Quote from: Ralph Turner on March 19, 2025, 03:49:19 PM... maybe this was a win-win for mutliple reasons for the 6 schools involved.

The SCAC's losing TU was the SCAC losing its panache.

I think this is a huge point.

Schreiner was a middle-of-the-pack school in terms of athletics in the SCAC using the President's Trophy standings and McMurry has the 3rd most ASC championships behind only HSU and UT-D (so yes more than UMHB). In the ASC there is no reason to think Schreiner can't be middle of the pack and McMurry can't go back to dominating T&F which is where the bulk of their championships came from.

So from a purely athletic viewpoint, their position hasn't changed much and apparently one conference is offering millions of dollars, this is an easy business and athletic decision.

So will the scac have an auto bid with 6 teams this upcoming season?

Quote from: The Third Division on March 21, 2025, 06:33:59 PMSo will the scac have an auto bid with 6 teams this upcoming season?

Iirc, they're only at 5 still because Schreiner is only playing JV in 2025 with 2026 the first official year of DIII competition.

McM finished 8th in the Indoor T&F Nationals.

Quote from: Etchglow on March 21, 2025, 07:03:55 PM

Quote from: The Third Division on March 21, 2025, 06:33:59 PMSo will the scac have an auto bid with 6 teams this upcoming season?

Iirc, they're only at 5 still because Schreiner is only playing JV in 2025 with 2026 the first official year of DIII competition.

I could very well be wrong but I think the struggle is actually Lyon in 2025 as I don't believe they count yet. I think for 2025 they will have Austin College, Centenary, TLU, McMurry and Hendrix.

Quote from: crufootball on March 21, 2025, 09:31:14 PM

Quote from: Etchglow on March 21, 2025, 07:03:55 PM

Quote from: The Third Division on March 21, 2025, 06:33:59 PMSo will the scac have an auto bid with 6 teams this upcoming season?

Iirc, they're only at 5 still because Schreiner is only playing JV in 2025 with 2026 the first official year of DIII competition.

I could very well be wrong but I think the struggle is actually Lyon in 2025 as I don't believe they count yet. I think for 2025 they will have Austin College, Centenary, TLU, McMurry and Hendrix.

I had forgotten that Hendrix joins in 2025.  Lyon showed up on the conference standings page but I'm not familiar enough with the minutiae to determine if they count. 

Lyon completed their transition to d3 last fall so they will officially have 6 teams in 25.

Prehaps something has changed but this statement was in the story that D3sports.com put out when Hendrix joined the SCAC.

"Austin, Centenary, McMurry, Texas Lutheran, Lyon and Hendrix will sponsor football in 2025, with the start date of Schreiner's promised football program not yet clear. The SCAC should be eligible for an automatic bid in 2026, based on Lyon's affiliate membership triggering a two-year waiting period to receive an automatic bid in football." https://www.d3sports.com/notables/2024/06/hendrix-goes-back-to-scac

Again I could be wrong but everything that was coming out pointed to the SCAC having a bid in 2026 when Schreiner came on board. My understanding was since Lyon is an affiliate member that don't get the same automatic treatment that Schreiner will get when they fully join the ASC in 2026.

I think affiliates count towards an AQ...... provided I'm reading this article from Pat Coleman correctly
 
https://www.d3sports.com/notables/2022/01/d3-reduces-aq-requirements

It states that it was 7....but reduced to six schools for the AQ.

"extending automatic qualification status to essentially any group of.....schools offering a sport"

The question is.....

Can the ASC and the SCAC both move forward with six for 2026?

SCAC:  Austin College, TLU, Centenary, Lyon, Hendrix

ASC:  UMHB, HSU, ETBU, HPU, McMurry, Schriener

Can the SCAC get Trinity or Southwestern to stay instead of moving to the SAA?  Can they get someone from the Sooner Conference to come over?  Louisiana Christian?  Nelson?  Maybe Belhaven?

Can the ASC lure more from the SCAC?  Will Sul Ross return to D3?  Can they get LCU or Nelson?  Belhaven?