FB: USA South Athletic Conference

[CNU85]

Here's the developing story on SU from MDT

http://www.thedailytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070912/SPORTS/70912030

a quote from the article....."Maryville's football membership gives the conference eight teams as Meredith is the only USAC school without a football program."

Man, I think someone at CNU missed scheduling the Peace Pacers football team......wait...I'll go check Bridgewater's non-conference schedule. I'm sure they jumped on that one!! (For my buddy Llama!!)

[Pat Coleman]

Gotta type faster, 85.

[CNU85]

brain cramps Pat....I had to go look at the USA South web site to find the Peace mascot name!

[batteredbard]

Thanks to CNU85 and Pat for poiting out my mstakenly categorizing just the men's teams USAC members and leaving out those two. The updated version with quotes from SU are now on the same link.

[CNU85]

This Bud's for you Mr. "I can write a very nice sports piece in a newspaper and get paid for it, but can't put two coherent sentences together on d3football.com message board". 

just joking...I know we don't edit ourselves on this board like we should. You did write a very nice story about the SU issue.

[SU97]

Been away for a while, and lets just say my internet service up here hasn't been comcastic  for the past two weeks...

Is it basketball season yet?

[SU97]

I see the SU/ODAC thing has come up again, I'll copy a post from July to keep things brief:

Anyway ...is the idea of SU leaving the USAC old news or really not that interesting?

hmmm...  let's see, it's been about 4 years since the ODAC rumour has surfaced, so this would seem about time for it to appear again.  Seems like this happens every 4 or 5 years up here.

Shenandoah is probably a fit institution-wise, and for all sports, ODAC travel would seem to be better for them with just the one significant out-of-state trip to Guilford (although E&H might be a longer hike).

Considering current USASAC travel, I would imagine a once-a-year trip to Carolina would hardly be a concern...

I'm sure it's preferable to trips to Methodist, N.C. Wesleyan, Tidewater (CNU and NNA) and Averett

Bingo - although NNA isn't in our conference, but Maryville (TN) is for football...

I certainly don't know Shenandoah's reasoning, but I wouldn't be shocked if travel costs and more natural regional rivalries were a factor in their desire to join. Maybe the ODAC seems more stable as well.

From what I hear it's travel costs.  We've been hearing this for 15 years, it was a rumor even before SU added football.  The regional rivalries would be the attractive part of this from a fans perspective.  I know a lot of famlies in town who have ODAC ties - either kids at ODAC Schools or grads themselves.  I know that SU had 7000+ at the BC game a couple of years ago.

Overall I think it would be a good move for SU, however, there are some great match-ups that would disappear with a move - and that would be disappointing. 

I would hope I could still muster the strength to continue to hate CNU...

[SU97]

I got this article from poster Menowannalickee U., so a big kudos to him on first posting it on the ODAC side. Its a interesting article about Bridgewater having to find teams to play for open dates and brings up CNU and also mentions that the ODAC schools want to bring in another football school into the conference.
"Another problem, Clark said, is that conferences are growing, and with D-III teams still playing only 10 regular-season games, fewer schools have open dates. Coaches in the ODAC, Clark said, are becoming more interested in adding another football school for that reason. Now, with only seven football teams, each has to find four non-conference games, which hasn't been easy.("So many of us [ODAC coaches] have a difficult time with the schedule," Clark said. "... The only people out there that will play you are big public schools or open enrollment schools that will sometimes give you a difficult matchup.")" By Dustin Dopirak of the DNR
http://www.dnronline.com/sports_details.php?AID=12165&CHID=3

I think after reading this, its pretty clear SU will become an ODAC member.

Uncle Jessie, I hear that a couple of the schools in the ODAC don't like SU for a couple of reasons, so I'm not quite sure it is a done deal by any stretch. 

Our facilities, or lack thereof, are really a tough knock against us.  Other than Shentel, our athletic facilities are the worst in the league/state/region/world...

But then I wonder if it even matters, as PSBBG so elloquently put it:

SU go ahead and leave, do what you think is best for you athletics.  I say let the GSAC join USASouth, it might keep that conference(basketball) tournament out of CNU. 

Do what you think is best for you(r) athletics....    SU is 6-18 in fall sports right now and 5 of those wins came from Volleyball (and those were wins against OOC all-girls schools)... So I wonder if it matters whether we are last in the USASAC, or last in the ODAC. 

[Uncle Jessie]

The gym is bad at SU but its only a matter of time till they announce the new athletic center to be built next to Shentel. They now have a picture of it up at the entrance of Shentel along with some other projects showing what future buildings will be on campus.

[Uncle Jessie]

Pat/Ryan,   Assuming SU will get accepted into the ODAC within the next few months. How long would it take for the move to become official. Could SU move in right away next season or do you think they would have to wait until 2009 because of scheduling.

[PrideSportBBallGuy]

Looking ahead to this weeks games, I didn't realize the ODAC so far was 11-1.  It doesn't look good for our USASouth teams right now for this weekend. (Pat Guilford's schedule says they are 2-0, but the standings say they are still 0-0.) Good Luck to the USASouth though.

[Pat Coleman]

Thanks, I'll pass that along to D3Scoreboard. Not sure what the issue is there.

Jessie: If the move were to be announced in November they could get it in place for 2008 without inconveniencing too many schools. If it's done in April, like the PAC did a couple years ago, they're better off waiting until 2009.

[PrideSportBBallGuy]

Thanks, I'll pass that along to D3Scoreboard. Not sure what the issue is there.

Jessie: If the move were to be announced in November they could get it in place for 2008 without inconveniencing too many schools. If it's done in April, like the PAC did a couple years ago, they're better off waiting until 2009.

It looks a little more widespread, the same thing is going on eith NCWC and MU.

[Black Panthers]

All this talk about Shenandoah possibly moving out of the USAC caught me a little surprised. If the school president wants out of the USAC Im sure it will happen. Myself I would hate to see SU leave the USAC. They have become a pretty good rival to us. I think adding teams like LaGrange and Huntington would be a bad move for the USAC. The travel expenses would be huge. My boys are coming off a nice win last Saturday. This week will be more challenging. BC is due for and upset. Why not this Saturday?

[Ryan Tipps]

Just a little USA South Pick-Em's PSA: I'm still waiting on picks from a handful of folks.

I'm hitting the road early Friday, and I won't be able to push and prod people later on to get their picks in....so I'm getting that out of the way now