FB: American Southwest Conference

[TLU02SA]

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.

I had not seen that Shenandoah had been awarded these two championship games.  I live in the Houston area and am familiar with Woodforest Stadium.  I see a lot of potential for this to be a very good venue for the DIII championship game but I also see some negatives. 

First, Woodforest Stadium is the shared football stadium for Conroe ISD.  Conroe ISD encompasses Conroe and The Woodlands.  The stadium is very close to The Woodlands.  In fact, I thought it was in The Woodlands until I read these posts this morning.  This is definitely within the Houston metropolitan area.  Woodforest Stadium is fairly new and a nice facility.  I have not been there when a football game has been played but I have been there for swim meets (A natatorium is on the same property).  During the swim meets , teams and parents set up tailgate style under the "home" stands.  The facilities are large, new and more than capable of handling a capacity crowd.

Second, George Bush Intercontinental Airport is only 24 miles away.  The Woodlands/Shenandoah area is very accessible from Bush Intercontinental via the Hardy Toll Road, the Grand Parkway and I-45.  Travel will be easy for anyone wanting to attend the game. Again, this is essentially the Woodlands.  So there are plenty of hotels, restaurants and entertainment opportunities in the area.  You are also "close" to Houston (I would plan on an hour each way if you are heading to the Galleria area of Houston; 30 - 45 minutes each way to downtown Houston).  There seems to be an infinite number of restaurants and entertainment opportunities in Houston.

Third, the weather.  Even if it is cold by Southeast Texas standards, you are talking about 40 degrees in December.  More than likely, you are looking at very comfortable temperatures that time of year.

As far as a host site, Woodforest Stadium checks off a lot of positive boxes. 

The problem with this site is the lack of a DIII program in the area.  The closest DIII programs to Houston are UMHB, Southwestern, TLU and ETBU.  Each of these schools are 170 - 200 miles away.  There is little to no interest in DIII sports in the Houston area. 

I don't predict that many people from the Houston area will attend these games.  There is just not enough interest and too much competition for the entertainment dollar.  At that time of year, the following is occurring: (1) the Texans will be towards the end of their regular season; (2) the following FBS programs could be preparing for or playing in a bowl game: UT, A&M, UH, Rice (Although neither UT or A&M is technically in the Houston market, there are more UT and A&M alum in the Houston area than anywhere else); (3) High School football playoffs may still be occurring (not sure on this one without looking it up); (4) Sam Houston State (up I-45 in Huntsville) will likely be making their annual run in the FCS tournament; and (6) the Houston Rockets' season will have begun.  That is just college and professional sports in the area.  The fact that the DIII championship game will be held here will barely register a blip on the interest spectrum in Houston.  Unless the teams participating in the game bring big crowds, I could see the attendance at these games being very low. 

I hope this proves to be a good venue.  It would be fun to attend these games.

[GillCJ1]

Teidrick Smith (UMHB) invited to the L.A. Rams rookie minicamp.  He'll be working out as a OLB/DE.

[DFWCrufan]

http://d3football.com/seasons/2016/contrib/20170502inplxk

[crufootball]

Can't find much on this but former UMHB player Eric Allen was signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Eric had been playing with the local arena team and played in a German league in 2015 and 2016.

http://www.centexcavalry.com/articles/view/moving-on-up

[GillCJ1]

It sounds like Teidrick impressed some people in L.A.!

https://twitter.com/DPFootballAgent/status/863558144013815808

[DFWCrufan]

Good on Teidrick...Mr. Smith goes to L.A.

[Ralph Turner]

McMurry Press Release about McM Place Kicker Tanner Wright

The Wright Stuff: War Hawks' Sprinter to Compete at U.S. Paralympics Championships this Weekend

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – McMurry University freshman track star Tanner Wright (Ft. Worth, Texas/North Crowley H.S.) will participate in the 2017 U.S. Paralympics Track and Field National Championships, June 2-4 at the University of California, Los Angeles' Drake Stadium. The event also serves as a qualifier to the World Para Athletics Championships, to be held July 10-12, 2017 in London, England.

Wright – who is also a standout placekicker on the War Hawks' football team - will compete in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races at the U.S. Paralympics championship event. He has season-best times of 10.80 seconds in the 100 meters (at the ACU Open) and 21.99 seconds in the 200 meters (in the preliminaries of the American Southwest Conference championships).

Among the U.S. Paralympic competitors, Wright is No. 2 ranked in the 100 meters and No. 1 in the 200 meters. The 200-meter competition takes place on Friday (June 2), with the 100 meters on Saturday (June 3), with morning preliminary races and evening finals both days.

"We are so proud of Tanner and all which he has accomplished this season," McMurry track & field head coach Brad Parris said. "Tanner doesn't view his disability as an obstacle and that's why he is so successful.  It's going to be an exciting summer for this War Hawk!"

Wright helped lead the McMurry team to the 2017 ASC men's track and field championships, competing in six events.  Wright ran the second leg of the War Hawks' gold medal 4x400 relay quartet, ran anchor on the fourth-place 4x100 relay (missing a medal by 3/100ths of a second), earned a bronze in the long jump, seventh in both the 200 meters and triple jump, while finishing fourth in his prelim heat of the 100. His long jump effort of 6.87 meters at the ASC meet was his season-best mark.

McMurry's 4x400 relay also earned all-America status with a second place finish at the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) outdoor championships.  The 4x100 was fourth and Wright finished ninth in the long jump at the NCCAA outdoor meet.

Wright was also an NCCAA All-American during the 2017 indoor championships, as McM's 4x400 relay placed third.

On the football field, he was a first team All-NCCAA and a second team All-ASC selection. Wright ranked No. 6 in the entire NCCAA in scoring, as well as topping the War Hawks' team in points scored. He set a McM season record by going 35-for-35 on extra-point kicks and tied a single game record for PATs by going 9-for-9 versus Texas College.  He also averaged 58.3 yards per kickoff attempt, with eight touchbacks, and went 8-for-10 on field goals.

Wright condition is called Arthrogryposis, which shrunk his joints when he was in the womb. Wright's left arm did not fully develop. Additionally, he has gone through minor issues with his ribcage and left leg, as well. As a youth, Wright had three surgeries at Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas.

Wright – a biomedical science major at McMurry – would one day like to return to Scottish Rite and work as a caregiver. For Wright, it would be a chance to give back for the blessings he received from the organization.

Wright was named as the McMurry University Athletics Department's "Outstanding Freshman" athlete for 2016-17, as well.

[Kelly Boggs]

UMHB's Teidrick Smith continues to impress: Have The LA Rams Found Two More Gems?  http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2017/5/31/14170654/la-rams-undrafted-free-agents-udfas-diamond-rough-gems

[DFWCrufan]

Thanks for sharing that KB...

[crufootball]

Can anyone explain how to post a picture to this site? I know one of the Linfield guys wanted to see a picture of our National Championship rings and they have been released so pictures are available I just don't know how to post one.

Secondly, congrats to Coach Pete on being nominated to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame for the second time. Some more information can be found here http://www.cruathletics.com/news/2017/6/8/football-pete-fredenburg-on-texas-sports-hall-of-fame-ballot.aspx.

[Hawks88]

Can anyone explain how to post a picture to this site? I know one of the Linfield guys wanted to see a picture of our National Championship rings and they have been released so pictures are available I just don't know how to post one.

If it is a picture on a website I think all you need to do is right click on the picture and choose 'Copy image address' then in the reply box here, the first button on the row of buttons above the smileys is 'Insert Image.' Click that button then paste the address between the tags that appear in the reply box.

[wildcat11]

Can anyone explain how to post a picture to this site? I know one of the Linfield guys wanted to see a picture of our National Championship rings and they have been released so pictures are available I just don't know how to post one.

If it is a picture on a website I think all you need to do is right click on the picture and choose 'Copy image address' then in the reply box here, the first button on the row of buttons above the smileys is 'Insert Image.' Click that button then paste the address between the tags that appear in the reply box.

Just like Hawks88 said.

Right click on a web image

Select "copy image address"

Paste in a post, highlight link, and select the little "Mona Lisa" photo icon from above.

So your end result will looks like this.

[crufootball]

Thanks guys, well then here you go for those interested.



And wildcat, I plan on coming up for the game in September, anything I must see in the area?

[HansenRatings]

Decided I'm going to spam every conference board with my preseason (non-returning-starter-adjusted) projections.

Team	Rating	Overall	Conference
UMHB	0.9988	9.5-0.5	7.9-0.1
HSU	0.9499	7.4-1.6	7.4-1.6
TLU	0.6650	4.9-5.1	4.6-4.4
ETBU	0.6627	4.5-4.5	4.5-4.5
McMurry	0.6473	4.3-4.7	3.8-4.2
SRSU	0.6436	4.4-4.6	4.4-3.6
LA College	0.6045	4.2-4.8	4.2-4.8
SWestern	0.5889	4.3-5.7	3.4-4.6
Belhaven	0.3562	2.9-7.1	2.4-6.6
HPU	0.0681	0.3-8.7	0.3-8.7

Surprised to see TLU as the third-best team ahead of ETBU, they have to have quite a boost from their performance 2+ years ago. McMurry is hurt by their Home/Away schedule, 2 home games are pretty much guaranteed wins (Belhaven & HPU) while two are pretty much guaranteed losses (UMHB & HSU). 4 out of their 5 "tossup" games are on the road.

[Kelly Boggs]

Bears LB Jerrell Freeman dominates in relative obscurity: https://www.fanragsports.com/nfl/bears/bears-lb-jerrell-freeman-dominates-relative-obscurity/