Butler expressing interest in Atlantic 10 per ESPN's Andy Katz

[ysuindy]

Andy Katz reporting that Butler is interested in filling Temple's spot in the Atlantic 10 when the Owls move to the Big East.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/53114/3-point-shot-3

[TheBearMay]

Indy you used the email link instead of the url link.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/53114/3-point-shot-3

[guinpen]

bye bye

[ysuindy]

Indy you used the email link instead of the url link.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/53114/3-point-shot-3

Oops - thanks Bear May - had e-mailed to my son before hitting copy I guess.

The question I have is if Butler (or anyone) leaves, do their NCAA tournament units go with them or stay with the league they were earned in?  Or is it up for negotiation?  And what are the terms for leaving the Horizon League.

One of the first thoughts I had was this would take the Horizon League to only 5 teams in baseball, one less than the NCAA minimum to maintain an automatic bid. (CSU dropped baseball after last season).  Wonder if that impacts any other sports?

[ysuhoops24]

if they go, i think Oakland from the Summit would be the best fit to replace them.

[ELPENGUIN]

Hoops, Detroit has expressed a major problem with Oakland joining when the Horizon was thinking of expanding.  They do not want to recruit competition.

[ysuindy]

My son and I had this discussion earlier.  I suspect Detroit would block Oakland, but what does it take to block a school?  Can one school do it?  I believe Oakland has baseball, which as mentioned below is important.

IUPUI would be an Indy replacement for Butler, but I have long heard that Indiana University really doesn't want a strong IUPUI program - and assume the same applies for Purdue and IPFW. 

A few years back Northern Kentucky was mentioned as a possibility as they moved up - they joined the Atlantic Sun.

I wonder if Robert Morris would be a possibility?  No baseball for RMU, however.  Do you tell a school that wants to join that you need to add baseball?

[Big D]

If/when Butler leaves, their give up their share of NCAA tournament money.  It gets divided up between the other 9 HL teams and the HL. 

Detroit has blocked Oakland in the past, but they won't be able to block it now.  To join the HL you need a 3/4 vote of HL members.  Detroit kept Oakland from getting a 3/4 vote by getting Butler and Loyola to vote with them.  Without Butler's vote, Detroit cannot block Oakland from joining unless they can convince another HL member from voting for them and I don't think anyone else would want to keep them out.  They make the most sense.  The HL will look at 4 things if they have to replace Butler:

1. We need to add a solid basketball program. Oaklands RPI over the last 4 years has been: 141, 53, 52, 122 for an average of 92.

2. The school needs to make sense geographically. Oakland would be natural travel partners with Detroit.

3. They need to have a similar financial commitment to athletics. HL teams spend between 9-12 million a year on athletics. Oakland spends almost 10 million.
http://www.bbstate.com/info/schools-budget&c=SUMM

4. We need to add a school that plays baseball. The HL will lose it's automatic NCAA tournament bid if we don't replace Butler with a school that has baseball. Oakland does.

[IAA Fan]

Oakland is very good in baseball. Very strong women's programs (which is how YSU got in).

[ysuindy]

Green Bay beat writer joining a few Dayton based reporters in tweeting that Butler to the A-10 is effectively a done deal.

https://twitter.com/#!/RobDemovsky

Guessing that the Horizon League schools are hooked in to what is going on and these guys are hitting up their sources inside the school athletic departments.

[IAA Fan]

Just opinion but, not a very smart move. Back-to-back final appearances can do better than the A-10. I do not see it happening. Although the A-10 dropped FB, so that hurdle is "jumped".

[ysuindy]

Just opinion but, not a very smart move. Back-to-back final appearances can do better than the A-10. I do not see it happening. Although the A-10 dropped FB, so that hurdle is "jumped".

Not really sure they can do better.  Without football the Big 6 conferences are out of the question.  Unless they wait for the Big East football schools to break away and try to align with the non-football schools like St. John's, Georgetown, Nova, DePaul, etc, I don't know where else Butler goes.  As I saw mentioned elsewhere, this is the first conference move in a long time not being driven by football.

8 of the top 10 Sagarin conference play, or pretend to play, "big time football."  Only the Atlantic 10 (#7) and Missouri Valley (#9) do not.  The West Coast Conference is #11 and the Horizon is #12.

I think the Valley would force Butler to really step up the non-basketball spending and performance.  The overall depth of the athletic programs seems far greater than that of the Horizon.  And is the Valley, with its college town teams, what Butler wants?  I don't know how many alumni are in Carbondale, Cedar Falls and Springfield versus Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh? 

[IAA Fan]

I agree completely Indy ...which is why I would think that they would stay in the HL.

[BTD30]

This is pretty much a done deal... all they have to do is announce it.

[lakesbison]

if the HORIZON takes Oakland from Summit....... take NDSU too ??  cuz the summit would officially suck.