Small Colleges Starting Football

[Knightstalker]

I would like to see a super conference made up of the SUNYAC and NJAC, schools with similar missions and both conferences need associate members for football.  North and South or NJ and NY divisions, play each team in their division once, one or two games against the other division and that leaves room for OOC games and a conference championship game.

[theoriginalupstate]

SUNY Canton no longer has a team.  However, ECC  has a pretty sick JUCO squad and they are a SUNY school.

[Ralph Turner]

The problem with the Super-Conference is that you are forfeiting playoff bids.

It takes a conference with two 6-member divisions (minimum) that must play their playoff game in the 11th week.  That extra loss may knock a team out of the contention for a Pool C bid.

We see two models of conferences with divisions in football.  The NEFC has the formal Boyd and Bogan Divisions and the winners play for the Pool A bid.  In the UMAC, we see the conference has a Dome Day so that teams don't lose a date on the schedule.  The NEFC Championship Game is an official 11th game for the teams that win their divisions.  The UMAC gives a "bowl game" to every team so they don't lose that 10th date to their season.

In the early part of the decade, the upstate teams were racking up Pool B bids.  If one is looking at 12 teams getting only one guaranteed bid versus 2 independent conferences contending for as many Pool B and C bids as they can creatively schedule (to boost the QOWI or OppsOppsRecord), then it makes sense to play the Pool B game. 

[Ralph Turner]

SUNY-Cobleskill is in the exploratory/provisional pipeline.

[Jonny Utah]

The problem with the Super-Conference is that you are forfeiting playoff bids.

It takes a conference with two 6-member divisions (minimum) that must play their playoff game in the 11th week.  That extra loss may knock a team out of the contention for a Pool C bid.

We see two models of conferences with divisions in football.  The NEFC has the formal Boyd and Bogan Divisions and the winners play for the Pool A bid.  In the UMAC, we see the conference has a Dome Day so that teams don't lose a date on the schedule.  The NEFC Championship Game is an official 11th game for the teams that win their divisions.  The UMAC gives a "bowl game" to every team so they don't lose that 10th date to their season.

In the early part of the decade, the upstate teams were racking up Pool B bids.  If one is looking at 12 teams getting only one guaranteed bid versus 2 independent conferences contending for as many Pool B and C bids as they can creatively schedule (to boost the QOWI or OppsOppsRecord), then it makes sense to play the Pool B game. 

And you can bet that if 6 team conferences just keep popping up that the NCAA will just change a rule again...

[gordonmann]

Warren:

I'll be in Annville and I'd love to finally meet you.  I suspect the final result will be different this year, but that's another conversation for another board.

Ralph:

Good question and I'll caveat my answer by saying this isn't based on anything in terms of scuttlebutt or insight from others -- just my own loony thoughts. 

The candidates I could see are Western Connecticut (travel to West NY in NJAC), Springfield (in a league with public schools before), Plymouth State (ditto), Salisbury (see WCSU) and Wesley (see WCSU).

There are reasons to believe none of these could work, but those strike me as more realistic possibilities for an affiliate membership than the other public schools in the east (Westfield State, Bridgewater State).  And while that's a long drive for Wes and Salisbury, they were already traveling north for Brockport/Buff State and non-conference games against Morrisville.  If a SUNYAC ever forms, Salisbury and Wesley also might be candidates to help the NJAC keep its Pool A bid.

Then again, if I had three wheels, I'd be a tricycle.

[Pat Coleman]

I wonder if the Little East or MASCAC might split off of the NEFC and form its own automatic bid football conference.

[Jonny Utah]

I wonder if the Little East or MASCAC might split off of the NEFC and form its own automatic bid football conference.

Or the CCC, which I think teams from those other two conferences (mascac and little east) want to join..(or is it the GNAC I am thinking of....)

[Ralph Turner]

The problem with the Super-Conference is that you are forfeiting playoff bids.

It takes a conference with two 6-member divisions (minimum) that must play their playoff game in the 11th week.  That extra loss may knock a team out of the contention for a Pool C bid.

We see two models of conferences with divisions in football.  The NEFC has the formal Boyd and Bogan Divisions and the winners play for the Pool A bid.  In the UMAC, we see the conference has a Dome Day so that teams don't lose a date on the schedule.  The NEFC Championship Game is an official 11th game for the teams that win their divisions.  The UMAC gives a "bowl game" to every team so they don't lose that 10th date to their season.

In the early part of the decade, the upstate teams were racking up Pool B bids.  If one is looking at 12 teams getting only one guaranteed bid versus 2 independent conferences contending for as many Pool B and C bids as they can creatively schedule (to boost the QOWI or OppsOppsRecord), then it makes sense to play the Pool B game. 

And you can bet that if 6 team conferences just keep popping up that the NCAA will just change a rule again...

Jonny, I think that the NCAA is running up against too many "full brackets" to alter that rule across all sports.  I don't think that the appropriate committees would make an exception to be more lenient for football alone. 

They held out against the NWC, the MIAA and the Presidents AC in awarding a bid to a 6-member conference in football.

[Jonny Utah]

The problem with the Super-Conference is that you are forfeiting playoff bids.

It takes a conference with two 6-member divisions (minimum) that must play their playoff game in the 11th week.  That extra loss may knock a team out of the contention for a Pool C bid.

We see two models of conferences with divisions in football.  The NEFC has the formal Boyd and Bogan Divisions and the winners play for the Pool A bid.  In the UMAC, we see the conference has a Dome Day so that teams don't lose a date on the schedule.  The NEFC Championship Game is an official 11th game for the teams that win their divisions.  The UMAC gives a "bowl game" to every team so they don't lose that 10th date to their season.

In the early part of the decade, the upstate teams were racking up Pool B bids.  If one is looking at 12 teams getting only one guaranteed bid versus 2 independent conferences contending for as many Pool B and C bids as they can creatively schedule (to boost the QOWI or OppsOppsRecord), then it makes sense to play the Pool B game. 

And you can bet that if 6 team conferences just keep popping up that the NCAA will just change a rule again...

Jonny, I think that the NCAA is running up against too many "full brackets" to alter that rule across all sports.  I don't think that the appropriate committees would make an exception to be more lenient for football alone. 

They held out against the NWC, the MIAA and the Presidents AC in awarding a bid to a 6-member conference in football.

Yea Im just saying that the NCAA is always able to change a rule when they seem fit.  Im sure in a perfect world they would like 32 d3 football conferences with 32 pool A bids....

[K-Mack]

Wesley -- Dover MD.  Private.  About 1400 traditional undergrads.  Plays football.

For the record, Wesley is in Dover, Delaware. Basically the same thing though. 

[K-Mack]

You may be right, as we would have Buffalo State, Brockport State, Morrisville State, Cortland State and Alfred State.  Would (or is there) a 6th team to make the jump, or am I completely missing one already?

Yea I dont know.  I would think Geneseo, Oswego or Oneonta would be the next logical ones....or maybe Potsdam?  Do ya think St. Lawrence would ever believe they could get a daytrip game?

Don't forget New Paltz, Plattsburg, and Fredonia... if the powers that be wanted to, there could be SUNYAC football.

SUNY-Maritime anyone?

[K-Mack]

Warren:

I'll be in Annville and I'd love to finally meet you.  I suspect the final result will be different this year, but that's another conversation for another board.

Ralph:

Good question and I'll caveat my answer by saying this isn't based on anything in terms of scuttlebutt or insight from others -- just my own loony thoughts. 

The candidates I could see are Western Connecticut (travel to West NY in NJAC), Springfield (in a league with public schools before), Plymouth State (ditto), Salisbury (see WCSU) and Wesley (see WCSU).

There are reasons to believe none of these could work, but those strike me as more realistic possibilities for an affiliate membership than the other public schools in the east (Westfield State, Bridgewater State).  And while that's a long drive for Wes and Salisbury, they were already traveling north for Brockport/Buff State and non-conference games against Morrisville.  If a SUNYAC ever forms, Salisbury and Wesley also might be candidates to help the NJAC keep its Pool A bid.

Then again, if I had three wheels, I'd be a tricycle.

That sounds most ideal. Competitively, I'd love Wesley in the NJAC, and it works distance-wise too.

[Tags]

Speaking of SUNY schools - I'm very surprised Oswego has not tried to get a team going. They have a great Hockey program, and perhaps should look into it.

[Ralph Turner]

Speaking of SUNY schools - I'm very surprised Oswego has not tried to get a team going. They have a great Hockey program, and perhaps should look into it.

On that level, does it seem that Hockey takes the place of Football in the nature and spectrum of men's sports offered?  I see plenty of Hockey schools that do not have Football, especially in smaller schools.