In some non-political (kinda) news, onto sports!
George Mason, a founding member of the Colonial Athletic Conference, announced that after 28 years of membership, it is leaving for the greener pastures of the Atlantic-10 conference, joining the two other Virginia schools, Virginia Commonwealth and Richmond, and setting up a NoVa/DC rivalry with George Washington. A-10 needed schools to replace Xavier and Butler, who are leaving to join the ‘Catholic 7’, likely to be called the Big East.
This follows a certain founder of Bearing Drift’s alma mater, Old Dominion, in announcing that they were leaving the CAA for full Division 1-A membership in Conference USA. This leaves James Madison as the sole Virginia member and William & Mary as the only Virginia schools left in the CAA, which was once almost entirely a Virginia conference.
Where does this leave JMU? Newly inaugurated President Jonathan Alger and Athletic Director Jeff Bourne released a statement today (full below) that essentially says, we’re exploring our options. More notably is the lack of commitment to the CAA that was seen last year with the departures of VCU and ODU from the CAA.
More upheaval may be in the works within the ACC, with rumors persisting that UVA may be a target for further B1G 10 expansion.
Will Virginia politicians get involved in the process, as we saw with the ACC going after everyone BUT Virginia Tech, leading then-Governor Warner to step in to essentially force UVA to demand VT be included. With lower tier divisions this may not be in play…yet.
Full JMU statement:
In speaking for the institution and many of our fans, we are extremely disappointed in this decision, as GMU, a founding member of the CAA, represents the key characteristics by which we judge our own conference affiliation.
This news comes at a time when instability and movement within conference membership continues across the country. The immediate strategy by the conference involves the CAA continuing to look at potential new members, a process that began earlier this year with the addition of the College of Charleston.
From our internal athletics perspective, we are actively engaged in a strategic planning process as a component of the University’s Madison Future Commission. In pursuing this plan, we are working with Carr Sports Consulting to assist us in establishing a comprehensive strategic plan that addresses all of our programs and long-term actions. While this process is set to conclude this summer, our planning is fluid and will help position and prepare us for important long-term decisions that are in the best interest of our student-athletes, coaches and the institution.
We look forward to working with our many constituents, both on campus, and around the country, in developing and sharing a strategic plan which positions our institution for long-term success.
