I agree that a Week 1 bye seems to be a disadvantage. Add to this the fact that your first game will be against a team that already has a game under its belt, and that if you play 10 games, you'll be playing 10 in a row with no bye week.

Quote from: NEPAFAN on July 14, 2026, 02:24:17 PMMarywood to the MAC!


https://www.marywood.edu/news/marywood-joins-mac-conference

This news is from a year ago:
https://d3sports.com/notables/2025/06/marywood-adds-to-mac-expansion

Quote from: AndrewB on July 12, 2026, 10:32:13 PM

Quote from: Patrick Coleman on July 12, 2026, 10:01:07 PM

Quote from: bleedpurple on July 12, 2026, 09:24:17 PMAhhh. I stand corrected. Thanks Pat. Why would I think the NCAA would have something simple and straightforward? Silly me. 

It's based on practice opportunities, rather than days, and days before class starts are counted differently as a result.

Just did a quick Google search for WIAC 2026 fall semester start dates.  These are the results:

Sep 1 - UWEC
Sep 2- UWP, UWW, UWSP, STOUT, UW-RF
Sep 8 - UW-L
Sep 9 - UW-O

Looks to be a disadvantage for Demir Ashiru to start the season strong.

Everyone has the same 25 practice opportunities before the first game. (Although schools playing on Thursday or Friday might short themselves by one or two in order to do so.)

I would bet the biggest improvements would probably come in sports that are not football and basketball -- I suspect those sports were already getting the best production a department could manage and would have less room to grow than other sports would.

Quote from: Gray Fox on July 13, 2026, 12:10:03 PMYou could have a "Dogs and Cats" Division.  The name of the other division is up for grabs.

If there were two divisions, and one were Dogs and Cats, then the other has to be Mass Hysteria.

I've seen some good content on the biggest stories in D-III Flo conferences, but if you're not NYU women's basketball or Mount Union football, not sure if you're feeling the benefit.

Quote from: bleedpurple on July 12, 2026, 09:24:17 PMAhhh. I stand corrected. Thanks Pat. Why would I think the NCAA would have something simple and straightforward? Silly me. 

It's based on practice opportunities, rather than days, and days before class starts are counted differently as a result.

The calculation is not quite that simple -- it also includes some provision for what the first day of classes is, so it's not an automatic that Sept. 5 equals Aug. 13.

I haven't really heard anyone talk about Oglethorpe restarting football.

Quote from: TLU05SA on July 08, 2026, 12:17:48 PMIf I recall correctly, Hendrix made its move shortly after Trinity and Southwestern announced their move to the SAA. I have read other posts on these boards that Hendrix was trying to avoid Trinity.

The whole SAA was formed by trying to avoid Trinity, so it makes sense that at least one original SAA member might still feel that way.

Hendrix's move to the SCAC was announced more than a year after Trinity and Southwestern's move to the SAA was announced (although they took effect at the same time). Ironically, Hendrix would have had to approve Trinity and Southwestern joining the SAA, because that conference requires a unanimous vote on new members.

Yes, it requires a unanimous decision for the SAA to admit another full member.

Quote from: MCScots2013 on July 06, 2026, 03:30:18 PMEither they went to MC or a parent, grandparent, spouse, cousin, sibling, etc.  This is still a small community with 207 years of College and County history.

Then they should already be giving and shouldn't even need a phone call. If those people aren't giving then there are bigger problems than finding some junior business major to make cold calls.

Quote from: MCScots2013 on July 06, 2026, 02:43:29 PMIn the hands of the students?  No, of course not. If they can get some students to call on alumni in a $1.5M campaign this past Spring, surely, they have talented enough students to call on local business owners to help get the word out.

Calling alumni, an invested group of backers whom the institution already has regular contact with through multiple platforms, such as email and direct mail, is way different than what you are proposing. Despite your protests to the contrary, what you describe is indeed putting sales calls in the hands of students.

Quote from: scottiedoug on July 06, 2026, 11:37:06 AMThe MC AD is currently filling in as Advancement head...the previous person was let go...and I suspect he is quite aware of these challenges. I think Raul Placeres, former BB coach, also had some role in fundraising for athletics and there is a relatively new effort to raise and designate funds for athletic programs. MC is looking to revamp the entire Advancement work using some consultants. It is not like it is a secret that this is challenging!

It is challenging indeed! And MCScots2013, sorry to say, this is not something you put in the hands of students.

Quote from: MCScots2013 on July 05, 2026, 08:44:12 PM

Quote from: Patrick Coleman on July 05, 2026, 08:24:55 PM

Quote from: MCScots2013 on July 05, 2026, 07:10:53 PMI'm not saying I'm excited to pay for the privilege of watching my Scots, but $30k is $30k. That amount would at least cover the men's teams' recruiting expenses ($28,883) per the 2024 EADA Survey on mcscots.com.

Or:
-football team bus travel,
-basketball teams (M&W) hotels,
-soccer teams (M&W) travel meals,
-T&F/CC, tennis, golf...good chunk of these expenses on an individual basis

You get my point.

A good amount needs to be invested in improving the broadcasts to meet the FloSports standards.

Are those standards posted anywhere?

There's a little about this in a column that Ryan Scott wrote on D3hoops.com a couple years ago, and there is a whole board in the general topics area devoted to FloSports.

d3hoops.com/columns/around-the-nation/2023-24/d3-go-with-the-flo