MBB: Coast 2 Coast Athletic Conference

[mwgoonie]

nice to see Mary Washington Uni atop the leader board this year for the first time. Hopefully they put on a good show out in Vegas...though they will have a tough time against UW-Oshgosh....

[mwcsid]

Sowden and Lesesne the two best players in the CAC, hands down....Baker a close third...

Call me a homer, but I disagree. Baker has been as good or better than any player in the CAC this year... Averaging 24 a game (only because he only had 13 in 20 minutes against the Bible school). He went for 28 against CUA and 25 and 10 against SMC, and I think anyone who saw those games would agree that he can do everything well - rebound, penetrate, shoot, defend, pass... In the SMC game, he also had seven assists and five steals. Also, in the season opening tourney, he won tournament MVP despite the fact that we didn't win the tourney. (AND he's 8-11 from behind the 3-pt line this year).

[bison1]

it is early in the season,but the bisons are showing they will have a impact in the cac this season...they play tough defense and now they have 2 freshman that compliment their top players,who everybody knows about frank jackson and robert haney jr..but what is making the team this year click so well is a pair of freshman guards luther weedon and jon mowl,they are giving the support needed to make the team alot better..luther is a deadly shooter and we he gets more playing time his numbers will reflect just that..DONT COUNT OUT THE BISONS!!!!

[mlb]

CUA showed "okay" against Davidson.  I am not sure that Davidson couldn't have blown them out by more if they had tried.  Sowden did show that he could play D-I ball if he chose to.  Not sure that anyone else on Catholic played up to that level.

It looked and sounded like CUA struggled with guard play.  Shooting was obviously a problem based upon the 4-25 first half.  It's hard for a 5'10'' guard to get their shot off against a more athletic, bigger kid.  The result is that they start hurrying the shot and get out of rhythm quickly.  It's just more of the reason that I don't like the game.

Well, they have a week to get through finals and then get ready for McDaniel - who looks to be a decent opponent.  Certainly no pushover going into the break.  If they can get the W next Monday, it would be a nice first way to complete this first "section" of the season.

It will be interesting to see if CUA can be more consistent getting the ball inside and letting their strong inside game set up the outside game.

[njlincolnlion]

I'm a bit late on this one, but great win for Salisbury this past weekend.  The second win over a ranked team so far.  The Gulls needs to be more consistent in order to move up to the next level.

Should be an interesting year in the CAC this year.

[bbald eagle]

Should be an interesting year in the CAC this year.

Already is 

[bbald eagle]

A posting on another d3 board says Catholic & Goucher are pulling out of the CAC in fall 2007:

http://www.d3sports.com/post/index.php?topic=4134.new#new

[r.w. mcnickels]

If that news is confirmed, it has implications for many other schools - not just the institutions involved in the move.  My first question would be: "what happens to the CAC?"  Will the conference continue on with only six teams? 

Given the increased travel times, it's clear that Catholic and Goucher are willing to make sacrifices to make this happen.  Might such motivation be the desire to be associated with "like-minded schools," as the Centennial institutions declared during their bolt from the MAC?

[zonescantstopme]

Any word on any teams that might take the place of Catholic and Goucher?

[Matt Letourneau]

Well, now that its out there, yes, Catholic and Goucher will be leaving the CAC in 2007.  There are a lot of reasons for a move like this, but I for one an excited to see Catholic in a more 'East Coast' league that will enable them to increase their precense in areas where they now don't play (and thus have a harder time recruiting).  This will also pair Catholic with a group of schools that more closely resemble it, especially in terms of tuition costs and academics.

[bbald eagle]

This will also pair Catholic with a group of schools that more closely resemble it, especially in terms of tuition costs and academics.

What does this mean?
 
E.g., U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, one of the members of this new league, is tuition free, isn't it?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

The move is official... and should be interesting. I haven't don all the research just yet, but the conference will certainly be a bit more balanced in all sports (SAL overmatches everyone else in most every other sport in the CAC) and will provide a more even playing field for Goucher and Catholic. Right now they are the two most expensive and smallest schools in the CAC... playing against cheaper bigger schools like SAL.

It will be interesting in the coming weeks to learn more... and we may learn even more tomorrow Hoopsville (hint, hint!).

[bbald eagle]

Right now they are the two most expensive and smallest schools in the CAC... playing against cheaper bigger schools like SAL.

? St. Mary's has about 2/3 the number of undergrads that Catholic has, doesn't it?

[Pat Coleman]

Any word on any teams that might take the place of Catholic and Goucher?

On the front page.

[Matt Letourneau]

St. Mary's has around 1800 undergrads, Catholic is more like 2200-2400, yes.  I'm not sure what the tuition situation at Kings Point is.

There are exceptions...you've found two.  Put an 'in general' in front of what D-Mac and I said about size and cost, though, and its accurate.  For the most part, the CAC schools are significantly cheaper (a CUA education will run you upwards of $30k) and larger for undergrads.  Catholic University started out as a graduate school, and without looking it up I'd guess that CUA probably awards more graduate degrees (include law degrees) than any other CAC school, so that sometimes leads to a perception that it is larger than it really is.

Goucher, CUA, Drew, Moravian, Juanita and Susquehanna are all particularly similar--much more so than CUA is with Salisbury or Mary Washington...The private schools in the CAC tend to be less expensive (York, Marymount) or highly specialized (Galluadet).  SMC, Mary Washington, Salisbury are all much, much cheaper.

There's more to it than that, of course, but that is one aspect.

From a fan standpoint, I'm pleased to not have to put up with the level of officiating in the CAC.  The new league certainly can't be any worse.