There Goes the Neighborhood

by DB

Well, it seems UMass is on their way out of CAA Football, heading for Tuesday Night Lights in the MAC. At least, that was the word yesterday being reported by several people who get paid to report such things. The writing was on the wall for such a move given Nova’s flirtation (read: standing invitation) with the Big East, and URI’s downsizing to the NEC (note: I didn’t say downgrade, I said downsizing, the NEC is a good and competitive conference, just smaller than CAA standards). Plus, given the imminent arrival of ODU, Georgia State, and possibly (presumably?) Charlotte over the next few years, the CAA will take on a VERY southern flair very quickly. The New England schools are sitting ducks at this point.

Was this the last Spider trip to Amherst?

First, as a native Masshole, I’ll be sad to see ZooMass go and UR lose the familiar football foe.

Second, this first tangible impact of the conference musical chairs is fairly worrisome. The southern shift in football opponents doesn’t really matter. Even a split from UNH and Maine wouldn’t concern me as much as this: UMass was like UR, and now it’s not, leaving the Spiders with one fewer ally. UMass was a basketball-first school. They played (or tried to play) elite, national-level hoops while maintaining lower-level football, like Richmond. In moving to the MAC, UMass becomes like UVA, Temple and TCU. If a school plays FBS football, football steers the school. Every other sport is a distant second. When it hits the fan, UMass and UR won’t be thinking with the same part anymore.

If/when schools further realign, shift conferences, sell their souls to the devil in cash grabs, hoops-centric schools like UR now have one fewer ally to stick with. Fewer friends means less clout and fewer options. Not good times. The non-FBS Atlantic 14 list got smaller, and that’s a problem if (dare I say, when?) the A14 becomes the WAC of the East. Where does UR go? FBS isn’t an option. Can they wait out a Big East football/basketball split and jump in with the Catholic schools? How do Miller and Ayers protect hoops interests? Was President Cooper just premature in trying to move football to the Patriot League? Would such a move be more acceptable now if the Patriot League, as is rumored, adds scholarships? Is that possible without cashing in our chips from the basketball big time party?

There’re far more questions now than answers. It makes my head hurt. And in the end, no one knows anything now, so to blabber on is a waste of pixels. But still, let’s take a spin around the web and see what’s being said:

JMU Sports Blog thinks the Dukes are well positioned for conference Armageddon.

Delaware is happy and stick by the CAA, while doing their do diligence, writes Kevin Tresolini.

Dana and Victory tries to keep things in perspective, but this move is making that harder. Plus, is any other city area in the US called a metroplex, besides Dallas/Fort Worth?

UMass Football Blog has a solid collection of links and thoughts, far more coverage than I have the patience to put together.

In the eye of the storm, Minutement Nation is excited by the move, or at least, is as excited as anyone could be facing a November trip to Buffalo.

So that’s that. For now. Just know I’ll be effing ticked to wake up one morning and find UR back in a CAA for all sports.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled basketball season- HUGE true road game tonight at Old Dominion. Defying all logic and threats of jinx, I’ll be listening to Bob Black tonight. Go get ’em Harp! Monster rebounds early and often….