The name is different, but the expectations remain the same.
That is the mindset of the 12 members of the new Colonial Athletic Association football conference. The league, which includes Towson, begins play this season under the CAA banner after competing the previous 10 seasons as the Atlantic10 Conference.
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The CAA is considered one of the premier conferences in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS, formally Division I-AA). League members James Madison, Delaware and Massachusetts are former national champions and the latter reached the championship game last season.
“[James Madison coach] Mickey Matthews told me when we joined [in 2004] that there are no bottom feeders in this league,” Towson coach Gordy Combs said.
Towson quickly found Matthews? assessment accurate when the Tigers went 0-8 in their inaugural year in the league. The Tigers played in the Patriot League from 1997-2003.
Tigers senior linebacker Brian Bradford, who was a part of that first season in the Atlantic-10, said teams in the CAA can compete with any FCS and many Bowl Championship Series teams in the country.
Among the conference?s highlights last season: Richmond defeated Atlantic Coast Conference?s Duke, Massachusetts lost at Navy, 21-20 and William & Mary stayed close against Maryland before losing, 27-14.
“I think every week that you play, you can get beat,” Bradford said. “There are no pushovers here. To have three teams win a national title shows what type of conference we are. The Southern Conference is great with Appalachian State winning two straight national titles. But from top to bottom, I think we have to be graded higher than them.”
UMass coach Don Brown acknowledges he initially viewed the switch from the Atlantic-10 to the CAA as cosmetic. But with a large group of reporters out covering the CAA?s media day Wednesday at the ESPN Zone and 31 games scheduled to be televised this season, he has a different opinion.
“It?s an exciting time for the CAA,” Brown said. “There have been several upsets from our league over I-A opponents. The league games are so critical because they want a chance to win a league title and get into the national playoff scene. The games are hard-fought and well-played with quality coaches and players and it?s first-class with high-level football.”
CAA FOOTBALL NOTES
» The Colonial Athletic Association football conference?s roots date back to 1946 with the formation of the Yankee Conference. The conference?s members were: Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island.
» UMass, James Madison, New Hampshire each qualified for the Division I-AA playoffs last year. UMass lost in the national title game to Appalachian State, 28-17.
» The CAA has had at least two teams make the playoffs for 16 consecutive years, which represents the longest active streak among Football Championship Subdivision conferences.
