2010–2013 Colonial Athletic Association realignment

[2] The first move in the 2010–13 time frame affecting the CAA involved the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) football team.

The issue of an FBS move became more pressing to the UMass administration in the late 2000s due to significant changes in the CAA.

[3] Accordingly, UMass announced on April 20, 2011 that it would transition to FBS beginning that fall, and would become a football-only member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) at that time.

In February 2012, Georgia State University, which had only begun a football program two years earlier, announced that it had commissioned a study to determine the feasibility of an FBS upgrade.

[8] The rumored return to the Sun Belt became official on April 9 at a press conference at the Georgia Dome, then GSU's football home.

[13][14] In an attempt to replenish the league's numbers, C-USA entered into membership talks with several schools, with one of them being CAA member Old Dominion University.

[15] Old Dominion, located in Norfolk, Virginia, also provided access to a significant media market in Hampton Roads.

This situation was resolved in May 2013, when the two leagues agreed that only the new Big East would sponsor that sport, with the field hockey schools from The American (including Old Dominion) becoming associate members.

[26] After the losses of Georgia State, Old Dominion, and VCU, the CAA initially decided to reload with football in mind.

[30] As for Stony Brook, then-athletic director Jim Fiore said after the announcement, "We want to compete for a national championship in football.

[29] Notably in a realignment cycle marked by secrecy and intrigue, CAA commissioner Tom Yeager opted for transparency, keeping his counterparts in the NEC and Big South informed throughout the process.

[28] In addition, Yeager asked Rhode Island to reconsider its November 2010 decision to leave CAA Football for the NEC in 2013.

[38] Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports speculated that both schools made correct decisions for their individual situations, noting that "Davidson had more to lose by leaving the SoCon than Charleston because the Wildcats have the greater recent [men's basketball] history in the league.

[39] However, the departure of VCU and then-impending exit of Old Dominion robbed the CAA of two of its strongest basketball programs, making that conference a risky proposition for schools such as Charleston and Davidson—though apparently more so for Davidson because of its considerably greater recent SoCon success.

[39] A report by Matt Norlander, then of CBSSports.com, which cited an unnamed source with close ties to Davidson, shed light on that school's thinking.

[40] Eisenberg also noted that the CAA's basketball footprint extended far into the Northeast with Drexel and Northeastern, making travel costs a concern for Southeastern-based schools such as Davidson and Charleston.

[45][46] Later in March, the new Big East was unveiled, with the "Catholic 7" joined by Creighton from the Missouri Valley Conference, plus Butler and Xavier from the A-10.

[47] In response to the A-10 preparing to lose four schools in July 2013—the aforementioned Temple, Butler, and Xavier, plus Charlotte (to C-USA)— the conference once again entered into talks with Mason.

More attrition in the wrestling side of the league became imminent when George Mason announced its departure for the Atlantic 10, a conference that also does not sponsor the sport.

In the meantime, the Southern Conference (SoCon) was being battered by realignment, seeing four members announce their departures in a five-month time frame.

The CAA, seeing an opportunity to shore up its southern flank, began membership talks with Elon in early April 2013.

[53] Elon athletic director Dave Blank stated that the move was ultimately about what the school's administration believed was the best fit:In our analysis, and in our decision, we were looking strictly at what was best for our institution.

The first seeds of this phase of realignment were sown in November 2012, when the Big Ten Conference announced that Maryland[56] and Rutgers[57] would become members in 2014.