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Report: CAA making moves to raid SoCon

Ralph Sampson III, Jamaal Trice

Minnesota’s Ralph Sampson III, left, and Appalachian State’s Jamaal Trice, right, go for a loose ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011, Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)

AP

According to recent rumblings from expansionpocalypse central, the CAA is making a bold move to preserve the league, shortly after deeming departing members Georgia State, VCU and Old Dominion ineligible for postseason play.

Per the Watauga Democrat (no offense, but that’s probably the first and last time I’ll type those words in this space), the Colonial has contacted Davidson, College of Charleston and Appalachian State about the possibility of filling in some prominent upcoming scheduling gaps.

The Wildcats and Cougars are obvious hoops luminaries, who would help the league’s DI profile stay nice and beefy. Appy State isn’t exactly a basketball power, but who can forget when the Mountaineers dumped Michigan in an early-season football game three years back? There’s little doubt that ASU would help the CAA’s already strong showing in FBS football.

Of course, that sounds good to the CAA. Appalachian State sees it as a lateral gridiron move at best, and is still pushing for the big prize, per the Watauga paper:

The Mountaineers formed a feasibility committee in January 2011, which recommended in August that it make the move to the FBS later in the year. The ASU board of trustees gave its approval to have the university pursue a move to the FBS in September of 2011.

In May 2012, Conference USA left Appalachian State out of the league’s most recent expansion, having instead taken Charlotte, North Texas State, Texas-San Antonio, Louisiana-Monroe and Florida International.

All five of those institutions are located near, or directly in, a major metropolitan area. Appalachian State athletic director Charlie Cobb has said that ASU is close to the Charlotte market, the Triad market and the Asheville market.

Nobody ever asks the basketball coach what he wants in a situation like this, but ASU head man Jason Capel would probably be OK with a move to the CAA. It is, after all, the league where his older brother Jeff got his start, as an assistant at ODU, and later head man at VCU.