FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[Ralph Turner]

(El Tea Gray--re: Expanded UAA for 2012 Football.)


Ron,
My contacts (in Cleveland,OH) tell me that the UAA greatly desires to "expand" the conference with 3 "quality institutions" (NOTE: current UAA members play full 9 or 10 game D3 football schedules without requiring that their opponents be mega-graduate institutions). I believe both Trinity and Austin will fit this criteria, leaving a now undecided third institution to be negotiated with. Believe-it-or-not, DePauw also fits this definition; I am just not sure how firm a commitment to the NCAC they have. Certainly an association with these other 6 (expanded UAA) institutions can only be considered a positive.

Trinity vs. UAA:

Chicago                1982-1991                  record  (4-1)
Washingtin U.      1975-2003                  record   (11-7)
Carnegie Mellon   1992-1993                  record   (1-1) 
Case Western      NA                               NA                     
                                                               

Seven members would pull a Pool A bid after 2 years in Pool B.

[Ron Boerger]

Hey, if the UAA wants to change their charter, it would be a better fit than anything else we've discussed and as Ralph says offers at least a chance to get back to a Pool A bid.  Don't see DPU going for it, NCAC seems like an ideal fit for them. 

[Ralph Turner]

Hey, if the UAA wants to change their charter, it would be a better fit than anything else we've discussed and as Ralph says offers at least a chance to get back to a Pool A bid.  Don't see DPU going for it, NCAC seems like an ideal fit for them. 

I think that the SCAC will keep its Pool A bid using "affiliates".

[DPU3619]

Hey, if the UAA wants to change their charter, it would be a better fit than anything else we've discussed and as Ralph says offers at least a chance to get back to a Pool A bid.  Don't see DPU going for it, NCAC seems like an ideal fit for them. 

I agree.  But what if Wabash goes and then calls and asks DePauw to come along? 

For the record, I don't see any reason why Wabash would, but that's about the only way DePauw would entertain that.

[cush]

Guess it could be Armageddon time for the ncac as well as the scac...not really since i can't see it happening. Are you talking football only for the uaa or full membership with just a little different profile of school? I could see the texas school's for a football only schedule deal but its just such a long ways away from the uaa base. Now if the UAA wanted to expand by 4, go to 12 and divisions might work. In that case, adding depauw, wabash, kenyon and dension is something to ponder. Although, i'm thinking MIT and J hopkins make more sense but those 2 probably don't want to deal with the travel and are happy in their current setup.

[ADL70]

UAA members have always been members of the Assoc of American Universities.  Hopkins was a charter menber, but dropped out shortly after round robin play was begun.  MIT is also an AAU member, but none of the other schools in the previous discussion are.

I can see the attraction in adding four teams, at least 3 of which sponsor football.  Football and baseball get an AQ, and other sports could schedule division play to lessen travel.

[Ron Boerger]

It's apparently official .. everyone in the SCAC not in Texas/Colorado is leaving to form their own conference.  

http://bit.ly/iiyr6p [Log Cabin Democrat]

Hendrix College, along with six other schools in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, plan to withdraw from the league after the next athletic season and form a new, more compact conference.

Dr. J. Timothy Cloyd, Hendrix president, and his colleagues at Rhodes College, Centre College, Millsaps College, Birmingham Southern, Oglethorpe and Sewanee/University of the South will submit an official letter of resignation today at the annual SCAC meetings in Atlantic, effective by the end of the 2011-12 athletic season. Berry College of Rome, Ga., a new member of NCAA Division III (non-scholarship for athletics), will join the seven departing SCAC teams in the new league.

Plus Hendrix is finally going to start their FB program.  

[Ron Boerger]

.. and, as Pat points out in D3Sports.com's take (http://bit.ly/leCs2v) even with Hendrix starting FB, the new league will not be eligible for a Pool C bid in football unless either Oglethorpe or Berry also add the sport.     

Edit:  or unless they allow affiliates to join.

[Ron Boerger]

I would expect Trinity to have something to say about today's events this afternoon. 

[Ralph Turner]

Was Colorado College the straw that broke the conference's back?

I don't think that RHIT or DePauw were.

[Ron Boerger]

Was Colorado College the straw that broke the conference's back?

I don't think that RHIT or DePauw were.

Seems to be an excuse being used, anyway.  The "three time zone" comment in that article applies specifically to CC.    If only there were another D3 member in Colorado to be a true travel partner ... going there and TX on a weekend swing is tough. 

[cush]

Sad for the SCAC, still think jumping to 16 with little cross over play was the way to go but all is not lost. The breakaway's do have an easier road since jumping to 9-10 with 1- 2 more football school's is pretty easy and probably more likely than affiliates since i'm sure the texas side will be expanding ...10 members seems like the perfect setup. Given Georgetown(KY) is probably going to move to d3, they are probably a lock to get a spot, thus boosting the football side.  I like huntingdon college for spot 10 but they are a little lower tired and maybe Birmingham southern college prefers to be in the only school in this new league from that state. Thomas more college would be a good pickup if they were willing to move. I do wonder where the new conference HQ will be and who will run the show? same thing with the new texas league considering atlanta is not happening and the current staff might also want to spin off. The texas 4 + CC just need to shift the scac offices to dallas and pickoff 3 asc, centenary being one, school's and regroup + maybe get neb W or some naia school's to move.

[Ron Boerger]

SCAC formal announcement:   http://www.scacsports.com/news/major_changes_scac

...
The remaining five members of the SCAC, Austin College, Colorado College, University of Dallas, Southwestern University and Trinity University, have already been approached by potential new members, and have established a long-range goal of creating an eight to 10 member conference. The SCAC name, its history as well as key NCAA conference designations like automatic qualifications for its champions, shall be retained by these institutions.
...


Dwayne Hanberry, significantly, has opted to remain with the SCAC rather than follow the schools leaving the conference. 

[Ron Boerger]

I would expect Trinity to have something to say about today's events this afternoon.  

Or not.  

[frank_ezelle]

This would have come as quite a surprise if I hadn't been reading the D3 message board for the last week or two.  

Certainly mileage factor into the decision.  Millsaps is one of the schools located closest to the Texas schools and you are still looking at Trinity being 638 miles away, Southwestern 562 miles, and Austin 460 miles (according to Yahoo maps).   Then you add in Colorado College at a whopping 1,132 miles from Jackson.  On the flip side, they add Berry College as a conference opponent and that's only a 370 mile trip.