Report: Davidson Close to Leaving Southern Conference for Atlantic 10

The conference realignment train hasn't stopped yet, as Davidson could be close to joining the Atlantic 10 conference according to CBS Sports' Jeff Goodman.

The Wildcats, who won the Southern conference title this past season, previously had turned down a widely rumored invitation to the Colonial Athletic Association. This move would bring the Atlantic 10 back to 12 members for the 2014-15 season, as it is expected that Dayton and St. Louis will leave for the new Big East, and George Mason will join the league next season.

It would be an odd placement for Davidson as the team would be the Southern-most outpost of the league with the closest teams located in Virginia, and would add quite a bit of travel to the Northeast into the Wildcats' schedule for all sports.

That was the primary reason why the Colonial move didn't seem to make sense for Davidson according to comments by the school's administration was that the travel didn't make sense given the number of students that are involved in athletics at the North Carolina school. At the time the move was rumored, there were at least a couple of schools that were close to Davidson, yet not within driving distance as with the Southern Conference.

If the Wildcats are headed for the Atlantic 10, they will be at the bottom of one of their cycles of rebuilding. The best players from this season's team are graduating this season, and next year's seniors will also be gone. It will be a long season in its new league.

Goodman also notes that Siena is in the mix for possible expansion, which wouldn't make much sense unless more than just two schools are about to leave the league. Siena is at least a better fit geographically than Davidson.