Moving Day 2025

[crixus]

West Alabama announced yesterday (29 Jul) they will be competing in Track & Field Indoor for men and women starting this upcoming school year.

That's great, I love Track & Field. Kudos West Alabama.

[Tech Boys]

West Alabama announced yesterday (29 Jul) they will be competing in Track & Field Indoor for men and women starting this upcoming school year.

[crixus]

PAC 12 and Mountain West - no settlement, so it's moving to trial on September 9th.

https://youtu.be/5vM9VGx6vFU?si=ABvO3lhW0swVGZBF

[Bballfan]

MACtion is one of the reasons why Northern Illinois football is moving to the Mountain West. Playing at night mid week in the cold didn't bring in the crowds. No mid week games in the MW. I like watching MACtion and some of the teams draw decent sized crowds for those games but not NIU. So I understand why they want out.

I get that. But leaving the MAC for the Horizon League in other sports I think was a step down. While the Horizon League isn't one of the D1 bottom feeder conferences, it is a step below the MAC. But it is all about football. The tail wags the dog.

[crixus]

Spartanburg Methodist College in Saxon, SC will be adding a Men's Volleyball program for the 2026-2027 academic year. The Pioneers compete in the NAIA.

[ctrabs74]

Beg the CAA? Beg and run back to the NEC like Robert Morris? I can’t think of a worse fate for FCS football (or really any football unless you’re Notre Dame) than being independent.

The California State University (comma) Sacramento (aka Sad Sac State) is about to find out the hard way after bailing on the Big Sky as part of their half-baked scheme to join the Mountain West or PACifist 12, which backfired spectacularly.

[crixus]

There are FBS schools that can't even support their FBS program. I look at a lot of schools in the MAC.

IF the Big Ten gets their way and shames the SEC into a 9 game conference schedule, along with 1 out of conference Power 4 school for a 10th game, that would only allow two games for the "other" FBS or FCS teams. I actually think this is how it should be, but if that happens there will be less gravy for non-Power 4 teams to get. And without that gravy, non Power 4 FBS progams will be in a world of hurt. I guess there will still be that MACtion contract on ESPN on Tuesdays and Wednesdays though!

MACtion is one of the reasons why Northern Illinois football is moving to the Mountain West. Playing at night mid week in the cold didn't bring in the crowds. No mid week games in the MW. I like watching MACtion and some of the teams draw decent sized crowds for those games but not NIU. So I understand why they want out.

[Bballfan]

The plan for Montclair State to maintain both Bloomfields D2 program and their own D3 program after their acquisition of Bloomfield lasted a whopping two years, and Bloomfield hemorrhaged sports the entire time. Not super encouraging for any other schools that may end up taking similar paths in the future

Yep. Gannon says they are going to do that with Ursuline. I don't believe that for one minute. Gannon will poach what they need out of the Ursuline and in the end drop the name and it will just be a satellite campus. Can see that move coming a mile away.

[cwfenn]

Sacred Heart to join CAA as a football associate in 2026. https://caasports.com/news/2025/7/22...26-season.aspx

What will happen to Merrimack?

Beg the CAA? Beg and run back to the NEC like Robert Morris? I can’t think of a worse fate for FCS football (or really any football unless you’re Notre Dame) than being independent.

[Finchwidget]

On the flip side, the USCAA now has them listed as a member. Seems like a good place for them, given their current trajectory

https://bcbearsathletics.com/news/20...filiation.aspx

Bloomfield put out an official update regarding the move.

The plan for Montclair State to maintain both Bloomfields D2 program and their own D3 program after their acquisition of Bloomfield lasted a whopping two years, and Bloomfield hemorrhaged sports the entire time. Not super encouraging for any other schools that may end up taking similar paths in the future

[the Northeasterner]

There are FBS schools that can't even support their FBS program. I look at a lot of schools in the MAC.

IF the Big Ten gets their way and shames the SEC into a 9 game conference schedule, along with 1 out of conference Power 4 school for a 10th game, that would only allow two games for the "other" FBS or FCS teams. I actually think this is how it should be, but if that happens there will be less gravy for non-Power 4 teams to get. And without that gravy, non Power 4 FBS progams will be in a world of hurt. I guess there will still be that MACtion contract on ESPN on Tuesdays and Wednesdays though!

The four non-conferences for the SEC which usually include two paycheck games are what's keeping lower levels of college football in business. And it trickled down low levels FbS brought in paycheck for FCS. SCS bought in paychecks for division 2. There's only so many of those games that are available because it's all being driven by ESPN needs for top matchups all the time. And they don't care which programs they destroy.


These are kids they don't need to be playing 15 top-notch football games in a fall. They need to return to divisions or quads. in the power conferences. That would cut the travel and stress on these young players. I know most people think they're in their time of their life but they're still in the growing part of their life prime of a male is 25 to 35 not 18 through 23. ESPN only wants their product and they wanted to look like the NFL. And they're really what made college football special.

[Bballfan]

There are FBS schools that can't even support their FBS program. I look at a lot of schools in the MAC.

IF the Big Ten gets their way and shames the SEC into a 9 game conference schedule, along with 1 out of conference Power 4 school for a 10th game, that would only allow two games for the "other" FBS or FCS teams. I actually think this is how it should be, but if that happens there will be less gravy for non-Power 4 teams to get. And without that gravy, non Power 4 FBS progams will be in a world of hurt. I guess there will still be that MACtion contract on ESPN on Tuesdays and Wednesdays though!

[the Northeasterner]

No the CAA has been poached of all its Big Time members have moved up if they could. FCS is basically the valley versus Big sky and a bunch of little bitty first round at the best schools. The only reason the Big four in the FCS haven't left is because they're not in areas where they can support an FBS team see North Dakota State South Dakota State Montana and Montana State.

[ctrabs74]

CAA Football has been making questionable moves for going on a decade now. I say the last real steal they got was Elon. Everything since then has been just to keep their heads above water and maintain this ridiculous amount of members.

It's so surreal that the CAA used to be one of the leading FCS conferences. Now, I don't know what to make of them seeing as the Dakota schools and the Big Sky schools have seemingly dominated as of late.

[LegalRam]

I never understood the logic of Merrimack leaving NEC for the MAAC in the first place and choosing to stay independent since Merrimack is pretty much a geographic outlier in the eastern end of the conference (to say nothing of Niagara and Canisius).

Considering that CAA Football has lost Delaware, Richmond, Villanova and William & Mary over the last couple of seasons, the addition of Sacred Heart feels like a step down.

CAA Football has been making questionable moves for going on a decade now. I say the last real steal they got was Elon. Everything since then has been just to keep their heads above water and maintain this ridiculous amount of members.