Northwood to GMAC?

[D2Ohio]

In theory for football, if GLIAC is at 7, GMAC is at 9, one team will not be playing each week during conference play, if the politics work out, could work due to geography to get an extra game

[Gliac_fan10]

I could see GVSU going to the Horizon league with everything other than football and then football going to the Ohio Valley. Should be a good fit for everyone of that is the route that GVSU decided to go. Then the GLIAC could recruit some NAIA schools perhaps. I could see WSU or FSU doing the same thing if they have the budget and the leadership to pull off such a move. Personally I hope GVSU stays D2.

[Jim McElwain]

Congrates....you win a cookie!

Love cookies!

[MrsThortonMelon]

I'm aware of that. I was implying without explicitly stating that I can see GVSU and/or FSU deciding to "upgrade" to D1 for their athletic programs but playing football at the FCS level as many former D2 schools have done.

I could see GVSU going to the Horizon league with everything other than football and then football going to the Ohio Valley. Should be a good fit for everyone of that is the route that GVSU decided to go. Then the GLIAC could recruit some NAIA schools perhaps. I could see WSU or FSU doing the same thing if they have the budget and the leadership to pull off such a move. Personally I hope GVSU stays D2.

[WayneStatesman]

You can't only be in D1 for football. The whole department has to be. There are exceptions, but none would apply to this situation.

I'm aware of that. I was implying without explicitly stating that I can see GVSU and/or FSU deciding to "upgrade" to D1 for their athletic programs but playing football at the FCS level as many former D2 schools have done.

[champgymusa]

I told you guys this was happening.

Congrates....you win a cookie!

[Jim McElwain]

I told you guys this was happening.

[Brandon]

For what it's worth, sometime in the early 2000s Wayne State commissioned a study to determine what direction Wayne should take for their athletic program. As I recall the recommendation from this study was to move to D1 with an FCS level football program. Included in that study was a recommendation to add hockey as a varsity sport which you may recall Wayne State did at the D1 level for a short period of time. Other than adding hockey Wayne State basically did not follow any of the other recommendations put forth in the study. It seems Wayne State decided to stick with D2 maybe because the GLIAC was pretty strong at the time.

We'll see what happens now that the future of the GLIAC looks shaky.

Most studies recommend reclassification. I think it's a con game.

[Redwing]

Thats the way I see it. If the public schools stick together, there should be sustainability.

But, by leaving first, the private schools took away the safety net and left the GLIAC in a position where almost no one else can leave without the thing falling apart.

BTW, has there ever been any discussion regarding UM Dearborn? Seems like a sizable public with NAIA sports.

I forget if there was some chatter about them. Madonna College had some talk, but Lawrence Tech sounds like they might have the best odds to move up. With Covid, most of these discussions have quieted down, not saying that they haven't been happening, just not hearing about any.

I do believe there is more sentiment for at least one GLIAC school or more to move up though. Personally, while I think it just may be about time, with the direction the GLIAC has taken lately, it may just be the nudge for things to get rolling on that journey(s.) I truly have mixed emotions about it.

[Tech Boys]

Thats the way I see it. If the public schools stick together, there should be sustainability.

But, by leaving first, the private schools took away the safety net and left the GLIAC in a position where almost no one else can leave without the thing falling apart.

BTW, has there ever been any discussion regarding UM Dearborn? Seems like a sizable public with NAIA sports.

I once looked at UM Dearborn as a possibility for the GLIAC but crossed them off at the start. Just like all NAIA public schools in IL, IN, and OH they do not have football.

[BlueBlood]

I can see FSU and/or GVSU going to FCS for football as has been mentioned in other posts. That would potentially leave only 5 football teams remaining in the GLIAC. That's a real possibility and that's not sustainable.

Thats the way I see it. If the public schools stick together, there should be sustainability.

But, by leaving first, the private schools took away the safety net and left the GLIAC in a position where almost no one else can leave without the thing falling apart.

BTW, has there ever been any discussion regarding UM Dearborn? Seems like a sizable public with NAIA sports.

[KleShreen]

The future may be sustainable for the GLIAC in all other sports but I was specifically referring to football. Do Purdue NW and Parkside have D2 football teams? I can see FSU and/or GVSU going to FCS for football as has been mentioned in other posts. That would potentially leave only 5 football teams remaining in the GLIAC. That's a real possibility and that's not sustainable.

You can't only be in D1 for football. The whole department has to be. There are exceptions, but none would apply to this situation.

[WayneStatesman]

If the 7 MI public schools are committed to sticking together, and Purdue NW and UW Parkside are committed, is that shaky ground? Or sustainable? I kind of think that if the base is committed to each other, there should be stability and sustainability.

The future may be sustainable for the GLIAC in all other sports but I was specifically referring to football. Do Purdue NW and Parkside have D2 football teams? I can see FSU and/or GVSU going to FCS for football as has been mentioned in other posts. That would potentially leave only 5 football teams remaining in the GLIAC. That's a real possibility and that's not sustainable.

[UFOILERFAN]

Why not? The GNAC schools are always looking for football games.

[BlueBlood]

Sustainable, IMO.