FB: American Southwest Conference

[Etchglow]

...snip...

Ah, missed one of them...McM makes sense since the ASC usually tries to only make everyone go to Abilene once a year. I honestly like getting TLU on the road. Plus, not a bad trip for most of Cru nation in Central Texas.

TLU isn't a bad drive.  Kind of stunk only having port-a-johns to use on the visitor side and the tiny concession trailer that I sat in line at through the entire halftime and half of the 3rd quarter before giving up...  I'm not too crazy about driving to Abilene for the HSU game two years in a row (I'd probably be okay skipping the drive to play McMurry).  Was kind of hoping to go to Marshall again this year so I could take the wife to the game and hang out with some of her friends she went to school out there with.  But, all in all not terrible I guess.  I hope that the SID reverts their decision to not send broadcast crew to away games honestly...

[Riley Zayas]

...snip...

Ah, missed one of them...McM makes sense since the ASC usually tries to only make everyone go to Abilene once a year. I honestly like getting TLU on the road. Plus, not a bad trip for most of Cru nation in Central Texas.

TLU isn't a bad drive.  Kind of stunk only having port-a-johns to use on the visitor side and the tiny concession trailer that I sat in line at through the entire halftime and half of the 3rd quarter before giving up...  I'm not too crazy about driving to Abilene for the HSU game two years in a row (I'd probably be okay skipping the drive to play McMurry).  Was kind of hoping to go to Marshall again this year so I could take the wife to the game and hang out with some of her friends she went to school out there with.  But, all in all not terrible I guess.  I hope that the SID reverts their decision to not send broadcast crew to away games honestly...

I've never asked why they stopped doing that so abruptly. Radio crew was at every game. But they stopped bringing the video. Wonder if it was a cost thing? So many of the broadcasts done by other schools in the ASC are mediocre at best. I didn't cover the TLU game there last year, but heard from our photographer on site that the facility itself was poor. UMHB had to stretch out and sit on the adjacent field at halftime because it was too long of a walk to the locker room

[Etchglow]

...snip...

Ah, missed one of them...McM makes sense since the ASC usually tries to only make everyone go to Abilene once a year. I honestly like getting TLU on the road. Plus, not a bad trip for most of Cru nation in Central Texas.

TLU isn't a bad drive.  Kind of stunk only having port-a-johns to use on the visitor side and the tiny concession trailer that I sat in line at through the entire halftime and half of the 3rd quarter before giving up...  I'm not too crazy about driving to Abilene for the HSU game two years in a row (I'd probably be okay skipping the drive to play McMurry).  Was kind of hoping to go to Marshall again this year so I could take the wife to the game and hang out with some of her friends she went to school out there with.  But, all in all not terrible I guess.  I hope that the SID reverts their decision to not send broadcast crew to away games honestly...

I've never asked why they stopped doing that so abruptly. Radio crew was at every game. But they stopped bringing the video. Wonder if it was a cost thing? So many of the broadcasts done by other schools in the ASC are mediocre at best. I didn't cover the TLU game there last year, but heard from our photographer on site that the facility itself was poor. UMHB had to stretch out and sit on the adjacent field at halftime because it was too long of a walk to the locker room

The story I heard was it had something to do where they were put at the whitewater game. Not sure if that has any truth to it or not. Yeah, it was a long way to the locker room at TLU. At least UMHB brought canopies for half time. Maybe they should bring Porta cools and generators next time lol! It was pretty hot.

Actually, the more I think back, I confused the concessions story with a different game. I don't think TLU had a concession stand on the visitors side period.

[Ron Boerger]

DCTF story from Cory Hogue on the future of the ASC out today.  Not a lot that we haven't discussed here but posits trying to talk some of the less successful NAIA teams into a move to D3.  Also mentions Louisiana Christian as a possible returnee but it's all speculative. 

[Ron Boerger]

And with Trinity and Southwestern heading to the SAA in 2025 the chances of the ASC and SCAC combining in football just shot up.

[Bmo]

Still an opportunity to cyber squat on the ASCAC domain.  http://www.ascac.com/

[UMHB03]

And with Trinity and Southwestern heading to the SAA in 2025 the chances of the ASC and SCAC combining in football just shot up.

That definitely seems like it would be the best solution for both conferences.

[Ralph Turner]

And the panache of being in a conference with Trinity just lost its value.

[Ralph Turner]

American Southwest Conference circa 2003 (Football) in order of the finish in the 2003 season. The Baptist 4 are at the top.

Mary Hardin-Baylor   
Hardin-Simmons
East Texas Baptist
Howard Payne   
Louisiana College NAIA, now Louisiana Christian College
McMurry - Going SCAC
Austin College - SCAC
Mississippi College Went D-2
Texas Lutheran -Now SCAC
Sul Ross State Going D-2

SCAC - Centenary - adding football in 2024
Lyon - Moving from NAIA to D-3
Schreiner - (Hmmm, do I want/need to add football if the SCAC is that unstable?)

Is Centenary committed to this?

[Ron Boerger]

The SCAC's comments (basically a "don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya" to the two schools remaining from the '90s) said this was a move that had been "anticipated for some time."  The fact that they didn't require everyone to play ball in conference until 2026, in retrospect, was a huge red flag that not everyone was happy. 

[Toby Taff]

The potential if the ASC and SCAC can stay apart as conferences is more playoff teams in the south. If you have 3 pool A's and a couple of teams solid enough to get a pool c it might create something other than our current Texas sub-bracket

[TLU02SA]

The potential if the ASC and SCAC can stay apart as conferences is more playoff teams in the south. If you have 3 pool A's and a couple of teams solid enough to get a pool c it might create something other than our current Texas sub-bracket

That would be ideal but I think the likely outcome is some combination of the SCAC and ASC, at least, for football.  A conference of UMHB, HSU, ETBU, HPU, Lyons, Centenary, AC, McMurry, Schreiner, and TLU makes sense.  Frankly, as someone pointed out above, this is not very different than what the ASC was in the early aughts.  I fully expect this to happen.

I think a more difficult question is whether the ASC and SCAC just merge or one takes over the other.  I may be forgetting one or two schools but I think that would be 15 schools.  Not ideal but certainly workable for all other sports.

With Division III sports there is only one thing I am certain about and that is conference affiliation is crazy and very fluid.  Of course, DI gets all the headlines (and dollars) but the movement there is nothing like we see in DIII.  My suspicion is there is more movement to come.

[Ralph Turner]

The potential if the ASC and SCAC can stay apart as conferences is more playoff teams in the south. If you have 3 pool A's and a couple of teams solid enough to get a pool c it might create something other than our current Texas sub-bracket

That would be ideal but I think the likely outcome is some combination of the SCAC and ASC, at least, for football.  A conference of UMHB, HSU, ETBU, HPU, Lyons, Centenary, AC, McMurry, Schreiner, and TLU makes sense.  Frankly, as someone pointed out above, this is not very different than what the ASC was in the early aughts.  I fully expect this to happen.

I think a more difficult question is whether the ASC and SCAC just merge or one takes over the other.  I may be forgetting one or two schools but I think that would be 15 schools.  Not ideal but certainly workable for all other sports.

With Division III sports there is only one thing I am certain about and that is conference affiliation is crazy and very fluid.  Of course, DI gets all the headlines (and dollars) but the movement there is nothing like we see in DIII.  My suspicion is there is more movement to come.

University of Dallas was a charter member of the ASC, but left very early (about 2002) because of the mission - vision thing. They, UDallas, earned a Pool B bid in 2004 in basketball with a 13-12 record and lost to SRSU (when the Lobos lost in the Sweet 16  in OT to Lawrence U who lost in OT to National Champion UWSP in OT in the Elite 8 at Puget Sound, back when an island team could host a regional, but I digressed!)

[Ron Boerger]

Yeah, that's not gonna help, Amy Carlton is stepping down.

https://ascsports.org/news/2023/3/13/general-council-announces-carlton-stepping-away-from-asc-commissioner-role.aspx

[The Third Division]

Yeah, that's not gonna help, Amy Carlton is stepping down.

https://ascsports.org/news/2023/3/13/general-council-announces-carlton-stepping-away-from-asc-commissioner-role.aspx

Does her departure scream "the future of the ASC is done for"?