Post by whoanellie on May 7, 2013 18:33:27 GMT -5
By Jonathan Jones
jjones@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Tuesday, May. 07, 2013
Davidson will announce its move from the Southern Conference to the Atlantic 10 in a press conference Wednesday morning, according to two sources with knowledge of the move.
The Southern Conference, the Wildcats’ home for the better part of eight decades, will lose one of its oldest members in Davidson. Indications are the 2013-14 athletic season will be Davidson’s last in the conference before moving to the A10 in the fall of 2014.
A press conference with the school president Carol Quillen and athletic director Jim Murphy will be held at 10:30 Wednesday morning.
The Wildcats have been linked to the move for the past month as other teams in the Southern Conference have jumped ship in the past year.
In a statement last month, the athletics department said a strong Southern Conference was in the college’s best interest but that they had “to consider all options best for Davidson in this volatile environment.”
College of Charleston is moving to the Colonial Athletic Association next year, and both Appalachian State and Georgia Southern will move to the Sun Belt Conference in 2014-15.
Davidson joined the Southern Conference in 1936 and, save for two years as an independent and two years with the Big South between 1988-1992, has been with the conference ever since.
While many conference realignment moves have been motivated by football, that’s not the case for the Wildcats. Davidson’s football program is non-scholarship, and the Wildcats will continue to compete in the Pioneer Football League.
But the A10 will offer a bigger stage for Davidson’s men’s basketball program. Since 2006, the Wildcats have gone to the NCAA tournament five times.
Last season, Davidson won both the regular season and tournament titles after just two other teams in the conference finished with a winning record. Davidson was the only conference team to go to the tournament; the A10 placed five teams in the field this past season.
Davidson’s football, field hockey, men’s and women’s swimming and women’s lacrosse programs are not part of the Southern Conference. It’s unclear if those programs will move to the A10, which does not have wrestling. Davidson’s wrestling program is expected to stay in the Southern Conference.
Davidson had been on the radar for conference realignment. The CAA courted Davidson, along with Charleston, in October. The Cougars accepted the invitation, but Davidson declined.
The A10 is shifting, as well. Charlotte, Butler, Xavier and Temple will all leave the A10 at the completion of this athletic season. George Mason is set to join the A10 in the 2013-14 season.
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Read more here: www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/05/07/4028005/davidsons-move-to-atlantic-10.html#storylink=cpy
jjones@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Tuesday, May. 07, 2013
Davidson will announce its move from the Southern Conference to the Atlantic 10 in a press conference Wednesday morning, according to two sources with knowledge of the move.
The Southern Conference, the Wildcats’ home for the better part of eight decades, will lose one of its oldest members in Davidson. Indications are the 2013-14 athletic season will be Davidson’s last in the conference before moving to the A10 in the fall of 2014.
A press conference with the school president Carol Quillen and athletic director Jim Murphy will be held at 10:30 Wednesday morning.
The Wildcats have been linked to the move for the past month as other teams in the Southern Conference have jumped ship in the past year.
In a statement last month, the athletics department said a strong Southern Conference was in the college’s best interest but that they had “to consider all options best for Davidson in this volatile environment.”
College of Charleston is moving to the Colonial Athletic Association next year, and both Appalachian State and Georgia Southern will move to the Sun Belt Conference in 2014-15.
Davidson joined the Southern Conference in 1936 and, save for two years as an independent and two years with the Big South between 1988-1992, has been with the conference ever since.
While many conference realignment moves have been motivated by football, that’s not the case for the Wildcats. Davidson’s football program is non-scholarship, and the Wildcats will continue to compete in the Pioneer Football League.
But the A10 will offer a bigger stage for Davidson’s men’s basketball program. Since 2006, the Wildcats have gone to the NCAA tournament five times.
Last season, Davidson won both the regular season and tournament titles after just two other teams in the conference finished with a winning record. Davidson was the only conference team to go to the tournament; the A10 placed five teams in the field this past season.
Davidson’s football, field hockey, men’s and women’s swimming and women’s lacrosse programs are not part of the Southern Conference. It’s unclear if those programs will move to the A10, which does not have wrestling. Davidson’s wrestling program is expected to stay in the Southern Conference.
Davidson had been on the radar for conference realignment. The CAA courted Davidson, along with Charleston, in October. The Cougars accepted the invitation, but Davidson declined.
The A10 is shifting, as well. Charlotte, Butler, Xavier and Temple will all leave the A10 at the completion of this athletic season. George Mason is set to join the A10 in the 2013-14 season.
Subscribe to The Charlotte Observer
Read more here: www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/05/07/4028005/davidsons-move-to-atlantic-10.html#storylink=cpy