OT: Robert Morris to Horizon League?
- Thread starter pittchagg
- Start date
Wish I had listened to SMF and put a big money, backroom-Vegas futures bet in.
I've always felt that the MAAC was a better fit, as it's mostly smaller private schools, while the Horizon is mostly larger publics. The MAAC also pretty much fits into the same footprint as the NEC, lending familiarity to recruiting areas. Once you get past YSU, and Cleveland St., the Horizon is much more far flung. That said, reports were that the MAAC wasn't interested in adding RMU. If that's the case, I can't blame them for making this move if it's true. The NEC is terrible. No NEC team has ever made it past the round of 64.
It really isn't that much worse, travel-wise. The third closest school to RMU in the NEC (after St. Francis and Mt. St. Mary's) is Fairleigh Dickinson in northern New Jersey. In the Horizon YSU, Cleveland State, Detroit, Oakland, Northern Kentucky and Wright State are all closer, and IUPUI is about the same. On the far end Green Bay would be worse than anyone in the NEC, but Bryant is every bit as far from Pittsburgh as Milwaukee is. My guess is that the average travel distance for RMU wouldn't change a lot, and it might even come down a little.
And of course if the Horizon is smart they can ameliorate some of that by making schools "travel buddies". You go play Green Bay on a Thursday and Milwaukee on a Saturday or Sunday. Green Bay comes in and plays some combination of RMU, Cleveland State and Youngstown State on the same trip.
The footprint of the Horizon “feels” more like it fits RMU, as subjective as that is. And I don’t know anything about their recruiting, but from the little I have seen, it seems like they might tend to pull more kids out of that Ohio/Michigan/Illinois corridor moreso than the New England area in the NEC - though I could be wrong.
Good for them, hope it happens. If RMU does join the Horizon League, could this potentially lead to more Pitt-RMU matchups in the future?
Looks like a good move to me. Maybe YSU-RMU can develop a rivalry.
Also, Andy Toole is a very good coach. One way to keep him is to upgrade the conference they play in.
They won't be happy about this out in Lorretto.
The one thing I wonder about is what those schools spend. When the Horizon was still the MCC, they were mostly private schools. They're all public now, except for Detroit-Mercy, which is the smallest school in the league. I understand why they'd do this, but there is something to be said about being with peer schools in your league. We laugh about the Coastal Division, but it's really a good fit for Pitt football, and I'm very happy that we're there. Imagine if we were in the Big 10 East with all of those behemoths.
The one thing I wonder about is what those schools spend. When the Horizon was still the MCC, they were mostly private schools. They're all public now, except for Detroit-Mercy, which is the smallest school in the league. I understand why they'd do this, but there is something to be said about being with peer schools in your league. We laugh about the Coastal Division, but it's really a good fit for Pitt football, and I'm very happy that we're there. Imagine if we were in the Big 10 East with all of those behemoths.
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Apparently, going to the MAAC isn't out of the question. There are several former NEC schools in the MAAC, so I wonder if that will play into the decision?
https://pittsburghsportsnow.com/202...dering-options-to-leave-northeast-conference/
RMUFan, get in here and comment!!!!
https://pittsburghsportsnow.com/202...dering-options-to-leave-northeast-conference/
RMUFan, get in here and comment!!!!
I’m surprised they’ve been able to hold him as long as they have. He’s been absolutely decimated by transfers in his time there but always has them playing good ball by the end of the year. Between the facility upgrade and now a possible move up in conference, he’ll certainly leave that program in a great spot when he does eventually get snatched up.
SMF knows college sports expansion. I'm not sure if I should add this to my growing tally of correct predictions since I also said they could get into the MAAC.
I have said the Horizon is the better geographic fit although they are most largely state universities. YSU and Cleveland St are right up the street. Wright St and Northern Kentucky are 4 hours away. Detroit and Oakland are 5. IUPUI is less than 6. Only UIC, Green Bay, and Milwaukee are further. In the NEC, there's 4 teams from New England which is like 10-12 hours (and remember RMU is bussing not flying). SFU is close and Mt. St. Mary's isnt far but the rest are in NYC Metro area and while that's great for recruiting, you're looking at a 6-7 hour drive and dealing with a lot of traffic. I mean it was a no brainer to leave but they will actually also save on travel. Their next step would hopefully he to join YSU in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
The Horizon is a legit mid-major league, a huge step up from the NEC, which I believe is the only D1 conference to never win a Round of 64 NCAAT game. If it were me, I'd agree to a 3 for 1 deal with RMU if they were in the Horizon and a 2 for 1 with Duquesne.
I don't think they'd keep teams on the road for a week by playing YSU, CSU, and RMU on the same trip. Maybe:
Cleveland/YSU
Wright St/NKU
Detroit/Oakland
Milwaukee/Green Bay
IUPUI/Purdue-Fort Wayne
RMU/UIC? Play RMU on a Thursday, fly to Chicago after the game to play UIC on Saturday
Well that isn't what I said. I said some combination of RMU, YSU and Cleveland State. So maybe one week Milwaukee and Green Bay play at RMU and YSU. Then a couple weeks later Detroit and Oakland play RMU and Cleveland State. And then a couple weeks later Wright State and NKU play YSU and Cleveland State. Something like that. If you aren't doing a full round robin schedule it would be easy to work it out. If you do divisions by geography it might be a little harder, but it still wouldn't be that big a deal to work it out.
They could also do that with UIC, Milwauker, and Green Bay.
I wonder if the NEC would consider backfilling with Cal or IUP being that it would replace RMU's presence in Western PA and each have fantastic mid-major level arenas which would both easily be the best ones in the NEC. NJIT is also an option as they are stuck in the A-Sun but the NEC is very heavy in Metro NYC.
If the NEC wants Cal or IUP and Cal or IUP want the NEC, there is no way that PA will prevent them from elevating to D1 status.
No kidding. Didn’t know about their facilities until I looked it up. They’re very nice.
I remember there being a big stink about the cost of Cal's when it was built. It's obviously excessive for what they are. That's a better arena than either of the new ones at RMU, or Duquesne.No kidding. Didn’t know about their facilities until I looked it up. They’re very nice.
Most of the school's teams will be taking a bus. The basketball teams will be taking a bus much more often than not.
No kidding. Didn’t know about their facilities until I looked it up. They’re very nice.
Those have to be the 2 best D2 arenas, right? I couldn't imagine anyone having nicer ones. To say Cal's would be a great mid-major arena would be an understatement. I would guess their arena is better than 90-95% of D1 mid-majors and 100% of low-majors. Their President was fired for building it but maybe if they can go D1, it would be worth it.
It's hard to compare that with D1 arenas because of size. Is it better than a larger but outdated arena like Hinkle, or Carnesecca? There are plenty like those in D1.
Carnesecca - by a mile
Hinkle - no but those are 2 major D1 programs you listed. I said mid-major
Doesn't matter. You're estimates are off by 100 miles. Not only are the majority of mid major arenas significantly larger than Cal's, there are quite a few low majors that have significantly larger arenas, some of them of quite recent vintage. Just for example, look at the Horizon, where every school but Oakland has a larger arena than Cal. Even the lowly SWAC has 6 schools playing in arenas that hold 7,000 or more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NCAA_Division_I_basketball_arenas
Problem for Cal U isn’t the arena but the quality of the basketball team there (almost always finishing under .500) and hardly any fans showing up/living in the surrounding area.
That's the difficulty in trying to compare. At what point is an arena too small, regardless of how "nice" it is?
So excited for RMU. I mean they are moving up an entire level, essentially. Going from Minor D1/low-major to mid-major. I mean the Horizon is a league where you could at least be on the bubble for an at-large bid if you have like 28-6 season but dont win your league. Not that RMU would do that but an at-large bid out of the NEC is not ever even thought of.
Also makes so much sense geographically. Now the NEC has 7 Eastern time zone teams all within 4-5 hours (RMU, Cleveland St, YSU, Detroit, Oakland, Wright St, NKU) and 5 Central time zone teams within 4-5 hours of each other (Purdue-Fort Wayne, IUPUI, UIC, Milwaukee, Green Bay).
Good for Bobby Mo and Andy Toole. He’s done a marvelous job, especially in the old Sewall Center that was a dump. All three local schools have the arrow pointing up
It'll be interesting to see if Toole can transition from recruiting all those NY/NJ players to recruiting the rust belt.
It's a great move for RMU and may be a blessing the MAAC passed.
It's a great move for RMU and may be a blessing the MAAC passed.
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