FB: American Southwest Conference

[HSWho2007]

Well I know there are between 10-20 seniors every year at UMHB. Not everyone makes it thru and not everyone who does make it thru actually plays. I have a disdain for kids who think because they got their teeth kicked in by d-1 caliber athletes they are a d-1 athlete. 

I do love hearing from players and how they are going to bring the "reign"

ha ha ha....... 

[Weak Safety]

Any word one any recruits

You're gonna have to translate.

[Hayden Fox]

Has anyone heard that there is rumored  to be some big news coming out of McMurry University Football today. 

[imad3fanatic]

Has anyone heard that there is rumored  to be some big news coming out of McMurry University Football today. 

Coach Gray resigned

http://athletics.mcm.edu/News/football/2009/2/23/grayresigns.asp

[Ralph Turner]

After every season since I started following UMHB football I have been worrying that a school would get Coach Pete to leave. However in this case I can't see him really wanting to leave for another start up that will be even harder than his first and the competition is very good.

I can't believe how far Larry Coker has fallen, just a few years ago he was 24-0 and on the verge of winning his second straight national championship only to be upset in double overtime.

This might be old news for the HSU and McM crew, but I saw that the Abilene Christian football and track and field teams were being punished for some recruiting violations. I read this article and it doesn't sound too bad for the football team but this has to help the D3 program I would assume.

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?ContentID=45402

Follow-up on the ACU story in the Abilene Reporter-News...

Pull quote...

A number of the violations for which Abilene Christian University received NCAA sanctions this week were of the type that could happen at practically any school, according to several athletic administrators from around the Lone Star Conference and Abilene's other four-year colleges.

Some violations stemmed from Christmas parties for international students held by Hillcrest Church of Christ. Fifteen ACU track and field athletes reportedly received gifts.

"I would be surprised if an athletic director at any small college would tell you that they cannot see something like this happening on their campus," Hardin-Simmons Athletic Director John Neese said. "It's just because of a lot of well-meaning people who don't understand all the rules and regulations of the NCAA."

West Texas A&M's Michael McBroom said it was important to understand the nature of the violations.

"There's a big difference in intentionally breaking rules and inadvertently breaking rules," he said. "I think that's key. There are a lot of good people at Abilene Christian, and we have a lot of good friendships there."

This is a well-documented story with input from several programs in west Texas.

I really feel sorry for ACU.

[Hayden Fox]

Has anyone heard that there is rumored  to be some big news coming out of McMurry University Football today. 

Coach Gray resigned

http://athletics.mcm.edu/News/football/2009/2/23/grayresigns.asp

Does this have more to do with his record or is there something else?

[Bill McCabe]

i think u might be underestimateing the abilities of there 18 year olds... some of the high school programs that we come from send three or four kids to D1 level such as Denison, Rider etc... so we studs maybe more talented than u give us credit for...

Not really.

I won't flame you for your posts.  We see talented freshmen in this conference frequently, but the reality of college football is that the most successful programs in the ASC go three-deep in their offensive and defensive lines.  You just cannot add one or two freshmen to an ASC line and see any impact at the top level.

I don't think that you have really encountered the difference between 18 year old freshmen and 21 year old seniors.  That is why almost every ASC program does run a JV program. 

Texas is blessed with outstanding coaches who prepare the finest high school athletes in the country for college play.  We have had outstanding off-season programs in Texas for more than a half century.  The physiological truth of the matter is that I can almost bet that you will be 2" taller, 40 lbs heavier four years from now and that you can increase your lifts by measurable quantums each year between now and 2012.

Why do I know this?  Because every ASC player worth his salt is hitting the weights this weekend.

You may burst into the rotation for linemen this season at HSU, but you are going to be seeing some All-Americans across the line from you next fall.

I wish you luck, the number of new freshmen who start this journey attenuates to about 1/4th or 1/5th or less by their senior years.

Good luck.

Do you really want to make your family proud?

Promise your parents, your grandparents and your high school coach that you will make the Dean's List in the fall semester of your freshman year.

Do the math.  You cannot destroy a 4.0 GPA after the first semester!

It takes a Herculean effort even to salvage a 2.0 GPA after the first semester!

In my first practice at Rice as an 18 year fresman, I was hit by a 23 year old senior linebacker.  It was the hardest I had ever been hit and that was in practice.  The games were even harder.  Ralph is absolutely correct about the difference between a freshman and an upper classman.  The game is also faster and takes time getting used to.

[etbualum]

Contest, participation minimums seen as appropriate

Pull quote...

The committee, which met February 10-11 in San Diego, also is reminding Division III members of the approaching increase in minimum sports-sponsorship requirements, in which institutions with an enrollment of more than 1,000 undergraduate students must sponsor at least 12 sports (six for men, six for women) beginning in 2010.

Doesn't HPU have more than 1000 undergrads?  (The Yellow jackets only sponsor 5 & 5.)

Does any other school in the conference need to add sports to comply?

Ralph

ETBU will be adding Tennis in 2010.

[Ralph Turner]

Contest, participation minimums seen as appropriate

Pull quote...

The committee, which met February 10-11 in San Diego, also is reminding Division III members of the approaching increase in minimum sports-sponsorship requirements, in which institutions with an enrollment of more than 1,000 undergraduate students must sponsor at least 12 sports (six for men, six for women) beginning in 2010.

Doesn't HPU have more than 1000 undergrads?  (The Yellow jackets only sponsor 5 & 5.)

Does any other school in the conference need to add sports to comply?

Ralph

ETBU will be adding Tennis in 2010.

Great!

[Knox60HSU]

HSUcommit,

I'm glad that you have chosen HSU as the place for you to make your new home. We truly are a family. You'll really see what I mean when you get there. Just a word of advice though. I would at least wait until you have been there and have had a little more seasoning before you post. That would be the wise thing to do. I know what it was like being one of the best in high school, but when I went to HSU I learned that most are really good. I earned many honors at HSU, but not before I gained experience first. My freshmen year of college I played on the JV and learned a lot from that experience. The JV teams are a great thing. Also, for the record, there are many great athletes that come from smaller schools. The difference is the amount of athletes. I played 3a ball and Lance Moore played 1A ball. A lot of what you do depends on how hard you work. It's not how big you are, it's how big you play!

[Ron Boerger]

Great post, Knox60HSU. +1

On another note, it's official, Coach Fred did not make the final cut for the UTSA job:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/UTSA_announces_three_finalists_for_head_football_job.html

The search for UTSA's first football coach has hit the homestretch.

Former Miami head coach Larry Coker, Tulsa associated head coach/co-defensive coordinator Paul Randolph and Northwest Missouri head coach Mel Tjeerdsma are the three finalists for the job, UTSA athletic director Lynn Hickey announced Monday.

[...]

Coker, Randolph and Tjeerdsma were among three of six coaches interviewed by Hickey and her staff Tuesday and Wednesday in Dallas. The others were Mary Hardin-Baylor head coach Pete Fredenburg, Duke defensive coordinator Mike MacIntyre and Texas A&M quarterback coach Tom Rossley.

A seventh finalist, longtime NFL assistant coach Bill Bradley, said Hickey had told him he would be interviewed last week or this week, but Bradley said Monday he still was waiting to talk with Hickey.

[roocru]

Great post, Knox60HSU. +1

On another note, it's official, Coach Fred did not make the final cut for the UTSA job:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/UTSA_announces_three_finalists_for_head_football_job.html

The search for UTSA's first football coach has hit the homestretch.

Former Miami head coach Larry Coker, Tulsa associated head coach/co-defensive coordinator Paul Randolph and Northwest Missouri head coach Mel Tjeerdsma are the three finalists for the job, UTSA athletic director Lynn Hickey announced Monday.

[...]

Coker, Randolph and Tjeerdsma were among three of six coaches interviewed by Hickey and her staff Tuesday and Wednesday in Dallas. The others were Mary Hardin-Baylor head coach Pete Fredenburg, Duke defensive coordinator Mike MacIntyre and Texas A&M quarterback coach Tom Rossley.

A seventh finalist, longtime NFL assistant coach Bill Bradley, said Hickey had told him he would be interviewed last week or this week, but Bradley said Monday he still was waiting to talk with Hickey.

Before his stint at Northwest Missouri, Mel Tjeerdsma was head coach at Austin College.  He also served as President of the AFCA recently.  Truly one of the class guys in college football coaches.

[Ralph Turner]

Copied from the ASC Women's basketball boards...


The regional rankings are out for the last public time.

We will probably have two very good teams that might qualify for bids, and we might have a division that is shut out of bids for the playoffs, just barely.

We have CTX announcing adding track and field and ETBU adding tennis (both mens' and women's I assume).

Let's look at an option to increase the number of AQ's that we get.

To be a conference to earn the AQ, you must have seven full members (or at least 4 core members and three affiliates.) 



The ASC-West could split off the ASC (go into Pool B for two years) and then 2 years later have these AQ sports.

VB
Football (accepting ETBU, LaColl and MissColl as affiliates)
M/W Soccer
M/W Basketball
M/W Tennis
Baseball
Softball
M/W Golf (accepting the ASC-East teams in both sports as affiliates; currently LeTU, MC, UTD and UTT for the men; LeTU UTT and UTD for the women.)

The ASC-West would have the required four schools to sponsor a conference championship in M/W T&F (CTX, HSU, McM, SRSU and TLU-women).  UT-Tyler and MissColl could affiliate for both genders.

The ASC-West also has 4 schools sponsoring  Men's XC (CTX, McM, SRSU and Schreiner) and 5 in women's Cross Country (CTX, HSU, McM, Schreiner and SRSU).   The West schools could affiliate for a combined championship with the East if they wished under an affiliation agreement.



Where does that leave the ASC-East.  I understand that a conference needs to sponsor five men's and five women's sports.

The East has the full 7 schools to earn the AQ for these sports.

M/W Soccer
M/W Basketball
M/W Tennis (now that ETBU has added both M/W tennis)
Baseball
Softball.

The ASC-East has these core members in Cross Country to sponsor the sports.

MXC -- (5) ETBU, MissColl , UOz, UTD, UTT
WXC -- (6) ETBU, LaColl, MissColl, UOz, UTD, UTT.

The West schools could affiliate with the East "conference" for the championship.

What is left that we haven't covered?  LaColl and UOz need to add volleyball for the ASC-East to have the AQ.

The result--

We gain AQ bids in Volleyball, M/W Soccer, M/W Basketball, M/W Tennis, Softball and Baseball!


You win the East.  Your first playoff game may be the West, but it is in the NCAA's and not the ASC tourney finals.

That is 9 more bids to the NCAA's after the two provisional years needed by the new conference.  Long-term crossover contracts between the two conferences could be signed to assure games.  Our complaints about weak schools on the schedules would be mitigated by the fact that we had doubled our bids in this part of the country.


The weakness in this strategy is this.

Texas Wesleyan spent an exploratory year moving up from D-II about 2001.  TWU moved right on thru to the NAIA and Red River AC.

UDallas, a charter member left the ASC in 2001.

Another Charter member, Austin College left us in 2006.

Those schools are "east".

This strategy has been on the books for nearly a decade.  It has suffered three setbacks.  It makes sense.  Nevertheless, a team leaving the conference and dropping below the threshold of 7 teams and this strategy backfires.

EDIT:  March 25, 2009 -- Colorado College drops football!  Mr. Jacoby's admonition holds true!

[HSWho2007]

Well I know I am several days late on this but I think it was good for McMurry to move on, they have had problems with discipline. They need a coach who can go in there and make them competitive again.

[AF4]

(i put this on general football also...as i think for D-3 -or D-2- to b on the featured article of any national Publication)

Ralph et al

todays USA TODAY, Sports section c , cover story 'Playing on without a mascot'

although th article mostly revolves around Newberry (where my hischool coach played) it also discussed McMurray, shows where it is on a map, and mentions the new name of the former Indian stadium

thought i'd share

keep the faith