Atlantic 10 brings new and better rivalries for George Mason

George Mason has a long history of playing against James Madison but most fans could care less about the rivalry. Especially considering George Mason has dominated the series over the last 13 years. It was fun to play them on a Saturday in a packed Patriot Center and make fun of your old JMU drinking buddies; but they weren't the best games in a pure basketball sense. The move to the Atlantic 10 next season gives Mason the chance to start some new and better rivalries that will be local, fun, and competitive.

Let's take a look at them:

George Washington

Both schools did a great job marketing the "Battle of the Orange Line" a couple of years ago during the home and home series. I had fun with it and so did others. It was fun for the fans and the games were good. The GW fans are passionate and it made both games fun to attend. The proximity really plays a part here because it will ensure that there is always a decent turnout even for weekday games. With Mike Lonergan heading up the program they will be much more competitive in the coming years and they should be the Patriots' main rival going forward.

Remember this video with the mascot Rocky IV training montage music? Good times.

George Washington leads the all-time series: 10-2

VCU

Photo by John Powell

Rams fans can cry all they want about how ODU was their CAA rival but the games between them and George Mason were always an intense battle. Mason was on the losing end a lot, especially in the conference tournament but they were always heated affairs for both the players and the fans. If you've never gotten into it with a Rams fan in either Richmond or Fairfax you're not a true fan. VCU is the most prestigious team on this list as long as they have Shaka Smart and both teams had their share as that Final Four darling everyone fell in love with. That alone has enough juice to keep this one going strong. Out of all the teams on this list the games with VCU always will have the best chance to be the best basketball to watch in my opinion.

VCU lead leads the all-time series: 31-18


Richmond

This one isn't as sexy but the Richmond Spiders are still an in-state rival that has been successful. These two teams used to be conference rivals back in the day when the CAA first started so they have a long history. Before this year's game the two teams hadn't met since 2001. Richmond will definitely replace the ODU and James Madison type games that are always on the conference schedule. They might not be the most exciting games every year on paper but they will always an intense battle worth watching. Let's be honest it's never hard to hate another team from Richmond, right? Richmond leads the all-time series: 33-17