Butler to the A10? (VCU, GMU, Crieghton, ... Cleveland St.... OH MY

[BMoreX]

Georgia St. of the CAA is moving to the SunBelt for 2013 for football aspirations.

If VCU and GMU ever leave and join the A10, the CAA is going to be severely depleted and in need of teams.

[muskienick]

Georgia St. of the CAA is moving to the SunBelt for 2013 for football aspirations.

If VCU and GMU ever leave and join the A10, the CAA is going to be severely depleted and in need of teams.

We've got two of them that will likely never leave the CAA for "Football Aspirations" --- Fordham and LaSalle.

They are more than welcome to have them and we'll even send all their accrued NCAA units with them as they leave the A-10 while charging them no exit penalty.

We're just nice guys like that!

[Muskie]

Article in Indy Star this morning that says move by Butler is not guaranteed. Worried about travel for other sports.

[xudash]

Butler is a darling candidate now because of its two "darling" runs. If you want to debate me over the notion that those runs were "darling", then knock yourself out. Butler came out of a crappy league, having attracted three unique recruits, in particular (Heyward, Howard and Mack), that, along with a bright young coach and a necessary amount of luck required for almost any program, propelled them to the F4s they made (I know, the second without Heyward).

I have no doubt, given the apparent options out there, that Butler should be the first school to be extended an invitation to join the A10. I get that. I agree with that, again, given the current landscape.

My cautionary point about Butler is that it has pulled off what it has pulled off with Indiana down and as a top dog in a truly crappy conference. There is no way you can project Butler's level of success in the A10 should it join it. You can argue that its recruiting will improve, though a strengthening Indiana will hurt it in its own back yard (i.e. Butler doesn't recruit at Indiana's level generally, but those 3 or 4 stars they thought they could now get are less likely to go to Butler if they come from the Hoosier state). You can argue that its attendance will improve, yet they didn't sellout for our last game there, and they view us as a key rival in this thing. You can preach about Stevens being a homeboy for the duration. I seriously doubt he'll be there in 2 to 3 years.

Butler has both attendance issues and ticket pricing pressure. It truly does not operate at Xavier's scale. It doesn't operate at SLU or UD's scale either. Worse yet, assuming it ultimately raises the $25 million it requires to turn Hinkle from a dump into a nice facility, it does that by taking capacity down to 8,500.

Overall, the point is pretty simple: IF this - the travel expense issue for other sports - is the key roadblock and primary concern, that has to tell you something about Butler's financial horsepower in this area.

Perhaps the bigger point is what it tells you about the A10's ability to respond to change.

Butler is the first option for expansion, but it is no slam dunk as prospective additions go. It's in for a rude awakening with the competition level night in and night out anyway.

[coasterville95]

Well, the good news is Butler is apparently performing due dilligence on what the move would mean to them.

I mean, just think if a current exisitng A10 member school would have just checked into what other schools were in our conference and where they were located, and what it would mean to them in terms of travel given how far they are away from all other schools in conference, before they signed on the dotted line.

Yeah, maybe the conference was somehow secreative about its membership, and even if they told said school who our memebers were, they didn't mention where they were located. Just think what a half hour on the A10 website, and Google Earth would have done for that poor hapless school whose basketball coach is harping on travel time and budget every chance he gets.

[Muskie]

Well, the good news is Butler is apparently performing due dilligence on what the move would mean to them.

I mean, just think if a current exisitng A10 member school would have just checked into what other schools were in our conference and where they were located, and what it would mean to them in terms of travel given how far they are away from all other schools in conference, before they signed on the dotted line.

Yeah, maybe the conference was somehow secreative about its membership, and even if they told said school who our memebers were, they didn't mention where they were located. Just think what a half hour on the A10 website, and Google Earth would have done for that poor hapless school whose basketball coach is harping on travel time and budget every chance he gets.

I noticed that harping about travel time went down considerably this year because that team performed better.