(07-15-2020 06:46 PM)NoDak Wrote:  

(07-15-2020 06:42 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  Good luck to them. Didn't deserve to be shart on by their former conference (MIAC?) like they were. That was appalling.

It was all set up so they got rid of the Tommies.

I am leaning towards this. St. Thomas wanted to go DI, didn't want to wait the 8 years, the MIAC was happy to help them out in the one way sure to get sympathy - kick them out for being too good.

(07-15-2020 06:42 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  Good luck to them. Didn't deserve to be shart on by their former conference (MIAC?) like they were. That was appalling.

What NoDak means is that St Thomas may have been in on things. The MIAC wasn't comfortable with St Thomas, and St Thomas wasn't opposed to a DI move, but they didn't want to deal with the DIII to DII move followed by a DII to DI move. That 12 years or so is a killer. But if their conference kicks them out, suddenly everyone(including the NCAA) are sympathetic to them. That could lead to a waiver to skip the DII part of the move(which is what happened). So because of the publicity of getting kicked out, everybody wins.

At least that's the theory. I doubt anyone involved will ever admit to it if it's true; there's too much bad publicity at stake if it officially came out.

edit: dbackjon beat me to it


It's actually a little similar to the backroom deal some of us believe happened between UND president Robert Kelley and Summit commissioner Tom Douple over membership in the Summit and the retirement of the Fighting Sioux moniker. That one didn't end well.

I'm happy for Sr. Thomas, happy for Minnesota, who finally has their second D1 schools, and happy for the Summit League.

That league finally has some geographic identity after so many years of gaining and losing members, spreading out from southern Utah to Louisiana to upstate New York at various times. It makes some sense now.



It's pretty much linear, north to south, from Grand Forks, North Dakota down to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a pair of schools a bit off to the east in Illinois and Minnesota, plus a western outlier in Denver.

https://twitter.com/RJstrib/status/1283510908787056641

UST's new hockey conference choices are between WCHA and CCHA. I highly doubt they'll end up with the WCHA unless there's a tableflip-worthy breakdown in negotiations with the CCHA.

St. Thomas men's hockey to the CCHA makes the most sense for both parties. I assume the CCHA would prefer to have even numbers, and St. Thomas gives them 8. Plus, WCHA men's hockey is not exactly healthy. They may only live on as a women's hockey conference.

(07-15-2020 07:45 PM)Michael in Raleigh Wrote:  I'm happy for Sr. Thomas, happy for Minnesota, who finally has their second D1 schools, and happy for the Summit League.

That league finally has some geographic identity after so many years of gaining and losing members, spreading out from southern Utah to Louisiana to upstate New York at various times. It makes some sense now.



It's pretty much linear, north to south, from Grand Forks, North Dakota down to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a pair of schools a bit off to the east in Illinois and Minnesota, plus a western outlier in Denver.

Now all they need is a team in Wisconsin to surround Iowa completely.

(07-15-2020 08:28 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  Now all they need is a team in Wisconsin to surround Iowa completely.

They like hockey in Green Bay, don't they?

St Thomas has a soccer stadium MISL close to campus, so if they want seating it is there. St Thomas and St John's play fb there this year. Hockey arenas are also available on the trolley systems, but much further distance (different downtown's of MPLS and St Paul's).

(07-15-2020 08:28 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  

(07-15-2020 07:45 PM)Michael in Raleigh Wrote:  I'm happy for Sr. Thomas, happy for Minnesota, who finally has their second D1 schools, and happy for the Summit League.

That league finally has some geographic identity after so many years of gaining and losing members, spreading out from southern Utah to Louisiana to upstate New York at various times. It makes some sense now.



It's pretty much linear, north to south, from Grand Forks, North Dakota down to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a pair of schools a bit off to the east in Illinois and Minnesota, plus a western outlier in Denver.

Now all they need is a team in Wisconsin to surround Iowa completely.

Putting the pressure on Upper Iowa to at long last move up. Brilliant!

So I just put two and two together that St Thomas, referred to as the Twin in the New Testament, has a school named after him in the Twin Cities. Sneaky move Catholic Church.

(07-15-2020 08:58 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  So I just put two and two together that St Thomas, referred to as the Twin in the New Testament, has a school named after him in the Twin Cities. Sneaky move Catholic Church.

Wiki says it was named after Thomas Aquinas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University...Minnesota)

Good theory though.

(07-15-2020 04:47 PM)Stugray2 Wrote:  Pioneer makes the most sense. It saves them $5M in expense trying to field a scholarship team. Pioneer is essentially D-III since it's non scholarship, and mostly payed on small fields with minimal seating. They can probably still play their D-III rivals, the Johnnies, as Pioneer.

Expensive to travel to Florida, California and South Carolina each year as those schools are further away.

St Thomas is located on Summit Ave.

(07-15-2020 08:28 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  

(07-15-2020 07:45 PM)Michael in Raleigh Wrote:  I'm happy for Sr. Thomas, happy for Minnesota, who finally has their second D1 schools, and happy for the Summit League.

That league finally has some geographic identity after so many years of gaining and losing members, spreading out from southern Utah to Louisiana to upstate New York at various times. It makes some sense now.



It's pretty much linear, north to south, from Grand Forks, North Dakota down to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a pair of schools a bit off to the east in Illinois and Minnesota, plus a western outlier in Denver.

Now all they need is a team in Wisconsin to surround Iowa completely.

They've got Kansas cornered. ;-)

Does this mean that the Summit League won't need their Eastern Illinois soccer affiliate, outside the Summit footprint but inside the MAC footprint, at precisely the same time that the MAC needs a new soccer affiliate?

(07-15-2020 08:33 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  

(07-15-2020 08:28 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  Now all they need is a team in Wisconsin to surround Iowa completely.

They like hockey in Green Bay, don't they?

Eau Claire has more high school champions. That has more of a natural fan base. Just like like Sioux Falls, just like Omaha, like Des Moines. like Toledo . Anyone that rags on those cities as poor hockey towns simply don't have any mental sense. Getting a bigger hockey fan base turnout than college basketball is nothing to sneeze at.

(07-15-2020 10:33 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  Does this mean that the Summit League won't need their Eastern Illinois soccer affiliate, outside the Summit footprint but inside the MAC footprint, at precisely the same time that the MAC needs a new soccer affiliate?

The Summit wants W I'll to leave soon. ORU may beat them on timing.

(07-15-2020 11:39 PM)NoDak Wrote:  

(07-15-2020 10:33 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  Does this mean that the Summit League won't need their Eastern Illinois soccer affiliate, outside the Summit footprint but inside the MAC footprint, at precisely the same time that the MAC needs a new soccer affiliate?

The Summit wants W I'll to leave soon. ORU may beat them on timing.

That's a bit of a cryptic remark. Oral Roberts might beat WHO on timing of WHAT?

Either Western or Eastern Illinois would work, but Eastern Illinois is closer to four of the five MAC soccer members.

(07-15-2020 11:39 PM)NoDak Wrote:  

(07-15-2020 10:33 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  Does this mean that the Summit League won't need their Eastern Illinois soccer affiliate, outside the Summit footprint but inside the MAC footprint, at precisely the same time that the MAC needs a new soccer affiliate?

The Summit wants W I'll to leave soon. ORU may beat them on timing.

The Summit is the most geographically friendly conference for Western Illinois given the options they’d be provided. Perhaps the Horizon - it’s not what it used to be.

Oral Roberts left a good thing with the Southland. I see them either trying to return, joining the WAC, or - the best option IMO - joining a new conference made of South Central schools. Something like:

Oral Roberts
Abilene Christian
Tarleton St
Incarnate Word
Houston Baptist
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi
UT Rio Grande Valley
New Orleans

Reduced Southland:

Central Arkansas
Sam Houston St
Stephen F. Austin St
Lamar
Northwestern St
McNeese St
Nichols St
Southeastern Louisiana

WAC: Chicago St, New Mexico St, Dixie St, Utah Valley, Grand Canyon, California Baptist, Seattle - perhaps they can pull a school or two from the Big Sky?

(07-16-2020 01:09 AM)BePcr07 Wrote:  Oral Roberts left a good thing with the Southland.

Oh! Thank you for explaining what NoDak was going on about!

Quote: I see them either trying to return, joining the WAC, or - the best option IMO - joining a new conference made of South Central schools. Something like:

Oral Roberts
Abilene Christian
Tarleton St
Incarnate Word
Houston Baptist
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi
UT Rio Grande Valley
New Orleans

That's a conference with basketball and baseball, what is it's third men's team sport? I think you have four soccer schools there ... ORU, Incarnate Word, Houston Baptist and IIRC UTRGV?

Abilene Christian, Incarnate Word and Houston Baptist have football ... what is the state of Tarleton St's football?

As an FCS football conference, this is not something that the Southland has to fret about, since with football a third men's team sport is optional.