FB: American Southwest Conference

[justafan12]

There are other sports beside football where perhaps that may be more accurate.

Even counting the other sports, you're going from an 8-10 member conference with an average travel distance of ~510 miles to a 17 member conference with an average travel distance of 430 miles.

Respectively, IMHO, SRSU and D-2 is mission/vision thing, a branding thing. In some circles, D-2 is a move up in prestige. That was part of the reason that UT-Tyler, which was a very successful D-3 program, was moved up to D-2 by the powers that be. The school has not added football, yet. I think that there may be resistance by the students to additional expense to fund football, in Texas no less. (After all, you can watch UT, A&M, LSU, etc. all you want on Saturday.)

It was my understanding that the UT System wants all of their schools to be at least D2.  That is why UT Dallas made the initial move several years ago.  Not sure why that was halted so maybe the UT folks backed off their wishes.

[jekelish]

There are other sports beside football where perhaps that may be more accurate.

Even counting the other sports, you're going from an 8-10 member conference with an average travel distance of ~510 miles to a 17 member conference with an average travel distance of 430 miles.

Respectively, IMHO, SRSU and D-2 is mission/vision thing, a branding thing. In some circles, D-2 is a move up in prestige. That was part of the reason that UT-Tyler, which was a very successful D-3 program, was moved up to D-2 by the powers that be. The school has not added football, yet. I think that there may be resistance by the students to additional expense to fund football, in Texas no less. (After all, you can watch UT, A&M, LSU, etc. all you want on Saturday.)

It was my understanding that the UT System wants all of their schools to be at least D2.  That is why UT Dallas made the initial move several years ago.  Not sure why that was halted so maybe the UT folks backed off their wishes.

Yes, I've heard similar things. It's not just the UT system, either; the buzz I've heard is that, eventually, the hope is that all state universities in Texas will be D2 and above, which is part of why there was a push to get Sul Ross to make the jump. We'll see what happens with UTD down the road, but D2 (or even D1, given how big the school is and where it's located) is definitely not off the table.

[Ron Boerger]

I don't know if there's a ratio in D-II but it looks like there are 152 schools playing Division II football and 24 make the field so that's one spot for every 6.33 schools. D-III's ratio is one for every 6.5 but of course in football, it was one for every 7.2 last year.

Found this NCAA D2 presentation, WHAT DIVISION II CAN DO FOR YOU, which says all of the following:

• Of the three divisions, Division II provides its athletes with the most access to championships competition.
• Most Division II championships have large brackets, which means there are several berths for each of the division's eight competition regions
• Division II is the only NCAA division that conducts "National Championships Festivals," Olympic-style events in which a number of national championships are held at a single site over a period of several days.

The first would certainly imply that the access ratio for D2 is superior to that for D3.

[Pat Coleman]

I hear you. I was more getting at that I don't think there is an established ratio but I agree they seem, ratio or not, to have a good amount more access than D-III teams do.

[TheChucker]

As someone posted earlier, D2 teams typically carry rosters of about 100+/- players while Hardin-Simmons and UMHB carry 180-190. Trimming those rosters would require a huge reduction in tuition/boarding revenue not to mention male students. I don't see D2 in their future without a significant change to the business model. The legacy ASC football schools seem to be in a tight spot.

[Etchglow]

I hear you. I was more getting at that I don't think there is an established ratio but I agree they seem, ratio or not, to have a good amount more access than D-III teams do.

I did a quick look at access ratio stuff and it looks like D2 is around 20% while most of D3 is around 15% with as high as 18% and low as 13%.

[Next Man Up]

I apologize if this has been posted previously.
Former UMHB QB Kyle King has been signed by the Saarland Hurricanes of the German Football League.

https://www.kbtx.com/2023/01/11/kyle-king-signs-professional-football-contract-with-saarland-hurricanes/

[Ralph Turner]

Kyle King is headed to Germany to continue his career at the pro level...congratulations to him!
https://truetothecru.com/2023/01/10/umhb-qb-kyle-king-signs-pro-deal-with-saarland-hurricanes-of-german-league/

You gotta get up pretty early to stay ahead of Riley.   

[Next Man Up]

One of Kyle King's teammates on the Saarland Hurricanes is previous adversary. Former All-American WR Andrew Kamienski from North Central is also a member of the German League team. They might make a rather dynamic duo.

[Etchglow]

So I just noticed this lol:

https://cruathletics.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/jerry-day-jr-/7774

[Riley Zayas]

So I just noticed this lol:

https://cruathletics.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/jerry-day-jr-/7774

Yeah he's on the Dev squad...still learning everything but seems to be doing a good job. Was a standout basketball player in HS...basketball was his #1 sport until midway through HS I believe. Then he starting putting more focus into football...great athlete, no doubt!

[Etchglow]

UMHB names new OL coach:
https://cruathletics.com/news/2023/1/30/football-alex-farah-named-offensive-line-coach.aspx

[Riley Zayas]

So I just noticed this lol:

https://cruathletics.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/jerry-day-jr-/7774

Yeah he's on the Dev squad...still learning everything but seems to be doing a good job. Was a standout basketball player in HS...basketball was his #1 sport until midway through HS I believe. Then he starting putting more focus into football...great athlete, no doubt!

UPDATE: He saw varsity action against ETBU on Thursday...played really well for the 8 or so min he was on the floor (and it wasn't a one-sided game for those who don't follow MBB). He guarded ETBU's top guard and played incredible defense. UMHB MBB HC Clif Carroll said of Day postgame:

"This is why I coach. This is a memory I'll have forever. You could tell when he got into the game, there was an energy in the whole building. He hadn't played basketball in three years, and he's still working on getting back his basketball skills. Every time he's on the floor he gets better. He's athletic, has long arms, and he's quick. When we were looking at this gameplan, and what we're going to do with [Aaron] Gregg, I thought, 'JMac is the perfect guy for this.' He's certainly adding to our team everyday."

[Ron Boerger]

Official:  Sul Ross applying to D2.  https://www.sulross.edu/news/srsu-applies-to-move-to-ncaa-division-ii/

One of the conditions is an earmarked pool of $250,000 for athletic scholarships. Saving on the expense of travel will help to offset those costs, as will a minimal increase in the athletic fee, along with the expected higher enrollment. However, said Workman, most of that cost is expected to be generated by fundraising efforts.

$250K spread among all their sports is pretty damned thin initiative to go there.

[Ron Boerger]

And where does this leave ASC football in 2024, when Sul Ross leaves?

Austin -> SCAC in 2024
1. ETBU
2. HPU
3. HSU
McMurry -> SCAC in 2024
Sul Ross -> D2 in 2024
4. TLU -> SCAC by 2026
5. UMHB

(Southwestern -> SAA in 2023, SCAC by 2026)

The two-year Pool A clock starts ticking in 2024 unless the conference adds another football team by then.