FB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[Matt Barnhart (kid)]

Here is a update on Shenandoah wanting to join the ODAC.

http://www.su.edu/pr/publications/sun/Oct17.pdf

At one point in the article the SU President says" "So before they're willing to talk about any changes in the ODAC, they want to hear the resolution of the NCAA Division III proposal," said Davis. "This could cause some members of the ODAC to leave."

The resolution he refers to is on the matter of expanding DIII.  The tone of the article suggests a wide variety of options are in play, including creating a DIV, splitting private and public DIII, and others.

What members of the ODAC would want to leave and why?  I guess I could see E&H leaving if they had  conference opponents closer to home (or if Montgomery got them in the OAC), but what others?

IMO, change how Division II works, and move Division III's school up. No need for a fifth division since we already have I-A, I-AA, II, and III.

[TheEHC52]

color=red]want[/color] to leave and why?  I guess I could see E&H leaving if they had  conference opponents closer to home (or if Montgomery got them in the OAC), but what others?

Let me state emphatically, Emory & Henry is, and always will be, an ODAC team.  Regardless of whether or not Don Montgomery wanted to move to the OAC, the USA South, or any other conference, Emory has been in the ODAC so long and the traditions are so entwined with other schools that it is realistically unfathomable for Emory to go anywhere else.  The rivalries are too intense with the other schools- and not just in football.

[Snakehandler]

color=red]want[/color] to leave and why?  I guess I could see E&H leaving if they had  conference opponents closer to home (or if Montgomery got them in the OAC), but what others?

Let me state emphatically, Emory & Henry is, and always will be, an ODAC team.  Regardless of whether or not Don Montgomery wanted to move to the OAC, the USA South, or any other conference, Emory has been in the ODAC so long and the traditions are so entwined with other schools that it is realistically unfathomable for Emory to go anywhere else.  The rivalries are too intense with the other schools- and not just in football.

The tribe has spoken.....  You can snuff out your torch as you exit the conference. 

[CardsWr13]

The team that would leave the ODAC in my opinion would be CUA.

THE ODAC made sense in 1999 when we joined, but looking at it now a better fit would be the Centennial. 
-The Centennial would cut down on the long commutes to games.  CUA to EH 630-7 hrs CUA to Guilford 5.5-6 hours. 

-CUA's financial commitment is also way off from schools like BC.   Even though some might not admit it, the rise of the BC Eagles has a lot to do with admission standards as well as the financial aid packages that BC is able to offer.   They do have good coaching, but the bottom line in DIII football is who you can get in, how cheap you can make it.  Schools in Centennial compare better to CUA. 

-Also CUA only uses the ODAC for football, it has no ties to other sports.  I think a better place for CUA and Shennandoah would be the Centennial.  This might make it too many teams, but the competition would be pretty even.

[Pat Coleman]

W&L is the logical choice to align differently from the rest of the ODAC. They always have been. They'd rather be in the Centennial or SCAC, but geography is a struggle.

[BTEXPRESS]

Agree Pat, W & L would seem like a great fit for the Centennial although I just can't see it ever happening. Last year when the Centennial was looking to add schools for football (adding Moravian and Juniatia) I could not understand why both were not added for all sports. I still not understand why Susguehanna was left out in the cold as well. While adding W & L for football makes sense, I can't see how it would benefit the Generals with all the other sports travel wise. They would be in the same boat that Shenandoah currently is with the USA South and why they want in the ODAC.

[hasanova]

Guilford, for example, is greatly restricted by the dearth of DIII football schools in North Carolina and points south and west.  Only three others in NC (Methodist, NCWC and Greensboro).  There are none in SC, only one in GA only two in the eastern half of TN.  It's a tough spot.  Also, for a number of reasons already discussed in this forum, Guilford feels much more aligned with the ODAC than the USASAC.  True, we are the southern most school, but someone has to be.  lol  As others have mentioned, I see CUA and W&L as more likely to leave the ODAC than any others.  If some other schools, such as LC, Roanoke or even VWC, started football, the ODAC would still maintain the AQ.

[Menowannalickee U.]

Here is a update on Shenandoah wanting to join the ODAC.

http://www.su.edu/pr/publications/sun/Oct17.pdf

At one point in the article the SU President says" “So before they’re willing to talk about any changes in the ODAC, they want to hear the resolution of the NCAA Division III proposal,” said Davis. “This could cause some members of the ODAC to leave.”

The resolution he refers to is on the matter of expanding DIII.  The tone of the article suggests a wide variety of options are in play, including creating a DIV, splitting private and public DIII, and others.

What members of the ODAC would want to leave and why?  I guess I could see E&H leaving if they had  conference opponents closer to home (or if Montgomery got them in the OAC), but what others?

IMO, change how Division II works, and move Division III's school up. No need for a fifth division since we already have I-A, I-AA, II, and III.

Just curious Kid, what kind of changes?  Would DII move up into D1A?  I didn't know if there have been talks about changing DII.

[Pat Coleman]

The NCAA has tried to encourage schools to move from Division III to Division II, and has made it easier to do so, but hasn't gotten many takers.

Nobody can be forced to move against their will.

[allsky7]

     Frankly, I don't see any current ODAC schools leaving with the possible exception of Catholic. If I have to come back and eat crow, then so be it but I don't see W&L leaving any time soon. Perhaps they are a good fit in some areas in the CAC. However, they are a pretty good fit in the ODAC too and when you factor geography and their ODAC history into the equation, I just don't see it happening.  8)

[Ralph Turner]

Catholic has its football conference and helped to "custom-design" its conference (the Landmark) for all other sports.

All that conference must decide is whether they secede to D-IV or stay D-III.

[religion_major]

HEEEEEELLLPPPP!

     Snake....I said my gut...not my goat!! Either yo eyesight or yo spellin ain't tu gud!! 

He posted that picture, because Friday night, we were actually witness to a goat being tied up to a truck on the other side of a house where Stone Station was. We heard it crying all night.

Saturday morning it looked like this...



We learned that a couple students purchased the goat and then butchered it that morning.

Mmmmm, delicious.

Someone should ask Religion Major if those students were studying the Old Testament

Knowing them they probably were.  Their kitchen still smells like blood four days later.

[fmfdoc]

The NCAA has tried to encourage schools to move from Division III to Division II, and has made it easier to do so, but hasn't gotten many takers.

Nobody can be forced to move against their will.

I understand the basic differences
DII 5 sports for men and women or 4 men's and 6 women's- 2 team sports for each- with 50% of FB and Basketball against DI, DI-AA, DII teams. No crowd requirements or arena standards. Scholarships(?) for atheltics.

DIII 5 and 5, 2 team sports each, athletic departs funded like the other departments. No crowd requirements or arena standards. No atheltic-scholarships.

What would be the advantage or incentive for a school to move "up" (using the term up loosely) to DII?

[Pat Coleman]

fmfdoc: You won't get any usable answers from me on this. I am not really sure what the attraction of Division II is. It's the opportunity to give a lot of scholarship money and play on a similarly small stage.

I guess it's for schools that think they can't live without giving athletic scholarships.

[e h dad]

 The state of Virginia is the"Old Dominion State."E&H is located in Virginia not the state of Ohio. Hence E&H is in the  Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

The two quickest ways for Don Montgonery to get a moving van backing up to his front door are to try to convince the alumni to go to the OAC and to have E&H become known for just football( Mt. Union) and not their academic standards.
All the schools in the ODAC are known for their fine student athletes and not just for producing football players.

Google the now defunct Parsons College in Iowa and see what happens to colleges that just focus on football. Parsons was a big name in the 60's but is just a footnote in college football history today.

Last time I checked, there was more than one sport at Emory and Henry.  How do the other coaches feel about leaving their "home" conference and going somewhere else?  What will this move cost the Wasps financially in travel, hotels, and meals not to mention road time? Who is going to foot that cost?

Peace,
The E&H Dad