FB: American Southwest Conference

[Ron Boerger]

I guess the question I would have like to see asked (and maybe Cory did but didn't get answered) is why the heck would you leave a cushy job with the Big 12 to lead a D3 conference with the challenges being faced by the ASC.

[crufootball]

Those of us who have been around a while *really* miss the annual D3football Kickoff that came out every year around this time (or August).  But the lack of traffic to the boards and related difficulty in promoting it to the dispersed fan base probably was a contributor to the economics not working out and its subsequent demise.   

Oh, yeah, there was that pandemic thingie too.

YES! I miss that so much.

[Etchglow]

I guess the question I would have like to see asked (and maybe Cory did but didn't get answered) is why the heck would you leave a cushy job with the Big 12 to lead a D3 conference with the challenges being faced by the ASC.

Yeah, gotta wonder about that honestly.  There wasn't much substance to me but this sort of stood out to me:

Flores: The remaining members have messaged me their commitment. I understand that some might be disingenuous, and I'd be foolish to think everything everyone says to the Commissioner is true. If it were, then the membership would never have changed. However, we need to have honest discussions and trust that each person is committed to moving forward. If something is to change, then we'll have to address it at that point. I don't want to go into this thinking everyone is being dishonest and ready to jump out of the ship.

Interesting enough that the bug that people might already be lying to him only two weeks into a job...  Otherwise, Would love to have him actually had some sort of a plan coming in instead of the whole "I'm going to tour everything this fall and then we'll make a plan", but maybe that's just me being an ASC homer and basically only having radio silence for as long as this stuff has been happening...

[jekelish]

I guess the question I would have like to see asked (and maybe Cory did but didn't get answered) is why the heck would you leave a cushy job with the Big 12 to lead a D3 conference with the challenges being faced by the ASC.

Yeah, gotta wonder about that honestly.  There wasn't much substance to me but this sort of stood out to me:

Flores: The remaining members have messaged me their commitment. I understand that some might be disingenuous, and I'd be foolish to think everything everyone says to the Commissioner is true. If it were, then the membership would never have changed. However, we need to have honest discussions and trust that each person is committed to moving forward. If something is to change, then we'll have to address it at that point. I don't want to go into this thinking everyone is being dishonest and ready to jump out of the ship.

Interesting enough that the bug that people might already be lying to him only two weeks into a job...  Otherwise, Would love to have him actually had some sort of a plan coming in instead of the whole "I'm going to tour everything this fall and then we'll make a plan", but maybe that's just me being an ASC homer and basically only having radio silence for as long as this stuff has been happening...

I don't blame him, honestly. Without going into details of how I know or who specifically was involved, I know *with certainty* that another conference was blatantly lied to by more than one school about their intentions within the last year. It happens, and I get why it happens, but it still sucks every time.

[Ralph Turner]

+1 jekelish

[crufootball]

I guess the question I would have like to see asked (and maybe Cory did but didn't get answered) is why the heck would you leave a cushy job with the Big 12 to lead a D3 conference with the challenges being faced by the ASC.

Yeah, gotta wonder about that honestly.  There wasn't much substance to me but this sort of stood out to me:

Flores: The remaining members have messaged me their commitment. I understand that some might be disingenuous, and I'd be foolish to think everything everyone says to the Commissioner is true. If it were, then the membership would never have changed. However, we need to have honest discussions and trust that each person is committed to moving forward. If something is to change, then we'll have to address it at that point. I don't want to go into this thinking everyone is being dishonest and ready to jump out of the ship.

Interesting enough that the bug that people might already be lying to him only two weeks into a job...  Otherwise, Would love to have him actually had some sort of a plan coming in instead of the whole "I'm going to tour everything this fall and then we'll make a plan", but maybe that's just me being an ASC homer and basically only having radio silence for as long as this stuff has been happening...

I don't blame him, honestly. Without going into details of how I know or who specifically was involved, I know *with certainty* that another conference was blatantly lied to by more than one school about their intentions within the last year. It happens, and I get why it happens, but it still sucks every time.

Absolutely, it would be pretty naïve for him or any other conference commissioner to think he is getting 100% honest answers. Heck coming from the Big 12 he has recent history to know that schools use conferences for as long as they are good for them.

And as far as not announcing some big plan, I think this is where he and probably the whole ASC is not telling the whole truth. You don't become a conference commissioner, university president or AD without always having a plan A, B and C. That is not to say any of those plans are going to work out but you don't leave D1 for D3 unless some people have sold you or you sold them on an idea on how to move forward.

[Etchglow]

I guess the question I would have like to see asked (and maybe Cory did but didn't get answered) is why the heck would you leave a cushy job with the Big 12 to lead a D3 conference with the challenges being faced by the ASC.

Yeah, gotta wonder about that honestly.  There wasn't much substance to me but this sort of stood out to me:

Flores: The remaining members have messaged me their commitment. I understand that some might be disingenuous, and I'd be foolish to think everything everyone says to the Commissioner is true. If it were, then the membership would never have changed. However, we need to have honest discussions and trust that each person is committed to moving forward. If something is to change, then we'll have to address it at that point. I don't want to go into this thinking everyone is being dishonest and ready to jump out of the ship.

Interesting enough that the bug that people might already be lying to him only two weeks into a job...  Otherwise, Would love to have him actually had some sort of a plan coming in instead of the whole "I'm going to tour everything this fall and then we'll make a plan", but maybe that's just me being an ASC homer and basically only having radio silence for as long as this stuff has been happening...

I don't blame him, honestly. Without going into details of how I know or who specifically was involved, I know *with certainty* that another conference was blatantly lied to by more than one school about their intentions within the last year. It happens, and I get why it happens, but it still sucks every time.

Absolutely, it would be pretty naïve for him or any other conference commissioner to think he is getting 100% honest answers. Heck coming from the Big 12 he has recent history to know that schools use conferences for as long as they are good for them.

And as far as not announcing some big plan, I think this is where he and probably the whole ASC is not telling the whole truth. You don't become a conference commissioner, university president or AD without always having a plan A, B and C. That is not to say any of those plans are going to work out but you don't leave D1 for D3 unless some people have sold you or you sold them on an idea on how to move forward.

Oh I get it that there are probably conferences lying to him. I my experience that's not really something you just throw out in an interview lol.

[jknezek]

You guys keep pointing to other conferences lying to him. The quote, as shown above, is he believes his own membership is disingenuous. Which, of course, they are, if they are looking around for a different home. Otherwise you end up like San Diego State....

[Ron Boerger]

The Baptist Four, faced with a conference that will no longer earn a football bid and the complications of trying to put together a non-conference schedule (and having seen how poorly a four-team league fared when the SCAC tried it after the SAA split), has no other choice but to try to find some kind of option that will preserve their programs and provide an avenue to an automatic bid.  And the non-football schools, after seeing the conference do virtually nothing (at least publicly) for the last couple of years, want to be sure they're not left holding the bag if there's a Baptist Four exodus.  I'm sure this guy has been on the phone since he took on the thankless task he did, but an AD's first responsibility is ensuring the students in the program have a meaningful athletic experience as a part of their studies at the school.  No doubt some student-athletes have seen where the conference finds itself and decided to pursue other options, and with enrollment already a challenge for nearly everyone that is something programs have to put a stop to as soon as they can.  Absent a plan that has some chance of success schools are going to do what's best for them.  Stealing back one of the SCAC schools (say Schreiner or Centenary, both with football either underway or coming soon) would show everyone that the ASC intends to remain in business and take whatever steps are necessary to do just that. 

[crufootball]

Wow credit to HSU for never giving up as they now have a full 10 game schedule, playing Endicott in Massachusetts on September 23rd. The Gulls went 10-1 last year losing a home playoff game against Springfield. Should provide a good game and some very nice SOS points as Albright is probably going to weigh it down.

https://www.texasfootball.com/college-news-tracker/?ref=nav

[Ralph Turner]

Wow credit to HSU for never giving up as they now have a full 10 game schedule, playing Endicott in Massachusetts on September 23rd. The Gulls went 10-1 last year losing a home playoff game against Springfield. Should provide a good game and some very nice SOS points as Albright is probably going to weigh it down.

https://www.texasfootball.com/college-news-tracker/?ref=nav

...and credit Endicott for going outside a proverbial comfort zone. We can probably count the number of Zone 1 team vs Zone 3 (or 5 or 6 or all of them combined) regular season matchups over the last 5 years on your left hand!

[Ron Boerger]

Agreed, and kudos to HSU administrators and AD for finding the travel budget for two big non-conference games.

[Mavchamp]

The only viable solution I can see for the ASC to survive is to somehow get Wayland Baptist and Texas Wesleyan to jump the NAIA/Sooner Conference and come D3.

They would BOTH save money on travel if they made the move.......but are they willing to give up the scholarships?  Are they willing to jump into a conference with 2 powerhouses in it?

Texas College would be another..... they are taking beatings where they are....so taking beatings with less travel might be more appealing to them.  I'm honestly shocked they haven't cancelled their football program after such an atrocious start.  So...I'm not 100% sold on them.

But Wayland and Tex Weslyan would be best bets.  Followed by North American.  I wish SAGU would be interested....but I don't see that happening at all.

---------------------

IMHO.....

Collectively....I think the ASC surviving is the best for the Baptist Four...and hopefully best for the 2,3, or 4 new members that can join them.

But individually..... I think each has a different path if the ASC dissolves.

UMHB and HSU look primed to join the LSC.  It's not ideal...but it seems to make the most sense.

I think HPU ends up in the Sooner Conference with Wayland and the other Texas schools.  Not a bad jump...but they will have to make the move to NAIA.

I think ETBU likely follows HPU to the Sooner Conference and the NAIA unless they can somehow strike up a dead with the Great American Conference.  Travel-wise..... the GAC makes tons more sense than the LSC if D2 was the next move.

Wish there was more concrete information about the future.  it all seems so uncertain at the moment.

[Ralph Turner]

What becomes of LeTourneau?

[cover2]

I recommend they add football!!