Bob has great contacts, but none of the people I rely on for ASC insights have yet backed this up and he's been talking about it for some time.  I can't imagine what the ASC teams will do scheduling-wise during the regular season  given that the C2C doesn't play a regular season and there simply aren't a lot of teams in Texas with that many open spots on their non-conference schedules. 

Maybe the C2C will do some restructuring, but as it stands I can't see this being a long-term arrangement, and especially given how important football is to those schools.

Quote from: Ron Boerger on March 27, 2024, 07:41:30 AMBob has great contacts, but none of the people I rely on for ASC insights have yet backed this up and he's been talking about it for some time.  I can't imagine what the ASC teams will do scheduling-wise during the regular season  given that the C2C doesn't play a regular season and there simply aren't a lot of teams in Texas with that many open spots on their non-conference schedules. 

Maybe the C2C will do some restructuring, but as it stands I can't see this being a long-term arrangement, and especially given how important football is to those schools.

I agree it's not likely a preferable long-term solution, especially without football, but I don't think it will be difficult to construct a schedule in soccer.  They already play a lot of SCAC teams in non-conference games and they can probably expand that number by adding the former ASC/new SCAC teams to the mix and grabbing some of the non-conference games that SCAC teams used to play against UT Dallas.  Then they can play home and away games against each other for six "conference" games.  Add in a couple of NAIA or DII teams (including perhaps) former ASC member UT Dallas and/or schedule one out of state trip to play two games and they have a schedule.

In further thinking about it, I think they will actually be in decent shape.  There were only 8 conference games in the ASC last year because Sul Ross was reclassifying.  So, if they play home and away against each other, they have replaced 6 of the 8 conference games.  In effect, the teams really only need to replace two additional non-conference games.  Given that the SAA teams will be down a conference game because of Birmingham Southern, a former ASC school now in the C2C could play a weekend at Hendrix in Arkansas and play two SAA teams (which MHB did last year with Hendrix and Rhodes and Hardin-Simmons did the same in 2019) or go to Jackson and play Belhaven and Huntingdon College (which likely has to replace Birmingham Southern, because they are typically on its non-conference schedule).

It's not uncommon for a SCIAC and/or NWC team to travel to Texas each year, but it's usually organized by Trinity because the travel is easier to San Antonio and involves Trinity/St. Thomas/Southwestern.  Sometimes,  Hardin-Simmons is invited down to give a traveling team a third game that way.  Whitman and Pomona-Pitzer both played in Texas last year and one of Whitman's games was against Hardin-Simmons. One year, Hardin-Simmons played in the Trinity round robin directly with Christopher Newport, so it's possible they could get invited again.

In any event, I think the four teams will actually have a lot of non-conference options, mostly because I think the former ASC and SCAC schools still need them as well to construct a feasible non-conference schedule.  Since there are only four of them in the C2C who will qualify for non-conference play and there will be 12 in the SCAC for 2024 (before Trinity and Southwestern leave), they will be in demand even if conference play takes up more slots for those SCAC schools.

Good points.  The problem won't be as pronounced in soccer, with its limited number of games, than it will be in other sports where conferences routinely play a double round-robin schedule. 

Hearing more confirmations that the ASC and C2C are going to link up.  There was a story in the local newspaper for UMHB saying that something "good" was going to be announced soon, and another person with excellent contacts in the conference has confirmed it's with the C2C. 

Another pass at the Region X recruiting list (updates from the original list in red):

SCIAC

Cal Tech:

Dean Yao (M)  FC Delco MLS Next

Matthew Luk (F) Pipeline Soccer Club ECNL/C. Milton Wright

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps:

Heiko Schultz (M/F)  LA Surf MLS Next

Bo Gardner (OB/OM) Boulder County United

Dane Knudsen (MF) Marin FC

Lucius Ng (GK) Charterhouse (London, Eng)

Paul Melendres (M) Rio Rapids ECNL/El Dorado HS (New Mexico)

Zeno Bang (D) World Class FC/Don Bosco Prep

Roby Hooper (M) Washington Premier/Puyallup Union

Kevin Xia (M) Napa United MLS Next

Collin Ross (M/F) Davis Legacy ECNL/Christian Brothers

Ian Rodriguez (D) Beach FC ECNL/Mira Costa

Trusten Lehmann-Karp (M) IMG Academy MLS Next

La Verne:

Jeffrey Grijalva (RB)  San Rafael HS (Richmond, CA)

Sebastian Gonzalez (M) Sporting California ECNL/Eleanor Roosevelt HS

Occidental:

Andrew Lee (D)  LA Surf MLS Next

Aryan Amin (D) Baltimore Armour MLS Next

Devin Benning (F/M) LA Surf MLS Next

Matt Shea (M) Worcester Academy

Edward Siladie (D) Ballistic United SC MLS Next

Pomona-Pitzer:

Charlie Leonard (D) Chicago Fire Youth SC/Latin HS

Josh Goldhaber (GK) FC United (E64)/Latin HS

Gavin Honey (GK) Eastside FC (WA)/Liberty HS

Sammy Faham (M/F) De Anza Force MLS Next/Burlingame HS

Nolan Todd (D/M) Seattle United ECNL/Lincoln

Gabe Anca (D) Palo Alto SC (NPL)/Nueva School

Oak Jarvis (M) Santa Monica Surf EA/Crossroads

Jack Yang (M) De Anza Force ECNL/Harker

Redlands:

Ronaldo Fernandez (F) City SC MLS Next/Murrieta Valley HS

Ryan Hubbard (D) Laguna United FC (EA)/Aliso Niguel HS

Jared Keyvan (M) Laguna United FC (EA)/Mater Dei

Jacob White (D) Sporting California ECRL/Etiwanda

Whittier:

Anthony Dolce (D/DM)  Impact United/East HS (Salt Lake City, UT)

Allessandro Seccia (M) Laguna United FC UPSL/Saddleback College

Shae Kolmer (M) Seattle United/Shorecrest HS (WA)

Raif Sablan (F/M) Players SC Las Vegas/Shadow Ridge

Cobey Penner (D/M) Wasatch SC (EA)/Davis

SCAC

Austin College

Kaleb Arredondo (D) BVB Int'l Academy/Arlington

Colorado College

Teddy Opler (F) Jackson Hole (WY)

Texas Lutheran:

Romario Salazar (Wingback/winger) FC Westlake Elite (previously San Antonio FC DA/MLS Next)/Jefferson HS

Andy Garcia (GK) Cypress Lakes HS

Raymond Palmer (F) San Antonio City ECRL/Clark

Nicholas Dunn (M/D) Capital City SC/Wemberly

Allan Solis (CB/CDM) IDEA Toros Futbol Academy McAllen

Nico Gonzalez (OB/OM) Rise SC/Cypress Park

Ben Gutierrez (M/F) Sam Houston

Jonathan Rodriguez (DM) Rise SC/Houston Academy for Int'l Studies

Schreiner:

Mason Szymanski (GK) Sting SC ECRL/Panther Creek (TX)

Benni Ponce (F) Georgetown HS

Trinity:

Jason Sukow (MF) Transfer from D1 Loyola Chicago

Joey Perryman (F) Transfer from D1 Central Connecticut State University

Cade Dougan (D/M) Transfer from D1 UNC Wilmington

ASC

Mary Hardin-Baylor:

Evan Ruiz (M) Solar SC/Allen

Sebastian Martinez (M) Transfer from DIII LeTourneau

Dylan Vadnais (D) Transfer from UT-Tyler (DII)

Zachary Paclibar (D) Transfer from Dallas Baptist (DII)

Northwest Conference

Pacific Lutheran:

Ian Reckling (GK) Pacific NW/Sumner (WA)

Puget Sound

Jackson Smith (M/F) Shorewood

Whitworth

Dawson Heuett (M) transfer from Eastern Oregon (NAIA)

Willamette

Evan Bierman (GK) Colorado Edge ECRL/Ralston Valley

Whittier is playing its spring game tonight (Friday, April 12th) at home at 6 pm against Pasadena City College

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5q0oyHxP2z/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Whittier had a young team last year that struggled, but the upside of having zero seniors is that they all should be back, including forward Lawrence Dydell, who led the team with 12 goals and 3 assists.

Cross-posting this from the 2024 schedules thread since it concerns a Region X team

Chapman

Chapman has some interesting non-conference games on the schedule early in the season.  On the second weekend, they travel to Montclair, New Jersey to take on Stevens and Montclair State.  The following weekend, they host Wheaton (IL) and Whitman.  Immediately thereafter, they open the SCIAC schedule at Redlands and at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.  I suspect we'll know a lot about whether Chapman is a pretender or contender after that string of games.

Also, Chapman has a somewhat easier SCIAC schedule.  It does play Oxy twice, which will be tough, but its other "double" games are Cal Lutheran, Whittier, and La Verne.  On the other hand, its one game each against Redlands and CMS are away, so that's bad luck.

According to this story in a Texas Football page, LeTourneau is expected to announce soon that it has an accepted an offer to join the SCAC and will be leaving the ASC after this season.

https://www.texasfootball.com/article/2024/04/16/sources-letourneau-expected-to-depart-the-asc-for-the-scac?ref=article_preview_title

It would be a move for all sports, leaving the ASC with 4 members (although the ASC schools were already reportedly moving to the Coast-to-Coast conference for all sports except football)

As I hear it, the sticking point in making the move is that the ASC wants to merge with the C2C but have the combined conference called the ASC, which would make absolutely no sense whatsoever. 

Quote from: Ron Boerger on April 16, 2024, 09:59:04 PMAs I hear it, the sticking point in making the move is that the ASC wants to merge with the C2C but have the combined conference called the ASC, which would make absolutely no sense whatsoever. 

That makes no sense as a sticking point. If the C2C is just a temporary solution to the Texas schools' problem, what does it matter what it's called?  If the ASC think this is a permanent solution and the other schools will just let them takeover and always have to travel to them for the conference tournament, I could see that being a problem. 

I totally agree that it makes no sense.  But we're talking about the ASC who have let themselves go down this path for years without doing a darned thing to stop the bleeding (Mixed Metaphors for $400, Alex!).  And if the ASC is going to tie up with the C2C, what's stopping them from announcing it?  Bob Quillman and others have been talking about it for months and it generally doesn't take that long for conference moves to go from the "smoke" to the "fire" phase. 

Since this is may be of interest to people who follow the NWC, I'm posting it here rather than the schedules thread.

Warner Pacific, an NAIA school, posted its 2024 schedule.

They played Linfield and Lewis & Clark last year, but this year they are playing three NWC teams:  George Fox, Linfield, and Pacific Lutheran.

The latter is a little surprising to me given that they are usually pretty ambitious with their non-conference scheduling.  PLU did play Warner Pacific in 2021, but scheduling during that period was a little uncertain because of the pandemic and they may have decided to schedule more close-by games just as a hedge against travel issues.  It may be totally unrelated, but this podcast with PLU athletic director Mike Snyder, where he discusses the world of budget cutbacks in athletics, makes me wonder if either they are pulling back a little this year on the travel costs or they weren't able to get as many others to travel to them this year and they needed to fill in with a local NAIA team.

Quote from: Kuiper on April 16, 2024, 09:50:28 PMAccording to this story in a Texas Football page, LeTourneau is expected to announce soon that it has an accepted an offer to join the SCAC and will be leaving the ASC after this season.

https://www.texasfootball.com/article/2024/04/16/sources-letourneau-expected-to-depart-the-asc-for-the-scac?ref=article_preview_title

It would be a move for all sports, leaving the ASC with 4 members (although the ASC schools were already reportedly moving to the Coast-to-Coast conference for all sports except football)

It is now official.  LeTourneau is moving to the SCAC starting in 2025.

QuoteLeTourneau University has accepted an invitation to join the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), beginning in the 2025-26 academic year.

"I am thrilled to announce LeTourneau University's transition to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference -- for our student-athletes and coaches especially, but also for our entire campus and the greater Longview community. The SCAC is an ideal fit for LETU as one of the premier NCAA Division III conferences in the country. It has built a long tradition of athletic success across a range of sports, and its member schools embrace an academic profile that supports our culture and the holistic experience we provide our student-athletes. We're glad to be joining a conference that's growing from strength to strength, and we look forward to partnering with our fellow members in the SCAC and to making our own mark in the conference," said LeTourneau University president Dr. Steven Mason.

The move to the SCAC will become official on July 1, 2025.

LeTourneau will remain in the American Southwest Conference through the 2024-25 academic year and be eligible for conference championships during that time.

"This is a significant moment in the history of our institution as it aligns our athletic department perfectly with other like-minded institutions that are committed to providing a phenomenal student-athlete experience while pursuing excellence," said LeTourneau University vice president for athletics Dr. Tim Sceggel. "It is a joy and privilege to be counted among these elite academic institutions."

"Adding LeTourneau University makes a ton of sense for us." said SCAC commissioner Dwayne Hanberry. "From both a geographical and a sports sponsorship basis, they will fit seamlessly into our current structure. I'm excited that LeTourneau viewed our league as a preferred destination for their student-athletes. We look forward to the opportunity of growing our relationship with the institution beyond the fields and courts."

This isn't about a DIII program, but it is DIII adjacent.  University of St. Katherine, a small NAIA school in San Diego, just suddenly announced that it is closing at the end of this academic year and filing for bankruptcy

https://thecoastnews.com/students-staff-devastated-by-university-of-saint-katherines-sudden-closure/

The reason it is DIII adjacent is that USK is one of the NAIA schools that show up on the non-conference schedule of one or more SCIAC teams ever year it seems.  In recent years, it has played Cal Tech, Occidental, La Verne, and Chapman and Chapman just released it's schedule for 2024 and it was supposed to host USK in its opening regular season game on Saturday, August 31st.

https://athletics.chapman.edu/sports/mens-soccer/schedule

Maybe Chapman convince one of its exhibition opponents to switch to that date, but my guess is that Chapman will go without and start the season on its road trip to NJ to play Stevens and Montclair State.

Incidentally, this is just one example of how difficult it is for these isolated conferences in Southern California and the Pacific Northwest.  The only non-conference games available to them without extensive and costly travel are these small, often financially precarious, DII or NAIA schools.  Another school in this situation that has sometimes played SCIAC schools -- the University of Antelope Valley -- also announced it was closing recently.