UNC cautious about new conference (NCAA Division I AA)

[Jafus (Thinker)]

How will this effect the MEAC, Pioner League, and Big South Conference in long term for the NCAA Division I AA automatic bid for the Play-offs? What are the plans of these in terms of conference alignment for their other NCAA Division I sports and how will that effect the MEAC, Patriot League, Big Sky Conference, and SWAC?

UNC cautious about new conference
AD Fallis optimistic after conferring with five other schools

By Michael BeDan, Rocky Mountain News
June 18, 2003

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/college/article/0,1299,DRMN_40_2047228,00.html

Jim Fallis walked away from a weekend brainstorming session with five other athletic directors with a sense of cautious optimism.

The University of Northern Colorado AD said the idea of forming a new Division I-AA football conference has a real chance of materializing someday, but several chips will have to fall into place.

"I thought it went well," Fallis said Tuesday of the meeting in Orlando, Fla. "I feel good about it, and I think we'll get someplace, but we need to proceed and make sure everyone is comfortable with how we proceed."

The first order of business was to try to figure out if five or six of the schools mentioned as candidates for the new conference can schedule games against one another, possibly as early as 2004.

Gathered with Fallis were officials from North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Southern Utah, St. Mary's College (Calif.) and California-Davis.

Fallis said including all the schools in the mix immediately would be impossible.

"South Dakota State and North Dakota State will be in their first year (of converting to Division I status)," he said, "which means it wouldn't count as a Division I game. That's the same situation we'll be in this year.

"Whether something happens in 2005 with seven teams, I think there's as good a chance as not. But if something happens in 2004, it would definitely be with some amount less than seven."

A second meeting has not been scheduled.

"I think the first thing we're going to do is look at the scheduling alliances, which I think everybody feels strongly about - developing some kind of alliance to accommodate scheduling among the five or six or seven schools," he said.

"I'd like to see in a month where we are."

UNC and Cal-Davis started the Division I reclassification clock this year.

"I think it certainly is a step in the right direction for us, and hopefully others will agree," Fallis said.

And as UNC embarks on its first year in the "transition phase," Fallis said he is pleased with the school's progress.

"We're on time on the timetable and on task," he said. "We're looking pretty good in all aspects."

 

[Jafus (Thinker)]

Six schools working on scheduling for possible new FB conference

Associated Press
16 Jun 2003

FARGO, N.D. - Six athletic directors have decided to work on scheduling for a possible new football conference. Officials from North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Southern Utah, Northern Colorado, St. Mary's College (Calif.) and California Davis agreed Sunday to try to schedule each other for competition starting next year.

 

[Jafus (Thinker)]

Poly eyes possible move to new football conference

By Chris Giovannetti
The Tribune

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/sanluisobispo/sports/6132225.htm

Cal Poly is one of seven universities examining the creation of a new football conference.

The proposed conference would not only solidify the Mustangs' scheduling but possibly lead to an automatic playoff berth.

Besides Cal Poly, the proposed conference could include UC Davis, St. Mary's, Southern Utah, Northern Colorado, North Dakota State and South Dakota State.

"We're not sure of the time line but it's still an intriguing possibility," Mustangs head football coach Rich Ellerson said.

Since the four-team America West Conference disbanded in 1995, the Cal Poly football team has played as a Division I-AA independent.

The proposed conference, which doesn't currently have a name, would feature three teams -- St. Mary's, UC Davis and Southern Utah -- that Cal Poly regularly plays. Plus, Northern Colorado is scheduled for a future season.

"We'd love to have a conference, it's something we dream about," Ellerson said. "We'd have a part of our schedule automatically filled.

"We already have a rivalry with Davis and this adds fuel to the fire."

If the conference can secure at least six teams, the annual conference winner would receive an automatic I-AA playoff bid. That playoff berth, Ellerson believes, would be available in the league's third season.

To get the conference proposal rolling, Northern Colorado athletic director Jim Fallis believes three objectives must be reached in the near future:

? A scheduling alliance. Prospective schools should set aside an eight-week period toward the end of the season for games against the six other schools. "It's something for a long-term basis," Fallis said.

? A centralized office with a representative. Fallis isn't calling for a commissioner, merely someone to channel between the schools and the NCAA.

? Communication. "Conference calls, meetings," Fallis said. "We need to figure out where we go every step of the way."

While those items could speed up the process, Ellerson is wary of rushing into a new conference.

"We need to look at what the landscape in college football will be two years from now," he said.

Ellerson pointed out that several current Division I-A football programs, including San Jose State, could fall back to Division I-AA if they don't meet certain standards in the coming years. Averaging 15,000 fans per game against five Division I-A schools are among new rules that have been implemented.

"A lot of questions need to be asked and answered and some of those we can't get to right now," Ellerson said.

Ellerson wasn't sure what Cal Poly's next move would be and Cal Poly athletic director John McCutcheon, out of the office until next week, could not be reached for comment.

 

[Jafus (Thinker)]

T-Birds discuss formation of conference for its football team

By D.Gary Webb

http://www.thespectrum.com/news/stories/20030624/localsports/534502.html

CEDAR CITY -- For one of the few times during the school year, there are no games on the campus of Southern Utah University, but that doesn't mean there aren't things happening.

Athletics Director Tom Douple has spent a few hours in the air and a few nights in hotel rooms, attending meetings with other athletic directors.

While Douple spent time with a lot of people about a lot of issues surrounding collegiate athletics, the one that still intrigues Southern Utah fans the most is that of having a conference for its football team. We reported some information on the groundwork a couple of weeks ago, noting that many schools with Division 1-AA teams are exploring creation of a new conference.

"I thought we had some very good meetings," said Douple. "There are a lot of issues to deal with; scheduling, administration of the conference and the timing were all issues we tried to deal with."

The next major step is the league's set of bylaws. Different athletics directors have suggested using the Gateway Conference as a pattern, and that might be a course the new league would take.

Timing will soon begin to be an issue, as schools attempt to sign contracts for schedules for the coming years. Typically, schools try to solidify a major part of their year a season or two ahead, with a couple of openings that are filled prior to the playing season.

Southern Utah currently has four of the schools under contract for the 2004 season, so adding North Dakota State and South Dakota State would be the primary teams Douple would have to make room for.

There's still no name for the league, which would include St. Mary's, Northern Colorado, UC Davis and San Luis Obispo in addition to the two Dakota schools and SUU.

Douple also met with athletics directors from across the nation to discuss some difficult issues in their meetings, most particularly in the areas of academic reforms, graduation rates and student retention rates.

Compared with most colleges and universities, Southern Utah stacks up well, but Douple said sitting on past laurels isn't the way the school likes to approach things. He'd rather identify areas where improvement can be made and make sure SUU stays at the forefront.

Douple indicated that, as with most issues, the current talks were preliminary in nature, but said increasing the number of core elements required for eligibility and a reward system for schools which adhere to the rules rather than just penalties for those don't were among the issues discussed.

"I think we fare well (on the issues discussed), but there is always room for improvement," said Douple. "We need to look at the data and see how we would fare with the (new) system.

"We're very proud of our student athletes and our programs, but we always strive for improvement," he said.