"HURST OUT OF PSAC?

[Tdobson]

Have any of those D3 schools: WJ, Geneva, Westminster... ever looked to go D2? I know IUP used to have a rivalry with Westminster. I personally would love to see one of those three (or all 3) move up. I think they would all be a nice addition to the PSAC.

As for St. Francis and Robert Morris, why are they D1? They stink in just about every sport, and I cant imagine that academics are that good at either.

Just wondering.

[Fightingscot82]

Have any of those D3 schools: WJ, Geneva, Westminster... ever looked to go D2? I know IUP used to have a rivalry with Westminster. I personally would love to see one of those three (or all 3) move up. I think they would all be a nice addition to the PSAC.

As for St. Francis and Robert Morris, why are they D1? They stink in just about every sport, and I cant imagine that academics are that good at either.

Just wondering.

W&J is an old-fashioned liberal arts college that is 100% bought into the D3 model. They bring in 50-75 freshmen a year to "play football". Geneva and Westminster were NAIA when that was still a thing in this area and were common non-conference opponents against PSAC West schools. They're in a good D3 conference that has a lot of financial advantages like the PSAC - most schools are very close and are of similar resources. Westminster specifically has been running a tight ship the last few years as their enrollment fluctuates. I just don't think there is much interest to screw with their financial model to add athletic scholarships.

St. Francis and Robert Morris went D1 at a time when you could jump from junior college to D1. They can financially make it work because they're private schools that just budget in the tuition discounts rather than raise the money like the PASSHE schools have to do. Remember for a while the NEC was non-scholarship football. They also pay jack crap to most people working there. So yeah the coach has 7 assistants but the average one makes $20k and just like the players can brag that he's a D1 assistant. The FBS death wish money games only solidified their model. Schools that have never received a $100k donation for football can make $375k by getting slaughtered live on ESPN+. If the NEC didn't exist, these schools would be D2 or D3.