JMU Officially to Sun Belt

[get'em_griz]

James Madison officially announced they are joining the Sun Belt Conference.

https://jmusports.com/news/2021/11/6/administration-james-madison-accepts-invitation-to-sun-belt-conference.aspx?fbclid=IwAR28ZcAmEnio_KDDst8cfOH8zoVpl-OJZlNUaUjx98ZSp1QX9xrdKtKD2hY

 

[IdaGriz01]

The CAA has a bylaw that says a school that chooses to leave the conference cannot play for championships once the decision is announced. Okay, just part of a "normal" transition ... Right? However, when they say "no championships," they're interpreting it as being across all sports. So because JMU wants to go to the Sun Belt to play FBS football, their highly competitive basketball and lacrosse teams are also ineligible for the conference championships.

As you might expect, this has set off a huge furor. The admin says that they're just following a long-standing conference rule that everyone has known about for a long time. With all the heat and discontent that this has generated, it'll be interesting to see whether or not they back down.

 

[CDAGRIZ]

The CAA has a bylaw that says a school that chooses to leave the conference cannot play for championships once the decision is announced. Okay, just part of a "normal" transition ... Right? However, when they say "no championships," they're interpreting it as being across all sports. So because JMU wants to go to the Sun Belt to play FBS football, their highly competitive basketball and lacrosse teams are also ineligible for the conference championships.

As you might expect, this has set off a huge furor. The admin says that they're just following a long-standing conference rule that everyone has known about for a long time. With all the heat and discontent that this has generated, it'll be interesting to see whether or not they back down.

Correct me if I’m wrong, Ida, but doesn’t the rule not apply to football? So, the one sport making the move is the only sport it doesn’t affect, right?

 

[IdaGriz01]

...
Correct me if I’m wrong, Ida, but doesn’t the rule not apply to football? So, the one sport making the move is the only sport it doesn’t affect, right?

That is correct, almost.
https://www.si.com/college/2021/11/05/james-madison-athletes-take-biggest-fall-realignment-caa

The only teams able to compete are football (where the CAA teams operate outside of league purview) and two whose championships are this week, field hockey and women’s soccer.

Everyone else at the best all-sports school in the conference is out, effective immediately. Men’s soccer, scheduled to host the league tournament next week, is out. Women’s volleyball, tied for the league lead at the moment, is out. Men’s and women’s basketball, which cannot reach the dream of an NCAA Tournament berth without the automatic bids that come with winning the conference tourney, are out. Women’s swimming, shooting for an unprecedented fivepeat as league champ, is out. Three other league championships scheduled to be hosted at the school in Harrisonburg, Va., are out. And so on.

Weird isn't it? I'm guessing that the field hockey and women's soccer are going ahead only because they were already set up.

 

[DoubleNicks]

I don't know much about this but why not "announce" the move until after the sports' year?

Have an agreement with the Sun Belt about your intention behind closed doors but don't "officially" violate any CAA bylaws at the same time, thus allowing your student-athletes to still compete for championships.