By DAN GARTLAND
EXECUTIVE SPORTS EDITOR
George Mason University announced today it will be joining the Atlantic 10 Conference for all sports on July 1, 2013. The move gives the A-10 13 members for the 2013-14 academic year.
The Patriots are best known for having made the Final Four of the 2006 NCAA men’s basketball tournament. With four of the A-10’s top basketball schools leaving for other conferences (Charlotte is joining Conference USA, Temple is headed to the old Big East, and Xavier and Butler are joining the new Big East), George Mason’s addition will help fill the void left by the departing members.
“Our vision for Mason athletics is to be the best overall athletics program in the conference, with an emphasis on men’s and women’s basketball, and this perfectly aligned with the Atlantic 10’s vision and accomplishments,” Tom O’Connor, George Mason’s director of athletics, said at a press conference.
“I am honored and excited to welcome George Mason to the Atlantic 10 Conference,” A-10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade said. They are a perfect fit for our league with world-class academic programs and a nationally successful intercollegiate athletic program. The addition of Mason further strengthens our footprint, enhances our brand and will allow us to continue to build on our national prominence and success in men’s basketball and all sports.”
The addition of George Mason gives the A-10 an odd number of schools for the upcoming year, meaning it is likely that one more school will join in the coming months. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports wrote on Twitter last week that Siena might look to join the conference, but the school’s president told the Albany Times-Union today that he has had no contact with the A-10.