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VCU joining in 2013 - CBSSPORTS reports


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Thanks guys, I appreciate the welcome.

Some of the guys who run our fan website VCURamNation.com have also started a new A10 board for those who are interested in non-flaming alternative for basketballforum's site for basketball discussion of the conference. It can be found at http://www.a10talk.com if you'd like to check it out. We think it provides a superior product and while it's just getting off the ground, we're hoping that it takes off. They will be doing video features such as the one they did on the VCU press conference announcing the A-10 move: http://www.a10talk.c...to-atlantic-10/

We're hoping to get some more SLU folks out there as we have a healthy Richmond, VCU, and Xavier contingent there as well as a smattering of folks from the other schools as well. Hope to see some of you on there! We've already had a 'Best Venue in the A10' thread going and the consensus among VCU fans seems to be that Chaifetz takes the cake.

Thanks for sharing the website - it looks great and I will visit it from time to time.

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It has been confirmed by TCU's AD that Florida State, Clemson, and Miami are all trying to get into the Big12. The Big12 is positioning itself to be one of those 4 and the ACC looks awfully reactive right now. No doubt they will poach from the Big East if it happens, but the Big12 doesn't seem to be overly eager to expand right now from what people are saying here. They may well leave, in which case I expect schools like UConn, Louisville, and perhaps Rutgers would be considered. As for the mythical Big East split that everyone has been hoping will happen for years, that will continue to be far-fetched. The basketball schools will cling on to the football schools as long as they can. It makes the most money for them, and in the long run, that's all that matters. As far as the A10 Richmond has no intention of ever moving up to the FBS as it stands. They are comfortable playing FCS football and are committed to playing at the highest level they can within that division. They've built a brand-new football facility that only seats 8,700. There are no plans to upgrade the program to the FBS. UMass will only leave if they get a Big East invite for all sports, which would take a collapse of epic proportions from the Big East. The Big East is trying to get Air Force to be their next member. Clearly geography is no factor to them in their quest for football relevance and survival. If UMass was considered a serious target, being within the conference footprint, they would have been contacted a long time ago. There is probably a bit of a stigma for a BCS conference to take a school that is going into its first year of FBS football. They probably see themselves as deserving existing, established FBS teams. UMass is happy in the A10 for basketball because simply put, it's the highest level of play available to them right now. As things stand, that's probably not going to change any time soon. If the Big East is passing over ECU with their history and 50,000 fans packing their house for every game in C-USA. They aren't going after UMass one year removed from the FCS and playing their first year of FBS football in the MAC with way less fans. They also haven't shown that they deliver the Boston market in any discernible way which I suspect is as or more important than anything else mentioned above. The A10 appears to be the highest level for basketball-only schools who aren't already in the Big East and looks to stay that way for awhile. Until the Big East bball schools become so disgusted with their situation that they are willing to walk away from millions on principle, things will stay the way they are. A lot of those schools are charter members of the Big East and they're going to stick it out as long as they can, and it certainly looks like the Big East is willing to do whatever it takes to stay 'relevant' and survive in football. Even if being relevant means being a joke to college sports fans everywhere.

I was one of the biggest hope and pray for the big east split guys on the board. but with the recent additions of Butler and VCU coupled with rumors of Creighton's curiosity and the continued dumbing down of the big east with ridiculous football additions, I am now in the camp of F the big least. let's max the potential of the A-10 and stay right where we are. in reality, if somehow, the 2-3 bottom dwellers would on their own decide to go elsewhere (face it we arent kicking anyone out. they will have to go on their own), a conference made up of the top 10-12 teams of the A-10 would be an excellent basketball conference.

the next step imo is for the A-10 to "suggest" minimum standards in facilities, budgets, scheduling and performance or face a financial revenue penalty (less of the share of the ncaa pie). that might help the lesser schools decide to step up or get out.

but for now, i am more than willing to see how far this A-10 improvement runs.

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It has been confirmed by TCU's AD that Florida State, Clemson, and Miami are all trying to get into the Big12. The Big12 is positioning itself to be one of those 4 and the ACC looks awfully reactive right now. No doubt they will poach from the Big East if it happens, but the Big12 doesn't seem to be overly eager to expand right now from what people are saying here. They may well leave, in which case I expect schools like UConn, Louisville, and perhaps Rutgers would be considered.

As for the mythical Big East split that everyone has been hoping will happen for years, that will continue to be far-fetched. The basketball schools will cling on to the football schools as long as they can. It makes the most money for them, and in the long run, that's all that matters. As far as the A10 Richmond has no intention of ever moving up to the FBS as it stands. They are comfortable playing FCS football and are committed to playing at the highest level they can within that division. They've built a brand-new football facility that only seats 8,700. There are no plans to upgrade the program to the FBS. UMass will only leave if they get a Big East invite for all sports, which would take a collapse of epic proportions from the Big East. The Big East is trying to get Air Force to be their next member. Clearly geography is no factor to them in their quest for football relevance and survival. If UMass was considered a serious target, being within the conference footprint, they would have been contacted a long time ago. There is probably a bit of a stigma for a BCS conference to take a school that is going into its first year of FBS football. They probably see themselves as deserving existing, established FBS teams.

UMass is happy in the A10 for basketball because simply put, it's the highest level of play available to them right now. As things stand, that's probably not going to change any time soon. If the Big East is passing over ECU with their history and 50,000 fans packing their house for every game in C-USA. They aren't going after UMass one year removed from the FCS and playing their first year of FBS football in the MAC with way less fans. They also haven't shown that they deliver the Boston market in any discernible way which I suspect is as or more important than anything else mentioned above.

The A10 appears to be the highest level for basketball-only schools who aren't already in the Big East and looks to stay that way for awhile. Until the Big East bball schools become so disgusted with their situation that they are willing to walk away from millions on principle, things will stay the way they are. A lot of those schools are charter members of the Big East and they're going to stick it out as long as they can, and it certainly looks like the Big East is willing to do whatever it takes to stay 'relevant' and survive in football. Even if being relevant means being a joke to college sports fans everywhere.

Thank you.

A few more questions if you don't mind. What's George Mason's reaction to VCU joining the A10 and them not?? Did this surprise you? Should George Mason be added? Who would you/VCU want added if another A10 spot became available?

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Their fans are understandably upset with their administration for not making the move with us. Supposedly they had an offer just the same as us and their President nixed the move against the AD's recommendation to move to the A-10. Although CBSSports reported it as an either/or situation, various sources, including Patrick Nero, the AD at George Washington, indicated that the A-10 indeed did want George Mason. Their fans by and large are very upset and trying to find a silver lining but still non-plussed at their administration. This was only exacerbated by VCU and ODU's decisions to bolt just a week later, effectively leaving them in a league full of FCS football schools trying to advance their football interests, and basketball schools who have all largely been irrelevant on the national scene.

I wish I could say I was surprised, but their administration has been very conservative and many within the Mason fan base and throughout the CAA felt like they sat on their Final Four run and failed to really capitalize on it in meaningful, sustainable ways. Mason is not a bad program, but I do think they are a team that most likely will be a mid-pack at best school in the A-10 as currently constructed and with the conservative vision and seemingly limited commitment to men's basketball they have in place. I'm sure VCU would welcome their addition as another large public school as there aren't a lot of schools like us in the A-10. We have a bit of a rivalry that has developed in the CAA and our fans enjoy playing them. They would certainly be on a list of teams I'd like to see added.

It really does depend on who is interested and what's available to choose from. I'm sure Mason would jump in an instant now if a spot opens up with a new president coming in in July. They are in no man's land in the CAA right now. Creighton would be a tremendous add although it makes little sense from a geographical standpoint. There's no arguing that they are solid across the board though. This is my bias as a VCU fan obviously, but it seems weird to be adding teams 400 miles west of St. Louis when we're talking about a conference that's called the Atlantic-10 and has its headquarters in Newport News, Virginia which is a short drive from the Atlantic Ocean.

I'd think schools like George Mason and Creighton, and to a lesser extent schools like Siena and Davidson in a worst case scenario. I wouldn't mind just letting the conference shrink either. We don't need a huge, unwieldy conference like the Big East.

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Their fans are understandably upset with their administration for not making the move with us. Supposedly they had an offer just the same as us and their President nixed the move against the AD's recommendation to move to the A-10. Although CBSSports reported it as an either/or situation, various sources, including Patrick Nero, the AD at George Washington, indicated that the A-10 indeed did want George Mason. Their fans by and large are very upset and trying to find a silver lining but still non-plussed at their administration. This was only exacerbated by VCU and ODU's decisions to bolt just a week later, effectively leaving them in a league full of FCS football schools trying to advance their football interests, and basketball schools who have all largely been irrelevant on the national scene.

I wish I could say I was surprised, but their administration has been very conservative and many within the Mason fan base and throughout the CAA felt like they sat on their Final Four run and failed to really capitalize on it in meaningful, sustainable ways. Mason is not a bad program, but I do think they are a team that most likely will be a mid-pack at best school in the A-10 as currently constructed and with the conservative vision and seemingly limited commitment to men's basketball they have in place. I'm sure VCU would welcome their addition as another large public school as there aren't a lot of schools like us in the A-10. We have a bit of a rivalry that has developed in the CAA and our fans enjoy playing them. They would certainly be on a list of teams I'd like to see added.

It really does depend on who is interested and what's available to choose from. I'm sure Mason would jump in an instant now if a spot opens up with a new president coming in in July. They are in no man's land in the CAA right now. Creighton would be a tremendous add although it makes little sense from a geographical standpoint. There's no arguing that they are solid across the board though. This is my bias as a VCU fan obviously, but it seems weird to be adding teams 400 miles west of St. Louis when we're talking about a conference that's called the Atlantic-10 and has its headquarters in Newport News, Virginia which is a short drive from the Atlantic Ocean.

I'd think schools like George Mason and Creighton, and to a lesser extent schools like Siena and Davidson in a worst case scenario. I wouldn't mind just letting the conference shrink either. We don't need a huge, unwieldy conference like the Big East.

You made the argument for Creighton above in your post - by you saying you would not mind more large state schools in the A10 since there are not many of them to begin with is exactly why a Creighton is more coveted then a GMU. I don't think most of the A10 members would be that interested in turning the league into a big state school conf - it was basically started with a private school bent. If you want to be in a conf with more big state schools you should have waited for when Shaka gets ready to leave for Syracuse when Boheim retires - I just heard this rumor last night believe it or not from somebody who is tuned in to the college basketball world - this would maybe keep him with you. The name of the conf is actually immaterial - we have been in confs who have changed their names before and it means nothing. Also, don't get fooled by the geography issue - today that apparently means nothing.

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You made the argument for Creighton above in your post - by you saying you would not mind more large state schools in the A10 since there are not many of them to begin with is exactly why a Creighton is more coveted then a GMU. I don't think most of the A10 members would be that interested in turning the league into a big state school conf - it was basically started with a private school bent. If you want to be in a conf with more big state schools you should have waited for when Shaka gets ready to leave for Syracuse when Boheim retires - I just heard this rumor last night believe it or not from somebody who is tuned in to the college basketball world - this would maybe keep him with you. The name of the conf is actually immaterial - we have been in confs who have changed their names before and it means nothing. Also, don't get fooled by the geography issue - today that apparently means nothing.

Great post!

Adding George Mason would be a mistake IMO. The only non-BCS school I'm interested in adding at this point is Creighton. We already got the 2 big fish. We have the chance to become a power conference in basketball. Adding a team like George Mason would do nothing to help that.

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He asked me who I as a VCU fan would like to see added. I don't see why it would surprise you that I would be okay with a state school 2 hours away from us when we are a state school and were conference rivals with them. I never knocked Creighton, in fact I said they were good across the board, with geography as the only drawback.

Geography doesn't matter if we're talking about the Big East. Let's get serious those ridiculously far-flung conferences are all about football tv contract money. There's no chance the Big East does what they've done unless it helps them get a big money TV contract and basketball is usually only a small percentage of that. Trying to replicate that model for basketball-only conference hoping for any type of payout that would justify the distance is delusional. Basketball conferences will never command the kind of money where such a far flung conference is justified. It simply doesn't bring in enough revenue on its own. March Madness is one thing, but during the season it is absolutely football that drives the bus everywhere. It's the same reason the Big East basketball-only schools will fight tooth and nail to stay in the Big East. The drop in stature in dropping from a BCS football conference would be staggering as would the loss of revenue, regardless of whatever brand or market they carry.

Heck the ACC, which no one pretends is some power in football but historically one of the best basketball conferences in the country signed a new contract with ESPN that will pay each member school about 17 million in TV revenue. You want to know how much of that is for basketball? 20%. That's right folks, UNC, Duke, Maryland, NC State basketball etc. are worth 20% compared to the crap that is ACC football nowadays. That's just how it works.

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He asked me who I as a VCU fan would like to see added. I don't see why it would surprise you that I would be okay with a state school 2 hours away from us when we are a state school and were conference rivals with them. I never knocked Creighton, in fact I said they were good across the board, with geography as the only drawback.

Geography doesn't matter if we're talking about the Big East. Let's get serious those ridiculously far-flung conferences are all about football tv contract money. There's no chance the Big East does what they've done unless it helps them get a big money TV contract and basketball is usually only a small percentage of that. Trying to replicate that model for basketball-only conference hoping for any type of payout that would justify the distance is delusional. Basketball conferences will never command the kind of money where such a far flung conference is justified. It simply doesn't bring in enough revenue on its own. March Madness is one thing, but during the season it is absolutely football that drives the bus everywhere. It's the same reason the Big East basketball-only schools will fight tooth and nail to stay in the Big East. The drop in stature in dropping from a BCS football conference would be staggering as would the loss of revenue, regardless of whatever brand or market they carry.

Heck the ACC, which no one pretends is some power in football but historically one of the best basketball conferences in the country signed a new contract with ESPN that will pay each member school about 17 million in TV revenue. You want to know how much of that is for basketball? 20%. That's right folks, UNC, Duke, Maryland, NC State basketball etc. are worth 20% compared to the crap that is ACC football nowadays. That's just how it works.

I was only referring to your comment about why GMU would be better than Creighton and the reasons you gave. You also asked why would Creighton want to come to the A10 given the travel/geography issue. I get where you are coming from I only was trying to show were we are coming from. By the way, I do agree some what with your comments regarding the Big East and the ACC.

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Where did I make the argument that George Mason would be better than Creighton? Did I even give any reasons why I thought George Mason is better than Creighton (an argument I never made)? Go ahead and read my post again. I only said that Creighton is a significant geographical outlier from the A10 footprint but that they were great across the board otherwise. Someone asked me for my opinion on whether I as a VCU fan would welcome Mason and I said yes because of the connections our school has with them and their proximity to us as well similar make-up. I had several reservations about George Mason's commitment and leadership and even went as far as to say I thought they'd be mid-pack in the A10. I never asked why Creighton would want to come to the A10, I simply said they are very far away from the majority of the conference and that makes me pause when I think about teams I'd like to add. Sure Creighton is great, but I don't necessarily want to have to send my olympic, non-revenue sports to Omaha either.

I completely understand why St. Louis fans would push for Creighton, but I was asked my own opinion as fan of VCU and then told why I was wrong based on SLU's interests. Lol. Every school ultimately acts in self-interest. I have no problem with that. It's just that it seems like people read my posts and got something completely different than what I was trying to convey. VCU is in the minority as large, state, public. It's only natural for us to prefer to have some similar, like-minded institutions in close proximity to partner with in any worst-case scenarios. Likewise, it behooves St. Louis fans to prefer as many like-minded institutions in close proximity for them as possible as well. I get that most A10 folks wishes wouldn't align with mine, but my school also isn't a lot like many members of the A10 as a 30,000+ student public school.

Just remember that the A10 wanted George Mason and the offer was on the table if they wanted it. That does not happen if all the school presidents aren't on board with the idea.

That said, I think schools like Creighton and Wichita State would be shoo-in's for the A10 if not for being nowhere close to most A10 members. They are tremendous programs and superior to many existing A10 programs as far as program strength. They are as major as a 'mid-major' can get. Geography absolutely does matter in a basketball-only conference with a limited revenue stream. We're not going to command the kind of TV money that will justify going 400 miles west of St. Louis just to get a new market with a DMA in the 70's. Basketball TV contracts aren't going to be a major cash cow regardless of how much quality the league has in it or the markets being covered.

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Where did I make the argument that George Mason would be better than Creighton? Did I even give any reasons why I thought George Mason is better than Creighton (an argument I never made)? Go ahead and read my post again. I only said that Creighton is a significant geographical outlier from the A10 footprint but that they were great across the board otherwise. Someone asked me for my opinion on whether I as a VCU fan would welcome Mason and I said yes because of the connections our school has with them and their proximity to us as well similar make-up. I had several reservations about George Mason's commitment and leadership and even went as far as to say I thought they'd be mid-pack in the A10. I never asked why Creighton would want to come to the A10, I simply said they are very far away from the majority of the conference and that makes me pause when I think about teams I'd like to add. Sure Creighton is great, but I don't necessarily want to have to send my olympic, non-revenue sports to Omaha either.

I completely understand why St. Louis fans would push for Creighton, but I was asked my own opinion as fan of VCU and then told why I was wrong based on SLU's interests. Lol. Every school ultimately acts in self-interest. I have no problem with that. It's just that it seems like people read my posts and got something completely different than what I was trying to convey. VCU is in the minority as large, state, public. It's only natural for us to prefer to have some similar, like-minded institutions in close proximity to partner with in any worst-case scenarios. Likewise, it behooves St. Louis fans to prefer as many like-minded institutions in close proximity for them as possible as well. I get that most A10 folks wishes wouldn't align with mine, but my school also isn't a lot like many members of the A10 as a 30,000+ student public school.

Just remember that the A10 wanted George Mason and the offer was on the table if they wanted it. That does not happen if all the school presidents aren't on board with the idea.

That said, I think schools like Creighton and Wichita State would be shoo-in's for the A10 if not for being nowhere close to most A10 members. They are tremendous programs and superior to many existing A10 programs as far as program strength. They are as major as a 'mid-major' can get. Geography absolutely does matter in a basketball-only conference with a limited revenue stream. We're not going to command the kind of TV money that will justify going 400 miles west of St. Louis just to get a new market with a DMA in the 70's. Basketball TV contracts aren't going to be a major cash cow regardless of how much quality the league has in it or the markets being covered.

I did reread your post and you did say that you would not mind having more big state schools in the A10. That being said, perhaps I read more into your post then I should have. Yes, I agree we all tend to post based on our own self interest. I guess I was not clear about the Creighton thing - my bad - I would be happy to have another small private school with a good bb pedigree if Creighton did not work rather than a big state school. Who would you suggest that may have a more central setting that meets all the league school's need? I also agree with you that I would prefer quality over numbers and would be more interested in a smaller conf but with quality bb schools in it.

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Of course I wouldn't mind that. Why wouldn't I? I was asked what I thought of adding George Mason as a VCU fan. They are a large, public school as are we. As a VCU fan, of course I'm going to be okay with not being one of the only schools like that in the A10. Yes, I am okay with that, and I understand why you wouldn't be, but again I'm posting from a VCU fans' point of view. Our interests will not always align because we are different types of institutions, and that's okay. The A10 leadership certainly seemed to be okay with the idea of George Mason joining the league and I expect they will be in any future expansion talks later on as well. The privates still outnumber the publics by a large margin, but it does give schools like UMass, URI, and VCU a similar type of school in the conference. Again I get that you guys would prefer a private school conference, but the A10 is first and foremost about getting the best basketball programs within a reasonable geographic footprint.

I would love to see schools like Fordham move down to the Patriot League since they haven't been able to compete at this level. LaSalle hasn't done much either and I think going back to the MAAC would probably not hurt their program all that much. They were a giant in that conference before and I think they would return to that in short order as a MAAC member. We have more than enough quality basketball programs, we just need to cut some of the dead weight at the bottom. I know that's not at all practical and we couldn't ever kick out those schools, but it would be nice if those schools decided to move to a more appropriate level for their programs. Addition by subtraction isn't all that bad an idea. If we can get the conference down to 12 or 10 that would be a great conference where everyone would be able to play each other more often, build rivalries and maintain a high level of play across the board.

To be quite honest, there aren't that many great options out there as basketball-only private schools that are central to everyone. I would have said Siena 2 or 3 years ago as they have a very good following averaging 7-8,000 fans even as a sub-.500 program now. They play in the 15,000 seat Times-Union Center and were very good under Fran McCaffrey and Paul Hewitt before that. If they can get a good coach (something that would be much easier in the A10), they have the infrastructure and support in place to be pretty successful. They are the only game in town in Albany and most of their games were covered on regional TV throughout New York state. I would not mind swapping LaSalle for Siena from the MAAC. Other schools that come to mind are absolutely stretches in one way or the other like Drexel, Hofstra, Boston University, and to a lesser extent Davidson.

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In the past I was a believer in the addition by subtraction idea, but the more I think about, the less appealing it seems. No matter how big the conference is there's going to be a few bottom feeders. I'm not sure if decreasing our conference size to 10 would increase the number of teams making the tourney or not. It's very possible that it would decrease that number.

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Tough to argue with that as well. Good point. I guess I'm a traditionalist and would love to be able to crown a true regular season champion with the ability to have home and homes with each team. We didn't even have that in the 12-team CAA, but I always thought it sucked how the unbalanced schedule would help certain teams. For example, Drexel only had to play VCU (2nd), George Mason (3rd), and ODU (4th) once in the regular season and got both VCU and Mason at home. The other schools all had to play home and homes with each other. Drexel ran through the CAA at 16-2 and VCU came in at 15-3.

I understand that we're living in times that are anything but traditional, but unbalanced scheduling sucks, especially when you're in a 1 bid league where seeding for the conference tournament can mean a whole lot. Thank God that's no longer the case for us in the A10.

All told, I agree with you now that you put it that way. I'm just not sure I want a 16-team mega-conference either. Perhaps that's the way we'll go if we anticipate anyone will be leaving to create a preemptive buffer of sorts. Who knows?

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Of course I wouldn't mind that. Why wouldn't I? I was asked what I thought of adding George Mason as a VCU fan. They are a large, public school as are we. As a VCU fan, of course I'm going to be okay with not being one of the only schools like that in the A10. Yes, I am okay with that, and I understand why you wouldn't be, but again I'm posting from a VCU fans' point of view. Our interests will not always align because we are different types of institutions, and that's okay. The A10 leadership certainly seemed to be okay with the idea of George Mason joining the league and I expect they will be in any future expansion talks later on as well. The privates still outnumber the publics by a large margin, but it does give schools like UMass, URI, and VCU a similar type of school in the conference. Again I get that you guys would prefer a private school conference, but the A10 is first and foremost about getting the best basketball programs within a reasonable geographic footprint.

I would love to see schools like Fordham move down to the Patriot League since they haven't been able to compete at this level. LaSalle hasn't done much either and I think going back to the MAAC would probably not hurt their program all that much. They were a giant in that conference before and I think they would return to that in short order as a MAAC member. We have more than enough quality basketball programs, we just need to cut some of the dead weight at the bottom. I know that's not at all practical and we couldn't ever kick out those schools, but it would be nice if those schools decided to move to a more appropriate level for their programs. Addition by subtraction isn't all that bad an idea. If we can get the conference down to 12 or 10 that would be a great conference where everyone would be able to play each other more often, build rivalries and maintain a high level of play across the board.

To be quite honest, there aren't that many great options out there as basketball-only private schools that are central to everyone. I would have said Siena 2 or 3 years ago as they have a very good following averaging 7-8,000 fans even as a sub-.500 program now. They play in the 15,000 seat Times-Union Center and were very good under Fran McCaffrey and Paul Hewitt before that. If they can get a good coach (something that would be much easier in the A10), they have the infrastructure and support in place to be pretty successful. They are the only game in town in Albany and most of their games were covered on regional TV throughout New York state. I would not mind swapping LaSalle for Siena from the MAAC. Other schools that come to mind are absolutely stretches in one way or the other like Drexel, Hofstra, Boston University, and to a lesser extent Davidson.

I agree with you that trying to find appropriate additions is not easy - we have struggled through several threads on the very subject which is why many of us see Creighton as a viable option - I accept more for us then some of the other Conf schools. The problem with Sienna is that for many in our conf flying into Albany will not be simple unless we charter so that location is not much better than where the Bonnies are. Omaha at least holds more travel options for us, X, Butler, Duq and Dayton - not sure about the Philly schools or you guys so you could have an equal complaint that is valid. I am getting a kick out the part of your post - trust me when we got in to the A10 we did the same thing and got wacked pretty good from some of the lower tier A10 teams fans - about dropping some of these non performers so be prepared for an internet visit if you guys start a thread on your board about this. Finally, I basically do not have anything actually against big state schools being in the conf - in fact, I have consistently took the position against the so called Papal Conf that gets tossed around once or twice a year - my concern with big state schools is that they have access to more money/sources then most private schools and they are the schools that are consistently trying to leave the conf for the purpose of upgrading their football status - see Temple, UNCC and all the rumors around UMASS. The thing is that basketball only schools tend to be private hence my sort of weighted interest in them. Our conf needs stability and the best way to get that is to shed those that think they still want to be big time in football. From what you have posted, I get the impression that VCU does not fall into that group so good for you guys.

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Neither does George Mason. The extent of football at either school is club football with no plans to start a program any time soon. VCU is in a position where we don't even have land to build a football stadium if we wanted to. If we were going to start football in the near future, we would have done it already. George Mason's administration has said the same. I understand your point and it is extremely valid in most cases, but not as it pertains to Mason and VCU. We don't have NCAA football at any level or plans to start one anytime soon. You'll find most of our fans are very against football because we don't want it to take valuable resources away from basketball. That's what drives the bus at VCU.

I completely understand that you guys have a vested interest in seeing schools like Creighton added since it's closer to you. I'm sure it's not lost on you that you guys are the western most outpost of the A10 and that a majority of the A10 schools don't share that geographical selling point. I agree on Siena not being the easiest place to get to. That's why I said there aren't really that many suitable, home-run candidates out there that fit the A10 profile. Siena fits except for being a bit remote, Creighton is a home-run add except that it's extremely far for most of the conference, Mason fits squarely in the conference footprint and is a basketball-only with no plans for football at all, but it is a public. The A10 had an eye on them and more substantive rumors were put out about them than any other school out there. It stands to common-sense that they'll like be on the radar the next time around as well.

I think I'm happy personally with where we're at right now. It's a heck of a basketball conference as it stands already.

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Neither does George Mason. The extent of football at either school is club football with no plans to start a program any time soon. VCU is in a position where we don't even have land to build a football stadium if we wanted to. If we were going to start football in the near future, we would have done it already. George Mason's administration has said the same. I understand your point and it is extremely valid in most cases, but not as it pertains to Mason and VCU. We don't have NCAA football at any level or plans to start one anytime soon. You'll find most of our fans are very against football because we don't want it to take valuable resources away from basketball. That's what drives the bus at VCU.

I completely understand that you guys have a vested interest in seeing schools like Creighton added since it's closer to you. I'm sure it's not lost on you that you guys are the western most outpost of the A10 and that a majority of the A10 schools don't share that geographical selling point. I agree on Siena not being the easiest place to get to. That's why I said there aren't really that many suitable, home-run candidates out there that fit the A10 profile. Siena fits except for being a bit remote, Creighton is a home-run add except that it's extremely far for most of the conference, Mason fits squarely in the conference footprint and is a basketball-only with no plans for football at all, but it is a public. The A10 had an eye on them and more substantive rumors were put out about them than any other school out there. It stands to common-sense that they'll like be on the radar the next time around as well.

I think I'm happy personally with where we're at right now. It's a heck of a basketball conference as it stands already.

I tried to make this point earlier - distance really is not the issue but convenience to travel to is. Like I said, I have no idea how hard it would be to get to Omaha from Philly or Richmond. Thanks for the info about VCU and GMU regarding football.

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