Butler Bulldogs want to join the Atlantic 10 next season
The Butler Bull dogs has expressed interest in joining the Atlantic 10 for all sports except football as the replacement to Temple.
The A-10 will lose Temple, historically one of its best men’s basketball programs, to the Big East in the fall of 2013. Butler has been among the dominant programs in the Horizon League, which, like the A-10, has been a competitive mid-major conference in the recent past.
The Bulldogs are intrigued by the access to major media markets in the A-10 and the increase in competition with Xavier, Saint Louis and Dayton among others, sources said. Adding Butler, which is located in Indianapolis, would give the A-10 another Midwest presence to go with those three schools.
Before missing out on an NCAA tournament selection Sunday, Butler reached the NCAA championship game in 2011 and 2010. Butler lost to Valparaiso in the semifinals of the Horizon tournament. The Bulldogs (20-14) will host Delaware on Wednesday night in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational.
The school competes in the Horizon League in all sports except football, where it plays in the Pioneer Football League. That league, which also includes Dayton, is classified in Division I’s Football Championship Subdivision but does not offer athletic scholarships.
…As a Fordham fan, this potential move scares me because Butler could make the Atlantic 10 even better and potentially have a 4-5 bid league in the future. Butler is realizing that being the Horizon league it only is a one big league. Moving to the Atlantic 10 can give them a better schedule and also an easier chance to the big dance. In other sports, it helps the A-10 spread out to the midwest and make the conference even better. But as for basketball, it creates a lot of competition and makes this league a lot stronger than people think. Let’s see if it happens in the future. The bulldogs can claw their way to better basketball come next season…
Explore posts in the same categories: Atlantic 10, College Basketball, NCAA TournamentTags: Atlantic 10 conference, Butler basketball, conference realignment, Horizon league, non-football league, Temple basketball
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March 14, 2012 at 5:36 pm
I don’t know if Butler makes the Atlantic 10 that much better than it is with Temple currently on-board. I think they’re a consistent 3-4 bid league in most years, and would continue to be with Butler involved.
The only way Fordham should truly start getting worried is if the Big East basketball schools break off (not that likely anymore). Then they start picking off the best “mid-majors,” leaving the Rams and others behind.