Post #33 in that link, 5/14 at 2:10 PM by "Wood Hall, Team Manager", included the following comments:
College football is devolving daily, it's getting out of control and ridiculously expensive. ...
I'm OK with this decision....
Like-sized private universities that we have a lot in common with. We won't be fighting an uphill battle against public schools who can augment their rosters with cheap walk-ons. Guaranteed FCS playoff access. ...
Seven league opponents at the current time; I expect we might see a few more defections join us, like Villanova and W&M. If W&M doesn't join, we can still play them every year, and have room for a Furman or an Elon and the obligatory FBS body-bag game. Heck, maybe we'll even get a game against Army, they regularly play Patriot League teams....
Rather than dooming Spider football, this might be the move that saves it forever by making it much more cost-efficient. UR football was never, ever again going to be like I remembered it five decades ago, playing WVU, ECU, Tech, etc. The landscape has changed, and we have to change with it.
TO THAT, affirm WILL ADD THE FOLLOWING:
1. I think that Navy also is Patriot League, though not for football. Adding to Wood Hall's comment "...maybe we'll even get a game against Army ...", it seems reasonable for Richmond to hope also for being able to "...even get a game against Navy ...".
2. Academics. "You are known by the company you keep." I'm not quoting Wood Hall on that, but it is something that is often said and it is true. Furman is known as an "academic school", or at least wants to be known as that. This has been true for at least the last 60 years. The current college rankings by US News & World Report has the following schools ranked as shown:
National Liberal Arts Colleges:
Furman #48
Richmond #25
(Davidson, not a Patriot League school of course I know #15)
Colgate #21
Holy Cross #27
Bucknell #T30
Lafayette #T30
(Wofford #59)
(VMI #63)
(Navy #3, yes of course I realize they are FBS for football but I think they are Patriot League for everything else)
(Army #8, yes of course I realize they are FBS for football but I think they are Patriot League for everything else)
National Universities:
Georgetown #22
Lehigh #47
Fordham #89
(... and, by the way, Clemson is #86, Villanova is #67, and W&M is #53)
3. It has been interesting to learn, from the link provided by Roundball, that Richmond apparently had a choice between joining the SoCon for football only and joining the Patriot League for football only. When I first saw a headline, prior to anything else, the headline did not say what Richmond was moving to so I was disappointed when I read further and saw that it was not to the SoCon. And previously, I did not even know such considerations were going on.
4. I will not be surprised if W&M and Villanova both make the move to Patriot League for football only.
5. I am glad that Furman gets to play home and home series against both W&M and Richmond in the near future.
6. I will not be surprised if what happens in the long run turns out to be that Richmond will leave the Patriot League and join fellow A-10 member Davidson in the Pioneer League for football.
7. I am a little sad for the CAA.
8. Elon. I do not know what to think about Elon. Should we expect to see them join Richmond in Patriot League football? ...stay in the CAA for everything? ...join the SoCon for everything?
9. Oh and this, which I know can be seen both ways, good and bad: Richmond now gets to regularly have away games in Washington, DC (Georgetown), and in New York, New York (Bronx).
The end for now.
