GAC football

[OldBison]

A road, a two-lane road, separates the two campuses. I good golfer could get all of an 7 iron hit from Henderson’s football field and landing a ball on Ouachita’s field.

[BisonDivot]

A road, a two-lane road, separates the two campuses. I good golfer could get all of an 7 iron hit from Henderson’s football field and landing a ball on Ouachita’s field.

It is a little further than a 7 iron as I remember when the former golf coach at Henderson State Ben Smock did this feat. The NCAA still has part of the story in this article:

https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/a...ravine-rivalry

[TigerGuy]

That's a pretty fair assessment. I remember when Harding ran a spread offense in the late nineties and early 2000s, and the outcome of a given game or given season was usually dependent on 1-2 lucky or unlucky breaks. I think Harding's best defense ever might have been back in 2002, but their pass happy offense was inconsistent enough that the team ended up losing at Henderson (they went 22/43 passing that day and only ran for 46 yards, numbers which seem impossibly backward today) and at home against Delta State (once again, completing less than 50% of your passes when throwing it around 40 times and running for 63 yards are a flashy way to fail).

In the pre-GAC and early GAC days, HSU was the team to beat. I went to almost every in state game for a few years there, and the team I saw them beat least often was HSU. Since then, it has shifted significantly and the only team that has consistently given them a run for their money has been OBUI.

After coach Huckeba shifted to the option, the team became more consistent and ended up winning far more games, and for the past decade the pecking order in the GAC has seemed like the following (and it's pretty clear):
1. Harding
2. OBU
3. HSU
4. SAU
...
...
...
...
...
Everyone else (with a huge gap)

Please lump SAU with everyone else and you got it.

[Tdobson]

I would like to thank everyone for their responses. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.

Good luck on Saturday.

[Searcy]

Please lump SAU with everyone else and you got it.

Well, they finished second in 2023, 3rd in 2024, and 3rd in 2025. Without that recent streak, you might argue for them to be lumped in with the rest, but then it turns out that they have finished in the top four in the conference 6 of the 9 seasons played since 2016, including finishing as high as second twice. That's not quite as good as Harding, OBU, and HSU who have consistently finished in the top three, but it's good enough to differentiate SAU from the pack of "everyone else."

I'm a numbers guy. so I went back and looked at all the standings for the past decade.

Other than those 4 (Harding, OBU, HSU, and SAU) there are only 7 top 4 finishes by schools in the conference since 2016. SAU has twice as many as the next team with 6, which is actually almost as many as the rest of the conference combined in that span. Here's everybody's top 4 finishes that aren't in the top 4 I listed above:

SE Ok 3
ATU 2
UAM
ECU

As I said, without their most recent 3 years of finishing 2nd or 3rd, SAU doesn't look better than these other middle of the pack schools, but finishing in the top 4 6 out of 9 seasons is better than anybody not in the top 3 by quite a bit.

[walnut100]

The tier list as I see it:

1) Harding

2) Ouachita

3) Henderson

4) Most of the Arkansas Schools

5) Most of the Oklahoma Schools

My dream is for Harding to get embarrassed in the post-season enough that I can have some friendly banter with the more reasonable ones again because they were chill until they won their title. Now this place has become like the MIAA board but with Harding fans slinging mud unprovoked and our posters in purple are firing back and it's just a disaster

[LeftSider]

The tier list as I see it:

1) Harding

2) Ouachita

3) Henderson

4) Most of the Arkansas Schools

5) Most of the Oklahoma Schools

My dream is for Harding to get embarrassed in the post-season enough that I can have some friendly banter with the more reasonable ones again because they were chill until they won their title. Now this place has become like the MIAA board but with Harding fans slinging mud unprovoked and our posters in purple are firing back and it's just a disaster

Really? OBU #2?!?

[Bisonfan from FLA]

The tier list as I see it:

1) Harding

2) Ouachita

3) Henderson

4) Most of the Arkansas Schools

5) Most of the Oklahoma Schools

My dream is for Harding to get embarrassed in the post-season enough that I can have some friendly banter with the more reasonable ones again because they were chill until they won their title. Now this place has become like the MIAA board but with Harding fans slinging mud unprovoked and our posters in purple are firing back and it's just a disaster

Yes, there is some shots fired back and forth, but I hope and pray that most people know it is not meant to be mean, cruel or hurt (though at times it can come across that way). Yet all is not negative from our respective posters.

Graciousness does appear from our posters, and we all can strive to promote our schools without dipping down low. I know I am not good at mud slinging and when I have tried it I released it is not good to do, so I will stick with stating fact (and being able to provide evidence), giving opinion and having supporting stats, and giving praise where it is do.

Have a blessed Christmas Break.

Congratulations to Ferris for their senior class to have won 3 out of 4 championships in their career.

Go Bisons!

[Bisons10]

The tier list as I see it:

1) Harding

2) Ouachita

3) Henderson

4) Most of the Arkansas Schools

5) Most of the Oklahoma Schools

My dream is for Harding to get embarrassed in the post-season enough that I can have some friendly banter with the more reasonable ones again because they were chill until they won their title. Now this place has become like the MIAA board but with Harding fans slinging mud unprovoked and our posters in purple are firing back and it's just a disaster

I hate to tell be the one to tell you but it being a “disaster” is of your own making:

-Your dream of an embarrassing display by Harding in the postseason will never happen. Harding fans are appreciative of all the opportunities we are afforded in the playoffs regardless of outcome. Losing to Ferris yesterday was a loss to a team that was clearly better. They have a coach that is highly respected and they have been an incredible force for several years now. A team loses in every National Championship, on every level, every year. And Harding did yesterday. And there is nothing more exciting for a fan than booking that trip to a National Championship and spending a weekend soaking up the very minute. 16 straight weeks of enjoyment!

-Of course Harding fans were chill until we won a National Championship. We had not been there before like all the great teams for years that had done it. So my advice to you is stay chill… you haven’t been there.

-The MIAA have a history and a lot to talk about. Once again you have no context. There is a maturity of those posters who have bantered back and forth for years because they have had the teams to back it up.

-“Slinging mud”.. need more context but if I think I know what that is, quit playing the innocent card. I’m not sure anyone invited you to the Ferris vs Harding chat where your opinion of embarrassment was asked or even mattered. I honestly thought it was funny you are whining here about that and posting on that thread.. haha

-And lastly, just be honest with yourself. Dare to climb out of your delusional OBU bubble and maybe the disaster you describe won’t be so disastrous.

[Tdobson]

Congratulations on a great season. Yes, you were the runners up, but I know a lot of schools would love to be in your place.

Good luck to the Bison next year. I am sure that they will be back.

Thank you all for your feedback and information. I never realized that Oklahoma or Arkansas had that many schools.

Merry Christmas to the group.

[OBUGrad]

I hate to tell be the one to tell you but it being a “disaster” is of your own making:

-Your dream of an embarrassing display by Harding in the postseason will never happen. Harding fans are appreciative of all the opportunities we are afforded in the playoffs regardless of outcome. Losing to Ferris yesterday was a loss to a team that was clearly better. They have a coach that is highly respected and they have been an incredible force for several years now. A team loses in every National Championship, on every level, every year. And Harding did yesterday. And there is nothing more exciting for a fan than booking that trip to a National Championship and spending a weekend soaking up the very minute. 16 straight weeks of enjoyment!

-Of course Harding fans were chill until we won a National Championship. We had not been there before like all the great teams for years that had done it. So my advice to you is stay chill… you haven’t been there.

-The MIAA have a history and a lot to talk about. Once again you have no context. There is a maturity of those posters who have bantered back and forth for years because they have had the teams to back it up.

-“Slinging mud”.. need more context but if I think I know what that is, quit playing the innocent card. I’m not sure anyone invited you to the Ferris vs Harding chat where your opinion of embarrassment was asked or even mattered. I honestly thought it was funny you are whining here about that and posting on that thread.. haha

-And lastly, just be honest with yourself. Dare to climb out of your delusional OBU bubble and maybe the disaster you describe won’t be so disastrous.

Wow. Talk about proving a post correct. The man says he likes a more civil board with friendly banter and he gets this essay. Haha.

Come back walnut100! There are still plenty of Harding posters worth talking too. I still enjoy the guys that have been around for more than 5 minutes.

[Bisons10]

Wow. Talk about proving a post correct. The man says he likes a more civil board with friendly banter and he gets this essay. Haha.

Come back walnut100! There are still plenty of Harding posters worth talking too. I still enjoy the guys that have been around for more than 5 minutes.

I always love the posters who have to pull in someone else to back them up because they have nothing. At least Harding posters will post on their own. Easy to do when facts speak for themselves.