Richmond, VA (Sports Network) - Having reached the FCS playoffs for the first
time last season, Albany and Stony Brook are ready for what some would say is
an even tougher challenge.
CAA Football.
The two programs will join the CAA beginning in July 2013, commissioner Tom
Yeager announced Tuesday.
"This is certainly a momentous day for CAA Football," Yeager said. "The
addition of Albany and Stony Brook bring playoff-tested programs from the
Northeast into an already nationally prominent league."
Stony Brook, the 2011 Big South Conference champion, beat Albany, a 2011
Northeast Conference co-champion, in the FCS first round, 31-28, last year.
Their universities will remain in the America East Conference for sports other
than football.
"We are excited about being invited into the best conference in the country at
this level of football", Albany coach Bob Ford said. "Every team in the CAA
has established themselves in one way or another with great football. There
are some great coaches and some very good football players who have played
professionally out of this conference. We are very excited to accept this
invitation."
"Stony Brook football has come very far, very fast over the last five years,
and now is the time to elevate our program further and to put ourselves in a
position to win national championships," Stony Brook athletic director Jim
Fiore said. "The CAA has a clear pedigree and built an unrivaled tradition of
excellence, and I am confident that under coach Chuck Priore's leadership, our
football program will continue to grow and annually compete for league and
national championships as members of the CAA. Clearly, as we join this
outstanding conference today, our best days are ahead of us."
CAA Football would have 10 teams for the 2013 season: Albany, Delaware, James
Madison, Maine, New Hampshire, Richmond, Stony Brook, Towson, Villanova and
William & Mary.
Rhode Island is scheduled to join the NEC next year, but the additions of
Albany and Stony Brook could cause the university to reconsider its move out
of CAA Football.
Old Dominion and Georgia State are leaving the CAA for the FBS level next
year.
The Sports Network