FB: American Southwest Conference

[CruFrenzy]

At this point if a change isn't made we are putting our program at risk of long term mediocrity (at best) or total collapse. If you can't see it idk what to tell you.

Dr O'Rear and Randy Mann were both high level competitors and were involved during our championship runs under coach Fred. They must see that this isn't the same program, from the inside out. Culture has changed, plain and simple.

Relieve Harmon, start the rebuild. Be aggressive and go get someone who's talent and leadership is on par with our standard, because we don't have that now. GO CRU.

[TLU05SA]

I am curious. Who would fill the head coaching position and build and maintain the program to expectations expressed on this board?

[baddog]

I am curious. Who would fill the head coaching position and build and maintain the program to expectations expressed on this board?

I'm sure those posting would make available to UMHB their immense football expertise and acumen. 

[crufootball]

I am curious. Who would fill the head coaching position and build and maintain the program to expectations expressed on this board?

Driving home from Abilene this weekend I spent a lot of time wondering what should or should not happen at UMHB. I am personally not ready to say Coach Harmon needs to be replaced but I have no doubt that he would say that something needs to happen to alter our current course.

Personally I think the worse part about the last couple of years is the state of unrest with everything relating to the football team and the entire conference. For over 20 years, Coach Fred was our guy, we had a tight grip on the conference championship and while non conference games seemed to be hard to get, they eventually were got. We were clearly spoiled by the success but I think there would not be quite as much distress if we weren't also worried about the future. When you look around and you are no longer winning at the same rate and have nothing solid to hold onto regarding the future it is fairly easy to be more disappointed then you might would have been after a couple of so-so seasons.

[baddog]

I am curious. Who would fill the head coaching position and build and maintain the program to expectations expressed on this board?

Driving home from Abilene this weekend I spent a lot of time wondering what should or should not happen at UMHB. I am personally not ready to say Coach Harmon needs to be replaced but I have no doubt that he would say that something needs to happen to alter our current course.

Personally I think the worse part about the last couple of years is the state of unrest with everything relating to the football team and the entire conference. For over 20 years, Coach Fred was our guy, we had a tight grip on the conference championship and while non conference games seemed to be hard to get, they eventually were got. We were clearly spoiled by the success but I think there would not be quite as much distress if we weren't also worried about the future. When you look around and you are no longer winning at the same rate and have nothing solid to hold onto regarding the future it is fairly easy to be more disappointed then you might would have been after a couple of so-so seasons.

Now, that is a fair, understandable and reasonable statement of position and disappointment. IOW, classy.

[UMHB03]

I am curious. Who would fill the head coaching position and build and maintain the program to expectations expressed on this board?

Someone who can instill a culture of discipline and effort, and bring back the swagger that this program had come to embody. Someone who learns from his mistakes and makes corrections rather than stubbornly trying to ram his way forward with the same failed approach. Someone who will be willing to run an offensive scheme that is more innovative and unpredictable than one from 1972. As far as who that would be, I don't know exactly. It's the university admin's responsibility to vet candidates and decide on the best one.

The bottom line is, UMHB provides a great college experience and the best facilities in D3, and it built a proud tradition and foundation over the past two decades under Fredenburg. It shouldn't be hard to maintain a successful program there. Yet in two short years, Harmon and his staff have taken that program almost back to square one. It might be difficult to find a coach who could maintain the kind of consistent domination that Coach Fred achieved, but it shouldn't be hard to find someone who could do better than what we've had since he left. I mean, for heaven's sake, Fredenburg left Harmon a team coming off a dominant National Championship run, and now three years later he has promptly missed the playoffs two straight seasons for the first time since 2000/2001, and has shown no signs that he has any clue how to fix things. That's absolutely unacceptable on every conceivable level.

[Crubacker]

I think Harmon is running this team just like Coach Fred did------he's allowing his assistant coaches to coach.  Now, that being said, Harmon was a brilliant DC and at times maybe he should step in and have a say as to what the defense is doing and I don't know if that is happening because the defenses under Harmon were always ranked in the top 10.  It's obvious we don't have the caliber of QB that we have had over the last 5-6 yrs and the play calling could put a baby to sleep.  Padron can't come in and run the same type of offense that he has run every other place he has been at and expect to succeed.  Defense has played decent but the offense has under performed big time!

[crufootball]

First hopeful news in a minute.

https://www.texasfootball.com/article/2024/11/14/is-2024-the-end-of-the-double-round-robin-format-for-asc-and-scac?ref=article_preview_title

[Ron Boerger]

Interestingly, the In the D3FB Huddle guys this morning said that there is a non-trivial chance that UMHB can get a Pool C bid.  They didn't go into any details about what scenario would lead to this but from the way they talked it seems that it could happen.

In the scenario where all three of UMHB, TLU, and Trinity get bids (all must win Saturday), I have no idea who would match up in the first round, or who would host.  HSU will have a bye in the first round.  All three would be among the last teams selected but TLU probably would be the highest seed, if they applied to host. 

[Pat Coleman]

Logan has the chances at 12.9%.

[Etchglow]

Logan has the chances at 12.9%.

Part of me thinks Frank makes some of the takes he does just to further the feud with Logan lol...

[Ron Boerger]

A one in eight chance isn't much, but it's more than I would have thought from previous discussions.  Frank & JB weren't saying UMHB's chances were likely, just that they existed. 

[CNU85]

First hopeful news in a minute.

https://www.texasfootball.com/article/2024/11/14/is-2024-the-end-of-the-double-round-robin-format-for-asc-and-scac?ref=article_preview_title

A little better news. From what I read, the ASC would still have to schedule home/away games with each other. That makes 6 games. Add in 1 or 2 games with SCAC and that makes 7-8 games scheduled. The ASC teams will still need a few other non conference games.

The sad news is that this potentially only eases the football schedule a little. There's still stress to complete a 10 game schedule and the overall existence of the ASC as a multi-sport conference remains perilous. I don't know what options the ASC and the 4 remaining schools have. Perhaps D3 is not the right home for them?

[crufootball]

First hopeful news in a minute.

https://www.texasfootball.com/article/2024/11/14/is-2024-the-end-of-the-double-round-robin-format-for-asc-and-scac?ref=article_preview_title

A little better news. From what I read, the ASC would still have to schedule home/away games with each other. That makes 6 games. Add in 1 or 2 games with SCAC and that makes 7-8 games scheduled. The ASC teams will still need a few other non conference games.

The sad news is that this potentially only eases the football schedule a little. There's still stress to complete a 10 game schedule and the overall existence of the ASC as a multi-sport conference remains perilous. I don't know what options the ASC and the 4 remaining schools have. Perhaps D3 is not the right home for them?

True but it's the first publicly announced shred of news that might be positive for the ASC members.

Also perhaps I am not thinking properly but for 2025 the SCAC will have 6 football playing members (AC. Centenary, TLU, McMurry, Lyon and Hendrix) with Schreiner coming on board in 2026, meaning for 2025 if the SCAC does not do round robin they will need 5 nonconference games each and I can think of 4 teams that would love as many of them as possible. This is not a cure but even if each ASC school could get 2 games against SCAC schools that is way better than having to play schools that don't even count as most of us had to do this year.

[Pat Coleman]

Logan has the chances at 12.9%.

Part of me thinks Frank makes some of the takes he does just to further the feud with Logan lol...

I didn't see this one this way -- I was just putting some actual numbers behind it.