CAA’s Tom Yeager interviewed about realignment, scheduling
Michael Litos, who maintains his CAA-basketball-centric blog on a daily basis, conducted an interview with CAA commissioner Tom Yeager for Virginia Sports Now. A few interesting items came up in the interview.
First, With Old Dominion and Georgia State entering the conference over the next few years, undoubtedly buzz starts about the future size of the conference (and the implications for a comparatively small Northeastern program):
[Litos]: Old Dominion starts football this year and Georgia State is right behind them. For lack of a better word, you are getting to an unworkable number of teams. What do you guys have in the works to deal with that?
Yeager: I think we are at the limit now in terms of our present structure or membership. When you get to 14 teams you are looking at 8 conference games in your division and two outside your division. That would mean some (players) would go through their entire college career and not play a team in the other division and something just isn’t right about that.
We’ve got so much going for us we’ll make it work, but if someone else starts football we’ll be restructuring. (It’s important) because there’s nothing like a football Saturday at these institutions.
Which leads, inevitably, to discussion of potential realignment, but the response to that:
Yeager: No. That’s all pretty well calmed down. It’s all top down and regional. I’m sure there’s movement below us and the west coast could realign tomorrow and it’s not going to reach us.
One more clip after the jump.
One recurring theme in how to take the CAA to the next level is scheduling quality non-conference opponents:
[Litos]: Scheduling is a huge issue for mid majors and we constantly hear about these conference challenges. Have you recently talked to the Horizon or MAC about one with the CAA?
Yeager: One of the things that comes into play is that we have two games committed to Bracketbusters. Generally speaking the opponents we’d play (in a challenge series) are the ones we’re playing in Bracketbusters anyway. To a certain degree we’re getting that (challenge).
The problem is that while there may be some attraction for higher profile teams, it doesn’t extend all the way through. (Note: the implication is Butler/ODU may be a great game, but nobody’s thrilled with UNCW/Western Illinois.)
Coaches are already saying that we have two nonconference games committed (to Bracketbusters) and that they have to take care of other scheduling interests. The only reason the conference challenge works is that there’s television elements in it. If ESPN thinks it is a good idea we’d say ‘so do we’ but we just don’t have that.
[Litos]: So Bracketbusters is worth the effort?
Yeager: Oh very much so and it accomplishes what we were talking about doing (with the challenge). Our top teams are getting good games with Bracketbusters and with greater frequency. Besides, if a team has won six games they are going to be paired with someone that won six games in their conference. There’s no need to travel halfway across the country to see who can win their seventh game.
That last sentence is a bit confusing, but regardless, it’s an interesting read, especially for those wondering what the direction of the conference will be after the CAA celebrates its silver anniversary this year.
To read the rest of the interview, click here. [Virginia Sports Now]
