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USD eyes alliance to ease scheduling
Basketball a concern in D-I transition
By MICK GARRY
mgarry@argusleader.com
Published: July 7, 2007
The horror of NCAA Division I independent scheduling for men's and women's basketball will likely be softened for the University of South Dakota in its first year outside the North Central Conference.
USD is expected be part of an announcement of an alliance between a group of NCAA Division I independent schools for the 2008-09 season - USD's first without the NCC.
"The athletic directors have been talking," said Scott Street, athletic director at independent Texas-Pan American. "We'll probably have something official by the end of summer."
While scheduling issues will exist for all sports at USD during the transitional process to Division I, nowhere are these issues more pressing than with men's and women's basketball, where sustaining a level of fan interest will be at a premium.
"We have a good chance now at putting together a schedule that would not be as disruptive as it could have been," said USD athletic director Joel Nielsen, who noted there were as many as 13 schools interested in some level of cooperation.
"We're focusing on the last two weeks of January, all of February, and the first half of March. We want to have some scheduling stability in those months, where fans traditionally expect to see us play home games."
So what other schools are talking? Well, none of them are awaiting an invitation from the Big Ten. The group will have independent status in common with the Coyotes, however, and as such will be inclined to give something to get something.
Three independents with full Division I status - Savannah State and Chicago State, in addition to Texas-Pan-American - are said to be interested. In addition, there are other schools already in transition, like New Jersey Tech, Cal-State-Bakersfield and Longwood (Va.).
There is also another group making the leap at the same time as USD and North Dakota. Those schools include Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Seattle University and Houston Baptist, among others.
Because USD will have non-counter status in 2008-09 - Division I teams that face USD will not be credited with playing a D-I opponent - getting postseason-eligible schools involved in agreements will not be easy.
"It's very difficult to get anyone interested in playing you your non-counter year," USD coach Dave Boots said. "Even the second year, it's almost impossible to get a schedule that will attract fans. . . . (read more)
Go State!
USD eyes alliance to ease scheduling
Basketball a concern in D-I transition
By MICK GARRY
mgarry@argusleader.com
Published: July 7, 2007
The horror of NCAA Division I independent scheduling for men's and women's basketball will likely be softened for the University of South Dakota in its first year outside the North Central Conference.
USD is expected be part of an announcement of an alliance between a group of NCAA Division I independent schools for the 2008-09 season - USD's first without the NCC.
"The athletic directors have been talking," said Scott Street, athletic director at independent Texas-Pan American. "We'll probably have something official by the end of summer."
While scheduling issues will exist for all sports at USD during the transitional process to Division I, nowhere are these issues more pressing than with men's and women's basketball, where sustaining a level of fan interest will be at a premium.
"We have a good chance now at putting together a schedule that would not be as disruptive as it could have been," said USD athletic director Joel Nielsen, who noted there were as many as 13 schools interested in some level of cooperation.
"We're focusing on the last two weeks of January, all of February, and the first half of March. We want to have some scheduling stability in those months, where fans traditionally expect to see us play home games."
So what other schools are talking? Well, none of them are awaiting an invitation from the Big Ten. The group will have independent status in common with the Coyotes, however, and as such will be inclined to give something to get something.
Three independents with full Division I status - Savannah State and Chicago State, in addition to Texas-Pan-American - are said to be interested. In addition, there are other schools already in transition, like New Jersey Tech, Cal-State-Bakersfield and Longwood (Va.).
There is also another group making the leap at the same time as USD and North Dakota. Those schools include Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Seattle University and Houston Baptist, among others.
Because USD will have non-counter status in 2008-09 - Division I teams that face USD will not be credited with playing a D-I opponent - getting postseason-eligible schools involved in agreements will not be easy.
"It's very difficult to get anyone interested in playing you your non-counter year," USD coach Dave Boots said. "Even the second year, it's almost impossible to get a schedule that will attract fans. . . . (read more)
Go State!
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