Having watched all the recent mail about conferences, RPI, Ken State, Syracuse, etc, I have a proposal for a new New England-based, all-sports college athletic conference. School Hockey Football Basketball Notes BU Y Y Y Charter member Northeastern Y Y Y ditto UNH Y Y Y ditto Maine Y Y Y ditto Vermont Y N Y Doesn't have football UMASS-Amherst Y Y Y Leaves the Atlantic 10 URhode Island ? Y Y Leaves the Atlantic 10 UCONN ? Y Y Leaves the Big East Providence Y ? Y Ditto Holy Cross ? Y Y BC Y N N Hockey-only UMASS-Lowell Y ? ? Merrima{c|k} Y ? ? 0. This conference exists primarily for Hockey, of course. The other sports are to maintain the rivalries during off-season :-) 1. I like the idea of unifying all the New England state schools in one conference. 2. PC and UCONN have to leave the Big East. However, the Big East is going Big Time for football, and increasingly, the non-1A football schools are being left out in the cold. 3. UMASS and URI have to leave the Atlantic 10. However, three A-10 schools (with 1A football) recently bolted for the Big East and the A-10 is reeling. 4. In any event, this conference will have to upgrade its basketball to attract PC, UMASS, URI, and UCONN. 5. I like the idea of uniting Holy Cross and BC. This was once a great rivalry. 6. Lowell and Merrimac are "legacy" schools, and are welcome to upgrade their other programs. 7. BC is also a legacy school, and is welcome to leave the Big East :-) 8. Shoot-outs are forbidden :-) Let's call this conference the North Atlantic Conference. As a World War II history buff,I've always liked that name. "HockeyEast" sounds like a BU marketing major's senior thesis. The "Yankee Conference" is tainted so long as there exists a New York American League baseball franchise. Other notes. 1. It would be nice to see Penn State and Syracuse go D1 in hockey. Syracuse would be a natural for the ECAC. However, Penn State belongs in the CCHA. 2. As a New Jersey resident, I would like to see the ECAC expand southward to give Princeton some company. A team in New York City (St. Johns?) or Philadelphia (Villanova or Penn?) would improve the "visibility" of the ECAC. Ken Kretsch | "Coach, my Mom wants me to live for my Bar Mitzvah" BU '79 | "Goldberg, this is your Bar Mitzvah. Today you [log in to unmask] | become a man!"