Second, I was as excited as I’ve ever been to write about a road trip that ended with a Dukes loss. Never been more proud to be a part of the JMU community than I was on Friday, and maybe even moreso down the stretch of a lost game as a part of a still roaring, still proud, fanbase than we even were before the game. \u00a0But the Dayton Diary, and the goosebumps-inducing pregame Start Wearing Purple, the praise for JMU Nation’s turnout and passion that we received from other fans in the arena long after the Dukes’ game was over, the amazing gifs created<\/a> even in a loss, and the great shout-out from Coach Brady late night during Iowa St.\/Notre Dame will have to wait another day.<\/p>\n This is becoming impossible.<\/p><\/div>\n But then the Washington Post’s Stephen Goff reported tonight<\/a> that George Mason is joining the Atlantic 10 conference in all sports effective this July. \u00a0Even when I issued our List of Demands<\/a> last week as a warning to Dukes fans that despite the unbridled joy provided by men’s hoops’ wonderful run we all \u00a0needed to be wary of rough times on the horizon, I never dreamed the panic button would need to be mashed with both hands so quickly. \u00a0As the great columnist for the Wilmington Star News and all-around expert on all CAA matters Brian Mull mentioned tonight, at this point while UNCW, JMU, and W&M are the only remaining founding members of the CAA, they really have nothing else in common beyond that fact.<\/p>\n Just think of it this way: \u00a0UR, VCU, ODU, and GMU are all gone and in their place we have non-football Charleston and football-only Albany and Stony Brook. \u00a0Despite the fact JMU is a better all-around institution than any of those former mates, there is simply no way that any rationale JMU fan can look at that and not feel like the leftover kid not even getting picked for kickball at recess. \u00a0UR, VCU, and GMU have all taken significant steps forward through basketball while JMU has suffered through Keener and Dillard and continues to languish in an outdated facility. \u00a0Hard not to wonder if all of this year’s march magic might have been too little, too late with JMU stuck in a crumbling conference facing years of play-in games and disjointed, half-hearted “rivalries” with schools that couldn’t be further from the “peer institutions” we’ve heard so much about from our own administration. \u00a0And ODU was willing to take the risk on FBS football when the opportunity presented itself while JMU simply continues to monitor the situation. \u00a0Probably best to just go back and reread last week’s list instead of rehashing it here because we’re not complete idiots about just how great of a risk that is, but it’s crystal clear that there is NO SALVAGING the CAA as a viable option for JMU athletics in the long-term. \u00a0The CAA is simply the low-major version of the Big East circa 2011, and schools like JMU are apparently the only ones who haven’t realized it yet. \u00a0A long line of play-in games in hoops and years of half-full 68 million dollar stadiums for St. Francis games awaits! \u00a0Once again, all we ask for is Jeff Bourne to be given the chance to make his own decisions for JMU athletics and at least announce to JMU Nation what the plan is moving forward, assuming they have one, and such an announcement better be made by May 15th.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/63002_10151478712012622_765729775_n.jpg?resize=300%2C300\" "\\"63002_10151478712012622_765729775_n\\"")
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