Quote from: UMHB03 on May 20, 2025, 11:14:46 AMWhile I'd prefer more D3 opponents, this is a very intriguing schedule all things considered. I'm not crazy about going 9 straight games without a bye week, but there are some pretty interesting matchups.

That schedule should hopefully sell more tickets than usual.

Quote from: UMHB03 on May 19, 2025, 11:16:24 AMThat's my guess as well, though I could also see it being OUAZ. They always struggle to put together a full schedule just as we do.

Whoever it is, they need to get a move on. It's less than a week until Memorial Day and we still don't have a schedule.

Yeah, as bad as the Texas D3 football island can be, OUAZ has it much worse. Arizona is a desert when it comes to small 4-year schools. I think AZ Christian is the only other non-D1 AZ school with football.

Quote from: Reverendbiker on May 19, 2025, 09:54:42 AM

Quote from: CruFrenzy on May 18, 2025, 04:17:03 PM

Quote from: Reverendbiker on May 18, 2025, 02:57:13 PM

Quote from: CruFrenzy on May 17, 2025, 02:16:08 PMI think our non con should be a great test, should tell us a lot about where our program is at right now.

Agree 100%. I don't want to hear any more talk about the Cru's weak non con schedule. One D2 opponent, One D3 national powerhouse,and two of the best NAIA teams in the country (one of whom beat us handily last year). Coach better have this team ready to play...

Who is the second NAIA team we are playing?

I must've missed that. Other than Bethel TN.

Announcement to drop soon.

I'll play and guess. Texas Wesleyan? They're the only NAIA Top 25 team within a two-state trip.

RANK   INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES]   RECORD   FINAL POINTS
1   Grand View (Iowa) [16]   14-0   350
2   Keiser (Fla.)   12-1   336
3   Morningside (Iowa)   12-2   315
3   Benedictine (Kan.)   11-3   315
5   Montana Western   10-2   287
6   Indiana Wesleyan   11-2   276
7   Northwestern   9-3   270
8   Georgetown (Ky.)   9-3   259
9   St. Thomas (Fla.)   9-2   224
10   Montana Tech   9-3   218
11   Texas Wesleyan   10-1   215
12   Friends (Kan.)   11-2   201
13   Southwestern (Kan.)   11-2   173
14   Dickinson State (N.D.)   10-2   160
15   MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)   9-2   154
16   OUAZ (Ariz.)   8-2   115
17   Baker (Kan.)   9-2   109
18   Concordia (Neb.)   8-2   99
18   Southeastern (Fla.)   7-2   99
20   Dordt (Iowa)   8-2   92
21   Campbellsville (Ky.)   9-2   57
22   Pikeville (Ky.)   6-6   54
23   Saint Francis (Ind.)   8-4   47
24   Southern Oregon   8-3   44
25   Taylor (Ind.)   9-2   25

Quote from: UMHB03 on May 11, 2025, 12:29:07 AM

Quote from: Inkblot on May 10, 2025, 06:22:07 PMSaw a rumor on Twitter that UMHB will visit Mars Hill (D2) on September 27.

Very interesting. I've always been curious to see how UMHB stacks up against teams from higher divisions.

That could be an interesting game! I've always thought the best of D3 are as good or better than 90% of D2. It's not a huge jump for programs that value athletics. For example, D3 teams were 3-3 vs D2 last year. A handful of WIAC teams seem to play D2 games each year and they do OK.

Might as well do what D1 fans figured out a couple years ago. Don't even fret over a roster until it's set and the players show up in August.

Most D3 players at some point dreamed about playing D1 or getting a football scholarship, but odds of that happening were small prior to the portal. Hoards of G5 and FCS players moving up and/or out via the portal are leaving roster spots to fill. There's more opportunity now for the best players. 

"This agreement underscores the commitment of all member institutions to providing a faith-based collegiate environment that values a challenging academic and spiritual experience enriched by robust athletic competition, offering exceptional opportunities for student-athletes to grow, compete, and excel."

The above quote is a key sentence from the recent ASC 10-year agreement. "Faith-based" is the first descriptor. I'm skeptical that the ASC wants to go back to a private/public school mix. 

Quote from: Mavchamp on April 12, 2025, 03:17:04 PMI know there are growing pains moving from D3 to D2....especially when you are a small school moving into a conference full of schools significantly bigger than you.

The expectation that Sul Ross State would struggle in the Lone Star Conference was probably pretty obvious to everyone...including SRSU.

But looking at the standings in all the LSC sports..... Sul Ross is getting absolutely crushed in just about every sport...men's and women's.  They are either last....or next to last in every sport.  I think the highest I saw them finish in anything was third from the bottom.  That's pretty brutal.

Recruiting to Alpine is one thing....but recruiting to Alpine to get demolished in every sport might give an athlete pause.

It IS possible to get a quality education AND win a few games along the way too.

It begs the question of the possibility of them deciding to not remain in D2 and remains in D3.  It's not like we haven't seen that happen before.

Would SRSU consider returning to D3?
Would they want the ASC or the SCAC?

They would be a huge pick up for either conference.  Travel-wise one makes more sense than another.  But as we've seen..... the business of sports seems to be at the forefront of a lot of people's minds.

I have a feeling Sul Ross feels fine as long as the two New Mexico schools are in the conference. UT Permian Basin and Lubbock Christian in West Texas are remote but in good sized towns. On that note, from the outside looking in, I don't get how Angelo State isn't viewed as being remote, but they seem to do really well both in sports and attracting students.

The conference drama has all been a conspiracy to get rid of the far flung and public universities. 

Not making annual treks to northern Arkansas (maybe multiple) and Colorado for several sports might have been a factor.

Quote from: Ralph Turner on March 18, 2025, 05:58:06 PMI think there are mission and vision issues that are being discussed.

The SCAC regularly plays games on Sunday. The ASC infrequently, for one.

My next observation of McM will be concerning the administrative philosophy of McM's new President, Lynne Murray in numerous areas.

There may be more to this than is immediately seen.

Interesting observation on the Sunday games. Just a small sample check shows that McMurray softball has 6 Sunday games scheduled this year (3 double header dates). Schreiner has 4 this year (on 3 dates) and 8 last year (5 dates). UMHB had 1 Sunday game date the past two years (2 games each) in out-of-state tournaments. HSU plays one away doubleheader as well. The defending national champs ETBU has 1 Sunday out-of-state Sunday doubleheader this year and had 2 dates last year (not counting the NCAA playoffs).

I wonder if the SBC and/or major donors were adamant that the 4 Baptist schools stick together. For example, splitting them out could have placed HPU in a real bind.

I'll say it again... 6 members is still too few for decent football scheduling. The final count probably won't be 6.

Quote from: TLU05SA on March 18, 2025, 09:54:18 AM

Quote from: Ron Boerger on March 18, 2025, 09:46:57 AMReports (unconfirmed by either the ASC or the schools, but mentioned by DCTF and a well-known blogger in his space, d3vbwest, as well as independently to me by people with contacts whom I trust) are that the two schools were offered in excess of a million dollars each to join the ASC.  The source of the funds is unknown.

Well, I think the source of the funds can be reliably implied. I have no doubt that the bulk of the funds (if not all) are coming from UMHB and HSU (or backers of those programs).

I cannot recall another incident where a school moved DIII conferences because the conference (or its schools) was paying them to move conferences. Just seems gross and against the ethos of DIII to me. I fully expect that in DI but not DIII.

If true (financial benefits/payments), it's not happening in a vacuum. It's just as gross for a small number of schools to fight among themselves in a region with limited D3 members, especially limited football members.

Wow. That's coming from left field. Six teams still makes it difficult to schedule for football. Other sports are probably easier to fill with non-con opponents.

I'm guessing six won't be the final member count.

Quote from: crufootball on March 14, 2025, 10:16:04 PM

Quote from: Etchglow on March 14, 2025, 04:35:02 PM

Quote from: The Third Division on March 14, 2025, 01:45:37 PMAny bets how many scam division 4 cheeseburger universities UMHB plays this fall?

I don't know, any bets on how many absolutely braindead takes you'll make on Twitter while professing to be an unbiased D3 football news source?  Dude, go troll somewhere else.

Dude seems to want to be taken seriously but goes out of his way to take shots at one school.

I actually followed that account on X for a couple days until I realized it was a worthless troll.