CAA Loses Old Dominion to Conference USA

Just days after VCU announced it is heading to the Atlantic 10, a second Colonial Athletic Association stalwart has revealed it is jumping ship as well. Old Dominion announced on Thursday it is leaving the CAA and joining Conference USA, becoming the second school in one week to depart from the small-conference power.

The move becomes effective July 1, 2013, leaving the Monarchs without a conference home for the upcoming men’s basketball season. Existing CAA bylaws disqualify departing members from competing for league championships during lame-duck seasons. Barring a change to the rule—and Old Dominion does intend to rally conference leaders to make an exception—the Monarchs could only qualify for next year’s NCAA Tournament via an at-large bid.

Old Dominion cannot possibly fill the void soon to be left by Memphis, which leaves Conference USA for the Big East beginning with the 2013-2014 season. But the Monarchs do bring a rising program with enough recent success to keep the conference’s profile intact. ODU has made the NCAA Tournament in two of the last three years, upsetting Notre Dame in the first round of the 2010 Tournament before falling to Baylor in the round of 32. The Monarchs also sport four consecutive 20+ win seasons, having won at least 25 games in three of the four.

ODU joins Charlotte, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, North Texas and UT San Antonio as an incoming class of six schools ticketed for Conference USA in 2013. Houston, Memphis, SMU, and UCF are all leaving the league for the Big East.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE COLONIAL

Old Dominion is the third school this spring and second in three days to announce it is leaving the Colonial. VCU announced Tuesday it is heading to the Atlantic 10 this summer, while Georgia State is moving to the Sun Belt Conference in the fall of 2013. The CAA also faces the likelihood of UNC Wilmington and Towson receiving postseason bans in men’s basketball next season for not satisfying the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate.

George Mason is staying put and Drexel has not received quite the interest from other conferences it had hoped, so not all is lost for the Colonial. But with the dominoes falling fast in this ever-evolving game of conference realignment, the burden is on the CAA to refill the holes left by Georgia State, VCU and now Old Dominion.

One alternative is replacing VCU and ODU with Southern Conference members, Davidson and the College of Charleston. The league’s steep $600,000 exit fee for departures with less than two years’ notice, however, may keep the two schools out of the Southern in tow.

The less gaudy option for the CAA involves raiding the American East. Stony Brook is fresh off a 22-win season and may be receptive to a move. But the Seawolves have had a 4-win, 24-loss season more recently than an NCAA Tournament appearance. Boston University and Vermont are the most appealing of the lot. BU seems open to joining the Colonial, but the Terriers would be a major step down from either VCU or Old Dominion. Vermont, meanwhile, offers the best profile of all conference members, but the Catamounts appear reluctant to leave the friendly, northeast confines of the American East.

Old Dominion is the latest Colonial Athletic Association mainstay to latch onto another conference. With the Monarchs and Rams now out of the picture, it looks as if only George Mason and Drexel will be competing for the Colonial throne for the foreseeable future. The Colonial Athletic Association–once one of the premiere, mid-major conferences in college hoops–is forever gone as we have known it.