On Friday afternoon the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) was announced at the 10th member of the America East. They will officially join the conference on July 1st and will compete in the conference this season. It is rare to join a conference so quickly after the announcement but but nothing about the time we are currently living in is normal. This is one of the few situations in life that truly feels like a win for all parties involved. The America East gets back to 10 members for the first time in 15 years. That is a much better number for scheduling purposes and as the conference tries to raise its profile adding another institution is important. I thought the America East should have added NJIT when they added UMass Lowell but better late than never. For NJIT this is huge. They are the biggest beneficiaries of this move as they have been conference nomads since they made the transition to Division I athletics. The were in the Big West conference before it folded, then an independent, and have been in the Atlantic Sun conference since. Neither of the previous conferences made geographic sense at all and the travel costs for their athletic programs were enormous. One reason for this move being made so suddenly is that they needed to reduce travel distance and cost for the upcoming season due to the current global pandemic. They are a perfect fit geographically in the American East. Specifically for basketball it is also a very good move. For Vermont fans this recent stretch of dominance has been fun but it has covered for a conference that has struggled to be competitive top to bottom. In order to continue to push the program forward a competitive conference would be much better. Many Vermont fans are clamoring for a conference switch but that may not be in the cards anytime soon (particularly with the current financial situation) so the next best thing is to improve their current conference. NJIT immediately does that.
Here is the average KenPom finish for the America East men's basketball teams (including NJIT) over the last 5 years:
1. Vermont 88
2. Stony Brook 178
3. Albany 192
4. UMBC 237
5. Hartford 242
6. (NJIT) 244
7. UNH 258
8. UMass Lowell 286
9. Binghamton 320
10. Maine 333
As you can see NJIT would immediately be in the middle of the pack. Their success is comparable to that of the teams that have been able to push the top teams and UMBC and Hartford have made the last three championships games. NJIT has been in the same bracket so to speak as those two teams over the last 5 years. The bottom of the league has been pretty abysmal over the last few seasons and that needs to improve. UMass Lowell has not provided the boost that the conference was hoping so now it is NJIT's turn. The Highlanders (yes that is their nickname and it is awesome) also have a new arena (which makes me very jealous, sour grapes about the Tarrant Center delay) and are only one year removed from a 22 win season. I am assuming this would push the conference schedule to 18 games which would also be fun, particularly with the uncertainty around the beginning of next season. This is very exciting and adds intrigue to what is already going to be a very different season.
