The urgency of Maine's need to chart its future follows the loss of Northeastern and Hofstra football in 2009, Rhode Island's departure for the Northeast Conference next year and Massachusetts moving up a level. UMass begins play in the Mid-American Conference in 2012. Villanova is poised to make a move to the Football Bowl Subdivision level in the coming years, with talk of joining the Big East gaining momentum. That leaves Maine and New Hampshire alone in the north of the CAA.
UNH is within an hour's drive of two major commercial airports -- Boston and Manchester, N.H. -- and aren't in the travel pickle Maine is in.
So, among the most likely scenarios is combining with another league down the road.
The Patriot League is a likely frontrunner. Current member schools are Lehigh, Holy Cross, Colgate, Georgetown, Lafayette, Bucknell and Fordham.
Member schools are allowed 63 scholarships, and the addition of Maine, New Hampshire, and perhaps Rhode Island, it would improve to a stronger, 10-team league.
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