MBB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[pbrooks3]

Good to have another Centre supporter on the post.  I don't know about your 2nd question at this juncture.  I believe Birmingham Southern does not  begin competing for the conference tournament (and regular season games count) for three more seasons.  This would make them eligible for the post-season in 2011 by my count.

Hope you'll be able to make it to Conway to support the Colonels!

[DPU3619]

A couple questions:
1.  When do Birmingham Southern games begin to count (and when will they be eligible for post season play? Next year?

pbrooks is correct, I think.  As far as I understand it, it's a four year provisional membership.  Long enough for all the recruits from the D1 era to be gone.

2. With Fisk halting all athletics and Maryville apparently bolting, the GSAC looks like it might have suffered a mortal wound.  Any chance that a couple teams might come to the SCAC?  Huntington and LaGrange already seem to play a number of SCAC teams and if they both came the all important parity between feline and non-feline mascots could be maintained (up to 7-7 from a current 6-6).

I, like some others who have been around this conference for some time, feel that SCAC is probably at maximum capacity for the time being.  While I don't know too much about the academic profiles of either of those schools you mentioned, I don't believe they fit in with the other SCAC schools.  I may be entirely off base with that comment, though.

With more teams in the conference, things start getting hairy with divisions in football (not playing every other team every season), longer seasons in other sports, more roadtrips...so on and so forth.  Teams already don't play everybody else twice in basketball.  It'd only get worse with 14 teams.

[FlightofthePetrel]

2. With Fisk halting all athletics and Maryville apparently bolting, the GSAC looks like it might have suffered a mortal wound.  Any chance that a couple teams might come to the SCAC?  Huntington and LaGrange already seem to play a number of SCAC teams and if they both came the all important parity between feline and non-feline mascots could be maintained (up to 7-7 from a current 6-6).

I, like some others who have been around this conference for some time, feel that SCAC is probably at maximum capacity for the time being.  While I don't know too much about the academic profiles of either of those schools you mentioned, I don't believe they fit in with the other SCAC schools.  I may be entirely off base with that comment, though.

With more teams in the conference, things start getting hairy with divisions in football (not playing every other team every season), longer seasons in other sports, more roadtrips...so on and so forth.  Teams already don't play everybody else twice in basketball.  It'd only get worse with 14 teams.

I also don't see Lagrange and Huntingdon fitting in with the mold of the current SCAC schools.  While it's been said many times that Oglethorpe would benefit by switching to the GSAC or USA south to be with other schools with comparable endowments and similiar athletic talents.  This may be so but Oglethorpe also enjoys the notoriety that comes from being associated with such a group of well respected schools.  I think Huntingdon and Lagrange would lower the reputation of the SCAC.  The do have very good baseball teams... and Huntingdon's golf is pretty good but their other sports are marginal at best... OU beats them both at just about everything else.  If the SCAC was looking to expand I would think they would add teams to better the conference (i.e. Bham, Colorado and Austin).  While Lagrange Huntingdon and even Piedmont make sense Geographically... they don't make sense in any other way.

[Ralph Turner]

Okay, hypothetical question for you SCAC'ers...

Centenary College of Shreveport LA wants to move to D-III.

Is the SCAC full at 12 members?

Do you extend Centenary invitation to join the SCAC?

[pbrooks3]

Okay, hypothetical question for you SCAC'ers...

Centenary College of Shreveport LA wants to move to D-III.

Is the SCAC full at 12 members?

Do you extend Centenary invitation to join the SCAC?

I haven't given a whole lot of thought to expansion given the recent additions to the conference.  I honestly like the 12-team conference size.  Centenary probably would be a better fit than the other schools mentioned.  Since we're throwing out names, what would people think of Berea in Kentucky?  Wouldn't their endowment qualify them?

Modified for clarification of format.  I don't know if he has that tool available yet at his level of posting. -- Ralph Turner

[DPULefty22]

Just thought I'd let you folks know that WGRE is, for the fourth year running, going to be broadcasting all the SCAC tournament action via their website (WGRE.org) and Free Teamline. WGRE's audio will also be part of the Southwestern University video stream.

WGRE's SCAC Tournament page can be found here: http://www.depauw.edu/univ/wgre/sports_pages/scac2008.asp

A preview of the men's tournament, with predictions, has been posted as well.

[lammersk]

Okay, here are the profiles of the schools in the SCAC in this format: Name (Year Founded) Endowment in millions - Academic Standing via US News

Centre (1819) $205 - 44th National Liberal Arts
Oglethorpe (1835) $23 - 3d Tier Nat. Lib Arts
Depauw (1837) $560 - 49th Nat Lib Arts
Southwestern (1840) $314 - 59th Nat Lib Arts
Rhodes (1848) $252 - 49th Nat Lib Arts
Austin (1849) $144 - 75th Nat Lib Arts
Birmingham Southern (1856) $285 - 75th Nat Lib Arts
Sewanee (1857) $253 - 40th Nat Lib Arts
Trinity (1869) $991 - #1 Western Masters (no, I don't know what that is)
Colorado (1874) $439 - 26th Nat Lib Arts
Hendrix (1876) $191 - 71st Nat Lib Arts
Millsaps (1890) $86 - 87th Nat Lib Arts

Here are the schools discussed as possible additions:

Berea (1855) $949 - 75th Nat Lib Arts
Centenary (1825) $UNK - 3d Tier Nat Lib Arts  Member of the Associated Colleges of the South
Huntingdon (1854) $43 - 4th Tier Nat Lib Arts
LaGrange (1831) $63 - #3 Southern Baccalaurate College
Piedmont (1897) $50 - 3d Tier Nat Lib Arts

These figures came from cross-referencing Wikipedia with US News.  They may not be entirely accurate but give an idea as to how these schools would fit with SCAC schools.  If we're talking academic profile and endowment (and thus the ability to fund what must be massive SCAC travel budgets) I think everyone is right about the bottom 4 (maybe excepting LaGrange).

This leaves Berea.  I'm not sure Berea can be a D3 team.  It's an amazing school which gives each and every student (athlete or not) a full scholarship, with their primary requirement being that the potential student must have "limited economic resources."  I applaud Berea's mission but think it is a little misleading when it proclaims "Berea offers no athletic scholarships and yet is able to attract top level student-athletes from all over the country."  I think the scholarship issue may be why Berea is in the NAIA.

Anyway, I leave the actual sports comparisons to those who might have actually seen the teams of the schools mentioned (I've only seen Berea - usually a good basketball team).

Lammersk, thanks for the list.  I have added one other factor in favor of Centenary as a peer institution. --  Ralph Turner

[FlightofthePetrel]

Just thought I'd let you folks know that WGRE is, for the fourth year running, going to be broadcasting all the SCAC tournament action via their website (WGRE.org) and Free Teamline. WGRE's audio will also be part of the Southwestern University video stream.

WGRE's SCAC Tournament page can be found here: http://www.depauw.edu/univ/wgre/sports_pages/scac2008.asp

A preview of the men's tournament, with predictions, has been posted as well.

Thanks from all of those who won't be able to make it to the tournament.  Could you fill us in a little bit more on how the process works?  I'm interested in listening to the Oglethorpe games but the mens and womens are both being played at 8.  I know we're sending a crew that will obviously do one of them... but will ya'll be doing both?  Also will the live video feed be available for ALL games regardless of site.  I went to the website and it sounded like the game will be provided through Southwestern on the first day but it will cost $10 for the other days... is that right?

Any help you can give will be appreciated.

[lammersk]

pbrooks3,

No, unfortunately, I won't be able to be in Conway.  Thanks to our good friends at Depauw I will be in my office with the door closed surreptitiously watching/listening to the Friday game.  Then, as soon as the office closes, I will jump in my Cherokee and drive the three hours from Wise, Virginia to Lexington, Kentucky to watch my high school (Bryan Station, 4th in Ky) play Scott County (3d in Ky) for the district championship.  Then, I'll drive back so I'm home Saturday to catch the next round of SCAC play.  Everyone else from Kentucky has been depressed about basketball this year, but I've been facing choices as to whether I should drive North to watch a great high school team or an even better college team.  Woe is me.

BTW: Did I read correctly and WGRE is going to simulcast with the videocast on the 1st day but on subsequent days the videocast and audiocast will still occur, but be separate?

http://www.depauw.edu/univ/wgre/sports_pages/scac2008.asp

[DPULefty22]

To address both questions:

flightofthepetrel: The Petrel Sports Network will have the call of the OU men's game on Friday night. WGRE will call both games, with the OU women's game appearing on the station's website.

And to both FOTP and lammersk, regarding the video stream: there is a one-time, $10 dollar charge to watch the entire tournament and have access to the archives for an entire year. WGRE's audio will be available with the video for the entirety of the tournament - that is different info than what is currently on the web, but that should be fixed soon.

[Ralph Turner]

This leaves Berea.  I'm not sure Berea can be a D3 team.  It's an amazing school which gives each and every student (athlete or not) a full scholarship, with their primary requirement being that the potential student must have "limited economic resources."  I applaud Berea's mission but think it is a little misleading when it proclaims "Berea offers no athletic scholarships and yet is able to attract top level student-athletes from all over the country."  I think the scholarship issue may be why Berea is in the NAIA.

However, as I understand the metrics by which the NCAA measures financial aid for their students, Berea is probably the "most compliant" by definition.  Their student-athletes receive exactly the same amount of aid as non-student-athletes.

Here is an anecdote.  A friend of mine is a Berea grad.  He grew up dirt poor in that part of the country.  He is now an internationally recognized expert in gynecology, the author of several authoritative texts in the field and an editor of a peer-reviewed journal.  He told me that his daughters were not able to go to Berea, because he made too much money.  I did not press him further to explain this, but I thought that an interesting statement to make.

[jekelish]

FYI for people who can't make the tourney, the games will be available to view online.  I'm not sure exactly where the link will be set up, but it's going to be something like $10 to watch streaming video.  Southwestern is running this endeavor.

[DPU3619]

New region rankings:

South:
1.  Centre  23-1  18-1 
2.  Mary Hardin-Baylor  22-3  20-2 
3.  Guilford  21-4  20-4 
4.  Virginia Wesleyan  20-5  19-4 
5.  Millsaps  22-3  17-2 
6.  Maryville (Tennessee)  22-2  16-2 
7.  Randolph-Macon  20-5  15-5 
8.  Mississippi College  19-5  16-5

I still think Millsaps is in. 

[FlightofthePetrel]

FYI for people who can't make the tourney, the games will be available to view online.  I'm not sure exactly where the link will be set up, but it's going to be something like $10 to watch streaming video.  Southwestern is running this endeavor.

If I want to watch Oglethorpe play I'm obviously going to have to use 2 computers since they both play at 8.  Would I have to pay the $10 fee twice since I will be 'logging' on at two different stations?

[jekelish]

From what I understand, the $10 gives you access to the entire weekend, and will allow you to view any games as they are archived for up to a year.

I'm sure that prior to Friday, the link will be posted on the tourney website.