FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

wabashcpa · September 22, 2005, 12:14:26 AM

I'm sure Wiethoff would be more than happy to play on turf. He's plenty elusive on grass.

So is this pretty much the conference championship game? Quite a bit for the Dannies to deal with between uncertain weather (and apparently playing location) and a monster road trip. Still, it should be an excellent game. At least one thing is for certain...the Tigers will win.

TUFilmGuy · September 22, 2005, 01:11:07 AM

Quote from: historymajor on September 21, 2005, 06:38:56 PM
The TU SID today said that contingency plans were actively being discussed with the SCAC and DPU. One previously unmentioned possibility was the AlamoDome... wouldn't that be awesome? Bonzo couldn't complain about the press box!

The Dome? How the heck are we supposed to move the camera lift THERE?!?

Ron Boerger · September 22, 2005, 09:02:24 AM

The projected storm track has moved considerably east overnight. TU and DU may be able to get the game in as scheduled.

Is this the conference championship game? Centre would beg to differ; they are 3-0 and have already defeated Rhodes. The winner of this game needs to defeat Centre (and everyone else). There were co-champions in '03 (TU/Centre) and '96 (TU/Millsaps), tri-champs in '00 (TU/DU/Sewanee) and '95 (TU/Centre/Rhodes) because Team A would beat Team B and lose to Team C.

TUFilmGuy · September 22, 2005, 02:30:34 PM

As it turns out, the only game cancelled here at TU was a women's soccer game. It's looking like everything else will happen on schedule here.

scaccommish · September 22, 2005, 05:18:29 PM

The DePauw/Trinity game has been cancelled...no make-up date has been scheduled at this point.

TUFilmGuy · September 22, 2005, 05:49:32 PM

Guess I spoke to soon, huh?

historymajor · September 22, 2005, 06:02:48 PM

Hmmm... interesting, if not impossible scheduling dilemna ensues....
Now Bonzo can go crazy speculating playoff implications if TU and DPU end up tied atop the SCAC without playing the game.... Or Centre beats both and earns it alone....
That's why I love this game!

wabashcpa · September 22, 2005, 08:23:49 PM

Quote from: Ron Boerger (BfB) on September 22, 2005, 09:02:24 AM
Is this the conference championship game? Centre would beg to differ; they are 3-0 and have already defeated Rhodes. The winner of this game needs to defeat Centre (and everyone else). There were co-champions in '03 (TU/Centre) and '96 (TU/Millsaps), tri-champs in '00 (TU/DU/Sewanee) and '95 (TU/Centre/Rhodes) because Team A would beat Team B and lose to Team C.

Oh, the same Centre that beat mighty Kenyon by 11 and Bluffton by 7? Thank you - you answered my question.

historymajor · September 22, 2005, 10:15:02 PM

Is this a strategic gamble? Could DePauw be thinking that taking a pass now, could be better than taking a loss?

Inquiring minds want to know....

Pat Coleman · September 22, 2005, 10:48:36 PM

Taking a gamble with the safety of the traveling party?

B/L Tiger · September 22, 2005, 11:03:15 PM

Ron lets not forget that Centre was an '03 co-champ with a Trinity team that beat them by 50 some points.

Ron Boerger · September 23, 2005, 12:19:07 AM

Glad it seems to be open season on me today. Go ahead, work those frustrations out.

I don't get the DePauw decision. I guess if they had a return flight via Dallas on Sunday (or even worse, Continental through Houston), it might make sense from that perspective. Indications now are that Rita goes east, D/FW is hardly impacted, but better safe than sorry. I guess. It does throw a monkey wrench into the conference championship. Teams will be looking at those secondary criteria and there will be no mercy shown. If point differential is one of the tie-breakers then there will be lots of first teamers staying in games.

DPU and TU do not have a common open date. Centre has Nov 5 open, Trinity Oct 15th, DePauw none. So we have to free up DePauw and get them an opening where they could play Trinity. One possibility:

Oct 1: Millsaps (open date) plays DePauw. This frees up DU on Oct 22.
Oct 15: Trinity plays Sewanee (open date for Uos&TU). This frees up Trinity on Nov 5.
Oct 22: Trinity plays DePauw instead of Centre.
Nov 5: Centre plays Trinity.

Can anyone do better? Going to be a fairly expensive proposition to do this (changing travel plans), but it works without having to break any contracts with non-SCAC teams.

Yes, I am aware that Centre has looked unimpressive in two of their three wins (and that they got clobbered in '03 when they were "co-champs"). They are hardly the only 3-0 SCAC team to look unimpressive in (at least) two of three wins. There have certainly been times that TU has lost to "lesser" teams in past years (e.g. every year they have shared a conference championship, including '03).

On another note, Trinity today announced their $200M "Campaign for Trinity University". $5M is earmarked for "Athletic and Recreational Facilities." Given that most everything else is already top notch, I imagine a good portion of the $5M will go to refurbishing EM Stevens Field. There are no details (yet) breaking down the amount.

smedindy · September 23, 2005, 09:30:52 AM

Much as I loathe and despise DePauw, I cannot fault them for not wanting to travel into that mess.

Ron Boerger · September 23, 2005, 09:57:24 AM

Quote from: smedindy on September 23, 2005, 09:30:52 AM
Much as I loathe and despise DePauw, I cannot fault them for not wanting to travel into that mess.

Two points. If they had to travel through Houston, then you are absolutely correct. We don't even know if the airports there will be open Sunday.

If not: Rita has slowed down overnight and the track is forecast to go even further east. SAT will now be dry all weekend; DFW has but a 20% chance of rain on Sunday. That's it. Had they been able to wait until today (yes, that is easier said than done) DU may have been able to make a different decision.

Forecasts can change, however, and there are things in life more important than football. After all, this *is* Division III.

Hopefully the league and schools can rework the schedule so this game can be made up. It does make for a heck of a column lead next week.

gil68 · September 23, 2005, 10:49:01 AM

I'm sure it was getting to a time when a decision had to be made and one was made. I am disappointed that DPU possibly will not be playing Trinity.

Here are the travel plans I found on DePauw's Football page:

http://www.depauw.edu/ath/football/2005/schedule.asp#travel

Trinity September 23-25: The Tigers depart Indianapolis International Airport at 11:15 a.m. on Friday aboard Northwest #1875 and arrive in San Antonio at 3:21 p.m. aboard Northwest #1094 from Memphis. The team leaves San Antonio on Sunday at 7:45 a.m. and arrive in Indianapolis at 2:35 p.m. aboard Northwest #494 from Memphis. Lodging on Friday and Saturday evenings is at the Holiday Inn and Suites; 3855 IH 35 N. (210) 226-4361.