Is the A-Sun Calling EKU and JSU?
(St. Louis, MO) – It appears that Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State will ‘head for the Sun.’ The two programs seem to be leaving the Ohio Valley Conference. The Atlantic Sun Conference has made no secret that it wants to expand and build a football conference.
Widely circulated December news stories indicated Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State would leave the OVC and head for the Sun. Monday a leaked press release spelled out some of the details surrounding the departure for EKU.
Why Head for the Sun?
Nathan Hutchinson follows EKU sports and says this is largely a football move by the conference and for the Colonel sports program. The ASUN wants to launch a conference-sanctioned, FCS league.
The Richmond Register writer tells us the handwriting was on the wall, when the OVC paused football and EKU played a fall schedule anyway. The Colonel football program is ‘tradition-rich’.
Hutchinson believes EKU has been looking for a way out of the OVC for a long time. Hutchinson says football rules the EKU athletic department.
How Does It Affect Basketball?
KenPom.com rates the ASUN 26th and the OVC as the 23rd best leagues in America. Hutchinson calls it a ‘lateral move’ for A.W. Hamilton’s basketball team.
Eastern Kentucky (13-2, 7-1) is off to an historic start and Hutchinson says the Colonels are winning games, and those contests are entertaining. He calls EKU’s basketball style ‘relentless’. The team is athletic, in non-stop press mode and really hasn’t had its whole team together yet.
The current EKU squad is ranked 162 in kenpom.com and 127 in the latest NET numbers. Hutchinson says the Colonels have a great chance of upsetting the Belmont dynasty this season.
Is it a done deal?
Nothing is official, but all signs indicate JSU and EKU will head for the sun. Hutchinson says the 60-day wait period is over and an official announcement should be coming soon.
We reached out to Eastern Kentucky and the Ohio Valley Conference for reactions to the rumors and leaks. Valley Hoops Insider Podcasts has our entire interview with Nathan Hutchinson.
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