G-MAC All-Sports and Conference Business Thread

[Bballfan]

Indiana Wesleyan would be a great add. Other than location, Rio Grande in Ohio would be another NAIA to D2 candidate.

I just don't know how interested Indiana Wesleyan is interested in changing. They are a big fish in a small pond. And there are only 2 D2 schools left in Indiana. You are either D1, D3, or NAIA in that state. Conversely Ohio doesn't have a lot of NAIA left.

[unc4life]

Indiana Wesleyan would be a great add. Other than location, Rio Grande in Ohio would be another NAIA to D2 candidate.

I just don't know how interested Indiana Wesleyan is interested in changing. They are a big fish in a small pond. And there are only 2 D2 schools left in Indiana. You are either D1, D3, or NAIA in that state. Conversely Ohio doesn't have a lot of NAIA left.

Indiana Wesleyan reminds me of Grand Valley. They are a top end NAIA schools at a lot of sports. You go through the list and its crazy how many top 25 programs they have in the nation. Similar to Grand Valley at the D2 level. IWU could easily move to D2. They would instantly have a better athletic program than half of the GMAC. Better facilities, more money, better programs. I just don't know if they desire to be there yet.

[Bballfan]

Agreed. As Grand Valley wants to beat down on a lot of D2 schools, Indiana Wesleyan does the same in NAIA. Hence they will stay big fish in a small pond.

[Uindy18]

Indiana Wesleyan would be a great add. Other than location, Rio Grande in Ohio would be another NAIA to D2 candidate.

I just don't know how interested Indiana Wesleyan is interested in changing. They are a big fish in a small pond. And there are only 2 D2 schools left in Indiana. You are either D1, D3, or NAIA in that state. Conversely Ohio doesn't have a lot of NAIA left.

I'v said for a long time that I would love to see a GMAC that could get to as many as 16 schools and only have Ohio and Indiana schools. Essentially the following (with aggresive expansion into NAIA schools):

Ashland

Lake Erie

Cedarville

Findlay

Rio Grande

Tiffin

Malone

Walsh

Ohio Dominican

Ursuline

Central St.

Indianapolis

Taylor

Indiana Wesleyan

Marian (IN)

Saint Francis (IN)

That then leaves KWC, Thomas More (and maybe Kentucky State) to the GLVC, and Northwood and Hillsdale going back to the GLIAC (with healthy expansion there into Michigan NAIAs)

[Bballfan]

Indiana Wesleyan is the Grand Valley of NAIA. They are a big fish in a small pond. They absolutely could compete in NCAA D2 and do quite well. Just as good if not better than what Thomas More has done. But sometimes these schools don't want to give up all the success they have had at their current level to actually go compete with tougher competition.

I think UIndy would be a fine addition to the GMAC too. Maybe the GMAC can do a two for one swap, KWC and Thomas More for UIndy. lol

BTW Trevecca. I don't think anyone missed them at all this year.

[Tech Boys]

Big news from Ursuline College.

Starting in 2025 they will have Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field Indoor, and Men's Track & Field Outdoor. All teams will compete in the GMAC.

I don't expect the Arrows to sponsor many men's sports but in the future start soccer and basketball to satisfy the team sport requirement and a spring sport (golf?) to have two sports in each season. Those are three of the smallest roster sports for men other than cross country.

Ursuline Adds its First Men’s Athletic Teams

Another men's team coming in 2026.

Ursuline adds its fourth men’s athletic team

[BlueBlood]

That's good news for Ursuline. It's difficult enough for small private schools to stay open these days as-is. Only focusing on attracting half the population (women) would seem to make that even more difficult. There might be an argument that "sticking to your guns" is a good thing. Cedarville remains overtly Christian and is growing because of it. Hillsdale remains overtly politically conservative and is thriving. However, in Ursuline's case, its enrollment numbers were declining as a women's college, so expanding to include additional targets seems to be the right move.

As for the sports they are adding - they make sense. Track and field / x-country will re-use the same athletes for 3 sponsored sports. And you can have as big or small of a track team as you want. The conference isn't holding a gun to your head and telling you that you must have a pole-vaulter or hurdler. They can literally only run the distance events if they want to. And for golf, I think you only need to roster 8 golfers. So, they are being pretty strategic about it.

I hope they keep adding teams.

[BlueBlood]

Got Curious. Per US Dept of Education:

Ursuline College
Number of Full-time Undergraduates: 536
Men: 40
Women: 496
Student Athletes: 147

Reporting Year: 08/01/2022 - 07/31/2023 (before the men's teams were added)

[Bballfan]

Don't forget Gannon is looking to take over Ursuline. I really only think they want their nursing program.

I would be surprised if Ursuline really adds all these sports. Their current president use to be Malone's president. Made a lot of promises there too. And was president when Malone nuked football in the middle of the night.

[crixus]

Another men's team coming in 2026.

Ursuline adds its fourth men’s athletic team

Adding men's teams, that's something you don't hear very often anymore. Kudos to Ursuline!

[Bballfan]

Urusuline took the first step to becoming part of Gannon....

https://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/n...ement-to-merge

I just don't buy the argument that Ursuline will continue with athletics after 2026. I mean they are going to be known at the Ursuline Campus of Gannon University. It doesn't make financial sense to me. Gannon wants one thing out of Ursuline. The nursing program. It is one of the best in the country and the biggest thing Ursuline has to offer. Given Ursuline's close proximity to one of the biggest hospital systems in the country (Cleveland Clinic), Gannon is positioning their medical program for long-term success. What is the advantage to keep athletics?

[BlueBlood]

Welcome Greyhounds!

UIndy gives the G-MAC 14 schools, 13 with men's sports.

Great get for the G-MAC. I always thought they fit - I just wasn't sure if they were committed to D2. They have an existing rivalry with Hillsdale, and despite the distance - they have a lot of history with Ashland also. They shared a conference with KWC for many years, and played GLIAC football with many current G-MAC schools.

Also, it finally puts a school in the conference headquarters' state. And, it is either the closest or second closest drive for KWC (with recent-ish addition Thomas More being the other).

There are a few NAIA schools in IN that fit the G-MAC profile. I could see one or two of them coming over at some point - but they are in a pretty tight-knit conference and have a lot of history together. We'll see.

[Bballfan]

It is a good fit. And I expect 1 or 2 GMAC schools to be gone in the next few years. So it is good security too.

As far as being committed to D2, there are already two D1 schools in Indy. That would take a lot of time and money to make the move to D1, which isn't all it is cracked up to be anymore. Just ask Southern Indiana.

[BlueBlood]

Schools closing could also be what eventually shakes one or two of the stronger NAIA Crossroads League schools free.

[BlueBlood]

From the football board:

So Ursuline fired a salvo against the GMAC. I got news for them. The conference indecision is not why athletes are not going there. Makes a good excuse though on why they ultimately will get rid of athletics there.

https://www.cleveland.com/court-just...hip-fight.html