New A10 - URI Basketball's Conference Future

wakefield · Unread post by **wakefield** » 11 years ago

"While it appears that McGlade is done adding schools, there have been reports that the league has also informally gauged interest of MAAC member Siena."

http://collegechalktalk.com/?p=6898 4/15

neil · Unread post by **neil** » 11 years ago

I like Davidson as a choice. It has a great tradition of winning and going to tournaments. I don't think it would be a step backwards. Actually, the Rams played Davidson in the Ncaa back in '65. We got trounced!

NJRhodyFan · Unread post by **NJRhodyFan** » 11 years ago

neil wrote:I like Davidson as a choice. It has a great tradition of winning and going to tournaments. I don't think it would be a step backwards. Actually, the Rams played Davidson in the Ncaa back in '65. We got trounced!

I agree. I'm not sure why the majority of posters on here appear to be against the addition of Davidson. They're a solid program, with multiple NCAA tournament appearances in the past few years. Again, we could do much worse.

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 11 years ago

Agree also, love the addition of Davidson especially with their recent run of success

BFC · Unread post by **BFC** » 11 years ago

NJRhodyFan wrote:Again, we could do much worse.

New motto for the A-10?

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 11 years ago

Is adding Davidson for 2014 official? Haven't heard a peep about it. I thought the A10 was waiting on the Davidson BOG's to vote on it. That was weeks ago.

Anything?

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 11 years ago

Yeah, not another outlet came out with more Davidson news. I question it myself.

twisted3829 · Unread post by **twisted3829** » 11 years ago

some people have wondered on the A10 board if it was kind of a sh!t or get off the pot type of situation

wakefield · Unread post by **wakefield** » 11 years ago

wow, no new news on Davidson joining the A10. I think if they do not join the A10 this is good news because they have peaked and are to far away. I would rather have Siena and might want to take a look at Towson (new arena). I can not think of any teams in CT, MA, and NJ. I would put Hofstra, Delaware, Towson and CofC on my B list.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 11 years ago

Right, agreed with wakefield and twisted. Davidson does have a tradition of winning, but it's in one of the lowest D1 conferences. It's also one of the smallest schools.

The department-wide upgrades necessary for Davidson to compete in A10 hoop and all other sports are very substantial.

To me, the jump looks to be too big compared to a school like Butler or Siena or VCU where they were in a middle-of-the-pack conference and had the facilities to 'fit in' to the A10.

I'm not completely against Davidson, but there's no rush, in my opinion, to add teams in haste. There's no need for an even # of A10 schools. I'd even prefer an arrangement where we eliminate some low end performers before we add more middling, unproven programs (at this higher competition level).

wakefield · Unread post by **wakefield** » 11 years ago

Rumor is Davidson has said no to the A10....

davcats92 wrote:

Dan the Tuba Man'15 wrote:
To get back to the original topic.-I was informed by a current athlete here that the move to the A-10 has been shot down somewhere along the way up the administration. Was not mentioned where or why it got shot down, but according to at least one athlete they were told we are not going to be making the move.

I had an athlete tell me the exact opposite thing today haha.

Rhodymob05 · Unread post by **Rhodymob05** » 11 years ago

It's all about name recognition. Davidson >>>>>>col of c or Towson

ramfan85 · Unread post by **ramfan85** » 11 years ago

If they come, fine. If they don't, fine. I wouldn't ask them twice.

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 11 years ago

yeah screw them if they don't want us

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

Bill Koch ‏@BillKoch25 2m
RT @SIPeteThamel Good times for Davidson. @StephenCurry30 on @Sinow cover and school will officially announce move to Atlantic 10 tomorrow.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 11 years ago

I wish Steph still played for them.

I honestly have no feeling one way or the other about the Davidson addition. They're a team I always pull for a little, based mainly on that tournament run with Curry, but I'm pretty neutral on this.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

OT, but Curry is amazing!
He's not only, "The best shooter in the world",
per Shaq and company on TBS, but he's a dribbling magician,
who can make his own shots, and score on drives and floaters.
Hell of a passer, too.
Just so much fun to watch.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 11 years ago

I love Seth, too- the guy couldn't even practice much this past season but played every game but one and contributed big time.

Unread post by **SGreenwell** » 11 years ago

Others have said it, but Curry's dribbling is the difference between him and a guy like Miller. People bring up Allen as well, since for the past five years or so he's been mostly a spot-up shooter, but he was more of a creator earlier in his career. He just did it in relative obscurity, since (I think) he started out for the Bucks, no?

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 11 years ago

Bill Koch has posted a string of Davidson related tweets this afternoon:

Sweep The Leg · Unread post by **Sweep The Leg** » 11 years ago

ace wrote:I wish Steph still played for them.

I honestly have no feeling one way or the other about the Davidson addition. They're a team I always pull for a little, based mainly on that tournament run with Curry, but I'm pretty neutral on this.

Seeing that I may be living in Charlotte this time next year, I'm happy with this addition.

BFC · Unread post by **BFC** » 11 years ago

If Davidson said no, were they going to invite Wofford?

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

Ray Allen was a driver at UConn, more than a pure shooter.
Only the past few years has he become a catch and shoot guy.
Playing in Seattle didn't help his profile in his prime.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 11 years ago

If Davidson joins the A-10 as is being reported, will they account for one of the guaranteed charter flights per Hurley's new contract every other year?

I really don't like that this conference has become somewhat southern dominated. Not one northern school has been added since Fordham and LaSalle in 1995. Since then the conference went westward (which looks to have failed with departures) and south. In two years time, the league may well be 12 teams (assuming SLU and Dayton go to the Catholic Big East) with nearly half the members below the Mason-Dixon line (DC, UR, VCU, GMU, and GW).

Many A-10 teams will soon have the built in advantage of teams close by and be able to bus many of their athletic programs. Their travel budgets will be less and missed class time for athletes will be reduced. URI, as a geographic outlier will not have such benefits. Adding a northern school such as Siena would have partially mitigated things for URI.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 11 years ago

Well, if no one else leaves the A10 will have 14 schools in 2014-15.

What next? A couple leave [for the BE most likely] back to 12. High probability.

Stay put at 14. No more defections. Low probability.

Add 2 more to get back to 16, or even 14 again. Likely.

Somehow I doubt the A10 will stay at 14, one way or the other. They aren't done adding more. Siena might be, and should be, next.

Another year or two of uncertainty ahead.

I'm also going to guess that the A10 will soon increase their exit fees, another couple of million dollars or so. Make it much tougher to leave, unless it's the BE and their money. At least no other mid major conference would be able to raid the A10 in the future.

Gonebarongone · Unread post by **Gonebarongone** » 11 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Ray Allen was a driver at UConn, more than a pure shooter.
Only the past few years has he become a catch and shoot guy.
Playing in Seattle didn't help his profile in his prime.

Ray Allen attempted more threes per game (and per minute played) in Seattle and Milwaukee, for that matter, than he ever did in Boston. Guy led the league in three point attempts in Seattle. And took 250 threes his last year at UConn. That's 8 or so every game. He may have lost whatever ability to drive he had later on as all older players do but the guy was a catch and shoot scorer his entire career. At his best he probably wasn't making more than 3-5 free throw a game which means he was not a driver. Nothing wrong with that.

ncram · Unread post by **ncram** » 11 years ago

https://twitter.com/BillKoch25/status/3 ... 6068698112

This is GREAT news for us alumni in the Charlotte area. With UNCC leaving the A-10, this gives us another opportunity to attend Rhody games in the local area. Davidson just happens to be ~6 miles from my house!!

URI96 · Unread post by **URI96** » 11 years ago

RF1 wrote:If Davidson joins the A-10 as is being reported, will they account for one of the guaranteed charter flights per Hurley's new contract every other year?

I really don't like that this conference has become somewhat southern dominated. Not one northern school has been added since Fordham and LaSalle in 1995. Since then the conference went westward (which looks to have failed with departures) and south. In two years time, the league may well be 12 teams (assuming SLU and Dayton go to the Catholic Big East) with nearly half the members below the Mason-Dixon line (DC, UR, VCU, GMU, and GW).

Many A-10 teams will soon have the built in advantage of teams close by and be able to bus many of their athletic programs. Their travel budgets will be less and missed class time for athletes will be reduced. URI, as a geographic outlier will not have such benefits. Adding a northern school such as Siena would have partially mitigated things for URI.

Remember there aren't a lot of strong northern schools to choose from. That said I would have preferred Siena to Davidson.

ncram · Unread post by **ncram** » 11 years ago

Davidson to Join Atlantic 10 for 2014-2015 Season

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports. ... 15-season/

bressler3south · Unread post by **bressler3south** » 11 years ago

This is a good move by the A-10 and a smart move by Davidson. A great academic institution, a coach who has a national reputation as knowledgeable, runs a clean program, and gets the most out of his players. Brad Stevens before Brad Stevens. This certainly broadens their recruiting-base. This is good news.

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 11 years ago

Agreed good move

neil · Unread post by **neil** » 11 years ago

Davidson has a 6000 seat arena, and averaged 4000 per game last year. Being partly sunny, their student enrollment is only 1800. I'm going to give a thumbs up on this one. For years, Davidson has been known to have a quality program. Good decision by the a-10.

BFC · Unread post by **BFC** » 11 years ago

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketb ... ts-2014-15

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 11 years ago

neil wrote:Davidson has a 6000 seat arena, and averaged 4000 per game last year. Being partly sunny, their student enrollment is only 1800. I'm going to give a thumbs up on this one. For years, Davidson has been known to have a quality program. Good decision by the a-10.

If average attendance and arena capacity were the sole determining factors, Siena would have been a better choice for the A-10 as they drew 6,361 for one of their worst teams in years and play in an arena that seats up to 14,500 per configuration. Furthermore, Siena is the dominant sports program (pro or college) in a fairly large metro area (Albany). While Charlotte may be a much larger market, Davidson is some 20 miles outside the city in a small town and is an afterthought to the sports fans given the abundence of pro teams and higher profile college teams that dominate the market.

Davidson College Wildcats
School: Private (loose affiliation with the Presbyterian Church)
Campus: Davidson, NC
Distance to Barclays Arena-Brooklyn 620 miles
Enrollment: 1,756 Undergraduates
Market: Davidson, NC pop-10,944 - 20 miles north of Charlotte (Charlotte MSA: 1,758,038 - 33rd nationally)
Home: 5,223 seat Belk Arena (on campus)
2012-13 Attendance: averaged 3,941 for 13 games (for 26-8 team)
NCAA Appearances: 12 - 1966, 1968 1969, 1970, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, and 2013
NCAA Record: 8-13
Notable NCAA Wins: Rhode Island-1966, St. John’s-1968 & 1969, Villanova-1969, Gonzaga-2008, Georgetown-2008, Wisconsin-2008
NIT Appearances: 5 – 1972, 1994, 1996, 2005, 2009
NIT Record: 3-5
Notable NIT Wins: VCU-2005
Notable Coaches: Bob McKillop, Lefty Driesell, Terry Holland

Siena College Saints
School: Private-Catholic
Campus: Loudonville, NY (just outside Albany)
Distance to Barclays Arena-Brooklyn 160 miles
Enrollment: 3,390 Undergraduates
Market: Albany MSA-870,716 (4th largest urban area in New York State and the 58th nationally)
Home: 14,500 seat Times Union Center in downtown Albany (all home games off campus)
2012-13 Attendance: averaged 6,361 for 14 games (for an 8-24 team)
(averaged 7,853 in 2009-10 season when team went 27-7 and was in NCAA)
Division 1: started play in 1976
NCAA Appearances: 6 - 1989, 1999, 2002, 2008, 2009 and 2010
NCAA Record: 4-6
Notable NCAA Wins: Stanford-1989, Vanderbilt-2008, Ohio State-2009
NIT Appearances: 5 - 1988, 1991, 1994, 2000, and 2003
NIT Record: 9-5
Notable NIT Wins: South Carolina-1990, UMass-1990 & 2000, Kansas State-1994, Ga Tech-1994, Tulane-1994, Bradley-1994, Villanova-2003
Coaches that moved on: Mike Deane-Marquette, Paul Hewitt-Ga Tech, Louis Orr-Seton Hall, Fran McCaffrey-Iowa

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 11 years ago

I do not like the continuing southward move of the A-10. Our new commissioner moved the league offices from Philly to the VA tidewater area. Invites were then extended to VCU, GMU, and now DC. The only bone thrown to the northern members was moving the tourney location to Brooklyn from Atlantic City. I wonder how long this will last as I would imagine the southern schools will start exerting their collective influence and campaing for a site closer to them (such as DC).

Rhody74 · Unread post by **Rhody74** » 11 years ago

The official word:

http://www.atlantic10.com/genrel/050813aab.html

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 11 years ago

From that Andy Katz article is additional detail about conference scheduling.

Andy Katz of ESPN.com wrote:McGlade said the A-10 will play a 16-game schedule with 13 teams next season and then the hope is to play 18 games as a 14-team league in 2014-15. Scheduling will be discussed at the league meetings on May 20 in Naples, Fla. McGlade said the A-10 wants to be in line with the high-profile leagues it is competing against that will all be playing 18 league games like the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, new Big East and likely the American Athletic Conference, too.

The A-10 will explore various scheduling models but McGlade said there are natural rivals in the 14-team A-10 with VCU-Richmond, George Mason-George Washington, Saint Joseph's-La Salle, UMass-Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure-Duquesne and Saint Louis-Dayton. Fordham and Davidson could be paired together (Davidson coach Bob McKillop is from New York and the Wildcats like to play games in the Northeast). But the A-10 could also look to form triangle combinations of scheduling, with Davidson figuring in with the two schools in Richmond or the D.C.-area while Fordham could be paired with UMass-URI.

URI_05 · Unread post by **URI_05** » 11 years ago

RF1 wrote:
neil wrote:Davidson has a 6000 seat arena, and averaged 4000 per game last year. Being partly sunny, their student enrollment is only 1800. I'm going to give a thumbs up on this one. For years, Davidson has been known to have a quality program. Good decision by the a-10.

If average attendance and arena capacity were the sole determining factors, Siena would have been a better choice for the A-10 as they drew 6,361 for one of their worst teams in years and play in an arena that seats up to 14,500 per configuration. Furthermore, Siena is the dominant sports program (pro or college) in a fairly large metro area (Albany). While Charlotte may be a much larger market, Davidson is some 20 miles outside the city in a small town and is an afterthought to the sports fans given the abundence of pro teams and higher profile college teams that dominate the market.

Davidson College Wildcats
School: Private (loose affiliation with the Presbyterian Church)
Campus: Davidson, NC
Distance to Barclays Arena-Brooklyn 620 miles
Enrollment: 1,756 Undergraduates
Market: Davidson, NC pop-10,944 - 20 miles north of Charlotte (Charlotte MSA: 1,758,038 - 33rd nationally)
Home: 5,223 seat Belk Arena (on campus)
2012-13 Attendance: averaged 3,941 for 13 games (for 26-8 team)
NCAA Appearances: 12 - 1966, 1968 1969, 1970, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, and 2013
NCAA Record: 8-13
Notable NCAA Wins: Rhode Island-1966, St. John’s-1968 & 1969, Villanova-1969, Gonzaga-2008, Georgetown-2008, Wisconsin-2008
NIT Appearances: 5 – 1972, 1994, 1996, 2005, 2009
NIT Record: 3-5
Notable NIT Wins: VCU-2005
Notable Coaches: Bob McKillop, Lefty Driesell, Terry Holland

Siena College Saints
School: Private-Catholic
Campus: Loudonville, NY (just outside Albany)
Distance to Barclays Arena-Brooklyn 160 miles
Enrollment: 3,390 Undergraduates
Market: Albany MSA-870,716 (4th largest urban area in New York State and the 58th nationally)
Home: 14,500 seat Times Union Center in downtown Albany (all home games off campus)
2012-13 Attendance: averaged 6,361 for 14 games (for an 8-24 team)
(averaged 7,853 in 2009-10 season when team went 27-7 and was in NCAA)
Division 1: started play in 1976
NCAA Appearances: 6 - 1989, 1999, 2002, 2008, 2009 and 2010
NCAA Record: 4-6
Notable NCAA Wins: Stanford-1989, Vanderbilt-2008, Ohio State-2009
NIT Appearances: 5 - 1988, 1991, 1994, 2000, and 2003
NIT Record: 9-5
Notable NIT Wins: South Carolina-1990, UMass-1990 & 2000, Kansas State-1994, Ga Tech-1994, Tulane-1994, Bradley-1994, Villanova-2003
Coaches that moved on: Mike Deane-Marquette, Paul Hewitt-Ga Tech, Louis Orr-Seton Hall, Fran McCaffrey-Iowa

I like most of your posts, but you're starting to venture into Muddy Waters territory...

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 11 years ago

URI_05 wrote:I like most of your posts, but you're starting to venture into Muddy Waters territory...

Uh oh. I dunno if I'd go that far. We have certainly seen this argument from RF1 on this topic previously. I, for the record, would have liked to see a Northern addition before Davidson, but perhaps it's in the works.

Rhode_Island_Red · Unread post by **Rhode_Island_Red** » 11 years ago

Ramblinrose wrote:Conferences named Atlantic This is or Eastern That are outmoded in title. Everyone is scrambling now. Saint Louis will go next year, Dayton if it is invited.

We should change the name of the league to "Big World" and be done with it.

Bonus points if you get the reference.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 11 years ago

Rhode_Island_Red wrote:
Ramblinrose wrote:Conferences named Atlantic This is or Eastern That are outmoded in title. Everyone is scrambling now. Saint Louis will go next year, Dayton if it is invited.
We should change the name of the league to "Big World" and be done with it.

Bonus points if you get the reference.

The only Big World I know played some pretty good music

Rhode_Island_Red · Unread post by **Rhode_Island_Red** » 11 years ago

theblueram wrote:
Rhode_Island_Red wrote:
Ramblinrose wrote:Conferences named Atlantic This is or Eastern That are outmoded in title. Everyone is scrambling now. Saint Louis will go next year, Dayton if it is invited.
We should change the name of the league to "Big World" and be done with it.

Bonus points if you get the reference.
The only Big World I know played some pretty good music

Ding-ding-ding-ding

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 11 years ago

Red
We may or may not know each other but we certainly chewed the same turf! TV Dinners tonight!

URI96 · Unread post by **URI96** » 11 years ago

URI_05 wrote:
RF1 wrote:
neil wrote:Davidson has a 6000 seat arena, and averaged 4000 per game last year. Being partly sunny, their student enrollment is only 1800. I'm going to give a thumbs up on this one. For years, Davidson has been known to have a quality program. Good decision by the a-10.

If average attendance and arena capacity were the sole determining factors, Siena would have been a better choice for the A-10 as they drew 6,361 for one of their worst teams in years and play in an arena that seats up to 14,500 per configuration. Furthermore, Siena is the dominant sports program (pro or college) in a fairly large metro area (Albany). While Charlotte may be a much larger market, Davidson is some 20 miles outside the city in a small town and is an afterthought to the sports fans given the abundence of pro teams and higher profile college teams that dominate the market.

Davidson College Wildcats
School: Private (loose affiliation with the Presbyterian Church)
Campus: Davidson, NC
Distance to Barclays Arena-Brooklyn 620 miles
Enrollment: 1,756 Undergraduates
Market: Davidson, NC pop-10,944 - 20 miles north of Charlotte (Charlotte MSA: 1,758,038 - 33rd nationally)
Home: 5,223 seat Belk Arena (on campus)
2012-13 Attendance: averaged 3,941 for 13 games (for 26-8 team)
NCAA Appearances: 12 - 1966, 1968 1969, 1970, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, and 2013
NCAA Record: 8-13
Notable NCAA Wins: Rhode Island-1966, St. John’s-1968 & 1969, Villanova-1969, Gonzaga-2008, Georgetown-2008, Wisconsin-2008
NIT Appearances: 5 – 1972, 1994, 1996, 2005, 2009
NIT Record: 3-5
Notable NIT Wins: VCU-2005
Notable Coaches: Bob McKillop, Lefty Driesell, Terry Holland

Siena College Saints
School: Private-Catholic
Campus: Loudonville, NY (just outside Albany)
Distance to Barclays Arena-Brooklyn 160 miles
Enrollment: 3,390 Undergraduates
Market: Albany MSA-870,716 (4th largest urban area in New York State and the 58th nationally)
Home: 14,500 seat Times Union Center in downtown Albany (all home games off campus)
2012-13 Attendance: averaged 6,361 for 14 games (for an 8-24 team)
(averaged 7,853 in 2009-10 season when team went 27-7 and was in NCAA)
Division 1: started play in 1976
NCAA Appearances: 6 - 1989, 1999, 2002, 2008, 2009 and 2010
NCAA Record: 4-6
Notable NCAA Wins: Stanford-1989, Vanderbilt-2008, Ohio State-2009
NIT Appearances: 5 - 1988, 1991, 1994, 2000, and 2003
NIT Record: 9-5
Notable NIT Wins: South Carolina-1990, UMass-1990 & 2000, Kansas State-1994, Ga Tech-1994, Tulane-1994, Bradley-1994, Villanova-2003
Coaches that moved on: Mike Deane-Marquette, Paul Hewitt-Ga Tech, Louis Orr-Seton Hall, Fran McCaffrey-Iowa
I like most of your posts, but you're starting to venture into Muddy Waters territory...

He's got the conference realignment blues.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 11 years ago

When McGlade says she hopes to have a 14 team conference in 2014-2015, that's all it is, hope.

If the BE decides to expand the year after next, St Louis is gone, along with possibly another A10 team, either Richmond or Dayton, unless they decide to add Siena.

So, as either a 12 or 14 team conference, how are we supposed to play 18 league games? It's an odd number. 13 would work, as URI could play 6 teams twice, and the other 6 once. Since the A10 is at 13 for next season, why don't they do that now?

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 11 years ago

There are no words to express how much I hate Siena and how happy I am that we took Davidson and not them.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

How does one "hate" Siena?
That's beyond strange.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 11 years ago

I went to grad school and worked in New York. Literally every person I ever met that went to Siena was stupid, although most Siena grads were too embarrassed to admit they went there. The school's reputation is beyond terrible. I guess it would be more accurate to say that I hate the idea of being associated with Siena in any way. Also, anyone who thinks Albany is a desirable market must not have ever been there. I won't even stop for gas within 30 miles of that hell hole.

NHRamFan · Unread post by **NHRamFan** » 11 years ago

How do you really feel?

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 11 years ago

Haha this has become a crusade for me at this point. If anyone here LOVES Siena, please know that I am 80% kidding. I do actually oppose inviting Siena, but I am also exaggerating my feelings about the school. I'm sure there are several decent, normal and intelligent people that have come out of Siena.