Re: Future AE membership? -- America East Forum

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, [4], 5 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 11:22:50 04/29/03 Tue
Author: J.J.
Subject: Re: Future AE membership?
In reply to: J.J. 's message, "Re: Future AE membership?" on 11:11:26 04/29/03 Tue

UNH - you make a fine point and that is something Central is trying hard to overcome. Clearly having UConn in your backyard makes it more difficult for us than any other comparable public school in New England. I recently spoke with the CCSU Alumni director who said that since Central had raise SAT score for acceptance, she had got more than calls from alumni trying to get their childeren into Central. As most CT residents know that kinda of stuff was unheard of, so progress has been made and I hope it continues.

My thoughts on Quinn mirror yours as I indicated in my last message to NU. It is an overpriced dipolma factory. So I think its fair to say academics are important, I just thought in my opinion the UMBC, SUNY, Central comparisons are generally fair.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Future AE membership? -- UNH_Alum_In_CT, 11:59:48 04/29/03 Tue

>UNH - you make a fine point and that is something
>Central is trying hard to overcome. Clearly having
>UConn in your backyard makes it more difficult for us
>than any other comparable public school in New
>England. I recently spoke with the CCSU Alumni
>director who said that since Central had raise SAT
>score for acceptance, she had got more than calls
>from alumni trying to get their childeren into
>Central. As most CT residents know that kinda of
>stuff was unheard of, so progress has been made and I
>hope it continues.
>
>My thoughts on Quinn mirror yours as I indicated in my
>last message to NU. It is an overpriced dipolma
>factory. So I think its fair to say academics are
>important, I just thought in my opinion the UMBC,
>SUNY, Central comparisons are generally fair.

Believe me, for selfish purposes, I wish Central was in the AE -- another game every year in my back yard!! One I could attend every year even if it was on a week night! And you'd be a great travel partner with U of H. And I think your rivalry with the Hawks could be as intense as any in the league. It would make the Hartford Civic Center (with curtains) a great location for our tourney due to the central location.

Who knows where everything leads in the next five years. Hartford has always been happier with the academic philosophy of the AE than with leagues with other private institutions (as LSBAL has explained to us), but who knows about the future. NU could be going to the CAA in three years. Leagues could rearrange with football as a common denominator. That is why I asked about CCSU football because I don't think they are comparable to football in the A-10 and specifically Maine, UNH and NU.

I agree that from facilities I've seen, you guys are comparable to AE schools. And in recent years your basketball attendance has been better than most AE schools. Of course, it should be as you have a gazillion alumni to draw upon in the Greater Hartford area and you've won the NEC. BTW, that's a huge advantage you have over Hartford. And I feel your pain as that UConn shadow is immense. There are similarities at BU, NU, Maine, UVM and UNH with the shadow of their hockey programs which play at the highest level of D-1. And I see your dilemna as a public institution in the NEC where the majority are private schools.

JMHO, I think there will be opportunities in coming years with significant conference transitions, Central might be able to take advantage of them.

[ Post a Reply to This Message ]
[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Future AE membership? -- J.J., 13:44:33 04/29/03 Tue

Your insight is appriciated and I couldn't agree with you more. I think football is the biggest sticking point in any conference affiliation discussion. Central does not compare (or really even come clsose)to UNH, UMass, or Maine in football (just check out the scores). But we have been willing to play them (at least they have let us play them) and I think that's a step in the right direction. BU has recently dropped football, UMBC doesn't have a team, and Stony Brook and Albany are football members of the NEC. How does this football dynamic impact membership? And what really is the direction of the AE in the future?

[ Post a Reply to This Message ]
[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Future AE membership? -- UNH_Alum_In_CT, 14:36:10 04/29/03 Tue

>Your insight is appriciated and I couldn't agree with
>you more. I think football is the biggest sticking
>point in any conference affiliation discussion.
>Central does not compare (or really even come
>clsose)to UNH, UMass, or Maine in football (just check
>out the scores). But we have been willing to play them
>(at least they have let us play them) and I think
>that's a step in the right direction. BU has recently
>dropped football, UMBC doesn't have a team, and Stony
>Brook and Albany are football members of the NEC. How
>does this football dynamic impact membership? And
>what really is the direction of the AE in the future?

I think the impact is that schools naturally try to form "all sports" leagues. That is what is starting to happen in the Big East and C-USA. I've already read in the Hartford media calls to drop Providence, St. Johns, Seton Hall, Villanova and Georgetown from the Big East because they don't play 1-A football. Temple already bounced from the BE will probably try to find a league with 1-A football and leave the A-10. There is a similar riff in the C-USA between football and non-football schools. I think it is only natural that a similar process is likely to occur at the 1-AA scholarship level. It isn't unhappiness with the AE as much as it is to interact with the same set of schools in football as well as all your other sports. I'm only an alum and a fan so I have no idea what the AE's direction is going to be. I don't know if 1-AA football will always have a separate league similar to 1-A hockey. The dynamic will be whether realignment to have "all sports" conferences occurs or not. I don't know if the AE is taking a proactive role in this process.

[ Post a Reply to This Message ]
[ Edit | View ]