Colonial Athletic Association Expanding… | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Colonial Athletic Association Expanding…

I updated my prognostications:

I think Wagner and LIU (both private) end up in the MAAC.

CCSU and Merrimack end up in the AEC.

The MEAC adds Chicago State and stays at 9.

The NEC adds New Haven and 1-3 other D2 schools to stay afloat.
 
shizzle787 said:
I updated my prognostications:

I think Wagner and LIU (both private) end up in the MAAC.

CCSU and Merrimack end up in the AEC.

The MEAC adds Chicago State and stays at 9.

The NEC adds New Haven and 1-3 other D2 schools to stay afloat.
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Vowelguy said:
Terrible idea. Awful athletics and 1000 miles out of their footprint.
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It is a question mark that Chicago State will even stay in Division 1. Due to their financial problems, over the years there have been many rumors that Chicago State may drop out of Division 1. I would be very surprised at them going to the MEAC as well.
 
CCSU97 said:
Simple - we don't have the budget for it. We have one of the smallest budgets in the NEC and couldn't fund sports at the CAA level.

The entire CCSU athletic budget is smaller than the UConn football budget. Unless politicians in the State Capitol want to support Central as a premier D-I regional comprehensive university that it strives to be, instead of small liberal arts college as it was in the 1950s, we are stuck.

America East is likely our celling. I'd be ecstatic to get out of the NEC and join Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine in the AE :)
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Alas, CCSU looks to be going in a different direction. Eliminating tenured faculty by the barrelful and replacing them with adjuncts.
Oh, and CCSU was originally a teachers college more than a liberal arts school. But I always thought it made sense to develop it as the UMass-Lowell of Connecticut or the NC State of Connecticut or Make it the main campus of the Connecticut State University. Southern and Western could be CSU-New Haven and CSU-Danbury, while Eastern should be absorbed into UConn.
 
freescooter said:
Alas, CCSU looks to be going in a different direction. Eliminating tenured faculty by the barrelful and replacing them with adjuncts.
Oh, and CCSU was originally a teachers college more than a liberal arts school. But I always thought it made sense to develop it as the UMass-Lowell of Connecticut or the NC State of Connecticut or Make it the main campus of the Connecticut State University. Southern and Western could be CSU-New Haven and CSU-Danbury, while Eastern should be absorbed into UConn.
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Yes, I agree, but all this costs money and takes leadership and commitment - the State has provided none of that.

CCSU simply can't afford to pay professors, or invest in athletics, or do almost anything - we get almost no $$$$ from the State, period.

The Board of Regents is a Dan Malloy created higher-ed disaster that spared UConn any worries. Unions are killing the Connecticut State University System and the Community Colleges. BOR administrative costs are bloated and state pensions are an anchor.

Everyone here thinks $11 million to pay off KO, if just spare change - that kind of money outside of UConn is impossible to get for academic programs at Central, forget athletics

Yes, I know CCSU was a teachers college. And sure, I would love it if we were more like UMass-Lowell too, but who's helping make that happen - no one in Storrs or Hartford is helping that's for sure.

Sorry for the rant, but recent news that UConn is still running a $45M+ athletics deficit, now owes KO, $11 M, and the NCAA and P5 schools basically want to kill off athletic programs at schools like Central is just pretty depressing to read.
 
This may not be a popular opinion: the CSU’s should all be Division 3. We are a small state. You can’t divert resources too much if you want your flagship to excel. The main role of universities is to educate. UConn needs athletics to be competitive in the race for students vs. other state flagships and top-tier privates: the CSU’s dont. The vast majority of kids that go to state schools don’t go because of sports; they go because it’s local. At CCSU, a lot of students are adults who are in their 20s and 30s. They don’t care about Central sports.
 
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shizzle787 said:
This may not be a popular opinion: the CSU’s should all be Division 3. We are a small state. You can’t divert resources too much if you want your flagship to excel. The main role of universities is to educate. UConn needs athletics to be competitive in the race for students vs. other state flagships and top-tier privates: the CSU’s dont. The vast majority of kids that go to state schools don’t go because of sports; they go because it’s local. At CCSU, a lot of students are adults who are in their 20s and 30s. They don’t care about Central sports.
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I’ve had an unpopular opinion that all of the CSU’s should take UConn’s model of satellite schools and combine its budgets with Athletics to create one banner called “Connecticut State Univerity”

CSU - North Campus (ECSU)
CSU - South Campus (SCSU)
CSU - West Campus (WestConn)
CSU - Main Campus (CCSU)

It would compete with UConn alumni, play games at the Rent, increase athletic budget, and stay D1. Twenty years of this could really benefit the state and may create some buzz and rivalry with UConn. Similar to Michigan/Michigan State.

With the amount of students in the CSU system I bet they could even jump to FBS. Albeit, this will never happen. UConn is just too big of a National brand. The state likely wouldn’t allow it.
 
CCSU97 said:
Exactly. The State of Connecticut has put all its eggs in one basket (UConn) at the expense of any other school (Central). It doesn't help that UConn alumni and supporters in the legislature and State Government have done everything to keep the State University system as the underfunded, weak stepchild.

Yet other States are able to see the benefit of building multiple strong, public educations systems. New Jersey has Rowan as a alternative to Rutgers; Maryland has Towson and UMBC, as alternatives to UMd at College Park.

UConn would always remain the flagship research university, with medical and law schools - but why isn't there room for another quality university in this state?

It is disappointing, but not surprising, that Connecticut has never invested properly in a PREMIRE, regional, comprehensive university for fear of taking anything away from UConn.

Oh well .. that ship sailed years ago and their is no indications that the State will ever invest in higher education outside of UConn.
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Number One: it's a small state. Like the other New England flagships. Maryland + NJ are far bigger

Two: I think I have a personal block on that Central Connecticut. Maybe if you were Connecticut State U or Connecticut Tech. Branding wise, you do get in the blend with Western, Eastern, Southern.

Three: Resources. I don't know how you break out of that. Here is Rowan.c Henry Rowan gave the school $150m and they changed the name. He could have given $150m to Harvard; but the single act of gift to Rowan U. changed that region of South Jersey immensely. Started an engineering school that WAS targeted to kids from lesser high schools - mostly in state - that took talented kids and groomed them into specific engineering specialty. Christie merged Cooper Hospital in Camden teaching healthcare professions into Rowan and then turned into a Teaching Hospital (Med School). Other highly regarded departments include Communications - where their expansive look at professions is well known.

There is a grouping of schools advancing below the Flagship level at many states. Rowan - where I built student housing - has gone from 9500 to 20000. Should promote itself in Football. Stony Brook should booom now that the Governor of NY has made it the State Flagship. With Football to Brand.
 
Austin316 said:
I’ve had an unpopular opinion that all of the CSU’s should take UConn’s model of satellite schools and combine its budgets with Athletics to create one banner called “Connecticut State Univerity”

CSU - North Campus (ECSU)
CSU - South Campus (SCSU)
CSU - West Campus (WestConn)
CSU - Main Campus (CCSU)

It would compete with UConn alumni, play games at the Rent, increase athletic budget, and stay D1. Twenty years of this could really benefit the state and may create some buzz and rivalry with UConn. Similar to Michigan/Michigan State.

With the amount of students in the CSU system I bet they could even jump to FBS. Albeit, this will never happen. UConn is just too big of a National brand. The state likely wouldn’t allow it.
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Eastern has a reasonably successful D3 program. So they would give that up, there would be no athletics on campus, and the students would support a D1 program an hour away in New Britain?

This is, um, not a good idea.
 
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Vowelguy said:
Eastern has a reasonably successful D3 program. So they would give that up, there would be no athletics on campus, and the students would support a D1 program an hour away in New Britain?

This is, um, not a good idea.
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That’s why I said it’s an unpopular opinion.

To be fair, UConn Stamford is about two hours away and they support UConn (Storrs) athletics.
 
CCSU97 said:
Exactly. The State of Connecticut has put all its eggs in one basket (UConn) at the expense of any other school (Central). It doesn't help that UConn alumni and supporters in the legislature and State Government have done everything to keep the State University system as the underfunded, weak stepchild.

Yet other States are able to see the benefit of building multiple strong, public educations systems. New Jersey has Rowan as a alternative to Rutgers; Maryland has Towson and UMBC, as alternatives to UMd at College Park.

UConn would always remain the flagship research university, with medical and law schools - but why isn't there room for another quality university in this state?

It is disappointing, but not surprising, that Connecticut has never invested properly in a PREMIRE, regional, comprehensive university for fear of taking anything away from UConn.

Oh well .. that ship sailed years ago and their is no indications that the State will ever invest in higher education outside of UConn.
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I think we should try to bring Athletics back to UConn branches. UMass branches has Athletics teams, besides the Pointers of UCAP, any other branches have teams? What about ECSU, SCSU, CCSU and WCSU?
 
shizzle787 said:
This may not be a popular opinion: the CSU’s should all be Division 3. We are a small state. You can’t divert resources too much if you want your flagship to excel. The main role of universities is to educate. UConn needs athletics to be competitive in the race for students vs. other state flagships and top-tier privates: the CSU’s dont. The vast majority of kids that go to state schools don’t go because of sports; they go because it’s local. At CCSU, a lot of students are adults who are in their 20s and 30s. They don’t care about Central sports.
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I doubt when Goodwin merged UBridgeport that they took the sports teams. I guess UB Athletics is defunct.
 
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Exciting day to be a Seawolf! Like I said - I think Stony Brook University has a ton of potential. It already has a strong academic foundation, now its time to continue catching up in the athletic side of things (We were 80 years late to the party)

Go Seawolves!!!
 
North to South:
Northeastern, Stony Brook, Hofstra, Monmouth, Drexel, Delaware
Towson, Wm & Mary, Hampton, Elon, UNC Wilm, Charleston

There's still a decent geographic gap between Towson and William & Mary. They should add something in between OR add two more southern teams so they can move Towson to a northern division.
 
Vowelguy said:
North to South:
Northeastern, Stony Brook, Hofstra, Monmouth, Drexel, Delaware
Towson, Wm & Mary, Hampton, Elon, UNC Wilm, Charleston

There's still a decent geographic gap between Towson and William & Mary. They should add something in between OR add two more southern teams so they can move Towson to a northern division.
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It seems there are a few other decent candidates from Hampton's Big South Conference. Why not NC A&T SU?

edit: Too close to Elon.
 
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Austin316 said:
Bummer for CCSU. Hopefully the AE comes calling.
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It would not surprise me if CCSU gets an invite from the AE at some point. The AE recently took in NJIT, a school that had a difficult time getting a Division 1 conference invite for a few years. NJIT ended up in the Atlantic Sun for a few years until the AE came calling. Seeing as the AE is primarily composed of public schools at this point, and that Hartford will be leaving the AE, it would seem that a natural replacement would be Central. Of course, the biggest question at that point will be what to with CCSU's football program.
 
dbmill said:
It would not surprise me if CCSU gets an invite from the AE at some point. The AE recently took in NJIT, a school that had a difficult time getting a Division 1 conference invite for a few years. NJIT ended up in the Atlantic Sun for a few years until the AE came calling. Seeing as the AE is primarily composed of public schools at this point, and that Hartford will be leaving the AE, it would seem that a natural replacement would be Central. Of course, the biggest question at that point will be what to with CCSU's football program.
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So I just looked it up. Maine and URI are in the CAA for football but AE and A10 for hoops. Maybe CCSU can pull the same treatment.

Or the CAA goes fbs . . .
 
Kolumbo said:
So I just looked it up. Maine and URI are in the CAA for football but AE and A10 for hoops. Maybe CCSU can pull the same treatment.

Or the CAA goes fbs . . .
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CCSU would get destroyed in the CAA. Like UConn v Clemson.
 
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shizzle787 said:
According to realignmentologist Matt Brown, the AE doesn't want CCSU.
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Central faces serious challenges to get an invite. At $17+ M, the CCSU budget is bigger than many others candidates like NJIT, Delaware State, Merrimack, etc. but most of our fiscal resources are tied up in salaries and scholarships - very little for recruiting and other operations.

Mostly unfair, but with some truth behind every issue, CCSU has a stigma of poor Presidential leadership, crushing State bureaucracy, dated facilities, and pedestrian academics. Out football program is on the rise and has full FCS equivalencies, but is too far behind in resources to be a CAA peer.

We generally have great coaches and programs (WSoccer, Track, MBB, Baseball, etc) at this level and perfect geography, but that might be enough. ☹️

Just a few more million ($20m/yr) and some real Administrative/Political support and maybe something good happened, but I'm not holding my breath. Would love for our Governor to show CCSU just a portion of the public and political support he provides to UConn athletics.

Right now this is just banging my head against a brick wall.
 
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