FB: American Southwest Conference

[crufootball]

Per a story posted on D3Playbook, Lyon College will be joining the SLIAC next season.  As the conference doesn't sponsor football, they'll still be looking for a conference to affiliate with for that sport so the ASC (or possibly SAA) might still be in play.

The geographic footprint of the SLIAC is blossoming; between the addition of Lyon (next season) and MUW (this season) schools will be located in MS, AR, MO, IL, and KY.

I believe that Lyon will join its SLIAC conference members and go with the UMAC, which will give the UMAC 8 teams.

If that is the case seems like the only chance the SCAC idea works is if they steal a member from the ASC apart from Austin College and TLU that would have to leave as well. And if that happens that would leave 5 ASC schools in a non great situation.

[Ron Boerger]

Isn't it the SCAC and new CCS that are both to having enough for football?  Could Lyon College go to either of those and one of them then sponsor football? 

If that is the case seems like the only chance the SCAC idea works is if they steal a member from the ASC apart from Austin College and TLU that would have to leave as well. And if that happens that would leave 5 ASC schools in a non great situation.

I don't think the SCAC wants to get back in the football business.  It wouldn't have to steal a school from the ASC if they could convince Lyon to affiliate, AND get all their members to come back from the ASC and SAA, AND Centenary too.  Seems like a very long putt; not only would the conference have to wait a couple of years for an AQ (after waiting for the SAA/ASC affiliates to complete their terms) but if anyone got cold feet and left for another opportunity or dropped football they're basically back in the situation that led them to kill the sport in the first place.   And I don't see Trinity wanting to give up their realistic SAA AQ chances for that many years, either, and Southwestern might think their chances are better now (next year) in the SAA than 3 or 4 years down the road in a reformed SCAC. 

[Pat Coleman]

Per a story posted on D3Playbook, Lyon College will be joining the SLIAC next season.  As the conference doesn't sponsor football, they'll still be looking for a conference to affiliate with for that sport so the ASC (or possibly SAA) might still be in play.

The geographic footprint of the SLIAC is blossoming; between the addition of Lyon (next season) and MUW (this season) schools will be located in MS, AR, MO, IL, and KY.

I believe that Lyon will join its SLIAC conference members and go with the UMAC, which will give the UMAC 8 teams.

I'm not sure all those schools want to bus to Arkansas every other season.

[Etchglow]

Per a story posted on D3Playbook, Lyon College will be joining the SLIAC next season.  As the conference doesn't sponsor football, they'll still be looking for a conference to affiliate with for that sport so the ASC (or possibly SAA) might still be in play.

The geographic footprint of the SLIAC is blossoming; between the addition of Lyon (next season) and MUW (this season) schools will be located in MS, AR, MO, IL, and KY.

I believe that Lyon will join its SLIAC conference members and go with the UMAC, which will give the UMAC 8 teams.

I'm not sure all those schools want to bus to Arkansas every other season.

That would be one heck of a bus trip... Makes the 900 miles or so to Sul Ross from Lyon seem short   I think the SAA would make the most sense travel wise, then the ASC.

[Ralph Turner]

I posted this on the Conference Changes board earlier today.

Quote from: Ralph Turner on Yesterday at 01:55:58 pm
And, I assume that Lyon becomes a Football affiliate for the UMAC, and they are glad to have them.

Travel for both conferences will be tough, but roughly speaking, it is
300 miles to Marshall TX (ETBU)
400 miles to Sherman TX (Austin College)
550 miles to Belton TX (UMHB)
580 miles to Brownwood (HPU)
600 miles to Abilene (HSU & McMurry)
650 miles to Seguin (TLU)
900 miles to Alpine (Sul Ross State)

In the UMAC

270 miles to Fulton MO (Westminster)
315 miles to Greenville IL (Greenville)
736 miles to New Ulm MN (Martin Luther)
750 miles to Roseville MN (Northwestern)
750 miles to St Bonifacius MN (Crown)
900 miles to Morris MN (MN-Morris)
940 miles to Hancock MI (Finlandia)


Is it easier to sell a football program to a high school student in Arkansas who reads about the SEC all of the time and the Razorbacks playing UT and A&M, then going to play football games in Texas, or traveling 900 miles north to play in a snowstorm in late October/early November?
I believe that Lyon would be more successful in the UMAC than going up against UMHB, HSU and that next tier of ASC competition.

Having looked at the data, I wonder if affirming its conference affiliation as a SLIAC school is the difference.

[Etchglow]

I posted this on the Conference Changes board earlier today.

Quote from: Ralph Turner on Yesterday at 01:55:58 pm
And, I assume that Lyon becomes a Football affiliate for the UMAC, and they are glad to have them.

Travel for both conferences will be tough, but roughly speaking, it is
300 miles to Marshall TX (ETBU)
400 miles to Sherman TX (Austin College)
550 miles to Belton TX (UMHB)
580 miles to Brownwood (HPU)
600 miles to Abilene (HSU & McMurry)
650 miles to Seguin (TLU)
900 miles to Alpine (Sul Ross State)

In the UMAC

270 miles to Fulton MO (Westminster)
315 miles to Greenville IL (Greenville)
736 miles to New Ulm MN (Martin Luther)
750 miles to Roseville MN (Northwestern)
750 miles to St Bonifacius MN (Crown)
900 miles to Morris MN (MN-Morris)
940 miles to Hancock MI (Finlandia)


Is it easier to sell a football program to a high school student in Arkansas who reads about the SEC all of the time and the Razorbacks playing UT and A&M, then going to play football games in Texas, or traveling 900 miles north to play in a snowstorm in late October/early November?
I believe that Lyon would be more successful in the UMAC than going up against UMHB, HSU and that next tier of ASC competition.

Having looked at the data, I wonder if affirming its conference affiliation as a SLIAC school is the difference.

Great information.  Looks like the average would be even worse than joining the USA South. 

Averages
SAA - 392
ASC - 575
USAC - 649
UMAC - 665

[crufootball]

Looks like Lyon is used to some long road trips, lets hope they get to get on a plane for the Arizona schools (yikes)

1375 miles to Arizona Christian
400 miles to Langston University
350 miles to Louisiana Christian (formerly Louisiana College)
1375  miles to Ottawa University
650 miles to Panhandle State
450 miles to Southwestern Assembly of God
350 miles to Texas College
450 miles to Texas Wesleyan
700 miles to Wayland Baptist

[Pat Coleman]

Ottawa is in Kansas and is 375 miles or so.

[crufootball]

Ottawa is in Kansas and is 375 miles or so.

On their schedule it says they play the Ottawa University that is from Arizona and last year the game was played in Surprise, Arizona.

[BSCpanthers]

There is always so much change going on with DIII conferences.  Schools moving conferences, adding football, dropping football and even shutting the school down, which unfortunately we had a few over the last couple years.  Add that to schools moving to DII or to/from NAIA. 

As they say, the only constant is change.

[Etchglow]

Ottawa is in Kansas and is 375 miles or so.

On their schedule it says they play the Ottawa University that is from Arizona and last year the game was played in Surprise, Arizona.

That is interesting, it looks like they have a campus in Kansas and in Arizona. The Arizona one is the one in the Sooner Athletic Conference with Lyon. I'd hate to have that travel. I didn't realize Louisiana College renamed either...

[Ron Boerger]

Johnson and Wales used to have no fewer than four campuses; the Colorado (which was in the SCAC for one year) and Miami locations were shut down in 2021, they still have two somewhere back east. 

[crufootball]

Johnson and Wales used to have no fewer than four campuses; the Colorado (which was in the SCAC for one year) and Miami locations were shut down in 2021, they still have two somewhere back east.

I can just see the fun highlights if they ever played each other.

[Next Man Up]

Ottawa is in Kansas and is 375 miles or so.

On their schedule it says they play the Ottawa University that is from Arizona and last year the game was played in Surprise, Arizona.

That is interesting, it looks like they have a campus in Kansas and in Arizona. The Arizona one is the one in the Sooner Athletic Conference with Lyon. I'd hate to have that travel. I didn't realize Louisiana College renamed either...

Ottawa University is a Christian school founded in Ottawa, KS in 1865 by a consortium of Baptist missionaries and local members of the Ottawa Tribe of Native Americans. The teams are known as the Braves, and the school still maintains it's relationship with the Tribe.
The original campus is currently home to approximately 900 students. Athletically, they're members of NAIA and play in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. In 2017 the school opened another residential campus in the Phoenix suburb of Surprise. It's referred to as OUAZ and is home to about 1000 students. Also NAIA members, they compete primarily in the Golden State Athletic Conference except football which plays in the Sooner Athletic Conference. The OUAZ location also holds membership in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA).

Ottawa also has non-residential "adult learning" campuses in Phoenix itself, Overland Park, KS, and the Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield, WI.

Ottawa University is sometimes confused with University of Ottawa which is located in the Canadian Capital city of the same name. 

[jekelish]

Isn't it the SCAC and new CCS that are both to having enough for football?  Could Lyon College go to either of those and one of them then sponsor football? 

If that is the case seems like the only chance the SCAC idea works is if they steal a member from the ASC apart from Austin College and TLU that would have to leave as well. And if that happens that would leave 5 ASC schools in a non great situation.

I don't think the SCAC wants to get back in the football business.  It wouldn't have to steal a school from the ASC if they could convince Lyon to affiliate, AND get all their members to come back from the ASC and SAA, AND Centenary too.  Seems like a very long putt; not only would the conference have to wait a couple of years for an AQ (after waiting for the SAA/ASC affiliates to complete their terms) but if anyone got cold feet and left for another opportunity or dropped football they're basically back in the situation that led them to kill the sport in the first place.   And I don't see Trinity wanting to give up their realistic SAA AQ chances for that many years, either, and Southwestern might think their chances are better now (next year) in the SAA than 3 or 4 years down the road in a reformed SCAC.

I wouldn't be so sure about that, Ron. They certainly never wanted to get out of the football business in the first place, but obviously things started to slide beyond their control from the moment Colorado College abruptly dropped their program, and then things just kinda slowly spiraled from there. I think they'd get back into football if they could.