More conference realignment talk

[brewcity77]

I feel like it would be more likely for:

Teams 9-24 play day 1;
Teams 1-8 play the winners day 2;
Quarterfinals;
Semifinals;
Finals.

The problem there is the venue. You can't play 8 games at a single site in one day, much less on back to back dates.

2 hours per game, minimum 30 minutes between games, that's 19.5 hours assuming no one goes to overtime. They'd have to start at 6:00 am local time, run past midnight, and be back up and running again at 6:00 am. Unless they start on campus sites, and I don't think the Big ACC would want to give up two days at MSG.

This is the reason leagues like the Big 10 have their double bye system. 4 games per day at a single site is the max you're going to see.

[Its DJOver]

The problem there is the venue. You can't play 8 games at a single site in one day, much less on back to back dates.

2 hours per game, minimum 30 minutes between games, that's 19.5 hours assuming no one goes to overtime. They'd have to start at 6:00 am local time, run past midnight, and be back up and running again at 6:00 am. Unless they start on campus sites, and I don't think the Big ACC would want to give up two days at MSG.

This is the reason leagues like the Big 10 have their double bye system. 4 games per day at a single site is the max you're going to see.

So what's the problem, that sounds absolutely amazing.

[The Sultan]

Actually they should do it like the the pick up games in Helfaer back in the day with the winners holding the court.

Team 23 v. Team 24. Winner plays Team 22 after a five minute water break. Start at 8:00 am on Monday and go straight through until game 23 ends.

[Billy Hoyle]

a surprising move today: UC-San Diego is leaving the Big West for the West Coast Conference. They will be the only public school in the WCC and their total enrollment of over 45k students (with plans to get up to 56k) is not much less than the rest of the WCC schools combined (only two have enrollments over 10K, and just barely).

[The Sultan]

The Big West is pretty crappy though. Granted, post-Gonzaga WCC isn't going to be great either.

[Billy Hoyle]

The Big West is pretty crappy though. Granted, post-Gonzaga WCC isn't going to be great either.

Other than Hawaii, the Big West was all California schools (with a split between UC and CSU schools and most in So Cal) until their recent additions of Utah Valley, Cal Baptist. Sac State was coming too. For me, it's a stranger move for the WCC to bring in such a large public school to a conference of small religious schools.

[The Sultan]

Other than Hawaii, the Big West was all California schools (with a split between UC and CSU schools and most in So Cal) until their recent additions of Utah Valley, Cal Baptist. Sac State was coming too. For me, it's a stranger move for the WCC to bring in such a large public school to a conference of small religious schools.

I kinda think we are at an era where institution type doesn't matter much.

[MarquetteMike1977]

a surprising move today: UC-San Diego is leaving the Big West for the West Coast Conference. They will be the only public school in the WCC and their total enrollment of over 45k students (with plans to get up to 56k) is not much less than the rest of the WCC schools combined (only two have enrollments over 10K, and just barely).

That is suprising and interesting.
Was watching the Marquette Volleyball Tournament over Labor Day Weekend.
Recall seeing Marquette was playing
Utah State from the Mountain West
Hawaii from the Big West and
San Diego from the West Coast is that a different San Diego school

[The Sultan]

That is suprising and interesting.
Was watching the Marquette Volleyball Tournament over Labor Day Weekend.
Recall seeing Marquette was playing
Utah State from the Mountain West
Hawaii from the Big West and
San Diego from the West Coast is that a different San Diego school

Yes. The University of San Diego is a private, Catholic school. UCSD is a public university in the University of California System.

Hawaii will be in the Mountain West, and Utah State will be in the Pac 12 next year.

[MarquetteMike1977]

Yes. The University of San Diego is a private, Catholic school. UCSD is a public university in the University of California System.

Hawaii will be in the Mountain West, and Utah State will be in the Pac 12 next year.

Thank You!

[The Sultan]

Thank You!

Oh and San Diego State is a public university in the Cal State system - which is different than the UC System.

[The Sultan]

Reading Matt Brown this morning, he said that he wouldn't be surprised if other Big West schools get invited to the WCC. He specifically mentioned Irvine and Santa Barbara, and that he doubts San Diego would have made this move unless they felt others would be following.

[The Sultan]

Denver joining the WCC next year. Much better fit for them.

[barfolomew]

Denver joining the WCC next year. Much better fit for them.

Not a better fit for lacrosse.

[DFW HOYA]

Not a better fit for lacrosse.

WCC schools don't field NCAA lacrosse teams. Seven of the 10 play club lacrosse, but not necessarily versus each other.

[Billy Hoyle]

Denver joining the WCC next year. Much better fit for them.

They were a finalists when the WCC chose Pacific, deciding DU wasn't invested enough in basketball. DU wanted out of the Summit and os investing in hoops to meet the WCC's threshold to bring them in.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

A fellow Jesuit university is switching conferences for the 2027-28 season.


https://fairfieldstags.com/news/2026/6/26/general-fairfield-university-accepts-invitation-to-join-the-coastal-athletic-association.aspx


Fairfield University Accepts Invitation to Join the Coastal Athletic Association Beginning in 2027-28

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University has accepted an invitation to join the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) as a full member of the conference beginning on July 1, 2027. The Stags will become the 14th full-membership institution in the CAA with all 19 of Fairfield's NCAA Division I athletic programs set to compete under the CAA banner.

"Fairfield University proudly accepts this opportunity to join the Coastal Athletic Association. Thank you to Commissioner Joe D'Antonio, the CAA Presidents, and Athletics Directors, for their confidence in the value of our profile to their membership," said Vice President for Athletics Paul Schlickmann. "This decision is indicative of the upward trajectory of Fairfield University as an elite academic institution of national prominence and reflects our continued aspirations to achieve comprehensive competitive excellence in the modern Division I landscape. We are excited to write the next chapter in our University and Athletics history and look forward to being an optimal partner and steward of the CAA brand."

"It's an exciting day for the CAA as we welcome Fairfield University as the 14th member of the conference," CAA Commissioner Joe D'Antonio said. "Athletically, Fairfield's sports sponsorship fits perfectly with what is offered by the CAA and the institution has certainly shown its commitment to being successful in basketball and its other Olympic sports. Fairfield University is an outstanding academic institution and adds to the list of the prestigious CAA membership."

Fairfield Athletics has won the MAAC Commissioner's Cup in each of the last three academic years as well as the last five MAAC Commissioner's Cups for Women's Sports. The Stags have had six programs earn national rankings – Baseball, Women's Basketball, Field Hockey, Men's Lacrosse, Women's Lacrosse, and Women's Soccer – since 2021. Over the last five years, Fairfield has garnered 23 conference tournament championships, 25 regular season championships, and 23 NCAA postseason berths, including the first-ever at-large bids in program and MAAC history in Baseball and Women's Lacrosse.

"Fairfield University and Stags Athletics take great pride in our 42-year history as a founding member of the MAAC and as a charter member of the Metro Conference," noted Schlickmann. "We are grateful to Commissioner Travis Tellitocci for his exceptional leadership and to his staff for their tireless commitment to providing a first-class experience to our student-athletes. We will always value and appreciate the lifelong relationships forged with countless conference colleagues and look forward to the competition ahead in the 2026-27 season."

Fairfield University is the fifth most selective Catholic university in the nation with an admit rate of 21% for the incoming Class of 2030 – selected out of the largest applicant pool in university history – which boasts an average weighted GPA of 3.9 and middle 50% SAT range of 1320-142. Fairfield is tied for #139 in the National Universities category in the U.S. News & World Report's best College Rankings, slotting among the top 75 private national universities.

All 13 current CAA member institutions join Fairfield in the National Universities category in U.S. News & World Report.

"As Fairfield continues to rise as a Jesuit Catholic university of national prominence, we are thrilled to be joining the CAA at a time when our applications and enrollment have grown exceptionally in all areas of the country, especially along the Eastern seaboard, and student outcomes are at an all-time high," said Mark R. Nemec, PhD, president of Fairfield University. "We are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the CAA both academically and competitively and look forward to advancing through a spirit of continuing innovation."

The move to CAA will represent the first time in Fairfield Athletics history that every NCAA-sponsored varsity programs will compete under the same conference banner. The Stags will bring 17 varsity programs to the CAA from the Metro Conference. Fairfield Men's Lacrosse has been an associate member of the CAA since 2015 and Field Hockey begins its first campaign in the CAA in 2026. Fairfield Men's Rowing – a varsity program not sponsored by the NCAA – will continue as a part of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association.

Fairfield will remain a full member of the Metro Conference for the upcoming 2026-27 academic year. The Stags will retain the right to participate in the Metro postseason in all sports, including the ability to earn the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA postseason. Fairfield cannot host any Metro Conference postseason competition in 2026-27.

Fairfield University is a modern, Jesuit Catholic University, rooted in one of the world's oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 44 states, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and 50 countries, are enrolled in the University's five schools. In the spirit of rigorous and sympathetic inquiry into all dimensions of human experience, Fairfield welcomes students from diverse backgrounds to share ideas and engage in open conversations. The University is located in the heart of a region where the future takes shape, on a stunning campus on the Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.
 
The CAA encompasses many of the nation's largest metropolitan areas with a geographic footprint that stretches from Boston to Charleston, S.C. The conference has produced 18 national team champions in five different sports, 33 individual national champions, 15 national players of the year, 15 national coaches of the year and 13 Honda Award winners. Just as impressive, however, are the honors accumulated away from competition, which include five Rhodes Scholars and 25 NCAA post-graduate scholars. In 2025-26, more than 3,800 of the league's student-athletes received the Commissioner's Academic Award after posting at least a 3.0 grade point average while lettering in a varsity sport.
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[The Sultan]

Gotta admit...I don't get this at all from the CAA.