Merrimack & SHU to the MAAC

[David]

Oct 27, 2023 11:17:10 GMT -5 hawaii bill said:

Pitino pushed Iona to join A-10. Iona "too expensive."

x.com/stf_ncaa/status/1717926060375888312?s=20

Honest question here. Can you see Iona switching conferences within the next 3 seasons? If A-10 is deemed too expensive, where else could we possibly go? Would the CAA be realistic?

[sharkey]

CAA, Especially without Charleston, wouldn't be worth the move. Much higher expenses just to go to another 1-bid league

[thehat]

Oct 27, 2023 11:45:30 GMT -5 sharkey said:

CAA, Especially without Charleston, wouldn't be worth the move. Much higher expenses just to go to another 1-bid league

+1000. Improve the Maac.! Niagara getting booted from it’s MTE , because they participated in the same one within the past 4 years is embarrassing and unacceptable.

[David]

At some point Iona has to take a hard look to see if it is in their best interest to stay in the MAAC. Can’t continue to rely on the rest of the conference to step up. I agree what happened with Niagara and their MTE is embarrassing for the school and the MAAC.

[broguy99]

Oct 27, 2023 11:58:16 GMT -5 David said:

At some point Iona has to take a hard look to see if it is in their best interest to stay in the MAAC. Can’t continue to rely on the rest of the conference to step up. I agree what happened with Niagara and their MTE is embarrassing for the school and the MAAC.

Welcome, David. Always glad to see new members chiming in.

I think if Tobin keeps the ball rolling with Iona's success at the top of the MAAC, this surely will have to be looked at. If Iona can get invited to a better conference for Basketball only, similar to VCU joining the AAC, I think it would be a much easier decision.

[ic59]

broguy, +1000

[David]

Oct 27, 2023 12:11:00 GMT -5 broguy99 said:

Oct 27, 2023 11:58:16 GMT -5 David said:

At some point Iona has to take a hard look to see if it is in their best interest to stay in the MAAC. Can’t continue to rely on the rest of the conference to step up. I agree what happened with Niagara and their MTE is embarrassing for the school and the MAAC.

Welcome, David. Always glad to see new members chiming in.

I think if Tobin keeps the ball rolling with Iona's success at the top of the MAAC, this surely will have to be looked at. If Iona can get invited to a better conference for Basketball only, similar to VCU joining the AAC, I think it would be a much easier decision.

Thanks for the welcome broguy!

I hope the school shares the same ambition. When Cluess was here, we were always at or near the top of the conference. Same with Pitino. This has been going on for 13 seasons now. I definitely think we outgrew the MAAC basketball-wise

[GuyF]

Oct 27, 2023 13:59:03 GMT -5 David said:

Oct 27, 2023 12:11:00 GMT -5 broguy99 said:

Welcome, David. Always glad to see new members chiming in.

I think if Tobin keeps the ball rolling with Iona's success at the top of the MAAC, this surely will have to be looked at. If Iona can get invited to a better conference for Basketball only, similar to VCU joining the AAC, I think it would be a much easier decision.

Thanks for the welcome broguy!

I hope the school shares the same ambition. When Cluess was here, we were always at or near the top of the conference. Same with Pitino. This has been going on for 13 seasons now. I definitely think we outgrew the MAAC basketball-wise

It's not about ambition, it's about cost. As that earlier note linking the tweet said, Pitino wanted us to go to the A10 and we looked at it and deemed it too expensive. There are not enough megadonations coming from the fans and the school only makes so much money. I'm fairly comfortable saying that we won't be moving up any time soon, unless we get a "basketball only" invite.

[gaelsiona]

Oct 27, 2023 14:11:51 GMT -5 GuyF said:

Oct 27, 2023 13:59:03 GMT -5 David said:

Thanks for the welcome broguy!

I hope the school shares the same ambition. When Cluess was here, we were always at or near the top of the conference. Same with Pitino. This has been going on for 13 seasons now. I definitely think we outgrew the MAAC basketball-wise

It's not about ambition, it's about cost. As that earlier note linking the tweet said, Pitino wanted us to go to the A10 and we looked at it and deemed it too expensive. There are not enough megadonations coming from the fans and the school only makes so much money. I'm fairly comfortable saying that we won't be moving up any time soon, unless we get a "basketball only" invite.

We can compete in the A-10 without Pitino. This Tobin team would be middle of the pack according to KP. And yes, it’s a much better conference than the MAAC (ranked 10th in the country) and USUALLY a 2+ bid conference. Hopefully we keep winning big and drawing eyes and interest. Basketball only invite please 🤞

[David]

Out of curiosity, how much would it cost Iona to go to the A-10 and what would it entail? Is it strictly financial or would infrastructure need to be upgraded as well? I haven’t checked but I am not too sure if that information would be available to the public.

[broguy99]

Oct 27, 2023 14:47:32 GMT -5 David said:

Out of curiosity, how much would it cost Iona to go to the A-10 and what would it entail? Is it strictly financial or would infrastructure need to be upgraded as well? I haven’t checked but I am not too sure if that information would be available to the public.

You're talking every D1 sport having to travel to the Midwest and South much more often. Like Guy said it doesn't make financial sense.

What I would love to hear more about is the potential for a basketball only invite like VCU got. I had no clue this was even possible until this just happened. That's Iona's key to moving up if they ever want to leave the MAAC.

But let's see how this season goes before we go to far down that rabbit hole. I have faith in Tobin but we still need to see how this turns out first.

[Cjb]

What happens to the NEC automatic bid when Sacred Heart and Merrimack depart next year? Have they recruited at least one new member? Pretty sure you need 8 and this would leave them with 7.

Still worried what the future might be for the MAAC and the likes with the evolution of NIL and the relaxed transfer rules.

I really feel in many ways the school has been ahead of the curve the last 10-12 years. Doubt it’ll happen, but it would be great if a basketball only opportunity move to higher ground were to occur.

[thehat]

Nov 10, 2023 13:28:55 GMT -5 Cjb said:

What happens to the NEC automatic bid when Sacred Heart and Merrimack depart next year? Have they recruited at least one new member? Pretty sure you need 8 and this would leave them with 7.

Still worried what the future might be for the MAAC and the likes with the evolution of NIL and the relaxed transfer rules.

I really feel in many ways the school has been ahead of the curve the last 10-12 years. Doubt it’ll happen, but it would be great if a basketball only opportunity move to higher ground were to occur.

Rumor has NEC calling up div 2 schools to back fill ( new haven) or offering a spot to chicago St. (currently independent )

[gregcrow]

Nov 10, 2023 14:19:01 GMT -5 thehat said:

Nov 10, 2023 13:28:55 GMT -5 Cjb said:

What happens to the NEC automatic bid when Sacred Heart and Merrimack depart next year? Have they recruited at least one new member? Pretty sure you need 8 and this would leave them with 7.

Still worried what the future might be for the MAAC and the likes with the evolution of NIL and the relaxed transfer rules.

I really feel in many ways the school has been ahead of the curve the last 10-12 years. Doubt it’ll happen, but it would be great if a basketball only opportunity move to higher ground were to occur.

Rumor has NEC calling up div 2 schools to back fill ( new haven) or offering a spot to chicago St. (currently independent )

Division 2 schools would not help net year as they need to be eligible for NCAA to count.

[gregcrow]