A question for today from a former McNeese State writer turned FCS podcast host

(07-23-2021 04:40 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  

(07-23-2021 02:30 PM)AZcats Wrote:  

(07-23-2021 02:09 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  

(07-23-2021 01:59 PM)TexasTerror Wrote:  Question and I asked this of a Southeastern Louisiana University (see, I read their memo) fan.

Why do we only hear about Texas schools for Southland expansion? If there is "Texas fatigue" as we have often heard about between the lines from the Louisiana school athletic and administrators, why do the league presidents not look north to Arkansas (GAC institutions) or east (GSC / SIAC schools)? Not sure if they have and those schools are not financially ready for such a move, but you literally hear nothing about them like you do the others.

There is no school (maybe Arkansas Tech) anywhere close to being DI

The only potentials in the Gulf South are far east (GA/FL)

SIAC Schools are all small.

There's no maybe about us either. Arkansas Tech is nowhere close to being D1. Additionally, we have no desire for D1.

The only real potential from the GSC is West Florida and they are not exploring any D1 move. Years ago, UWF was deciding between D2 with football or D1 without football; they chose D2 with football.

Any GA school would have to jump many hoops with the USG and none of the top candidates that get mentioned frequently meet D1 minimum sport sponsorship requirements.

The only reason I gave you a maybe is the size of the school compared to the rest of the conference.

If UWF was ever to go DI, I am sure the ASUN would snap them up.

Agree on UWF. I understand what you're saying about ATU but unfortunately almost everyone is guilty of looking at enrollment and stopping there. We have 4/7 sports so obviously sports would have to be added and we have no facilities for them. Title IX is a factor also. Significant costs for adding sports accompanied by the high increase in funding for current sports and followed by the costs to move to D1. Location is a huge factor too; we are a very easy 1.5 hour drive from the pigs campus in a state dominated by those pigs and only 1 hour to Little Rock.

Via Matt Brown

Back in early June, I wrote that the Southland's attempt to recruit SWAC institutions was not expected to be successful, but that the Southland had not yet begun to engage in any conversations with D-II institutions.

Now, I've told that the Southland has engaged in conversations with multiple members of the D-II Lone Star Conference. These conversations, I'm told, are preliminary, and nothing is imminent.

https://www.extrapointsmb.com/what-im-he...-the-asun/

Article talks about scheduling difficulties and once more brings up the update of knowing something in the next 60-90 days.

Quote:This becomes important this season as the watered-down Southland is forcing each one of its six football schools to play three teams in homeand-home games.

“It is not a permanent solution,” SLC Commissioner Tom Burnett said last week the league’s football media day in Houston.

Burnett also said had no idea when the schedule might change. Burnett admitted there are no talks about league expansion, though he said he hopes to pick something up in “60 to 90 days.”

This makes for new challenges for coaches as rarely do teams play a foe twice in college and home-and-home games in the regular season are even more rare. It’s considered unfair to the winner of the first game.

https://www.americanpress.com/sports/too...d1722.html

I believe you can only upgrade 2 at a time to meet D1 scheduling requirements. They need to get 2 more in process of upgrading by next year

(07-30-2021 06:15 PM)solohawks Wrote:  I believe you can only upgrade 2 at a time to meet D1 scheduling requirements. They need to get 2 more in process of upgrading by next year

Correct, because you can play up to four non D1 games in hoops and if you have to do a home and home with both, there you go. Hurts your schools with OOC scheduling particularly in SLC where scheduling 3 or 4 is norm for most programs. The school(s) would not be a D1 counter in year one

Southland adds Maryland-Eastern Shore as affiliate in women's golf to claw back to six teams (Houston Baptist, Incarnate Word, TAMUCC, Augusta, Delaware State, UMES) and maintain the AQ. Not exactly a murderers row of Division I women's golf strength, but hey, 6 is 6.

The WAC is not looking at the Southland unless any of the member institutions make significant changes via Matt Brown… wonder how much Central Arkansas feels the same about their former brethren from Southland from their vantage point in the ASUN…

There are not many schools that fit that criteria at the moment. One source at a Texas institution told me that he believed his school would be reluctant to support the inclusion of any other Southland schools, like perhaps Incarnate Word, or McNeese State, without "significant changes to their business plans." After all, he told me, "we left the Southland because we sought to better align with schools that fit our long-term goals. Why would we turn around and add those same schools, unless they made big changes?"

https://www.extrapointsmb.com/wac-expans...ge-sports/

West Texas A&M business practice is better than any of the Southland schools right now.

(08-23-2021 12:27 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  West Texas A&M business practice is better than any of the Southland schools right now.

You could have read the linked article:

"Multiple league sources also told me they believed that as of now, adding a D-II school would be unlikely, as the league would prefer to not have three members of the conference reclassifying at the same time. "

(08-23-2021 12:27 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  West Texas A&M business practice is better than any of the Southland schools right now.

Show us in detail why that is so. And please incorporate the fact that every Southland school has the one thing WTAMU doesn't - DI Membership.



Note - the WAC isn't picking any of them right now. They all can audition for the next three years.

(08-23-2021 06:15 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  

(08-23-2021 12:27 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  West Texas A&M business practice is better than any of the Southland schools right now.

Show us in detail why that is so. And please incorporate the fact that every Southland school has the one thing WTAMU doesn't - DI Membership.



Note - the WAC isn't picking any of them right now. They all can audition for the next three years.

They are being incredibly smart about it.

13 for most od the team sports isnt ideal but less ideal is picking a less than perfect fit after finally getting the house in order.

Plus with realignment you may lose a member so that unknown is wisely being taken into consideration

(08-23-2021 06:26 PM)solohawks Wrote:  

(08-23-2021 06:15 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  

(08-23-2021 12:27 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  West Texas A&M business practice is better than any of the Southland schools right now.

Show us in detail why that is so. And please incorporate the fact that every Southland school has the one thing WTAMU doesn't - DI Membership.



Note - the WAC isn't picking any of them right now. They all can audition for the next three years.

They are being incredibly smart about it.

13 for most od the team sports isnt ideal but less ideal is picking a less than perfect fit after finally getting the house in order.

Plus with realignment you may lose a member so that unknown is wisely being taken into consideration

If by "they" you mean the WAC leadership, you give them far too much credit. They were able to expand by being a weak pushover of a conference that would take anyone regardless of agenda.

In late July, SLC said it would be 60-90 days

We are presently at 45 days and it has been quiet as far as I can tell on the topic of Southland expansion. We are all led to believe that efforts to secure a current Division I program did not yield any returns so the most logical step would be for a Division II transition or two, which is probably where many of us thought this thing would go.

There was a small rumor, notion of some sort of merger with the OVC but why would a league give up their automatic bid in hoops unless there was no viable path forward?

Any word from anyone else?

(09-14-2021 06:47 AM)TexasTerror Wrote:  In late July, SLC said it would be 60-90 days

We are presently at 45 days and it has been quiet as far as I can tell on the topic of Southland expansion. We are all led to believe that efforts to secure a current Division I program did not yield any returns so the most logical step would be for a Division II transition or two, which is probably where many of us thought this thing would go.

There was a small rumor, notion of some sort of merger with the OVC but why would a league give up their automatic bid in hoops unless there was no viable path forward?

Any word from anyone else?

Working with the OVC would be very smart.

Have 1 football conference between the 2 conferences under the Southland banner and 1 soccer conference under the OVC banner. Similar to the Big South - A Sun arrangment. This way both conferences can prioritize basketball and travel for expansion candidates

(09-14-2021 07:28 AM)solohawks Wrote:  Working with the OVC would be very smart.

Have 1 football conference between the 2 conferences under the Southland banner and 1 soccer conference under the OVC banner. Similar to the Big South - A Sun arrangment. This way both conferences can prioritize basketball and travel for expansion candidates

This route is seeming more attenable.

The Austin Peay to ASUN move was apparently (per Matt Brown) predicated on Austin Peay's lack of confidence in the Ohio Valley's plan to bolster their football roster.

One thing of note from a Southland perspective (via Pete Thamel and confirmed by Matt Brown) is that the schools currently in the Southland do not show up on the ASUN expansion/vetting list which probably bolds well for the Southland maintaining whom they have unless the WAC makes overtures to say McNeese.

(09-17-2021 09:42 AM)TexasTerror Wrote:  

(09-14-2021 07:28 AM)solohawks Wrote:  Working with the OVC would be very smart.

Have 1 football conference between the 2 conferences under the Southland banner and 1 soccer conference under the OVC banner. Similar to the Big South - A Sun arrangment. This way both conferences can prioritize basketball and travel for expansion candidates

This route is seeming more attenable.

The Austin Peay to ASUN move was apparently (per Matt Brown) predicated on Austin Peay's lack of confidence in the Ohio Valley's plan to bolster their football roster.

One thing of note from a Southland perspective (via Pete Thamel and confirmed by Matt Brown) is that the schools currently in the Southland do not show up on the ASUN expansion/vetting list which probably bolds well for the Southland maintaining whom they have unless the WAC makes overtures to say McNeese.

Agree

Ted gave his word that he wouldn't take a school that would put a conference in danger of not qualifying for auto bids.

So far he has kept that.

I think the Southland is small but stable for now and with UTRGV likely adding football and the WAC stabilizing, the Southland could probably survive in its current 6/8 format for a good while. The current schools should work to improve internally and I would work with the OVC to get some form of unified soccer conference going along with some OOC football scheduling.

(09-17-2021 09:45 AM)solohawks Wrote:  

(09-17-2021 09:42 AM)TexasTerror Wrote:  

(09-14-2021 07:28 AM)solohawks Wrote:  Working with the OVC would be very smart.

Have 1 football conference between the 2 conferences under the Southland banner and 1 soccer conference under the OVC banner. Similar to the Big South - A Sun arrangment. This way both conferences can prioritize basketball and travel for expansion candidates

This route is seeming more attenable.

The Austin Peay to ASUN move was apparently (per Matt Brown) predicated on Austin Peay's lack of confidence in the Ohio Valley's plan to bolster their football roster.

One thing of note from a Southland perspective (via Pete Thamel and confirmed by Matt Brown) is that the schools currently in the Southland do not show up on the ASUN expansion/vetting list which probably bolds well for the Southland maintaining whom they have unless the WAC makes overtures to say McNeese.

Agree

Ted gave his word that he wouldn't take a school that would put a conference in danger of not qualifying for auto bids.

So far he has kept that.

I think the Southland is small but stable for now and with UTRGV likely adding football and the WAC stabilizing, the Southland could probably survive in its current 6/8 format for a good while. The current schools should work to improve internally and I would work with the OVC to get some form of unified soccer conference going along with some OOC football scheduling.

They've each got 6 fb and 8 total members assuming Austin Peay moves.

(09-17-2021 09:57 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(09-17-2021 09:45 AM)solohawks Wrote:  

(09-17-2021 09:42 AM)TexasTerror Wrote:  

(09-14-2021 07:28 AM)solohawks Wrote:  Working with the OVC would be very smart.

Have 1 football conference between the 2 conferences under the Southland banner and 1 soccer conference under the OVC banner. Similar to the Big South - A Sun arrangment. This way both conferences can prioritize basketball and travel for expansion candidates

This route is seeming more attenable.

The Austin Peay to ASUN move was apparently (per Matt Brown) predicated on Austin Peay's lack of confidence in the Ohio Valley's plan to bolster their football roster.

One thing of note from a Southland perspective (via Pete Thamel and confirmed by Matt Brown) is that the schools currently in the Southland do not show up on the ASUN expansion/vetting list which probably bolds well for the Southland maintaining whom they have unless the WAC makes overtures to say McNeese.

Agree

Ted gave his word that he wouldn't take a school that would put a conference in danger of not qualifying for auto bids.

So far he has kept that.

I think the Southland is small but stable for now and with UTRGV likely adding football and the WAC stabilizing, the Southland could probably survive in its current 6/8 format for a good while. The current schools should work to improve internally and I would work with the OVC to get some form of unified soccer conference going along with some OOC football scheduling.

They've each got 6 fb and 8 total members assuming Austin Peay moves.

Both at pretty much the bare minimum, Ted kept his promise not to cost anyone there auto bid.

The OVC needs to be in the conversation. Murray State wants to exit, Tennessee State could walk into the SWAC anytime they want, and Belmont could walk into the MVC anytime they want. The SLC could even bottom feed a couple schools (e.g., SEMO, UT Martin).

But it's the MEAC in worse shape, as any single football member walking away and it's done. It is only held together by the force of will of one man, the President of Howard, his desire for an HBCU conference. His school has an out in the NEC waiting. One fissure and half the league is gone.