Saint Louis to the A-10? Not only is Saint Louis not located in the Eastern Time Zone, there closest conference opponents would be Dayton and Xavier...I understand the logic of adding the C-USA basketball schools, but at least UNC-Charlotte would have Richmond as a travel partner...

THEIR closest conference opponents would be Dayton and Xavier...

While it is agreed that Charlotte is not very close to Richmond (or DC, for that matter), Richmond is closer to Charlotte than Cincinnati-Dayton area is to Saint Louis. While Saint Louis fits the current A-10 profile in most areas (with the obvious exception of geography), UNC-Charlotte really does not (see Temple), even if it is more "Atlantic."

-10 poised for expansion


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Saint Louis, Charlotte could get invites after Big East raids C-USA

By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer


In the race to realign that has swept up college athletics this summer, the Atlantic 10 Conference, which includes Xavier University, has gone on the offensive and will seek to add two to four members once the Big East Conference announces its own expansion plan.

Two reliable sources from schools within the Atlantic 10 told the Enquirer on Friday that the Atlantic 10 presidents have discussed inviting Saint Louis and Charlotte, currently Conference USA members, when the Big East makes its expected move to add Cincinnati, Louisville, Marquette and DePaul.

If the Big East decides to expand without adding non-football schools Marquette and DePaul, the Atlantic 10 probably will extend invitations to those schools as well, sources said. The Atlantic 10 will make its move to expand within a matter of days following Big East expansion, with the changes going into effect for the 2005-06 season. Big East commissioner Michael Tranghese said earlier this month he anticipates the conference finalizing its expansion in November.

The Atlantic 10 presidents discussed expansion two weeks ago in a face-to-face meeting, and they remain on alert for a conference call should league commissioner Linda Bruno deem one necessary. Bruno did not return telephone messages left at her office Friday by the Enquirer.

"We have an option to remain in C-USA," said Charlotte athletic director Judy Rose. "Hopefully we'll have options to land in the A-10. I say hopefully, because I haven't been offered an official invitation. My initial reaction is we are very interested in continuing to have conversations with the A-10."

Said University of Dayton athletic director Ted Kissell, whose school is an Atlantic 10 member: "We like what we see in Saint Louis and Charlotte."

The Atlantic 10 has 12 members. Expanding to 14 teams could occur with few problems, but 16 teams could make governing the league unwieldy and might lead to performance requirements to weed out under-performing programs or force them to improve.

"If you look at the conference, people have looked at us as being in the footprint of the Big East," Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski said. "The difference from a men's basketball perspective is most striking at the bottom of the league. (The Big East has) had success with their teams at the bottom of the league. We have had over the same period of years ... teams that have consistently been in position where they hurt the league. Their RPI (ratings percentage index) has never gotten to a satisfactory level. We have interest in having those schools bring it up."

Fordham and Duquesne are the most consistently underachieving programs in the Atlantic 10. They have finished nearly every season near the bottom of the standings for the RPI, which measures winning percentage and schedule strength.

Fordham has finished with an RPI worse than 200 in six of the last eight years, failing to make the postseason every year. Duquesne has finished worse than 200 in five of the last eight years, also failing to reach the postseason.

"If it's appropriate, we could consider strategic new members that would come into the upper third of the league," Bobinski said. "We have a very strong interest in having a competitive position for our men's and women's basketball programs. We want to continue to take steps along the way that will ensure that for Xavier."

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The Bear may be dead but he still hates Tennessee. Roll Damn Tide

Fordham hired Derek Whittenberg, former star on NC State's 1983 NCAA championship team. Whittenberg took Wagner College to the NCAA tournament last year after theeir for four years. This gave himthe opportunity to establish recruiting connections in New York City, home to both Wagner & Fordham. It will be interesting to see if Whittenberg can turn the Fordham program around so that it meets the Atlantic Ten's performance criteria. A vibrant program at Fordham would be a real asset to the league.

SLU would be better off in MVC than Atlantic 10
Bryan Burwell
Post-Dispatch
09/25/2003


The big dream is over now. There was always this fanciful vision in the back of the minds of all the folks at St. Louis University's athletics department that the fallout from the Atlantic Coast Conference's expansion/hostile takeover of the Big East Conference would somehow turn into a golden opportunity for the Billikens. They all hoped the Big East would come calling, but now they know the invitation didn't get lost in the mail.

The Big East isn't interested in SLU. One of the more glamorous (and prosperous) major college conferences wasn't interested in St. Louis University's basketball program after all. So now the Billikens are left on the outside, with a consolation prize that is apparently the Atlantic 10 Conference, which is not such a bad thing.

But is it the best thing for the Billikens?

That is what people over at SLU will be debating, whether it's best to stay in C-USA or leap to the Atlantic 10. Some folks think SLU would be better off either staying put in the downsized C-USA or going to the Missouri Valley Conference.

The MVC idea is something worth serious consideration for two obvious reasons: SLU men's and women's basketball could be immediate and consistent conference powers in the mid-major MVC, which gets an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament, and the Billikens could be considered contenders for the postseason every year. Plus, the MVC is a conference dominated by Midwest schools, which is the area where Brad Soderberg has concentrated his recruiting.

I like the MVC and the natural local rivalries that could come with Southern Illinois Carbondale and Southwest Missouri. But this is also about money (what am I talking about? This is ALL about money), and if the Atlantic 10 and its 12-team league with schools largely concentrated in the Northeast can generate more money for SLU than the pared-down C-USA or the MVC, we know what the decision will be.

ANARCHY IS OUR FRIEND: I love Mid-American Conference football. I love that the MAC could very well be single-handedly responsible for some serious chaos and anarchy in the BCS national championship formula with all its early-season upsets. Imagine for a moment that there are all these top-rated teams at the end of the regular season and no one is unbeaten. Everywhere you look, there are teams with only one loss. There is no clear-cut No. 1. There is no clear-cut No. 2. There are all these big shots with one loss like Ohio State and Kansas State, Oklahoma and Miami, Pitt and Oregon, Tennessee and Michigan. But what's this? One of those MAC schools, such as Northern Illinois, will be sitting there all alone and undefeated. How will the BCS worm their way out of inviting NIU to the championship party? It's my favorite dream, because it would be the BCS's biggest nightmare.

BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID: Everywhere we look, we see TV sportscasters posing in skimpy clothes for men's magazines, and I am deeply disturbed that this has become a trend with no apparent end. Last year, it was CBS' Jill Arrington who posed for FHM magazine in her undies. Then it was ABC's Monday Night Football sideline reporter Lisa Guerrero. And now, the magazine is bragging that Fox NFL Sunday weather reporter Jillian Barberie will be featured in her lingerie in FHM's December issue. I am worried that this trend will not stop, and that any day now, ESPN's John Clayton will be next.

_________________
The Bear may be dead but he still hates Tennessee. Roll Damn Tide

i agree with the article. st. louis makes more since in the mvc as its where a lot of neighboring schools are. charlotte on the other hand would be an excellent addition to the a-10 as it would add a major market. also its charlottes only other option if they want to stay in a major conference.

I agree with you hawk 110 percent st louis don't belong in the A-10 that is mostly northeast schools but it seems to be moving south lately.

_________________
The Bear may be dead but he still hates Tennessee. Roll Damn Tide

I think Charlotte would be an excellent addition to the Atlantic 10. But St. Louis is far less attractive.

I would think that if adding Charlotte, then it couldn't hurt to add another southern school to serve as a travel partner. As it is, Richmond and George Washington make good partners. Possbily adding an Old Dominion, UNCW, College of Charleston, etc could be beneficial.

But at the same time, the A10 needs to make a move that will keep the stability of the Ohio schools. Xavier and Dayotn have been excellent members of the A10 and deserve some special attention. Does adding St. Louis help them with travel costs? Sure. But so would Western Kentucky and they might be more attractive then St. Louis. Either , or, St. Lousi will be a fine addition and will give additional exposure for the league.

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st. louis= bigger market

western kentucky= better team

i have read that western kentucky wanted to be in a football conference in case they ever wanted to upgrade to i-a level so they might stick it out in the sunbelt.

The A-10 is never going to invite Western Kentucky. Whoever said that they were once beng seriously considered for membership (date?) was not providing accurate information.

the A-10 has Dayton and Xavier they are in Mid-America but wku would fit better in a MAC or Sunbelt or CUSA maybe.

_________________
The Bear may be dead but he still hates Tennessee. Roll Damn Tide