Old Dominion to C-USA from Colonial
Another exodus from the Colonial (VCU left earlier http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/vcu-10-colonial )
Not as big of news or as exciting as VCU to A-10, but ODU should be nice addition to C-USA that has been through a ton with reallignment and a tough loss for the Colonial which may also lose Towson and UNC Wilmington to a postseason ban related to APR.
ODU is more of a football move naturally, and teh ramifications WILL be large. ODU has only had a team for about 5 years and they have had very successful seasons and been extremely competitive. Thing is, in VA there are only 2 FBS schools, and neither are located in the the most fertile area of HS athletes in the state, which is Hampton Roads, or Tidewater. Vick and Iverson hail from there and many other D1 prospects. There is a team in Chesapeake named Oscar Smith which is usually ranked nationally.
Anyways...previously these kdis would go to VT, which is about a 5 hour drive to the other side of the state, but now many of these kids will liek the option of being able to stay home. NC being close by, as well as Northern VA...ODU could be a solid mid major school. With the changes and realignment taking place, they could find a home in the Big East or even ACC before its all said and done.
They also have a historically good women's basketball program FWIW
George mason should make that move to the Atlantic 10
watch out for creighton to make a move
I don't think th Florida St moving to big XII talk is done yet..
A great many accounts in VA earlier in the week stated that GMU was never actually offered A10 membership, and the A10 only wanted one of VCU or GMU and VCU obviously won out.
For those of us a bit confused about exactly which team is currently is which conference I've included a handy chart so you can easily follow the movement of your favorite team and know EXACTLY who you should be rooting for!
If ODU can support it, there's a ton of opportunity for them in VA. Like someone above said, the Norfolk area is loaded with talent and the only FBS schools right now are UVA and VaTech and then there's a ton of FCS schools behind them (Richmond, JMU, George Mason, W&M, VCU, etc) so if ODU can find a home above the rest of the FCS schools, I think they have a legitimate shot to be a really good non-Big 6 team ala Fresno State, TCU/Houston, UCF (just thinking of mid-majors in talent-rich states). If they can grab some of that talent in the Norfolk area, they're in business.