College of Charleston added to CAA

The Colonial Athletic Association will have new competition to face starting July 1, 2013.

It was announced Friday, Nov. 30 that the College of Charleston accepted the conference’s invitation.

“College of Charleston is a great athletics program with a proud history and an outstanding addition to the Colonial Athletic Association,” Director of Athletics Mike Waddell said. “They bring great sports across the board, they open up a new area to be able to recruit students from, and also to touch base with many alums in the North Carolina-South Carolina area.”

The invitation comes after Old Dominion, Georgia State and Virginia Commonwealth announced they were leaving the conference.

Virginia Commonwealth’s departure was effective this season, but Old Dominion and Georgia State will officially leave the conference after the conclusion of this current season.

Since the College of Charleston doesn’t have a football program, as of right now, the CAA will have 10 teams that play all the other sports.

Twelve teams will play football in the CAA in the 2013 season, with the addition of Stony Brook and University of Albany.

“I think the great thing about a 10-team league right now is that in basketball specifically, you play 18 games, so now you get a chance to play everybody twice,” Waddell said. “That’s a full round robin play and gives you a home-and-home with every team, which is a plus in terms of fan interest.”

The Towson’s men’s basketball team knows College of Charleston well, recently having lost to the Cougars 75-58 on Nov. 9.

For now, the conference is set for the 2013-14 season, but Waddell said it could still change.

“Who knows what the future holds,” he said. “It’s a revolving door of conference affiliation in college athletics.”