No thanks, got too much cred because he was an alumni. And it makes the series more interesting!
William & Mary to join Patriot League in 2026
- Thread starter SpiderFan26
- Start date
FBS may end all FCS games in a few years. If FCS could get a good TV contract to make up the money it might be better.
The Group of 5 is becoming the new FCS. The FCS is really D1.75 at this point. Well, except for the Dakota schools. They do things different.
I little bit and If Nova follows would certainly help the conference.
My main concern was leaving a three or four bid conference to join a traditional one bid first round loss conference. Of course, the first-round loss did not happen last year.
If the conference can get stronger then the talent level of players should improve as a whole (though I admit I am impressed with the Spider incoming class and holding on to it for the most part after the announcement). The transfers suffered seemed to tell me Richmond has been able to attract players who either could have or were developed to the point they could make FBS rosters. I hope this development and an addition of Nova would bring the overall level of the PL up to a a multiple bid conference, by bringing in FBS and even from time-to-time NFL talent. Yes, some will transfer up when coaches find the diamonds others missed, but some will want a Richmond education and better chances at playoffs more than being backups in FBS early in their college playing years.
The problem with one bid conferences is one bad game and your home for Thanksgiving. Spiders won their National Championship after getting what was probably the last bid from the conference (admittedly a strong conference at that time), but they could have well been home that year had they not been in a multiple bid conference.
Jury still out but do feel a little better.
If/when Nova joins, that’s a 10 team PL conference where 3 schools (UR, W&M, Nova) will be top 25 every year and then likely at least one of a school like Lehigh/Lafayette/Holy Cross could also be ranked. There’s no reason to think PL can’t be a 2-4 bid conference every year. I’m curious about a few things. One is whether now schools like W&M and maybe Nova join, will we see the push to end the no grad transfer rule.
Two is whether Georgetown will want to stick in this league or go to Pioneer since they don’t have scholarships and will be easily outmatched by practically every team. 9-10 teams where 3-5 can be top 25 at any given time is a recipe for a very good league. Third is whether the move of Richmond and W&M to PL means they want to de-emphasize football in some ways, or will PL rise to the occasion and have a commissioner who wants to elevate the status of the league and the other universities agree. If so, then we definitely need to get rid of the no grad transfer rule.
Also by virtue of us and W&M joining PL, the PL will become a multi bid conference and CAA, while still multi bid, have lessened that chance. This divide will be even more apparent if Villanova joins too. If that’s the case, the PL will become the 3-4 multi-bid conference with fewer teams in the league than CAA.
I feel a lot better, if The PL can now supplant the CAA as the premier Eastern FCS conference. The Patriot has a lot of work to do.
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Here's my favorite:.. (they aren't even this!)
"We are now Richmond without the basketball success..."
"We are now Richmond without the basketball success..."
Great news! Keeps the rivalry an in-conference game for years to come!
Interesting reading other comments on CAA and at this point the consensus seems to be CAA is a sinking ship. Lot of Villanova fans also expressing preference to move to PL. Makes sense for Maine, New Hampshire and others to form the American East again. I remember commenting on the same idea a few months back. Looks like CAA football and CAA conference as two separate entities is what led to their downfall.
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William and Mary faithful are quite happy with their decision.
wmsportsblog.com
W&M Football to the Patriot: Initial Reactions
A new era of Tribe Football is officially on the horizon. Yesterday, William & Mary announced that the football program will join the Patriot League as an associate member beginning with the 20…
wmsportsblog.com
They’ve never had a bb program that would be A-10 standards, even if we’re not playing at
that level either. LOL
Because they stink and aren't investing in football the way the other league members are.
I know you’re likely being sarcastic lol, but UR has a good relationship with Georgetown. I can’t imagine we or any other PL team would ever advocate for that. On the other hand, Georgetown on its own might ask whether it’s worth continuing no scholarship football in a significantly improved Patriot League or not.
They've only finished at the bottom of the PL about half the time since the other PL teams started offering scholarships, which is sort of surprising they've been able to do as "well" as they have. The low-income families will essentially get a full ride anyway through need-based aid, while high-income families may be willing to spend the money to get the Georgetown education. It's the middle income where they must struggle to recruit.
Maybe the A-10 isn't looking at W&M, but they would be an attractive member to replace UMass.
Great academics, decent facilities, natural rivalries with us, VCU and GMU, and within the league's geographic footprint.
I realize other's mileage may vary.
Great academics, decent facilities, natural rivalries with us, VCU and GMU, and within the league's geographic footprint.
I realize other's mileage may vary.
Didn’t know that. They have the money. They don’t need a fb team for D-1 play, so why do they
even have a team?
Because they've sponsored one since 1973 (reviving a program that was discontinued in 1951) and see no reason to stop playing?
They've been in the Patriot League since 2001.
I’d say that with the addition now of W and M in addition to us the likelihood of PL becoming a multi bid league is enhanced. I’m not willing to say at this stage that “it will become a multi bid conference”. Historically the PL is a one bid league, and work needs to be done to prove worthy of at least 2 bids. Time will tell. Should Villanova join then I feel even more positive of multi bid conference. My gut tells me that this season upcoming we’ll see one PL bid. After this season we’ll see.
It certainly doesn’t hurt. As I’ve mentioned here many times, the big east is the dream for Richmond and what we should aspire towards. Men’s basketball success and marketability that is driven by TV contracts will be the primary factor. I do think though that having relationships already established with other Big East teams helps and history with Xavier and Butler in A10 helps too. While not as big of a factor as men’s basketball, our success in women’s basketball and even men’s lacrosse probably helps also. So a lot of these little things can help us all while fitting perfectly with the institutional identity of the big east (smaller, private, good academics school that is basketball centric and located in geographic footprint near other teams in the league), but we’re not fulfilling the biggest piece right now.
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