{"id":5437,"date":"2013-05-22T21:35:07","date_gmt":"2013-05-23T01:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=5437"},"modified":"2013-05-23T07:29:02","modified_gmt":"2013-05-23T11:29:02","slug":"fightin-christians-and-great-danes-to-the-caa-seriously","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=5437","title":{"rendered":"Fightin’ Christians and Great Danes to the CAA – seriously"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ok, ok, I know we said we’re done with realignment till JMU shits or falls back into the pit toilet that the CAA is rapidly becoming, but when news that a school we considered a whole lot more like Radford than JMU back when us old guys were applying is joining, you can’t just let that hang out without addressing it. \u00a0Elon, yes the former Fightin’ Christians, now Phoenix, is leaving the SoCon for the CAA tomorrow. \u00a0And word is new CAA Football member Albany will now be joining in all sports as well. \u00a0Woo. frickin. hoo. \u00a0Needless to say, good ole Tom Yeager isn’t letting that sweet, cushy, overstuffed conference commissioner paycheck fall by the wayside without a fight.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Look, we don’t mean to offend Elon, and word is its a much-improved school academically that we all know has a beautiful campus and actually fits fairly nicely in the CAA footprint, not to mention they had as many NFL draft picks this year as the Dukes (1) but to paraphrase @adesai30 today, thus completes the Atlantic Sun-ing of the CAA.<\/p>\n

Seriously, the CAA is working hard to ensure it’s own survival. \u00a0And if that maintains the AQ status for NCAA tourneys, we can’t begrudge them doing so even if it means splitting their soul into seven pieces and hiding the parts in magic trinkets tucked safely into Northeastern’s 1000 year old hoops facility. \u00a0But again, this is no longer a group that even remotely resembles a group of peers for JMU. \u00a0Elon is another smallish private with zippy realistic possibility for being anything else. \u00a0Albany is, well, Albany.<\/p>\n

That said, it doesn’t hurt to take off our lilac-shaded glasses every once in a while and realize that somewhere there’s a CUSA or MAC blogger probably getting ready to write this same piece if the JMU rumors pick up again. \u00a0Only difference is that they are wrong but just don’t know it. \u00a0JMU would be at or very near the very top of any of the three conferences that have realistically been discussed as options for athletic budget, academic reputation, facilities, attendance, and mascot badassness, so maybe I’ll put those spectacles back on!<\/p>\n

Anyhow, the CAA is dead. or a pit toilet. \u00a0Either way, it’s time to get a damn move on. \u00a0June can’t come fast enough.<\/p>\n