When considering additional candidates for the Catholic 7 athletic conference, it would seem prudent to first identify the commonalities of the Catholic 7. By only adding schools with similar characteristics, there is a chance that the schools would come to view each others as resources for solving common problems and therefore less likely to move to another conference. Some commonalities of the Catholic 7 are: 1) Catholic Universities, 2) Located north of the Mason Dixon line and east of the Mississippi, 3) Located in cites or within 20 miles of a city with populations in excess of 1 million inhabitants, 4) Universities have between 3,500 (Providence) and 14,000 (DePaul) undergraduates, 5) Currently participate in Division 1 basketball and compete in at least 3 of: baseball/(softball), lacrosse, soccer, track and field and/or cross country as well as some other sports such as tennis, golf, volleyball, fencing, swimming etc. Universities with football (Villanova and Georgetown) and hockey (Providence) programs arrange their own games
Criteria for admittance:
1) Catholic Universities – The conference should be open to all academic institutions who meet the below criteria. To exclude a university based on a religious affiliation or lack there of, seems like an invitation for litigation.
2) Geographic Area - Located north of the Mason Dixon line and east of the Mississippi - The precise geographic boundaries, but these sports are played by students, the conference should attempt to minimize travel to away events, simply so the students can study. Depending on the number of schools in the conference, East and West divisions would be recommended. The proposed geographic area of the conference (roughly a quarter of the US land mass) would make the conference one of the largest in the nation (both in landmass and population).
3) Located in or near cities with populations greater than 1 million. In order to secure a maximum TV contract, the league should be represented in most major cities within the geographic area.
4) Undergraduate enrolment between 3,500 and 14,000 students. This is a huge disparity (4 times) between schools, but it is what the Catholic 7 currently has.
5) There should be a core group of sports (basketball, soccer, track and field) that every institution competes in, along with optional sports (baseball, softball, volleyball, swimming, tennis, golf, field hockey) and then independent sports that are not supported by the conference (football, hockey). Competing in multiple sports will increase the sense of fellowship between schools and build rivalries.
The following candidates would meet the criteria: Butler, Xavier, St Louis, and Northeastern and Dayton. Universities that miss some of criteria and are therefore backups include: Cleveland State, Temple, Detroit Mercy, and Creighton. The name of the league would be the ‘Metro East’.