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Only one Independent school in the NCAA Division 2?

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  • Only one Independent school in the NCAA Division 2?

    I remember seeing about 5 or 6 schools listed as Independents last year! Now it is only UNC Pembroke. My question is; Are you independent on purpose and if so then what advantage do you have by being independent? You are already part of D2, don't you want to be part of a conference? Your administration should be looking to join a conference. My alma mater is Texas A&M Kingsville and part of the Lone Star Conference. I am just curious and i care!

  • #2
    Re: Only one Independent school in the NCAA Division 2?

    Originally posted by El-Hoggie View Post
    I remember seeing about 5 or 6 schools listed as Independents last year! Now it is only UNC Pembroke. My question is; Are you independent on purpose and if so then what advantage do you have by being independent? You are already part of D2, don't you want to be part of a conference? Your administration should be looking to join a conference. My alma mater is Texas A&M Kingsville and part of the Lone Star Conference. I am just curious and i care!
    UNC Pembroke's primary D2 conference, the Peach Belt Conference, does not sponsor football. UNCP currently has a "scheduling alliance" with the South Atlantic Conference. However, with the pending addition of Virginia-Wise as a full member and granting Limestone (Conference Carolinas) an affiliate membership for football, I'd think it's a matter of time before the SAC offers Pembroke an affiliate membership opportunity. With the SAC scheduling alliance, plus regular rivalry games against CIAA opponents (particularly Winston-Salem State and Fayetteville State, for example), Pembroke isn't exactly hurting as far as filling out their schedule is concerned.
    Cal U (Pa.) Class of 2014

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    • #3
      Re: Only one Independent school in the NCAA Division 2?

      Originally posted by El-Hoggie View Post
      I remember seeing about 5 or 6 schools listed as Independents last year! Now it is only UNC Pembroke. My question is; Are you independent on purpose and if so then what advantage do you have by being independent? You are already part of D2, don't you want to be part of a conference? Your administration should be looking to join a conference. My alma mater is Texas A&M Kingsville and part of the Lone Star Conference. I am just curious and i care!
      ctrabs summary was spot on. Now that a public school in UVA-Wise has been granted membership it seems the door is open for UNCP to get an Associate membership invite for the SAC.

      When UNCP started football they sought associate membership for football in the CIAA, but the then Commissioner countered with full membership only. UNCP didn't want to leave the Peach Belt, so they opted for independent status in football. With the amount of D2 schools in NC alone, plus boarding states and even WV, UNCP has been able to consistently put together some decent schedules each year.

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      • #4
        Re: Only one Independent school in the NCAA Division 2?

        Barton College begins in 2020, will they affiliate with a conference or be independent?

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        • #5
          Re: Only one Independent school in the NCAA Division 2?

          Originally posted by Tech Boys View Post
          Barton College begins in 2020, will they affiliate with a conference or be independent?
          I see Barton at least starting out as an Independent. As others have said, remaining as an Independent has been working well for UNC Pembroke.

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          • #6
            Re: Only one Independent school in the NCAA Division 2?

            Originally posted by Tech Boys View Post
            Barton College begins in 2020, will they affiliate with a conference or be independent?
            For what it's worth it Newberry has their future schedules posted and they have Barton scheduled for 2020 and 2021.

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            • #7
              Re: Only one Independent school in the NCAA Division 2?

              Originally posted by El-Hoggie View Post
              I remember seeing about 5 or 6 schools listed as Independents last year! Now it is only UNC Pembroke. My question is; Are you independent on purpose and if so then what advantage do you have by being independent? You are already part of D2, don't you want to be part of a conference? Your administration should be looking to join a conference. My alma mater is Texas A&M Kingsville and part of the Lone Star Conference. I am just curious and i care!
              I think these days it is practically a requirement to be in a conference. Back when I was in school (over 20 years ago), the football schools in New England were in this kind of gray area where they might be D2 but played some D3 schools or even a D1 school here or there. Scholarship allotments were all over the place too. The schools were pretty much all independent and some would also play outside of the region (New Haven and American International come to mind). In 1997 most of the schools that decided to stay D2 formed their own conference, then called the EFC but now known as the Northeast-10. New Haven was left out (I think) due to a disagreement over scholarships (I think the EFC was non-scholarship?) and was left to scramble for years to find opponents (they once played 4 D1 teams in a season!) before dropping the sport in 2003. In New Haven's case, they ended up joining the Northeast-10 a few years later and brought back football.

              Bottom line - Being independent only works when there are lots of independents or if you have rivalries or a conference willing to schedule with your school. Otherwise, it's a lonely life.

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              • #8
                Re: Only one Independent school in the NCAA Division 2?

                UNCP just announced they are joining the MEC as an associate member in swimming and diving, track and field, wrestling..............and football.

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                • #9
                  Re: Only one Independent school in the NCAA Division 2?

                  Originally posted by boatcapt View Post
                  UNCP just announced they are joining the MEC as an associate member in swimming and diving, track and field, wrestling..............and football.
                  MEC needed something to make up for Shepherd leaving. Don't know much about the Division 3 school that's joining the MEC as well as UNCP, but if they're willing to make the move up they must know what the deal is.

                  Wonder if UNCP will keep playing WSSU each year.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Only one Independent school in the NCAA Division 2?

                    Originally posted by cwfenn View Post
                    MEC needed something to make up for Shepherd leaving. Don't know much about the Division 3 school that's joining the MEC as well as UNCP, but if they're willing to make the move up they must know what the deal is.

                    Wonder if UNCP will keep playing WSSU each year.
                    The current contract for the game runs through 2020. We currently are in the process of finding a new AD, so any future contracts might wait for that hire.

                    I would assume any future games depends on what the MEC decides about their football schedule. Once everything shakes out I believe the MEC will have 12 football schools. If they go the true round robin schedule then that takes up all 11 weeks, so no UNCP v. WSSU game. If the MEC decides to allow OOC games then it will have to be in the first 3 weeks, because those weeks are reserved for OOC play in the CIAA.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Only one Independent school in the NCAA Division 2?

                      Barton and the SAC signed a 2 year scheduling agreement. Barton is essentially filling in the last season of the UNCP agreement.

                      http://bartonbulldogs.com/sports/fba...20190117p5715x

                      "The Bulldogs will play eight of the nine SAC football schools in 2020 and will play all nine programs in 2021." My guess is UVA-Wise is left off Barton's 2020 schedule.
                      Last edited by Tech Boys; 01-17-2019, 06:33 PM.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Only one Independent school in the NCAA Division 2?

                        Pembroke is joining MEC in football and I think wrestling, swimming, and indoor track - 4 sports..
                        Hopefully MEC teams will reach out and play them in spring sports or fall sports

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                        • #13
                          Barton might have a future in SAC, but is East of our footprint. What is their enrollment? 77 Bear

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                          • #14
                            This is old news, but why did North Greenville and the SAC not get along? They could have been a contender in the SAC, a conference of small private schools, with the exception of UV@Wise, Va. (glad they joined the SAC). Later NG joined the Gulf Coast Conference, a conference with mostly State schools with much larger enrollments, than schools in the SAC, where they are not likely to do as well as they did against SAC schools. NG would also be a better geographic fit in the SAC. ??? 77 Bear

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