Sucks to BU.

No, seriously. If you’re a fan of the men’s basketball team here at Northeastern – or at Boston University for that matter – it sucks to be you.

Why? Because for the first time since the 1943-44 season, the Huskies will not play the Terriers in basketball.

“Surely, there’s some mistake,” I thought as I perused the 2005-06 schedule, looking to plan for what the big matchups will be this year. (OK, it was probably more like “Huh? Whu-wha-yep. Not there,” but that’s not exactly English.) And man, was I disappointed.

This is about the second greatest sports rivalry Boston has – and it’s multiplied by two since both teams are based in the Hub. (Perhaps a biased statement, but hey, this is a column.) This is what my buddies Murph and Banty look forward to so we can gloat at our friend Hanson from BU. This is what sells out games … this is my excuse to head down to the amazing Agganis Arena.

According to Northeastern Athletic Director Dave O’Brien, the universities had a game in place and wanted to keep the rivalry alive for another year, but plans fell through.

“It’s regrettable that we weren’t able to work it out with BU; we certainly tried, though,” O’Brien said. “Ultimately, when we thought we had a date done and finalized, BU called and said they had to withdraw from the game because they were [over-booked] by one game. They simply had made a mistake and as a result asked if we could continue the series another year.”

Sounds to me like BU dropped the ball. How do you overlook a scheduling mistake in this kind of situation? I know the NCAA has rules about how many games teams can play, but I feel like this is the one game that shouldn’t be lost in the shuffle. It’s beneficial for both schools fan base-wise and business-wise.

“I think both teams would like to play each other and keep that cross-town rivalry going,” NU men’s basketball coach Ron Everhart said. “It’s sacrificing good crowds for both schools to not play each other.”

Still, Northeastern didn’t exactly make it easy for BU to fit us in with the weitch to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) this offseason. O’Brien explained NU originally had a two-year plan in place to move from the America East Conference – of which BU was and is still a member – to the CAA beginning in 2006. However, it turned out it would work better for all parties to move in just one year and assimilate with the CAA for this season, which in turn “hurt our scheduling,” he said.

A six-year contract has been put in place with both the men’s and women’s basketball teams to be able to play the Terriers, O’Brien said, adding “we want to play them on an annual basis and they want to play us on an annual basis,” but this year had to serve as an adjustment period.

“Certainly we want to continue [the rivalry]; it’s an important rivalry with both schools,” O’Brien said. “The complications moving to the Colonial just prevented us from getting it done.”

When the rivalry does continue, one advantage the Huskies will have is home court.

“We flipped a coin and it was going to start at their place this year,” Everhart said. “Coach (Dennis) Wolff was gracious enough to have it start at our place next year (to make it up). It’s a welcomed process knowing they’ll come and play.”

While the Terriers won’t be arriving on Huntington Avenue anytime soon, Massachusetts colleges Lasell (Newton) and Holy Cross (Worcester) will be making the short trip. In one of the more notable non-conference games on the schedule, Northeastern will travel down to Providence to play the Friars.

Husky fans should look forward to each of those games, but those are really the only ones that have as much historical or geographical draw. One team in the CAA I hope Northeastern can start a new rivalry with, though, is Drexel.

The Dragons not only have a sweet logo (a dragon spitting fire – what else … OK, I put a lot of stock in mascots), but more importantly it is the other big co-op school in the country. Think about it: that’s a pretty good formula for a natural rival, plus Drexel isn’t that far away in Philadelphia.

The Dragons have the 6-foot, 10-inch defensive whiz Chaz Crawford, who should make for an interesting matchup against the Huskies’ shot-blocking master Shawn James. Plus the Dragons are pretty good, and will probably be the fourth best team in the conference behind Old Dominion, Virginia Commonwealth and the Huskies.

Still, at least many of the teams in the Atlantic-10 who play NU in football are also in the CAA – so much so that A-10 football will merge into the CAA next year.

“Right away you’re going to see a built-in rivalry with some of these teams,” Everhart said. “You already see this in football. We will have some rivalries when people see how good this conference is. From a fans’ perspective it should be an exciting league to watch.”

This move to the Colonial is certainly the right one for this program and all Husky athletics. I just feel a little sad, quite frankly, that Northeastern is shutting the door completely on the America East.

Not seeing BU is the biggest loss, but there also won’t be any games against Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire or even the loveable UMBC (University of Maryland Baltimore County) Retrievers. Those little buggers always gave their best effort.

For now, though, I’m just waiting to see if the success the field hockey team has translated in the transition to the CAA thus far is any indication of what the men’s basketball team will do. It should be a great year; it just won’t be the same without hearing the Dog Pound yell obscenities at the BU bench.

– Tim Coughlin can be reached at [email protected].