FB: American Southwest Conference

[Pat Coleman]

Yep -- you guys have to actually formally make your football announcement before we'll put you in the system.

[Bill McCabe]

Ok I am officially excited about the year now, first Kickoff came out and the Temple Daily Telegram also released their annual preview of the year.

My reason I am excited is that Coach Pete talked like we have gone to far away from our roots of running people over but we are going to go back in that direction.

Also mentioned that the QB job is Kyle Noacks to lose but that LiDararral will still be used.

That is the best news I've heard.  UMHB has been much better as a running team.  I can't wait to see them play.

[Tacttm1]

Privateer6:  It looks like it is OK to use the UNO thread under 'general', unless until told otherwise.  Whatcha' think?

I suppose by formal announcement, Pat means joining a conference or becoming something other than a 'club' team. ? .

[Privateer6]

Privateer6:  It looks like it is OK to use the UNO thread under 'general', unless until told otherwise.  Whatcha' think?

Indeed.  I didn't mean to litter the ASC thread with UNO talk (although I hope to do that in future as a member of the conference); just following up the end of a conversation that flowed out of the LC/UNO scrimmage.

[Ralph Turner]

Privateer6:  It looks like it is OK to use the UNO thread under 'general', unless until told otherwise.  Whatcha' think?

Indeed.  I didn't mean to litter the ASC thread with UNO talk (although I hope to do that in future as a member of the conference); just following up the end of a conversation that flowed out of the LC/UNO scrimmage.

I won't mind your contributions to the board vis-a-vis UNO.

Your D-3 Mentor is UT-D. I think that UNO is a strong candidate to be in the ASC by 2014.

[Ron Boerger]

Agree with Ralph - the ASC community should have a vested interest in the future UNO program. 

[Slidell]

Appreciate that sentiment guys.

Which I guess leads into the question...

How do other ASC schools feel about UNO becoming a member?

There has been a major concern among UNO fans that we were not a good fit for D-3 in general and any conference in particular because of our size and the fact that we are a public university whereas the majority of D-3 and certainly the majority of the two closest Southern conferences are small, private universities.

Would other ASC schools welcome UNO?

[Pat Coleman]

I would say this: about 20-25% of Division III is public universities, so UNO is not completely outnumbered on that front.

I can't speak to the ASC's acceptance of UNO but it seems like a natural fit for a league that would seem to have an opening in its East division.

[Privateer6]

We are a bit of a rarity in DIII, though, in that we had 17,000+ students pre-Katrina (13,000 undergrads) and while we may not reach that number soon we were right around 11,000 total last spring (just over 8,000 undergrads). 

The larger public schools in the ASC (UT-Dallas, UT-Tyler) don't have football.  Of the public universities, only Sul Ross State (between 2k-3k students) has it, so I was a bit worried that the football schools, in particular, might be a little leary of us. 

Then again, I really still know so little about DIII that I've no idea if my concerns are based in reality.

[Privateer6]

Appreciate that sentiment guys.

Same here.  Thanks for the welcome.

[Ron Boerger]

We are a bit of a rarity in DIII, though, in that we had 17,000+ students pre-Katrina (13,000 undergrads) and while we may not reach that number soon we were right around 11,000 total last spring (just over 8,000 undergrads). 

The larger public schools in the ASC (UT-Dallas, UT-Tyler) don't have football.  Of the public universities, only Sul Ross State (between 2k-3k students) has it, so I was a bit worried that the football schools, in particular, might be a little leary of us. 

Then again, I really still know so little about DIII that I've no idea if my concerns are based in reality.

It's a concern, but the ASC already has a mix of private and public schools.  The public schools have made their presence felt at some of the other sports - baseball, basketball, tennis, for example - but with the precedent set I think you will be welcomed in the the conference, football program or no.  With strong national programs like UMHB (over 180 kids in camp) and HSU (about the same), there should be plenty of challenges to overcome.  Both are recruiting Texas kids with strong connections to the region who would be unlikely to entertain an UNO even with a strong program.   And if there's another strong program in the conference, it can only help the goal of winning a national championship down the road. 

The only schools I could envision having a problem would be LC and possibly MC, both of whom you might be competing with for student athletes. 

There are certainly other conferences where a large public school would not be welcomed.   The SCAC, the other conference in the region, would be one.

[Ralph Turner]

A LC-UNO rivalry may actually help D-III.

[Toby Taff]

I think having a school in New Orleans in the ASC would be great.  There aren't a whole lot of destination cities for ASC football games.  A quick peak at travelocity.com shows a round trip from Abilene under $300. make it a weekend...football + New Orleans= worth the travel $.  i also think a UNO-LC rivalry could prove valuable, as well as adding another D3 program in the South to help out the region.  I look forward to seeing how it progresses.

[Privateer6]

http://www.unoprivateers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=16700&ATCLID=204983659

FYI, UNO will play a 10-game club football slate in 2010.

5 home games (split between two different stadiums in New Orleans' City Park) and 5 on the road (away games in Ohio (2), Georgia, and Wisconsin, and the Midwestern Club Football Conference championship weekend in Indiana).

Two games (away at Edward Waters, home against Concordia (AL)) are against "official" school teams.  The Privateers took heavy losses on the road at both schools last season while going 5-3 (5-1 against club teams).

Also of note, the UNO official site now has a "Club Football Central" area:
http://www.unoprivateers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=16700&ATCLID=204983652

They note clearly that this isn't an official team in 2010, but "the University of New Orleans athletic department will assist the club football program with its administration, media relations, game day operations and other efforts associated with the team."

With respect to adding sports, "A formal announcement on the sports, a timeline, facilities and more will take place this fall."

[Ron Boerger]

With games in Ohio (twice), Georgia, Wisconsin, and Indiana, you're certainly preparing for life as a D3 team.  Does the money for travel come from the athletic budget?