Seawolves Fans

ohh, i see, yes that makes sense.

and i meant peers from an academic standpoint.  maybe not yet the stanford/duke/MIT/ivy types yet, but for our academics, why not put us up with the best of the state schools?

Sorry if it came across like I was laughing at you. I wasn’t. I was just reacting to the sad reality you mentioned: that all our peer schools, academic and large public flagships, are in FBS. Even Northeast programs like Rutgers, UConn, UMass, Temple and Buffalo are in the FBS, even with how bad their football records are.
 

We will probably hear SHU to AE all-sports soon. At least that's the rumor in other boards.

I'm getting this Patriot Leaguey vibe. Okafor's a 4.36/1430 SAT! Good stuff. Stony Brook's academic profile is really on the rise. It made me wonder ... Richmond football joined the Patriot League for this year. William & Mary and Villanova are headed there next year. A similar move would allow us to associate ourselves with Lehigh, Lafayette, Georgetown, etc, and it would cut down a lot on travel. The current CAA football roster is a real hodgepodge (Elon? Bryant? Hampton?). Maybe I'm off here, but I could really see it. And for basketball doesn't seem impossible either.

I wouldn’t mind seeing us transition to the Patriot League for football only (i.e. pull a W&M move). Since joining the CAA, our on-field performance has been underwhelming. At one point, I had hoped we might end up in the eastern wing of the MAC, regularly playing FBS programs like UMass, Buffalo, and Delaware. But that opportunity seems to have passed. Delaware is now in Conference USA, and while UMass has joined the MAC, further expansion doesn’t appear likely. That said, I’m still interested to see what Coach Cosh can accomplish in his second year.

However, I’d be genuinely disappointed if we moved all sports to the Patriot League. Basketball is my favorite sport, and I have high hopes for our program’s future. A full move to the Patriot League would feel like settling for a lower ceiling... essentially following a path similar to Boston University. That’s not the direction I want to see us take.

I hope some of the directional schools in the MAC that are known to be struggling financially and can't keep up with NIL demands eventually opt out of the FBS. That could open the door for the conference to look east for replacements—programs like Stony Brook, Towson, and others.

What happened to the HLOH message board, @ecasadoSBU? Where are all the Big East fans hanging out online these days?

I would be very surprised if CAA and America East merge. It’s neither feasible nor practical. It would be a  bloated 23 members for a mid major conference. Historically America East has been the feeder conference for CAA. So I don’t see those teams including Stony Brook wanting to go back or wanting a merger. And no way Southern teams would want to travel to Maine and New Hampshire for olympic sports.

There is one possibility.. I give 5% chance.. which is a breakup of CAA along north/south. A new conference of Stony Brook, Hofstra, Northeastern, Drexel, Monmouth and Towson. Add Albany, Fairfield and couple of more and it’s a premier northeast mid-major conference.

What is more likely to happen is one of Albany or Fairfield joining CAA replacing Delaware.

CAA should have been more selective in adding teams. I liked the addition of NCAT and Monmouth. But I really don’t see what Campbell and Hampton brings to the table. Adding those two were a poor decision along with adding Bryant for Football.

Also I don’t like how things are going in CAA. CAA has lost its shine. Best programs have moved on. I think next President should start a serious conversation with MAC to be their 14th member. Eventually I would love two more northeastern team to join as 15-16 and solidify the MAC eastern flank. May be from FCS ranks like Albany or Towson. Or a disgruntled FBS school from another G5 conference like Temple.