USC Upstate leaving the A-Sun for the Big South

[NowInStorrs]

USC Upstate moving to Big South Conference

Is this the big conference realignment news we've been waiting for?

 

[dbmill]

USC Upstate moving to Big South Conference

Is this the big conference realignment news we've been waiting for?

Well, it's big news for USC Upstate.

 

[shizzle787]

The Atlantic Sun will only have 8 schools (including a new d-2 call up). They are in some trouble.

 

[dbmill]

The Atlantic Sun will only have 8 schools (including a new d-2 call up). They are in some trouble.

I suspect that the Atlantic Sun will be ok, as this is the normal state of affairs for that conference. It always seems one of their schools is always moving on to another conference with a better profile. The Atlantic Sun will just find another school upgrading from DII to fill their ranks, or rarely a school moving in from independent status. It happens over and over with this conference. According to the Wikipedia Atlantic Sun page, I counted 23 Division I schools that used to be in the Atlantic Sun.

 

[shizzle787]

This is the normal state of affairs for the the Atlantic Sun. It always seems one of their schools is always moving on to another conference with a better profile. The Atlantic Sun will just find another school upgrading from DII to fill their ranks, or rarely a school moving in from independent status. It happens over and over with this conference. According to the Wikipedia Atlantic Sun page, I counted 23 Division I schools that used to be in the Atlantic Sun.

Yikes. It wouldn't suprise me if 2-3 conferences plan a mutual raid to take 5-6 teams (1-2 per) to get rid of the A-Sun. One less auto bid means one more "potential" mid-major at-large bid.

 

[dbmill]

Yikes. It wouldn't suprise me if 2-3 conferences plan a mutual raid to take 5-6 teams (1-2 per) to get rid of the A-Sun. One less auto bid means one more "potential" mid-major at-large bid.

Unlikely to happen. That would mean that other conferences really value Atlantic Sun schools collectively. They don't. The Atlantic Sun is at the bottom of the Division I barrel in the south. Their schools just don't have much in the way of sporting value. For instance, it was the only conference around that was willing to touch NJIT, a northeastern independent for years. It is also one of the few southern conferences that doesn't sponsor football, which lessens the allure for their teams, as most of them don't play scholarship football.

 

[shizzle787]

Unlikely to happen. That would mean that other conferences really value their schools collectively. They don't. The Atlantic Sun is at the bottom of the Division I barrel in the south.

True but there will be some moves possibly affecting the conferences right above the A-Sun in the pecking order, necessitating that they expand. There are rumors that both the Horizon and MVC want to expand and that could lead to a lot of reshuffling.

 

[whaler11]

Yikes. It wouldn't suprise me if 2-3 conferences plan a mutual raid to take 5-6 teams (1-2 per) to get rid of the A-Sun. One less auto bid means one more "potential" mid-major at-large bid.

Deep inside a volcanic mountain in the Pacific... The OVC, SoCon and Southland are meeting to divvy up Lipscomb, Stetson and North Florida..

They are doing this to create an at-large bid their conference will never earn at the expense of making it harder for themselves to win their conferences’ auto-bid.

This makes PERFECT sense.

 

[shizzle787]

Hampton to the Big South.

 

[UConnDan97]

Deep inside a volcanic mountain in the Pacific... The OVC, SoCon and Southland are meeting to divvy up Lipscomb, Stetson and North Florida.

^^^ This sentence is arguably a Top 40 funniest of all time statements on the Boneyard...

 

[dbmill]

Hampton to the Big South.

More on the Hampton University move to the Big South:

Hampton University is leaving the MEAC, joining the Big South

I believe Hampton is the first Historically Black College/University (HBCU) to leave either the MEAC and the SWAC (both conferences are composed entirely of HBCUs) for another NCAA Division I conference. Both the MEAC and the SWAC have had schools drop out of NCAA Division I, but generally, both conferences have had a very stable membership up until now.

With the addition of USC Upstate and Hampton, the Big South now has 12 member schools.

 

[Towney007]

Unlikely to happen. That would mean that other conferences really value Atlantic Sun schools collectively. They don't. The Atlantic Sun is at the bottom of the Division I barrel in the south. Their schools just don't have much in the way of sporting value.

Meh - their baseball is really good. That's about it.