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At an athletics committee meeting with the CCU Board of Trustees today, most of the discussion lent itself to joining the Colonial Athletic Association, which encompasses a lot of the eastern seaboard, due to a number of students coming to CCU from that area.

http://www.myhorrynews.com/v2/content.a ... 2264e7a04a" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's no secret that we have wanted to jump ship for some time now - but the internal discussions lately have been leaning much more toward the CAA rather than the SoCon. I actually took part in a roundtable discussion yesterday that included lots of CCU's top brass, and (hopefully) moving to the CAA has apparently been a hot topic among the administration for some time now.

CoastalFan2005 wrote:

At an athletics committee meeting with the CCU Board of Trustees today, most of the discussion lent itself to joining the Colonial Athletic Association, which encompasses a lot of the eastern seaboard, due to a number of students coming to CCU from that area.

http://www.myhorrynews.com/v2/content.a ... 2264e7a04a" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's no secret that we have wanted to jump ship for some time now - but the internal discussions lately have been leaning much more toward the CAA rather than the SoCon. I actually took part in a roundtable discussion yesterday that included lots of CCU's top brass, and (hopefully) moving to the CAA has apparently been a hot topic among the administration for some time now.

Is joining the CAA a matter of whether you want to or not, or do you have to petition the CAA for an invitation?

I would welcome the Chants... but can you do something about the teal?

89Hen wrote:I would welcome the Chants... but can you do something about the teal?

CAA=Chicken Athletic Association?

CAA Flagship wrote:

CoastalFan2005 wrote:
http://www.myhorrynews.com/v2/content.a ... 2264e7a04a" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's no secret that we have wanted to jump ship for some time now - but the internal discussions lately have been leaning much more toward the CAA rather than the SoCon. I actually took part in a roundtable discussion yesterday that included lots of CCU's top brass, and (hopefully) moving to the CAA has apparently been a hot topic among the administration for some time now.

Is joining the CAA a matter of whether you want to or not, or do you have to petition the CAA for an invitation?

Pretty sure you have to be asked to join.

I would think CCU would identify more with SoCon schools. Most of the CAA schools are large public universities. Does Coastal have more than 10K students? I have no idea.

andy7171 wrote:

CAA Flagship wrote: Is joining the CAA a matter of whether you want to or not, or do you have to petition the CAA for an invitation?

Pretty sure you have to be asked to join.

I would think CCU would identify more with SoCon schools. Most of the CAA schools are large public universities. Does Coastal have more than 10K students? I have no idea.

Under 10K

There were talks of adding Charlotte to the CAA but they didn't want to join for anything other than football. If CCU wants in I'm sure UNCW would welcome them as a travel partner. Why not?

I know CCU isn't exactly as close to the beach as people think but it's close enough!!

andy7171 wrote:

CAA Flagship wrote: Is joining the CAA a matter of whether you want to or not, or do you have to petition the CAA for an invitation?

Pretty sure you have to be asked to join.

I would think CCU would identify more with SoCon schools. Most of the CAA schools are large public universities. Does Coastal have more than 10K students? I have no idea.

out of curiosity, what do you classify as large ?

Georgia State is the only one that I can consider large in terms of enrollment. Less than 25-30k is not large....Old Dominion would be the second largest one... the CAA is is composed mostly of small and mid-sized state universities and privates... I think CCU can fit there, so can Stony Brook, and Liberty

First off, it's virtually impossible at this point to find a way into CAA FB without belonging to the CAA. The latter would require interest from the existing 12 CAA members in expanding by 2 to a 14-team league. (What benefit would expansion provide?) Secondly, the candidate schools would have to apply to the CAA for admittance and then there would be a conference vote. If approved, the members would gain automatic admittance into CAA FB.

One thing for sure, there is financial strength in numbers (enrollment)............






and evangelical pocket-pickers.

SeawolvesFan90 wrote:

andy7171 wrote: Pretty sure you have to be asked to join.

I would think CCU would identify more with SoCon schools. Most of the CAA schools are large public universities. Does Coastal have more than 10K students? I have no idea.

out of curiosity, what do you classify as large ?

Georgia State is the only one that I can consider large in terms of enrollment. Less than 25-30k is not large....Old Dominion would be the second largest one... the CAA is is composed mostly of small and mid-sized state universities and privates... I think CCU can fit there, so can Stony Brook, and Liberty

Well, large relative to the FCS. I know Towson is over 20K and planning on being over 25K by 2015.

bluehenbillk wrote:There were talks of adding Charlotte to the CAA but they didn't want to join for anything other than football. If CCU wants in I'm sure UNCW would welcome them as a travel partner. Why not?

I know CCU isn't exactly as close to the beach as people think but it's close enough!!

Will the CAA then go to 14 or 16?

dbackjon wrote:

andy7171 wrote: Pretty sure you have to be asked to join.

I would think CCU would identify more with SoCon schools. Most of the CAA schools are large public universities. Does Coastal have more than 10K students? I have no idea.

Under 10K

Interesting. For some reason I thought CCU was bigger.

mainejeff wrote:

bluehenbillk wrote:There were talks of adding Charlotte to the CAA but they didn't want to join for anything other than football. If CCU wants in I'm sure UNCW would welcome them as a travel partner. Why not?

I know CCU isn't exactly as close to the beach as people think but it's close enough!!

Will the CAA then go to 14 or 16?

Maybe this is just posturing for when/if GSU goes to the Sun Belt. So it is one in/one out at that point. Maintaining an even number of football and basketball programs will likely play into future expansion.

We have 9,084 students. 55% are from out of state.

I dont see the CAA expanding, but if it did why would the CAA take a school like CCU over schools like Albany and Stony Brook?

danefan wrote:I dont see the CAA expanding, but if it did why would the CAA take a school like CCU over schools like Albany and Stony Brook?

Because they are closer to Virginia. Hell.......if they were IN Virginia, they'd be a shoe-in.

mainejeff wrote:

danefan wrote:I dont see the CAA expanding, but if it did why would the CAA take a school like CCU over schools like Albany and Stony Brook?

Because they are closer to Virginia. Hell.......if they were IN Virginia, they'd be a shoe-in.

Liberty, Hampton, Norfolk St., VMI.
Apparently not.

Coincidental timing.....

UAlbany football coach Bob Ford said he could foresee the Great Danes moving into a full-scholarship FCS league such as the Colonial Athletic Association, or even the America East, should that conference decide to sponsor football.

“Yeah, possibly,” he said. “I think the America East, there’s been talk about that conference adding football. I’m not sure if it’ll happen or when it’ll happen. But I think that’s where this institution belongs, with the (full-scholarship) Delawares and the UMasses, and the New Hampshires and the Maines. That’s where we belong.”

http://blog.timesunion.com/sports/ualba ... /#more-175

Coach Ford doesn't posture either.

SeawolvesFan90 wrote:Georgia State is the only one that I can consider large in terms of enrollment. Less than 25-30k is not large...

Ga State is at 30,000 per wiki.

89Hen wrote:Interesting. For some reason I thought CCU was bigger.

That's ok. CCU people struggle with the same thing. They think they are bigger and more important than they are.

CCU to the SoCon or the CAA would be a step down for either conference. Both of the conferences have academic reputations and expectations to uphold along with athletics. CCU would fit the model for academics associated with the SoCon or the CAA.

When you ask the question, "What does the SoCon or the CAA stand to gain from adding CCU?" The answer is pretty clear, not much, if anything at all.

BJuice wrote:

89Hen wrote:Interesting. For some reason I thought CCU was bigger.

That's ok. CCU people struggle with the same thing. They think they are bigger and more important than they are.

CCU to the SoCon or the CAA would be a step down for either conference. Both of the conferences have academic reputations and expectations to uphold along with athletics. CCU would fit the model for academics associated with the SoCon or the CAA.

When you ask the question, "What does the SoCon or the CAA stand to gain from adding CCU?" The answer is pretty clear, not much, if anything at all.

With ODU & JMU already in the CAA - CCU isn't going to do much to drag down the conferences academic reputation.

This is simply a situation where the guys in Conway want to keep themselves visisble when the moving & shaking finally begin.

You'll notice their conference mate Liberty isn't looking to make that move and we certainly aren't happy in the Big South.

bluehenbillk wrote:

BJuice wrote:
That's ok. CCU people struggle with the same thing. They think they are bigger and more important than they are.

CCU to the SoCon or the CAA would be a step down for either conference. Both of the conferences have academic reputations and expectations to uphold along with athletics. CCU would fit the model for academics associated with the SoCon or the CAA.

When you ask the question, "What does the SoCon or the CAA stand to gain from adding CCU?" The answer is pretty clear, not much, if anything at all.

With ODU & JMU already in the CAA - CCU isn't going to do much to drag down the conferences academic reputation.

I beg to differ. ODU, GST, and VCU may drag down the CAA's academic reputation, but JMU is certainly in the top half of the CAA academically.

US News & World Report rankings. Included the I-AA schools that had their ranked published in one of the 4 categories below (I might have missed a few), plus the CAA non football:

Regional US University Rankings- South (95 schools ranked, 39 Rank Not Published):
#2 Elon
#4 Samford
#5 Citadel
#6 JMU
#10 App State
#11 UNC W (3 way tie)
#29 Hampton (3 way tie
#32 WCU (3 way tie)
#47 Gardner Webb
#49 Tenn Martin (tie)
#51 Morehead St
#51 UTC
#54 UCA (tie)
#63 EKU (5 way tie)
#59 CCU
#75 NCCU (5 way tie)
#80 Liberty
#82 Winston Salem State (3 way tie)
#85 Alcorn State
#85 JSU
#85 McNeese St
#89 Charleston Southern

Regional US University Rankings- North (142 schools ranked, 51 Rank Not Published):
#1 Villanova
#16 Bryant (tie)
#49 Towson (3 way tie)
#82 RMU (9 way tie)
#110 CCSU (6 way tie)
#136 Del State (7 way tie for last among the 143 ranked)

National US University Rankings (202 schools ranked, 78 Rank Not Published):
#1 Harvard
#1 Princeton
#3 Yale
#4 Columbia
#5 U Penn (5 way tie)
#11 Dartmouth
#15 Brown
#15 Cornell
#22 Georgetown
#33 W&M(tie with NYU)
#38 Lehigh (4 way tie)
#53 Fordham (tie)
#75 UD (7 way tie)
#88 Drexel (tie)
#94 UMass (3 way tie)
#101 Dayton
#101 UNH (10 way tie)
#111 Stony Brook (4 way tie)
#115 Howard (4 way tie)
#119 Duquesne (5 way tie)
#128 Hofsta (4 way tie)
#138 George Mason
#138 Albany (5 way tie)
#150 SC State (tie)
#152 Maine (5 way tie)
#160 URI (4 way tie)
#164 N Dakota (6 way tie)
#170 VCU (7 way tie)
#181 NDSU (9 way tie)
#190 Montana St (4 way tie)
#194 SDSU
#194 Montana
#194 UNCC
#194 S Dakota (9 way tie at 194 for last among the 202 ranked)
ODU & GST among those with rank not published.

National Liberal Arts Colleges (182 schools ranked, 69 Rank Not Published)
#21 Colgate (3 way tie)
#27 UR (tie with Colorado College)
#40 Lafayette (tie)
#42 Furman (5 way tie)
#64 Wofford (4 way tie)
#71 VMI (10 way tie)
#121 Presbyterian (6 way tie)

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandrevie ... s/rankings" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We need a few more schools south of ODU to fill that empty void. UNCW and GSU are lonely members down there. I would welcome Campbell and CCU to the CAA. Charlotte would be preferred but not gonna happen. Of course someone is going to have to fill our own void if an invitation is offered for us to join Big Country.