FB: American Southwest Conference

[TheChucker]

I see Texas Wesleyan is the 10-0 Sooner Conference champ with a first round bye in the NAIA playoffs. It sure would be fun to see HSU or UMHB play them in non-conference even if the game wouldn't technically count for anything.

[CNU85]

CNU has won three nattys since joining the C2C (women's soccer, softball, men's basketball) so they are probably pretty happy the way things are going. 

And don't forget the Cheer Team, defending national Champions at the moment.

And everyone is fairly spot on as to why CNU, SU, and UMW are in the current predicament with regards to conference affiliation. D3 schools in an area dominated by private schools. CNU is a geographic outlier for most D3 conferences that would take a public school. The NJAC is a great fit for football. However, CNU is too far from the schools just outside of NYC to be a full time member. The ODAC charter prohibits public schools. The USA South was a good fit until the expansion took that conference further south and west. That made CNU the outlier yet again from a geographic standpoint. The CAC was also a good fit, but schools started moving around conferences to find a better home. So, here we are.

[Mavchamp]

I see no point in anyone in the ASC remaining faith to one another.

If I were UMHB I'd be contacting the Southland or WAC or etc to start transitioning to FCS.

If I were HSU I'd be contacting The Lone Star Conference to start transitioning to D2.

If I were HPU or ETBU...if it's clear the SCAC won't be calling.... then I'd be in contact with either the SAC or the USA South.  I can't imagine either of them being interested in D2.

No reason waiting until after the 2025 season to drag this out longer than needed.

[TheChucker]

I see no point in anyone in the ASC remaining faith to one another.

If I were UMHB I'd be contacting the Southland or WAC or etc to start transitioning to FCS.

If I were HSU I'd be contacting The Lone Star Conference to start transitioning to D2.

If I were HPU or ETBU...if it's clear the SCAC won't be calling.... then I'd be in contact with either the SAC or the USA South.  I can't imagine either of them being interested in D2.

No reason waiting until after the 2025 season to drag this out longer than needed.

I think the SCAC is still on shaky grounds for being a viable football conference without any of the 6 current ASC and SAC schools. I'm guessing some of the ASC schools are waiting it out.

[Mavchamp]

I see no point in anyone in the ASC remaining faith to one another.

If I were UMHB I'd be contacting the Southland or WAC or etc to start transitioning to FCS.

If I were HSU I'd be contacting The Lone Star Conference to start transitioning to D2.

If I were HPU or ETBU...if it's clear the SCAC won't be calling.... then I'd be in contact with either the SAC or the USA South.  I can't imagine either of them being interested in D2.

No reason waiting until after the 2025 season to drag this out longer than needed.

I think the SCAC is still on shaky grounds for being a viable football conference without any of the 6 current ASC and SAC schools. I'm guessing some of the ASC schools are waiting it out.

I agree with the SCAC being precarious for football.....but they have options other than anyone from the ASC.

Louisiana Christian may be interested in coming back to D3 with no HSU or UMHB. 

Belhaven or Sul Ross coming back isn't out of the question. 

The SCAC could possibly even pick someone off from the Sooner Conference (Wayland, SAGU, North American, or Texas Wesleyan). 

The SCAC has options.

It would be great if HPU and/or ETBU were options they would consider......especially minus the "Baptist Block".  But it seems a longshot.  If an invitation was going to come...seems like it already would have come.

Even though you'd think Centenary and LETU would love to have ETBU locally.  While McM would like to have HPU locally.

[Ron Boerger]

The SCAC will have seven schools with football - it looks like Schreiner is on track after a slow start to start JV in '25, competing in '26, and Hendrix comes on board from the SAA next season.  And you can bet SCAC's commish, Dwayne Hanberry, is still working on other options. 

IMO getting Hendrix to defect from the SAA, the first school to leave that conference since its founding (other than Birmingham-Southern, who folded) put paid to the chances of the SCAC bringing any of the ASC onboard. 

[Mavchamp]

The SCAC will have seven schools with football - it looks like Schreiner is on track after a slow start to start JV in '25, competing in '26, and Hendrix comes on board from the SAA next season.  And you can bet SCAC's commish, Dwayne Hanberry, is still working on other options. 

IMO getting Hendrix to defect from the SAA, the first school to leave that conference since its founding (other than Birmingham-Southern, who folded) put paid to the chances of the SCAC bringing any of the ASC onboard. 

I don't think anyone is expecting the SCAC to call.   It would have already come if it was going to.

That's why I think it's best for the "four" to go their separate ways now.  There's no reason to delay the inevitable.

Let's just rip the band-aid off and all move on in our own directions.

[Mavchamp]

What's interesting about the Dave Campbell article.....

They mention how losing to UMHB and HSU by 50-70 points every year isn't the best college experience for their athletes.  Agree or disagree....it's a valid point.

But HPU and ETBU haven't been beating any of them like that....in fact.... most of those SCAC schools have been pretty competitive against both.

So if they moved to the SCAC to get away from HSU and UMHB domination..... why is HPU and ETBU being locked out too when historically they haven't been dominant at all?

The answer has to be that it's not just athletics...there's more to it.  Be it social...or political...or ideological....whatever.

Either way..... time for all to move on.

I see no point in dragging this out into the 2025=26 academic year.

[Etchglow]

I see no point in anyone in the ASC remaining faith to one another.

If I were UMHB I'd be contacting the Southland or WAC or etc to start transitioning to FCS.

If I were HSU I'd be contacting The Lone Star Conference to start transitioning to D2.

If I were HPU or ETBU...if it's clear the SCAC won't be calling.... then I'd be in contact with either the SAC or the USA South.  I can't imagine either of them being interested in D2.

No reason waiting until after the 2025 season to drag this out longer than needed.

I think the SCAC is still on shaky grounds for being a viable football conference without any of the 6 current ASC and SAC schools. I'm guessing some of the ASC schools are waiting it out.

I agree with the SCAC being precarious for football.....but they have options other than anyone from the ASC.

Louisiana Christian may be interested in coming back to D3 with no HSU or UMHB. 

Belhaven or Sul Ross coming back isn't out of the question. 

The SCAC could possibly even pick someone off from the Sooner Conference (Wayland, SAGU, North American, or Texas Wesleyan). 

The SCAC has options.

It would be great if HPU and/or ETBU were options they would consider......especially minus the "Baptist Block".  But it seems a longshot.  If an invitation was going to come...seems like it already would have come.

Even though you'd think Centenary and LETU would love to have ETBU locally.  While McM would like to have HPU locally.

I don't think Sul Ross will be coming back to D3.  Think that was a UT system thing. 

[TheChucker]

Moral of the story : Don't be too good at football in Texas. Texas.

[IC798891]

I think there's the wrong lesson being taken from the "Losing by 50-70 points is bad for the losing teams"

Decade long severely lopsided scores don't happen in a vacuum. They're not the result of catching a team at the wrong time, or in a weird down year, etc. They're not the result of the winning team getting a special group of recruits who turn dominant as upperclassmen

They're the result of fundamental university/college level decisions regarding the support and emphasis the football program receives. I've been an Ithaca fan through five presidents, and I can tell you, the things that turn teams into an Ithaca or UMHB-like national power for 15+ years are the result of conscious decisions made from the top.

It's no different than anything else at a college. If you want to be an elite Communications school, you don't just hope a few good professors join your ranks and a few super talented students just wind up on your campus. You invest resources in the buildings/equipment/personnel needed to bring those professors and students to you.

Saying that it's just about being "too good" really dismisses all the institutional support that goes into turning a program into one like UMHB.

There's nothing *wrong* with UMHB providing a level of institutional support to the football program to get them where they are as a national power. But, contrary to Frank Rossi's screaming "GET BETTER" to everyone else, there's also nothing *wrong* with other schools deciding their institutional priorities lay elsewhere and preferring to compete with schools that view themselves similarly.

[Mavchamp]

There's nothing *wrong* with UMHB providing a level of institutional support to the football program to get them where they are as a national power. But, contrary to Frank Rossi's screaming "GET BETTER" to everyone else, there's also nothing *wrong* with other schools deciding their institutional priorities lay elsewhere and preferring to compete with schools that view themselves similarly.

I agree with this 100%.

Look at the similarities in schools in the SAA.

HSU and UMHB have definitely got their similarities.

But it still doesn't answer the question about HPU and ETBU.  Neither of them are anything near the level of HSU or UMHB.  They appear to be more on the same page as the rest of the SCAC....but they are in the lurch. 

Go join the SAC and be done with it.

[crufootball]

So IC798891, can I take it then that you are fully supportive of UMHB and not opposed to them being in the playoff this year?

I agree with you, there is nothing with other schools deciding their institutional priorities lay elsewhere and preferring to compete with schools that view themselves similarly. However, as long as UMHB is playing by the same rules as everyone else then you and everyone else should have no problem with the way UMHB found their way into the playoffs this year.

[TheChucker]

There's nothing *wrong* with UMHB providing a level of institutional support to the football program to get them where they are as a national power. But, contrary to Frank Rossi's screaming "GET BETTER" to everyone else, there's also nothing *wrong* with other schools deciding their institutional priorities lay elsewhere and preferring to compete with schools that view themselves similarly.

I agree with this 100%.

Look at the similarities in schools in the SAA.

HSU and UMHB have definitely got their similarities.

But it still doesn't answer the question about HPU and ETBU.  Neither of them are anything near the level of HSU or UMHB.  They appear to be more on the same page as the rest of the SCAC....but they are in the lurch. 

Go join the SAC and be done with it.

ETBU is too good at diamond sports.

[IC798891]

Same rules? Sure.

Personally, I think the whole "play everyone in the conference twice thing in order to get the minimum of five wins" is wildly out of whack with how the rest of the D3 operates. But yes, it's 100% allowed.

What I've disliked seeing, particularly on X, is this constant stream of "Well then play us!" and "We called every school in the country!" — not to mention Frank's "GET BETTER!" screed.

You're not Boise State getting ducked by teams with $80 million football budgets because they're terrified of what a loss would do to their Playoff chances. And no one is like "We'll never be as good as Hardin Baylor, let's just give up and quit playing them."

It's a zero-sum rat race for the students that sustain our institutions, and most schools get zero benefit to their football team travelling to the middle of Texas; or even playing a one-off home game that delays a home-and-home with an opponent located in an important recruiting area.

So honestly, if UMHB did call everyone in the country, then they're engaging in performative theater.

The rest of us should accept that UMHB rightfully qualified for the playoffs based on the rules. But you guys should accept that most of the D3 bears little resemblance to you, gains nothing from playing you, and quit the posturing about how we're all just whiny and gutless.