Non-conference requirement?

[Predatory Primates]

It makes it hard to convince donors that your school is trying to put a worthwhile product on the field if they intentionally handicap themselves to a conference who can only get 1 possible team in.

I think donor pressure at individual schools will make the GAC teams end the silo eventually if it passes.

[Mulerider]

I doubt anything will change with the GAC silo schedule any time soon. Even if the recommendation is made and approved, requiring a non-conference game would only be needed for an at-large bid, not for the autobid the conference champion would receive. With NPI now being the determining factor no second GAC team is getting in the POs anyway even if they played a non-conference game in zero week. The financial advantage of the silo is too valuable to the school presidents to end it. As far as zero week games, not happening. GAC schools are not adding a 12th game.

This will continue to hurt the GAC. We need to show the GAC can compete with other conferences by playing out-of-conference teams.

[OldBison]

If the GAC does bust up the silo, I wonder which scenario will be favored by the conference: 1) Play a 12th game by all schools scheduling a zero week non-conference opponent 2) Play a 12th game by giving the option of scheduling one in-conference and one out of conference school for weeks 0 and 1 3) moving to two divisions, each school scheduling 11 games with in-conference and out of conference schools. As has been already been said, if option 3 were to coincide with a merger with the GSC (sans West Florida) this could be the best option. Just thinking out loud. Alva, OK to Valdosta, GA. Now that’s a road trip! Makes a strong case for Arkansas Six in one division and Oklahoma Six in the other.

[Mulerider]

If the GAC does bust up the silo, I wonder which scenario will be favored by the conference: 1) Play a 12th game by all schools scheduling a zero week non-conference opponent 2) Play a 12th game by giving the option of scheduling one in-conference and one out of conference school for weeks 0 and 1 3) moving to two divisions, each school scheduling 11 games with in-conference and out of conference schools. As has been already been said, if option 3 were to coincide with a merger with the GSC (sans West Florida) this could be the best option. Just thinking out loud. Alva, OK to Valdosta, GA. Now that’s a road trip! Makes a strong case for Arkansas Six in one division and Oklahoma Six in the other.

I think I like options 1 and 2 the most, but would prefer option 3 over what we have now.

[Tech Boys]

As far as I can find, D2 football does not allow a 12th regular season game. We don't need divisions either. Simply rotate 2 teams (not rival) off the schedule each season. There's nothing stopping the GAC from playing non-cons except the GAC.

[Predatory Primates]

As far as I can find, D2 football does not allow a 12th regular season game. We don't need divisions either. Simply rotate 2 teams (not rival) off the schedule each season. There's nothing stopping the GAC from playing non-cons except the GAC.

Call it a Preseason bowl game?

[OldBison]

As far as I can find, D2 football does not allow a 12th regular season game. We don't need divisions either. Simply rotate 2 teams (not rival) off the schedule each season. There's nothing stopping the GAC from playing non-cons except the GAC.

I thought of this option but didn’t know how the conference would decide year to year which two teams each team would rotate off. The NSIC has two divisions and still has to rotate off one team due to the odd number of teams in the conference, I think. Not sure. The GAC wouldn’t have that problem with 12 teams. I just don’t know how the conference would keep rivalries in play and rotate two teams off each team’s schedule in a fair and equatable way.

[Tech Boys]

Rotate one team from each state. Establish and maintain a rotation pattern unless there is a change of membership. It would take 12 years to have the same two teams off the schedule. During the 12 years, you miss an in-state team 3 times and twice you miss a team from the other state.

[OldBison]

Rotate one team from each state. Establish and maintain a rotation pattern unless there is a change of membership. It would take 12 years to have the same two teams off the schedule. During the 12 years, you miss an in-state team 3 times and twice you miss a team from the other state.

Very helpful, Tech Boys. So every year there is a 1 in 2,25 chance an Arkansas team doesn’t have to travel to Alva, OK. This is a good thing!

[GorillaTeacher]

Rotate one team from each state. Establish and maintain a rotation pattern unless there is a change of membership. It would take 12 years to have the same two teams off the schedule. During the 12 years, you miss an in-state team 3 times and twice you miss a team from the other state.

If you went divisions and played 5 cross division games, you could get it in 6. But if you didn't, you'd get it in 12. I think the division is better. If you went 4 cross divisional games you could get everyone to play everyone in 15 years...

You guys have enough data now that you could split the divisions by historical strength and make sure the more dominate teams are not in the same division. HU, OBU, ECU... not all in the same division.

[Bisonfan from FLA]

You guys have enough data now that you could split the divisions by historical strength and make sure the more dominate teams are not in the same division. HU, OBU, ECU... not all in the same division.

Here is my stab at divisions keeping in mind historical strength and making sure the more dominant teams are not in the same division. Split both Arkansas and Oklahoma into North and South divisions.

North would be Harding, Ark.Tech, Henderson, NWOkla, SWOkla, OkBaptist.
South would be Ouachita, SAU, UAM, S. Nazarene, E.Central Okla, SEOkla

Two private schools in each division, four state schools.
Historically you have two strong teams in each division.

Only real "kink" would be the OBU/HSU Battle of the Ravine rivalry that would be needing to keep a team from each division locked into annual battle and not part of the rotation.

Just a thought!

[GorillaTeacher]

Here is my stab at divisions keeping in mind historical strength and making sure the more dominant teams are not in the same division. Split both Arkansas and Oklahoma into North and South divisions.

North would be Harding, Ark.Tech, Henderson, NWOkla, SWOkla, OkBaptist.
South would be Ouachita, SAU, UAM, S. Nazarene, E.Central Okla, SEOkla

Two private schools in each division, four state schools.
Historically you have two strong teams in each division.

Only real "kink" would be the OBU/HSU Battle of the Ravine rivalry that would be needing to keep a team from each division locked into annual battle and not part of the rotation.

Just a thought!

I think you just make them the same division.

[EastStroud13]

As a fan of a conference that has historically used divisions and one division has historically been stronger: just do it geographically. The way playoff selection process for D2 is set up, it benefits the better division to avoid Strength of Schedule mines, as long as there are enough crossovers to provide chances for the better division to bank wins against the worse division.

[Predatory Primates]

I think you just make them the same division.

Yeah. You can't kill that rivalry. It gets national attention most years.