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Conference NYC Green
December 6, 2012 3:11 pm ET by Raymond Curren



I was a geography minor in college, and I can tell east from west, north from south. I didn't take too many math classes, but most days I can count to 10 or 12.

Bigger is not always better, so it's time to rethink where we're going. So I've combined two passions of mine to form the brand new Green Apple Conference.

Why is it that the immediate New York City area has so many teams, but they're all in different conferences? This is silly. Let's put them all together in one happy family.

There's a catch here, though (isn't there always?) To reduce travel costs, but more importantly - to showcase the battle against global climate change - only public transportation will be used to transport student-athletes to and from conference games. In addition, schools will be required to reduce carbon emissions each year with the hopes of being fully self-sustaining energy-wise by the year 2050.

Yes, it's going to be difficult at first, and there are wide swaths of people in the country that will probably snicker or much, much worse.

But you have to see the big picture here, guys. Don't you want to be part of something that is bigger than yourselves, to truly make the world a better place through athletics. Think of the publicity when this conference eventually takes off and becomes a model that the rest of the United States can envy as oil prices eventually skyrocket and the world continues to warm at an alarming rate. Enough talk, it's time for some action. And you didn't like all that travel, anyway, did you? Flying across two time zones for conference games? Really? We've got plenty of people right in our backyard who can play.

And so come on down: from the Ivy League, Columbia. I know breaking a century of tradition will be tough, but just because you're breaking away athletically from the "elite" doesn't mean you have to lower your standards. Besides, what does "elite" even mean? Over time, people will see that going Green is the only way to go. Again, big picture, people, big picture.

From the NEC: St. Francis Brooklyn, Long Island University, and Wagner. Didn't take much to prod these three into coming, although the burden of changing their infrastructure may be difficult for a while. They can still use the new Barclays Center for a few home games. Wagner may have some trouble getting of Staten Island at first, but it's not that hard.

From the Colonial: Hofstra. It may be a little tougher to get there via the Long Island Railroad, but it can be done. Hofstra may think they're taking a step down to be here, but - as with Columbia - is being part of something bigger, and part of New York City.

From America East: Stony Brook. The Seawolves are a little further out on the island, but are set up fairly well for public transportation, and would love to be in with the rest of the City. As a state school, they can also pick up some Green grants pretty easily one would suppose.

From the MAAC: Manhattan and Iona. It will be pretty easy for the Jaspers as the last stop on the 1 train to get involved, but a little tougher for the Gaels. However, it's only a few miles on a city bus, it won't be that bad. Surely, a lot of the kids do it every day anyway. And, like Stony Brook, Iona would likely love to get in with the NYC crowd.

And from the Atlantic-10/14/16: Fordham: Also a pretty easy train ride to the Bronx. Like Hofstra, they may think it's a step down athletically, but it's not like they've enjoyed huge success, anyway. Suck it up and join the crowd. In a couple of decades, you'll be legendary.

Now that leaves us at nine teams, slightly short of the 10 that is goal. So I'm going to bend the rules a little and invite St. John's out of Queens. Yes, they're in the Big East, but the Big East is falling apart, and they'll the last Division I school in the City that hasn't joined. Like Fordham and Hofstra, this is bigger than you, St. John's. You're part of NYC before you're part of the Big East, or at least the new bastardized Big East. Like the rest of the schools, in two years, you'll be glad you did, on top of the world in almost every conceivable category.

If St. John's doesn't join, I'm prepared to invite St. Peter's (MAAC) and New Jersey Tech (nomad), even though they're across the Hudson River in New Jersey. They can find their way into NYC with public transport easily and join the club.

So there you go. Incredibly ambitious? Absolutely. But it's time for action. This conference realignment stuff is ludicrous, as is our response to energy concerns that should have been dealt with long ago. New York City has the opportunity to make it happen.