Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

McKillop uncertain about Davidson to CAA talk

Davidson v Louisville

PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 15: Head coach Bob McKillop of the Davidson Wildcats reacts in the first half while taking on the Louisville Cardinals in the second round of the 2012 NCAA men’s basketball tournament at Rose Garden Arena on March 15, 2012 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Getty Images

As realignment dominoes continue to fall, the current state of the Colonial Athletic Association is grim. With marquee members VCU and ODU jetting off to slightly higher perches, the league must rob another conference in order to maintain its growing reputation as a solid hoops league - let alone any semblance of actual league-hood period.

With two of the conference’s Virginia-based schools heading out, the league may have to diversify, location-wise. Most CAA-knowledgeable pundits (like... um... me) expect SoCon members Davidson and Charleston to garner invitations to jump ship, along with Stony Brook of the America East. Past expansions have focused on strong teams in large media markets such as Boston (Northeastern) and Atlanta (Georgia State, briefly). Charlotte, NC-adjacent Davidson, in particular, scores well on both criteria. Wildcats coach Bob McKillop isn’t so sure that’s great idea, however. And he said as much in a recent interview:

“We have rigorous academic standards,” Davidson basketball coach Bob McKillop told CBS Sports this week. “We’ve been to the NCAA Tournament five times and the NIT twice in the past 10 years. We present a unique situation. But any decision will be made at the presidential level, not just a basketball decision.”

I say hey, y’all... did he just call us dumb?

Whether he did or not, McKillop certainly isn’t a dim bulb. An invitation from a full-strength CAA would have been a no-brainer in many ways, but a CAA without tourney regulars VCU and ODU isn’t all that attractive. It’s certainly not much of a step up from the SoCon, unless Charleston does come along, and you can bet nobody’s overly eager to show their cards on that score.

Sometimes, it feels as if we’ve all been waiting for the other shoe to drop for years now. Unfortunately, we’re living below a millipede. The ceiling may reverberate off an on for years to come.