Moving Day 2020

[Inkblot]

Well, here's an interesting move in the works: USC Beaufort is applying to D2 and has been accepted into the Peach Belt. https://uscbathletics.com/news/2021/...ue-member.aspx

The Sand Sharks have 11 sports total, which do not include basketball.

[Tech Boys]

It took 10 months but we have a news release about Paine College.

Paine College Athletics Becomes Member of the NCCAA

Paine has dropped men's and women's cross country and outdoor track & field along with men's golf. Men's and women's golf will return / debut in 2022 while men's volleyball will not be added. How could you not have golf if The Masters and Augusta National is your neighbor. The article does not specifically state they have left the NCAA but at the bottom of the page, the NCAA and SIAC logos have been replaced with the NCCAA logo.

[laker]

NAIA Fisk to leave independents to join Gulf Coast Athletic Conference.

http://www.victorysportsnetwork.com/...conference.htm

[laker]

College of the Ozarks to leave NAIA.

https://www.cofo.edu/News/moduleId/1...action/Details

[laker]

D3 Averett to move ODAC in 2022-23

https://www.wsls.com/sports/2021/03/...7GoEd1JWe8VqoI

[Wildcat Khan]

Here's another update on Eastern Washington.

EWU Mulling Athletic Future, 1 of 4 Options is Dropping Football

Moving to D2 with football is one of the options.



The article does talk about how good EWU has been in football and basketball but does it really matter if you are broke. The author needs to spend more time on research, CWU is not the only D2 football school in WA or OR. Why would the RMAC be an option; the GNAC is the only option. EWU would see a huge travel reduction in the GNAC. Four GNAC members are in WA and you can almost see the border from Simon Fraser. EWU's longest non-AK trip would be to Billings at 556 miles and the non-AK average distance is 353.8 miles. (Northwestern Oklahoma State has the longest trip and highest average distance in the GAC at 548 miles and 349.9 average.) They would be on a plane only 2-3 times a year to Alaska compared to the current 4-7 times a year each to Flagstaff; to Greeley; to Sacramento; to Ogden. When the author is talking about D3, he says 'there are over 230 schools'; while that is true the actual number is 449 schools. How much TV money does EWU and the Big Sky get; all I've heard was the conference's games were broadcast through Pluto.

What would a move to D2 by Eastern Washington, with all their successes, mean to other D1 schools facing the same situation? Savannah State made that move but they didn't really see much success in D1.

That is kind of sad as they recently won an FCS title, but it would definitely help the GNAC. I agree, the author needs to do research as WOU has football along with CWU in Washington and Oregon, although there is only one football GNAC member in Washington. I have a feeling that if they went to the RMAC CWU, WOU, and SFU would likely look to follow at least in football. As for your question about Big Sky on TV, they broadcast Big Sky football and basketball at times on Root Sports which also carries Mariners games and next fall Kraken games, but I don't know how much money they make from it. If they went the stay D1 and drop football route,

I doubt they would be able to stay in the Big Sky and would have to look to one of the non-football conferences in the West although I doubt they'd be able to join the WCC due to the proximity to Gonzaga and the more religious school feel of the conference and D3 they'd likely run into the same problems as CWU, WWU, and WOU that led the 3 schools to go D2 about the private schools not wanting to compete with them.

As for the RMAC idea, it could be that the RMAC would choose divisions based on North/South or East/West to minimize travel similar to the Pac-12 does in football. That of course would help the other 3 GNAC football schools in such a scenario if they followed as well as minimize travel costs that way for all but a few schools if CWU, WOU, and SFU all came along as these 4 could play each other every year along with 2 other current RMAC schools, with the other teams rotating on who had to make the trip in football so that each school having only had 1 or 2 long travel games.. GNAC definitely makes more sense though if the RMAC wouldn't be open to such an option even if for football only as associate members and already has a scheduling alliance set up with the LSC.

I'm hoping though they go with Option 1 listed there and raise the needed money, especially being in a decent sized metro area that even hosts D1 tournament games (had 1st/2nd round games scheduled in the canceled tournament and is scheduled to host games in 2025).

I also noticed that link is to a Tri-Cities radio station that used to carry WSU football games. We have no Universities in the city at all, just a regional branch campus of WSU so I can see why the author isn't knowledgeable about small college sports other than perhaps Whitman University in Walla Walla.

[Tech Boys]

Here's another update on Eastern Washington.

EWU Mulling Athletic Future, 1 of 4 Options is Dropping Football

Moving to D2 with football is one of the options.

Option C would drop them to the same level, NCAA Division II, as Central WA University in Ellensburg. They would either join the Great Northwest Athletic Conference or the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Travel would also be a factor, CWU is the only Division II football school in WA or OR.

The article does talk about how good EWU has been in football and basketball but does it really matter if you are broke. The author needs to spend more time on research, CWU is not the only D2 football school in WA or OR. Why would the RMAC be an option; the GNAC is the only option. EWU would see a huge travel reduction in the GNAC. Four GNAC members are in WA and you can almost see the border from Simon Fraser. EWU's longest non-AK trip would be to Billings at 556 miles and the non-AK average distance is 353.8 miles. (Northwestern Oklahoma State has the longest trip and highest average distance in the GAC at 548 miles and 349.9 average.) They would be on a plane only 2-3 times a year to Alaska compared to the current 4-7 times a year each to Flagstaff; to Greeley; to Sacramento; to Ogden. When the author is talking about D3, he says 'there are over 230 schools'; while that is true the actual number is 449 schools. How much TV money does EWU and the Big Sky get; all I've heard was the conference's games were broadcast through Pluto.

What would a move to D2 by Eastern Washington, with all their successes, mean to other D1 schools facing the same situation? Savannah State made that move but they didn't really see much success in D1.

[laker]

Carthage picks Firebirds to replace Redmen as their nickname.

https://athletics.carthage.edu/news/...team-name.aspx

[laker]

Board says Alaska-Anchorage can keep hockey IF they can raise the money for it.

https://go.boarddocs.com/ak/alaska/Board.nsf/files/BYE3N907A521/$file/UAA%20Hockey_Gym_Request_to_President_and_Board.pd f

[laker]

Coastal Carolina men's soccer to join CUSA as an associate member.

https://goccusports.com/news/2021/2/...rence-usa.aspx

[laker]

Just saw this on Twitter. Interesting info about teams moving.

P5 Schools who made a conference change last decade.
Syracuse
Louisville
Pitt
TCU
WVU
Maryland
Rutgers
Nebraska
Utah
Colorado
Texas A&M
Missouri
* Only TCU has won a championship in their new conference.

[laker]

Cal Baptist joins the Big 12 as a conditional member in wrestling.

It wasn't long ago that I was watching their women's basketball team play in Sioux Falls for the D2 title.

https://cbulancers.com/news/2021/2/1...onference.aspx

[laker]

MEAC's NCCU drops baseball.

https://nccueaglepride.com/news/2021...ip-change.aspx

[laker]

It is official- EKU, JSU and UCA are officially all sports members of the ASUN.

https://www.timesdaily.com/asun-conf...ign=user-share

[laker]

Former D3 UMAC associate member in football Iowa Wesleyan is joining NAIA North Star Athletic Association in the same capacity for the next four years.

http://www.playnorthstar.com/article/6198