College of Charleston Leaving: King Kresse's Response

As many of you already know, College of Charleston is leaving the SoCon for the warm open arms of the CAA.

I thought this would be a good time to get out and figure out what a College of Charleston fan thought of everything that went down today. This is what fellow blogger King Kresse had to say. Much appreciation to him for always being willing to help out.

Check back just before midnight for reactions from fans around the conference.

Q. I know there were some in your fanbase that wanted to stay in the SoCon for various reasons. Were you in favor of the decision or not?

A. was for the move. I wrote this when we were still in the negotiating stage. The most verbal detractors of a move to the CAA generally fell into one or both of these categories: those who enjoyed the relative proximity of road games in the SoCon and those tied to the baseball program. The latter group felt that a move to the CAA would be a downgrade in baseball from the SoCon.

Q. How do you believe this will benefit CofC in all sports, not just basketball?

A. I think it will have a generally positive impact.

· Basketball: upgrade (RPI, strength of schedule, exposure, recruiting)

· Baseball: have to wait and see. If ECU joins the CAA in non-football sports it would be an upgrade. If App State, Elon and/or GSU leave the SoCon it could still be an upgrade. Right now it's a slight downgrade but I think more moves are coming.

· Soccer: Upgrade

· Cross Country/Track: Huge upgrade

· Swimming/Diving: Huge upgrade

· Tennis: Upgrade

· Softball: push-slight upgrade

· Volleyball: push. CofC should still be the best team in the conference

Q. Do you believe there was anything that the SoCon could have done in the last six months to avoid CofC leaving?

A. I may be in the minority here but I don't think there's anything the Southern Conference could have done. Charleston is a basketball school that was stuck in a football conference. Our athletic director Joe Hull was looking for an out as soon as the realignments started. Hiring Dave Odom as a SoCon basketball advisor was too little too late. Now that we've left it will be interesting to see what kind of talks the SoCon is involved in.

Q. What do you believe was the tipping point for the Board of Trustees that made them realize that they needed to leave the SoCon and join the CAA?

A. The recent surge of mid-major realignments now that football season is winding down. Tulane/ECU to the Big East and Middle Tennessee/Florida Atlantic to Conference USA. I think the Board members who were on the fence understood that this would likely open the door for Georgia Southern and Appalachian State to jump ship and lead to the subsequent erosion of the SoCon. It also might open the door for more southern schools (including those with competitive baseball teams) to join the CAA.

Q. How do you think the Cougars will fare in the CAA in basketball?

A. I think next year we should compete pretty well. We've got plenty of talent returning and the guys will only get more comfortable under Coach Wojcik. I think the new style of play will help us compete against schools like George Mason and Drexel. After that we'll see what impact recruiting in the CAA and under Wojcik has on wins/losses.

Q. What upgrades need to be made to be on a more even playing field with the CAA?

A. I still don't know which of the olympic sports will be competing in the CAA but those facilities could use some upgrades. The natatorium and track are solid but not up to the CAA standards. TD Arena and Patriots Point are fine. Being able to recruit from areas of the Northeast was another supposed advantage of the CAA and we could always use more talented student athletes as we adjust to the level of competition.

Q. What are you most looking forward to about being in the CAA?

A. Going to road games! That's just me personally though because I live in Washington DC, minutes from GMU/ W&M and I have friends in Baltimore, Harrisonburg, VA and Newark, DE. I think being able to watch the Cougars more on television versus on the computer screen will also be pretty cool with the NBC deal.

Q. As a member of the SoCon, what is your fondest memory of the league?

A. Stephen Curry. I remember my freshman year we were still playing in the old Kresse Arena and I didn't know much about this Davidson team who was dominating our little mid-major conference. Then I watched from the front row as Curry annihilated us with a barrage of threes. I'll also miss the conference championships. To me the biggest advantage of having a geographically dense conference is that fans of every team can easily make it to the SoCon tournaments.