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Rumor: Mercyhurst to Division I?

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  • #46
    Originally posted by IUPbigINDIANS View Post

    I'd worry more about football. IUP basketball (men's) has a core group of heavy donors between 45 and 60 years old. So, that group is relatively young.

    Football tends to be the older following of the two.

    Overall, Joe has a much younger demographic than Tort.
    Also, football is a much more expensive sport to fund at a high level.

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    • #47
      Originally posted by Ship69 View Post

      Also, football is a much more expensive sport to fund at a high level.
      No doubt. And, of course, this is yearly off-season message board discussion. There's better odds of Elvis playing the KCAC than IUP Football moving up to D1.

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      • #48
        And yet... the average fan is more likely to know about the Directionals than about Grand Valley State.

        School presidents are generally willing to trade in the chance at championships for the shot to be mentioned in the same sentence as D1 brethren. It has much less to do with actual sports relevance than all of us here might hope.

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        • #49
          Originally posted by IUPbigINDIANS View Post

          No doubt. And, of course, this is yearly off-season message board discussion. There's better odds of Elvis playing the KCAC than IUP Football moving up to D1.
          I think West Chester would be the best candidate to move athletics to D1. They've grown so much and if there was local corporate support I think it would be a possibility. Obviously, WCU has flirted with D1 sports in the past (as has IUP).

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          • #50
            Originally posted by iupgroundhog View Post

            I think West Chester would be the best candidate to move athletics to D1. They've grown so much and if there was local corporate support I think it would be a possibility. Obviously, WCU has flirted with D1 sports in the past (as has IUP).
            Not just flirted... West Chester was Division I except in football until 1982.

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            • #51
              Originally posted by Inkblot View Post

              Not just flirted... West Chester was Division I except in football until 1982.
              I don't believe that's true because West Chester has always been a member of the PSAC as an NAIA and NCAA DII conference. There were fewer divisions before 1982 and a lot of current D1 schools were smaller then and played other smaller schools. It was also much more common for PSAC schools to play up as well as down to fill the schedules. We as a conference played a lot of NY, NJ, and MD D3 schools until more recently.

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              • #52
                Originally posted by Fightingscot82 View Post

                I don't believe that's true because West Chester has always been a member of the PSAC as an NAIA and NCAA DII conference. There were fewer divisions before 1982 and a lot of current D1 schools were smaller then and played other smaller schools. It was also much more common for PSAC schools to play up as well as down to fill the schedules. We as a conference played a lot of NY, NJ, and MD D3 schools until more recently.
                That's not exactly right, either. West Chester dropped out of the PSAC (then called the Pennsylvania Conference) in the mid to late 60's. IUP did, as well. Before 1973 there wasn't a divisional classification as we have today. In '73, when the current classification system took effect, the PSAC became a D2 conference. IUP went to D2. I believe WCU held out for a while longer.

                That's basically correct, I think. Correct me if I'm wrong.
                Last edited by iupgroundhog; 04-08-2022, 07:38 AM.

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                • #53
                  Originally posted by Fightingscot82 View Post

                  I don't believe that's true because West Chester has always been a member of the PSAC as an NAIA and NCAA DII conference. There were fewer divisions before 1982 and a lot of current D1 schools were smaller then and played other smaller schools. It was also much more common for PSAC schools to play up as well as down to fill the schedules. We as a conference played a lot of NY, NJ, and MD D3 schools until more recently.
                  West Chester was still in the PSAC for football, but in other sports they were in a now-defunct Division I conference called the East Coast Conference. The conference mostly consisted of current A-10, CAA, and Patriot League members, and had a footprint from DC to NYC (at the time West Chester left, 8 of 12 members were in Eastern Pennsylvania).

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                  • #54
                    The ECC began falling apart when St. Joseph's, Temple, and West Chester departed in the summer of 1982. WCU basketball won the regular season west division of the ECC that last year, and Temple won the east, but both lost in the quarterfinals of their conference tournament. St. Joseph's won the tournament.

                    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_C...ce_(Division_I)

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                    • #55
                      Wow I never realized WCU was actually D1 for basketball previously. Would imagine that ship has sailed for the University unless a influx of cash comes in allowing them to operate freely from the PASHEE. Would be great to see the ECAC return with UCONN, Temple, Rutgers, Maryland, Nova, Delaware, UMass, Delaware, Nova, Georgetown, Towson & WCU all play one another in BB/FB if they all equally invested in their programs but that's never happening with MD/Rutgers being in the Big 10 lol.

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                      • #56
                        Originally posted by shipfbfan1 View Post
                        Wow I never realized WCU was actually D1 for basketball previously. Would imagine that ship has sailed for the University unless a influx of cash comes in allowing them to operate freely from the PASHEE. Would be great to see the ECAC return with UCONN, Temple, Rutgers, Maryland, Nova, Delaware, UMass, Delaware, Nova, Georgetown, Towson & WCU all play one another in BB/FB if they all equally invested in their programs but that's never happening with MD/Rutgers being in the Big 10 lol.
                        It used to be about location, size, etc. Now its about money and West Chester doesn't have it. Let's say they did - very few D1 conferences would be interested in a D2 program funding 1/3 of the football max.

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                        • #57
                          Originally posted by Fightingscot82 View Post

                          It used to be about location, size, etc. Now its about money and West Chester doesn't have it. Let's say they did - very few D1 conferences would be interested in a D2 program funding 1/3 of the football max.
                          I would think WCU playing Villanova, Temple and other larger schools would get donors to pony up cash faster than them playing Mansfield, Kutztown, Millersville. That being said I don't see WCU leaving for quite a while unless they had donors lined up both for academics/athletics to make the jump and it would have to be for a decent conference close by conference (CAA/A-10) not a bottom D1 conference..

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