BB: SCAC: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[scaccommish]

The Southern Collegiate Athletic Confernece announced today an initiative to aid the victims of the April tornadoes that devastated parts of Alabama and Georgia. SCAC t-shirt and DVD for your help. Find out more here - http://tinyurl.com/3op96cn

[Ron Boerger]

From The DePauw:  Centre, Sewanee, Rhodes, Hendrix considering leaving the SCAC after 2012:  http://bit.ly/iDFiVn

[Ralph Turner]

Wow, you can have

either like-minded institutions,

or savings on travel costs!

Somebody is getting a reality-check!

What are the travel savings achieved by cutting lacrosse?

[Ron Boerger]

The wierd thing, Ralph, are the comments which say one of the reasons the schools are considering this is because of the possible advent of divisional play, purpose of which is to reduce travel costs ... and time away from school.   

This from the athletics director at Hendrix:

A main reason why the four schools might leave, according to Powell, is the SCAC's discussions about splitting the conference into divisions.

"We have different relations with those schools in the west, in Texas, and the East," Powell said. "We want to keep playing those folks, if you think about a league, you think about if the schools who have similar philosophies and similar size. I've been here nine-and-a-half years, and I have enjoyed dealing with a lot of the folks in the league."

So you tell me.  If Hendrix goes to the ASC, guess what, they're going to have to deal with divisional play.  Where else would they go? 

[Ralph Turner]

The wierd thing, Ralph, are the comments which say one of the reasons the schools are considering this is because of the possible advent of divisional play, purpose of which is to reduce travel costs ... and time away from school.  

This from the athletics director at Hendrix:

A main reason why the four schools might leave, according to Powell, is the SCAC's discussions about splitting the conference into divisions.

"We have different relations with those schools in the west, in Texas, and the East," Powell said. "We want to keep playing those folks, if you think about a league, you think about if the schools who have similar philosophies and similar size. I've been here nine-and-a-half years, and I have enjoyed dealing with a lot of the folks in the league."

So you tell me.  If Hendrix goes to the ASC, guess what, they're going to have to deal with divisional play.  Where else would they go?  

It makes no sense.  Hendrix can play all of the schools in the ASC that they can schedule!  You have to find 25 basketball games and 40 baseball games to fill your schedule.

I don't think that they want to be playing Arkansas Baptist, Ecclesia, Philander Smith, Lynn and U of Ozarks anymore than they are now.

Or, do they want to reconsider cutting the schedule by 10%?

Cutting Colorado College makes more sense than anything from an expense perspective.

How about a new SCAC West?

Hendrix-UOzarks

Mississippi College -Millsaps

Trinity - Southwestern

UDallas -Austin College

Can those schools live with Mississippi College and UOzarks?

How about a new SCAC-East?

Centre - Georgetown KY

Rhodes - Sewanee

Birmingham Southern - Huntingdon

Oglethrope - Berry

[Ralph Turner]

FTA...

While the reasons behind the four schools' considerations may not become clear until after the June 7 presidents' meeting, geographic distance and the cost of travel could be factors in the discussions.

"I know that as the conference talks about expanding, we have concerns about a sprawling conference," Saxton said. "So a lot of travel and time out of class, cost of travel, a lot of concerns comes from that."

Danny Powell, executive director of athletics at Hendrix, conveyed similar sentiments.

"As an athletic director, you are just looking for a schedule to play and if it's cost effective and a good experience for your students," Powell said. "People are just looking at what's best long-term for their school, and I think that's what we're doing."

Factors such as the cost of transportation also played into DePauw's decision to leave the SCAC for the NCAC.

"There isn't a school in the country that isn't looking at how they can cut the travel cost in the interest of sustainability and also just from a financial standpoint," said Page Cotton, director of athletics.

A main reason why the four schools might leave, according to Powell, is the SCAC's discussions about splitting the conference into divisions.

"We have different relations with those schools in the west, in Texas, and the East," Powell said. "We want to keep playing those folks, if you think about a league, you think about if the schools who have similar philosophies and similar size. I've been here nine-and-a-half years, and I have enjoyed dealing with a lot of the folks in the league."

Creating divisions would eliminate match ups in the regular season and, according to Cotton, some schools favor divisional competition while others want to play everyone in the conference.

No matter the reasons, if the four schools do decide to leave the conference, it will put a halt on the splitting of the conference into two divisions. If the decision is made final, the conference will have lost five teams in two years. After gaining the Dallas, the conference will be left with eight teams.

Brian Chafin, director of athletics and recreation at Centre, said other current member institutions of the conference are evaluating their role and membership.

"There has been discussion throughout the entire conference of looking at other options for all schools for the year of 2012-2013," he said.

[OshDude]

I don't know much, but Page Cotton seems more of an SCAC name than NCAC. Great name anywhere, BTW.

[Ron Boerger]

LOL Oshdude.  +1.

So there are two different takes here.

One is the "the SCAC is too big and takes too much time away from our students,"

The other is "we don't want to suffer divisional play, we want to play everyone in the conference."

Unless you are in a small (eight team to get Pool A bids), geographically compact conference, these two are mutually exclusive.

Do the gang of four go off, try to recruit a few other area schools (maybe MC, LC, and Centenary from the ASC, pick off someone else) and form the Central Compact Southern Conference?  Or is it just a ploy by the four schools mentioned to tell the rest of the SCAC powers-that-be to quit throwing invitations around?  The other conference possibilities for these four (ASC, USA South, David Collinge even suggests an expanded NCAC) would fail both of the salient points brought up in the article.

[Ralph Turner]

If this is a protest by the non-Texas teams about having to travel west, then who would the West teams invite to join in a "new" conference?

[ILVBB]

The geography of the SCAC is goofy. For sports which only require a few contests it can be managed. But you start traveling 30 baskeball players (men & women) and 25 baseball players with as many games it starts getting very expensive.

It is my understanding that SCAC presidents felt that having schools with similar academic profile playing in a single conference. However, there are real trade-offs when money and time away from school interfere with what trustees are harping at them (i.e. the bottom line).

With divisional play the SCAC has really become a 2 conference "Conference." My son over a 4-year career never visited most of the schools on the other side.  Frankly; if the SCAC went away and the Texas/Miss schools joined the ASC (which won't happen) I think competitiveness, academics and cost control would all be well served.

[Ralph Turner]

Can the SCAC presidents live with this new 8-team conference?

Millsaps/Miss College
Hendrix/Ozarks
LaCollege/Centenary
ETBU/LeTU.

The football schools will need to find a home, but it appears that affiliation would be possible to make an AQ.

[Ron Boerger]

Can the SCAC presidents live with this new 8-team conference?

Millsaps/Miss College
Hendrix/Ozarks
LaCollege/Centenary
ETBU/LeTU.

The football schools will need to find a home, but it appears that affiliation would be possible to make an AQ.

Another question to ask:  are the SCAC presidents willing to kick out six perfectly good schools (assuming the other four leave on their own) not to mention totally change the rationale behind the conference?  Seems just a bit unrealistic ... essentially you're asking six of the eight to not only leave but approve forcing themselves out.  

They'd be better off disbanding the conference altogether and creating the Southern Short Travel Conference.  

[Ralph Turner]

Those "northern" tier schools are the link between the east and the west.  You wonder what is going on in the minds of the "Break-out 4".

[Ron Boerger]

Those "northern" tier schools are the link between the east and the west.  You wonder what is going on in the minds of the "Break-out 4".

They've got a plan.  You don't have four schools all suddenly say "hey, it's time to leave a conference we've been in for decades" without something concrete in the works. 

[ILVBB]

Ron - I think you may be onto something. The rumor mill has it that the SCAC as we know it won't exist. If that is the case; maybe there is a "plan."