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WAC
Dec 10, 2020 14:27:12 GMT -6
Post by OscarWildeCat, Admin on Dec 10, 2020 14:27:12 GMT -6
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WAC
Dec 11, 2020 5:24:04 GMT -6
jCat likes this
Post by OscarWildeCat, Admin on Dec 11, 2020 5:24:04 GMT -6
From Matt Brown, who has been on top of the WAC expansion efforts from the get go....
The WAC is back, baby
Extra Points readers knew all the way back in October that Southern Utah was expected to leave the Big Sky and head to the WAC. We knew back in November that multiple Texas programs in the Southland Conference were looking at jumping to the WAC as well. Those four programs are expected to be Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, Lamar and Abilene Christian.
I understand many Southland fans were skeptical about this, which I understand. I’m a writer based in Chicago, after all. But now my report has been confirmed by my buddies over at Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, by KSL out in Utah, and by Kendall Rodgers, the D1Baseball sage who also broke the ASUN news.
Barring something wild at the 11th hour, this is happening. Is anything else happening?
My friend Sean Walker over at KSL reported that WAC schools are also pushing Weber State to leave the Big Sky for the WAC. That’d be an enormous get, as Weber is not only one of the best FCS football programs in the West, but a strong men’s basketball program as well. Industry folks I’ve talked to over the last 48 hours told me they do not expect Weber to actually make the jump now, and that the Big Sky is not expecting any other current Big Sky institution to jump to the WAC at this time.
One potential reason for a last-minute push to add Weber? The current projected WAC football lineup, of the Texas four, plus Southern Utah, Dixie State and Tarleton State, gives the WAC seven FCS football programs, but Dixie State and Tarleton are still going through the D-1 reclassification process. They’re not eligible for postseason play, and won’t be until 2024. Per NCAA bylaws, the WAC would need six postseason eligible programs to get an FCS football auto-bid to the playoffs.
Based on what I’ve been told so far, I think it is possible that the WAC may be able to secure an NCAA waiver, depending on when the new WAC additions will go into effect. If the conference can agree to terms with another school that is an institutional and competitive fit, they’ll do it, but I do not believe, as of now, that another addition is required for everybody else to make the jump.
So why would the Southland schools do this?
I’ll be interested to hear exactly how the schools explain their reasoning for leaving the Southland, but the rationale I’ve heard from multiple sources is that there’s a tension between the four departing Texas schools, and the remaining Texas institutions (Incarnate Word and Houston Baptist) and the Louisiana programs, mostly over financial investment in athletics. The ability to pay for additional facility improvements, staffing upgrades and other athletic department investments does not appear to be uniform across the Southland right now, and that gulf may only get wider over the next few years.
I’ve mentioned this before, but I think it’s worth repeating. Don’t be surprised if you see schools at the FCS or lower D-1 level decide to move to a “worse” league, at least on paper, over the next few years. Nobody is getting a fat cable TV check at this level, and if a school thinks they’ll have better institutional alignment, or can save money, by switching leagues, they may do it, even if some perceive their new home as less athletically prestigious.
What does this mean for the WAC?
With these changes, the WAC should be solidified as an even more solid Mid-Major men's basketball league and could become a stronger and more stable baseball league.
Depending on how their schedule fills out and how some of the younger programs develop, it could become a decent FCS football league, but I’m skeptical it’ll be a strong one right out of the box. I’m kinda bullish about the potential of Dixie State and Tarleton, but there are always growing pains during a D-1 transition.
My biggest takeaway is that these moves give the WAC flexibility. I do not think this is the final chapter in the WAC’s membership story. There’s a non-trivial chance, for example, that Chicago State is not a WAC member in a few years. New Mexico State could potentially earn an invite to an FBS conference. Other league schools, particularly the non-football ones, could theoretically be poached away. That happens.
But now, the WAC has a new identity. There’s a more clearly defined institutional profile. And should they need to backfill any new membership openings, they’ll have more options than they did say, six years ago. There are other D-II programs in the WAC footprint that could potentially jump to D-I later this decade, and perhaps other Big Sky schools could later change their mind in the future. You never know!
(This is from his free version OT the extra points Newsletter.).
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Post by OscarWildeCat, Admin on Dec 11, 2020 7:55:23 GMT -6
College Ad is reporting that the WAC has sent formal invites to ACU and the other Southland schools. The board for SFA has called a meeting for 17 December, presumably to vote on whether to join the WAC. Does anyone know if our board has called a previously unscheduled meeting?
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WAC
Dec 11, 2020 9:44:50 GMT -6
Post by PurpleHaze on Dec 11, 2020 9:44:50 GMT -6
Was told to expect an announcement soon. That's all I've got right now. Patience.
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WAC
Dec 11, 2020 11:52:37 GMT -6
Post by PurpleHaze on Dec 11, 2020 11:52:37 GMT -6
College Ad is reporting that the WAC has sent formal invites to ACU and the other Southland schools. The board for SFA has called a meeting for 17 December, presumably to vote on whether to join the WAC. Does anyone know if our board has called a previously unscheduled meeting? This made me wonder about the timing of any official announcements. Would the WAC make the first announcement about the schools that are officially joining, then each school make their official announcement? Or, does each school make their announcement whenever they want to do so? Since it seems, and I could be completely off here, that the four Texas schools would ALL leave together, one school's announcement might signal that the other three are on board, thus stealing their thunder. Just curious.
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WAC
Dec 11, 2020 12:03:50 GMT -6
Post by OscarWildeCat, Admin on Dec 11, 2020 12:03:50 GMT -6
College Ad is reporting that the WAC has sent formal invites to ACU and the other Southland schools. The board for SFA has called a meeting for 17 December, presumably to vote on whether to join the WAC. Does anyone know if our board has called a previously unscheduled meeting? This made me wonder about the timing of any official announcements. Would the WAC make the first announcement about the schools that are officially joining, then each school make their official announcement? Or, does each school make their announcement whenever they want to do so? Since it seems, and I could be completely off here, that the four Texas schools would ALL leave together, one school's announcement might signal that the other three are on board, thus stealing their thunder. Just curious. Good question. I don’t know how an announcement will be handled.
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Post by Cap'n Cattitude on Dec 11, 2020 15:29:17 GMT -6
Anyone want to wager that football recruiting is really WAC-ky this year.
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WAC
Dec 14, 2020 16:03:18 GMT -6
Post by Outsider on Dec 14, 2020 16:03:18 GMT -6
I would be surprised to see the WAC go the FBS route, but stranger things have happened. NMSU seems to want that so they could move football back to the WAC. “In terms of football, I understand there’s talk of an FCS league,” Moccia said. “But it would be really exciting if those schools came in with an eye toward reclassifying to FBS in a few years. We’ll just have to see how things play out.” www.abqjournal.com/1525741/wac-reportedly-eyes-a-return-to-football.html
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WAC
Dec 17, 2020 12:08:59 GMT -6
Post by OscarWildeCat, Admin on Dec 17, 2020 12:08:59 GMT -6
SFA’s Board has approved a move to the WAC starting in July 2022.
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WAC
Dec 17, 2020 12:46:18 GMT -6
Post by acutrackfan on Dec 17, 2020 12:46:18 GMT -6
That July, 2022 date gives ACU and the Southland 4 a little more wiggle room in scheduling -- will leave the 2021-22 conference SLC schedules in place. I was also just a tiny bit concerned that if the WAC announcement came down that the SLC might take the conference track meet away from us this coming spring, but I don't think that will happen now.
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WAC
Dec 17, 2020 12:52:11 GMT -6
Post by Cap'n Cattitude on Dec 17, 2020 12:52:11 GMT -6
The SHSU fan forum, KatFans, indicates that ACU moving to the WAC has already been approved by our board. Of course they met yesterday so that makes sense.
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Post by EastTexasWildcat on Dec 17, 2020 14:25:58 GMT -6
What year will Tarleton St and Dixie St be in their transition probation to D1 during the 2022 season? Year 3 or 4?
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Post by OscarWildeCat, Admin on Dec 17, 2020 14:38:02 GMT -6
What year will Tarleton St and Dixie St be in their transition probation to D1 during the 2022 season? Year 3 or 4? They are d1 eligible in 2024-25.
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Post by Cap'n Cattitude on Dec 17, 2020 16:07:23 GMT -6
The 2022 date leaves only 2 seasons without an automatic bid in the event there is a delay in adding the next FB school.
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WAC
Dec 18, 2020 10:30:00 GMT -6
bucfan likes this
Post by OscarWildeCat, Admin on Dec 18, 2020 10:30:00 GMT -6
I ran across this in another site and found it interesting.
I hope we know what we are doing here. The Basketball budgets for our future conference mates will have us scrambling to keep up. I’m reasonably sure the budget includes expenditures for scholarships which are much higher at private than public institutions. The other privates spend at least a million more than us.
School..... / Nickname..... / Enrollment..... / Arena size..... / Location..... / Basketball Budget
Utah Valley University.................. Wolverines..... 41,728 (public)..... UCCU Center..... 8,500..... Orem, UT..... $1,866,466
UT Rio Grande Valley University..... Vaqueros..... 29,619 (public)..... UTRGV Fieldhouse*..... 2,500... Edinburg, TX..... $1,652,983
Grand Canyon University............... Antelopes..... 25,000 (on campus, for-profit)..... GCU Arena..... 7,000..... Phoenix, AZ..... $5,331,006
San Houston State University......... Bearkats... 21,213 (public)..... Bernard Johnson Coliseum..... 6,110..... Huntsville, TX..... $1,194,442
Lamar University........................... Cardinals..... 15,460 (public)..... Montagne Center..... 10,080..... Beaumont, TX..... $1,384,151
New Mexico State University........... Aggies..... 14,294 (main campus, public)..... Pan American Center..... 12,482..... Las Cruces, NM..... $3,077,862
Tarleton State University................ Texans..... 13,226 (public)..... Wisdom Gymnasium..... 2,400..... Stephenville, TX..... $864,953
Stephen F. Austin State University... Lumberjacks..... 13,144 (public)..... William R. Coliseum..... 7,203..... Nacogdoches, TX..... $2,015,066
California Baptist University............ Lancers..... 11,317 (private)..... CBU Arena..... 5,050..... Riverside, CA..... $2,503,353
Southern Utah University................ Thunderbirds..... 11,224 (public)..... America First Event Center..... 5,300..... Cedar City, UT..... $1,301,285
Dixie State University..................... Trailblazers..... 11,193 (public)..... Burns Arena..... 4,779..... St. George, UT..... $837,366
Seattle University.......................... Redhawks..... 7,199 (private)..... Redhawk Center**..... 999..... Seattle, WA..... $2,681,442
Abilene Christian University............ Wildcats..... 5,315 (private)..... Moody Coliseum..... 4,600..... Abilene, TX..... $1,162,753
Chicago State University................ Cougars..... 2,964 (public)..... Jones Convocation Center..... 7,000..... Chicago, IL..... $801,305
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