The Elizabethtown College men’s and women’s college basketball teams are taking flight to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. The NCAA made the announcement Monday last week that the Blue Jays would be soaring over Division II and be headed straight for Division I College Basketball, joining the America East Conference (AEC). While a shocker to some, the talent on both rosters is more than worthy of competing in the top division of college basketball.
From coaches and staff, to students and athletes, everyone is intrigued by the news and can’t wait to go see their newest Division I team in action next season. Seats are going to be packed and those associated with the College just want the offseason to end already so they can see the team in action.
As March Madness begins to come to close, most teams are already preparing for what next season has in store. For the Blue Jays, that’ll be learning their new conference opponents and getting their players ready for the stronger competition level.
On the men’s side of things, some of the top opponents they’ll play in the AEC include the University of Vermont Catamounts, the University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks and the Bryant University Bulldogs. The Catamounts won the AEC this past season in men’s college basketball, earning the right to appear in the Division I Men’s College Basketball Tournament. While they left the tournament in a first round loss, the experience that teams like the Catamounts have should prove to be a tough task for Etown.
For the women’s squad, they’ll also have to match up with a tough Vermont team along with others. The University at Albany Great Danes were one of the tougher teams in the conference and the University of Maine Black Bears won the conference and played in the Division I Tournament. The women’s AEC winner also went home in a first round loss, but it’s certainly a competitive conference.
Of course, these are the top teams that Etown will have to face and as a new team to Division I, even the bottom of the conference teams will present a tough task. The new challenges will be a learning process and will take some growth before the teams are fully ready for next season. While there will be some ups and downs, there’s one thing certain and that’s that the Etown Blue Jays basketball teams will be ready to attack the challenge for next season.
