FB: USA South Athletic Conference

[Captain Bob]

So, with one week to play, CNU and Ferrum are tied at 5-1 in league play.

Assuming they both win on Saturday, who gets the AQ bid?  CNU has a head-to-head win, but Ferrum has a better overall record.

[jknezek]

CNU

[Allen C]

That is correct...all that matters is the conference record, and the head to head is the tiebreaker.

[crazylegs33]

It's been a long time! I see most of the same old faces are chatting it up. I hope you are all doing well. Ive been at the CNU games but haven't had time to check the forums (Got a big boy job).

It appears the conference is more balanced than ever (from watching CNU games). Unfortunately I don't think it says much for our conference. CNU is definitely weaker than in past years yet is on top again. Ferrum has a pretty good squad and CNU shows moments of brilliance but overall the games have been evenly matched.

With that said, I am nervous for saturday. CNU is going to have a tough game.

Let's Go Captains!

[Allen C]

33,

I agree with what you posted conference is weak, but evemly matched...Ferrum will have a difficult game against Maryville. They are much better than last year, and Ferrum has to be on point to take the win....Re: Methodist, they really have improved also, and Ferrum only beat them by 8 points...I believe they could give CNU a run for their money.

With a win, Ferrum puts CNU in a must win situation. With a Ferrum loss, CNU wraps up the conference before they kickoff. Of course I will be a Ferrum/Monarch fan Saturday, but it will be a great weekend...

[CNU85]

a very weak conference. always has been. if the CAC ever gets enough schools to form a football conference, cnu better be prepared to finish 3rd every year for awhile.

[jknezek]

It's going to be a better conference next year with Huntingdon. They are very good. A true team on the rise. I think a lot of the conference is going to be in for a few shocks until they figure out how to get better fast.

[Captain Bob]

Looking at out of conference games, the USAC went 8-for-24 this season, just 1 in 3.  Guilford (now 5-4) and Shenandoah (now 1-8) combined for half of those 8 USAC wins.  Against teams that are mentioned in any national discussion, it wasn't even close.

The USAC is weak, I think we all agree there.  My question is, "Why?"

What can the conference do, as a whole, to improve ourselves across the board? 

[jknezek]

What can the conference do, as a whole, to improve ourselves across the board?

More or less the same question was asked on the ODAC board a few days ago, although it focused more on actually winning a playoff game or two. I responded and it seems to have stirred some feathers but feel free to take a look at the responses. There are some good points made by the different people that got involved. It starts on page 1036 with tigerfanalso's post.

[narch]

The USAC is weak, I think we all agree there.  My question is, "Why?"

What can the conference do, as a whole, to improve ourselves across the board?

As a conference, we are made up of schools which don't have long and/or storied football traditions, outside of ferrum, and much of their football tradition was as a junior college...that hurts, but it isn't the only reason - i think the greater issue is that usasac schools can't/don't tend to keep talent, by and large - look at the 2 deep rosters for all of the usasac schools every year and you'll see lots of underclassmen...rosters in this conference tend to turn over a lot - the schools that win consistently in division iii are the programs that have lots of upperclassmen on the roster - i saw this first hand when w&j played mu...the monarchs were every bit as athletic (if not more) than the presidents, but w&j had full grown men playing on both sides of the line, a junior QB, a senior RB (RIP), and a junior WR - those guys have played for conference championships and playoff births for most of their careers, so there isn't much that phases them on the football field - that experience factor made a significant impact, in my mind, because they knew how to react...when you're playing a bunch of freshman and sophomores, they are more prone to mistakes - the usasac schools (mu included) need to find a way to keep more of the talent that they attract and that will go a long way toward helping the conference as a whole improve

[Allen C]

Great discussion....Player retention is a problem for all schools, and Ferrum is no exception....As an example, last year Ferrum had 10 RB on its roster. 2 were Seniors and graduated, 1 returmed this year...the other 7 packed up and left. This year Ferrum has 12 RB's 1 was a WR last year, the one returning RB, 8 Freshmen, and the other two I think are transfers. Only one RB back from last year.  Several other positions affected the same way. This is a problem when it comes to building a winner, but there are other problems too. This conference has so many schools to compete against, recruiting wise....How many D 3 schools are there in Va?....How many D2? How many D1 FCS/FBS. My point is that there are a lot of D3 schools competing for the same pool of talent.

Also, how does a school like Ferrum as an example, get and keep the talented athlete when they are 35 miles from a city of any size,  and the school academically is not a William and Mary by any means. Oh and I almost forgot...37K per year in a rough economy....Couple that with the fact that if a freshman comes to a school to play football, and sits the bench the entire year, it lends to quick exits...That is another reason I think the USA South should have an active JV program. If they play, they may stay.

I know this has all been discussed many times on this board, but I find it easier to identify the problem rather than the solutions....Facility upgrades conference wide would help. More exposure of the individual institutions to potential players.... a marketing campaign of sorts may help, and just good ol exposure by winning. I am just not sure, but I advocate a round table or workshop be coordinated by the USA South Commissioner to include coaches and guest speakers that would foster a free exchange of ideas to adress the necessity to get the USA South a stronger stature in the national picture.

[CNU85]

Go Scots!!!! Thanks!!

[CNU85]

who wins coy? MVC coach or Greensboro?

[narch]

tough loss for the panthers...right now the monarchs could use another fan allen c...you still behind the green & gold, even though they can't help your boys

[Allen C]

Absolutely- A co championship is better than no championship