davidnark Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 http://www.gwhatchet.com/global_user_eleme...?storyid=506520 GW Hatchet - Sports Issue: 10/16/03 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Atlantic 10 moves toward expansion By Brian Costa The Atlantic 10 will likely invite two or three schools to join the conference within the next several weeks, GW officials told The Hatchet last week. With the Big East reportedly set to extend invitations to four Conference USA schools, the A-10 will look to act quickly once the Big East announces a decision. "It's not a done deal," GW Director of Athletics Jack Kvancz said. "There are some (A-10) schools that have some concerns. But unless there's something that we don't know, I would think that we will probably increase two or three fold." The Big East will reportedly add the University of Louisville, the University of Cincinnati, Marquette University and DePaul University for the 2005-06 academic year to replace last summer's defections to the Atlantic Coast Conference. While league officials declined to comment on specific schools they are looking at, the A-10 is reportedly considering the additions of two other C-USA schools, the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and Saint Louis University, as well as Boston University. Kvancz said the university presidents of the Big East are scheduled to meet on Saturday and could make a decision then. "If that's the case, then I would think if they did it in the morning, we would do it in the afternoon," he said. "We have done due diligence with everything we have to do." But a source close to the process told the Associated Press Wednesday that the Big East will make its formal invitations in November. And A-10 Commissioner Linda Bruno said the expediency of her conference's decision will depend on how comfortable the league presidents are with the information they have. GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, who also heads the A-10 Presidents' Council, said he wants to look at other alternatives besides Charlotte and Saint Louis. "I'm not interested in a Soviet-style election where we have two vacancies and two schools," he said. "So I'm going to want an agenda of schools to look at." Kvancz and Trachtenberg said the A-10 will consider both the athletic and academic qualities of expansion candidates. Athletic quality will largely be judged by the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) of schools' men's basketball teams, a statistic calculated from winning percentage (50 percent), schedule strength (25 percent) and strength of opponent's schedule (25 percent). Charlotte, Saint Louis and Boston University all had higher RPIs than GW last year. "From an RPI point of view, Charlotte and Saint Louis are very good," Trachtenberg said. "From an academic point of view, it seems to me there are other schools out there whose mission is more in accord with our own." Kvancz said another consideration will be the increased cost of travel if the league expands as far west as Missouri and as far south as North Carolina. To limit travel, the idea of restructuring the league from two to three divisions has been discussed. In order for the A-10 to maintain an even number of teams in each division, it would either have to add two or four schools and keep the two divisions or add three schools and split into three. Another option is for the A-10 not to add any schools, which Trachtenberg, Bruno and Kvancz stressed has not been ruled out now that they are not in any apparent danger of losing members as there was concern about earlier this year. "We are primed to do something," Kvancz said. "But that something also includes staying where we are." Still, Kvancz said he is 95 percent certain the league presidents will vote to expand at some point in the near future. When that happens, formal invitations will be extended immediately as per A-10 procedure, avoiding the long public courting process seen earlier this year in the ACC. "We are looking to become a more competitive conference," Trachtenberg said. "And I think after all the dust settles, we're going to end up with a very strong conference and one that is particularly good for GW." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted October 17, 2003 Author Share Posted October 17, 2003 In the article, GW's president is quoted as saying "From an RPI point of view, Charlotte and Saint Louis are very good...From an academic point of view, it seems to me there are other schools out there whose mission is more in accord with our own." Based upon USNews' rankings (http://tinyurl.com/90ui), GW is the only current A-10 school ranked higher than SLU, and Boston University is not ranked significantly higher than SLU. Like GW and most A-10 schools, SLU is a private, liberal arts university. Had this president really done his homework regarding SLU? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 Maybe he was only referring to Charlotte, or he was operating under the prevalent East Coast bias. What was BUs RPI rating last year? They seem like a silly team for expansion, it is a good school but the bball is low mid major. Supposedly they already have Fordham and Duquesne on the hotseat, either get better or leave, and they want to add a school with a similar track record of bottom feeding? It seems strange to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted October 17, 2003 Author Share Posted October 17, 2003 BU finished with an RPI of 124. The prior season they finished at 146, and the year before that they finished at 205. I don't get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schasz Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 Like several have said before, the A-10 is the best but not perfect option for us to call home for awhile...not saying we have to get too comfortable as the cards in the Big (L)East may tumble sooner rather than later. Just find that situation pretty tenuous too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SluSignGuy Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 I am just going to give my input on Trachtenberg and GW: Trachtenberg is similar to Biondi (I don't know much about Biondi outside of the descriptions on this board), people praise him here more than you guys praise Biondi. He is a very very very good president of a University apparently (I am still too new to REALLY know). But apparently plenty of quality East Coast schools want him, and the rumor is that his goal is to beat Georgetown as the respected college in DC (so far GW has been on the up since he came back (he left for a few years, but came back). Boston U is a name I have never heard in the A-10 talks before, and if Trachtenberg is having any influence, I wouldn't be surprised if he wants Boston U for the GW exposure. A lot of kids from Boston go here, and they recruit that area strongly, so it couldn't hurt having a Boston B-Ball team coming here every once and a while. This makes me VERY nervous. From the Rep that guy has, and he is the one wanting Boston U, I am scared because he is a man that gets what he wants, no matter what. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikenbooster Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 They seem to be improving (LOL) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLU8592 Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 I'd agree his comments show no knowlege of SLU. One has to wonder why someone in his position would make public statements without really knowing what he is saying (loss of credibility). Even more confusing is why, at this stage, he still knows so little about SLU. Wouldn't you think curiosity alone would have led to these individuals doing some basic research as to who their potential future partners may be? I actually find this a bit disturbing. Then again, maybe I'm reading too much into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mobile-iken Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 My take on the statement below is that he is reaching for a reason to invite BU, not slamming SLU's academics. "From an RPI point of view, Charlotte and Saint Louis are very good," Trachtenberg said. "From an academic point of view, it seems to me there are other schools out there whose mission is more in accord with our own." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 When he says "our own", it's difficult to discern whether he's referring to GW or the Atlantic 10 Conference. While perhaps our academic mission may not be identical to that of GW (I don't know enough about GW to say either way), it's safe to say that we are as strong academically, if not stronger, than the majority of the schools in the conference. Sounds like he could stand to do his homework. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwyjibo Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 BU has been trying to get into the A-10 for a while and in the absence of a lot sports success has apparently been pushing an academic angle. It makes perfect sense for BU want to try to work its way up from low major to A-10. What concerns me is that the GW president seems to be persuaded by this rather one-sided perspective. BU is a very good school but if that is your criteria why not choose an even better school with and even worse RPI? BU also has some integrity issues around playing fast and loose with its endowment (they raised funds for things and then shifted the money to other priorities--resulting in a lot of anger which the following is just a one part of : http://www.cnn.com/2002/EDUCATION/12/18/donor.refund.ap/ But playing SLU playing at BU would mean an easy ticket and an easy trip to see them play on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwyjibo Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 More from Houston Chronicle on the future of the C-USA: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2162556 It looks like the new C-USA is going to split into Rodeo and NASCAR divisions So the WAC gets whacked and who do they raid? Big Sky? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwyjibo Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 With 3 divisions (3 adds and no pink slips) would the A-10 look like this or this or . . . ? (I really would not know what to do with the Philly schools and whether SLU has to stay with Charlotte): North UMass Rhodey BU Fordham Temple South St. Joe's LaSalle GW Richmond Charlotte West SLU Dayton XU St. Bona Duqs OR North UMass Rhodey BU Fordham St. Bona South Temple St. Joe's LaSalle GW Richmond West SLU Dayton XU Charlotte Duquesne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 The GW president is probably speaking from his east coast bias - Steve, where did he go when he left GW? He may be speaking more about Charolette then SLU but until things are official, it has to make us a little concerned. Another thought could be that he is just wanting to flex his muscles since he may have felt he was not being appropriately respected by the other A-10 schools - who knows. I do find it hard to believe that GW would have that much pull in the conference given that they certainly are not a powerhouse bb program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SluSignGuy Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 I may have been mistaken (I think I mixed Trachtenberg leaving and coming back with someone else, but I swore that is what I heard). but here is a little blurb from GW's Bio of him: ---------- Stephen Joel Trachtenberg became the 15th president of The George Washington University on August 1, 1988. He came to GW from the University of Hartford (CT), where he had been President for 11 years. Before assuming the presidency of Hartford, Trachtenberg served for eight years at Boston University as Vice President for Academic Services and Academic Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. ---------- So Boston University Ties, and the first mentioning of Boston U. Hmm, this scares me a little. But remember, it is from the Hatchet (GW's Student Paper). Not a major publication, and it could be GW Wishful thinking, but it just scares me with Trachtenberg, what he wants is what he gets. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 If Trach gets what he wants, then why hasn't GW been a good basketball team in five years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Law Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 I guess the same could be said about Father Biondi and SLU. Imagine those 2 egos in the same room at conference meetings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SluSignGuy Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 I honestly couldn't tell you. But he is that type of guy (we all know the type), maybe he just has other priorities. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 I think the influence of both men has been overhyped on this board. They've shown themselves to be excellent administrators but no one gets what they want all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 Trachtenberg knows that SLU has won the C-USA student-athlete academic awards since C-USA has been in existence (I believe 8 yrs)? Perhaps Trachtenberg has so much dis-respect for most of the C-USA schools that SLU's achievement wouldn't mean that much to him. Steve, on behalf of your friends on the board, please drop a note (via the "letter-to-editors" section of the Hatchet) to old Trachtenberg and bring him up to date on the quality of SLU's student athletes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Law Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 a little off topic but since you went to La. Tech any chance they could be invited to join the new CUSA? Geographically they make more sense than Marshall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 Sorry, you must be thinking of someone else. I didn't go to La. Tech. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 Steve, thanks for the info - I think you are correct, he has some BU connection. This actually makes me feel less concerned about the article becuase a school like UMASS will probably not want BU in - to close to their own territority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Law Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 oh yeah, that was D-1 recruit. My bad (it's friday). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SalukisIn2003 Posted October 18, 2003 Share Posted October 18, 2003 >"...or he was >operating under the prevalent East Coast bias..." > Y'all know the conference you want to join is the Atlantic 10...for the Atlantic Ocean, right??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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