Could America East be in more danger of collapsing than the Summit League or Atlantic Sun? The Atlantic Sun will have 9 members come July 1 (including UMass-Lowell, newly transitioning from Division II), but could have a mess on its hands when it comes to sponsoring team sports.

If the CAA adds Albany and Stony Brook as full members, not just football-only, the league will be down to seven members, only six of whom are Division I (Binghamton, Harford, Maine, UMBC, UNH, Vermont).

Baseball (4): Binghamton, Harford, Maine, UMBC
Men's Lacrosse (4): Binghamton, Hartford, UMBC, Vermont
Men's Soccer (5): Binghamton, Harford, UMBC, UNH, Vermont

Softball (4): Binghamton, Hartford, Maine, UMBC
Women's Lacrosse (4): Binghamton, UMBC, UNH, Vermont
Women's Soccer (6): Binghamton, Harford, Maine, UMBC, UNH, Vermont
Field Hockey (4): Fairfield, Maine, UNH, Vermont
Volleyball (5): Binghamton, Hartford, UMBC, UNH, Providence

Fairfield could be a flight risk as well to the NEC or CAA. Providence volleyball will ultimately join the Big East.

Adding NJIT plugs holes in Baseball, Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer, and Women's Volleyball, at least until Providence leaves. NYIT (Division I in baseball only) would make six for baseball.

If the Summit collapses, IUPUI and IPFW could be options. Both bring Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball Women's Volleyball. IPFW also brings baseball. Western Illinois may elect to join the WAC instead since it would at least have Chicago State and UMKC nearby. The I-29 corridor schools and Denver would likely go for the WAC or Big Sky over America East.

Men's Lacrosse could also go the affiliate route as it has 4 full members playing the sport. The remains of the ECAC or NEC could be up for grabs depending on what happens in the wake of the Big Ten. Women's Lacrosse could reload at the expense of the Atlantic Sun.

If the Atlantic Sun Conference fails, the four Florida schools will be ones up for grabs, as the SoCon hasn't looked their way. All four play Men's and Women's Soccer, Baseball, Softball, and Volleyball. Lipscomb and NKU would probably head to something more regionally appropriate (Summit, Horizon, OVC) and USC Upstate probably gets the call to replace VMI should they leave the Big South for the SoCon.

(05-17-2013 08:06 PM)chargeradio Wrote:  Could America East be in more danger of collapsing than the Summit League or Atlantic Sun? The Atlantic Sun will have 9 members come July 1 (including UMass-Lowell, newly transitioning from Division II), but could have a mess on its hands when it comes to sponsoring team sports.

If the CAA adds Albany and Stony Brook as full members, not just football-only, the league will be down to seven members, only six of whom are Division I (Binghamton, Harford, Maine, UMBC, UNH, Vermont).

Baseball (4): Binghamton, Harford, Maine, UMBC
Men's Lacrosse (4): Binghamton, Hartford, UMBC, Vermont
Men's Soccer (5): Binghamton, Harford, UMBC, UNH, Vermont

Softball (4): Binghamton, Hartford, Maine, UMBC
Women's Lacrosse (4): Binghamton, UMBC, UNH, Vermont
Women's Soccer (6): Binghamton, Harford, Maine, UMBC, UNH, Vermont
Field Hockey (4): Fairfield, Maine, UNH, Vermont
Volleyball (5): Binghamton, Hartford, UMBC, UNH, Providence

Fairfield could be a flight risk as well to the NEC or CAA. Providence volleyball will ultimately join the Big East.

Adding NJIT plugs holes in Baseball, Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer, and Women's Volleyball, at least until Providence leaves. NYIT (Division I in baseball only) would make six for baseball.

If the Summit collapses, IUPUI and IPFW could be options. Both bring Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball Women's Volleyball. IPFW also brings baseball. Western Illinois may elect to join the WAC instead since it would at least have Chicago State and UMKC nearby. The I-29 corridor schools and Denver would likely go for the WAC or Big Sky over America East.

Men's Lacrosse could also go the affiliate route as it has 4 full members playing the sport. The remains of the ECAC or NEC could be up for grabs depending on what happens in the wake of the Big Ten. Women's Lacrosse could reload at the expense of the Atlantic Sun.

If the Atlantic Sun Conference fails, the four Florida schools will be ones up for grabs, as the SoCon hasn't looked their way. All four play Men's and Women's Soccer, Baseball, Softball, and Volleyball. Lipscomb and NKU would probably head to something more regionally appropriate (Summit, Horizon, OVC) and USC Upstate probably gets the call to replace VMI should they leave the Big South for the SoCon.

I suspect one of the east coast conferences will disappear. There are a bunch down to 8 or 9 schools. Don't really think it will be America East. But then it is a grouping of larger universities, which may discourage smaller privates who comprise most of the east coast schools from joining.

I'm not sure the SUNY system would let Stony Brook and UAlbany leave Binghamton behind; the SUNY Chancellor's favorite pet is the new President of Binghamton University, and the school is often viewed as one of the crown jewels of the system (as the highest rated SUNY school in all the national academic ranking lists).

(05-17-2013 08:06 PM)chargeradio Wrote:  Could America East be in more danger of collapsing than the Summit League or Atlantic Sun? The Atlantic Sun will have 9 members come July 1 (including UMass-Lowell, newly transitioning from Division II), but could have a mess on its hands when it comes to sponsoring team sports.

If the CAA adds Albany and Stony Brook as full members, not just football-only, the league will be down to seven members, only six of whom are Division I (Binghamton, Harford, Maine, UMBC, UNH, Vermont).

Baseball (4): Binghamton, Harford, Maine, UMBC
Men's Lacrosse (4): Binghamton, Hartford, UMBC, Vermont
Men's Soccer (5): Binghamton, Harford, UMBC, UNH, Vermont

Softball (4): Binghamton, Hartford, Maine, UMBC
Women's Lacrosse (4): Binghamton, UMBC, UNH, Vermont
Women's Soccer (6): Binghamton, Harford, Maine, UMBC, UNH, Vermont
Field Hockey (4): Fairfield, Maine, UNH, Vermont
Volleyball (5): Binghamton, Hartford, UMBC, UNH, Providence

Fairfield could be a flight risk as well to the NEC or CAA. Providence volleyball will ultimately join the Big East.

Adding NJIT plugs holes in Baseball, Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer, and Women's Volleyball, at least until Providence leaves. NYIT (Division I in baseball only) would make six for baseball.

If the Summit collapses, IUPUI and IPFW could be options. Both bring Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball Women's Volleyball. IPFW also brings baseball. Western Illinois may elect to join the WAC instead since it would at least have Chicago State and UMKC nearby. The I-29 corridor schools and Denver would likely go for the WAC or Big Sky over America East.

Men's Lacrosse could also go the affiliate route as it has 4 full members playing the sport. The remains of the ECAC or NEC could be up for grabs depending on what happens in the wake of the Big Ten. Women's Lacrosse could reload at the expense of the Atlantic Sun.

If the Atlantic Sun Conference fails, the four Florida schools will be ones up for grabs, as the SoCon hasn't looked their way. All four play Men's and Women's Soccer, Baseball, Softball, and Volleyball. Lipscomb and NKU would probably head to something more regionally appropriate (Summit, Horizon, OVC) and USC Upstate probably gets the call to replace VMI should they leave the Big South for the SoCon.

A conference still sponsors a sport with as few as 4 members. As long as America East has 7 full DI members, and has two men's team sports with at least six teams, it should be O.K. Central Connecticut and Bryant would both likely jump from the NEC if given an opportunity. NJIT is out there as well for the taking.

The NEC was at 12 before losing Monmouth and Quinnipiac, so it can lose up to three more schools without losing its men's basketball autobid. Unlike the Summit, ASun, or America East, the NEC was properly prepared as a bottom feeder conference by having 12 teams. The Summit and ASun simply don't have existing DI schools in their region that would consider switching (other than northern ASun schools to the Summit or more likely eastern Summit schools to the ASun).

(05-18-2013 12:27 AM)IceJus10 Wrote:  I'm not sure the SUNY system would let Stony Brook and UAlbany leave Binghamton behind; the SUNY Chancellor's favorite pet is the new President of Binghamton University, and the school is often viewed as one of the crown jewels of the system (as the highest rated SUNY school in all the national academic ranking lists).

How did Buffalo get away and go it's own direction? Since Binghamton doesn't have football, Stony Brook and Albany would be constricted in conference movements to those conferences that would want Binghamton? Moreover, should Stony Brook and Albany suffer too because of Binghamton's probationary offenses that made its basketball so undesirable?

@NoDak If Bryant and CCSU switch to America East, would their football programs stay in the NEC or be forced into the Big South? The CAA would have 12 for football if it adds Elon, Albany, and Stony Brook.

(05-18-2013 08:42 AM)chargeradio Wrote:  @NoDak If Bryant and CCSU switch to America East, would their football programs stay in the NEC or be forced into the Big South? The CAA would have 12 for football if it adds Elon, Albany, and Stony Brook.

If Bryant and CCSU switched to AE, think they would want a new football league with URI, UNH, Maine, and maybe Monmouth. UNH and Maine might go for that if they could get regular games vs SBU, Albany, Delaware, Towson, Villanova. The CAA would need a number of OOC games, so the northern CAA teams would have a number of open slots in the schedule. That new northern conference would force the NEC and Big South (which may lose all of VMI, Liberty, C Carolina, and Monmouth/Stony Brook) into each other's arms.

(05-18-2013 01:16 AM)NoDak Wrote:  How did Buffalo get away and go it's own direction? Since Binghamton doesn't have football, Stony Brook and Albany would be constricted in conference movements to those conferences that would want Binghamton? Moreover, should Stony Brook and Albany suffer too because of Binghamton's probationary offenses that made its basketball so undesirable?

SUNY has four University Centers or flagship schools: Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, and Stony Brook... Buffalo has been an outsider for awhile, and I'm not sure any of the other three University Centers have any type of rivalry with them, Binghamton has rarely played them in anything and that's going back 20 years now. They made the leap first and went to FBS football in 1998 and as a program have been hemorrhaging money since.

Binghamton, Stony Brook, and Albany all went D1 later and then all joined the America East together in 2001. These three schools have heated rivalries.

In regards to the Binghamton basketball scandal, swift action was taken by the University as they cleaned house in athletics, and even got a new president, after the drive to win by the previous president created rumors and scandal that engulfed her, so she retired before anything could come of it.

Despite the bad press and scandal, no major NCAA violations were found; that group of players recruited by Coach Kevin Broadus had bad character, with lots of problems off the court that was tolerated too long by him and athletics with too many chances given in order to win in my opinion.

Binghamton's basketball program remains valuable. Since they gutted that problem team and most of the recruits, and filled it with walk-ons over the next two seasons during scholarship limits, the program has struggled on the court... the scholarship limits have expired and they are now rebuilding. The Bearcats have continued to receive solid support and attendance, one of the conference leaders every year; and despite not winning a home game after November this past season, they finished a close second in attendance. Binghamton also has revenue generating facilities for M&W Soccer, M&W Lacrosse, Baseball, Softball, and Wrestling. FCS football is not worth the money to join other leagues to ship all of their teams all over the east coast, the AE is pretty compact. The only way I see real moves happening is if Stony Brook has visions of FBS in their future... and that is yet to be seen!

(05-18-2013 01:16 AM)NoDak Wrote:  How did Buffalo get away and go it's own direction? Since Binghamton doesn't have football, Stony Brook and Albany would be constricted in conference movements to those conferences that would want Binghamton? Moreover, should Stony Brook and Albany suffer too because of Binghamton's probationary offenses that made its basketball so undesirable?

It was Buffalo that pushed to end SUNY's ban on athletic scholarships and the first to join Division I. UB actually tried to get in the old North Atlantic Conference in the mid-90's but the NAC decided Buffalo too far way. Then the MAC called.

Regardless of what you may read elsewhere, Buffalo is the crown jewel of SUNY and the others are little brothers. Ever since UB joined Divison I the little brothers have been begging SUNY to give them what UB has. UB is Division I? We want to be Division I. UB has a new stadium? We want a new stadium. We want a law school. We want a medical school. UB wants autonomy? We want autonomy. SUNY needs to recognize that UB can be a Big Ten-caliber university if it and the little brothers would stop holding it back.

if any SUNY school is to become "new york states college" it should be Buffalo. IMO the powers that be were about 20-30 years late in developing athletics at the SUNY schools. IMO Buffalo fits the B1G profile in every way other than athletics

A few years ago New York schools underwent a makeover. The 4 centers dropped SUNY as part of their indentity and the community colleges have added the term SUNY followed by the county name. Its a shame athletics werent emphasized just a bit more. Maybe more people in New York would care about college FB and Buffalo would be known as the University of New York and be a major conference

(05-18-2013 12:28 PM)zibby Wrote:  

(05-18-2013 01:16 AM)NoDak Wrote:  How did Buffalo get away and go it's own direction? Since Binghamton doesn't have football, Stony Brook and Albany would be constricted in conference movements to those conferences that would want Binghamton? Moreover, should Stony Brook and Albany suffer too because of Binghamton's probationary offenses that made its basketball so undesirable?

It was Buffalo that pushed to end SUNY's ban on athletic scholarships and the first to join Division I. UB actually tried to get in the old North Atlantic Conference in the mid-90's but the NAC decided Buffalo too far way. Then the MAC called.

Regardless of what you may read elsewhere, Buffalo is the crown jewel of SUNY and the others are little brothers. Ever since UB joined Divison I the little brothers have been begging SUNY to give them what UB has. UB is Division I? We want to be Division I. UB has a new stadium? We want a new stadium. We want a law school. We want a medical school. UB wants autonomy? We want autonomy. SUNY needs to recognize that UB can be a Big Ten-caliber university if it and the little brothers would stop holding it back.

Buffalo has been the biggest, but it isn't the best... no one outside of Buffalo looks at UB and says that's the center of the 64 campus SUNY system. Go to the SUNY home page and Buffalo isn't listed among any of the SUNY systems current big initiatives or programs, it hasn't stepped up on nanotechnology nor taken a decade old pledge to be a Green Campus - the only University Center not to do either.

In regards to funding for campuses... all SUNY schools were told to come up with plans going forward for 2020 and growth, projects, etc... No one is saying let's be like Buffalo... each center is in a different region of the State and has certain niches it can fill. While all want athletic programs on a national scale as to be recognized and create school spirit for alumni and donor bases to potentially give more! It's not competing with Buffalo, each campus is redefining it's own area, it's about the schools and our state competing globally!

(just as a disclaimer --> I went to LeMoyne College in Syracuse, UNC Chapel Hill, and now UNC Charlotte -- so I have no my school is better chest pumping slant in this, but to say what I read and what the national rankings show)

When I was at UB, you couldn't walk around a corner without bumping into someone from Long Island. I even dated a woman from Nassau County for a short time. I never heard of even a single person from Buffalo who went to Stony Brook.

(05-18-2013 01:15 PM)zibby Wrote:  When I was at UB, you couldn't walk around a corner without bumping into someone from Long Island. I even dated a woman from Nassau County for a short time. I never heard of even a single person from Buffalo who went to Stony Brook.

Same thing happens in Binghamton. There are so many students from the Long Island area going there for the education for such a low cost (well relative to what you get of course).

One key difference that outsiders may not know is that unlike so many systems NY for a long time managed to make most schools have niches (example if you want to go into physics SUNY Geneseo may be a good choice even over the larger schools). The overlap is less than in some other states (like say Ohio) which means you often choose a school because it offers your program and others don't.

People in Long Island are probably choosing other NY schools due to specific programs or just to get away from the area for a while. Sometimes it is nice to go someplace a little smaller for school in terms of city size.

(05-18-2013 01:15 PM)zibby Wrote:  When I was at UB, you couldn't walk around a corner without bumping into someone from Long Island. I even dated a woman from Nassau County for a short time. I never heard of even a single person from Buffalo who went to Stony Brook.

Honestly, I think that is the most short-sided arguments I've ever heard, but I'll humor you.

Have you ever been to Stony Brook to even walk around and have an opportunity to bump into someone from Buffalo? Well even if you haven't, I assure you, there are some there!

However, Long Island is HUGE at 118 miles long and 23 miles wide, it's vast and is the highest populated island in a US State or Territory with around 7.6 million people physically living on the land mass -- that's more than one out of every three New York State residents.... You can't say that about Buffalo or Western New York, hell you can't say that about all of Upstate combined!

So the likelihood of being in Buffalo and running into a Long Islander is just better odds than being in Long Island and running into someone from Buffalo!

(05-18-2013 01:05 PM)IceJus10 Wrote:  Buffalo has been the biggest, but it isn't the best... no one outside of Buffalo looks at UB and says that's the center of the 64 campus SUNY system. Go to the SUNY home page and Buffalo isn't listed among any of the SUNY systems current big initiatives or programs, it hasn't stepped up on nanotechnology nor taken a decade old pledge to be a Green Campus - the only University Center not to do either.

UB was the school that started SUNY's biggest initiative, SUNY NY2020. It started as UB2020, the school's strategic plan completed in 2008. Our local delegates put forward legislation toward that effort. In response, Stony Brook's LI delegation put forth their own bills. Albany and Binghamton did not because they don't have the political clout that UB/SBU do. SUNY's leaders and Cuomo loved our effort so they worked to take the best pieces into a passable, system-wide 5-year bill.

UAlbany is the Nano-focused school (and their Nano College is looking to seperate from the larger school). UB's baby is investment of hundreds of millions in our growing Downtown Campus of our medical programs, the jewel being the relocation of our Med school to this signature building.

I'm not sure you can judge what UB is or is not doing per the SUNY site. We have our own UB Green initiative to have the campus reach carbon neutrality by 2030.

Not sure how how this thread came to this, but here's the way it works: SUNY Central lets the Units do as they wish as far as athletic classification. Not only are the Centers D-1, but also the Statutory Colleges within Cornell, and Oneonta State had D-1 men's soccer until recently reclassifying to D-3. If Stony Brook wants to go FBS they can without any blowback from SUNY or the Units...and FBS is their ultimate goal per their president's quotes to alumni in recent years. Binghamton is essentially no different than Vermont in all of this and could be left behind in the AE without the other Centers.

(05-18-2013 01:05 PM)IceJus10 Wrote:  

(05-18-2013 12:28 PM)zibby Wrote:  

(05-18-2013 01:16 AM)NoDak Wrote:  How did Buffalo get away and go it's own direction? Since Binghamton doesn't have football, Stony Brook and Albany would be constricted in conference movements to those conferences that would want Binghamton? Moreover, should Stony Brook and Albany suffer too because of Binghamton's probationary offenses that made its basketball so undesirable?

It was Buffalo that pushed to end SUNY's ban on athletic scholarships and the first to join Division I. UB actually tried to get in the old North Atlantic Conference in the mid-90's but the NAC decided Buffalo too far way. Then the MAC called.

Regardless of what you may read elsewhere, Buffalo is the crown jewel of SUNY and the others are little brothers. Ever since UB joined Divison I the little brothers have been begging SUNY to give them what UB has. UB is Division I? We want to be Division I. UB has a new stadium? We want a new stadium. We want a law school. We want a medical school. UB wants autonomy? We want autonomy. SUNY needs to recognize that UB can be a Big Ten-caliber university if it and the little brothers would stop holding it back.

Buffalo has been the biggest, but it isn't the best... no one outside of Buffalo looks at UB and says that's the center of the 64 campus SUNY system. Go to the SUNY home page and Buffalo isn't listed among any of the SUNY systems current big initiatives or programs, it hasn't stepped up on nanotechnology nor taken a decade old pledge to be a Green Campus - the only University Center not to do either.

In regards to funding for campuses... all SUNY schools were told to come up with plans going forward for 2020 and growth, projects, etc... No one is saying let's be like Buffalo... each center is in a different region of the State and has certain niches it can fill. While all want athletic programs on a national scale as to be recognized and create school spirit for alumni and donor bases to potentially give more! It's not competing with Buffalo, each campus is redefining it's own area, it's about the schools and our state competing globally!

(just as a disclaimer --> I went to LeMoyne College in Syracuse, UNC Chapel Hill, and now UNC Charlotte -- so I have no my school is better chest pumping slant in this, but to say what I read and what the national rankings show)

Buffalo and Stony Brook are AAU.

(05-18-2013 06:42 PM)RecoveringHillbilly Wrote:  

(05-18-2013 01:05 PM)IceJus10 Wrote:  Buffalo has been the biggest, but it isn't the best... no one outside of Buffalo looks at UB and says that's the center of the 64 campus SUNY system. Go to the SUNY home page and Buffalo isn't listed among any of the SUNY systems current big initiatives or programs, it hasn't stepped up on nanotechnology nor taken a decade old pledge to be a Green Campus - the only University Center not to do either.

UB was the school that started SUNY's biggest initiative, SUNY NY2020. It started as UB2020, the school's strategic plan completed in 2008. Our local delegates put forward legislation toward that effort. In response, Stony Brook's LI delegation put forth their own bills. Albany and Binghamton did not because they don't have the political clout that UB/SBU do. SUNY's leaders and Cuomo loved our effort so they worked to take the best pieces into a passable, system-wide 5-year bill.

UAlbany is the Nano-focused school (and their Nano College is looking to seperate from the larger school). UB's baby is investment of hundreds of millions in our growing Downtown Campus of our medical programs, the jewel being the relocation of our Med school to this signature building.

I'm not sure you can judge what UB is or is not doing per the SUNY site. We have our own UB Green initiative to have the campus reach carbon neutrality by 2030.

Not sure how how this thread came to this, but here's the way it works: SUNY Central lets the Units do as they wish as far as athletic classification. Not only are the Centers D-1, but also the Statutory Colleges within Cornell, and Oneonta State had D-1 men's soccer until recently reclassifying to D-3. If Stony Brook wants to go FBS they can without any blowback from SUNY or the Units...and FBS is their ultimate goal per their president's quotes to alumni in recent years. Binghamton is essentially no different than Vermont in all of this and could be left behind in the AE without the other Centers.

That is not a terrible thing though of course. As long as Binghamton continues to not do football (and I don't see why they would) then they will have to be in one of these sort of leagues.

(05-18-2013 07:47 PM)Sultan of Euphonistan Wrote:  That is not a terrible thing though of course. As long as Binghamton continues to not do football (and I don't see why they would) then they will have to be in one of these sort of leagues.

Agreed, of course. Bingo's president came there from UB and he was always a proponent of athletics, so he'd do what's best for them. If there were ever excellent public schools that could fit as non-FB members of the Patriot, it would be Binghamton and Vermont. Since that's unlikely they can be the solid programs in a AE even without a SBU or possibly Albany, with others added (NJIT, an unhappy Del. St, or unhappy NEC's).

For Buffalo ever to get to a B1G level seems almost impossible. The football void in New York State had been filled with Syracuse, Notre Dame, and Paterno worship (among NYC media), as well as Jets, Giants, and Bills. It becomes very difficult to move that fan devotion needle except by winning, which UB hasn't done well at in any sport. If Buffalo was a high growth area, it might be different, but UB wasn't even seriously discussed by the AAC as an option. If Buffalo would have started lacrosse and / or hockey years ago, UB would be a national power in those right now. Longer term, just see Stony Brook as a more desirable conference add for just it being on highly populated Long Island. It's missing ingredient is a mid-level FBS stadium.

(05-19-2013 06:06 PM)NoDak Wrote:  For Buffalo ever to get to a B1G level seems almost impossible. The football void in New York State had been filled with Syracuse, Notre Dame, and Paterno worship (among NYC media), as well as Jets, Giants, and Bills....

PM'ing you some figures on your assertions so not to bore others.