I agree.

Who you thinking of jon? Think they try for a football sponsoring member from the NEC or MAAC? Think they swing hard for W&M? Or just slot in a non-football school for stability?

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VMI to me would be a logical choice.

If they can't get W&M they settle for VMI (military school) fits well, a little south but nothing too far. American, Navy are closeish to VMI. Then if they are out for some reason Marist is right in the center of the footprint and also has fb like VMI.

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Article out of Hudson Valley with comments from Patriot League official regarding BU and possible future league expansion at http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.d ... SPORTS3601

I guess I'm surprised because the Patriot went with another northern private school instead of aiming public and/or south. I really thought they would get into Virginia first, and that they didn't makes me question if the Patriot is even a major upgrade for any of these aspiring programs. I suspect BU did this to draft off the Ivy-like status of the PL schools while being able to justify certain cuts to their athletics, but going for a non-fb school that's more known for a sport the Patriot doesn't even sponsor? SMH.

Don't get me wrong...BU is a fantastic school, and BU is a good pick up for the PL. But I always thought they were more into athletics than most of the PL schools. This isn't the same BU, I guess.

Going forward, I'm not as confident about VMI anymore.

I have to agree that William and Mary is probably the next school the Patriot has their eyes on. Maybe they will also take Towson's football program as an affiliate if CAA football collapses.

Article out of Sunbury discussing BU and possible future Patriot League expansion at http://dailyitem.com/0200_sports/x14067 ... -with-move

After reading some of the boards regarding the move, I have to say my opinion of BU has dropped. I didn't know they put up a stink about the hockey conference name. I didn't know BU was such a pill on football-related matters, even after dropping the sport. I knew their president has quite the little man syndrome when MIT and Harvard sit so close by, and they had athletics funding issues, but, yeesh. Sounds more like talks of potential SBU defections AE could pick up some more state schools (NJIT, CCSU, and maybe DSU), and BU played the prissy, spoiled brat and walked out.

And they did it in totally bad fashion: called the day before they left, and then in the presser, talked about stability. Thanks for airing that laundry, guys.

I feel for Northeastern, who wanted into the Patriot, too. Knowing how BU operates...don't wait by the phone, guys...

...and the CAA. It seems like CAA was bound for the south (rumors are coming out about CoC already), but they may HAVE to go north to appease the Hofstra's and Ne's of the conference.

Caveat emptor, Patriot League. More dead weight. I could feel for the Patsies the most...knowing just how political these guys can be, I wonder if the conference even bothers to glance at a public school like W&M, VMI, or Vermont. But that's the thing...with their noses so far up in the air about how elite their schools are, they'd see BU not contributing much, while drafting off the conference's lax power?

Article out of Lehigh Valley with comments from Patriot League official who says that her league is actively looking for a 10th member but will not likely have any announcement this month(school year).Link at http://www.mcall.com/sports/college/mc- ... 961.column

I would like to think that this league will "rescue" NJIT from the Great West/D-I Independence h@!! its in...

No chance the Private little bro of Ivy league conf takes them. They need to hope a NEC team goes to the AEC or CAA and take that spot or that the AEC settles for them.

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I have an out of the box idea for the final member of the Patriot League. University of Denver for Olympic Sports. We joined the WAC which is falling apart and no decent options appear out West. We are a mid sized private without football but are successful in every other sport we have like hockey, lacrosse, soccer,tennis, golf, swimming, etc. It has been said that we are more like an Eastern school and many have said that the Patriot would be a good fit if travel weren't an issue, Maybe the Patriot would consider Denver, if we underwrote travel like Hawaii is doing. We are traveling East for the EECA lacrosse league and traveled East in the Sunbelt. Our ideal leagues would be the WCC with Gonzaga or the Mountain West with our neighbors Air Force and CSU but they are all fb playing publics. We need to find a league of like minded private where there is strong olympic sports, especially lacrosse. If the Pioneers were to join the Patriot they would bring a perenial Top 20 lacrosse program, an up and coming Men's and Woman's BB and Soccer. It is a little crazzy but one trip out West especially if it is subsidized is not bad. It is being done by the Big East and Big West, so why doesn't the Patriot consider Denver to get another like minded private with strong athletics and deep pockets

Definitely "out of the box".

Yes, the Patriot schools may be similar in terms of scope of sports, but the travel would be insane.
Every Pioneer game would involve somebody (Denver or an East Coast school) travelling 1500 miles.
They simply don't have the budget for that.

If the WAC closes up shop entirely, I see their possibilities as WCC (they said NO in the past), Big Sky (they typically require FB), or the Summit League.
For sports (lacrosse) that aren't played by so many schools, often there are opportunities to affilite with another confernece that invite other schools to achieve
critical mass.

Blog article out of Allentown reporting that Loyola of Maryland will be joining the Patriot League for 2013-2014.Link at http://blogs.mcall.com/varsity/2012/08/ ... ember.html

Gotta give the Patriot credit for making 2 moves and doing so veyr much under the radar.

I really liked the BU addition. But in adding Loyola, I'm less thrilled. It's not a bad move, just not so flashy. They are a real good fit though. I'd like to assume that they approached W&M and were told "no thanks" before moving on the Loyola...since they already have a presence in that area due to Navy being a member.

Still, a nice move to get to 10 with a like-minded school, and it makes those trips to Navy easier, knowing they can bang out 2 games per school per trip with Navy and Loyola. And Patriot lacrosse gets a nice bump, with the ECAC still alright with 7 members.

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