(05-20-2019 04:33 PM)MWC Tex Wrote:  NAIA baseball powerhouse Lewis-Clark State will leave the Frontier Conference and join the Cascade Collegiate Conference. The decision came as the NAIA move from 2 divisions in basketball to 1 division. LCSC played in D1 division while the CCC played in D2. Playing in the CCC is easier travel than that of the Frontier conference.

Abolishing the 2 divisions of basketball could cause a lot of reshuffling here in the Midwest (which would be good). On one hand, I hate to go through it again. On the other hand, a school in the Omaha area is playing in basically a North Dakota conference. I'd like to see the Nebraska/Iowa schools that got left homeless with the collapse of the Midlands and Midwest conferences get together in a more compact conference.

PS. good luck Bellevue Bruins at the NAIA World Series at Lewis-Clark State this week!

(05-20-2019 11:03 PM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote:  

(05-20-2019 04:33 PM)MWC Tex Wrote:  NAIA baseball powerhouse Lewis-Clark State will leave the Frontier Conference and join the Cascade Collegiate Conference. The decision came as the NAIA move from 2 divisions in basketball to 1 division. LCSC played in D1 division while the CCC played in D2. Playing in the CCC is easier travel than that of the Frontier conference.

Abolishing the 2 divisions of basketball could cause a lot of reshuffling here in the Midwest (which would be good). On one hand, I hate to go through it again. On the other hand, a school in the Omaha area is playing in basically a North Dakota conference. I'd like to see the Nebraska/Iowa schools that got left homeless with the collapse of the Midlands and Midwest conferences get together in a more compact conference.

PS. good luck Bellevue Bruins at the NAIA World Series at Lewis-Clark State this week!

Bellevue's most local conference is the GPAC, but they are all religious schools and unlikely to take Bellevue even though it's private. Possibly the AMC or the Heart? Not sure that's any better footprint than going to North Dakota.

(05-21-2019 12:33 AM)teamvsn Wrote:  

(05-20-2019 11:03 PM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote:  Abolishing the 2 divisions of basketball could cause a lot of reshuffling here in the Midwest (which would be good). On one hand, I hate to go through it again. On the other hand, a school in the Omaha area is playing in basically a North Dakota conference. I'd like to see the Nebraska/Iowa schools that got left homeless with the collapse of the Midlands and Midwest conferences get together in a more compact conference.

Bellevue's most local conference is the GPAC, but they are all religious schools and unlikely to take Bellevue even though it's private. Possibly the AMC or the Heart? Not sure that's any better footprint than going to North Dakota.

I think playing in North Dakota does hurt BU in baseball and soccer. And winter 12 hour bus rides to Dickinson ND can't be fun for the basketball team. I would like to make a conference out of the schools left behind by the collapse of the MCAC and MCC. I would like: Viterbo, Mount Mercy, Central Christian KS, Bellevue, York, Park, Okla Wesleyan, Coll of Ozarks. They are all non-football schools. BU has had great battles & rivalries with the last 4 schools. Admittedly I haven't done a deep analysis; it's just a BU view of things.

PS. the old MCAC website is still up. You just have to come up with a new name (or not), plug in some new schools, and we're good to go!
http://www.mcac-naia.org

The baseball issue is a good point. One of the Dakota schools had their home opener only a couple of weeks before the end of the season this year, because weather cannot be relied upon until the end of April. If then. That's one long road trip.

But Viterbo to Ozarks is a huge footprint. I don't think Viterbo fits.

All of the schools you mention above were recently DII. So if they had wanted to be together they could have been.

(05-21-2019 12:00 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  The baseball issue is a good point. One of the Dakota schools had their home opener only a couple of weeks before the end of the season this year, because weather cannot be relied upon until the end of April. If then. That's one long road trip.

But Viterbo to Ozarks is a huge footprint. I don't think Viterbo fits.

All of the schools you mention above were recently DII. So if they had wanted to be together they could have been.

Viterbo and Stritch are the only NAIA's in Wisconsin; so they don't have many options (CCAC?). I think when the 2 ships started sinking, everyone scrambled for a place to land. Mount Mercy promised to start football to get accepted into the HAC, but have since backtracked. Maybe if there was a "do-over" where people could rethink this more calmly, the NE & IA schools not in the GPAC could work something out? (BTW- what does the HAC think about Mount Mercy not adding football?)

(05-21-2019 03:46 PM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote:  

(05-21-2019 12:00 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  The baseball issue is a good point. One of the Dakota schools had their home opener only a couple of weeks before the end of the season this year, because weather cannot be relied upon until the end of April. If then. That's one long road trip.

But Viterbo to Ozarks is a huge footprint. I don't think Viterbo fits.

All of the schools you mention above were recently DII. So if they had wanted to be together they could have been.

Viterbo and Stritch are the only NAIA's in Wisconsin; so they don't have many options (CCAC?). I think when the 2 ships started sinking, everyone scrambled for a place to land. Mount Mercy promised to start football to get accepted into the HAC, but have since backtracked. Maybe if there was a "do-over" where people could rethink this more calmly, the NE & IA schools not in the GPAC could work something out? (BTW- what does the HAC think about Mount Mercy not adding football?)

That's a good question, I wonder that too. We only know the official announcements. We don't know what Mount Mercy has promised the Heart (they no longer go by HAAC) since their decision. Football is a money making venture in the NAIA, so if they can find the facilities they should do it.

(05-21-2019 06:08 PM)teamvsn Wrote:  That's a good question, I wonder that too. We only know the official announcements. We don't know what Mount Mercy has promised the Heart (they no longer go by HAAC) since their decision. Football is a money making venture in the NAIA, so if they can find the facilities they should do it.

Mount Mercy actually built the facility:
http://www.mountmercymustangs.com/facili...omplex.php

It was the other related things that made them slow down and recalculate.

http://www.mountmercymustangs.com/article/1797.php

http://www.metrosportsreport.com/index.p...Itemid=456

Nebraska had 2 schools and Iowa had one closed their doors in the past 10 years along.

Grace who could have applied for NAIA would have been a shot at NAIA that could help Bellevue. They even went after the now closed Dana's campus which were a NAIA member. Both schools are now gone. IAB in Iowa shut their doors recently. I think Bellevue might work better at the D2 level with their size. They are larger than some of the public Nebraksa schools. If D2 could split the NSIC into 2 like having the Minnesota schools, St. Thomas, St. John's Minnesota, Wis.-Parkside and the D3 public Wisconsin schools to form a new D2 conference. The Dakota schools with the Nebraska schools at D2 could invite the other D2 schools not in the NSIC to join along with Montana State-Billings and other Montana schools plus Bellevue, Upper Iowa and other lower level D3 and NAIA schools in Montana, Nebraska, Iowa and Dakotas to move up. I think the public schools might move up and not the privates.

(05-21-2019 09:13 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  I think Bellevue might work better at the D2 level with their size. They are larger than some of the public Nebraksa schools.

Bellevue is deceptive. They are not really a D2 type school. They have about 1000 traditional on-campus students. And about 9000 students online and at 10 other locations. BU is an interesting school is that it was designed from the ground up to serve the non-traditional student (working adults). For a long time they only had 3 sports for men and 3 for women (and they were good in all sports). I think that might be part of the reason they got left behind in the conference reshuffle. They are up to 5 men, 6 women teams, and have an e-sports team that beat Penn State, Kansas State, and Wisconsin (which is weird to say). For a private school, they keep their tuition low. They are a good NAIA school.

AIB was gifted into the University of Iowa system several years ago. Iowa shut it down last year.

Made some updates for changes.

NAIA Florida Memorial is planning to sponsor a football team in 2020

https://www.fmuniv.edu/news/florida-memo...-football/

Suffolk Moving To CCC in 2020/21 School Year

Edward Waters Independent football schedule

They are mainly playing D2 and a couple of FCS teams, only a few NAIA schools.

Edward Waters to D2 SIAA in the future? Would be the 1st HBCU Florida school at the D2 level.

(06-20-2019 03:34 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  Edward Waters Independent football schedule

They are mainly playing D2 and a couple of FCS teams, only a few NAIA schools.

Edward Waters to D2 SIAA in the future? Would be the 1st HBCU Florida school at the D2 level.

They're playing HBCUs, and in the Southeast that means a schedule heavy with SIAC schools. Would absolutely not read anything into it more than that, though I know good as well that you will.

UNT-Dallas Hires Jack Allday As Athletics Director

Looks like UNT-Dallas are adding sports.

Official today. Thomas More University moves from NCAA Division III to NAIA. They will begin play this fall in the Mid-South conference. They are located in Crestview Hills--Kentucky across the river from Cincinnati and are part of the Cincinnati metro area. Private Catholic school of about 2,200 (1500 undergrad).

SIAC extends invitation to Edward Waters

http://www.ewctigerpride.com/article/318.php

Reading the article, it's clear that EWC isn't prepared for D2 membership, saying they will do the feasibility study and prepare over the next 24-36 months.

The most immediate impact is a scheduling agreement for football that becomes effective this season.

(06-20-2019 04:19 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  

(06-20-2019 03:34 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  Edward Waters Independent football schedule

They are mainly playing D2 and a couple of FCS teams, only a few NAIA schools.

Edward Waters to D2 SIAA in the future? Would be the 1st HBCU Florida school at the D2 level.

They're playing HBCUs, and in the Southeast that means a schedule heavy with SIAC schools. Would absolutely not read anything into it more than that, though I know good as well that you will.

I sit corrected.

Though now I'm curious as to why the a 14-school conference is extending an invitation to a school that doesn't have a firm timetable for applying for D2 status (a statement has them applying by February, but they walked it back and called the target date "aspirational"). You'd think the SIAC would wait until Edward Waters had a definite move-up plan before inviting them; it's not as though the CIAA or a non-HBCU conference is probably biting at the champ to invite them. But then I'm not the commissioner of a conference so what do I know?

Personal relationships, is my bet. The EWC AD is a deep NCAA/HBCU guy, probably knows personally every other AD in the SIAC. The SIAC schools probably find having EWC as a regularly scheduled OOC game a good thing. Extending an invitation that may (or may not) be consummated is nothing to them, but everything to EWC. The invitation can always be revoked before it is acted upon. I still don't believe EWC is D2 material - based on their standards of the last 10 years - but perhaps things are loosening up?