July 1 - Moving Day 2023

[ctrabs74]

Announced in November, but I didn't see it until today... Lincoln (PA) baseball and women's soccer are moving from the ECC to the CACC next season. https://lulions.com/news/2023/11/28/...-baseball.aspx

The CACC may be desperate for teams with the impending elimination of sports teams at Bloomfield College (which is now part of D3 Montclair State), unless Montclair State decides to move to D2 (which is highly doubtful).

[Finchwidget]

The CACC may be desperate for teams with the impending elimination of sports teams at Bloomfield College (which is now part of D3 Montclair State), unless Montclair State decides to move to D2 (which is highly doubtful).

If Bloomfield leaves, the CACC would still be sitting at 11 members. Maybe not as nice a number as 12, but I wouldn't really be sounding any alarms yet either.

[Inkblot]

If Bloomfield leaves, the CACC would still be sitting at 11 members. Maybe not as nice a number as 12, but I wouldn't really be sounding any alarms yet either.

Yeah, the ECC is in a lot worse shape in the numbers department. They're at or near the minimum in several sports, including baseball.

But the CACC is a better geographical fit for Lincoln. Nearly half the conference is in the Philadelphia metro and the longest trip is 235 miles.

[Finchwidget]

Yeah, the ECC is in a lot worse shape in the numbers department. They're at or near the minimum in several sports, including baseball.

But the CACC is a better geographical fit for Lincoln. Nearly half the conference is in the Philadelphia metro and the longest trip is 235 miles.

Yeah, Lincoln stood to gain a lot more through joining the CACC than the CACC stood to gain by adding them, honestly... wonder if this has been in the works for them for a while. And the ECC stood to lose more than either of them. They better hope NYIT decides they want their athletic department back after all sometime in the near future.

[laker]

Yeah, Lincoln stood to gain a lot more through joining the CACC than the CACC stood to gain by adding them, honestly... wonder if this has been in the works for them for a while. And the ECC stood to lose more than either of them. They better hope NYIT decides they want their athletic department back after all sometime in the near future.

I remember when there were four D2 schools that played D1 baseball. Dallas Baptist (still does), Hawaii Hilo, LeMoyne (now D1) and NYIT.

[ctrabs74]

I remember when there were four D2 schools that played D1 baseball. Dallas Baptist (still does), Hawaii Hilo, LeMoyne (now D1) and NYIT.

I could be mistaken, but I think West Chester played baseball at the D1 level for a while in the 1990s.

[laker]

I could be mistaken, but I think West Chester played baseball at the D1 level for a while in the 1990s.

Could be. 2023 Baseball Record Book (PDF) - West Chester University Athletics (wcupagoldenrams.com)

[ctrabs74]

Could be. 2023 Baseball Record Book (PDF) - West Chester University Athletics (wcupagoldenrams.com)

I knew their baseball program was in D1 for a while, but I couldn't remember when they fully dropped back to D2 with the rest of their sports.

[IUPNation]

I could be mistaken, but I think West Chester played baseball at the D1 level for a while in the 1990s.

…and has won two D2 National
Championships in the last 10 years.

Yes a Pee Sack school won a National title in a big sport.

[ctrabs74]

…and has won two D2 National
Championships in the last 10 years.

Yes a Pee Sack school won a National title in a big sport.

Oh, I definitely remember watching the 2012 national title game win from a bar in West Chester before I moved to the other side of the state.

[Finchwidget]

Embedded Tweet

[laker]

The next question is- will the MAC invite WKU to even out the numbers? Or take someone else?

Will C-USA add someone like MO State or Tarleton since UMass is off the table?

What will UConn do? The list of football independents is dwindling.

[cwfenn]

The next question is- will the MAC invite WKU to even out the numbers? Or take someone else?

Will C-USA add someone like MO State or Tarleton since UMass is off the table?

What will UConn do? The list of football independents is dwindling.

UConn was always in a tough spot since the Big East has (and really should have always) been their home conference. None of the biggest conferences invited them (amazing since the ACC had no problem grabbing just about all the old Big East football programs except UConn, and the XII grabbed WVU too), and they have way too much money invested in their stadium to think about going down to FCS, which is probably where they belong anyway. They’re a basketball school and have doubled down on it in recent years (they’re the “basketball capital” now!), but I think they need to drop football to FCS or it’s going to continue to suffer.

UMass is really going to miss the A10, but football’s the engine driving all of this, right?

(Showing my age a bit…I still remember the Yankee Conference when UConn played UMass every year...and also when New Haven went to UConn and won.)

[Northeast01]

The next question is- will the MAC invite WKU to even out the numbers? Or take someone else?

Will C-USA add someone like MO State or Tarleton since UMass is off the table?

What will UConn do? The list of football independents is dwindling.

Don't know if the MAC has rules about only offering full invites to schools that play football, but the smartest thing would be to invite UConn for football and grab a public midwestern school that doesn't play football to even out the numbers for other sports. Someone with comparable basketball attendance numbers to their current schools but is no threat to dominate the league on a regular basis.

[Finchwidget]

Don't know if the MAC has rules about only offering full invites to schools that play football, but the smartest thing would be to invite UConn for football and grab a public midwestern school that doesn't play football to even out the numbers for other sports.

They definitely have rules for that-- that's the whole reason why UMass languished in independence for 10 years. MAC wanted them as full members in 2015, UMass said no, and so they were kicked to the curb. Seems they changed their tune now.