The SoCon tourney is in Asheville this year. Great city, easy drive. Could make a weekend of it with a decent probability that we would play in two games at least.
Back to the CAA
- Thread starter Gospiders06
- Start date
Move forward by moving back is a good way of putting it. But our athletics department has already done this in other areas.
The specifically gave a reason at one of the open forums when we added Men's lacrosse was one of the reasons being that because only about 70 schools had a Men's lacrosse program at the time, it would be easier and quicker to compete on a national level with less competition. So yeah - I think the school would consider moving down a league if it meant we were top team in that league. CAA makes most sense - since football is already there, and CAA is expanding anyways.
But I don't see this happening in reality because of the optics. Going back to CAA after leaving it years ago? We will stay where we are - make the tourney every 5-7 years at best and become very similar to GW, LaSalle, UMASS, Bonnies in the A10 - good every once in a while, but for the most part - middle of the pack
Asheville is awesome. I would make that trip, plus you get the bonus of getting to watch us play more than once in a conference tournament.
While Asheville is a great place to visit and the eateries and breweries are top notch, I want no part of stepping backwards. We need to fix the real problem or based on current trajectory shut the whole thing down and save millions. Living in between sucks.
Agreed, but we aren't going to fix the problem so I the only other option is to change the conference so that we can be more successful. Our athletic department is great at redefining competing, so this should be an easy sell for them. I doubt any of the Mooney supporters will mind this either because they don't care about going to the NCAA or frankly athletics as a whole. They like having a nice pretty spokesperson who reflects well on the universities values.
My point is that I don't think we would be any more successful if we backed up in conference affiliation. This group of administrators doesn't have the ability. Lesser conferences attract lesser athletes. You still have to lead relative to the competition. Hardt, Mooney and company are a joke. As athletics go UR is becoming a joke.
The CAA conference tournament is in D.C. at that place we lose Christmas getaway games. SOCON it is.
8legs1dream
Graduate Assistant
The Patriot League does the higher seed hosts the game thing for their conference tournament. Imagine hosting the Patriot League final at a sold out Robins Center!
Increased ticket sales, baby. You know that is a key metric for success for our athletic department.
Another advantage is that the lower level conference tournaments start a week earlier. That means we get to see Mooney get knocked out in the quarterfinals a full week earlier. The sooner tournament basketball starts, the better. It will also give Mooney another full week to start recruiting those big time SoCon recruits before they get away to Mercer, Furman, and Western Carolina. Win, win.
Thought about creating a separate post but decided this was the better option.
It is a Hardt sighting and this interview is actually pretty good. 30 minutes total and I skipped most of the first part related to NIL.
Couple highlights:
-CAA is going to expand even more than the 3 previously announced teams - splitting into 2 divisions North and South is the goal.
-He also mentions So Co and lacrosse and it really sounds like the preferred path is to get A10 to add lax.
So everyone can focus back on getting a better Men’s basketball coach. Of course, Hardt doesn’t have any time for that because he is too busy managing NIL and three different conference affiliations.
richmondspiders.com
It is a Hardt sighting and this interview is actually pretty good. 30 minutes total and I skipped most of the first part related to NIL.
Couple highlights:
-CAA is going to expand even more than the 3 previously announced teams - splitting into 2 divisions North and South is the goal.
-He also mentions So Co and lacrosse and it really sounds like the preferred path is to get A10 to add lax.
So everyone can focus back on getting a better Men’s basketball coach. Of course, Hardt doesn’t have any time for that because he is too busy managing NIL and three different conference affiliations.
Spider Insight Podcast - February 10, 2022 - University of Richmond Athletics
2/10/2022: Spider Insight Podcast - February 10, 2022 - University of Richmond
richmondspiders.com
So....when you leave a conference, are you under contract to stay in it for X number of years or are you just in it for perpetuity?
I guess the CAA will be taking on VUU and VSU to replace JMU and help create the CAA South.Thought about creating a separate post but decided this was the better option.
It is a Hardt sighting and this interview is actually pretty good. 30 minutes total and I skipped most of the first part related to NIL.
Couple highlights:
-CAA is going to expand even more than the 3 previously announced teams - splitting into 2 divisions North and South is the goal.
-He also mentions So Co and lacrosse and it really sounds like the preferred path is to get A10 to add lax.
So everyone can focus back on getting a better Men’s basketball coach. Of course, Hardt doesn’t have any time for that because he is too busy managing NIL and three different conference affiliations.
Spider Insight Podcast - February 10, 2022 - University of Richmond Athletics
2/10/2022: Spider Insight Podcast - February 10, 2022 - University of Richmond
Dumbing down my previous post:
CHOICES
1. Fire Mooney
2. Join CAA or SOCON
pick one
CHOICES
1. Fire Mooney
2. Join CAA or SOCON
pick one
When we announce the big move down to the SoCon, can we also announce CM has been designated "coach for life" regardless of results since we already know his Spiders will always show up for games, compete, and look great in practice?
Didn’t SI have a couple of teams with work to do? I believe we were one of a few or maybe the only CAA team to get an at large birth. TheA10 has had dozens of multi bid years. Leaving the A10 because we won’t fire a very weak coach would be idiotic…
By the way is GM a favorite in their VCU game, it appears so on ESPN?
The transfer portal is going make lesser conferences irrelevant . The A10 needs to step it up and put us back in as the best midmajor league, asap
right now the MW and WCA are multi bid leagues
right now the MW and WCA are multi bid leagues
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Moderators, please lock this thread. No chance this happens so I’m not sure why we are even talking about it. Thanks!
8legs1dream
Graduate Assistant
I believe VCU and GM both pulled at-larges out of the CAA back during it's glory years.
I don't think you guys are thinking small enough. If you want to be a big fish in a small pond ... Big South.
8legs1dream
Graduate Assistant
don’t you guys realize that if we went to a lesser conference all budgets drop. In addition we recruit at a lower talent level.
We would be like the flip side of a hit record.
We would be like the flip side of a hit record.
At least our arena and practice facility wouldn’t magically disappear.
Sometimes the B side is better than the single
Paying a coach more money doesn’t make him a better coach.
Recruiting high level players that don’t commit to your program is not effective recruiting.
The facts are the current coaching staff is not a top tier A10 staff. If you want to keep the staff, the only way they are going to be successful is to put them on a lower level conference. It also saves the school money.
If the goal is to win the A10 conference, the coach and staff have to change.
If the goal is to finish in the middle of the conference and overpay your coach, no changes needed, which is what UR has done for at least the last 5 years.
It really is that simple.
Mooney v. McGeehan 2x per year. Sign me up.
Can’t imagine we can expect to compete with Longwood, though.
They have some absolute studs so I think would be pretty tough to compete with them.
Have we ever finished last in the A-10? Have we ever been suggested outside of this board as a
program that is out of place in the A-10?
What possible reason would it be beneficial for us to drop down to the CAA?
i think some of you aren’t thinking bit through.
Do you want to play VCU and St, Bonn, or do you want to play Hofstra and Drexel?
program that is out of place in the A-10?
What possible reason would it be beneficial for us to drop down to the CAA?
i think some of you aren’t thinking bit through.
Do you want to play VCU and St, Bonn, or do you want to play Hofstra and Drexel?
Who do we have a better chance of beating regularly? I think we all know the answer to that.
8legs1dream
Graduate Assistant
just another poster that would prefer to be a nobody in a "bigger conference" than actually winning and earning bids in a smaller conference
So, you want to be a big fish in a small pond?
Mooney aside, we have everything to be a top program, and you aren’t going to
do that in a 1 bid league.
It is not who WE the fans want to play, it is who the Administration wants to play.
The rational answer is NO - we will not drop down in leagues simply because that will look bad and even though we don't make the NCAA tourney - we reap the benefits when other A10 teams do. And more A10 teams make it to the tourney than CAA teams or Patriot league teams. SO just from a money perspective, we will not move and it has nothing to do with UR making NCAA tourney appearances. Our administration is happy if we just compete, come in the middle of the pack of the A10 - and let other teams make the tourney and cash their checks when we get them.
The rational answer is NO - we will not drop down in leagues simply because that will look bad and even though we don't make the NCAA tourney - we reap the benefits when other A10 teams do. And more A10 teams make it to the tourney than CAA teams or Patriot league teams. SO just from a money perspective, we will not move and it has nothing to do with UR making NCAA tourney appearances. Our administration is happy if we just compete, come in the middle of the pack of the A10 - and let other teams make the tourney and cash their checks when we get them.
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