Central Arkansas on SLC Expansion

[TexasTerror]

I'm personally a big fan of all this expansion talk in the conference. Really gets me excited to think there's interesting opportunities abound for the SLC which may help us contend better nationally in various sports with these new programs that could come on in. Below is an article from Little Rock about UCA.

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LITTLE ROCK - Fans of University of Central Arkansas athletics may soon come to realize that Natchitoches is in Louisiana and Nacogdoches is in Texas.

Northwestern State is in Natchitoches and Stephen F. Austin is in Nacogdoches and both are in the Southland Conference, a likely league for UCA if the Conway school proceeds with plans to move up to Division I-AA.

Last weekend, UCA president Lu Hardin and athletic director Vance Strange were in Houston, meeting with Southland Conference presidents and a couple of athletic directors. Playing football as an independent in I-AA is a certain loser and joining a conference is only possible if a league needs teams.

The Missouri Valley, the Ohio Valley and the Sun Belt are also I-AA, but UCA has no plans to approach any other conference at this point.

In addition to Northwestern State and Stephen F. Austin, the Southland has four other football-playing schools - Sam Houston State, Texas State, Nicholls State and McNeese State. Tarleton State, Corpus Christi and Pan-American also made presentations to the Southland during the weekend, but only Tarleton plays football.

Continued...
http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2005/05/25/HarryKing/321817.html

[arkstfan]

I don't get the UCA guys. They have so far talked of bringing in SMU, Tulsa, Rice and even Air Force for home games in Little Rock in football.

You don't over-promise on scheduling without eventually paying a price with the fans.

I hope they have some luck finding sponsorships for their Children's Hopsital benefit game. Their last game in Little Rock was against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and didn't cover expenses. UCA routed them and UAPB dropped the remaining 3 games of the agreement.

[NoCoDanny]

You have to take these types of articles with a grain of salt. The Sun Belt and Missouri Valley play I-AA? That's news to me.

[EagleCrusade]

HA! THE SUNBELT!!! No really, its I-AA. MVC's evil twin is the Gateway. I assume that this writer camped out for Star Wars and forgot to research his article.

[arkstfan]

If the SLC passes on either UCA or Tarelton, I wonder if either would join the GWFC.

[Retro]

If the SLC passes on UCA, then somebody is obviously choosing schools for the wrong reasons... They have everything in place to make the jump plus add a great market for the SLC.

[TexasTerror]

If the SLC passes on either UCA or Tarelton, I wonder if either would join the GWFC.

Jumping from Div II to I-AA is already a huge financial leap. If they would join the GWFC, that'd just be problems considering they'd still have to find a home for other athletic teams and the travel would be awful! Tarleton will probably not go I-AA if they do not get a conference invite. UCA is going to do it one way or another.

[arkstfan]

UCA is going to do it one way or another.

I'll be stunned if we ever get to find out if that is true. UCA looks like the only safe bet among expansion candidates to me.

I would have bet it was going to be UCA and TAMU-CC until the SLC invited Centenary to make a presentation. Now I think its UCA and one of the other two.

[kats89]

We don't need anymore non-football schools unless they want to start the Southland Football League again.

[arkstfan]

We don't need anymore non-football schools unless they want to start the Southland Football League again.

But if UTSA, UTA, and Lamar think like most non-football schools they are going to want a non-football school added to balance the expansion.

Remember the balance was 5 members that didn't play football in the SLC and 6 football playing members. SELA getting ready to bring football into the SLC that changes it to 4-7, with ULM leaving it falls to 3-7. Adding UCA and Tarelton would make it 3-9 and more importantly anything that requires a 3/4ths vote could be carried by the football members alone.

That's why I suspect that the SLC will add one full member that plays football and one that does not. It makes the balance 4-8 and insulates the non-football members.

[Sly Fox]

I'm hearing that UCA is basically a shoe-in. A&M-CC desperately needs to get in the league and they will be doing whatever they can to impress the committee. I have friends down there and they have always suggested that if they ever added football it would be I-A since nearly all I-AAs tend to lose money.

But ... after all the trouble they have had joining a league, desperation may force them to commit to I-AA football in order to get them admitted somewhere. It's purely speculation but something I am sure the committee will be asking the Islanders administrators.

[arkstfan]

I have friends down there and they have always suggested that if they ever added football it would be I-A since nearly all I-AAs tend to lose money.


A lot of Central Arkansas boosters say the same thing. You can fund a I-A at a I-AA level and grab some checks and do OK money-wise, just have to understand that all the losing will gut your fan base

[Sly Fox]

Ralph - I think they understand they would lose money in all likelihood at either level. That's why they were suggesting they might as well lose dinero on the biggest stage possible. That's also why they continue to postpone their football talk. Keep in mind, they were just a 2-year school a decade ago (junior & senior years) and they have quickly built quality programs in nearly all the non-revenue sports in addition to mens & womens hoops. So they are probably feeling pretty big for their britches at this point.

arkstfan - That's mentality of WKU and other right now. But as so many have discovered, cashing out is not as easy as it would appear. But its a risk a lot of administrators are willing to make in light of the relaxation of I-A standards.

[arkstfan]

I think you will see school officials say why should we go to 200 scholies and 16 sports when we can stay in I-AA and get a check playing I-A's much more easily now.

I think once WKU moves things are going to get pretty stable as far as schools going I-A.