Out-of-Conference Scheduling for GAC

[OldBison]

I assume everyone saw the post on the MIAA board that NEOSU was not playing football in the MIAA for the upcoming season: https://ruralradio.com/krvn/news/mia...otball-lineup/

What do you think are the chances some of the Oklahoma state universities in the GAC will do the same in the near future to allow the GAC to do OC scheduling?

[BisonBones]

I assume everyone saw the post on the MIAA board that NEOSU was not playing football in the MIAA for the upcoming season: https://ruralradio.com/krvn/news/mia...otball-lineup/

What do you think are the chances some of the Oklahoma state universities in the GAC will do the same in the near future to allow the GAC to do OC scheduling?

As I see it, there are 2 scenarios that would allow out of conference scheduling; neither of which I would be super excited about.

As you said, a couple of the Oklahoma schools dropping football. This would be terrible for those schools and players, but also would allow the rest of the schools continue playing a full conference schedule and play out of conference. Honestly, though, it's hard to see how teams like SWOSU and NWOSU keep the necessary support if they keep performing like they did this past year.

The GAC could also split into divisions. I don't like this because it would add a championship game to the schedule and not everyone would play everyone else in the conference. With such a top heavy conference, it would seem ridiculous if you didn't have to play Harding, OBU, or HSU (or maybe only play one of them?). Also, the natural division between the divisions would be to have an Oklahoma and an Arkansas division. This would be incredibly unbalanced for the foreseeable future.

Adding in some other schools might help these problems, but I'm not sure where they'd come from. I wouldn't be surprised if the GSC fizzled out in a few years if West Florida and Valdosta joined UWG in DI; Delta State would be a pretty good grab for the GAC in that scenario. But adding Delta State wouldn't really solve any of the problems with creating divisions.


I'd love to see Harding be able to schedule some home and homes with Pitt State or UCM or play UCA or UAPB even, but the costs of doing that are high. It's obviously not worth ending a program, but opening up the schedule could be a silver lining to one of the Oklahoma schools dropping out.

[OBUGrad]

Going independent as they are isn’t easy, I would imagine there are some scheduling nightmares.

I bet everyone will sit back and observe a few years. Could be a great test case.

I’d love to add Delta State. Makes a ton of sense, but right now I don’t see the numbers working out.

[LukeMcConnell1]

I can't see any Oklahoma schools dropping football. At least, I'd be very surprised if that happened.

I'd assume NEOSU is gonna end up playing a bunch of NAIA schools to fill a schedule?

[OBUGrad]

I can't see any Oklahoma schools dropping football. At least, I'd be very surprised if that happened.

I'd assume NEOSU is gonna end up playing a bunch of NAIA schools to fill a schedule?

Or taking long road trips. Maybe a combo of both. Neither option seems very good.

[BisonBones]

I can't see any Oklahoma schools dropping football. At least, I'd be very surprised if that happened.

I'd assume NEOSU is gonna end up playing a bunch of NAIA schools to fill a schedule?

Any thoughts on creating divisions? Is there any appetite for that among people with power to do something about it?

[OBUGrad]

Any thoughts on creating divisions? Is there any appetite for that among people with power to do something about it?

To put it simply. No. No appetite for it.

Also what would you do? An Arkansas division and Oklahoma division? I mean it would be so unbalanced from a strength perspective it would be ridiculous.

If you don’t do that you have to break the AR schools apart so they might not even get to place everyone a year which kills some of the longtime natural rivalries.


This conversation comes up every offseason and it’s fun to play the what if game, but reality is nothing is changing. Unless some teams drop football or they add teams.

[OldBison]

SWOSU HC McCoy (interim) out. SWOSU announced coaching search … again.

https://swosuathletics.com/news/2023...all-coach.aspx

[EastStroud13]

Pardon my curiosity as an outsider, but what is the problem with having unbalanced divisions? Being in the tougher division means fewer SOS anchors and more chances for good wins, both of which are important come playoff time. Plus, there's plenty of room in the schedule for crossovers.

[BisonBones]

Pardon my curiosity as an outsider, but what is the problem with having unbalanced divisions? Being in the tougher division means fewer SOS anchors and more chances for good wins, both of which are important come playoff time. Plus, there's plenty of room in the schedule for crossovers.

I those are fair points. The disparity in programs between the divisions would be pretty shocking, however.

Are there other conferences where the only real competitors for a championship are all in one division?

[OldBison]

Pardon my curiosity as an outsider, but what is the problem with having unbalanced divisions? Being in the tougher division means fewer SOS anchors and more chances for good wins, both of which are important come playoff time. Plus, there's plenty of room in the schedule for crossovers.

Good point EastStroud. We have no experience in the GAC with division scheduling. We’ve never had it in the GAC and we didn’t have it the few years some of us were in the LSC and GSC. So, tell us about the PSAC. Do you have what you would call a “stronger” division and a “weaker” division? Other than downside of a conference championship game tie up a date late in the season has it strengthened or weakened the PSAC. My hunch is it has strengthened it or Shepherd would not have come over a few years ago.

[EastStroud13]

Good point EastStroud. We have no experience in the GAC with division scheduling. We’ve never had it in the GAC and we didn’t have it the few years some of us were in the LSC and GSC. So, tell us about the PSAC. Do you have what you would call a “stronger” division and a “weaker” division? Other than downside of a conference championship game tie up a date late in the season has it strengthened or weakened the PSAC. My hunch is it has strengthened it or Shepherd would not have come over a few years ago.

At the moment, the divisions are on fairly equal footing, but much of that is due to Shepherd joining the East. Through the 2010s the West was always the stronger of the divisions, with Cal, IUP, and Slippery Rock usually being the standard-bearers for the conference. But it also meant that whoever won the PSAC West usually had an express ticket to the playoffs, regardless of if they won the conference championship game or not, because the conference championship is always a strength of schedule boost.

Of course, the PSAC benefits by being in the small pond that is Super Region One; we've maintained a spot in the hierarchy above the MEC and NE-10 over the years. And the PSAC is large enough where divisions are the only thing that really makes sense. But I really think it's great to have a divisional slate where every game matters just a little bit more than a standard conference game. I think that was attractive to Shepherd: having the tightness of an 8-team division, but the stability of being in a 16-team conference.

A small aside, I have come to really like the crossover week 11. After going through the full divisional slate, it's kind of fun to see a team from the opposite division right before the playoffs.

[Bearhof]

Something will have to change in the GSC. It needs teams and not sure where they will come from but adding Erskine is not the answer in my opinion. I think the one with Baptist and Harding etc sounds good.

[Predatory Primates]

I those are fair points. The disparity in programs between the divisions would be pretty shocking, however.

Are there other conferences where the only real competitors for a championship are all in one division?

The LSC was kinda like that back in the day.

[Predatory Primates]

Or maybe an Arkansas school or 2 heads North to the MIAA?