Butler And VCU To Join Atlantic 10 In 2013-14

The move will cover all Butler athletic programs except football, which will remain in the Pioneer League, and women’s golf. The Atlantic 10 does not host women’s golf, so the Bulldogs will look to another conference for that sport.

Given the extreme level of recent success, many felt that the program had outgrown its home in the Horizon League. Take Butler out of the equation and the conference has not had a team seeded better than 11th since 1998. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, earned seeds of 8, 5, 9, 7 and 5 from 2007 to 2011.

Virginia Commonwealth officially announced Tuesday afternoon that it will be leaving the Colonial Athletic Association to become a member of the Atlantic 10 on July 1, 2012.

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Virginia Commonwealth will join the Atlantic 10 in the fall of 2012 and not at the beginning of the 2013-14 season as first reported, according to Brett McMurphy of CBSSports.com.

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Virginia Commonwealth is leaving the Colonial Athletic Association in 2013 to become a member of the Atlantic 10, according to a report from CBSSports.com.

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George Mason will not be joining the Atlantic 10 Conference and will remain a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, athletic director Tom O’Connor said on Friday.

This news follows multiple reports that both George Mason and Virginia Commonwealth would be making the move to the Atlantic, 10 the most recent of which came on April 20.

Butler will leave the Horizon League and join the Atlantic-10 for the 2013-14 season, the university announced on Wednesday.

The A-10 announced during an afternoon teleconference that its Council of Presidents has unanimously voted to formally accept Butler’s application for membership.

Butler is far and away the biggest name currently in the Horizon League, who could be hurt significantly by the departure. The A-10 are also rumored to be in talks with Colonial Athletic Association basketball powers VCU and George Mason. If they add those two teams in addition to Butler, they will almost certainly be regarded as the best men’s basketball conference outside of the current power six.

If VCU and George Mason do not join while Charlotte -- rumored to be bolting for Conference-USA -- stays put, the A-10 will have 14 members for the 2013-14 basketball season.

For the second time in less than a month, officials at Virginia Commonwealth are denying a report that the Rams are making the jump from the Colonial Athletic Association to the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Robbins added that Butler will “probably” be joining the conference as well. The Bulldogs are currently a member of the Horizon League.

Virginia Commonwealth is not in discussions with the Atlantic 10 about a possible move to the conference, according to a report by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

“All of this speculation is internet chatter,” a source told the Times-Dispatch.

This could be a mid-major basketball fan’s dream: Butler, VCU and George Mason are reportedly in discussions to join the Atlantic 10. The three schools each broke through in the NCAA Tournament over the past half decade, with Butler earning the most noticeable exposure following back-to-back championship game appearance.

The news comes from CBS Sports.