{"id":4709,"date":"2012-11-28T00:03:15","date_gmt":"2012-11-28T05:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=4709"},"modified":"2012-11-28T07:18:09","modified_gmt":"2012-11-28T12:18:09","slug":"turning-the-page-to-hoops-or-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=4709","title":{"rendered":"Turning the Page to Hoops, or not?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re back from our grieving period after another thoroughly underwhelming and maddeningly disappointing football season which led to all kinds of justifiably distraught, angry questions being asked about Coach Matthews’ future, Coach Durden’s future and the inept, misguided, antiquated offensive scheme as a whole, Jeff Bourne’s future, President Alger’s involvement in athletics, and the general malaise within the fanbase. \u00a0Thankfully we had an excellent post wrapping things up from our guest poster last week and felt confident we could step back, enjoy our Thanksgiving travels, and come back with a fresh outlook as we turned to hoops season this week.<\/p>\n

We even heard yesterday that Tarik Hislop won the ESPNw<\/em>\u00a0Player of the Week<\/a> award last week and were excited to share such good news. \u00a0And former Dukes cornerback Evan McCollough was a presence in the Toronto Argonauts<\/a> Grey Cup win!<\/p>\n

But then over the last few days the unstoppable, crazed, maniacal crack addict that is conference realignment in college sports started lurching around fiending desperately for any type of fix it could get its hands on. \u00a0First, it made big waves when founding ACC member Maryland announced they were packing for the B1G (along with Rutgers from the Big East). \u00a0While this made news nationally, it was today’s news, mocked by many in the power conferences and major networks but potentially landscaping-altering for the trickle-down schools and conferences like JMU and the CAA, that Tulane (all sports) and East Carolina (football only) were leaving CUSA for the Big East that drove us back to football and realignment despite our best efforts.<\/p>\n

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Wait, CAA game on national tv?! Couldn't be, could it?!<\/p><\/div>\n

[By the way, PurpleOut for the home opener at the Convo tomorrow night against GW and extra good news is the game will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network!]<\/p>\n

In no particular order, here are some random thoughts about what this all may mean. \u00a0Whether or not it actually means something to JMU is a whole other matter.<\/p>\n

– CUSA doesn’t look like such great shakes all of a sudden, does it? \u00a0This is not necessarily just trolling ODU, but now that almost all of what was CUSA is actually going to be in the Big East and ODU’s biggest hope for a regional rival (ECU) is gone, do you really think CUSA is quite so attractive if it’s this unstable? \u00a0ODU, UMass, and the like still have a huge leg up on JMU because there feet are already in the collective door, but not sure we’d want to be jumping from a fracturing iceberg (CAA with it’s football\/bball split) to a rickety old ship (CUSA).<\/p>\n

– The MAC looks like a downright bastion of stability these days! \u00a0Seriously, for any JMU fans that were bashing the MAC, and don’t get us wrong it has it’s warts (doesn’t sponsor all JMU sports, fairly far afield geographically with few if any potential true rivals), in all of this craziness, the MAC is really the only non-BCS conference that seems to have maintained both its shape and its integrity throughout the last few years.<\/p>\n

– Is the ECU\/UMass football-only move a possibility for JMU? \u00a0Who knows, but we certainly could get behind that idea. \u00a0Sounds like ECU may actually be returning to the CAA in all other sports which is actually good news for the CAA overall, but don’t get overexcited. \u00a0It’s still shitty news for the withering football playing (and paying) members who are now even two more votes to the bad side of conference decisions with non-hoops members CofC and EZU.<\/p>\n

– Is the Big East actually any better than CUSA, MAC, etc. at this point?! \u00a0With Louisville, Cincy, and UConn basically begging anyone who will listen to throw them a liferaft out of the Big East, the essential lack of playoff access, and the same crummy voting considerations with so many hoops-only members just like in the CAA, really not sure what kind of future that road holds either? \u00a0Not to mention the fact Boise and SDSU will never play a down in the Big East most likely since really what’s the difference from the Mountain West except for not having to listen to all the hoops whining from places like Georgetown, Villanova, and company?<\/p>\n

– One thing is for sure, things are finally trickling down and if you’re an AD\/President in Boone, Statesboro, Lynchburg, or Harrisonburg, you better be working the phones like a pollster on election night right now. \u00a0Unfortunately, it has to be said, chances are we’re simply “monitoring the situation.”<\/p>\n

– Is there more hope for an East Coast Conference that would actually be a great situation for JMU given all the instability in the Big East, CUSA, and to a lesser extent even the SoCon, MAC, and SunBelt? \u00a0Who knows, but this still seems unlikely if only because FBS doesn’t want more conferences competing for that single spot in the “access bowl.<\/p>\n

One final thought that we’ve been preaching for two years. \u00a01-AA\/FCS is already dead, only no one has bothered to check for a pulse yet. \u00a0When you really stop to think about it, the four-team playoff was actually the death knell. \u00a0Any championship dreams an undefeated Boise St. type team may have had a couple years ago before the kicking debacle against Nevada are even less than dreams now if you’re not in one of the Big Five conferences (which really may be the Big Four if the ACC gets destroyed by the B1G and the SEC as appears to be at least somewhat likely). \u00a0It’s very clear that the non-BCS\/playoff leagues in whatever form they end up (CUSA, MAC, MWC, SunBelt, and BigEast) are really just the new 1-AA. \u00a0The 1-AA we all sort of still love, the one with the actual playoffs controlled by the NCAA cartel JMU didn’t make – again – is really just the new D2 and on down the line. \u00a0Still not sure we care one way or the other if the JMU administration would just be more open and honest about their vision, assuming they have one, but two things seem clear: JMU has built enough in the last decade that they are, for the time being, out of place in this new D2. \u00a0Second, unless they make a move now, the fire of support and excitement lit in the last decade will be extinguished faster than you can say Albany Great Danes.<\/p>\n