Quote from: y_jack_lok on Today at 09:48:49 AMNot sure what you are saying here. Sarcastic? Was there an actual "special software upgrade"?

I do not remember the context, but I think it came up in interviews and was also mentioned in a Landmark Conference press release, but yes, they apparently have two software packages.

The impression that I got was that a number of leagues that signed with Flo last year were not using the new special software, but I could be wrong.


The Landmark Conference is one of the flagship partners to use the FloSports Production Suite that was developed to elevate stream quality and graphic packages for Division-II and Division-III partners. The investment in production and deployment at the member institution level includes a hardware and software package that has greatly advanced streaming quality leading to 100% delivery of 60 FPS video feeds (an increase of 45% ) and a dramatic rise in uptime delivery. The production package is currently used at Catholic University and Moravian and will roll out to all 10 member institutions in the conference for the 2026-2027 season.

Quote from: MCScots2013 on Yesterday at 06:25:20 PM"Technical Difficulties" already in the Roanoke game!

Maybe Roanoke did not get the special software upgrade yet.

As discussed before, with the college tuition model, typically, you pay a lot initially and then get a lot of free services in return including academic, recreational and health-related services, programs, events...

If I looking at a college and heard that it was struggling financially, knowing that cuts would be inevitable, I might question the value proposition.  But I might be alone in thinking this way.

Quote from: AndrewB on September 01, 2026, 01:10:54 AMThe UW schools also have many more grad programs, and majors, than other D3 schools.  Most, if not all, 5th years players live off campus.  4 to 6 roommates in a house, so the break down might be 500-600 a month.  You have to live somewhere.

But that was not approach that was mentioned.

Every undergraduate degree involves 120 or so credit hours.  The gray shirting idea was to save one course for the ninth semester.  I get that it happens, I have seen it happen.  But I am not sure how more majors or graduate programs factor in.

Graduate programs may become more of an issue with 5 in 5.
 

Quote from: AndrewB on September 01, 2026, 01:10:54 AMI'll never get rid of all the built-in advantages the WIAC has, but this would be a start.

There will always be leagues and schools that have built-in advantages.  Even within the CCIW and WIAC, some have advantages over others, obviously.  I believe this could begin to level the field, that it is possible, but I do not understand how.

Quote from: hazzben on August 31, 2026, 04:41:32 PMFirst, the pitch isn't that you take a full course-load that 5th fall semester. Just like a player returning with a medical hardship, save a single class required for graduation.

That is exactly what he said in his post.

Quote from: hazzben on August 31, 2026, 04:41:32 PMAnd yes, the 5 for 5 for football has real potential to level the playing field. Call it 90% of a WIAC Sr class are 5th year players, where most of D3 that percentage is probably flipped. 5 for 5 for football would flatten that advantage, but it's much harder for two semester sports.

On paper, it seems easy to think any league could do Grey Shirting, but sticker shock is real. When most private schools are already more money, explaining to a prospective player (and especially parents) that they'll be doing an extra semester of coursework falls on deaf ears, even if it's probably just a single course.

I still do not understand.

Let's say the aforementioned Iowa college is more expensive, so saving a three credit hour course for a ninth semester at a cost of $2,265 is cost prohibitive.

But the gray-shirting friend at UW-Stout pays $812-1,239 so game changer?

I get it, the average player at Stout may pay less over time and may therefore be more capable of absorbing the extra 8 months of room and board.

But then, how does the 5 in 5 change all that?

Quote from: DriftlessDuhawk on August 30, 2026, 04:21:25 PMfor an in-state Wisconsin kid costs them around 10-15k all in.

I guess was thinking that the strategy of saving one class for the a fifth fall season was not going to cost substantially more at an American Rivers Conference school as compared to the WIAC, but with the savings, I guess it makes it easier to cover the additional cost of housing and such for the additional 8-9 months.
 

Quote from: DriftlessDuhawk on August 29, 2026, 11:38:11 AMGrey shirting is still 100% a thing as it was pitched to me about a decade ago and to family members in recent years. The pitch is that you would just save one class, required by your major to graduate, for your 5th fall semester so that you do not have to pay for a whole semester and only pay about 2k.

I've heard from a number of D3 coaches that one of the reasons they are in favor of the 5 for 5 is that they feel that it would level the playing field with the WIAC because of the inability to grey shirt.

If I understand gray shirting correctly (surely, grey shirting should only be used for soccer), is there a reason why it could not be done at Loras?

Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on August 28, 2026, 01:12:41 PMThere are always SLIAC football teams to grab if you get desperate.

I wonder if Greenville ever reached out to the HCAC.

That affiliation must be much better than the commutes to Minnesota.

Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on August 28, 2026, 12:48:22 PMAsbury makes a lot of sense to me.  It's a decent geographic fit and I'm not sure the CCS will hold together anyway.

I was just going to say that...

If I am the President of Asbury, I am cancelling meetings to make calls today.

If I am the President of Spalding, I might e-mail, because what do I have to lose?  Also, I could give football a try...

Quote from: Kuiper on August 27, 2026, 05:39:31 PMManchester leaving D3 for NAIA as of Fall 2027

They reduce travel and have more regional rivalries in the new league, but otherwise, I do not understand.

In terms of mission, Manchester aligns well with everyone in the Heartland other than Rose-Hulman.

Defiance left the HCAC to move to the NAIA, but hard to imagine they were an inspiration.

Quote from: Ole Ollie 76 on August 25, 2026, 06:04:16 PMChicago and Rochester also have rosters posted. No transfers.

Rochester does a thing where they update the roster with returnees and then sometime after classes start, they add the newcomers.

Quote from: VASoccerDad on August 21, 2026, 08:48:19 AMLet's hear from other schools?!?!

The Bears have added All-American Peter Cirbo from Lake Forest to one of the deepest teams since... have to think about that... Bears win a second consecutive league title.

 

Roanoke is adding flag football.

Not all that big of a story in August 2026, but I did see that they will be starting their fifth season of varsity cycling, which appears to be varsity mountain biking and road racing.

I love it.

https://roanokemaroons.com/news/2026/8/18/roanoke-athletics-announces-addition-of-womens-flag-football.aspx

No schools are moving to Division IV. Sharpie.

Quote from: ziggy on August 13, 2026, 10:01:58 AMInteresting read focusing on the real estate side of recent closures in higher education: https://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/articles/shuttered-colleges-selling-only-asset-113009535.html

Very interesting.

If I had an extra $12 million, I would buy the Northland College campus, though I am not sure what I would do with it.