Post by vabigpoppa on Apr 13, 2012 11:24:15 GMT -5
not much a surprise, but hopefully Penny & Lineburg are actually making an effort behind the scenes rather than just being content in the Big South.
www.roanoke.com/sports/college/wb/307409
Radford, VMI not on CAA's radar for expansion
ODU's athletic director says discussions focus on six to 12 other potential membership candidates.
By Mark Berman
The Colonial Athletic Association has a vacancy, but don't look for VMI or Radford to knock on the league's door.
And don't expect the CAA to ring either school's doorbell.
Georgia State announced Monday it will leave the Colonial after the 2012-13 school year so it can join the Sun Belt Conference and move up to FBS football.
Radford, which does not have football, and VMI are members of the Big South. But the CAA offers plenty of intrastate rivals and a higher quality of both men's basketball and FCS football.
James Madison, Old Dominion and William and Mary belong to the CAA for all sports, while Virginia Commonwealth and George Mason are non-football members and Richmond is a football-only member.
"There would be a lot of people that would say that would be a good fit for us," VMI athletic director Donny White said. "But we would need to hit the lottery to be able to do that.
"It would probably be hard for us resource-wise to be a member of the Colonial in basketball."
VMI basketball coach Duggar Baucom reaped $135,000 in total pay this year and will get a raise of less than $10,000 next season. By comparison, VCU men's basketball coach Shaka Smart earned $1.2 million in total pay this year - one season after steering the Rams to the 2011 Final Four.
VCU has a men's basketball budget of about $3 million for this school year, excluding scholarships but including all other items, such as coaches' salaries and the recruiting budget. But VMI's budget for men's basketball is just $480,000, excluding scholarships but including all other expenses.
"The Colonial is quite a bit different from the Big South in terms of basketball and the resources used to support their basketball coaches," White said. "We're not anywhere near in that ballpark.
"I'm happy in the Big South."
White said VMI, which has one of the smallest enrollments in Division I, ranks in the middle to lower half of the Big South when it comes to the pay of the basketball coaching staff.
Radford athletic director Robert Lineburg also is not rushing to lobby the CAA for membership.
"The Big South is a good fit for Radford," Lineburg said. "We haven't had any discussions otherwise."
Lineburg said he can't imagine the CAA would look at a non-football school such as RU to replace Georgia State.
Georgia State, which became a CAA member in 2005, added football in 2010. The Atlanta school will play CAA football games for the first and now only time this year.
If it does not replace Georgia State, the Colonial will be down to nine football schools for the 2013 season and will be down to 11 schools for the 2013-14 basketball season.
"This might put some things in action, might force the CAA into more of an aggressive posture," ODU athletic director Wood Selig said. "But the numbers are not scary. Nine is probably your ideal football number."
The CAA would be down to nine because it is not only losing Georgia State but also two other teams. Football-only member Massachusetts is moving up to the FBS level to play Mid-American Conference football this year. Football-only member Rhode Island will become a football-only member of the Northeast Conference in 2013.
The CAA could decide that nine football members would be fine and instead replace Georgia State with a school that doesn't have scholarship football but does boast a very good men's basketball program - Southern Conference power Davidson, for example.
Or the CAA could replace Georgia State with a school that has both football and basketball - Big South member Coastal Carolina, for example. Or Stony Brook, a Long Island, N.Y., school which belongs to the Big South for football and the America East for basketball. Charlotte, an Atlantic 10 school that plans to add FCS football in 2013, might also fit the bill.
The CAA might also decide to add two schools and, for example, bring in Stony Brook as a football-only member and add Davidson for basketball and other sports.
Big South commissioner Kyle Kallander said he is not worried about losing a school to the CAA.
Neither VMI, which hasn't had a winning football season since 1981, nor Radford, is on the CAA's expansion radar.
"We already have within the CAA basically a membership committee to study and evaluate potential future members," Selig said. "Those institutions have not been in any of our conversations to this point for CAA membership â? in recent months.
"We've had conversations about anywhere from six to 12 potential candidates, but those particular â? institutions have not been part of that mix."
In February, the Colonial struck a deal with the NBC Sports Network to put football and men's basketball games on the national cable channel beginning in the 2012-13 school year.
So it doesn't make much television sense for the CAA to add yet another Virginia school.
"Whatever we may be thinking, we should certainly consult and communicate with NBC," Selig said.
www.roanoke.com/sports/college/wb/307409
Radford, VMI not on CAA's radar for expansion
ODU's athletic director says discussions focus on six to 12 other potential membership candidates.
By Mark Berman
The Colonial Athletic Association has a vacancy, but don't look for VMI or Radford to knock on the league's door.
And don't expect the CAA to ring either school's doorbell.
Georgia State announced Monday it will leave the Colonial after the 2012-13 school year so it can join the Sun Belt Conference and move up to FBS football.
Radford, which does not have football, and VMI are members of the Big South. But the CAA offers plenty of intrastate rivals and a higher quality of both men's basketball and FCS football.
James Madison, Old Dominion and William and Mary belong to the CAA for all sports, while Virginia Commonwealth and George Mason are non-football members and Richmond is a football-only member.
"There would be a lot of people that would say that would be a good fit for us," VMI athletic director Donny White said. "But we would need to hit the lottery to be able to do that.
"It would probably be hard for us resource-wise to be a member of the Colonial in basketball."
VMI basketball coach Duggar Baucom reaped $135,000 in total pay this year and will get a raise of less than $10,000 next season. By comparison, VCU men's basketball coach Shaka Smart earned $1.2 million in total pay this year - one season after steering the Rams to the 2011 Final Four.
VCU has a men's basketball budget of about $3 million for this school year, excluding scholarships but including all other items, such as coaches' salaries and the recruiting budget. But VMI's budget for men's basketball is just $480,000, excluding scholarships but including all other expenses.
"The Colonial is quite a bit different from the Big South in terms of basketball and the resources used to support their basketball coaches," White said. "We're not anywhere near in that ballpark.
"I'm happy in the Big South."
White said VMI, which has one of the smallest enrollments in Division I, ranks in the middle to lower half of the Big South when it comes to the pay of the basketball coaching staff.
Radford athletic director Robert Lineburg also is not rushing to lobby the CAA for membership.
"The Big South is a good fit for Radford," Lineburg said. "We haven't had any discussions otherwise."
Lineburg said he can't imagine the CAA would look at a non-football school such as RU to replace Georgia State.
Georgia State, which became a CAA member in 2005, added football in 2010. The Atlanta school will play CAA football games for the first and now only time this year.
If it does not replace Georgia State, the Colonial will be down to nine football schools for the 2013 season and will be down to 11 schools for the 2013-14 basketball season.
"This might put some things in action, might force the CAA into more of an aggressive posture," ODU athletic director Wood Selig said. "But the numbers are not scary. Nine is probably your ideal football number."
The CAA would be down to nine because it is not only losing Georgia State but also two other teams. Football-only member Massachusetts is moving up to the FBS level to play Mid-American Conference football this year. Football-only member Rhode Island will become a football-only member of the Northeast Conference in 2013.
The CAA could decide that nine football members would be fine and instead replace Georgia State with a school that doesn't have scholarship football but does boast a very good men's basketball program - Southern Conference power Davidson, for example.
Or the CAA could replace Georgia State with a school that has both football and basketball - Big South member Coastal Carolina, for example. Or Stony Brook, a Long Island, N.Y., school which belongs to the Big South for football and the America East for basketball. Charlotte, an Atlantic 10 school that plans to add FCS football in 2013, might also fit the bill.
The CAA might also decide to add two schools and, for example, bring in Stony Brook as a football-only member and add Davidson for basketball and other sports.
Big South commissioner Kyle Kallander said he is not worried about losing a school to the CAA.
Neither VMI, which hasn't had a winning football season since 1981, nor Radford, is on the CAA's expansion radar.
"We already have within the CAA basically a membership committee to study and evaluate potential future members," Selig said. "Those institutions have not been in any of our conversations to this point for CAA membership â? in recent months.
"We've had conversations about anywhere from six to 12 potential candidates, but those particular â? institutions have not been part of that mix."
In February, the Colonial struck a deal with the NBC Sports Network to put football and men's basketball games on the national cable channel beginning in the 2012-13 school year.
So it doesn't make much television sense for the CAA to add yet another Virginia school.
"Whatever we may be thinking, we should certainly consult and communicate with NBC," Selig said.