FB: American Southwest Conference

[crufootball]

Perhaps this is jumping to conclusion but D3 may be getting a little bit more respect from the Texas high school football world as Markeith Miller of UMHB was named one of the Top 50 most important college players in Texas in 2017 at #47.  They clearly did some background work as they mentioned in his time at Garland HS and Midwestern State and the fact that he followed his brother here and even that he was bottled up in the Stagg Bowl. We will see if any other D3 players are named to the list and I am very anxious to see if their summer issue has more stuff about UMHB since we did win it all but I am going to take this as a good sign.

In other news, the NCAA may have banned satellite camps but not surprisingly left enough holes for programs to find ways around it. UMHB will be a part of the Texas Mega Camp which will have 4 camps over 3 days with one of the camps being at UMHB with the other host being UIW, PVAMU, and Texas Southern. Tulane, Oregon State, Memphis, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Boise State, Kansas State, and Arkansas State will also be at the camps. 

[GillCJ1]

Perhaps this is jumping to conclusion but D3 may be getting a little bit more respect from the Texas high school football world as Markeith Miller of UMHB was named one of the Top 50 most important college players in Texas in 2017 at #47.  They clearly did some background work as they mentioned in his time at Garland HS and Midwestern State and the fact that he followed his brother here and even that he was bottled up in the Stagg Bowl. We will see if any other D3 players are named to the list and I am very anxious to see if their summer issue has more stuff about UMHB since we did win it all but I am going to take this as a good sign.

In other news, the NCAA may have banned satellite camps but not surprisingly left enough holes for programs to find ways around it. UMHB will be a part of the Texas Mega Camp which will have 4 camps over 3 days with one of the camps being at UMHB with the other host being UIW, PVAMU, and Texas Southern. Tulane, Oregon State, Memphis, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Boise State, Kansas State, and Arkansas State will also be at the camps.

NCAA Board of Directors lifted the ban last April.  But yeah, I saw Coach Fredenburg tweet about the camp this morning.  Here it is for those interested:

[DFWCrufan]

So did anyone catch the podcast? I kind of took issue with it in this sense, that because Texas as a host is untied with will not be able to match what Salem had provided. Now I know one of the answers the rep from Shenandoah gave was "Texas is football country" and that kind of ruffled a feather or two but lets consider this, by the time the playoffs come most of the players and families are well into the holiday plans and travels, yet I can say with some decent experience that as the Cru got deeper into the playoffs there were good to great crowds and many were not UMHB faithful. Here is what I mean
In three playoff runs while at the games I could hear the spectators about us, some on the phone and talking among-st themselves, talking about the game, they were not UMHB long term fans you could tell, one had to correct their contact and said "Not that Baylor the other Baylor". Many had heard about the game and brought the kids and such. My point is, and it is wholly anecdotal so it might negate any point, but, I think Texas CAN deliver a good showing and CAN deliver a great student and fan experience based upon the past playoff interest simply for the Cru. Obviously, for some reason Virginia had this event removed from their stewardship for at least 4 years, for some reason, NCAA has decided to look outside the area and liked what they saw.
Like I had mentioned in a post along time ago, I would think that North Texas and namely the Ford Center (The Star training center for the cowboys) would be an incredible venue, Indoor, same size seating as the stadium they now play in, minty fresh media capability and an international airport 20 minutes away. Shenandoh is a very nice location and on top of that it is also the DIII sight for Womens Golf.
So that is my rant, I'd say keep your eyes on Shenandoah and let's see what they deliver.

[wally_wabash]

So looking as schedules and the 1 open slot for ASC teams

An interesting early pick in the schedule for Southwestern they have scheduled Denision. Not a bad side to start off with, Denision went 8-2 last season and is no "tune up"  not a bad side at all. To me it shows that Southwestern has some positive designs going forward, you gotta love that!

I like this game a lot also.  Denison has been playing a pretty good brand of defense for a few years now and have who I think is probably the best player in the league returning next year- QB Canaan Gebele.  Gebele was the best offensive player in the league last year before getting an ankle banged up and losing his mobility.  It really showed up in their losses to DePauw and Wabash (they nearly beat Wabash even with Gebele operating basically on one leg).  I love a good inter-regional matchup and this one fits the bill. 

[wildcat11]

Like I had mentioned in a post along time ago, I would think that North Texas and namely the Ford Center (The Star training center for the cowboys) would be an incredible venue, Indoor, same size seating as the stadium they now play in, minty fresh media capability and an international airport 20 minutes away.

Whoa...I just looked that up and that is so damn nice. 

[Pat Coleman]

So did anyone catch the podcast? I kind of took issue with it in this sense, that because Texas as a host is untied with will not be able to match what Salem had provided. Now I know one of the answers the rep from Shenandoah gave was "Texas is football country" and that kind of ruffled a feather or two but lets consider this, by the time the playoffs come most of the players and families are well into the holiday plans and travels, yet I can say with some decent experience that as the Cru got deeper into the playoffs there were good to great crowds and many were not UMHB faithful.

I'm kind of confused by what you said in the text I bolded above but I'll answer by saying that we did not at all say "will not be able to match" at all. What we've said -- what I've said, specifically -- throughout is that there's a high bar to reach in terms of Salem's focus on the student-athlete. We never said they will not be able to, at all. But Salem created this focus, literally, and it has become the expectation at this level, across multiple championships. As the NCAA placed its stated focus specifically on facilities, we want to make sure the other areas are not forgotten.

[wally_wabash]

Like I had mentioned in a post along time ago, I would think that North Texas and namely the Ford Center (The Star training center for the cowboys) would be an incredible venue, Indoor, same size seating as the stadium they now play in, minty fresh media capability and an international airport 20 minutes away.

Whoa...I just looked that up and that is so damn nice.

Do they bid for the game?  Not being glib here, but genuinely curious if Frisco has any interest whatsoever in hosting the event. 

[Ralph Turner]

Like I had mentioned in a post along time ago, I would think that North Texas and namely the Ford Center (The Star training center for the cowboys) would be an incredible venue, Indoor, same size seating as the stadium they now play in, minty fresh media capability and an international airport 20 minutes away.

Whoa...I just looked that up and that is so damn nice.

Do they bid for the game?  Not being glib here, but genuinely curious if Frisco has any interest whatsoever in hosting the event.

Frisco hosted the D1FCS championship last year.

[Pat Coleman]

Like I had mentioned in a post along time ago, I would think that North Texas and namely the Ford Center (The Star training center for the cowboys) would be an incredible venue, Indoor, same size seating as the stadium they now play in, minty fresh media capability and an international airport 20 minutes away.

Whoa...I just looked that up and that is so damn nice.

Do they bid for the game?  Not being glib here, but genuinely curious if Frisco has any interest whatsoever in hosting the event.

Frisco hosted the D1FCS championship last year.

This does not equate to interest in hosting the D3 championship.

Frisco was not among the six bids that the committee considered.

[crufootball]

Like I had mentioned in a post along time ago, I would think that North Texas and namely the Ford Center (The Star training center for the cowboys) would be an incredible venue, Indoor, same size seating as the stadium they now play in, minty fresh media capability and an international airport 20 minutes away.

Whoa...I just looked that up and that is so damn nice.

Do they bid for the game?  Not being glib here, but genuinely curious if Frisco has any interest whatsoever in hosting the event.

Frisco hosted the D1FCS championship last year.

This does not equate to interest in hosting the D3 championship.

Frisco was not among the six bids that the committee considered.

Are the bids public knowledge? Guess we know 4 (Houston, Salem, Canton, Detroit), but can you share the other 2?

[Pat Coleman]

We mentioned in the March podcast that Ohio Wesleyan University also bid to host the Stagg Bowl. I'll see if I can find my notes from the conversation I had with my source.

[DFWCrufan]

Sorry for the confusing text, my big clown fingers got in the way once again. To the question. After the interview in the podcast it was mentioned that simply being Texas does not equate to interest in D3 (post interview with the Shenandoah rep), I would say a few things. one of with there is a whole lot of the game going on at the same time with the number of decent to great programs in the area across the playing levels from Pro down to great HS programs, I do believe that D3 can be welcomed quite a bit. I also believe The new sites like Shenandoah and Canton can deliver great venues and player and fan experience.
I just took, in my twisted mind, that the new venues were getting a thumbs down and they have not even hosted the venue yet. That D3 football would be ignored or not well represented, I believe the opposite. Now Virginia is a fantastic host and a great host for the Stagg Bowl no doubt, but I believe the Texas Bowls and the Ohio Bowls will be great as well, and personally, if we want outdoor football for the Stagg I would really love to see it in the west coast, but that a personal preference and I'm not part of the NCAA (and a good thing) So the next Stagg is still in Virginia and I'd love to see a great handoff to Shenandoah,
lets face it we on this board are in the weeds for the Division, so we'd love to see the very best, I hope that Canton and Shenandoah have the same ideals for D3 football that Virginia does, I think Shenandoah does and Houston has done that from D3 Womens Golf so far and has done well.

[wally_wabash]

Sorry for the confusing text, my big clown fingers got in the way once again. To the question. After the interview in the podcast it was mentioned that simply being Texas does not equate to interest in D3 (post interview with the Shenandoah rep), I would say a few things. one of with there is a whole lot of the game going on at the same time with the number of decent to great programs in the area across the playing levels from Pro down to great HS programs, I do believe that D3 can be welcomed quite a bit. I also believe The new sites like Shenandoah and Canton can deliver great venues and player and fan experience.
I just took, in my twisted mind, that the new venues were getting a thumbs down and they have not even hosted the venue yet. That D3 football would be ignored or not well represented, I believe the opposite. Now Virginia is a fantastic host and a great host for the Stagg Bowl no doubt, but I believe the Texas Bowls and the Ohio Bowls will be great as well, and personally, if we want outdoor football for the Stagg I would really love to see it in the west coast, but that a personal preference and I'm not part of the NCAA (and a good thing) So the next Stagg is still in Virginia and I'd love to see a great handoff to Shenandoah,
lets face it we on this board are in the weeds for the Division, so we'd love to see the very best, I hope that Canton and Shenandoah have the same ideals for D3 football that Virginia does, I think Shenandoah does and Houston has done that from D3 Womens Golf so far and has done well.

My interpretation was a little different.  Certainly ATN wasn't over the moon with the the choice of Shenandoah, I do think there  is cautious optimism that they'll host a great event.  There's a lot of unknowns about new hosts, new cities, and cities in areas that are not D3-centric.  There are enough variables here that I think it's reasonable to have a wait-and-see approach.  I think everybody wants the event to be great.  I think most also understand that there's going to be a lot of work involved by the folks in Shenandoah to make it great.  It'll take more than just having the game be in football-lovin' Texas (I'm not sure that the locals' love of Friday night lights translates to a love of D-III football) or near a major metro area to fill the balance of that stadium with nonpartisans.  Can they?  I think so and I hope so.  Will they?  We'll have to wait and see. 

[Ron Boerger]

The other thing is that D3 is a part of the landscape (maybe small, but still present) in both VA and OH; when I made my pilgrimage to the Stagg the number of highway signs for D3 colleges on the way from DC to Salem boggled.   If you live in the Houston area you very well may not realize there is even such a thing as D3 football due to the lack of schools in the area.   That is challenge the Shenandoah folks will have to overcome, and it won't be easy given that they only have it for a year.   I very much see their success in overcoming that challenge as the determining factor for the success of future bids, and of course wish them all the best. 

[Pat Coleman]

They have it for two, but either way, it's a short time.

one of with there is a whole lot of the game going on at the same time with the number of decent to great programs in the area across the playing levels from Pro down to great HS programs, I do believe that D3 can be welcomed quite a bit.

Definitely a culture of football in Texas. I do sincerely hope that filters down but it hasn't so far in terms of our observation of 'butts in seats' or in what coaches tell us about the Division III brand when recruiting in that area of the country.

I just took, in my twisted mind, that the new venues were getting a thumbs down and they have not even hosted the venue yet. That D3 football would be ignored or not well represented, I believe the opposite.

That's OK -- not twisted, per se. By the way, the venues themselves are not in question at all.