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Forget the Catholic Seven for the moment. The biggest news in mid-major conference realignment has nothing to do with BCS money or Big East demolition.
The biggest news is that Monmouth and Quinnipiac were forsaking the bulky Northeast Conference for the MAAC, the conference that is already losing Loyola (Md.) to the Patriot League. Did you catch all that?
With the expansion to 11 teams and the desire to have a real champion, the league will play a full round robin slate during conference season: home and home, 10 and 10, a 20-game slate.
"The balanced 20-game schedule gives us fairness amongst the programs within the MAAC, plus an additional home contest at our respective facilities for all of our fans to enjoy during the regular season," Marist College Director of Athletics Tim Murray said.
The conference will also feature all 11 teams in the conference tournament at the end of the year. The bottom six teams in the conference will play in an opening round before a four-game quarterfinal.
You've got to love when a league values basketball like this. Kudos, MAAC!