Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

[Go_Herd]

Read It Here:

http://www.championshipsubdivisionne...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

"EDINBURG - The University of Texas-Pan American is looking west in its decade-long search for conference affiliation.

Great West Commissioner Ed Grom said Tuesday he’s been working with UTPA and several other independent schools for six to eight weeks on adding an all-sports division under the umbrella of his conference, which is a five-team Football Championship Subdivision-only league.

Such a move would include several of UTPA’s existing sports and would not entail adding football or guarantee the NCAA will recognize the new Great West conference - even if it meets all the longterm requirements.

“Right now it’s just an idea of turning the Great West into an all-sports league, and (we) just threw out some ideas to people and different schools out there to see if there’s any interest in doing that,” Grom said. “That’s as far as it’s gotten at this point.”

The University of Texas System Board of Regents is holding a special meeting Friday in Austin, and one item on the agenda indicates UTPA is seeking “authorization to accept an invitation from the Great West Conference” and to finalize terms for membership therein"..... Read More

What do you think since it could concern a team to the south of you guys and a team to the north of us. I can't even imagine the travel costs for that conference. The other schools that expressed interest (or know about it) are NJIT, Utah Valley State, Longwood, Chicago State.

Flame On

[Jacks#1Fan]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

Go Ed!!! I'd love it if this happened and the UxDs joined in. That would mean a couple of things (good IMHO):

1) While I believe eventually we may wind up playing USD in football, it would mean we wouldn't be in a basketball league with them and wouldn't have to play in the Dakota Dump and listen to (and see) the filth of their fans.

2) The coverage of their teams when they play away would disappear from the 10 p.m. news and the morning coverage of the Argus.

Finally, given the travel costs (which are going to zoom for all of us, but would impact them even more) they might have to travel by stagecoach to the away games!

[Jacked_Up]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

Good. I'm tired of the UXDs following and thinking they are entitled to piggy-back on the XDSUs. This might give them something to do on their own for a few years.

[Coyote_Fan]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

I guess those that predicted that USD would have to wait several years for a conference aren't looking so accurate at the moment. Full schollies for football in 2 years and a possible conference in their first year of transition. Sounds like USD isn't doing so bad so far. I realise that the conference might not be permanent but any conference is something to hang the hat on. I do agree that the travel will be torture but the Texas schools can be paired up together. Now if Central or Western Washington would move up Seattle could have a travel partner as well. I guess that won't be happening for a few more years though, that is with the moratorium in place.

[Rabbit74]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

Coyote Fan, I wish USD success in the proposed Greeat West all sports conference and hope it comes to fruition. I also congratulate you that you have learned so much about DI reality in recent months. If I remember correctly, you did not consider the Great West to even be a conference when we won the football championship last fall. It is good that you recognize the error of your understanding and now see that it is a conference even without any opportunity for automatice bids for the post season for about a dozen years.

[NorCalJack]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

You are living large now Coyote Fan. I can't believe you came onto our site with a straight face and tried to sell that conference alliance as a real conference. If you stay in that conference and it stays afloat for 13 years, then and only then do you have any chance of getting an auto-bid to the big dance. Personally I don't think the NCAA would even allow that conference an auto-bid in any sport.

So the conference is going to include UTPA, Seattle, Chicago St. and Houston Baptist. At first I thought it was joke, but I think they are serious. The UxD's would have been at the top of that conference even if they had stayed D-2. Nice traveling within that conference. Is all you need is to add Savannah St. and New Jersey Tech.

Boy talk about taking one for the team. Reminds me of when the doctor asks you to bend over and he says "Relax, this won't hurt" as you hear the snap of his rubber glove. I almost feel sorry for you, but then I laughed out loud instead.

[Coyote_Fan]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

Coyote Fan, I wish USD success in the proposed Greeat West all sports conference and hope it comes to fruition. I also congratulate you that you have learned so much about DI reality in recent months. If I remember correctly, you did not consider the Great West to even be a conference when we won the football championship last fall. It is good that you recognize the error of your understanding and now see that it is a conference even without any opportunity for automatice bids for the post season for about a dozen years.

I consider a conference to be 6 or more schools so I have not changed my stance at all. The proposed conference is a 6 team conference and the Great West Football conference last year was a 5 team conference.

[Coyote_Fan]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

You are living large now Coyote Fan. I can't believe you came onto our site with a straight face and tried to sell that conference alliance as a real conference. If you stay in that conference and it stays afloat for 13 years, then and only then do you have any chance of getting an auto-bid to the big dance. Personally I don't think the NCAA would even allow that conference an auto-bid in any sport.

So the conference is going to include UTPA, Seattle, Chicago St. and Houston Baptist. At first I thought it was joke, but I think they are serious. The UxD's would have been at the top of that conference even if they had stayed D-2. Nice traveling within that conference. Is all you need is to add Savannah St. and New Jersey Tech.

Boy talk about taking one for the team. Reminds me of when the doctor asks you to bend over and he says "Relax, this won't hurt" as you hear the snap of his rubber glove. I almost feel sorry for you, but then I laughed out loud instead.

And that is coming from a fan that routes for a team that is going into the Summit league which is a league that is basically in survival mode.

[JimmyJack]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

And that is coming from a fan that routes for a team that is going into the Summit league which is a league that is basically in survival mode.

What, exactly does that mean? Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't USD administrators been crowing about their hopes (now dashed, apparently) to join the Summit League?

[jackrabit1]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

And that is coming from a fan that routes for a team that is going into the Summit league which is a league that is basically in survival mode.

And has automatic qualifiers for the NCAA tournament! See ya in 13 years!

[filbert]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

The phrase "putting lipstick on a pig" comes to mind here.

Here's the reality of Division I:

There are the BCS schools. The power conferences, basically. Life can suck if you're towards the bottom of the weaker conferences here--WAC, Sun Belt, C-USA.

There are the FCS schools. Life is relatively good for those in the Southland, Southern, Big Sky, and MVFC (nee Gateway). Otherwise, it sucks to a greater or lesser extent. SDSU is somewhere between this group and the next more sucky group due to membership in the MVFC.

There are the non-football schools. If you're a non-football school and not in the Big East, Colonial, or Missouri Valley (or named "Gonzaga") life tends to suck more than not for you. The non-football Summit schools are generally enjoying the suck of this particular level of D-I.

Then there are the independent, playoff-eligible schools. Life sucks pretty darn hard for these guys. Just ask UTPA.

Then there are schools that are either in transition to D-I and/or are in conferences which are not eligible for NCAA championships. Speaking from experience, life is a really harsh vacuum suck party for this group. If you're USD, you are here, now.

Putting together scheduling alliances (call them conferences or not) is a method of making this suckage slightly less sucky. That's why an all-sports GWC is all good for USD. But make no mistake, it is one small step above maximum suckage in the big-time of D-I.

[91jack]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

I consider a conference to be 6 or more schools so I have not changed my stance at all. The proposed conference is a 6 team conference and the Great West Football conference last year was a 5 team conference.

I like how it has to have 6 teams. That number just works out perfect in this situation.
The Great West Conference is about the same as SDSU's scheduling alliance. I guess it wasn't called a conference but it's what almost has to be done. That's the easiest way to fill your schedules. The other schools won't want to go on the road very often during their conference seasons. This is good for USD. I guess if you need an auto bid or not could be argued as to if it's a true conference. If these schools don't find other conferences years down the road, this conference/alliance could get a auto bid. It can't hurt to call it a conference just in case.

[BTownJack]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

The phrase "putting lipstick on a pig" comes to mind here.

Here's the reality of Division I:

There are the BCS schools. The power conferences, basically. Life can suck if you're towards the bottom of the weaker conferences here--WAC, Sun Belt, C-USA.

There are the FCS schools. Life is relatively good for those in the Southland, Southern, Big Sky, and MVFC (nee Gateway). Otherwise, it sucks to a greater or lesser extent. SDSU is somewhere between this group and the next more sucky group due to membership in the MVFC.

There are the non-football schools. If you're a non-football school and not in the Big East, Colonial, or Missouri Valley (or named "Gonzaga") life tends to suck more than not for you. The non-football Summit schools are generally enjoying the suck of this particular level of D-I.

Then there are the independent, playoff-eligible schools. Life sucks pretty darn hard for these guys. Just ask UTPA.

Then there are schools that are either in transition to D-I and/or are in conferences which are not eligible for NCAA championships. Speaking from experience, life is a really harsh vacuum suck party for this group. If you're USD, you are here, now.

Putting together scheduling alliances (call them conferences or not) is a method of making this suckage slightly less sucky. That's why an all-sports GWC is all good for USD. But make no mistake, it is one small step above maximum suckage in the big-time of D-I.

Great post Filbert! Rep points well deserved!

[22jack]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

Here is the article in the Argus about this topic.

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...0203/806240334

[Jacks#1Fan]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

First of all: I hope Coyote Fan stays on the Smack board...where I seldom go and don't have to read his drivel. While I think USD will have a hard row to hoe overall, they are the beneficiaries of a lot of ground work done by SDSU and NDSU.

Where does he think the Great West Conference came from anyway. And the UXDs trying to form a "conference" out of the Independents, is just an extension of the work done by the xDSUs in forming an independent affiliation with season ending tournaments, etc.

Tag along all you want Coyote Fan...but don't act like you invented the wheel. And move the provocative comments to the Smack section.

By the way, you might be interested in the following comment in an Argus Leader blog by a USD fan, who isn't afraid to call a spade a spade:

"If our (USD and UND) presidents and athletic directors had any foresight, our transition periods would be complete, and we would be looking forward to competing with big-time programs. Now, we are trudging (tin cup in hand) toward an alliance with the likes of Texas Pan-Am and the New Jersey Institute of Technology!? In the non-academia world, heads would roll for such poor leadership."

Amen!