Comments on: UNCP football http://renji1898.wordpress.com/2008/11/14/uncp-football/ Just another WordPress.com weblog Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:44:50 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Byko http://renji1898.wordpress.com/2008/11/14/uncp-football/#comment-5 Byko Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:44:50 +0000 http://renji1898.wordpress.com/?p=21#comment-5 In terms of conference membership, there simply isn't a good answer because the SAC isn't a good overall fit for UNCP (and the PBC is a much better non-football fit for the Braves), the GSC is too far away, and the CIAA is already, in my opinion, full. North Greenville would be best served getting into the SAC. I don't see a move to Division I happening for them at all. The Big South is the perfect spot for Liberty. They should stay there. Your point about Stony Brook, though, is a good one: as the Northeast Conference starts going from non-scholarship to scholarship football, I could easily see Stony Brook moving there. The Big South would still have at least 6 members for football, though: Liberty, Coastal Carolina, Gardner-Webb, VMI, Presbyterian, and Charleston Southern. That's a nice conference setup for them. I don't see Appalachian State leaving the Southern Conference--there isn't really a better place for them to go right now. Campbell, if they are interested in scholarship football, would be a great fit for the Big South. But it'll take more time to find out what Campbell's future will be. The non-scholarship teams of the Pioneer Football Conference, in general, like where they are. Most of them have ties to non-football conferences for their other sports anyways--one big exception is Davidson, who used to play Division III football but Division I in all other sports until the NCAA changed the rules. The PFC is the perfect solution for them--you will never see Davidson being a Southern Conference football team. UNCP is in a tough position, but I think it can be successful as a D-II independent. It has already been more successful in less time than anyone else really thought possible. You never know what's going to happen next--the PSAC brought in Mercyhurst and Gannon, two private schools, as well as C.W. Post, a New York school. All three of those are outside their historic position of being for Pennsylvania state supported schools only. So, the SAC could open up in time if it needed to. After all, the CIAA made a historic move just this year in making Chowan an all-sports member. When times get tough, traditions can be broken. In terms of conference membership, there simply isn’t a good answer because the SAC isn’t a good overall fit for UNCP (and the PBC is a much better non-football fit for the Braves), the GSC is too far away, and the CIAA is already, in my opinion, full.

North Greenville would be best served getting into the SAC. I don’t see a move to Division I happening for them at all.

The Big South is the perfect spot for Liberty. They should stay there. Your point about Stony Brook, though, is a good one: as the Northeast Conference starts going from non-scholarship to scholarship football, I could easily see Stony Brook moving there. The Big South would still have at least 6 members for football, though: Liberty, Coastal Carolina, Gardner-Webb, VMI, Presbyterian, and Charleston Southern. That’s a nice conference setup for them.

I don’t see Appalachian State leaving the Southern Conference–there isn’t really a better place for them to go right now.

Campbell, if they are interested in scholarship football, would be a great fit for the Big South. But it’ll take more time to find out what Campbell’s future will be.

The non-scholarship teams of the Pioneer Football Conference, in general, like where they are. Most of them have ties to non-football conferences for their other sports anyways–one big exception is Davidson, who used to play Division III football but Division I in all other sports until the NCAA changed the rules. The PFC is the perfect solution for them–you will never see Davidson being a Southern Conference football team.

UNCP is in a tough position, but I think it can be successful as a D-II independent. It has already been more successful in less time than anyone else really thought possible. You never know what’s going to happen next–the PSAC brought in Mercyhurst and Gannon, two private schools, as well as C.W. Post, a New York school. All three of those are outside their historic position of being for Pennsylvania state supported schools only. So, the SAC could open up in time if it needed to. After all, the CIAA made a historic move just this year in making Chowan an all-sports member. When times get tough, traditions can be broken.

]]> By: Mark Goodson-Bill Todman http://renji1898.wordpress.com/2008/11/14/uncp-football/#comment-2 Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:14:35 +0000 http://renji1898.wordpress.com/?p=21#comment-2 Down the road... 1. NC Central will join the MEAC. 2. Liberty will leave the Big South. 3. NGU will probably get a SAC invite. 4. Coastal wants into the SoCo and might get in when Appy leaves. 5. Davidson, Campbell and Jax aren't interested in Scholarship football. They will stay in the Pioneer League even though travel is excessive and expensive. UNC-P will remain an Independent. Scheduling quality D2 opponents will become difficult the more successful the program is. Schools look for teams they can tune up with, not lose to in their non conference season. Thus success in the won-loss column is a double edged sword in this case. Win too often and no D2 team will want to play you. Your SOS will be weak because you will have to find opponents in higher or lower divisions. UNC-P fits into the geographic footprint of the SAC but the SAC would never agree to accept UNC-P because it is a public institution. As a public institution it's tuition and yearly cost is considerably less than private schools. That gives it a huge advantage over private schools which must depend on tuition and donations to keep the school in operation. Down the road…
1. NC Central will join the MEAC.
2. Liberty will leave the Big South.
3. NGU will probably get a SAC invite.
4. Coastal wants into the SoCo and might get in when Appy leaves.
5. Davidson, Campbell and Jax aren’t interested in Scholarship football. They will stay in the Pioneer League even though travel is excessive and expensive.

UNC-P will remain an Independent. Scheduling quality D2 opponents will become difficult the more successful the program is. Schools look for teams they can tune up with, not lose to in their non conference season. Thus success in the won-loss column is a double edged sword in this case. Win too often and no D2 team will want to play you. Your SOS will be weak because you will have to find opponents in higher or lower divisions.

UNC-P fits into the geographic footprint of the SAC but the SAC would never agree to accept UNC-P because it is a public institution. As a public institution it’s tuition and yearly cost is considerably less than private schools. That gives it a huge advantage over private schools which must depend on tuition and donations to keep the school in operation.

]]>