FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[Ron Boerger]

There is probably something to SCAC expansion helping push TU/SW towards the SAA.  Not sure if Concordia/Ozarks were in the pipeline early enough to be a factor, but the SCAC Presidents Council was almost certainly aware expansion was on the table and there are only so many possibilities.  It's generally accepted LeTU was offered by the SCAC but declined (prior to the recent ASC diaspora).

As to whether Concordia/Ozarks were reactionary, it happened pretty darned quickly after the SAA announcement to be the case but Dwayne Hanberry is a wizard, so I wouldn't rule it out. 

[Ralph Turner]

Let us remember that TU and Southwestern have been members of the Associated Colleges of the South for a few decades now.

Look at that membership. That describes each university's mission and vision.

https://www.acsouth.edu/about-acs/acs-colleges/

[Ron Boerger]

In news of a future SCAC participant, according to their website Centenary scrimmaged at Millsaps last weekend and came out on the winning side of a 14-6 result.  They face ETBU  Thursday in what is apparently another scrimmage. 

[TLU02SA]

In news of a future SCAC participant, according to their website Centenary scrimmaged at Millsaps last weekend and came out on the winning side of a 14-6 result.  They face ETBU  Thursday in what is apparently another scrimmage.

Your link sent me down a rabbit trail of the opponents listed on Centenary's "schedule" this year.  You have the expected NAIA opponent, scrimmages with DIII teams, games against DIII JV teams but also a few other teams that I find harder to categorize. 

Community Christian College, John Melvin, Haywood Crusaders, TWA College? I find very little on the first three and do not see that they are affiliated with any sort of college athletic organization.  TWA College describes itself (https://twacollege.org/twa-college) as "a privately owned college think tank focused on the student athlete looking to utilize the delayed enrollment rule; while competing against collegiate competition."  The website says that the athletes classes are at Austin Community College.  When you click on their "Athletics" tab (https://twacollege.org/athletics), they only list a football schedule. This is just a club team, unaffiliated with any college that some guy is trying to make a profit. Just seems gross to me.

[Etchglow]

In news of a future SCAC participant, according to their website Centenary scrimmaged at Millsaps last weekend and came out on the winning side of a 14-6 result.  They face ETBU  Thursday in what is apparently another scrimmage.

Your link sent me down a rabbit trail of the opponents listed on Centenary's "schedule" this year.  You have the expected NAIA opponent, scrimmages with DIII teams, games against DIII JV teams but also a few other teams that I find harder to categorize. 

Community Christian College, John Melvin, Haywood Crusaders, TWA College? I find very little on the first three and do not see that they are affiliated with any sort of college athletic organization.  TWA College describes itself (https://twacollege.org/twa-college) as "a privately owned college think tank focused on the student athlete looking to utilize the delayed enrollment rule; while competing against collegiate competition."  The website says that the athletes classes are at Austin Community College.  When you click on their "Athletics" tab (https://twacollege.org/athletics), they only list a football schedule. This is just a club team, unaffiliated with any college that some guy is trying to make a profit. Just seems gross to me.

Community Christian College is a pay to play team somewhere in the process to join the the NJCAA.  They're based out of Redlands California and only have played 2 NJCAA games over the last two seasons.
See:

Football site
Fees
NJCAA Stats


John Melvin was founded in 2021, sounds like their "conference" is a club conference and they were sort of founded because the founders were mad at the NAIA schools.  I think their goal is to go NAIA. Who knows if they make it...  Their website looks like it was designed by a HS kid in the 90's.

For Haywood Crusaders...  I found this on Reddit:

Haywood Crusaders, based out of Brownsville, Tennessee, were the surprise program this season: We can't find any version of their name using University, College, Institute, anything other than "Haywood Crusaders" (Brownsville is in Haywood County); they are the McLovin of college football. Morthland tossed a "Prep." in their recap, but I can't find it anywhere else, including this local paper that did little to no critical examination of them in a puff piece (because real journalism is too hard to do anymore). Incidentally, their logo is ripped straight off of Holy Cross, they didn't even bother to change the color.

Date   Team   Score   Assoc.   Conf
10/15   @ Malone   L, 50-0†   NCAAD2   G-MAC
11/12   @ Morthland   L, 52-0‡   NCCAA   Ind.
Record 0-2, outscored 102-0
† Originally scheduled as College of Faith (AR); University of Faith (FL) actually showed up to play
‡ Where Morthland originally only had College of Faith (AR), that game was a forfeit and, a month later, a game vs CoF-affiliated Haywood was scheduled in

EDIT: this preview in Malone's local newspaper came to the correct conclusion. Good work by that writer seeing a team they couldn't explain on the schedule and then working out who exactly they were rather than simply glossing over it (or making up info, which I've seen before).

Reddit Source


TWA College sounds like one of those sketchy places where kids go and pay to play for a few years but don't lose eligibility.  Also allows them to raise their grades so they might be able to get into school.  One of those popped up in the last few years in Killeen.  I remember being surprised because former UMHB QB Carl Robinson III (left in 2018) was playing QB for them.  They were "supposed" to play the UMHB JV squad, but the game got cancelled...

[Ron Boerger]

These are all just "games" or scrimmages they are playing to get ready for actual competition next season, though they do have a few legit schools JVs and may have an actual game to end the season against Lyon; that's the only one not marked "exhibition", and the game is on Lyon's calendar.

It seems like an awful lot for a Year 1.

[Ron Boerger]

Here's an update from Centenary on tonight's scrimmage against ETBU, which will be live streamed (the link is on the web page):  https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/fball/2023-24/releases/20230823ntahsh

If I don't want to fight the traffic to Seguin for Trinity's scrimmage against TLU I may have a look. 

[jekelish]

I'm genuinely a little surprised that ETBU is cool with them streaming a scrimmage. I don't know if it's ETBU's JV team, or a combination of their regular and a JV squad, but one would assume they'll be using the same playbook anyway. So opposing coaches are basically getting brand new film on them before the season even begins. Given how notoriously close to the vest football coaches tend to be (see: the gamesmanship with 2-deeps, etc), it really is an unexpected move, to me.

[crufootball]

I'm genuinely a little surprised that ETBU is cool with them streaming a scrimmage. I don't know if it's ETBU's JV team, or a combination of their regular and a JV squad, but one would assume they'll be using the same playbook anyway. So opposing coaches are basically getting brand new film on them before the season even begins. Given how notoriously close to the vest football coaches tend to be (see: the gamesmanship with 2-deeps, etc), it really is an unexpected move, to me.

They heard you, its now gone haha

[Ron Boerger]

Tucker Horn was named one of the "[f]ive most important [Texan] Non-FBS players in 2023" by Cory Hogue in today's edition of DCTF's "The Blitz".  His counterpart at UMHB, Jackson Tingler, is the other D3 player on the list. 

[Ron Boerger]

Here I was, hoping to get away from this damned Texas heat for a weekend, and what's the high supposed to be in Collegeville on Saturday?  94, and it keeps going up.

94 isn't the 104 we've had here more often than not this summer, but geez.

[jekelish]

Here I was, hoping to get away from this damned Texas heat for a weekend, and what's the high supposed to be in Collegeville on Saturday?  94, and it keeps going up.

94 isn't the 104 we've had here more often than not this summer, but geez.

Similar thing going on in North Texas, as well; a couple days ago, it was looking like it might be in the 90-94 range for Austin College's home opener but now the high is 97. It's a good thing they decided to move the game from 1 to 7 PM.

[umhb2001]

What is the fan's take on the conference realignment? I know what the thoughts are from a Crusader perspective. I'd like to hear from those outside of CruNation.

[Ron Boerger]

Centenary tweets that they defeated the UMHB JV tonight, 34-27.

[BSCpanthers]

Centenary tweets that they defeated the UMHB JV tonight, 34-27.

Is that the only new team that will be playing in this conference?  I don't remember, but seemed like there was another.