My task gets a little easier today, as we’ll deal with two conferences whose basketball programs I don’t have to worry about. First up, the SEC of FCS (no disrespect intended to the SoCon), aka the Colonial Athletic Association.
Members: (full) Delaware Blue Hens, James Madison Dukes, Towson Tigers, William & Mary Tribe. (football-only) Maine Black Bears, Massachusetts Minutemen, New Hampshire Wildcats, Rhode Island Rams, Richmond Spiders, and Villanova Wildcats. (non-football) Drexel Dragons, George Mason Patriots, Georgia State Panthers, Hofstra Pride, Northeastern Huskies, Old Dominion Monarchs, UNC-Wilmington Seahawks, Virginia Commonwealth Rams.
Northeastern and Hofstra ended their football programs last fall, of course. Old Dominion’s football team joins the conference next year, followed in 2012 by Georgia State. I will go ahead and cover those two teams here, rather than among the independents.
The conference has technically only sponsored football since 2007; however, conventional wisdom and basic logic hold that the CAA football league is the direct descendant in unbroken lineage from the Atlantic 10 football conference, itself the direct descendant of the old Yankee Conference. Both times, when the name of the conference changed, the conference roster was exactly the same either side of the change. As a result, I and most other data-aggregating types consider the league as dating back to 1947*, and competing in an uninterrupted fashion.
* – the Yankee Conference actually began in 1938 as the New England Conference, but didn’t start officially sponsoring football until 1947, when it changed its name. Schizo, I know.
The charter members were UConn, Maine, UMass, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. In 1971, Boston U and Holy Cross joined; Holy Cross left after only two years. Vermont dropped football in 1974. The conference began expanding in the 80s, adding Delaware, Richmond, and Villanova. In 1993, another three teams joined the fold: James Madison, Northeastern, and William & Mary. The conference moved under the aegis of the Atlantic 10 in 1997; after that season, Boston U dropped its football program. In 2000, the conference lost a charter member as UConn moved up to FBS; they were replaced the following year by Hofstra. Towson was added in 2004, and the changes since then have been noted above.
The conference title ends up being shared more often than not, due the the competitive balance of the upper tier of the league. Since the early-80s expansion, only seven times has a team run the table in conference play. In contrast, on six occasions two or more teams have tied for the championship with two conference losses. UMass has won or shared 21 league titles, leading the pack. UConn is still in second at 15. The defunct program at Boston U claimed all or part of five titles, while Hofstra and Northeastern each shared the title once.
The conference was a Division II conference until the creation of Division I-AA. During those years, conference teams made three appearances in the D-II playoffs with a 1-3 record. In the I-AA/FCS playoffs, the conference sports a 50-55 record (43-48 if excluding intra-conference matchups), five FCS championships, and two additional championship game losses. Current members of the conference, taking into account appearances prior to CAA membership, have a total FCS playoff record of 71-67.
TIDBITS:
Delaware has won or shared eight conference titles. As members of the league, Delaware is 17-11 in the playoffs in 12 trips. Under KC Keeler, who took over the program in 2002, they won the 2003 I-AA title, and lost in the 2007 championship game. Prior to joining the CAA, Delaware also lost the 1982 championship game, as well as the 1974 and 1978 D-II title games; they won the D-II title in 1979. Their overall record in the I-AA playoffs is 19-13 (14 appearances); their record in D-II was 7-4. Keeler’s predecessor, legend Tubby Raymond, helmed the program for 36 years, winning exactly 300 games. They’re 7-0 thus far this year, and are in control of the CAA race. The Blue Hens have provided two starting NFL QBs: current Ravens QB Joe Flacco, and former Vikings, Chiefs, and Raiders QB Rich Gannon.
Georgia State just got started with football this year, and they’ll officially join the league in 2012. They’re led by former Georgia Tech, Alabama, and Kentucky head coach Bill Curry, and are currently 5-2 in their inaugural season.
We’ll include Hofstra even though they’re no longer playing, since they were around last year. The Pride made five appearances in the I-AA playoffs, going 2-5; only one of these (0-1 in 2001) was as a conference member. They also made five trips to the D-III playoffs, going 0-5. They split the 2001 conference title. They’ve sent some guys to the NFL, including former Jets WR Wayne Chrebet, former 49ers and Titans DB Lance Schulters, and current Saints WR Marques Colston.
James Madison didn’t come out of nowhere before stunning Virginia Tech. They’ve made nine appearances in the playoffs, going 8-8 including the 2004 I-AA title. The Dukes have shared four league crowns. Coach Mickey Matthews, in his eleventh year, has a record of 86-53. JMU has provided a total of 10 Pro Bowl seasons to the NFL, courtesy of Redskins WR Gary Clark, 49ers and Cowboys DE Charles Haley, and Bills K Scott Norwood.
Maine has a share of ten conference titles, most of them before 1990. They’ve made five trips to the playoffs, going 2-5. Jack Cosgrove has been head coach since 1993, going 95-106; some notable men preceded him, including Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, Harvard’s Tim Murphy, Dartmouth’s Buddy Teevens, and former Boston College coach Jack Bicknell.
Massachusetts lost the first I-AA Championship Game in 1978, as well as in 2006. Overall, they’ve gone 10-7 in eight trips, including winning the national title in 1998. Former Lions QB Greg Landry was a Minuteman.
New Hampshire has claimed part of 13 conference titles, and made 8 playoff trips. They’ve never made it past the second round, going 5-8; they were also 1-2 in two D-II appearances. Sean McDonnell has been in charge since 1999, and has a 84-56 career record. He was preceded by Bill Bowes, who spent 27 years in Durham, collecting 175 victories.
Northeastern is also gone but not forgotten, although their resume might as well be. In 2002, they shared the league crown, and lost an opening-round playoff game; that sums up their accomplishments. Raiders, Oilers, and Packers DE Sean Jones was a Husky, as was Bengals TE Dan Ross and Steelers DE Keith Willis.
Old Dominion ditched their football team way back in 1940; they relaunched in 2009. They’ll join the league in 2011. They’re off to a good start as an independent, having gone 9-2 in 2009, and currently sit at 3-3 this year.
Rhode Island has gone 2-3 in three visits to the post-season (all of which were prior to 1986), and grabbed a share of seven league championships. They’re reportedly looking into a move to the Northeast Conference, which would have the benefit of reducing their football scholarship load by about half.
Richmond has made eight tournament appearances (one of which preceded their membership in the league). They’ve gone 10-7, including the 2008 FCS title under coach Mike London, now the boss at Virginia. The Spiders have a share of six league crowns. Prior to joining I-AA, the Spiders were members of the SoCon. Richmond’s had a lot of guys who had reasonable, if not stellar, NFL careers.
Towson hasn’t done anything at the FCS level. They did make two appearances each in the D-II and D-III playoffs before moving up, losing the 1976 D-III title game. Towson was the alma mater of diminutive Giants RB Dave Meggett, as well as the ageless punter Sean Landeta.
Villanova spent forever as a major college independent before a decade of futility and rising costs led them to cancel the program in 1980. They came back as a D-III school five years later, then jumped back to I-AA in 1987, joining the Yankee Conference. Andy Talley has helmed the program since its resurrection, and has a record of 183-104-1. ‘Nova has a share of five league titles and has made eight appearances in the playoffs, with a record of 8-7. That includes 4-0 last year; they are the defending FCS champions. Many, many Wildcats have starred in the NFL, including Howie Long and Brian Westbrook.
William & Mary has a share of four league championships, and they’ve made 8 trips to the post-season, going 6-8. Jimmye Laycock is in his 31st year at the helm, with a record of 207-142-2. Like Richmond, the Tribe moved over from the SoCon. The best-known W&M alum is probably Packers, Vikings, and Saints DB Darren Sharper.