Central Arkansas to Join Southland in 2006-07

[GeauxLions94]

With the loss of one school (UL-Monroe), we get two quality schools in return with TAMU-CC and Central Arkansas. :nod:

Central Arkansas to Join Southland Conference (http://southland.collegesports.com/genrel/091505aaa.html)

[TexasTerror]

I think UCA and A&M-CC improve the conference across the board. UCA will be a middle of the road football team from day one and improve other sports (namely basketball, baseball and softball) from the opening gun...

[Cat79]

UCA and Texas A & M-CC

Welcome to the SLC :)

[JoshUCA]

Hello all...looks like we have a new home!! GO BEARS!

[Bear Fan 101]

I am so happy we can join you guys. I look forward to a nice little partnership with the Southland, 1-AA and UCA now.

As for middle of the road, I sure we can start that high, and improve in football. I feel good about our women's program in basketball, although I know better than to expect anything the first few years. As far as baseball, I got to be honest and I have no idea how they will adjust. You guys will have to help us out on our Southland history on all the sports :D

Look forward to getting to know our new homei nthe upcoming months, although we still have business to take care of in the Gulf South ;)

[TxSt02]

I look forward to our future matches! Hopefully we can play you guys a couple times before conference play like we did with SeLa in 03 and 04... Good times.

[kats89]

Welcome to the Southland Conference. Hope your team is ready for some smash mouth football.

[Bear Fan 101]

Welcome to the Southland Conference. Hope your team is ready for some smash mouth football.

If not, they better get ready to get there anyway! :D Or we will get :deadhorse

[TexasTerror]

Ralph,

These UCA fans are coming on strong. Been in I-AA, though not officially, for several hours and already making appearances on KatFans and AGS. They're spreading their love for UCA athletics and I think they're going to be a great addition to the fan experience we have on these online boards...

[Bear Fan 101]

Ralph,

These UCA fans are coming on strong. Been in I-AA, though not officially, for several hours and already making appearances on KatFans and AGS. They're spreading their love for UCA athletics and I think they're going to be a great addition to the fan experience we have on these online boards...

yep, and most of us don't like to cause problems either, so I hope we fit in nicely with you guys. :beerchug:

UCA Official Athletics Site (http://www.ucasports.com)
University of Central Arkansas (http://www.uca.edu)

[BigBear04]

Glad to join you guys in D-IAA and here on the board.

Go Bears!

[89Hen]

most of us don't like to cause problems either, so I hope we fit in nicely with you guys.
Uhh, actually you won't fit in here then. :p

[Cat79]

Bear Fan 101,

Baseball in the SLC is tough. Texas State defeated Texas in their stadium but could not win the SLC. How is that for tough? The SLC is known for knocking off Big 12 teams in NCAA baseball tournament play.

Football-The SLC usually has two representatives in I-AA football. Last year Sam Houston and Northwestern State represented. Sam Houston made it to the semi-finals before losing to Montana.

Basketball-SLC basketball is improving. The seeding for the winner of the SLC has been ranging from 12th to 16th seed. Our teams usually play the #1 or #2 seed. Women's basketball suffer the same type of seeding as described above.

Golf and track have had their moments of NCAA success. Charles Austin the olympic high jumper was a member of the track team at Texas State.

Women's sports are very competitive in golf, softball, soccer and track.

You can look forward to a competitive SLC in all sports. Great to have you guys in our conference.

[TexasTerror]

Womens' is not competitive in soccer or track! Soccer gets blown out outside SLC play. Heck, Nicholls is getting smacked around by the SWAC. SLC had one or two good athletes in womens' track and is no shows in national XC scene...

Cat79, why are Bobcat fans on your forums acting as if adding UCA is like adding a HS team?

[Cat79]

TT,

I think most of our fans are unfamilar with UCA. I guess they don't see UCA as a rival like with Sam Houston or SFA. I think once the teams start playing each other on a regular basis this will change.

Some of our fans wonder why Texas A & M Kingsville was not considered?

You are right about women's soccer and track not being as competitive. SWT/Texas State did make a strong showing in track about 3-4 years ago.

[BigBear04]

SWT/Texas State did make a strong showing in track about 3-4 years ago.
I have known about Texas State's track program for a while; there's a hot girl from Arkansas by way of Russia that's one of yall's hurdlers :nod: She was at a few meets I went to in high school.

[GeauxLions94]

Some of our fans wonder why Texas A & M Kingsville was not considered?


Probably because they weren't interested in moving up :rotateh: The five schools who expressed interest about membership in the Southland at the beginning of the process were: TAMU-CC, UCA, Texas-Pan Am, Centenary and Tarleton State.

[McTailGator]

Hello all...looks like we have a new home!! GO BEARS!

Welcome to Division I and the SLC!

I look forward to seeing you guys in Lake Charles and visiting the Little Rock Area everyother year.

Good Luck

[89rabbit]

Welcome aboard UCA! :hurray:

[JaxSinfonian]

Welcome to the Bears and to all the UCA fans out there!


As for middle of the road, I sure we can start that high, and improve in football.

I hope you're right. But as a fan of the last Gulf South Conference power to join the Southland, I must warn you, these teams will line up and hit you in the mouth. Your team must step up its game, no matter what came before in D-II.

13 years after leaving the league, JSU is still the winningest program in GSC history, at 167-69, with nine conference titles, four national title game appearances and a D-II national championship in 1992. The next two years we were a I-AA transitional, independent team. In 1995 JSU joined the Southland. After 8 years in that league JSU's record stood at 31-55.

And that, ladies & gents, is why I love the Ohio Valley Conference!

[JoshUCA]

I hope that our fans realize that! This is not going to be easy, and we MAY have some poor records for the next several years...but in the end it will all be worth it!

[McNeese75]

I hope that our fans realize that! This is not going to be easy, and we MAY have some poor records for the next several years...but in the end it will all be worth it!

Wecome to the Dogfight!!! :D

[kats89]

Welcome to the Bears and to all the UCA fans out there!



I hope you're right. But as a fan of the last Gulf South Conference power to join the Southland, I must warn you, these teams will line up and hit you in the mouth. Your team must step up its game, no matter what came before in D-II.

13 years after leaving the league, JSU is still the winningest program in GSC history, at 167-69, with nine conference titles, four national title game appearances and a D-II national championship in 1992. The next two years we were a I-AA transitional, independent team. In 1995 JSU joined the Southland. After 8 years in that league JSU's record stood at 31-55.

And that, ladies & gents, is why I love the Ohio Valley Conference!

Big difference in the Southland huh? I hated to see Jacksonville St leave the conference. But, if you can't take the heat, time to get out of the kitchen!! :D Just messin' with ya!

Welcome to the Southland UCA :nod:

[Dallas Demon]

Welcome to the Southland UCA - great addition!

[JaxSinfonian]

Big difference in the Southland huh? I hated to see Jacksonville St leave the conference. But, if you can't take the heat, time to get out of the kitchen!! :D Just messin' with ya!

No offense taken. The only way to defend against those type of comments is to win, something JSU never did consistently in the old SFL. The Gamecocks had their moments, and managed to beat every team in the league at least once, except for McNeese (and Troy, but they don't count ;). Quitters. ). But they could never string enough success together.

They had a lot of coaching issues in those years, though. And Crowe had them on the right track by the time we left for the OVC. JSU's success the last two years hasn't all been because of the new league's "weakness." Had we still been in the Southland I think JSU would have been in the running for at least an at-large bid out of that league, especially considering McNeese's recent troubles.

I enjoyed the SFL. Great teams, to be sure. And I always liked seeing NW State in the top 10 because it meant JSU was going to give them fits. :) In the end, the travel was just too much. The average distance to our SFL opponents after Troy left was 613 miles. The average distance to our OVC foes is 285 miles.

But I like it because we've won it twice. :)

[Bear Fan 101]

As for middle of the road, I sure we can start that high, and improve in football.

See what happens when I get excited like yesterday, I CLEARLY left out "I sure HOPE we can start that high, and improve in football."

Gosh I know this will be a long and dificult process to get up to snuff inthe SLC and 1-AA in general. I hope we are ready for that task.

[Lumberjacks76]

Central Arkansas will be a good fit for the Southland. I think they will excel at the Division I-AA level and provide adequate competition for other teams, such as the Sam Houston State Bearkats.

Paul

[CollegeSportsInfo]

Congrats and welcome to I-AA!