This Is, Bar-None, THE Dumbest Conference Move Yet

[zls44]

This is a real thing that was announced yesterday.

Maine! New Hampshire!


Pacific!

 

[Fishy]

Nah.

 

[noeynox]

Every time someone says a coast to coast conference would be killer on travel costs, I think about the pioner conference. Wasn't Sacred Heart in that for a while?

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Field Hockey is concentrated on the East Coast from about North Carolina up to Boston and a dash out in the Midwest around Detroit and Chicago. Thus, the West Coast teams will never have enough teams to support a league on their own. By forming a 4 team pod, each school only has to make 1 or 2 trips to the other coast a year and that cuts down on travel costs and time away from class (important for non revenue sports). By the looks of it, the 4 West Coast schools are also within reasonable reach by bus of each other. Sort of the same for the East Coast pod, except that U Albany to U Maine is a haul, 6 hours. Overall, not a bad solution to a tough situation. Only other solution would be for the West Coast teams to drop Field Hockey; but, that my raise Title IX issues for them.

 

[whaler11]

Every time someone says a coast to coast conference would be killer on travel costs, I think about the pioner conference. Wasn't Sacred Heart in that for a while?

The NEC used to play a 'bowl' game against the Pioneer champion I think. They may have been in the Pioneer a while back but they have been in the NEC for a while.

 

[noeynox]

Thanks. I think the idea of the pioneer conference could exist as an FCS conference for football and not break the travel budget of the schools in the conference shows it can be done on the FBS level with the right schools. I know conference USA tried it, but I'm thinking more along the lines of UConn, BYU, San Diego State, UNLV, Temple, Cincinnati, East Carolina others as well.

I know what makes it impossible is the Olympic sports.

 

[whaler11]

Thanks. I think the idea of the pioneer conference could exist as an FCS conference for football and not break the travel budget of the schools in the conference shows it can be done on the FBS level with the right schools. I know conference USA tried it, but I'm thinking more along the lines of UConn, BYU, San Diego State, UNLV, Temple, Cincinnati, East Carolina others as well.

I know what makes it impossible is the Olympic sports.

It's really only San Diego who travels that much.

They are also all private schools except Morehead who is dead in the middle.

 

[B1GOSU]

Why is it a dumb move? America East needed to add at least one school to maintain its automatic birth in the ncaa field hockey tournament. They could have added a crappy eastern school or thought outside the box and add the 4 elite west coast schools, create 2 divisions and play only two west coast games a year. Creative scheduling would allow both west coast games to be played on one road trip if the travel is too much for two trips. It's only a two year agreement right now, so they can try it and see if it works.

The 4 California schools were in a conference with Liberty and Appalachian State, so those schools are homeless now and will be seaking a conference.

In other Olympic sport realignment news, Air Force men's lacrosse will join the Southern Conference in 2016 after being homeless this coming season.

Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse is now the only lacrosse team currently without a home. I think they end up in the B1G sooner rather than later.

 

[zls44]

Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse is now the only lacrosse team currently without a home. I think they end up in the B1G sooner rather than later.

isn't the JHU men's team joining B1G?

 

[dayooper]

isn't the JHU men's team joining B1G?

Yes

 

[Stinger92860]

This experiment may become the reality if the p5/4 lock everyone out. Separate conferences for high profile sports may become the norm. All other programs would land in a desirable geography to control costs. Using this approach you can create sport specific organizations that may be able to compete on the field or court with the p5. Still becomes a money problem, but there could be more dollars for p6 in football and basketball. I would consider HE and our hockey team a similar experiment. We could easily be in a football league with pacific coast schools if it's only in one sport.

 

[Vowelguy]

Seems like a good move to me. Maintain auto bid. The kids get 1 trip to the west coast every year, which would seem a good/fun selling point to recruits.

Heck, if the schools have a NoCal alumni association, this would be a good outing.