this explanation.

And remember, Albany--in her 10 years of DI--has won more conference titles than Stony Brook, Buffalo, and Binghamton....COMBINED!!!!! The only thing stopping a move for us is the football stadium.

That said, my remark was not related to a SBU and Albany battle (I think both schools would be looked at). It is more to...HOW ON EARTH IS STONY BROOK MORE LIKE THE CAA PROFILE THAN THE AE PROFILE.

And dont dare go to the "academics argument" as that has been hashed for years...and frankly is all too often used as an excuse to change conferences. When its all said and done...academics, for the most part, take a back seat in conference moves unless you are going to a small select group of conferences.

[tribefan40]

Nashville is too SEC - Vandy won't leave them. Plus, the SEC needs them to bring the GPA up.

Would UGA want GT in the same conference? They already play each other.

Hardy har har.


Don't know if it would be UGA who doesn't want GT in the conference so much as other schools (plus, if we picked up GT, we could dump Vandy as Tech could support the status quo pertaining to GPA). As you mentioned, UGA already plays them every year and I would assume with SK's realignment, GT would go into the SEC East with UGA. The rivalry is already there, heated up last year when GT came into Sanford and pulled an amazing comeback against the Dawgs... in the Rain... the Saturday after Thanksgiving... I was there... but I ducked out early to go watch the Dukes in the FCS playoffs.


As for Arkansas, they do have history with TX and OK, but in a weaker division... granted some of the teams they used to play have moved up too so I wouldn't be surprised if they left. Agree with USC, they've always seemed like an ACC program with Clempson in the neighborhood too...if USC moved to the ACC, it would seem logical to move GT to the SEC... OR if USC and Arkansas both jumped ship, perhaps get rid of the East/West and just keep the 10 team conference? Then we won't have to hear people like AZ complaining about how we don't play everyone in the conference.

It's a hard jump from fcs to fbs (see marshall) but Montana could do well in a conference like the WAC. It would take a while to move up from there though.

[Redwyn]

Praytell how Stony Brook is not demographically aligned with America East schools.
You always say some interesting stuff...so I am reaaaaallllly looking forward to this explanation.

And remember, Albany--in her 10 years of DI--has won more conference titles than Stony Brook, Buffalo, and Binghamton....COMBINED!!!!! The only thing stopping a move for us is the football stadium.

That said, my remark was not related to a SBU and Albany battle (I think both schools would be looked at). It is more to...HOW ON EARTH IS STONY BROOK MORE LIKE THE CAA PROFILE THAN THE AE PROFILE.

And dont dare go to the "academics argument" as that has been hashed for years...and frankly is all too often used as an excuse to change conferences. When its all said and done...academics, for the most part, take a back seat in conference moves unless you are going to a small select group of conferences.

We could argue till the cows come home, and honestly you bullhorn specifically against Stony Brook so much it's unlikely much would reverberate. This has NOTHING to do with Albany specifically. This has to do with simple school size, location, and funding potential.

Think about the size of AE schools. At close to 26K students (28K if you include satellite campuses with the total at home and away rising yearly) Stony Brook is at the very least 8K students larger than ALL AE members short of Boston Univ, which has a weird situation in and of itself. In fact, look at most schools not Albany and you see a difference of several thousand more. The CAA would offer a far better size matchup to SBU.

Academically the CAA IS one of those conferences that believes in academic profile. Listen to their fans. They LOVE the idea that the CAA can compete nationally yet still hold high academic standards. This isn't limited to a mid major conference - the PAC 10 is even locked onto the idea of a specific academic profile in its institutions. I'm a big believer in this idea.

Finally comes money. Now you can continue to say our budget is on the downturn, but until it happens (and I personally believe it won't, nor does our President, who has courtside seats to the basketball team and hasn't missed a game) I'm a firm believer in numbers. Stony Brook has the LARGEST of the SUNY athletic budgets. This isn't by a small margin in some cases, but rather 2 million to FBS Buffalo, 10 million in the case of Albany, 11 million to Binghamton. Our total budget is comparable to that of Boise State, and would rank #6 in CAA Football (#3 of full conference members, #7 in all of FCS) . You can tell me Albany has so many intents, but until it finds 10 million to bolster its athletic budget (or even gets close to passing Siena in basketball attendance), don't keep yelling parity. More importantly, it seems like SBU's number will go up as attendance, fundraising, and arena/stadium renovations improve the program's footprint. Hofstra's disbanding was tragic, but on our end has now increased out impetus to finding a rival in this new FCS. Honestly, the pickings are few for our region, and the CAA gives the best possibility. Now, I'll remark that New Hampshire has a larger budget, but a strong case can be made that this number is mostly due to Ice Hockey, not football.

The final issue is distance. Stony Brook is 250 miles from UMBC, close to 200 from Albany, and significantly farther to Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire. This means we only have three members of the conference (Boston Univ which is 178, Hartford and Binghamton), and for a conference of our level this is unreasonable. In the CAA we'd still have distance issues, but we'd have close games with possible RIVAL schools such as Hofstra, Delaware, Drexel, etc.. Still not ideal, but short of a Big East bid to match with Rutgers and U Conn, it's the best we're gonna do.

[dbackjon]

I still chuckle at the Eastern "distance" issues

[danefan]

I still chuckle at the Eastern "distance" issues

Think "cost" not "distance."

[Dane96]

Praytell how Stony Brook is not demographically aligned with America East schools.
You always say some interesting stuff...so I am reaaaaallllly looking forward to this explanation.

And remember, Albany--in her 10 years of DI--has won more conference titles than Stony Brook, Buffalo, and Binghamton....COMBINED!!!!! The only thing stopping a move for us is the football stadium.

That said, my remark was not related to a SBU and Albany battle (I think both schools would be looked at). It is more to...HOW ON EARTH IS STONY BROOK MORE LIKE THE CAA PROFILE THAN THE AE PROFILE.

And dont dare go to the "academics argument" as that has been hashed for years...and frankly is all too often used as an excuse to change conferences. When its all said and done...academics, for the most part, take a back seat in conference moves unless you are going to a small select group of conferences.

We could argue till the cows come home, and honestly you bullhorn specifically against Stony Brook so much it's unlikely much would reverberate. This has NOTHING to do with Albany specifically. This has to do with simple school size, location, and funding potential.

Think about the size of AE schools. At close to 26K students (28K if you include satellite campuses with the total at home and away rising yearly) Stony Brook is at the very least 8K students larger than ALL AE members short of Boston Univ, which has a weird situation in and of itself. In fact, look at most schools not Albany and you see a difference of several thousand more. The CAA would offer a far better size matchup to SBU.

Academically the CAA IS one of those conferences that believes in academic profile. Listen to their fans. They LOVE the idea that the CAA can compete nationally yet still hold high academic standards. This isn't limited to a mid major conference - the PAC 10 is even locked onto the idea of a specific academic profile in its institutions. I'm a big believer in this idea.

Finally comes money. Now you can continue to say our budget is on the downturn, but until it happens (and I personally believe it won't, nor does our President, who has courtside seats to the basketball team and hasn't missed a game) I'm a firm believer in numbers. Stony Brook has the LARGEST of the SUNY athletic budgets. This isn't by a small margin in some cases, but rather 2 million to FBS Buffalo, 10 million in the case of Albany, 11 million to Binghamton. Our total budget is comparable to that of Boise State, and would rank #6 in CAA Football (#3 of full conference members, #7 in all of FCS) . You can tell me Albany has so many intents, but until it finds 10 million to bolster its athletic budget (or even gets close to passing Siena in basketball attendance), don't keep yelling parity. More importantly, it seems like SBU's number will go up as attendance, fundraising, and arena/stadium renovations improve the program's footprint. Hofstra's disbanding was tragic, but on our end has now increased out impetus to finding a rival in this new FCS. Honestly, the pickings are few for our region, and the CAA gives the best possibility. Now, I'll remark that New Hampshire has a larger budget, but a strong case can be made that this number is mostly due to Ice Hockey, not football.

The final issue is distance. Stony Brook is 250 miles from UMBC, close to 200 from Albany, and significantly farther to Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire. This means we only have three members of the conference (Boston Univ which is 178, Hartford and Binghamton), and for a conference of our level this is unreasonable. In the CAA we'd still have distance issues, but we'd have close games with possible RIVAL schools such as Hofstra, Delaware, Drexel, etc.. Still not ideal, but short of a Big East bid to match with Rutgers and U Conn, it's the best we're gonna do.

You ever watch Back to School-- specifically the scene where they are in the econ class building a company? I will give you the same answer Rodney D. gave:

"HOW ABOUT FANTASY LAND."

I dont care what your President says. Stony Brook was flat out told to cut the budget by the State, By the Chancellor...etc. All money for athletics will come from an increase in tuition...etc. The new budget proposal may help in that end (will for Albany) but the reality is...STONY BROOK IS BLEEDING RED.

And I have that from as high as you can get at Stony Brook.

Let's agree to disagree...and call me when you are in the Big East.

[Dane96]

Oh...and let me add; your arena (and the additional increases to LaValle) have been shut down because hey...guess what...YOUR SUGAR DADDY IS GONE.

Yeah, yeah...you keep saying that there are tons of private donations lined up to support sports; WHERE ARE THEY?!?!?!?

Finally, and no disrespect to my NU friends; how did that move work out to be with "like-minded" institutions. Furthermore....and no disrespect to my UMASS and Towson friends... by letting in UMASS, who has a football vote if I understand correctly because it is a seperate entity, the CAA thumbed its nose to academics. Towson aint that much more grand.

That said, the reason I said keep academics out of this is because there are two conferences IMHO-- the IVY and the PL--who place a premium on athletics and academics. You think athletes in the Big Ten, with the fine academic institutions, are all smart?!

But at the IVY's and the PL's while there may be some miniscule bending here and there, most of their athletes are true scholar athletes.

Therefore, I dont place a premium on the academic argument...even from a marketing standpoint.

[Redwyn]

Oh...and let me add; your arena (and the additional increases to LaValle) have been shut down because hey...guess what...YOUR SUGAR DADDY IS GONE.

Yeah, yeah...you keep saying that there are tons of private donations lined up to support sports; WHERE ARE THEY?!?!?!?

Finally, and no disrespect to my NU friends; how did that move work out to be with "like-minded" institutions. Furthermore....and no disrespect to my UMASS and Towson friends... by letting in UMASS, who has a football vote if I understand correctly because it is a seperate entity, the CAA thumbed its nose to academics. Towson aint that much more grand.

That said, the reason I said keep academics out of this is because there are two conferences IMHO-- the IVY and the PL--who place a premium on athletics and academics. You think athletes in the Big Ten, with the fine academic institutions, are all smart?!

But at the IVY's and the PL's while there may be some miniscule bending here and there, most of their athletes are true scholar athletes.

Therefore, I dont place a premium on the academic argument...even from a marketing standpoint.

::shakes head:: How wrong and misdirecting most of what you just said is baffles me, possibly the greatest being the shot at U Mass Amherst...A tier 1 school by most independent ranking systems. Towson is also ranked in the top 50 for schools with an MA as their top degree.....

Don't take shots at other people's schools. Poor form mate. Budget, distance, and size comparisons are not the same as academic attacks.

[Redwyn]

I still chuckle at the Eastern "distance" issues

Think "cost" not "distance."

Very true. Though, thinking about it, the midwest and West Coast def has far greater issues with travel.

What we might all agree upon is if a more competitive conference with closer travel destinations existed, we'd jump at the idea of aligning with it. Such is the CAA to Stony Brook in comparison to the AE.

[Dane96]

Oh...and let me add; your arena (and the additional increases to LaValle) have been shut down because hey...guess what...YOUR SUGAR DADDY IS GONE.

Yeah, yeah...you keep saying that there are tons of private donations lined up to support sports; WHERE ARE THEY?!?!?!?

Finally, and no disrespect to my NU friends; how did that move work out to be with "like-minded" institutions. Furthermore....and no disrespect to my UMASS and Towson friends... by letting in UMASS, who has a football vote if I understand correctly because it is a seperate entity, the CAA thumbed its nose to academics. Towson aint that much more grand.

That said, the reason I said keep academics out of this is because there are two conferences IMHO-- the IVY and the PL--who place a premium on athletics and academics. You think athletes in the Big Ten, with the fine academic institutions, are all smart?!

But at the IVY's and the PL's while there may be some miniscule bending here and there, most of their athletes are true scholar athletes.

Therefore, I dont place a premium on the academic argument...even from a marketing standpoint.

::shakes head:: How wrong and misdirecting most of what you just said is baffles me, possibly the greatest being the shot at U Mass Amherst...A tier 1 school by most independent ranking systems. Towson is also ranked in the top 50 for schools with an MA as their top degree.....

Don't take shots at other people's schools. Poor form mate. Budget, distance, and size comparisons are not the same as academic attacks.

Your problem is you put too much stock in polls and rankings that mean nothing in the real world. I suggest you look into the UMASS athlete academic standard, in particularly how the rest of the world sees them.

And I say that with respect to my UMASS friends who likely wouldnt hide from the fact that at one time they were PROP 48 U...and it hasnt changed much. And before you go off on a tangent, my former roommate played football at UMASS...and a very good friend is the President of the the Athletic Dept. ALUMNI Development arm for UMASS (was a football transfer from SIENA). They would both agree.

[Bostonspider]

Not to get in the middle of a S.B. - Albany pissing match, but I think that if all that I mentioned came to pass (which is a long shot), then I think UMass would be a priority for the CAA, and if they are a priority then I think URI might come along for the ride. Like minded institution, great basketball arena, improved football stadium, especially if they go ahead and replace the East Stands. Also they are already in the CAA for football, so it would make sense for them to come over with UMass and Charlotte for all sports. This would leave the privates in the A10 and the publics in the CAA.

[Redwyn]

Not to get in the middle of a S.B. - Albany pissing match, but I think that if all that I mentioned came to pass (which is a long shot), then I think UMass would be a priority for the CAA, and if they are a priority then I think URI might come along for the ride. Like minded institution, great basketball arena, improved football stadium, especially if they go ahead and replace the East Stands. Also they are already in the CAA for football, so it would make sense for them to come over with UMass and Charlotte for all sports. This would leave the privates in the A10 and the publics in the CAA.

I think Bostonspider's right...this really did turn into a pissing match. I doubt out opinions will change much, so probably best to simply leave as is and discuss things that matter more in FCS.

[DKHardee]

I've been reading that Arkansas would jump to the Big 12 and Clemson would go to the SEC. Clemson has been wanting out of the ACC for years. Then USF would jump in Clemsons ACC spot.

[commodore_dude]

Definitely a possibility if Mizzou and/or Colorado get poached from the Big 12, since geographically they COULD be put in the North division without too much fuss. Otherwise if both of those schools leave you'd realistically have to put the Oklahoma schools in the North division and then come up with an SEC-style rotation to preserve UT-OU... Other than BYU and Arkansas I don't see any schools that could join the Big 12 outside of Texas, and the last thing the non-TX schools want would be some combination of Houston, SMU and TCU added. I would probably offer Georgia Tech before Clemson since they have history in the SEC, but either would be a great add, with FSU or Miami not far behind. But before any of this happens the Pac-10 and Big 11 have to decide what they're going to do...