| August 7 - Bowing to pressure from other NEAC teams to allow them "a chance at a title," the Bard Raptors have accepted the challenge inherent in the vastly superior Skyline Conference beginning in the 2007-2008 season. The conference will consist of Bard, SUNY-Farmingdale, SUNY-Maritime, Mt. St. Mary's, Mt. St. Vincent, SUNY-Old Westbury, Polytechnic University, SUNY-Purchase, Russell Sage College, St. Joseph's-Patchogue and Yeshiva University. Sage will not participate in men's sports, claiming to have only women undergraduates. "Bard has a history with many institutions in the Skyline which geographically and philosophically is a good fit for our athletic program," Bard Athletic Director Kris Hall said following the announcement. A closer examination of Hall statement finds that she could not be more accurate. Geographically, only St. Joe's of Long Island will require a car trip of more than two hours from the Bard campus, with geographical rivals Mt. St. Mary's and old Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference foes Polytechnic and Purchase a stone's throw away. By contrast, the NEAC, which consists of two divisions, North (Greenland and Arctic Division) and South (Alabama-Mississippi Division) required Raptor teams to make use of a chartered plane, a series of guide dogs, and a sherpa. Bard's credo (A Place to Think) also dovetails nicely with the SUNY commitment to academic excellence, along with Yeshiva's similar motto (What, You're Not Thinking Yet?) Bard's progressive politics did not dovetail with NEAC school mottos such as Philadelphia Bible (A Place to Condemn) and D'Youville (It's So Boring In Buffalo, I Will Eat My Own Face For Excitement). |
| Welcome to the Skyline New Conference, Same Domination? |
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