Welcoming some new/old friends to the MAAC

As many blog followers may know by now, our conference -- the MAAC -- announced on Friday the addition of two new members, effective in the fall of 2013: Monmouth University and Quinnipiac University. In our world, both schools and their track/cross country programs are friendly rivals in the region, schools that we see frequently on the trails and tracks during all three seasons.

In the case of Monmouth, I am one of the few coaches at Marist -- and in the MAAC, for that matter -- that was active and coaching when we were in the Northeast Conference with the Hawks. Marist departed the NEC in 1997, about 6 years into my tenure as coach. The coach at Monmouth, Joe Compagni, is a good man who runs a truly great and well-rounded track program in West Long Branch, N.J. The addition of MU increases the competitiveness and credibility of our track conference instantly.

Quinnipiac has skyrocketed as a legitimate D1 program since its inception into the NEC and D1 just over a decade ago. There were no growing pains for the Bobcats when they elevated their programs to D1, as they vaulted themselves to at or near the top of the NEC pretty quickly in our sport. Their track program is similar to ours -- predominantly distance running based, although we are immensely proud of our sprint and non-distance athletes as well. Like Monmouth, the addition of Quinnipiac ratchets up the competitiveness of the cross country championships next fall. Immediately. It's a challenge for all of us in the MAAC.

We welcome our two friendly rivals to our friendly conference. In this frenetic, revolving door nature of collegiate sports -- where conference affiliations and loyalties seem to change on a monthly basis -- it is noteworthy that the MAAC and the NEC have remained remarkably stable mid-major conferences. The last change in the MAAC was in 1997, when Marist and Rider joined the fold. Monmouth has been in the NEC since the mid-1980s. Long may we run together.