The George Mason Patriots will remain in the Colonial Athletic Association according to a tweet by Washington Post George Mason beat reporter Steven Goff. Goff says that athletic director Tom O'Connor acknowledged the fact that he had talked to the Atlantic 10.
George Mason will remain in the CAA, AD Tom O'Connor tells me. Had talks with Atlantic 10, did due diligence, decided to stay #masonmbb
— Steven Goff (@GMUWashPost) May 11, 2012
The Patriots, along with the Va. Commonwealth Rams, had been rumored to be interested in leaving the conference to join the Butler Bulldogs in the Atlantic 10.
Mason remaining in the CAA is an interesting move with ESPN pulling the plug on the conference's involvement with their Bracketbuster Weekend, one of the better opportunities for Mason to play a decent out of conference team during the regular season.
CAA commissioner Tom Yeager released a statement praising the school for staying with the conference.
Through this process we've engaged in open communication with senior executives at George Mason University. We respected the process George Mason University went through and are pleased it decided that continued membership in the CAA is in the best interest of the university and its athletic programs.
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