Why You Haven't Heard of the CAA

What could keep a potentially #1 seed (currently tied for first) out of their conference tournament? It's a good question and one that we found the answer to earlier this week.

JMU is planning on moving to the SunBelt which is an FBS level conference (the CAA is an FCS conference). The move isn't official but it will be soon. Once the announcement is made officially, teams at JMU will no longer be allowed to compete in their respective conference tournaments.

The "Why?" is pretty simple - because it's in their bylaws. I don't know exactly what the bylaw is or specifically says as I haven't seen it quoted as of yet. It's a passive aggressive bylaw to say the least and I'm sure was put in there to dissuade schools from leaving. That point we can't really argue. It's something that admin probably should have known and discussed before hand with coaches and staff.

What we can argue, though, is that this is awful and the athletes should be allowed to play in their conference tournament.

It's an easy fix - make the change to the rule. It's also easy to see why a school like JMU is trying to leave the CAA. For other administrative flops in the conference, check out my podcast on W&M below.

The reason why no one is talking about this is mostly because it's happening in the CAA; a conference that most in Texas are utterly unfamiliar with.

But if we learned anything from the last 18 months, we should give athletes ample opportunity to play at the collegiate level. To do anything that would take away from that is a mistake. This is honestly something that the NCAA should step in and fix. They probably won't though, because they are the NCAA and don't do things that are helpful.

JMU has made it's case and current sports like soccer and cross country are being allowed to compete in their postseason because the announcement hasn't become official yet. But for volleyball, once the announcement is made, they will be left on the sidelines along with their Spring sports.

But the CAA doesn't really care about the "athlete experience". Or at least it's harder for them to make an argument in that direction. Because if they really cared about the experience of the student-athlete, they would let them play and strike down the bylaw. Fine the school - okay. Take away what would be their take from the NCAA basketball tournament - okay. But don't punish the students-athletes because you're bitter and stingy. The conference has made their messaging loud and clear - schools within the conference and those outside of it that might want to join should take note and act accordingly.

Added this post from the Tennis coach at JMU, shared by their volleyball coach.

My Podcast on William and Mary

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