FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[FerricMajor82]

Alabama State Population: 4,447,000

College Football Programs:

Alabama A & M, Auburn, Alabama, Alabama State, UWA, UNA, Jack State, Troy, Concordia-Selma, Huntington, BSC, Samford, UAB (a few more I think, but don't remember).

Mississippi State Population: 2,910,500

College Football Programs:

Bellhaven, Millsaps, Mississippi College, Jackson State, Delta State, Mississippi Valley State, Alcorn State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Colin, Hinds, Holmes, Coahoma, East Central, East, Itawamba, Meridian, Northeast, Northwest, Pearl River, Southwest, Coahoma, Mississippi Delta, Mississippi Gulf Coast.

BSC could become a fairly good team rather quickly if they can keep athletes in-state.  Look at Huntington; they lost there first 11, and then turned in some pretty impressive numbers and nearly beat Trinity in '05 (which in my opinion was a pretty big deal at the time).  Not bad for a young program.  Let's see if BSC experiences the same kind of good fortune as quickly as Huntingdon.

[Ralph Turner]

Good data, Ferric!

I think that the key to the success in the South is making the D3 model of Student-Athlete more popular, as it is in Ohio, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

I think that the key is getting the student-athlete that cannot make it in D-1, but has the low D-1 solid D-2 skill level, to see the value of a D-3 education.  He chooses to play football at a D3 school!

There are literally hundreds of Alabama high school grads, every year,  that have that skill level, but who have never thought of the D3 model.

I think that is the key to growth in the South.

[Chronological Order]

I agree with "Iron" major here. Once BSC finishes their football upgrades and becomes eligible for the SCAC championship they have the potential be a top tier program in all of Division III. If that becomes true, winning the SCAC may no longer go to a team that has an undefeated record. Trinity and Depauw will always battle near the top along with the occasional underdog taking a stab at it, but a conference with typically three or more strong teams has trouble determining an "outright" conference champion. The good news from this could be that the SCAC may eventually start getting open bids to the NCAA playoffs...if the league becomes competitive enough. So I welcome BSC and I hope their movement to Division III brings more light to the SCAC.

Ironmajor: With the disparity between Mississippi and Alabama college football programs, are you assuming that Huntingdon will remain competitive with BCS in the picture?

[cave2bens]

Alabama State Population: 4,447,000

College Football Programs:

...(a few more I think, but don't remember).

Miles College and Tuskegee (over 85 yrs) are two others off the top of the head.

Totally befuddled how UA-Huntsville has an intercollegiate, varsity vs club no less, hockey team but no football.  Drought not withstanding, even a relocated midwesterner realizes that grass lasts longer than ice in Alabama...   Have a great season, SCAC members - well, except the Dannies from Greencastle 

[FerricMajor82]

Line up in Chronological Order,
I do think that Huntingdon will remain competitive even as BSC begins to grow.  I think there are plenty of great high-school athletes in the state that never play college ball.  Once the word gets out on BSC, and Huntingdon, I think we will see the programs grow tremendously.  If BSC had a football program when I was looking at schools, I seriously would have considered it.

Cave2bens,

Thanks for the help.  I even had a kid from the High School I coached go to Miles and I couldn't think of it.  I'm originally from Huntsville and took courses at UAH and have no idea why they don't have a football program.  For what it's worth, there hockey program is top-tier.  You are right, it doesn't make any sense though.

[frank_ezelle]

Video interview of Coach DuBose by Birmingham television station.  Click on the arrow in the "Video on Demand" box:

http://www.wiat.com/sports

[frank_ezelle]

Millsaps story on the first few days of practice--the photo is from a practice on the lower practice field (same area as the softball field), an area that was expanded into a full size field for the Saints.  Just one example of how the Saints being on campus does help the athletic department.  I'm sure this expanded field will really come in handy with football and 2 soccer teams practicing during the fall, and the other students at Millsaps also benefit since this area is used often for intramurals.

Link:  http://www.millsaps.edu/athletic/football/081607story.shtml

[frank_ezelle]

For those of you needing a little football fix with the season just a couple of weeks away, here are two YouTube videos from the Millsaps campus:

SCAC Championship Game:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9KQC89bNW0

1st Week of Saints Camp:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrFnQAiYQxU

Unfortunately, the quality of photos suffer during the compression process used by YouTube.

[maconfootballobserver]

Good discussion concerning BSC and and D3 football in Alabama.  If I may add a few points. 

At one time BSC was by far the most prestigious and competitive school in Alabama.  However its' location in an area of Birmingham that has decayed substantially over the years has, I believe, contributed to its declining enrollment.  I also noticed that the average test scores of admitted students appears to have slid a bit over the years as well.  Samford University, on the other side of town and in a much nicer section of Birmingham, seems to have fared much better.  It appears that the BSC switch to D3 is, at least initially, having a positive impact.

With respect to the above calculation of a 2 year break even on start up costs for the football program, I think it will take a bit longer.  I base that on the fact that my son received a very generous scholarship offer from BSC that was quita a bit more than other similar schools.  Although a good student, his test scores were not off the charts, and therefore I doubt if they are actually getting $30K for each additional enrolled student.  Still an improvement in overall finances, but probably a bit longer payoff than calculated above, particularly considering the ongoing operational costs of the football program in addition to the stated start-up costs.  Of course in a football crazy state like Alabama, a significant amount of donated money directed to the new football program may flow.

With respect to D3 becoming a more popular option in Alabama as in the other states mentioned, I see 2 impediments.  Since D3 schools tend to be more competitive academically, a significant number of the D2 quality athletes alluded to are not academically qualified as they probably would be in the states you mentioned.  Also, the average income in Alabama is significantly lower than the states you mentioned, and therefore fewer families of Alabama athletes both academically and athletically qualified can afford the higher costs of a private D3 school as compared to the largely state supported schools which compete in Division 2.

With all that said, I was very impressed with BSC's commitment to its football program, both the Athletic Department and the administration and faculty.  Coach Jones is a proven winner and he has assembled a top flight staff.  I believe it will not take long for BSC to be very competitive in the SCAC.  Although my son opted to play at another d3 school, I expect good things at BSC.

[FerricMajor82]

I noticed that you mentioned BSC being near a bad part of town.  Isn't every good liberal arts school located near the ghetto?  I'm pretty sure it's the measuring stick.

Millsaps College - West Street and downtown Jackson.

Birmingham Southern College - Insley, which by the way is currently the syphilis capital of the U.S.  Trust me, I've rolled with the Jefferson County Health Department and it isn't pretty.

Rhodes College - Memphis...

Ogelthorpe - Near College Park...

It just seems that since these schools are all so old, a majority of them were in once thriving communities that have now suffered since the Suburbanization of the past few decades.  The one exception.  Sewanee.  Let's just face it, it's in the middle of nowhere.

[maconfootballobserver]

Can't comment on Millsaps, but I'll agree with you that Sewanee is in the sticks.  However, it's always been in the sticks and the area around it hasn't decayed significantly.  Centre is in a nice part of a picturesque small town.  Rhodes is actually adjacent to some very nice old neighborhoods in Memphis.  I think the BSC issue is that the school is in an area that was once a nice middle class neighborhood that has become a ghetto, and there ia a similar school in the same town that is in a much more desirable area, i.e. Samford.

[Ralph Turner]

I have seen the comment that the discount rate for BSC was 55% percent "back in D-I".  The move away from D-1 scholarship athletics has allowed the school to re-allocate its scholarship monies.  The stated discount rate this year is around 44%.

[AF4]

I dove up from UCLA (upper corner of lower alabama) to watch sewanee vs huntingdon in a controlled scrimmage... hard to say a lot...but sewanee appeared to be  a little bigger and .... possibly..slower

huntingdons defense was more swarming... but both will hit

since it was controlled...no one really won, but hutingdon scored 3 x and sewanee failed to score... but both offenses were sloppy

huntingdon had better returns on kick offs... both looked about the same on punts....sewanee's punter  (or at least one of them) appeared to have better hang time, about equal on pat/fg...except huntingdon blocked one of sewanee's

and i agree with a previous assessment.... sewanee's campus is not...thats not in a bad part of town

after the game...we ate water melon.... i played d-2...and the boy (son) was recruited to play the same... but opted for d-3 (academics)....it was hot, dry....but every one was nice....

i like d-3...uh.... so far

so go hawks, war eagle, how 'bout them dawgs, and gig'em                       (i spent toooo long in school)

good luck in the scac this year

[Ron Boerger]

For anyone else who may wonder why there are only seven SCAC games showing up in the Kickoff predictions ... per the SCAC website B-SC is not eligible for the conference championship this year and games against B-SC do not count in the SCAC standings.   Thanks to Keith and Pat for catching that and to Ralph for asking why there were only seven games. 

[Ron Boerger]

Announced yesterday:  BSC will scrimmage Maryville 1 PM Wednesday at Legion Field.

http://www.bscsports.net/News/football/2007/8/20/practice%208-20-07.asp?path=football

From the article it looks like the first week of practice has been a bit of a struggle ... which is only to be expected.

This article has been removed from the B-SC site so it looks like the scrimmage has been cancelled.