Re: Future AE membership? -- America East Forum

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Date Posted: 13:44:33 04/29/03 Tue
Author: J.J.
Subject: Re: Future AE membership?
In reply to: UNH_Alum_In_CT 's message, "Re: Future AE membership?" on 11:59:48 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?

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[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> 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.

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