SJ 2009-09 Coaching Carousel thread

I wrote a story on Longwood a couple of summers ago, talking to a bunch of coaches and athletes from several sports, not just basketball.

The coaches of the non-rev sports, especially softball and soccer, said they were having a very difficult time recruiting because of the no-conference affiliation thing. Mike Gillian, the men's hoops coach, insisted he was selling a dream of moving to DI, and trying to sell kids on the entire four-year experience, rather than the one singular goal of making it to the NCAA tournament. I like Mike a lot, but he's a bit of a bullshit artist in that regard, and he has to do what he has to do to get athletes to a school that will compete for nothing.

Longwood moved DI at a really bad time. It was a perfect geographical fit for the Big South, but right as the decision was made, the Big South made a push to become more of a football conference. Longwood, being a 70-30 W-M ratio school, had no chance, even with a former DI football player as its AD. The Big South has since added Stony Brook as an associate member, Gardner-Webb as a full member (football since 02) and helped Presbyterian fast track from DI because it offered a strong football profile.

I still can't believe the Atlantic Sun won't take Longwood, considering some of the other flotsam it's taken on in recent seasons -- USC Upstate, Florida Gulf Coast, Kennesaw, etc.

 

I'd agree only if the A-Sun added Radford, which they were toying with a few years ago.

As an alum of a former A-Sun school (my school was in the conference while I was there but has since moved on), I've always maintained they should just go ahead and add Savannah State.
Almost all their schools play SSU in every non-conference sport, it is perfect geographically, and it adds a market that is bigger than most of the others in their league.

 

Not sure how much Radford would stand to gain by moving into the A-Sun. The only close school geographically is ETSU. I think they like having VMI, Liberty and High Point all within quick driving distance.

 

Hey, hey, HEY! You shut your filthy mouth.

 

When the A-Sun had meetings with Radford officials a few years ago, the A-Sun was seen as a step-up from the Big South.
But that was when UCF, Florida Atlantic, Georgia State, Troy, Jacksonville State and Samford were all in the conference.
Now the conference is built around small, religious-based private schools instead of having urban commuter schools dominate in every sport.

 

Oh, I agree Bullrog. Because of all the transitionals in the league now, the two conferences are basically a wash. Though the A-Sun doesn't have a garbage school like Chuck South pulling it down in every sport.

 

The A-Sun has 11 teams, and Campbell needs a travel partner. Longwood seems like a logical choice.

 

I'd just like to say that the Atlantic Sun is the dumbest name ever for a conference, followed closely by the Horizon League (which gets extra points because it can be referred to as the "Ho League") and the Summit League.

 

Atlantic Sun is a lot more refined than "Trans American Athletic Conference." What a jumbled mouthful.

Buies Creek to Farmville, Va., is at least a tolerable trip. Everything else is a really long haul for Campbell.

 

Buies Creek, the only place that can consider going to Farmville as taking a trip to the big city.

 

As opposed to the Big East -- which includes noted Eastern schools Louisville, Cinncy, Marquette, Notre Dame, DePaul and USF?

 

Longwood used to have some awesome "mixers" back in the day when the F-M ratio was 100-0. As did the fine ladies at Mary Washington, when it was also a 100-0 F/M institution.

I suspect Jerome Kersey was never, ever lonely at (and did have some) Longwood.