7 SCAC teams plus Berry to form new conference

[Ralph Turner]

Peterson's have Centenary at 812 students 57 F/ 43 M.

Adding 90 more football players would bring that to about 52 F/ 48 M.

[hickory_cornhusker]

I could be wrong but I think I remember when Centenary was starting the transition to Division III they were going to take a look into the possibility of starting football. Now I haven't heard anything about it since they were accepted into the Division III provisional status.

[Ralph Turner]

I could be wrong but I think I remember when Centenary was starting the transition to Division III they were going to take a look into the possibility of starting football. Now I haven't heard anything about it since they were accepted into the Division III provisional status.

I think that it is easier to start football in a conference full of Austin College's, Centenary's, and Southwestern's, than it is in a conference of UMHB, HSU, Mississippi College, LaCollege, and ETBU.

[Pat Coleman]

Texas Lutheran follows its much-rumored path:

http://www.d3sports.com/notables/2012/02/scac-adds-texas-lutheran

[jknezek]

Huntingdon to the ASC next to fill the gap?

[Ralph Turner]

Huntingdon to the ASC next to fill the gap?

The ASC will still have 7 football playing members after the departure of McMurry in 2012 and TLU in 2013.

The non-playing members include Ozarks (Clarksville AR) LeTourneau (Longview TX), UT-Tyler, UT-Dallas and Concordia (Austin) Texas.

I still think that CTX should add football, (and LeTourneau should have accepted the "rumored" invitation to join the SCAC).

The only vulnerability that I see for the ASC is if Mississippi College returns to D-II from whence they came.  The Gulf South Conference could use some members.

[litig8r187]

I've always thought Concordia was a better fit for SCAC (in my VERY limited experience) and, I agee, I would love to see them add football along with a jump to the SCAC.

[108 Stitches]

I also think that CTX would be a great addition to the SCAC and they seem to fit in many ways with the other schools. The SCAC is shaping up to be a very competitive and compact conference with similar programs. If it keeps developing it could have some outstanding rivalries and end up being one of the most competitive conferences in the country.

[Bishopleftiesdad]

Except for Football it looks like the split may have turned out well for the SCAC schools.

[Ron Boerger]

Except for Football it looks like the split may have turned out well for the SCAC schools.

Well, I dunno about that.  What made the SCAC special IMO *was* the fact that it was a geographically widespread conference.   The new SCAC is turning into the TCAC, kind of like the old SWC was the Texas Conference + Arkansas.   

[108 Stitches]

I would agree with you Ron other than the extra demands it puts on the students because of the travel requirements. My son was not playing back then, but he heard about some of the brutal 12-hour bus rides. I am hoping that some of the schools add in a home/away series for OOC games in the future with some of the southern schools. Trinity is doing a home/away with Chapman and it would add some interest to their schedule to do this with Millsaps, BSC or another school in the former SCAC South conference. The East/West break of the conference seemed like it would have worked, except for football I guess. I do like the addition of Centenary to give it a more diverse feel and I would think they would be looking for other schools in the Louisiana area. The southern teams broke away so the SCAC Texas teams really had no choice but to go the direction they are going, but I get what you are saying. I would also think that the focus now will now be to get enough football teams in the conference as the other sports will maintain their AQ’s. The critical additions are now in place so I am guessing football will be a focus for them.

[Mr. Ypsi]

And besides the demands on student-athlete's time, how many d3 schools can afford a 'geographically widespread conference'?  The UAA, obviously (and I'd assume the NESCAC could afford it, but choose not to ); otherwise I'd think at most a couple dozen other schools in the whole division.

Which is yet another reason I'd prefer a de-emphasis (or elimination) of 'in-region' requirements.  The overwhelming majority of schools cannot (or choose not to) schedule distant opponents anyway, but it sets up such anomalies as no one in the MIAA (except Hope) can schedule in-region games against Chicago-land schools, despite them being closer than nearly all their 'in-region' potential opponents.

At least my lobbying finally got Finlandia moved to the West, where there are over a dozen schools closer than any opponent in the North/Great Lakes!

[cush]

I still like the idea of adding westminster college in salt lake to get some travel exposure. With southwest airlines flying between texas and slc, travel isn't that bad. Also like university of ozarks. The scac really could jump to 12 given they have school's without football programs and break into two 6 team divisions, maybe one could be:

westminster
colorado college
dallas
austin
southwestern
trinity

[Ron Boerger]

Well, Mr. Ypsi, there are about 30 other conferences to choose from for schools that can't afford the travel (formerly) required in the SCAC.  Not everyone has to fit into the same mold 

That said, I'm in total agreement that the in-region crap, especially in football, brings absolutely nothing to the table and should be thrown out. 

[Steve Wiitala]

Well, Mr. Ypsi, there are about 30 other conferences to choose from for schools that can't afford the travel (formerly) required in the SCAC.  Not everyone has to fit into the same mold 

That said, I'm in total agreement that the in-region crap, especially in football, brings absolutely nothing to the table and should be thrown out.

The in-region issue hits in hockey, too.  Adrian, MI is in the West (we have two regions, East and West), but they have made trips for non-conference games in Minnesota (regional) that are longer than if they played some of the schools in Western NY.  In last years NCAA tournament, to avoid flights, they were seeded with Eastern Schools, so when the NCAA wanted to save money, they put them in with the East.