The addition of George Mason coupled with the losses of Butler, Xavier, Temple and Charlotte bring the league's membership total to 13 for the 2013-14 season.
Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade spoke about the addition of George Mason to the conference during a Monday afternoon teleconference.
Inside a constantly changing collegiate athletics landscape, the Atlantic 10 has developed a reputation for moving quickly and decisively to add new teams.
Monday, it backed up that reputation.
The league officially welcomed George Mason to its ranks beginning July 1, helping to offset the losses of Butler, Xavier, Temple and Charlotte, which leave the conference following the conclusion of this season.
“We’re really thrilled to death with the addition of (George) Mason today.,” Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade said. “The number of member institutions is not the be all and end all… We feel like our membership now is really now at an all-time high.”
McGlade also confirmed that George Mason will receive a full share of conference revenues beginning next season.
With the addition of George Mason, the Atlantic 10 has a membership of 13 for next season. While 13 might look like a bad number for scheduling purposes, McGlade disagreed.
“People sometimes question that and would we be going to an even number, but actually, an odd number is really great for basketball scheduling et cetera throughout the regular sports season,” McGlade said.
The change in membership numbers also could lead to a change from a 16-game league basketball schedule to an 18-game slate. All six of the BCS conferences use 18-game schedules.
“We as a league have been discussing both 16- and 18 game conference schedules,” McGlade said. “The majority of the Division I conferences that have been successful in basketball have all bumped up to 18, so this addition gives us the opportunity to revisit that and revisit it in pretty short order.”
While 18 conference games might benefit the league as a whole, it might hamstring the University of Massachusetts in terms of its ability to schedule out-of-conference games. As part of its agreement with the Mid-American Conference, UMass must play four out-of-conference basketball games against MAC opponents each season.
UMass Athletic Director John McCutcheon didn’t go as far as to say he was against an 18-game schedule, but did mention the necessity to do his best to balance what’s in the best interest of his school versus the league.
“We’re a little bit unique because of our commitment to the MAC. We want to have an alignment that fits us best so that we can put together a great schedule to position for postseason play,” McCutcheon said. “We also want to make decisions that are in the best interest of the whole conference as well.”
Another issue at hand for the league is its new television contract with ESPN, CBS and NBC, which is set to go into effect for next season. McGlade said she “hopes” the agreement will stay intact despite the shifts in membership, but stopped short of assuring it.
McCutcheon deferred any comment on negotation or renegotiation of the television contract to McGlade, but did say he believes the league is doing a good job in this year’s NCAA Tournament of cementing its value.
“I think what we need to do prove is that whatever agreements we have, our conference has value. Certainly what we’ve done in the tournament will speak to that,” McCutcheon said. “Even the schools that are not leaving us, I think it just speaks to the A-10 as a viable partner in a lot of these things.”
The discussion of joining the Atlantic 10 began in earnest this past January, according to George Mason Athletic Director Tom O’Connor, who detailed the process his school went through, but said it more succinctly at the start of his description.
“We really wanted to be in the Atlantic 10,” O’Connor said.
The inclusion of the Patriots brings both the rekindling of old rivalries and the initiation of new one. George Mason President Ángel Cabrera said he was excited to bring back his institution’s old CAA rivalry with Virginia Commonwealth.
In addition to that, George Washington President Steven Knapp — the chair of the league’s Council of Presidents — mentioned the proximity of the two campuses as an opportunity to start a new rivalry as well as to strengthen the league’s foothold in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area.
“Our students have already named it the ‘Battle of the Orange line,’” Knapp said of the new rivalry, referring to the subway line that connects the two campuses. “When you put the three Virginia institutions (VCU, Richmond, George Mason) together with our institution in Washington, DC, I think that generates a lot of opportunities for a good deal of local excitement.”