George Mason in discussions to join Atlantic 10 along with VCU and Butler

Looks as though the rumors of two of the CAA's finest possibly jumping ship to the Atlantic 10 are true. Brett McMurphy of CBSSports.com is reporting that George Mason, VCU, and Butler (Horizon League) are in discussions to join the Atlantic 10 starting in 2013-2014:

"VCU, George Mason and Butler have had discussions with the Atlantic 10 and indicated to the league they have potential interest in joining for the 2013-14 school year, sources told CBSSports.com.

VCU and George Mason are currently in the Colonial Athletic Association and Butler is in the Horizon League. All three schools would need approval from their respective school boards to make the move.

Sources told CBSSports.com that VCU's Board of Visitors already has had at least two meetings about making the move, while Butler has negotiated with representatives of the Atlantic 10 for the league to assist financially for the Bulldogs to change leagues."

Looks as though VCU is taking this very seriously, is Mason? I can't imagine George Mason not following VCU if they were first to bite on this offer. If VCU left and they didn't follow that would leave them with one less fellow non-football school in the CAA, which seems to be moving more of its attention towards football.

Keep this in mind though, George Mason and VCU seem to vary in how much they are willing to commit to athletics, especially men's basketball. VCU has gone all in since their Final Four run, where Mason didn't do all that much after there's. The results led to Jim Larranaga walking and Shaka Smart getting a big raise and better facilities. VCU has had remarkable attendance and George Mason's has been so low they refused, among other reasons, to host a CIT or CBI game this season.

Still the fact the remains that this move is an upgrade for the two CAA programs. The Atlantic 10 gets more recognition and gets more teams to the NCAA tournament annually than the CAA does. The move would make the Atlantic 10 a mini power conference capable of producing four or five NCAA tournament teams a year if not more.