I can't imagine Yeager's plan-A in this is ..."we're good, nobody is leaving, everything looks great"...or his plan-B is actually..."we'll just add Stony Brook and Coastal, and everyone will be happy". You guys think Yeager has any intentions to counterpunch with something close to what we're hearing the A10 plans on doing?
I think the only card he could play would be to tell Richmond it's either all sports, or no sports. No more of this football only game for them. Even that would likely not be enough.
Maybe I'm just being cynical and/or tinfoilhattish, but I've got to wonder if threats of litigation aren't part of Yeager's counterpunch... specifically thinking about the NBCSN deal, with Yeager and/or NBC saying that they agreed to the deal based, at least in part, on VCU's (and GMU's?) assurances of continued membership... or something like that.... obviously, this is just pure speculation on my part, absolutely no sources or anything, but (to me at least) it rings of the possible
Not bashing Yeager or the CAA here, but the problem is that he and the conference don't have a lot to offer. This is rooted in his "split the baby" approach to chasing after football $ while juggling basketball successes. The CAA has some decent football schools now. And it's got some good basketball schools. But by not going "all in" for either and trying to grow football while every other conference out there is doing the same, the CAA can't differentiate itself from any other mid-level program. Finding a school that has both a good football AND basketball program that is ready to jump conferences is a tall order. The football schools may be temporarily appeased by bringing in the likes of a Coastal Carolina, but that leaves the good basketball programs with a bad taste in their mouth regarding the direction in which the conference is heading and the priorities of the commissioner. Football is a big investment and the schools who have and are building on that investment are looking for an ROI sooner rather than later. They will likely leave the conference at the first chance they get, even if it's at the expense of their respective basketball programs. By running the CAA in such a way as to attempt to appease the fickle mistress of football aspirations Yeager is alienating winning basketball schools. This is the dilemma he is facing and will continue to face and, no, I don't think that leaves him room for a counter-punch.
The problem with trying to do what you suggest is that the CAA and CAA Football are actually separate entities, legally, and there is no way for the CAA to kick UR out of the CAA Football. Only the members of CAA Football could do that, and not without some sort of wrongdoing on UR's part.
I'm not so sure that the CAA and CAA Football are separate entities. That would suggest that the CAA and CAA Basketball are separate entities. I'm not a lawyer and but most everything is negotiable in legal matters. Let's not forget that it was not long ago that UR was somewhat desperate for a football conference and the CAA did them a favor by including them in CAA football. UR AD Jim Miller is a lawyer, so I am sure he has positioned his employer well.
Totally agree. ARRRGGH! FCS football is going to water this conference down even more than it already is. Just looking out how low the bar is for the other schools on other message boards, talking about Stony Brook, Coastal Carolina, Jacksonville, etc etc....makes me nuts. Is there a plan in place for the CAA to jump as a conference in football, or will this always be a stop for schools trying to make their way up through football ranks? Either way, it seems as though basketball is becoming less of a priority in the CAA.
Ok so I know nothing about FCS football and how it all works, but if the CAA is considered by some to be the SEC of the FCS, why can't they make a jump to FBS? What are the requirements? What's holding it back from moving up?
Well, that is sort of the problem. If the CAA could make that jump, everything would be fine. You would be attractive to other schools looking to move up, and you could keep your current members. Ahhh...the problems. Every program would have to pay a lot of money out to improve their programs and facilities, and then there is the problem of the BCS teams actually letting you join their little club (and share their money). Fat chance there...
From what I've read on the JMU/ODU boards a conference can't just move up. Only individual teams can do that.
They can technically, but will the NCAA really allow it? No. Plus many of the programs, UR, W&M, and the New England schools, do not have the support to justify I-A football at this time.
The NCAA and other low-end conference don't want to "water down the product" with a mass introduction of many former FCS schools. Basically other schools will fight it because they don't want further competition on their level.
If a ticket to JMU football costs $50 (which it does for a very good seat) along with the Duke Club $ donation level to obtain the rights to buy that $50 ticket, then football is helping to drive the bus. ODU sells 19,000 football season tickets and has 3,000 people on the waiting list which equates to 9,000 more potential season tickets. Football driving the bus in Norfolk too...at the FCS level. Not for long though!
