What is in the Future for the GAC?

[Divisiontwo]

Re: What is in the Future for the GAC?

Really good golf team. Not that that makes any difference.

[johnintx]

Re: What is in the Future for the GAC?

Yes. OC (they're not OCU...that is Oklahoma City University), SNU, and OBU (OKBU) all had great success in basketball at the NAIA level, and had great rivalries with each other.

I don't feel that old, but when I started at OBU, OC was known as OCC, and SNU was known as Bethany Nazarene College. Things change.

[OldBison]

Re: What is in the Future for the GAC?

Yes. OC (they're not OCU...that is Oklahoma City University), SNU, and OBU (OKBU) all had great success in basketball at the NAIA level, and had great rivalries with each other.

I don't feel that old, but when I started at OBU, OC was known as OCC, and SNU was known as Bethany Nazarene College. Things change.

Yes. When I went to HU it was a NAIA school of 1,800 called Harding College.

[Tech Boys]

Re: What is in the Future for the GAC?

Yes. When I went to HU it was a NAIA school of 1,800 called Harding College.

I remember when I started at Tech, Harding was still saying "we are a university now." Harding's first year as a university (79-80) was my sophomore year in high school. I don't think I'm that old but my body is starting to tell me I'm older.

[Ian Carlson]

[Mulerider]

Re: What is in the Future for the GAC?

Current Heartland Conference and future Lone Star Conference Arkansas-Fort Smith and Oklahoma Christian would fit that bill. Yes, I know they don't have football, but you could easily add those two non-football schools in all other sports (1) if the GAC were open to the idea of adding non-football schools and (2) UAFS and OCU were interested in having closer road trips to Alva, Durant and Arkadelphia in the GAC instead of continuing their extensive travel to Laredo and San Antonio, and adding in trips to New Mexico, once the Heartland/LSC mega-merger is complete. If you go to a two-division setup with the Arkansas schools in one division (East) and the Oklahoma schools in the other (West), you could make a 14 team basketball league work with 12 divisional games and seven cross-division games; though, admittedly, one downside would be trying to round up three additional non-conference games. (Bear in mind the other Oklahoma school currently in the Heartland, Rogers State, is joining the MIAA.) If nothing else, you still get the equal number of Arkie schools vs. Okie schools to keep divisional play consistent.

I'm not saying that it will ever happen, but then again, I never thought I'd see the day Rogers State would make the jump to the MIAA.

UAFS won't be apart of the GAC untill they get football.

[OldBison]

Re: What is in the Future for the GAC?

Contraction? Hum ... interesting. I never thought of this. I can see how that might strengthen the GAC at this point. Who do recommend should leave the GAC?

[Ian Carlson]

Re: What is in the Future for the GAC?

Contraction? Hum ... interesting. I never thought of this. I can see how that might strengthen the GAC at this point. Who do recommend should leave the GAC?

[walnut100]

[OldBison]

Re: What is in the Future for the GAC?

[Ian Carlson]

Re: What is in the Future for the GAC?

[badboyblynn]

Re: What is in the Future for the GAC?

Ian, just curious; you mentioned in this thread that "about 10 of them need to go". Were you talking about them moving up or down? or some of both?

[Ian Carlson]

Re: What is in the Future for the GAC?

Ian, just curious; you mentioned in this thread that "about 10 of them need to go". Were you talking about them moving up or down? or some of both?

In my pipe dream, whatever it takes to get to 160 teams.

[SoonerSpooner]

Re: What is in the Future for the GAC?

So what about adding one of the NAIA schools like we've done before?
Langston has done a good job of winning in NAIA, so either them or OPSU (I know they've tried to with the LSC, but i could only imagine the drive to the panhandle).

For Arkansas I can't really think of anyone other than Lyon, which has a relatively new football team. They would get slaughtered and be in the same catergory SNU was when they moved (lets be honest..SNU was not ready for the jump to D2 initally)

But overall, I see them staying with the current format.

[Tech Boys]

Re: What is in the Future for the GAC?

So what about adding one of the NAIA schools like we've done before?
Langston has done a good job of winning in NAIA, so either them or OPSU (I know they've tried to with the LSC, but i could only imagine the drive to the panhandle).

For Arkansas I can't really think of anyone other than Lyon, which has a relatively new football team. They would get slaughtered and be in the same catergory SNU was when they moved (lets be honest..SNU was not ready for the jump to D2 initally)

But overall, I see them staying with the current format.

OPSU left D2 for NAIA in July 2017 claiming financial reasons, doubtful they will ever return to D2. Langston almost applied the year Oklahoma Baptist did but for unknown reasons decided against D2. They do not have the GAC required sport of Baseball. Lyon is just too small for D2. They have 676 students, about 1,000 less than Ouachita Baptist which is the smallest of Arkansas' D2 schools.