FB: Southern Athletic Association

[HansenRatings]

Playoff projections for the season using my model's preseason ratings:



You can look at other conferences on my website: https://hansenratings.github.io/.

[jknezek]

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.

It's just part of life in D3. Unfortunately it can be problematic in the D3 sparse areas like the Deep South and West. The collapse of either the ASC or the SCAC has been likely for more than a decade. It looked like the SCAC was the one in trouble for a long time, but that shifted for a few very good reasons, and I think a lot of that can be credited to the commissioner. The SCAC was on life support, but instead of becoming a loosely tied desperation conference, they stuck to their guns and eventually pulled together a cohesive conference of mostly similar schools, pulling back wayward members. Even though they shed a few high quality members, the core that was built should be a fairly stable group of similar schools.

To me it looks like the ASC was complacent. They felt safe, despite the fact that the conference once stretched from La College or whatever they call themselves now, to Sul Ross State. It included state schools, private schools, large schools, small schools, religious schools, schools interested in being national powers and schools that may soon struggle to keep the doors open. There was no cohesion in the ASC, nothing that bound them together other than they were all they had. So when La College found something better, they went. When SRSU and UD found an alternative, they went. When TLU, Southwestern, Austin and McMurry found something better, they went, though it took McMurry 2 tries much to their detriment.

Marriages of convenience suck. See the Coast 2 Coast. The ASC commissioner seemed to think a marriage of convenience would last forever... and it didn't.

Now the 4 schools that share the most, the Baptist 4, are all that is left. And no one around needs a marriage of convenience with them, though I'd assume the SCIAC may soon be desperate enough if the Baptist 4 are still floating around when one more SCIAC school gives up on football. I can just see it now... home and home round robbin in the TX Division and the California Division, a bye week to organize travel, and a final week where each team plays their opposite positionally in the division for the last week of the season. Doesn't that sound positively awful??

[Ron Boerger]

I believe that McMurry's current administration just got tired of participating in the "Athletics Arms Race". Just look at the number of conference championships, number of conference tourney appearances, and NCAA playoff slots that they have earned since the return from the attempt to go D-2.

One can proclaim the move from the ASC to the SCAC and a "Mission and Vision" thing. However, the "Panache" of SCAC just transfered to the SAA with TU and Southwestern taking their feathers and leaving.

By most metrics Colorado College is at the top of SCAC academics and I'd slot Austin pretty close to Southwestern.  But I would agree that the SCAC has taken in schools in the post-split era that it would have never considered back in the day, and that trend, which started before the split, contributed both to the SAA schools leaving and to the situation the ASC finds itself in today. 

[Ron Boerger]

In actual SAA-related football news, here's Trinity's season preview. 

[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.

It's just part of life in D3. Unfortunately it can be problematic in the D3 sparse areas like the Deep South and West. The collapse of either the ASC or the SCAC has been likely for more than a decade. It looked like the SCAC was the one in trouble for a long time, but that shifted for a few very good reasons, and I think a lot of that can be credited to the commissioner. The SCAC was on life support, but instead of becoming a loosely tied desperation conference, they stuck to their guns and eventually pulled together a cohesive conference of mostly similar schools, pulling back wayward members. Even though they shed a few high quality members, the core that was built should be a fairly stable group of similar schools.

To me it looks like the ASC was complacent. They felt safe, despite the fact that the conference once stretched from La College or whatever they call themselves now, to Sul Ross State. It included state schools, private schools, large schools, small schools, religious schools, schools interested in being national powers and schools that may soon struggle to keep the doors open. There was no cohesion in the ASC, nothing that bound them together other than they were all they had. So when La College found something better, they went. When SRSU and UD found an alternative, they went. When TLU, Southwestern, Austin and McMurry found something better, they went, though it took McMurry 2 tries much to their detriment.

Marriages of convenience suck. See the Coast 2 Coast. The ASC commissioner seemed to think a marriage of convenience would last forever... and it didn't.

Now the 4 schools that share the most, the Baptist 4, are all that is left. And no one around needs a marriage of convenience with them, though I'd assume the SCIAC may soon be desperate enough if the Baptist 4 are still floating around when one more SCIAC school gives up on football. I can just see it now... home and home round robbin in the TX Division and the California Division, a bye week to organize travel, and a final week where each team plays their opposite positionally in the division for the last week of the season. Doesn't that sound positively awful??

What are the few good reasons? They hate getting beat by HSU and UMHB?

[jknezek]

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.

It's just part of life in D3. Unfortunately it can be problematic in the D3 sparse areas like the Deep South and West. The collapse of either the ASC or the SCAC has been likely for more than a decade. It looked like the SCAC was the one in trouble for a long time, but that shifted for a few very good reasons, and I think a lot of that can be credited to the commissioner. The SCAC was on life support, but instead of becoming a loosely tied desperation conference, they stuck to their guns and eventually pulled together a cohesive conference of mostly similar schools, pulling back wayward members. Even though they shed a few high quality members, the core that was built should be a fairly stable group of similar schools.

To me it looks like the ASC was complacent. They felt safe, despite the fact that the conference once stretched from La College or whatever they call themselves now, to Sul Ross State. It included state schools, private schools, large schools, small schools, religious schools, schools interested in being national powers and schools that may soon struggle to keep the doors open. There was no cohesion in the ASC, nothing that bound them together other than they were all they had. So when La College found something better, they went. When SRSU and UD found an alternative, they went. When TLU, Southwestern, Austin and McMurry found something better, they went, though it took McMurry 2 tries much to their detriment.

Marriages of convenience suck. See the Coast 2 Coast. The ASC commissioner seemed to think a marriage of convenience would last forever... and it didn't.

Now the 4 schools that share the most, the Baptist 4, are all that is left. And no one around needs a marriage of convenience with them, though I'd assume the SCIAC may soon be desperate enough if the Baptist 4 are still floating around when one more SCIAC school gives up on football. I can just see it now... home and home round robbin in the TX Division and the California Division, a bye week to organize travel, and a final week where each team plays their opposite positionally in the division for the last week of the season. Doesn't that sound positively awful??

What are the few good reasons? They hate getting beat by HSU and UMHB?

I wouldn't count that out as one of the reasons but I suspect the rest of my post is the more valid reason. The SCAC has fashioned a conference much more homogenous than the ASC. While I don't think there is a huge academic component to it, I do see a consistency across SCAC schools. Something that, as I pointed out, the ASC never had. Colorado College is a bit of a pain, but I suspect the SCAC schools are relying on CC and Austin to prop up their academic bonafides, especially without Trinity and Southwestern.

I certainly get why the Baptist 4 fans are bitter. It's a tough pill to swallow when no one wants to be friends with you and the outcome doesn't look great. But as the SCAC proves, things can change. Maybe they will change for the ASC remnant.

[DuffMan]

SJU/Trinity Game Notes are published.

[BSCpanthers]

Season begins tomorrow at 6:00 central time as BSC takes on McMurry at War Memorial in Little Rock. It's a neutral site game, we also played them last year in the same venue as BSC came away as a winner 26-9.  This will be our first look at BSC with new HC Anthony Colucci, he steps up from being the OC the last few years.

[Ron Boerger]

Season begins tomorrow at 6:00 central time as BSC takes on McMurry at War Memorial in Little Rock. It's a neutral site game, we also played them last year in the same venue as BSC came away as a winner 26-9.  This will be our first look at BSC with new HC Anthony Colucci, he steps up from being the OC the last few years.

Safe travels to all and here's to everyone staying healthy.

[Pat Coleman]

Coach Colucci is the interview on the podcast episode we dropped yesterday:
https://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/2023/08/29/atn-podcast-331-lets-get-this-party-started/

[BSCpanthers]

ITS GAME DAY!!!

[Ron Boerger]

SJU-Trinity is the first game featured on this week's Republic of Football podcast, with Cory Hogue and Riley Zayas.   

UMHB-UWRF is the third game discussed, at about the 28:25 mark.

[tigerguy]

Pretty incredible to me how many players St. John's fields annually. Even further incredible is the quality of player they get via transfer. According to the MIAC forums, they got upwards of 15 transfers this year, four of which were on a D1 roster. Trinity never gets 1/4 of that many transfers, although they occasionally get some gems (see Tucker Horn).

[DuffMan]

Safe travels to Ron and any other Trinity folks headed up to MN.  I'm hoping to say hi in the tailgate lot--we'll see how amped up I can get the wife and kids Saturday morning.

[BSCpanthers]

Halftime, BSC up 13-0. We have missed a PAT and a 39 yard FG attempt to end the half.  Our startiing kicker isn't playing this game, and we are missing him.