LeMoyne College exploring move to D1

[eastcuse]

NIL money is about to be pouring in from Diamante's (anyone that gets this reference I will know was at Le Moyne in the same time period as me).

All those late night "blue cheese" orders add up, they should be worth billions by now.

 

[TexanMark]

That rule is ridiculous. It screwed over James Madison, Merrimack among others.

 

[jordville]

The Phins are finally going D1... only took 25-ish years but glad it is finally happening. Hate the sitting out of postseason play rule though... 2-4 years seems a bit much.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Brent Axe suggested that the success of St. Peters might have influenced LeMoyne to look at moving up, maybe the MAAC, the conference the Peacocks are in.

Off of these articles, LeMoyne seems to have the resources St. Peter's does:

Saint Peter's University - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Le Moyne College - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

If they did it the MAAC would seem to have some natural rivals:

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Yeah, that would be a great league for them to play in.

 

[TexanMark]

Amazon would be a good sponsor for an early season tournament

Syracuse and LeMoyne along with an old BE team, A10 team like St. Bona, B1G team like Rutgers or Penn State, MAC or MAAC team and a few others. Get to 8 teams

 

[HtownOrange]

If you need a February road game in a climate controlled dome, I might know a guy you can call.

The road trip will be brutal. Syracuse weather. Bus heater won’t have time to warm up. Too much snow. Fans won’t travel in bad weather. Trudging through ice and rain to the Done. Will never happen. [sarcasm font off]

 

[EnviroSciGuy]

That rule is ridiculous. It screwed over James Madison, Merrimack among others.

James Madison has been D1 for years; are you referring to their football team moving up from FCS?

 

[Eric15]

James Madison has been D1 for years; are you referring to their football team moving up from FCS?

Yeah I think he meant that JMU was very good last year (8-3) and would have otherwise made a bowl game if not for the stupid rule making them sit out.

It’s like if you invited over a new friend for a dinner party but when it was time for dessert told them they don’t get any because they’re new to the group.

 

[EnviroSciGuy]

It’s like if you invited over a new friend for a dinner party but when it was time for dessert told them they don’t get any because they’re new to the group.

Wait... this isn't standard practice? I've always thought this was a great social filter for identifying folks that were truly worthy of being companions.

No wonder I don't have any friends.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Yeah I think he meant that JMU was very good last year (8-3) and would have otherwise made a bowl game if not for the stupid rule making them sit out.

It’s like if you invited over a new friend for a dinner party but when it was time for dessert told them they don’t get any because they’re new to the group.

It's like if you're a "prospect" in a motorcycle club.

You can have dinner, but you don't get invited into the back room for dessert until you're fully patched.

 

[Scooch]

I have zero ties to Le Moyne, yet I’m very excited for them.

And of course leave it to the NCAA to have stupid, backwards rules that punish for no earthly reason. The pro leagues realized years ago that it makes zero sense to have rules that essentially forced expansion teams to suck for a decade.

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

Whats their gym like? Would they try and play home BB games at the War Mamorial?

 

[Hoo's That]

Very cool news, but I don't understand the rationale behind why they have to sit out the NCAA tourney and conference tourney. That seems arbitrary and pointless.

The NCAA wants to keep as many schools in the other Divs as possible because of the payout money involved (more mouths to feed) and to keep competitiveness in those divisions. What they're saying is, "You're welcome to change, but you and your conference won't get any extra money for a while."

The NEC's rule is an attempt to maintain a stable membership.

 

[NYCCuse826]

If you're talking other D2 programs, then I could get it. But Le Moyne lax has had a roster ripe for picking by D1 programs for 15+ years now and there hasn't been much attrition. Maybe the prospect of not being able to compete for titles pushes some out, but I think there will be just as many that will be excited to play a schedule against the likes of possibly Syracuse, Colgate, Albany, Cornell, Army, etc. and get the honor of saying they are a Division I athlete (especially for the guys that weren't recruited as D1 athletes).

There's a difference when you get a shot to play for the highest honor at your level. Telling a kid they can't for four years will create some doubt.

 

[Hoo's That]

Does this mean it won't be such a big deal when we lose an exhibition game to them?

It won't be an exhibition game any more. It will either be a regular game or a "secret scrimmage".

 

[Scooch]

Whats their gym like? Would they try and play home BB games at the War Mamorial?

They don’t need much. A lot of the NEC hoops venues are glorified high school gyms.

 

[swish7]

I coached a kid in youth lax that ended up becoming really good. He is going DI, at another school that recently went DI, Lindenwood University in Missouri. So, when this news broke, I texted the dad about LeMoyne. He said they had previously talked to them and that there was mutual interest, but he decided he didn't want to play in the cold. Bummed! I didn't press it, but imagine passing up LeMoyne for a school in Missouri?

 

[sabach]

My son graduates from Le Moyne next Sunday. He was more of an SU fan his entire time there. Maybe going to Div 1 will help get more local support for the school's athletic program.

 

[sabach]

They don’t need much. A lot of the NEC hoops venues are glorified high school gyms.

That's what the current LeMoyne gym is right now.

 

[SWC75]

The NCAA wants to keep as many schools in the other Divs as possible because of the payout money involved (more mouths to feed) and to keep competitiveness in those divisions. What they're saying is, "You're welcome to change, but you and your conference won't get any extra money for a while."

The NEC's rule is an attempt to maintain a stable membership.

The lower majors should be returned to D2, from whence they came. Either that or we need a basketball FCS. It would give their kids a realistic chance of winning championships and the NCAA tournament wouldn't be bloated with a bunch of hangers-on hoping to be 'spoilers' and pull a big upset maybe once in a generation.

 

[Hoo's That]

The lower majors should be returned to D2, from whence they came. Either that or we need a basketball MCS. It would give their kids a realistic chance of winning championships and the NCAA tournament wouldn't be bloated with a bunch of hangers-on hoping to be 'spoilers' and pull a big upset maybe once in a generation.

D-2? Most of them are from D-3. They're not competitive in FCS football, so ... They're not hoping to be spoilers; that's just a side benefit. They're anticipating getting the large checks from the CBS TV money to fund their athletic programs. That's why they moved up in the first place. That's why the competition restrictions are placed on movers.

Folks that say that the restrictions are unfair, etc., are thinking like fans. They're not thinking like ADs who have to protect the investment their schools have made in athletics. Or like the NCAA which is trying to preserve the competitiveness of D-2 and D-3.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

The lower majors should be returned to D2, from whence they came. Either that or we need a basketball MCS. It would give their kids a realistic chance of winning championships and the NCAA tournament wouldn't be bloated with a bunch of hangers-on hoping to be 'spoilers' and pull a big upset maybe once in a generation.

Let em play

 

[pfister1]

What does Dick Rockwell have to say about all of this......and who is the most local D-I team for the baseball team to play?

 

[shandeezy7]

D-2? Most of them are from D-3. They're not competitive in FCS football, so ... They're not hoping to be spoilers; that's just a side benefit. They're anticipating getting the large checks from the CBS TV money to fund their athletic programs. That's why they moved up in the first place. That's why the competition restrictions are placed on movers.

Folks that say that the restrictions are unfair, etc., are thinking like fans. They're not thinking like ADs who have to protect the investment their schools have made in athletics. Or like the NCAA which is trying to preserve the competitiveness of D-2 and D-3.

Not to mention, the revenue that can be brought in from "buy games." Le Moyne playing at Syracuse in an exhibition game is lucky if they get paid $10,000 for the game. "Buy games" for D1 opponents are closer to $100,000. That's a major difference, especially when you're playing 3 or 4 of those per year.

 

[shandeezy7]

What does Dick Rockwell have to say about all of this...and who is the most local D-I team for the baseball team to play?

Cornell and Binghamton both have D1 baseball. Further out, Canisius, Niagara, Albany, Siena, St. Bonaventure and Army all have D1 baseball programs.