Top 25 talk

[Gregory Sager]

You're right, the travel would be difficult. If I recall, though, Hopkins has had opportunities to join in the past and decided against it, correct?

JHU was a partial member of the UAA in its early years. The Blue Jays would only take part in one round-robin in men's and women's basketball, f'instance, and were ineligible for the conference championship. It was never the kind of thing that made any sense, either for JHU or the UAA, so in the end the Blue Jays just quietly exited and went local in terms of their conference affiliation.

Hopkins was a founding member of the UAA but left due to financial concerns.  The year escapes me.

2001.

[Gregory Sager]

I don't see any incentive for Tufts to join UAA.  What would be the point?  They are currently in an equally prestigious academic league which also happens to be the best overall athletic D3 league in the country.  Tufts in recent years has won multiple national titles for each sport in men's soccer, men's lacrosse, women's softball, and had other title or contending teams in lots of other sports (field hockey, women's hoops, I think a few others).  In other words, they are flying high from their current perch. They get to play against their traditional rivals, all of whom are an easy drive (other than Hamilton, I think all within 3.5 hours and half of the league more like 1-2 hours), and many of whom are some of their biggest overlaps for applicants (I think Tufts competes mostly with other NESCAC schools, perhaps Emory among UAA schools would be a big overlap too but with no UAA schools in New England it's a pretty different applicant group).

Uh, are you sure about that? 

[Caz Bombers]

The women aren't on the Washington Heights campus, so it doesn't make a ton of sense to send them up there for games.

I want being entirely serious with the suggestion. Beyond the travel issue, YU would have to seriously increase their athletic investment to do something like that. As we've seen with mbb, the athletes are there if the investment is, but it would likely be a priority shift they're not down for, which is fine.

The reality is, a lot of the more competitive leagues for them (like the Liberty League) do weekend doubles that probably wouldn't work for YU. Being in a conference with a small geographic footprint makes the most sense.

I admit I didn't know that about the Stern school not being in Washington Heights. Turns out it's at 34th/35th and Lex which makes WBB/VB's pre-COVID home base at Baruch only a dozen or so blocks away make a lot more sense.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

You're right, the travel would be difficult. If I recall, though, Hopkins has had opportunities to join in the past and decided against it, correct?

JHU was a partial member of the UAA in its early years. The Blue Jays would only take part in one round-robin in men's and women's basketball, f'instance, and were ineligible for the conference championship. It was never the kind of thing that made any sense, either for JHU or the UAA, so in the end the Blue Jays just quietly exited and went local in terms of their conference affiliation.

Hopkins was already local by being a dual-membership school. They competed in and were members of both the Centennial and the UAA for a time. When they left the UAA, they simply just solidified their Centennial membership - a conference they also are a founding member. Hopkins had been part of the football conference that pre-dated the full Centennial along with Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg, Muhlenberg, Swarthmore, Ursinus, and McDaniel (formerly Western Maryland).

Hopkins was a dual member basically from the time the Centennial went full membership in 1992 until 2001 when they left the UAA.

As for Tufts, I didn't see it mentioned ... so sorry for that confusion. And I didn't say Tufts was leaving the NESCAC ... just saying they are a more likely choice than the others mentioned.

[WUPHF]

And I didn't say Tufts was leaving the NESCAC ... just saying they are a more likely choice than the others mentioned.

It really would be a great fit for a lot of reasons.

And if the UAA were to eventually lose a member or two, the majority of the speculation would involve schools that would seem like the longest of long shots. 

I might suggest Washington and Lee and many of you would think I was crazy.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was mentioned and that is an intriguing choice, assuming that Rochester was one that stayed.

[jknezek]

And I didn't say Tufts was leaving the NESCAC ... just saying they are a more likely choice than the others mentioned.

It really would be a great fit for a lot of reasons.

And if the UAA were to eventually lose a member or two, the majority of the speculation would involve schools that would seem like the longest of long shots. 

I might suggest Washington and Lee and many of you would think I was crazy.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was mentioned and that is an intriguing choice, assuming that Rochester was one that stayed.

W&L is not a research school and the only grad school is Law. I don't think they fit in the UAA. If W&L wanted that much travel, I assume they would have been more interested in the SAA.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Sheesh!  Logged in and decided to check out the Top 25 room and I literally backed out twice to confirm I hadn't accidentally clicked on the UAA Discussion board (which are right next to one another the way I have them filtered)   

[WUPHF]

W&L is not a research school and the only grad school is Law. I don't think they fit in the UAA. If W&L wanted that much travel, I assume they would have been more interested in the SAA.

Very true, but every UAA member has a relatively small undergraduate population with a strong liberal arts focus.  That is why I said that the UAA may look more broadly for membership if necessary.

For me, this is an interesting thought exercise, but I do not see anything changing with the UAA.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

W&L would LOVE to be in the UAA, but they won't be in the conference for a host of reasons. Location is also chief among them.

W&L is interested in the SAA, but from what I'm told ... that interest is one-way.

Per the RPI idea, they are Tier 2. I've been told by those in the UAA that the conference would only take Tier 1 institutes that are also part of the Association of American Universities (which RPI is also not a member).

Maybe that AAU and Tier 1 ideas and mandates change, but ... I am not sure why at this point.

[SpringSt7]

As for other possible schools, I can't believe no one mentions Tufts... I think they would be more realistic, even a stretch, than MIT or others in New England.

Everyone mentioned Tufts.

[nescac1]

My bad on omitting Brandeis from Tufts' geographic orbit (I should not forget them considering I worked in Waltham District Court for six months!) and forgetting about North Park being in Chicago. 

My point on Tufts was not to say they would not be a perfect fit for UAA or that UAA would not love to have them, just that I don't see any real benefit that would justify the massive travel costs entailed in switching leagues, from Tufts' perspective. 

[Greek Tragedy]

As for other possible schools, I can't believe no one mentions Tufts... I think they would be more realistic, even a stretch, than MIT or others in New England.

Everyone mentioned Tufts.

Not everyone. I don't think Meadow Soprano mentions Tufts. She did visit Bates, Bowdoin and Colby though.

[SpringSt7]

And like many NESCAC recruits, she opted for a single digit win Ivy program at the last minute.

[jknezek]

W&L would LOVE to be in the UAA, but they won't be in the conference for a host of reasons. Location is also chief among them.

W&L is interested in the SAA, but from what I'm told ... that interest is one-way.

Interesting about W&L. When the SAA was formed I heard that W&L chose to stay in the ODAC due to travel simplicity. I was also told, even as the ODAC has struggled for football members, that the leadership in Lexington still prefers the ODAC versus any other option except the CC,  but that the CC has no need or interest in the Generals outside of wrestling.

Just rumors of course and you would be more plugged in than me.

[Darryl Nester]

How They Fared (So Far)

Seven cancelled or postponed games so far, plus two results listed as 2-0 forfeits. That's quite a bit fewer than the women's side (17+2), but there's still the weekend for the men to catch up.

Top 25

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#1	611	Randolph-Macon	10-1	01/08 vs. Guilford
#2	602	UW-Platteville	14-0	won at UW-Eau Claire, 60-46; 01/08 vs. UW-Stout
#3	570	Illinois Wesleyan	9-2	01/08 at Carthage
#4	540	UW-Oshkosh	12-2	LOST to UW-Whitewater, 78-82 OT; 01/08 at UW-River Falls
#5	477	Yeshiva	14-1	IDLE
#6	448	St. Joseph (Conn.)	8-0	01/06 at Albertus Magnus; 01/08 vs. Regis (Mass.)
#7	437	Washington U.	10-1	01/08 at Chicago
#8	434	Marietta	10-2	won at Muskingum, 92-72; 01/08 vs. Wilmington
#9	395	Wheaton (Ill.)	12-2	won at North Park, 89-64
#10	386	Christopher Newport	13-2	01/05 at Marymount canc/ppd; 01/08 at York (Pa.)
#11	384	UW-La Crosse	10-2	won at UW-Stout, 89-85; 01/08 at UW-Stevens Point
#12	359	Johns Hopkins	8-1	def. Dickinson, 82-48; 01/08 at Haverford
#13	322	Whitworth	9-1	01/07 vs. Pacific; 01/08 vs. Linfield
#14	289	Elmhurst	11-2	IDLE
#15	257	Mount Union	10-1	def. Baldwin Wallace, 2-0; 01/07 vs. Capital
#16	253	Roanoke	9-2	01/05 vs. Ferrum canc/ppd; 01/08 at Virginia Wesleyan
#17	218	Williams	9-0	01/07 vs. Hamilton; 01/08 vs. #28 Amherst
#18	191	Swarthmore	10-1	def. McDaniel, 78-37; 01/08 vs. Franklin and Marshall
#19	172	Mary Hardin-Baylor	10-1	def. Concordia (Texas), 111-101; 01/06 vs. Sul Ross State; 01/08 vs. Howard Payne
#20	167	Maryville (Tenn.)	11-1	01/04 vs. Brevard canc/ppd; 01/08 at Mary Baldwin; 01/09 at Greensboro
#21	155	Heidelberg	10-1	def. John Carroll, 2-0; 01/08 vs. Otterbein
#22	104	Hardin-Simmons	10-1	01/06 vs. #42 LeTourneau; 01/08 vs. Texas-Dallas
#23	89	Wesleyan	12-1	won at #28 Amherst, 94-85 3OT; 01/07 at T#33 Tufts; 01/09 at Bates
#24	51	WPI	9-1	won at Springfield, 68-52; 01/08 vs. MIT
#25	39	RPI	9-1	01/07 at Ithaca; 01/08 at Union

Others receiving votes

Rank	Pts	Team	W-L	Results
#26	25	Oswego	10-1	def. St. Lawrence, 74-60
#27	24	Case Western Reserve	10-1	won at Hilbert, 102-80; 01/08 at Carnegie Mellon
#28	22	Amherst	8-2	LOST to #23 Wesleyan, 85-94 3OT; 01/07 at Middlebury; 01/08 at #17 Williams
#29	15	DeSales	13-1	won at FDU-Florham, 102-63
T#30	14	Berry	9-2	01/07 at Rhodes; 01/09 at Hendrix
T#30	14	Trinity (Texas)	10-2	01/08 vs. Texas Lutheran
#32	11	Emory	7-3	01/04 vs. Huntingdon canc/ppd; 01/08 at T#37 Rochester
T#33	9	Tufts	4-7	01/07 vs. #23 Wesleyan
T#33	9	Wartburg	11-2	won at Central, 58-35; 01/08 vs. Nebraska Wesleyan
#35	8	Brandeis	7-2	01/03 vs. Bates canc/ppd; 01/08 vs. New York University
#36	6	Augsburg	9-2	01/08 vs. Macalester
T#37	5	Rochester	8-2	won at Buffalo State, 99-57; 01/08 vs. #32 Emory
T#37	5	Stockton	10-2	01/03 vs. Misericordia canc/ppd; LOST at Kean, 75-83; 01/08 at William Paterson
#39	3	Chapman	9-1	01/05 at Whittier canc/ppd
T#40	2	Hampden-Sydney	7-2	01/08 at Washington and Lee
T#40	2	Nazareth	9-1	def. Houghton, 74-50; 01/07 at Hartwick; 01/08 at Sage
#42	1	LeTourneau	9-2	01/06 at #22 Hardin-Simmons; 01/08 at McMurry