FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[historymajor]

Re: HC football.... it appears to be alive, but on indefinite hold.  They have chosen to first try to establish LAX???  The area of disagreement between the student body and the admin as to whether or not to pursue FB is being alloed to evolve with each grad class going and each frosh class coming in...  I think it'll happen, but not as immediately as some people were led to belive.

[Pat Coleman]

Well, I suspect that if/when they ever do declare, they should expect just as much of a firm commitment from the SCAC opponents who were led to believe they needed to keep a schedule spot open for them in 2012.

[D O.C.]

Is anyone hearing anything about Hendrix?

Yes.
You get a better bang for your buck if you buy the original British release of "Electric Ladyland" than get the latest "Valleys of Neptune."   

[TigerDad]

Yes.
You get a better bang for your buck if you buy the original British release of "Electric Ladyland" than get the latest "Valleys of Neptune."   

Every once in awhile, somebody posts something that makes me proud to be a D3Football fan.  This was just such a reply. 

I salute you, D.O.C.   

[D3_DPUFan]

With the semester coming to an end what is the mood of Spring practice across the campuses?  Everyone is probably optimistic, but who will be the front runners to win the conference next year?

From an earlier post...


Austin: A program at the crossroads? After a nice jump to being competitive with the upper half of the conference, the Roos were a disappointment in 2009. A few posts on this board in 2009 complained about a lack of respect. A losing record didn't do much to bolster their case. Roos lose a solid senior QB and their linebacking corps takes a hit on defense. 2010 may be a put up or shut up year for the men from Sherman.

Birmingham-Southern: I thought when BSC came into the league the Alabama Tigers had a chance to build something in Birmingham and 2009 was another step forward. A win at Austin was among 4 victories this year and with QB Joe Thigpen and elusive RB Water Arrington coming back, look for the Tigers to score and break the .500 threshold. With a beautiful new stadium and weight facility nestled in an attractive campus setting, BSC has a great opportunity to recruit some talent.

Centre: The Colonels received a tough break, literally, in 2009 with the loss of QB Tyler Osterman to a broken ankle early in the season. A team that has been solid for several years missed out on a legitimate shot at the league title. While Osterman and explosive RB Jonathan Pinque return, replacements will need to be found on the offensive line. And it appears there are major losses on the defensive side of the ball as well. While the Colonels should be excited about next year, they may also find it is much different to be the hunted as opposed to the hunter.

DePauw: Coming off a conference co-championship and first ever trip to the post season, the Tigers return a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. The losses, while small in numbers, are huge in impact.  QB Spud Dick, WR Bryan Mulligan, OL David Joeckel, talented players and team leaders all, will be very tough to replace. But with All America WR Alex Koors and a plethora of talent on both sides of the ball, if the Tigers can even partially fill those holes, 2010 can be another title contending year in Greencastle. The road, a friend in 2009, will not be so kind in 2010, with trips to Centre, Millsaps and Trinity.

Millsaps: The Majors lose a very good senior quarterback, but return explosiveness in Bowser and Galatas. And on defense, a young secondary will be a year older. With a new coach, a question mark will be how the Majors handle the transition. Coach DuBose obviously achieved success and has set the program on a very positive path. The eyes of the SCAC will be on Jackson to see if a new coach continues that success.

Rhodes: I for one was stunned by the precipitous drop by the Lynx in 2009. Rhodes went from a solid upper division team to the lower division in a heart beat. It appears as though the Lynx were young as they basically bring everybody back on offense. Boucher and Ellison will be key losses on defense. I would expect better things from the Lynx in 2010, but perhaps the program is a year or two away returning rejoining the up.

Sewanee: A beautiful campus, historic football field and a cellar dwelling team. Unfortunately, not much has changed on the Mountain as the Tigers rolled a goose egg in 2009. Coach Black is a young, energetic coach who has increased the Tigers' numbers since being promoted. Sewanee has a few athletes, they just need a few more.

Trinity: Was 2009 a blip on the radar or the first signs of more serious decline for the proud Texas Tigers? Gotta believe it's a blip. Still, Trinity must answer lingering questions at quarterback and replace two excellent receivers to get things back on track in 2010. On defense, the Tigers lose their linebackers. With a successful, veteran coach and a tradition of solid football, I would think that Trinity will again be contending for the SCAC title in 2010.

Colorado College: Oooops...I forgot the school with the spineless administration that screwed SCAC schools in 2009 isn't playing football anymore.

[Ron Boerger]

Centenary will not be joining the SCAC:

I feel like I am breaking a news story but the ASC officially has a new team, Centenary College.

http://www.gocentenary.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17900&ATCLID=204927349

[etg]

(El Tea Gray--re: Centenary to ASC and Trinity Blips)

Now that we know that Centenary will be joining the ASC and not the SCAC; let me ask, "who in the SCAC really cares?" IMHO, not one SCAC team.

                                                                     

The only blips I see regarding Trinity Football in 2010 are the ones that the Tigers will put on the record of every other SCAC member for the year. Regarding the QB position; it is going to be solid, very solid and the Black Flag promises to again be really staunch. IMHO, I'm feeling 10-0 here.

                                                                       

                                                                       

[LA Major]

HO?    

[DPU3619]

Regarding the QB position; it is going to be solid, very solid

Solid as in good or solid as in it physically takes 4 guys to get Davidson on the ground? 

[D3_DPUFan]

Just ran across an interesting interview with DePauw President Brian Casey on the student radio station site. It was done in February so it is not new, but I think he had some rather revealing thoughts regarding the SCAC...

*Presidents agreed to defer implementation of the silly 10% reduction in competition idea (thankfully); would need to be voted on again before the 2012-2013 seasons, but he thinks there is enough opposition to keep it buried;
*It sounds like he generally likes DePauw in the SCAC, with some reservations; obviously costs are a huge challenge; he would like to see a balanced georgraphical alignment, which of course would mean expansion, which he says presidents will take up in June.
*If for some reason the SCAC begins to fade, the NCAC would be a logical place for Depauw to explore moving; he also talked about about his friendship and admiration for Wabash President Pat White...

I hope DePauw can keep Casey...he is a good man with vision and someone who has a keen appreciation for student-athletes and the role that athletics can and should play in the collegiate experience...

[Ralph Turner]

Just ran across an interesting interview with DePauw President Brian Casey on the student radio station site. It was done in February so it is not new, but I think he had some rather revealing thoughts regarding the SCAC...

*Presidents agreed to defer implementation of the silly 10% reduction in competition idea (thankfully); would need to be voted on again before the 2012-2013 seasons, but he thinks there is enough opposition to keep it buried;
*It sounds like he generally likes DePauw in the SCAC, with some reservations; obviously costs are a huge challenge; he would like to see a balanced geographical alignment, which of course would mean expansion, which he says presidents will take up in June.
*If for some reason the SCAC begins to fade, the NCAC would be a logical place for Depauw to explore moving; he also talked about about his friendship and admiration for Wabash President Pat White...

I hope DePauw can keep Casey...he is a good man with vision and someone who has a keen appreciation for student-athletes and the role that athletics can and should play in the collegiate experience...

Do you have the link to the mp3 file?

Balanced alignment?  They are already at 6 and 6.  How do they get to 8 and 8?  Who are the 4 schools that they would accept?

On the West?  UDallas has wanted to join the SCAC for a decade now.  Centenary just accepted the ASC invitation.  Does Centenary dance with the ASC for its provisional period, probably 2011-12 thru 2014-15, and then leave the ASC for the SCAC?

Who gets the invitation on the East?  Who does the East invite to join them?  Is Maryville TN acceptable?  Berry GA has not committed to a conference formally.

Here is the link to the Berry story last summer.  They are high on my list as a team to add.

http://www.berry.edu/pr/pressdetail.aspx?id=1888&terms=+%28+%40releasedate_9+%3C%3d+2009%2f08%2f01+%29+

We can watch the SCAC President's meeting in mid-June when the question should be addressed.

From the Future of Division III board last June...

About the SCAC, in a lacrosse blog, no less... 

http://www.laxmagazine.com/blogs/coyne/060809_scac


Pull quote

Depending on who you listen to, the conference president's summer meeting, which is scheduled for June 11 in Atlanta according to the league calendar, could result in one of three results for the burgeoning men's (and soon to be women's) lacrosse league.

1. Status quo with the conference holding its current form;

2. A transition to a divisional structure, with the conference broken into East and West entities in order to mitigate rising travel coast for a league that stretches from Georgia to Colorado;

3. The league collapses under the weight of its travel burdens, its member institutions splintering into newly formed conferences or joining existing leagues, dooming the eight lacrosse programs to independent status for the foreseeable future.

Thankfully, the second option appears to be the likely choice for the presidents.

Adding UDallas and Berry would make 7 and 7.

[D3_DPUFan]

Ralph...I'll get you a link to the audio file...

When he talks balance, I think he is referring to more geographic balance...

[D3_DPUFan]

Here you go...when you get to this page scroll down to interviews and you will see it.

http://www.depauw.edu/univ/wgre/sports_main_files/sports_main.asp

[Ralph Turner]

Ralph...I'll get you a link to the audio file...

When he talks balance, I think he is referring to more geographic balance...

Thanks for the link.

Yes, balance, geographical balance.  

He mentions two more teams that are peers.

Add teams that make the divisions cleaner geographical structures.

I have offered opinions on Centenary, UDallas and Berry GA.

He, too, mentions schools in Georgia (Berry?), Louisiana (Centenary?) and Texas (UDallas?).

He mentions the NCAC as Phi Beta Kappa schools and the isolation of Depauw's like-minded institution Wabash ("Monon") and the Earlham vacancy.

NCAC could expand to divisional structure and be more enticing to DePauw by $200,000 in travel expenses.

He focuses on "peers" and "marketing" and "branding".  There are some schools that are not like DePauw as academic peers in the SCAC.

"You do not switch conferences on a whim."

I will appreciate everyone's thoughts on this, but how do we increase the size of the conference, and where do you get the schools that match the mission and vision of the SCAC?

Berea KY is NAIA and has the endowment to match the SCAC schools.

Any others?

[DPU3619]

I think Casey's a smart enough guy to understand that DePauw will never get the geographic balance that they used to have in this conference.  Having Rose-Hulman as a travel partner was fantastic.  Not having Austin & Colorado to travel to was also fantastic.  That's just never coming back.  I think DePauw would be extremely comfortable staying in this conference if they got a school inside of 3 hours, but right now they are the outlier.  It's over 5 hours to any other school in this conference.  That's not a huge deal for football, but DePauw can't really play a mid-week basketball game against their travel partner right now.  You miss too much class time for that when you add in all the class missed with other travel.

I've asked this before, but why do you stay in a conference where you are the geographic outlier? On top of that, why do you stay when you feel like you are an academic outlier when there's a conference FULL of great academic schools (Wabash, Denison, Kenyon, etc) that currently has an opening and is just a stone's throw away?  I'm sure Casey was choosing his words carefully and fulfulling his obligation to the SCAC, but I still don't get it.  I just don't understand.

EDIT: Not trying to trash SCAC academics, but I think DePauw's opinion of themselves academically & financially doesn't fit in with some of the current or potential future SCAC members.