FB: American Southwest Conference

Started by admin, August 16, 2005, 05:08:10 AM

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Bill McCabe

I don't know how it can be "shady reasons" when the country was in a time of crisis and mourning.  Maybe it was poor timing.

Josh Bowerman

#526
Look, I think the decision to cancel was the right one.  I just think that they (AC) could have been less wishy-washy about the deal.  I had forgotten about the other stuff that umhbex points out, but I believe he is correct.

Anyway, that was a long time ago--so it really doesn't matter anymore.  Just wanted to provide some historical context, that's all.  Not something I feel that we have to revisit.
"Without struggle, there is no progress."--Frederick Douglass

Bill McCabe

Josh, I'm not questioning you, but the quote of "weaseling out" hit a raw nerve.

Josh Bowerman

No problem, Bill. 

Tim is still a bit close to the whole thing to have the benefit of perspective.  Don't hold it against him.   ;)
"Without struggle, there is no progress."--Frederick Douglass

etbualum

I think part of the reason for soccer and volleyball was that visiting teams were already at the university.  Talking withs ome AC people the move to the scac will give them an even field as far as recruiting.  AC has by far the highest academic standards of any ASC school.  They are also very competitive with SCAC schools in cost at around 28k a year. 


mcmfan

A month ago, someone asked President Page at the AC student/parent orientation before the start of their classes why AC was switching conferences.  He said they wanted to be in a conference with more "national" exposure, since the SCAC includes more out-of-state schools than the ASC and AC is trying to give itself a more "national" reputation in general.  He assumed the extra exposure would compensate for the extra travel cost.   I suppose that does mean that AC doesn't consider the ASC good enough, though he was careful not to say so in so many words.
Alacumba!

Ron Boerger

#531
Quote from: mcmfan on September 27, 2005, 01:10:12 PM
I suppose that does mean that AC doesn't consider the ASC good enough, though he was careful not to say so in so many words.

It's not a matter of "good enough".  Getting kids to come to college, like everything else, depends on convincing them the college is a good fit for them.  The fact of the matter is that, given the scholastic profile of the average prospective AC student, the SCAC is simply a better fit: 


--ASC avg - - AC - -SCAC avg
Avg SAT  101812401248
Avg ACT  20.925.527.1
Tuition$12490$20495$24470
Room/Board$4665$7376$7517
Source:  collegeboard.com and school web sites.  FB-playing schools only.  AC and departing SCAC member RHIT excluded from averages.

Just compare AC's numbers to the ASC and SCAC averages, and you tell me where they fit.  That in turn will make it easier to sell athletes on participating in programs.   All of a sudden, Austin goes from being the most horrendously expensive program in a conference to one of the less expensive ones. 

Marketing.  I hate it, but it is a fact of life, and IMO it was simply hard to market AC athletics as a member of the ASC.  You can certainly observe that the SCAC waited until it needed AC to accept them, but the conference is now on record as seeking more members that meet this profile. 

Please note that this table is in no way the measure of worth of any of the colleges or conferences involved.  There is a lot more to the college experience than a few numbers on a page.  All the same, numbers are important and are one of the factors used by students to select colleges (and vice versa). 

Josh Bowerman

You know I meant my original comment sarcastically, right Ron? 
"Without struggle, there is no progress."--Frederick Douglass

Ron Boerger

Wasn't really aiming that response at you, Josh.  There have been a number of comments that "AC thinks they are too good for the ASC" and I was trying to provide a little perspective to those who were. 

dballa

Congrats to Brandon Stevens of HPU and Chad Glover of ETBU for making this weeks D3Football team of the week.

imad3fanatic

BFB

As any numbers cruncher will tell you "numbers can't always be trusted". What would your averages look like if SRSU was dropped?

baddog

The comparison would certainly still stand, even though the ASC's numbers would skyrocket if you dropped both SRSU and HPU. ;D
Not really a bad dog. Just misunderstood!

Pat Coleman

Well, then it wouldn't be the ASC, then, would it?

You could do the Olympic thing and drop both the high score and the low score and see what you get.
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Quote from: old 40 on September 25, 2007, 08:23:57 PMLet's discuss (sports) in a positive way, sometimes kidding each other with no disrespect.

etbualum

Do those numbers keep in mind UTD and UTT...they are cheap.....and easy to get into

roocru

Roocru rides again to defend his and his daughter's alma mater!!   ;D

Seriously, I would like to paint this picture in some personal terms.  For at least 35 years, the saying at Austin College has been along the lines of "There are three types of people who attend Austin College; (1) real smart kids who can earn a big enough scholarship to afford it, (2) real smart kids who are so poor they can get enough financial aid to afford it and (3) real smart kids who can afford it no matter what it costs."

I fell into category 2.  I was the first one on either side of my family to ever attend college.  My parents were hourly wage earners who, even with my hefty financial aid package, put themselves in debt so I could attend AC and play football.   :(

My daughter falls into category 1.  She actually preferred Trinity and wanted to go there but could not turn down the superior financial scholarship from  AC.   :-\

My son visited AC, HPU and UMHB and decided to attend UMHB because it felt more right for him.  Even if he had wanted to go to AC we might have fallen into the same boat as my parents for him to attend there because I could not qualify for enough financial aid. :P

Let's put these three categories into perspective with the recruiting issue.  If Category 1 is involved how many parents would do what my parents did for an athlete to attend AC today instead of a cheaper school in the ASC? Strike one against AC in the ASC, even match up in the SCAC!!

If Category 2 is involved AC has a chance to recruit against schools in the SCAC and Trinity in particular.  Strike 2 for AC in the ASC because this type of kid wants to attend this type of school.  Home run for AC in the SCAC!!

If Category 3 is involved, the ASC wins against the SCAC but this put AC and Trinity in the same boat and they are not going to get this type of kid anyway.  This is much of the current scenario out there and is why AC cannot compete in recruiting against other ASC schools. Strike three against AC in the ASC, even match up in the SCAC!!

AC is tired of striking out and wants to be on at least a level playing field.   :)
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