7 SCAC teams plus Berry to form new conference

Started by Ron Boerger, June 07, 2011, 10:23:52 AM

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Ron Boerger

http://bit.ly/iiyr6p [Log Cabin Democrat]

Timothy Cloyd, Hendrix president, and his colleagues at Rhodes College, Centre College, Millsaps College, Birmingham Southern, Oglethorpe and Sewanee/University of the South will submit an official letter of resignation today at the annual SCAC meetings in Atlantic, effective by the end of the 2011-12 athletic season. Berry College of Rome, Ga., a new member of NCAA Division III (non-scholarship for athletics), will join the seven departing SCAC teams in the new league.

And Hendrix is starting FB.

D3Sports.com's take:  http://bit.ly/leCs2v

Ron Boerger

SCAC formal announcement:   http://www.scacsports.com/news/major_changes_scac

...
The remaining five members of the SCAC, Austin College, Colorado College, University of Dallas, Southwestern University and Trinity University, have already been approached by potential new members, and have established a long-range goal of creating an eight to 10 member conference. The SCAC name, its history as well as key NCAA conference designations like automatic qualifications for its champions, shall be retained by these institutions.
...


Dwayne Hanberry, significantly, has opted to remain with the SCAC rather than follow the schools leaving the conference.  

Gregory Sager

I'm dying to know: a) which schools have approached the SCAC about filling the vacancies; b) which schools in that part of the country the remaining five members view as academic and missional peers and, therefore, potential SCAC invitees; and c)  if the Venn diagram of a) and b) involves any overlap between the two circles.

After all, it's not as though Dallas, Austin, Colorado C., Trinity TX, and Southwestern are going to accept any old Tom, Dick, or Harry U. who applies for SCAC membership, right?
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Ralph Turner

Quote from: Gregory Sager on June 07, 2011, 04:47:06 PM
I'm dying to know: a) which schools have approached the SCAC about filling the vacancies; b) which schools in that part of the country the remaining five members view as academic and missional peers and, therefore, potential SCAC invitees; and c)  if the Venn diagram of a) and b) involves any overlap between the two circles.

After all, it's not as though Dallas, Austin, Colorado C., Trinity TX, and Southwestern are going to accept any old Tom, Dick, or Harry U. who applies for SCAC membership, right?

Centenary will be invited, even as a provisional.

Texas Lutheran and Concordia TX are my first 2 choices "proverbially to bring up the rear".

I think that those schools are the most compatible private schools on the mission-vision thing.  LeTourneau might be 3rd.

Ron Boerger

#4
Yep, those are the three that have been mentioned over on the SCAC boards.  

Some are throwing Huntingdon around as a possibility, but I really can't see the SCAC repeating the same mistake - if that indeed was truly the cause of the breakup - that got them into the current situation.  One school WAY out by itself in the east isn't going to solve any problems, and is there really any way the SCAC will get back to seven football-playing teams?  That to my mind is the only reason you bring the Hawks into the equation.    With the schools mentioned here, you still don't have critical football mass:

Austin - Trinity - Texas Lutheran - ??Centenary?? - ??? Colorado College ???

Lack of a football AQ might cause TLU to think twice. They already play Trinity a bunch given their proximity.    

The ironic thing about football is that the CAC - that's what I'm calling the guys breaking away, since most of them came from the CAC before it was renamed the SCAC - anyway, they'll need another football team themselves to get a pool A bid.  They may end up having to affiliate with either Austin, Huntingdon, or Trinity - three schools they obviously just scorned - in order to do that.  

The Log Cabin article above has been updated, and two of the comments are 'thank goodness we are leaving Trinity behind since we can't beat them.'    Sigh.  

ADL70

The Log Cabin article is still short an "I" in the first paragraph.
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Ralph Turner

Quote from: Ron Boerger on June 07, 2011, 07:03:28 PM
Yep, those are the three that have been mentioned over on the SCAC boards.  

Some are throwing Huntingdon around as a possibility, but I really can't see the SCAC repeating the same mistake - if that indeed was truly the cause of the breakup - that got them into the current situation.  One school WAY out by itself in the east isn't going to solve any problems, and is there really any way the SCAC will get back to seven football-playing teams?  That to my mind is the only reason you bring the Hawks into the equation.    With the schools mentioned here, you still don't have critical football mass:

Austin - Trinity - Texas Lutheran - ??Centenary?? - ??? Colorado College ???

Lack of a football AQ might cause TLU to think twice. They already play Trinity a bunch given their proximity.    

The ironic thing about football is that the CAC - that's what I'm calling the guys breaking away, since most of them came from the CAC before it was renamed the SCAC - anyway, they'll need another football team themselves to get a pool A bid.  They may end up having to affiliate with either Austin, Huntingdon, or Trinity - three schools they obviously just scorned - in order to do that.  

The Log Cabin article above has been updated, and two of the comments are 'thank goodness we are leaving Trinity behind since we can't beat them.'    Sigh.  
Geographically, I think that Hendrix is more isolated than Huntingdon.  Huntingdon is 3 hours southwest of Oglethorpe, and easy 5 hours east of Millsaps, 2 hours south of BSC and inside the 500-mile radius from Centre at 477 miles. Oglethorpe to Hendrix is 555 miles.  (McMurry to Mississippi College is only 577 miles.)

How badly do those "CAC" schools want a football, (and possibly a men's lacrosse, AQ), versus competing against Wesley, Trinity and the UAA for a football Pool B bid?

cush

I'd go with the new scac offering texas lutheran and centenary off the bat, which is a nice base of 7 assuming both accept. Than maybe call mcMurry to see if they would reconsider the d2 move. I would also look at some naia school's in oklahoma, ie ok city U to see if they would think about d3, same thing with maybe some Nebraska naia school's + neb w. If a couple  were willing to move, than it might work out.

Pat Coleman

If they go with CAC, we're going to have to go with COAC since there already is a CAC. :)
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Ralph Turner

For the remaining SCAC football members, McMurry's departure brings the ASC down to 8-football playing teams.

There is room for 2 football affiliates in the ASC.   ;)

Either that or affiliate with NewConf for football.  It would be an awful travel schedule, but if you did not like playing UMHB or HSU before, the travel back east might not be that bad.

On the other hand, one Texas trip for each NewConf football member might not be that bad for the sake of the AQ.  Either go to Texas or affiliate with Huntingdon.

Head to head in Pool B with the likes of the UAA, Huntingdon and Wesley, it might be tough earning a bid.  I am only counting on 1 Pool B bid for several years into the future.

Ron Boerger

The travel if the "CAC" affiliates with TU/Austin would only be one Texas trip per CAC team every other year, unless they took both.  As far as AC or Trinity go, it's the same football travel they do now (plus a game to Hendrix, but that replaces the old CC trip), so no sweat on their end.   The question is do you dance with the devil that caused this heartburn in the first place?

I don't know if affiliating with a conference where you're not going to be competitive, for the sake of a pool A bid you won't get, achieves much.  There is no doubt that UMHB, HSU, and some other ASC teams are on a different plane than either TU or AC, and there's nothing in the trend of the last five years to say that's going to change any time soon.    :'(

awadelewis

Quote from: Ralph Turner on June 08, 2011, 12:06:55 AM
Head to head in Pool B with the likes of the UAA, Huntingdon and Wesley, it might be tough earning a bid.  I am only counting on 1 Pool B bid for several years into the future.

Makes me wonder if there isn't some discussion going on to try to convince one or more of the ODAC schools to switch conferences.   We have a history at Sewanee with both W&L and H-SC and I think that's true with many of the other schools in the new conference.     I suspect the long trip to Hendrix would be a deal-breaker there.  Another alternative would be poaching from the USASouth but I wouldn't think any of those schools beyond Maryville would be of interest to the new conference.

scottiedoug

The nearby SCAC schools have consistently declined to invite Maryville into their club, even though it would make a lot of sense in many ways.  Maryville is not a wealthy school and does not have a Phi Beta Kappa affiliation. 

awadelewis

Quote from: scottiedoug on June 08, 2011, 10:02:26 AM
The nearby SCAC schools have consistently declined to invite Maryville into their club, even though it would make a lot of sense in many ways.  
Would seem to make a lot of sense from a business perspective.  From a financial standpoint, Maryville isn't much worse off than some of the other schools in this group.   The question is how much weight are the institution's presidents assigning to the travel savings vs. academic reputation vs. a desire for an automatic bid into the football playoffs.

cush

I could see berry college start a football program so the breakaway school's are back to 7 without any expansion but i'd guess they eventually expand to 10 in any case. What should happen in the region is covenant and huntingdon join the usa south with meredith and peace go to the great south to become an all women's conference. I'm also wondering if centenary would get a look from the breakaway school's but they probably leave them for the scac leftovers. The scac leftovers really need centenary to join and start a football program with Colorado College reviving their football program, they have the $.