FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[TheChucker]

Just let us in and we'll stop taking it personally. Excellent.

It's true from the ASC perspective. I don't think SCAC cares or should care about the remaining ASC schools' feelings. If they don't want to admit them for any reason that's the SCAC prerogative. I personally doubt all 4 of those schools survive until 2030 and almost certainly not at the D3 level.

.
All four schools currently operate at a healthy profit (in a not-for-profit way, of course).

UMHB: $145M Revenue, $22M Income
HSU:  $94M Revenue, $10M Income
ETBU: $66M Revenue, $7M Income
HPU:  $40M Revenue, $5.5M Income

None of these schools are going anywhere in the near future if properly managed.

[Ron Boerger]

Cory Hogue's latest (subscriber only) DCTF Blitz column states that Schreiner has restarted its head coaching search, despite supposedly having 70 applicants in the first week after opening the position and narrowing it down to three finalists, one of whom bailed, another who turned down the position.  It's hard to see how the Mountaineers can start a JV program before 2025.

[Ralph Turner]

My question concerns the strategic efforts of adding football in the near term and long term goals of Schreiner. Schreiner's recent efforts at starting football are confusing. How serious are they, and how much do they need the (putative) extra enrollment? How much resistance are they getting from the faculty at the culture change that adding football players to the student body causes?

[Ron Boerger]

On the off chance there is anyone here who doesn't also check the ASC board:

Cory Hogue has released the DCTF Non-FBS Power Poll - Summer Edition which somewhat confusingly lists all non-FBS teams in a numeric order but then notes "rankings [..] demonstrate a team's ranking relative to its respective division and are not designed to determine how teams would fare in a head-to-head contest".  So, here are just the D3 teams - see the article for his rationale.  I'll include the ordinals but, much like the points on Whose Line Is It Anyway, they don't matter.

(3) Trinity (SAA)
(5) Hardin-Simmons (ASC)
(8) UMHB (ASC)
(12) McMurry (SCAC)
(14) HPU (ASC)
(22) ETBU (ASC)
(26) TLU (SCAC)
(27) Southwestern (SAA)
(32) Austin (SCAC)

Centenary and Lyon, being outside of Texas, didn't make the list.  The Gents (who trimmed down their schedule to ten games and face Hendrix and ETBU in non-conference play) might be the dark horse for the initial renewed conference title.

[TLU02SA]

It would be a meaningful budget increase for any SCAC football school to leave for SAA, not happening.

On this front... Hendrix to SCAC will be announced shortly. Won't go into effect until 2025 to my understanding but haven't seen the official announcement anywhere.

The official announcement is now up

https://www.hendrix.edu/warriors-return-to-SCAC-2025/

Stole this off the SAA board but this is surprising.

[TLU02SA]

With Hendrix joining the SCAC, that likely changes the schedule for 2025 for the SCAC members.  2024 has a double round-robin format with the SCAC teams.  In 2025, the conference would have at a minimum, six schools. If Schreiner's program is up and running, 7 schools.  With six programs, do they continue with a double round robin and have no non-conference games? I doubt it but filling out a five non-conference game schedule seems tough.  With seven programs, they would have six conference games and filling out a four non-conference game schedule is still tough but more doable.

[Ralph Turner]

With 12 schools does the SCAC go to divisions?

EAST
Hx & UOz
Cent & LeTU
AC & UD

West
Concordia & TLU
McM & Schreiner
StThomas & ColoColl (only because of flight connections out of Houston)

[TLU02SA]

That would make sense. I am not a fan of two divisions but understand its utility and necessity.  The double round robin for sports like basketball and volleyball and having a series against every conference member in baseball and softball is great but, with twelve members, that is too many games to realistically schedule for the small window for each season. 

The variable here is Colorado College though.  If you have divisions, then some schools are traveling to CC on a more regular basis than others.  Does that create an issue?  If you did the divisions like this, the schools that are already making those trips would continue to do so with the schools newer to the conference making it less often:

HX & UOz
Cent & LeTU
McM & Concordia

AC & UD
TLU & Schreiner
StThomas & ColoColl 

[jekelish]

With 12 schools does the SCAC go to divisions?

EAST
Hx & UOz
Cent & LeTU
AC & UD

West
Concordia & TLU
McM & Schreiner
StThomas & ColoColl (only because of flight connections out of Houston)

Yep, divisions are in the works. Colorado College and UST, at least for this year since Trinity and Southwestern are still around for one more year, will be part of the East, I believe. I assume divisions will remain in place, at least in some sports, moving forward.

[Ron Boerger]

According to Robert Rochelle, who runs the excellent D3vbwest blog, the SCAC has already decided to go with a two-division model for volleyball next season.  He says (after talking to Commissioner Hanberry) "[e]ach division will play home and away within their division and then play two pods where the divisions cross play."

The divisions next season (for volleyball; Ozarks doesn't offer the sport) will be

• ("Blue") Austin, Centenary, Colorado College, Dallas, McMurry, and St Thomas
• ("Gold") Concordia, Schreiner, Southwestern, Texas Lutheran and Trinity

Further details in this blog entry.  Obviously with SW and Trinity leaving, and LeTourneau and Hendrix joining, these will have to be reworked in 2025.

If they're doing this next year in volleyball, I imagine they'll do it in other sports, which might account for how much time it is taking to see the SCAC schools post schedules in other fall sports. 

[jekelish]

According to Robert Rochelle, who runs the excellent D3vbwest blog, the SCAC has already decided to go with a two-division model for volleyball next season.  He says (after talking to Commissioner Hanberry) "[e]ach division will play home and away within their division and then play two pods where the divisions cross play."

The divisions next season (for volleyball; Ozarks doesn't offer the sport) will be

• ("Blue") Austin, Centenary, Colorado College, Dallas, McMurry, and St Thomas
• ("Gold") Concordia, Schreiner, Southwestern, Texas Lutheran and Trinity

Further details in this blog entry.  Obviously with SW and Trinity leaving, and LeTourneau and Hendrix joining, these will have to be reworked in 2025.

If they're doing this next year in volleyball, I imagine they'll do it in other sports, which might account for how much time it is taking to see the SCAC schools post schedules in other fall sports. 

I know they're definitely doing it in basketball; not sure yet about soccer, especially given the women's side doesn't have as many teams with Colorado College being D1 in women's soccer. Also not sure about baseball/softball.

[Kuiper]

According to Robert Rochelle, who runs the excellent D3vbwest blog, the SCAC has already decided to go with a two-division model for volleyball next season.  He says (after talking to Commissioner Hanberry) "[e]ach division will play home and away within their division and then play two pods where the divisions cross play."

The divisions next season (for volleyball; Ozarks doesn't offer the sport) will be

• ("Blue") Austin, Centenary, Colorado College, Dallas, McMurry, and St Thomas
• ("Gold") Concordia, Schreiner, Southwestern, Texas Lutheran and Trinity

Further details in this blog entry.  Obviously with SW and Trinity leaving, and LeTourneau and Hendrix joining, these will have to be reworked in 2025.

If they're doing this next year in volleyball, I imagine they'll do it in other sports, which might account for how much time it is taking to see the SCAC schools post schedules in other fall sports. 

I know they're definitely doing it in basketball; not sure yet about soccer, especially given the women's side doesn't have as many teams with Colorado College being D1 in women's soccer. Also not sure about baseball/softball.

Colorado College Men's Soccer has posted its Fall 2024 schedule and it shows they are playing all 11 SCAC opponents and calling them all conference games

https://cctigers.com/sports/mens-soccer/schedule

That could change next year, of course, with the departures of Trinity and Southwestern and the additions of LeTourneau and Hendrix, but it suggests that not all sports are turning to the divisional model this year.

[Ron Boerger]

I sent Dwayne a note - he said yes to divisional basketball, soft/baseball and soccer remain as-is.

Bringing it back to relevance to this board, 2024 is likely the only year for double round-robin football. 

[TLU02SA]

TLU men's soccer schedule shows the same with TLU playing all 11 teams once.

Glad to hear that the double round robin for football is a one year thing. While double round robin is great for basketball, it is not for football, in my opinion.

[Ron Boerger]

According to Cory Hogue, Schreiner will announce their head coach July 1st (subscriber-only story which includes a lot of other non-FBS background).