July 1 - Moving Day 2023

[Finchwidget]

NAIA
Dom Izzo@DomIzzoWDAY

Frontier Conference announces press conference tomorrow afternoon at 2pm. As reported by
@McFeely_Inforum and @FargoBigE, Valley City State heading to that league.

https://www.inforum.com/sports/colle...ier-conference

Seems like the entire NSAA sans Jamestown is headed there. Bismarck State applied there too a month or two ago, which means the Frontier Conference is about to literally double in size. Can't say I've heard of that before

[crixus]

Birmingham-Southern (Division 3) just advanced to the D3 Super Regionals Their college is SHUTTING DOWN permanently May 31st. If they advance to the D3 College World Series, they will be playing for a school that no longer exists.

[crixus]

Moving Backwards: Maryland Eastern Shore finished 0-48 this season. Add the final two games of last year and the Hawks are on a 50 game losing streak.
I see a program cut coming.

https://umeshawksports.com/sports/baseball/schedule

[ctrabs74]

That is already happening, but if the Texas schools leave for the Southland, it leaves the WAC with 4 schools so the Utah schools would likely need to find a new home for athletics. Unless the WAC is going to get schools to leave the Big Sky

One down, three to go...

Stephen F Austin will return to the Southland next season, per Dave Campbell's Texas Football:

https://www.texasfootball.com/articl...and-conference

FWIW, this sounds like the WAC is probably dead. That leaves Cal Baptist, the three Utah schools and the three Texas schools (Abilene Christian, Tarleton and non-football member UT-Arlington). It's probably not a matter of if Tarleton and ACU jump, it's probably a matter of when, especially seeing that SFA plans to join the Southland this season (if the reports are correct).

[SPOLOVILO4EVER]

Neither Tarleton or ACU ( or UTA for that matter) will move to the Southland. Unlike SFA and RGV we both believe in upward trajectory, not a demotion to the bottom of D1. Both schools are far to competitive to be in the Southland. Their basektball is truly asbymal outside of McNeese having a good year. Plus, both are National Universities and Tarleton is a Carnegie R2 and ACU is working towards that. Everyone in the Southland now save for UIW are regional universities that mostly have bad facilities and can not afford to upgrade them. There is a mutual disdain from all parties as well. Call it snobbery if you want, but we are too good for them and that is the simple truth. They do not want us and we certainly do not want them! Think of it this way, If you make 250k a year, you are not moving to the ghetto. You will live in the neighborhood where everyone is making around that same amount and has nice homes (facilities). RGV, Lamar simply can not compete in the WAC and that is why they left, look at their conference records in the WAC. Lamar was only in one year and won 0 onference games in Football and 0 in mens and womens basketball and said oh @#$#@$ we are getting killed we do not belong here. RGV has been a doormat in the WAC ever since they joined, but had nowhere else to go. SFA , though competitive, can not win championships in the WAC like they did in the Southland and wants trophies over good competition. This year they were winless in conference in Football and Finished Tied for 6th in basketball with a 10-10 conference record and were dead last in baseball not even making the conference Tourney. Tarleton, ACU, and UTA prefer not to live in the Ghetto that is the Southland and value competition and schools that will spend on athletics to grow the University both academically and athletically. Simply put Lamar, RGV and SFA could not keep up and decided to move to the low rent neighborhood where they have a chance to compete instead of being doormats. Tarleton, ACU, and UTA prefer to live outside of the ghetto and work hard to better themselves instead of giving up and having to move to said ghetto. Just because Lamar, SFA, and RGV go there does not mean Tarleton, ACU and UTA are going there as well. There is a fallacy in that logic and if you can not see that I can not help you. Believe what you want, but NO WAY IN HELL is TARLETON, ACU or UTA degrading themselves to move to the Southland.

[SW_Mustang]

Couple more shifts in higher education - not sure how these will apply to athletics (if they will at all)

-Manhattan Marymount is merging into Northeastern University. Will be NU's 14th campus
-Delaware College of Art and Design is closing
-St. Cloud State's President resigned, then the interim President resigned shortly after.

[laker]

Official statement- will be leaving the WAC to join the Southland July 1. Not sure why the hurry since there will be exit fees.

SFA Accepts Bid to Southland Conference for 2024-25 Season - Stephen F. Austin (sfajacks.com)

[crixus]

Is there more to the story? Are the exiting programs not happy with WAC Commissioner Brian Thornton's leadership? He took over in 2021. I can't help but wonder.

[crixus]

Earlier in this thread (I think it's in here somewhere, I'm not going to check all 32 pages) someone mentioned that Western New Mexico might be adding baseball. Well, I finally remembered to contact the AD at WNMU via email and he said that they're NOT adding baseball. That's too bad. :(

[ctrabs74]

Official statement- will be leaving the WAC to join the Southland July 1. Not sure why the hurry since there will be exit fees.

SFA Accepts Bid to Southland Conference for 2024-25 Season - Stephen F. Austin (sfajacks.com)

This, of course, presumes there will even be a WAC to pay said exit fees to. For all we know, there could be a move to dissolve the WAC by the remaining schools so SFA must know something that the rest of us don't...

[UCObluejay]

Neither Tarleton or ACU ( or UTA for that matter) will move to the Southland. Unlike SFA and RGV we both believe in upward trajectory, not a demotion to the bottom of D1. Both schools are far to competitive to be in the Southland. Their basektball is truly asbymal outside of McNeese having a good year. Plus, both are National Universities and Tarleton is a Carnegie R2 and ACU is working towards that. Everyone in the Southland now save for UIW are regional universities that mostly have bad facilities and can not afford to upgrade them. There is a mutual disdain from all parties as well. Call it snobbery if you want, but we are too good for them and that is the simple truth. They do not want us and we certainly do not want them! Think of it this way, If you make 250k a year, you are not moving to the ghetto. You will live in the neighborhood where everyone is making around that same amount and has nice homes (facilities). RGV, Lamar simply can not compete in the WAC and that is why they left, look at their conference records in the WAC. Lamar was only in one year and won 0 onference games in Football and 0 in mens and womens basketball and said oh @#$#@$ we are getting killed we do not belong here. RGV has been a doormat in the WAC ever since they joined, but had nowhere else to go. SFA , though competitive, can not win championships in the WAC like they did in the Southland and wants trophies over good competition. This year they were winless in conference in Football and Finished Tied for 6th in basketball with a 10-10 conference record and were dead last in baseball not even making the conference Tourney. Tarleton, ACU, and UTA prefer not to live in the Ghetto that is the Southland and value competition and schools that will spend on athletics to grow the University both academically and athletically. Simply put Lamar, RGV and SFA could not keep up and decided to move to the low rent neighborhood where they have a chance to compete instead of being doormats. Tarleton, ACU, and UTA prefer to live outside of the ghetto and work hard to better themselves instead of giving up and having to move to said ghetto. Just because Lamar, SFA, and RGV go there does not mean Tarleton, ACU and UTA are going there as well. There is a fallacy in that logic and if you can not see that I can not help you. Believe what you want, but NO WAY IN HELL is TARLETON, ACU or UTA degrading themselves to move to the Southland.

And this is why athletic programs are running deficits annually. If SLC basketball is terrible, then an NCAA autobid would look incredibly appealing.

Your comment will age like milk.

[laker]

And this is why athletic programs are running deficits annually. If SLC basketball is terrible, then an NCAA autobid would look incredibly appealing.

Your comment will age like milk.

I wrote to UCO officials years ago when MSU-Mankato was playing softball there and I could see the football stadium in the back. Looks like you have great facilities- is there much interest in going D1 or are the politics too involved to do so?

[UCObluejay]

I wrote to UCO officials years ago when MSU-Mankato was playing softball there and I could see the football stadium in the back. Looks like you have great facilities- is there much interest in going D1 or are the politics too involved to do so?

There have been rumors of that for the past 15 years if not more. I have been wrong before, but I don't know if anyone has a plan one way or the other. If they were to jump, now would be the time, as the WAC is a small Utah-Texas conference. That being said, if I had to guess, I would say no.

[crixus]

You can't kill the WAC. You can dismember it, but you can't kill it. The WAC will survive.

[laker]

Simpson to Join Frontier as Associate Member in Football - Victory Sports Network