[Sly Fox]

There are several potentially blockbuster nuggets in this story from over in Tidewater today. The Daily Press did a rather lengthy interview with MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas. And many of the things that have been feared by certain MEAC schools such as Hampton and SC State seem to be coming to fruition.

Commissioner guides big MEAC changes
From TV and shoe deals to possible expansion, Dennis Thomas always meets the challenges.

BY MARTY O'BRIEN
February 12, 2006

VIRGINIA BEACH -- During his introduction in 2002 as Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference commissioner, Dennis Thomas wondered aloud, "What the heck have I gotten myself into?" He was only half-joking.

Thomas was ending a successful tenure as athletics director at Hampton University to lead a conference that was cash-strapped and in need of an image makeover. Four years later, many challenges remain.

MEAC basketball ranks near the bottom of Division I, its tournament overshadowed among regional historically black college fans by the Division II CIAA tournament. MEAC football remains popular among students and alumni, but the conference hasn't won a Division I-AA playoff game in six years.

None of the obstacles has slowed Thomas, who daily promotes the conference with the missionary zeal of a true believer. He views the MEAC as "11 tremendous institutions" carrying on the legacy of historically black colleges that "persevered when access to everything was denied."

His successes are undeniable. During the past three years, the conference has signed an 8-year footwear deal with Nike, a 5-year apparel deal with Russell Athletics and a 7-year television deal with ESPN that will generate hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The conference men's and women's basketball tournaments, set for March 7-11, begin a three-year run at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C., after seven years in Richmond. At least two, perhaps three, schools are expected to join the conference in the next two years, swelling membership to 14.

Last fall, the conference moved its headquarters from a cubbyhole in Greensboro, N.C. to 6,500 square feet in the posh, new Armada Hoffler Tower in Virginia Beach. From his office on the 11th floor, Thomas can see the oceanfront on a clear day.

That's a little backgrounder before they get down to the big issues in the interview:

Q: If you expand by two or three schools, that would make you a 13- or 14-team conference. You'd have 11 or 12 football-playing schools, versus nine today. Will you divide the football schools into divisions and create a MEAC championship game?

A: Our long-range strategic plan, if we have 10 or more football-playing institutions, is to possibly go into divisional play and have a championship game. That would give us the opportunity to generate additional revenue. Our champion would forego participating in the Division I-AA playoffs.

Q: If the MEAC championship-game winner isn't going to the I-AA playoffs, will it be playing the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship-game winner for the Black College National title? (Note: The SWAC already skips the I-AA playoffs to conduct a championship game)

A: We've already discussed it. That's part of the game plan. We think we could make it work. We (the MEAC and SWAC) are in discussions.

Whoa! He seems so matter of fact about pulling the MEAC Champion out of the I-AA Playoffs. That is a HUGE sticking point for certain MEAC schools who might consider jumping to a league like the Big South.

Q: How do football coaches and athletic directors feel about giving up on the I-AA playoffs?

A: Most people understand and are for the financial benefits of a Black College National Championship game. They understand the revenue from it will be much greater than from the I-AA playoffs.

Coaches always want to win national championships, but on a nationwide level they won't be doing that in the I-AA playoffs. If we do this the way it's supposed to be done, the financial benefit will be well worth playing in a Heritage Bowl.

http://www.dailypress.com/sports/dp-702 ... orts-local

I can't begin to tell you how this could potentially divde the MEAC and benefit the Big South.

Stay Tuned.

[Sly Fox]

Here is reaction from an SC State alum on his blog tonight:

Does this man speak for us? I think Buddy Pough thinks we can compete!!! I know our team does. Why does our commisioner cut and run instead of leading the conference and pushing the schools to upgrade facilties and do what is needed to compete? Why not model after the schools that are successful in the playoffs? Are they really that much better than us? Our leader seems to think so, since he feels we should run away with our tails tucked. basically he is saying "we cannot compete with white schools, so we will take our ball and run" Is that leadership. There is word for people who think like that where I am from, but for decency's sake, I won't type that word here. It starts with a "B"...and it ain't Brother


SCSU fans must see this for what it is. The MEAC conference is running away from the playoffs. WE must run away from the MEAC. just beacuse we are a HBCU, doesn't mean we HAVE to be in a BCF conference. TSU does fine in the OVC and playing HBCU's in Classics. If SCSU, Hampton, FAMU, and BCC left the MEAC, we would still play them in conference, and could play a few of the others in Classics.

Who benefits from SCSU not going to the playoffs....only the schools like Coppin State and UMES that don't have football teams, and the weaker MEAC schools that know they have no chance at winning the MEAC in football anyway. Why punish the whole conference for a few schools beng afraid to compete? We need a conference leader who will lead, not run....

I am beginning a campaign to gert SCSU to leave the MEAC. We might as well. Our leader, or whatever you want to call him, has already left us hanging...

http://scstate.blogspot.com/

[WinthropEagleFan]

Nice find Sly...It'll be interesting to see that if push comes to shove, that a school like SC State or Hampton will really consider leaving the MEAC because of the playoff issue...For my selfish geographical reasons, I'd be very happy to see SCSU in the league...

[Sly Fox]

Here is a thread on MEACfans calling for action:

http://community.meacfans.com/groupee/f ... 3621083302

[PAmedic]

SLY you have definitely been on top of this since day one. Many months ago over on the other board I remember you brought this up- and I was at the time, and still am, puzzled by the reaction of some MEAC fans who didn't think they'd be welcome in the BSOUTH.

I for one am trying not to get my hopes up, but a SC State or Hampton coming over would be GREAT!

[jcmanson]

I would love to see some of these schools come over to the Big South. Being from VA, I would love to see Hampton, but SC State would be a great draw as well. Hopefully, KK will and is acting on this to try to lure some of those schools into the Big South.

[TDDance234]

Norfolk State could be a huge get.

[Sly Fox]

I have a feeling Norfolk State is perfectly content to play for an HBCU National title game.

The four MEAC schools who would make the most sense are Hampton, NC A&T, SC State and Deleware State. The latter has been looking to get out of the MEAC for some time and this is probably the excuse their administration needs to pull the trigger. Hampton & SC State would be the crowned jewels of the MEAC who would fit in extremely well in our league and would most certainly assure that we get the MEAC's auto bid when it is surrendered. A&T is bigtime rivals with both HU & SCSU and even though their football program is down right now would make a nice addition to our league.

I know I seem to be shouting in this thread for little reason, but this could be unbelievably huge our league. It would give CCU a reason to stay and would give the Big South legitimacy in the world of I-AA football overnight. Frankly, it would make Presbyterian much less attractive.

If those of you on campus run into any of the football coaching staff or our new AD let them know how excited you are about the possibility of these schools joining our league. As PAmedic mentioned, some of these MEAC schools seem to think they wouldn't be welcome int he Big South. We need there to be no question how welcome they are.

As mentioned earlier, KK had better be putting ona hard sell to the rumored schools RIGHT NOW. The MEAC commish has gone public with his rumored plans and the tremors are being felt all over the region.

Frankly, I wonder where Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman might wind up if they bolt as well (both have vocal alumni up in arms right now). They don't really have a natural I-AA league to head to as well. Perhaps we woudl take them all in as football only schools. That way we could all have an auto bid for football and maintain our non-football attachments. Just thinking out loud.

I'm seriously pumped about the possibilities if you can't tell.

[Chris Lang]

Sly, here's the problem, though. There's no way the MEAC allows those four or six to stick in the league in all other sports if they bolt in football. I think it has to be an all-or-nothing situation. So taking BCC and FAMU is out of the question. You take the four mentioned (DSU, HU, NCAT, SCSU) and it's a 13-team league (maybe then you add Longwood to balance out schedules and perhaps create divisions).

[jcmanson]

Why would we want to add Delaware State? They would be like Birmingham, away from the heart of the league. I would be for adding HU, NCAT, and SCSU. That way we wouldn't need to add our little sister to the east (Longwood) either.

[Sly Fox]

I agree that its unlikely the MEAC would allow those schools to leave for football only. But those schools also happen to be the strongest overall int he league. And if backed into a corer perhaps that commish would blink.

But we'd gladly take those four into the folks in an all-sport situation. In fact we'd love to FAMU as well. But when you expand into Florida you start getting into new travel budget issues. Its too bad we have some of the non-football riff raff in our league we possess. As for Longwood rounding things out, please no ... only in worst case scenarios.

[A.G.]

One thing we have to look at is ACADEMICS. It is the league presidents that vote the membership in. This is why Gardner-Webb is not a full member now--there were concerns about their academic standing. This why BSU got in--a very reputable school. I am not criticizing any of the MEAC schools, because I don't know--I just know that that IS something the league presidents will look at before any expansion would take place.

[SuperJon]

I agree that DSU wouldn't be a good fit. We're the Big South. Since when has Delaware been in the South?

The other three would be perfect. The rivalry with CCU and SCSU is starting after last year's game. That game was flat out amazing. It was a fun game too. It was a huge game but it was like playing your best friend and just wanting to beat them, not like a team that you hate and want to beat. Add Hampton and NC A&T and we're in for a good league. That'd be 8 teams and 8 teams is perfect. Seven conference games, four non conference, and the MEAC's auto bid.

[jcmanson]

That would also give us 12 teams in basketball. Not to mention those teams' success in bball, Hampton in particular with their win as a #15 seed several years back.

[Sly Fox]

DSU has supposedly made overtures to the Big South in recent years but there has been resistance on both sides that have kept the marriage from happening. Travel has always been an issue with DSU from both the MEAC & Big South. Its been such a problem for them that they have seriously considered stepping up to I-A because of their limited I-AA possibilities.

There is no question Hampton, A&T and SC State would be the plums of the league. But each school may have its own issues over leaving their longtime league. But several moving together would keep some of that appeal intact.

As for academics, that is a slippery slope for a league in our position. Hampton is particular has an extremely nice rep in HBCU circles. And you have a tough time dissing any of these schools' HBCU curriculum. It could be a factor but I certainly hope not. I would think our school would certainly be inclusive would allow other schools with unique cultures into our league.

[WinthropEagleFan]

Adding 3 or 4 established I-AA football programs would be great for this league for football, no doubt about that, and I do realize that stabilizing the football situation is a huge priority and necessity for the Big South right now...but there are 17 other sports that the league sponsors and those need to be considered as well.

I feel like adding one or two of those teams would be great, but once you start adding more, it just seems to water down all of the rest of the sports and makes the league too big (creating unbalanced conference schedules)...It would be one thing if all of these programs brought solid programs in other sports, but in almost all cases they don't....Here's how the 3 most likely candidates look in a handful of sports:

Men's basketball (05-06 current RPI):
SCSU - 242
Hampton - 297
NC A&T - 319

Women's basketball (05-06 current RPI):
NC A&T - 273
SCSU - 277
Hampton - 315

Baseball (last season RPI):
NC A&T - 227
Hampton and SCSU do not field teams

Volleyball (2005 RPI):
NC A&T - 247
Hampton - 288
SCSU - 311

Softball (last season RPI):
Hampton - 228
SCSU - 245
NC A&T - 246

Those were the sports I was able to find info on easily...can't speak for other sports such as track, soccer, tennis, etc.

The conference has seen some improvement in virtually every sport over the last few years and the addition of one or maybe two teams likely won't change much...but once you keep adding poor-performing programs, it'll just water-down the whole league and stunt some of the overall growth of the league....Now obviously, the numbers I gathered are a snapshot, and over time these programs may get better (but they could also get worse, who knows), so it isn't completely fair to say that these schools would bring down all of these sports. But at the same time, the league can't simply ignore the other sports purely for the sake of football.

So yes, adding some established football schools is needed, but the league needs to be careful about how this is done...But if the league can add one or two, that would be great...any more than that seems like overkill if the schools that are added don't bring anything more than football to the table.

[SuperJon]

WEF, just a question, playing devil's advocate: Would it be better adding a couple football schools and keeping the current football schools in the conference at the expense of the other sports, or possibly have one or two football schools leave in all sports?

[WinthropEagleFan]

The league can't afford to lose Coastal...they seem to be the most eager/ready to leave and they are solid overall program that would really hurt the league if they left...So yes, the league needs to make sure to get a couple of new football teams in (if that is what it will take to keep CCU around)...What I'm a little worried about, is adding 4+ schools, purely for football reasons, when they bring nothing else to the table...Nobody would benefit from that. Add one or two schools, and I don't think anyone would complain...

[SuperJon]

I personally don't see DSU getting in so I think it'd just be three teams. Can you imagine the strain of BSU having to go to DSU and vise versa?

[Sly Fox]

I think we all realize that if the Big South doesn't get an auto bid soon then the chances of not only CCU but several other schools bolting increases each day. Once you pull CCU and LU out of the mix, the rest of the Big South doesn't look anywhere near as attractive across the board. It quickly is relegated to Winthrop and a bunch of poor performers. So while these MEAC schools admittedly don't bring much to the table outside of football, they are needed on that basis alone.

I agree that the best case scenario would be to bring in Hampton & SC State and be done with it. But realistically I believ we'll probably have to welcome A&T at the minimum in order to get Hampton & SC State to bite. I could be wrong on this, but base don my time hanging out around the MEAC board last summer that is what I was led to believe. Perhaps the dynamics have changed since then.

[WinthropEagleFan]

I just don't want to see anymore than 12 teams in the league...I'm really not much of a fan of going over 10, but I understand the importance of needing to add a couple of schools...I just got frightened at the thought of a 13-team league needing to add Longwood for divisional balance...it made me cringe.

[Sly Fox]

You know how I feel about Longwood. Perhaps UNC-W could be enticed from their travel issues in the CAA.

[TallyW]

Does anyone have any connections to see if the MEAC is even being discussed at the BSC headquarters?

[Chris Lang]

I'll tell you now that if you ask Kallander about it, he'll duck the question. Every time I ask about expansion, he speaks in complete vagaries and won't comment on specific schools. Trying to get anything "official" would be moot until any school even tried to apply to join the Big South. Until then, everything is pure speculation. Now if you get Hampton's AD on the record saying "We are exploring joining the Big South," then you've got much more meat to a story.

So while this is all well and good, right now, it is all speculation.

[PAmedic]

Del State is definitely part of the South. at least to me!

just one more way to get a game closer to home for me. Have to agree that the numbers start to get scary after 12, and I understand WEF's (the stat man) perspective- but FB really is the problem here. No doubt WU has given the league a presence lately in MBB, but the rest of us are battling for respectability and opportunity during the fall season.