FB: American Southwest Conference

[CamCat]

Hello Hardin - Simmons,

Congratulations on another very successful season.

I understand that we are on your schedule for the second game of our schedule next year, if I'm correct. Will that be in your house or ours?

Though we are still smarting from the tough loss we took yesterday from a great WI Whitewater team when we look at your record over the past few years how can that not stop us in our tracks and force us to take notice? 

You will be far tougher than anyone we faced during the regular season this year if your past is prologue to what we can expect from you next year. I hope I don't have to drop the the game count under my avatar to goose egg.

If you guys play as tough as MHBU did against us we are in for the game of our lives.  We look forward to our game with you in Sept.  Unless you are used to that severe heat you may enjoy Sept. in Oregon. The weather is wonderful for football and before the rain starts.

Enjoy your off season.

[bcal]

CUA does not have to look far to find fine examples of how to start a D-III football program.  UMHB and HSU have done it well.  My thought is there remains a good number of athletes available from Waco to San Antonio, down I - 35, and fifty miles to either side.  UMHB and TLU don't get everybody.  

The committment of the Board and Adminstration has to be firm.  Lubbock Christian's football team lasted only 3 or 4 years.  I would think the benefits are worth the effort.

[Ralph Turner]

bcal, the D3 model as we know it now, and the male:female ratios on college campuses offer a completely different environment from LCC's experience in 1979-1982.  The ASC now is much stronger than the TIAA was at that time.

I can see it happening.  What is the endowment of CUA at this time?  What is the anticipated sale price for the Austin land?  The new construction can really energize an alumni base!  These can be great times for CUA.

[Ralph Turner]

On another message board, David Collinge asked me about the McM-Miss Coll basketball rivialry.  That led to this verbose explanation of the ASC.  The opinions are mine, and I will appreciate any historical corrections.  I copy it to this board and the men's basketball board for general information and will encourage commentary on the football board, (off-season, you know.    )

------------------------------------

David, MC and McM have been the top basketball programs in the ASC since the formation of the conference.  Former MC Coach Jones (now AD) and McM's Coach Holmes are good rivals.  MC and McM have the most NCAA appearances in the ASC and the most appearances in the post-season tourney and tourney finals.  So, a tourney bid or national/regional ranking has been always on the line directly or indirectly, every time they have played.  Not bad blood, just great rivals!

The ASC was created in 1996 as the NCAA D3 option for intercollegiate athletics in this part of the country.  With the leadership of college presidents from McMurry, Austin College and others, Commissioner Fred Jacoby (one of the finest conference commisioners ever to grace college athletics, e.g. WSUC and the old D1 Southwest Conference), assembled Mississippi College, which was moving up from D2, U Ozarks, and  the members of the NAIA-2 Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Assn (Austin College, U Dallas, Hardin Simmons, Howard Payne, McMurry and Sul Ross State.)

Over the next decade, Commissioner Jacoby brought Texas Lutheran from D2, Louisiana College from the NAIA/NCCAA, saw UT-Dallas add a full range of intercollegiate sports and move from the NAIA, saw UT-Tyler add a full range of intercollegiate sports and move from the NAIA/ USCAA, and brought UMHB, Concordia, Schreiner, LeTourneau and ETBU from the NAIA en masse.

UDallas left after 2000-01.  Most people speculate that they would jump at the invitiation to join the SCAC.  UDallas was not able to get a club football team going in 2003.  That may have been an attempt to attract interest from the SCAC.

The 15-team conference (plus provisional 2007 UT-Tyler) has provided competition and "in-region" games by the use of crossover games between the divisions.  Also, the conference has had enough schools for an AQ in the AQ sports (FB, Hoops, VB, Soccer, Baseball and Softball) even if every one of the 15 schools did not offer a sport.  Yes, we are spread out, but the conference provides access to the playoffs.

My personal desire is for another 4 schools (2 west and 2 east and preferably private schools) to join the conference and then we split into 2 conferences and 2 AQ's.  The moving of Austin College to the SCAC may make that program more competitive. (But,  they will always lose to Trinity.    )  However, the AC loss also means that we are now 5 schools away from that magical number.

D-3 UDallas won't likely come back.  D-3 Rust is too far to the north and east (near Memphis, TN)  and too far west for the GSAC!

D2's St Edwards in Austin, Incarnate Word in San Antonio, St Mary's in San Antonio and Abilene Christian (which has won more D2 national championships than anyone except UC-Davis) are not likely to move up to D3.

As one looks at the map of NAIA schools that we might "invite", the mission/vision issue is just one confounding factor.

Texas Wesleyan University in Ft Worth spent one exploratory year moving from D2 (Heartland Conference) thru the ASC back to the scholarship NAIA-1 Red River AC.  I guess they could not imagine life without scholarships on their campus.

Other private schools (NAIA-1) in this broad area include Northwood Institute in Cedar Hill (a southwest Dallas suburb), Southwestern Assemblies in Waxahachie (30 miles south of Dallas) and College of the Southwest in Hobbs NM.  CSW likes NAIA-1.  Houston Baptist sees itself as NAIA-1.

A large corps of HBCU's (Historically Black College/University), namely Wiley College, Texas College, Jarvis Christian College, Paul Quinn College and Huston-Tillotson College, compete in the Red River AC and have active rivalries amongst themselves.  HBCU Langston OK is moving to D2.  Texas A&M International in Laredo is not geographically desirable.   UT-Permian Basin in Midland is exploring D-2 and D-3.  This state school would have numerous close state school rivals in the D2 Lone Star Conference.  Each of these NAIA schools would have to upgrade their programs to match D3 requirements.

As for other NAIA-1 schools, the Texas Panhandle schools of Wayland Baptist (Plainiview) and Lubbock Christian are in the Sooner AC and are closer to Oklahoma than most of the ASC schools.  Football playing Bacone College in Muskogee OK has moved from the junior college ranks, but I think they see NAIA-1 as their model as does John Brown University, Siloam Springs AR, the NAIA-1 reigning basketball champ and football-playing Southern Nazarene OK.

LSU-Shreveport is in the NAIA-1 Gulf Coast AC.  It would need to add numerous sports.  Belhaven in Jackson MS would be a nice addition to the ASC-East.  It has all of the sports necessary, but I believe that they see NAIA-1 as their model.  All of the other GCAC schools are around New Orleans or Mobile, except the HBCU's Tougaloo and William Carey.

NAIA-2 Lyons College in Batesville AR is probably not interested.  They could be a travel partner for Ozarks in a new ASC-East Conference.

There just aren't any more schools.  I cannot imagine the ASC getting the schools necessary to allow the 2 ASC divisions to split into 2 distinct  conferences.  If there were to be a change in rules to allow multiple bids for very large conferences, basically a special case for the ASC, we might get some help on bids.  But I think that Pool C is the way we have to go for extra bids.

(Sorry about the verbosity, but this is a comprehensive assessment of college hoops in this part of the country.  Thanks to all for indulging me.)

[dsc]

Welcome CamCat and Linfield to Abilene for the second game in 2006...the week following a HSU game with WI/SP.

The HSU Cowboys have a proud football tradition...and are always happy to share it! 

Folks here in Texas are looking forward to your visit!

Beat Linfield!!!     

[minni]

CamCat if my memory serves me right i believe we host you first then we return the trip in 07.  I also look forward to that game also.  Finally some real football will be played in abilene.  Honestly i was hoping we were going to be hosting a back to back national champ but im just excited to see a quality team like Linfield coming to abilene.  the weather will be nice and steamy.  We like it warm here.  for example we were creeping up on 90 here this past weekend.  Oh yeah one more thing, if you have a traveling lockeroom bring it.  the visitors facilities are not all that great.

[CruAlum39]

minni---

im not sure exactly what you mean by saying, "Finally some real football will be played in abilene."  i think that there has been many a good game in abilene in the past 4 or 5 years.  I played in a few of them, and if that's not real football, im not sure what is.

[Ralph Turner]

crualum 39,
You've got to give minni some credit.  That was an honorable assessment of recent HSU football games!

2003  at Shelton 36-43 UMHB
2004  at Shelton 28-42 UMHB
2005  at Shelton  7-38  UMHB

Now let's all jump on the Cowboy Band Wagon and root for the Cowboys against Linfield!    

[Bill McCabe]

I would say HSU-McM was some pretty good football this year.  I'm glad to see the conference playing strong, well established teams.  TLU-Trinity, UMHB-CNU, HPU and one of the Wisconsin schools.  I hope all of the teams schedule better teams.  I haven't heard who UMHB will play in their 2nd non-conference game.

[Ralph Turner]

Bill, now that AC is a SCAC game for Trinity, they may move that game off the first weekend and open up another date for another ASC opponent.

The mid-season open dates created by the 9-team ASC may give us some other dates to schedule strong opponents, too.

McM goes to Menlo and plays AC.

Who else is on the schedule?

I wish that ETBU could find a couple of South Region opponents!

[Ron Boerger]

I thot ETB and Trinity were playing in '06?

[dsc]

"CamCat if my memory serves me right i believe we host you first then we return the trip in 07.  I also look forward to that game also." 
                                     *****
Minni, I checked the schedules before I welcomed CamCat TO
Abilene in 2006.  (Post 1973)   


No "believing" necessary, it is a fact according to HSU's homepage.

I agree that it would have been nice to meet a twice D3 Champion!

BTW the UMHB series is now 5-4 HSU!  Next closest series is HPU with a 30-24-4 HSU.  Thanks to UMHB's run to the Stagg Bowl last year, the ASC record in the playoffs is not a PLUS  (i.e. more wins than losses!)

Next year should be very interesting with more non-conference games being played.

[dsc]

Reference Post 1980...

I meant to say "the ASC record in the playoffs is now a PLUS..."  etc...instead of "not"...

[Bill McCabe]

Congratulations to Coach Fredenburg being named Region 3 Coach of the Year.  He is certainly deserving of the honor.

[minni]

sorry let me clear up my statement, some real football outside of conference.  didnt mean to bunch up any panties or hurt anyones feelings.  There has been some good games but i finally get to watch someone new, a different style of football i think, and a good non conference team.  sorry for my opinion didnt mean to offend the almighty crusaders crualum.