…for now. With the news last Friday that George Mason has decided to stay in the CAA for now, the gloom-and-doom clouds we felt with the news that ODU has a Conference USA invite on the table the week before began to clear a bit. With VCU still weighing the A-10 and ODU a couple weeks from a decision, it’s entirely possible this is just the eye of the storm and we’re not actually in the clear, but gotta admit Mason acted downright rational and responsible in this case.
I’m certainly guilty of immediately thinking GMU and VCU would almost have to go A-10 when presented with an opportunity. As anyone who follows CAA hoops can tell you, it’s absolute bullshit that in the CAA, a conference with TWO Final Four appearances in the last six years, a team can win the regular season, go 16-2 in conference, lose a virtual road game in the conference tourney, and still be jilted come selection Sunday (see Drexel two months ago). Whereas the A-10 almost always pulls down three to four bids. But here’s the question we may have been missing: even at the FCS level, is it possible a conference with football in its portfolio is better than one w/out it? At least from a non-football members’ point of view? Most of us assumed the A-10 was in better position because of their standard multi-bid status, but the news we’ve been hearing lately is that financially they’re just not setup as well as the football conferences, possibly even including conferences like the CAA with their freshly inked NBCSports deal. And when that means abandoning a conference you founded and all the regional and traditional rivalries that go with it to absorb higher travel costs for everything (not just men’s hoops, but also women’s tennis), GMU seemed to make one of the first sensible decisions we’ve seen in that regard these past few months.
What does it mean? Who knows. VCU’s position is different and of course they’ve got an old rival in the University of Richmond in the A-10 already. And ODU is dealing with an entirely different decision altogether. Their stated goal is to move up to FBS, but they never knew an opportunity would come so quickly and is this really the right opportunity? Will they regret a few years from now if, as we’ve been discussing here, FCS falls apart entirely, with a few of the stronger teams/conferences, of which many CAA brethren might be grouped, becoming the bottom of FBS, and the rest fading back to something like D2 status?
And then there’s JMU. Still left holding the bag and seemingly at the mercy of the CAA’s fortunes. Largely due to the unfortunate fact of geography, but also hard to let our current administration off the hook entirely. But at least for the moment, Dukes should be thanking Patriots! Now that’s something you don’t hear everyday. Might even have to revise our position on Doc Nix.
Over 3,500 graduates joined the ranks of JMU alumni last Saturday. And to each of you, we say congratulations. It’s only been a few days, so we’re sure things haven’t really sunk in yet. You’re probably still bumming around with your friends, drinking heavily, and paying the tab with money dear old mom and dad put in your pocket. Over the past 4 (or 5) years, you were blessed to be a part of the pleasant little utopia in the Shenandoah Valley known as JMU. We were there once also and we loved it. Like you, we had grown accustomed to the rather comfortable little JMU lifestyle. We left campus anyway and marched out into world confident that JMU had prepared us for all the future could throw at us, convinced that the good times would never end. Only we were wrong. JMU did not prepare us for the real world. At all. And it didn’t prepare you for it either. It actually set you up to be disappointed. Very, very disappointed. And that’s because JMU is awesome and the real world sucks. In the real world you can’t just walk into a house, grab a beer, drink yourself silly, and stumble home with an attractive member of the opposite sex. That doesn’t happen. In the real world the drinks are expensive and most people are ugly.
By now you’re probably sick of old people giving you the terrible advice and pumping you full of sunshine. You should be sick of it because old people suck. Trust us. We are old people. And like all other old people, you will find us insufferable. Because we are. We are tired and worn out and we’ll try very hard to act young and hip when we meet you. It will come across as very sad. Because it is. And once we realize that you pity us, we will lash out and start raving about insignificant things like how you young people just don’t get it. Or we’ll lecture about how all those pictures on Facebook and Twitter are going to prevent you from getting a job. Which is ridiculous, because those pictures should help you get a job. Provided of course that you find out who else is interviewing for the same jobs as you and you tag them in every single incriminating photo you can find. It’s a tough job market. Dog eat dog.
And about those job things. Most of you probably don’t have one. Those of you that somehow did manage to secure an offer are about to be very disappointed. You are not going to be on the fast track working on important projects. You are going to do the same old boring sh*t everyone else does. And you’re going to do it the same way it’s always been done, because that’s how the world works. And you’ll do it every day. For 8 to 10 hours a day. For the next 45 years. You thought that having two classes on Fridays that one semester was bad? You’ll long for those days when you’re in the third hour of a 115 slide presentation on “synergies” being given by a guy in short sleeves and a knit tie. Oh, and that project that you work your ass off to complete because they tell you it’s “high visibility” and it will serve as a “launching pad” for success? They lied. Great job though. In exchange for all this, you might get a whole 2 weeks of vacation your first year. Which means that you’ll be the one stuck in the office by yourself between Christmas and New Years while everyone else takes off. Getting paid to sit around all day and do nothing for a week might sound OK. But once you finish reading the internet (yes, the whole damn thing) by the second day, you will come to experience boredom the likes of which you can’t imagine.
So you know we’re old. I mean, we say it all the time. And normally something like the Call Me Maybe phenomenon would be completely over our heads. But thanks to a few younger co-workers and the always entertaining Twitter account @DukeDogLax, somehow we stumbled onto this treasure trove of JMU wonderfulincredibleness! Plus these women deserve way more than the 387 YouTube views they’ve garnered so far for this stellar effort.
Since it was graduation weekend, also seemed a good time for a nostalgic tour of the ‘Burg and not I’ve seen a better one (and definitely haven’t seen a more humorous one) than this. Enjoy!
Anyone who attended last night’s Coaches Caravan in Arlington expecting to be entertained by Mickey Matthews, went away pretty pleased. Coach Matthews was in rare form and he had the room chuckling with his Texas twang and Mickey-isms. And then he unleashed the big one, telling the crowd “I’ve never even seen a twat…or tweet whatever you call it.” It’s fair to say he brought the house down with that one little comment. He also pondered the wisdom of scheduling a game against JMU explaining how he was much more excited, BEFORE he watched the Mountaineers play Clemson. As he put it, “The numbers on the scoreboard were flipping over so fast it looked like a pinball machine.” If you put all of Mickey’s humor aside, it was clear he is really excited about this year’s team. He pumped up the younger players and the quality of the coaching staff. Hitting both points he told the crowd that he thought Defensive Backs coach Tony Lezotte (an all time great Duke) got off easy because he got to Dean Marlowe in his first coaching stint. Matthews said it made it too easy on Tony, “We should have given him some guy who was 5’7″ and ran a 4.9 40” to see if he could really coach. And after referring to Justin Thorpe’s “sabbatical” and it’s impact on the team, he informed everyone that he’s pretty confident the NCAA is going to grant Justin a 6th year of eligibility.
Kenny Brooks, head coach of the women’s hoops team, was also outstanding. As an alum and former basketball player himself, Brooks definitely bleeds purple. His enthusiasm is overwhelming and his passion for taking on bigger programs (and beating them) is unmatched. He had the crowd laughing almost as much as Mickey did, particularly with his comments about scheduling. He insisted that bigger programs are on the run from JMU and that “We’ll play anyone…except UConn.”
If you went to last night’s event expecting to get a bunch of facts on the state of the CAA and JMU’s conference alignment, you’d probably be disappointed. I’m sure most of you have already seen the email from AD Jeff Bourne. Last night he essentially stuck to that script and tried to calm the masses. And honestly, I don’t know what else the man can do at this point. While he certainly didn’t say it, I don’t how he can trust any of the other CAA schools at this point. Everyone is out for their own interests and playing things close to the vest. While many fans would have loved to hear a definite plan or list of options (including yours truly), letting the cat out of the bag probably wouldn’t help behind the scenes. So we’ve got nothing really to report as far as conference alignment. It’s patently obvious that Bourne and the rest of the AD are working hard to put JMU in the best possible position going forward. We’ll need to wait and see if they’re successful.
According to Lenn Robbins of the NY Post, today was supposed to be the day that VCU and GMU headed to the Atlantic 10. It’s after 10:00 PM as I type this and I think it’s safe to say that prediction is going to be proven false. Of course today could end up being a pretty important day in the CAA’s history anyway thanks to the news that ODU could be on its way to Conference USA. Robbins’ May 1 deadline might have been off, that doesn’t mean VCU and GMU still won’t end up in the A10 eventually. Butler apparently is on its way, which will bring the league to 14 teams. Adding VCU and GMU would bring it to 16 and solidify the A10 as the cream of the mid-major crop. If Charlotte jumps ship for C-USA, that A10 would have to add a third school. You can bet it won’t be JMU because the A10 doesn’t play football and JMU basketball, well, you know.
It’s All In How You Look At It
There are a million ways to look at these latest developments. When you get down to it though, it basically comes down to either believing the sky is falling or refusing to believe anything at all until official announcements are made. With most things JMU related, I try to take the long view and stay away from the doomsday preppers. It’s pretty hard to do that after the ODU news though. This could be bad for JMU. Really bad. VCU and Mason leaving for the A10 would definitely hurt CAA hoops. As much as I love college basketball, I’ve always believed that football was driving the ship for JMU athletics. I guess I’ve been resolved to the notion that sooner or later, JMU would make a move for football and leave the CAA behind anyway. And for whatever reason, I guess I also let myself believe in this myth that ODU and JMU had some sort of alliance and would be looking to move up together. Clearly, that isn’t the case. And it probably was foolish to ever believe it was.
The Positive Spin
If ODU bolts, they’ll be ineligible to get the CAA’s FCS playoffs autobid. That’s the best I can do folks.
read more…
All three days of the NFL draft came and went without any JMU Dukes getting picked this year. Two players were fortunate to sign deals as free-agents though. D.J. Bryant signed with the Houston Texans and Mike Allen signed with the Cleveland Browns. Contrary to some reports, Kerby Long has not signed with the Redskins however.
As the cliche goes, it’s often better to for a player to take his chances as a free-agent than to get drafted in the late rounds. By doing so, Bryant and Allen were able to sign with teams that they believed fit their style and gave them the best shot to make a roster. Bryant played Defensive End for the Dukes, but he’ll be attempting to follow in Arthur Moats’ footsteps and transition to outside linebacker in a 3-4 system. He had a strong year last year, with 12 tackles for a loss and 5.5 sacks. He was named First Team All CAA. While he was a long a shot to get drafted, he was the probably the Dukes’ top prospect and he garnered interest from the most teams.
Mike Allen had an excellent year at Cornerback for the Dukes. As a member of JMU’s secondary, he played a key role for a Dukes’ defense which ranked second against the pass in the CAA. Allen had 36 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 picks, including one he brought all the way back for a TD. He’s got good athleticism and ran a 4.4 40. He wasn’t as heralded as Bryant, but with speed like his, he could surprise folks.
Kerby Long’s agent is continuing to pursue free-agent deals for him. Rumors were flying that he had signed with the Redskins, but they turned out to be premature. He told Matthew Stoss of the DNR that he’s been in contact with Washington and Tennessee and is hoping to get an offer from at least one of them.
Each NFL team will bring 90 players to camp, before cutting all the way down to 53 for the final roster. It’s a long shot for some of the drafted players to make the final roster, let alone undrafted guys like Bryant, Allen, and Long who flew mostly under the radar. I would count any of them out though, especially Bryant. That guy is just crazy (in a good way) so even if they are on the fence about him now I can’t imagine too many guys entering camp with as much intensity and determination as he will. And besides, sometimes undrafted free-agents from FCS programs not only make a roster, but they go on to become contributors. Just ask Victor Cruz.
Not a ton to report on this week from the ‘Burg. It’s exam week and other than the Women’s Lax team, who Rob still refuses to recognize due to lack of a men’s program, heading to the CAA Tourney this weekend as a solid favorite, there’s not much else jumping out right now.
Don’t forget to sign up for the Nova/DC Duke Club Coach’s Caravan next Thursday, May 3 at The Boulevard Woodgrill in Arlington, VA. That’s where you find gems like this one from last year:
We’re also holding out hope for at least some Uundrafted Free Agent signee news for a couple of last year’s football Dukes by the end of and the the weekend, but it seems unlikely there will be anything to report from the actual selections.
But one thing that did catch our attention in the midst of all the trickle-down of conference realignment and the CAA sky is falling talk the last few weeks is the news that the FBS is finally headed for a playoff. Here’s a solid breakdown of the possibilities for 2014 and beyond from CBS Sports’ Brett McMurphy.
The two obvious questions from a JMU standpoint are:
1) Under the “non-restricted” conference champs, or “straight top four ranked teams” plans the possibility certainly exists for a non-BCS conference team to someday make the playoffs. It remains a true long-shot possibility unless you’re from South Bend, but at least a couple of these Boise/TCU/Utah teams of the past decade would’ve had a shot. Does this possibly increase the incentive for investing in non-BCS FBS football for other schools?
2) If you’re Syracuse, Texas A&M, Missouri or West Virginia, are you kicking yourself for bolting too early now that the grass is not necessarily greener? All left their traditional homes for reasons beyond championships (mainly conferences with larger tv deals), but all of them turned their backs on years of rivalry with proximate neighbors that made sense. And ALL of them would’ve had infinitely better opportunities to turn in a 13-0, top-four, conference championship type seasons that would’ve put them in the mix in the new system than they currently do today. For example, soon-to-be-Dukes-victim WVU is likely to begin this season in the top five nationally, but if you’re a Moutaineers fan, would you rather try to maintain that position by running through the Big East or the Big 12? Or will TAMU even be in contention in the SEC after decades of relevance in the Big 12? Just something to think about in the event JMU ever does move up and then we all start debating the relative merits of a perceived “power” conference in the event that “BCS conference” doesn’t mean what it once did.
It’s that time of year again folks. The traveling JMU sports extravaganza known as the Coaches Caravan hits the road. And it makes a stop in our neck of the woods next Thursday, May 3 at the Boulevard Woodgrill in Arlington. The event consists of a happy hour, silent auction, and speeches from Mickey Matthews, Matt Brady, and other members of the JMU sports family. Todd and I look forward to this event every year and it never disappoints. The beer specials are always solid (last year it featured Bell’s Oberon), the buffet is full of tasty and unhealthy goodness, and everyone there is a Dukes fan. What could be better? I’ll tell you what could be better, all of those things with plenty of Mickey-isms thrown in. If you’ve ever heard Coach Matthews speak then you know exactly what I’m talking about. And if you haven’t, then trust me when I tell you his talk will be worth the price of admission.
It’s only 10 bucks, so fork over the cash and meet us there. And maybe if you show up and introduce yourself to your favorite bloggers they’ll buy you a beer. And if you’re favorite bloggers aren’t there, then maybe me and Todd will buy you one instead. Sign up here and we’ll see you next Thursday.
At this point, I really wish VCU and Mason would get on with it and leave the CAA. That’s not really true. I’d actually prefer that they stick around and the league continued to prosper. But at this point it really feels like their joint departure to the A10 is inevitable. And if that’s the case, then I’d rather they do it soon so the rest of us can put the distractions behind us and do what needs to be done. But my opinions and desires carry no weight, so this sh*t-show drags on. And in case you missed it, on Friday Lenn Robbins of the NY Post tweeted that VCU and Mason were headed to the A10, along with Butler, on May 1. After sending CAA fans into minor hysterics, the news was quickly followed up with entirely predictable denials by the parties involved. Entirely predictable and essentially worthless denials.
Anyone who was shocked by Friday’s turn of events probably hasn’t been following things too closely. Most CAA fans I know, believe VCU and Mason are as good as gone. The only really surprising element to Friday’s rumor, was the nugget that they’d be leaving May 1. The NCAA tournament money will be distributed by the CAA to all members on July 1, so the assumption has always been that the Rams and Patriots would stick around until the check cleared. And why wouldn’t they? They clearly did much more to earn the money for the CAA than a lot of programs. They might as well collect it. Basically, there are no real new details, just more rumors and speculation. Just a bunch of consistent and entirely logical rumors and speculation. We’re talking about 2 CAA schools with powerful basketball programs moving to a multi-bid hoops league. Potentially leaving a league that at times seems to be more focused on football, a program neither VCU or GMU have. There is a reason these rumors won’t die.
Just to make things even more interesting, news broke earlier today that VCU’s AD, Norwood Teague, was rumored to be the top candidate for the same job at Minnesota. Jeff Goodman, CBSsports.com Senior Basketball Writer, is saying that it’s “just a formality” and a “done deal” at this point. Wow. That is a wrinkle I did not see coming. I can’t imagine that the loss of Teague would make VCU and less attractive to the A10. It probably would help VCU to have some consistency in the athletic department during a time like this however.
Again though, if VCU and Mason are both going, then I wish they get on it with and leave now. Like immediately. This waiting around isn’t helping anyone. And for the love of God, somebody assure me that JMU and AD Jeff Bourne already have a solid contingency plan in place. And I mean solid, not “sit tight and hope some other conference comes calling.” They’ve got to act in the best interest of JMU, but it would be a shame if they weren’t at least reaching out to some other like minded CAA schools (i.e. one’s with big aspirations for football, particularly ODU) and attempting to collaborate on a plan. The loss of VCU and Mason would definitely hurt CAA hoops, but pulling in schools like Davidson or College of Charleston could soften the blow. JMU just can’t afford to let the CAA football core fall apart. At least they can’t afford to let it happen before they are prepared to jump ship. So in the meantime, Bourne and the other football ADs need to get creative. That might mean forming alliances and doing whatever they can to find a FBS home. Or maybe it means getting aggressive and poaching other mid-major and FCS conferences while they can. (Actually my latest idea is that CAA Football just starts recruiting non-BCS FBS teams to jump to FCS. It might be the subject for a post of it’s own, but in my mind it’s not the worst proposition in the world. The FBS schools would trade awful bowls, half-empty stadiums, and losing money for the chance to develop real rivalries and compete in the playoffs.) In any case, Bourne has said FBS football is on the short-term horizon for JMU. Let’s hope it’s a jump made for the upside, not out of desperation to flee a crumbling CAA.
Thank goodness the JMU Football Spring Game is tomorrow! And the Coaches Caravan tour is kicking off in the next couple of weeks. We’ve been taking a much-needed JMUSB Spring Break of our own the last couple of weeks because seriously, there’s just not much to yak about lately. Even a quick drive-by of the CAA Zone message boards reveals even the hardcores are simply in full late-Spring recycle/retread old debate mode. But a few notes to get your weekend started.
1) Spring Game – Can’t claim we’re making the trip, but this is just another reminder that sometimes we all need to take a step back and appreciate just how far the program has come in the last decade instead of constantly complaining about “what’s next?” Sounds like tailgating is even encouraged.
2) Spring Game questions – We have three main questions heading into the fall: Can JT finally put it all together? Can we keep our DLine healthy and find a pass-rusher? Who will replace the lost studs at LB? Everything else will take care of itself (yes, even the OLine and DB) with the depth MM has been building.
3) NoVa Coaches Caravan is Thursday, May 3rd at The Boulevard Woodgrill in Arlington. Fun event complete with MM making wild predictions. Hope to see all four of our readers.
4) Virginia General Assembly approved a budget this week that INCLUDED millions of dollars for a new Convo in a couple years! Sorry for burying the lead, but we really don’t have much info and don’t really want to wade into VA budget stories. More to come.
