Future Conference Affiliations

[dvaara]

Re: Future Conference Affiliations

same reason for all of the turnover in the gliac...some schools don't like to lose and see an easier way to make the playoffs

[ctrabs74]

Re: Future Conference Affiliations

That's not a terrible idea - but several of those schools ditched football years ago. Plus a few schools have contracted membership with other D2 conferences: Limestone in the SAC and North Greenville just recently signed on to play in the GSC.

Barton and Erskine are supposed to be starting football by 2020. There was another thread on the SAC forum which discussed rumors of possibly more Conference Carolinas members starting football (Mount Olive was reportedly one of the rumored schools, if I recall correctly).

Chowan is still competing in the CIAA for football despite moving to Conference Carolinas in all other sports; if Benedict decides to join fellow South Carolina-school Claflin in making the move from the SIAC to the CIAA, then that could open up a possible football conference move for Chowan for such a conference.

Even without Limestone and North Greenville, a conference as WVIAC-F-EVER suggested could still work with a 14 team league. To feed off of the suggestion:

NDC
Urbana
Wheeling Jesuit
Fairmont State
West Liberty
Frostburg State
WV Wesleyan

Glenville State
Concord
Charleston
WV State
UNC Pembroke
Barton
Erskine

You could play non-conference games in at least Week 1, possibly even Week 2 or 3 as well, though the more likely scenario would have this schedule scheme:

Week 1-2: Non-Conference
Week 3-4: Full Cross-Division
Week 5-11: Divisional Play (with one rotating Cross-Division game)

That's six divisional games and three cross-division games under this format.

[boatcapt]

Re: Future Conference Affiliations

Barton and Erskine are supposed to be starting football by 2020. There was another thread on the SAC forum which discussed rumors of possibly more Conference Carolinas members starting football (Mount Olive was reportedly one of the rumored schools, if I recall correctly).

Chowan is still competing in the CIAA for football despite moving to Conference Carolinas in all other sports; if Benedict decides to join fellow South Carolina-school Claflin in making the move from the SIAC to the CIAA, then that could open up a possible football conference move for Chowan for such a conference.

Even without Limestone and North Greenville, a conference as WVIAC-F-EVER suggested could still work with a 14 team league. To feed off of the suggestion:

NDC
Urbana
Wheeling Jesuit
Fairmont State
West Liberty
Frostburg State
WV Wesleyan

Glenville State
Concord
Charleston
WV State
UNC Pembroke
Barton
Erskine

You could play non-conference games in at least Week 1, possibly even Week 2 or 3 as well, though the more likely scenario would have this schedule scheme:

Week 1-2: Non-Conference
Week 3-4: Full Cross-Division
Week 5-11: Divisional Play (with one rotating Cross-Division game)

That's six divisional games and three cross-division games under this format.

Sooooo...really the MEC plus Barton and Erskine? Seems much easier for Barton and Erskine to become associate members of the MEC like UNCP rather than calling it a merger between CC and the MEC.

[laker]

Re: Future Conference Affiliations

I may have missed someone posting this, but Rogers State will be leaving the Heartland to join the MIAA in 2019. They don't have football.

We can't really say that they were a Lone Star member if they never really joined, can we?

https://www.joplinglobe.com/sports/l...c9c64505e.html

[CatFan88]

Re: Future Conference Affiliations

Yesterday, the GLVC announced Lindenwood officially as a new member starting 2019-20.
MIAA commissioner apparently said on the radio last night that Lincoln will be "recalled" back to the MIAA for all sports starting 2019-20.

Whoo hoo MIAA. :loser:

[Tech Boys]

Re: Future Conference Affiliations

Lincoln is back in the miaa for football when in reality they should cancel football.

If Lincoln was to cancel football, they would be put in the same position as Cheney. NCAA requires each gender represented by 2 team sports and 1 team competing in each season. Dropping football will leave Lincoln with 1 men's team sport (basketball) and 0 men's fall season sports. To remain compliant if football is dropped they would need to (option 1) add men's soccer or men's water polo, or (option 2) add men's cross country and either baseball, men's lacrosse, men's ice hockey, or men's volleyball.

[WVIAC-F-EVER]

Re: Future Conference Affiliations

Since MEC was having unc pembroke as a fb member - I was throwing out ideas of others as football only

[BearcatDude]

Re: Future Conference Affiliations

If Lincoln was to cancel football, they would be put in the same position as Cheney. NCAA requires each gender represented by 2 team sports and 1 team competing in each season. Dropping football will leave Lincoln with 1 men's team sport (basketball) and 0 men's fall season sports. To remain compliant if football is dropped they would need to (option 1) add men's soccer or men's water polo, or (option 2) add men's cross country and either baseball, men's lacrosse, men's ice hockey, or men's volleyball.

[Tech Boys]

Re: Future Conference Affiliations

Yes and no. No; cross country is an individual sport because the NCAA awards a championship to a team and an individual. Yes it does satisfy the season requirement.

[ctrabs74]

Re: Future Conference Affiliations

Sooooo...really the MEC plus Barton and Erskine? Seems much easier for Barton and Erskine to become associate members of the MEC like UNCP rather than calling it a merger between CC and the MEC.

This wasn't my idea, but it was a couple of tweaks to an idea earlier in the thread. But, that's the way I would've phrased the idea in the first place. Not sure how Erskine would fit in the overall scheme of things, considering they're a bit south of Greenville, S.C., but it was at least a jumping off point for this discussion.

[boatcapt]

Re: Future Conference Affiliations

This wasn't my idea, but it was a couple of tweaks to an idea earlier in the thread. But, that's the way I would've phrased the idea in the first place. Not sure how Erskine would fit in the overall scheme of things, considering they're a bit south of Greenville, S.C., but it was at least a jumping off point for this discussion.

Understood.

To add to the discussion, I think Chowan would be a better fit location wise for the MEC than Erskine. That would be a pretty good logistical fit between Chowan, UNCP and Barton...Pretty much straight shots up and down 95.

Not that I see this happening but heck, I didn't think UNCP would join the MEC so what do I know!

[cneagle99]

Re: Future Conference Affiliations

I think something is going on in the Southeast and it just isn't pubic yet. The UNC Pembroke move is too far out in left field to make since otherwise.

1. The MEC will have a silo schedule in 2020 where the closest opponent is 4 1/2 hours away. This will result in greater travel and the loss of the rivalry game with WSSU (though I think that is more important to UNCP than WSSU). All at the same time that UNCP has been reducing its sports offerings to cut costs. The only benefits that I see are a guaranteed schedule and a comparatively easier region for playoff purposes.

2. The move is being made in 2020 when scheduling "should" get easier in the Southeast. In 2019 the SAC will be going to 9 teams creating an open date every week. With UNCP being relatively close to the SAC they would certainly get several open dates filled.

3. Why was the scheduling alliance between the SAC and UNCP not renewed? There was no indication of bad blood as was seen in the previous scheduling alliance with North Greenville. Who chose not to renew it as it appeared to be mutually beneficial?

4. Two new schools, Erskine and Barton, are adding football in 2020. Therefore, in theory, scheduling should have gotten easier. Is there another school out there who will add football?

--So why join a conference in a different region???

Could there be musical chairs and UNCP already knows they were left out?

Erskine and Barton have a lot more in common with the SAC schools than they do with UNCP or the MEC. For one, they were in the same conference with many of the schools previously. The SAC and CC already work together to co-sponsor field hockey and wrestling. They are similar in size, and are private like most of the SAC.

I would not be surprised if Barton, Erskine and one other school, either a start up, Chowan or North Greenville are moving to the SAC to form a 12 team conference--thus forcing UNCP to look for other options. (It is the only logical reason I have come up with for the UNCP move).

If I had to guess it will be Chowan, with Benedict moving from the SIAC to the CIAA, and Savannah Sate going to the SIAC. (Personally I'd prefer NGU over Chowan, but I am pretty sure that ship has sailed). This would leave all 3 conferences with an even number of football members.

SAC (12): Barton, Carson-Newman, Catawba, Chowan, Erskine, Lenoir-Rhyne, Limestone, Mars Hill, Newberry, Tusculum, Virginia-Wise & Wingate

CIAA (12): Benedict, Bowie State, Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State, Johnson C. Smith, Lincoln, Livingstone, Shaw, St. Augustine's, Virginia State, Virginia Union, & Winston-Salem State

SIAC (10): Albany State, Central State, Clark Atlanta, Fort Valley, Kentucky State, Lane, Miles, Morehouse, Savannah State, & Tuskegee

If Conference Carolinas was starting football, the SAC would be down to 8 members, and CC would have 6 (at best) so UNCP (if not in on any CC deal--which they obviously aren't based on the MEC membership) would still have plenty of scheduling opportunities. So I don't think that is why UNCP made the move.

The theory that Newberry would leave the SAC for Conference Carolinas ignores history. No college has ever left the SAC to join CC--it has always been the other way around. So that leaves CC with only 5.

Ultimately, (and I apologize for rambling) the only reason that the UNCP move makes since, to me, is that there was going to be a dramatic reduction in scheduling opportunities (which would be at odds with 2 new independent start up programs nearby--unless they are joining a conference). In order for an independent to survive, they need to be able to fill their schedule. UNCP has been quite good at it in the past. So why join a distant conference (at least by East Coast standards) unless those scheduling opportunities are going to disappear? The only logical conclusion is that there will NOT be additional scheduling opportunities. To the contrary, there will be less.

[ctrabs74]

Re: Future Conference Affiliations

Understood.

To add to the discussion, I think Chowan would be a better fit location wise for the MEC than Erskine. That would be a pretty good logistical fit between Chowan, UNCP and Barton...Pretty much straight shots up and down 95.

Not that I see this happening but heck, I didn't think UNCP would join the MEC so what do I know!

I do agree about Chowan instead of Erskine, however, that move is contingent, in my opinion, on Benedict deciding to move from the SIAC to the CIAA, which creates a 13-team CIAA, thus opening the door for Chowan to look for a new conference for football.

[ctrabs74]

Re: Future Conference Affiliations

3. Why was the scheduling alliance between the SAC and UNCP not renewed? There was no indication of bad blood as was seen in the previous scheduling alliance with North Greenville. Who chose not to renew it as it appeared to be mutually beneficial?

I can't help but wonder if UNCP saw the "scheduling alliance" with Limestone become a full associate membership and thought they should've received the same consideration. The public/private issue seems to have been rendered moot with the addition of Virginia-Wise from the MEC, but I can't help but wonder if being offered full associate membership, and the corresponding eligibility for a conference title and all-conference team honors, was enough of a sweetener for Pembroke to choose the MEC over the SAC in the short-term, if not the long-term.

[cneagle99]

Re: Future Conference Affiliations

UNC Pembroke and UVA Wise are very different public institutions and UVA Wise is much more aligned with the SAC schools in terms of size as compared to UNCP which is much larger.

Respectfully, I have to disagree that the school administration cares anything about conference team honors.