Two leagues to begin FCS competition; others losing multiple members

[BamaDude]

A few weeks ago the Western Athletic Conference & the Atlantic Sun conference announced new incoming members and the addition of FCS football as a conference-sponsored sport. The shift of programs, along with previously announced defections could put some leagues in danger of not having enough teams going forward to meet the auto-bid requirement for the FCS playoffs.

The WAC announced its plans first, with Abilene Christian, Sam Houston St., Stephen F. Austin & Lamar set to depart the Southland Conference and join the newly-revised WAC in 2022. They will be joined by Southern Utah, which will be leaving the Big Sky Conference at the same time. All five teams will be full-time members & not just football associates. They will be joining current WAC members Dixie St. and Tarleton St. in the seven-member FB league. The latter two teams are still in transition from Division II and won't be playoff eligible until 2024.

The NCAA requires a 6-team minimum for a conference to be eligible for an auto-bid to the FCS playoffs, but can still select at-large teams from the league. The WAC could strengthen its playoff chances by adding one or both of UC-Davis or Cal Poly as associate members for football; but I believe both teams are comfortable with their current FB membership in the Big Sky.

Chicago St. has announced that it will be leaving the WAC after the 2021-22 season. Once the new teams come aboard, the WAC will split into two divisions for certain sports, with the four new SLC teams joining Tarleton St. & UT-Rio Grande Valley for an all-Texas Eastern Division, and the Western Division made up of California Baptist, Grand Canyon, Seattle, Dixie St., Southern Utah, New Mexico St. and Utah Valley. Cal-Baptist is another team in transition from D-2, but becomes post-season eligible in the 2022-23 season. The Lancers do not sponsor football. New Mexico St. is an FBS independent.

More recently, the ASUN announced the addition of Jacksonville St. & Eastern Kentucky from the Ohio Valley Conference, and Central Arkansas from the Southland, as new members starting in 2021-22. Kennesaw St. & North Alabama are current ASUN members who play football in the Big South Conference, but will be switching over the the ASUN. The new members may elect to play the 2021 FB season in their current leagues while playing the rest of their sports in the ASUN. The conference is still looking for a sixth member for football play. North Alabama is still in transition from D-2, but will be playoff eligible for all sports in 2022-23.

Other members of the Atlantic Sun include Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville (FL) University, Lipscomb, North Florida, Stetson (plays FB in the non-scholarship Pioneer League), Liberty, and Bellarmine, which is upgrading from D-2 and won't be eligible for the post-season until 2024-25. Liberty is an FBS independent.

 

[trojanfan12]

Mercy plorst.

 

[BamaDude]

With 5 members outward bound over the next two seasons (Central Arkansas to the ASUN in 2021; Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston St., Stephen F. Austin to the WAC in 2022), the Southland Conference drops down to exactly the 6 members required for an auto-bid to the FCS playoffs. Those schools are: Houston Baptist, Incarnate Word, McNeese St., Nicholls St., Northwestern St. (LA), and Southeast Louisiana. A pair of non-football schools round out the conference in the University of New Orleans and Texas A&M-Corpus Christie. The league will probably begin looking for a couple of replacement members, just in case there are further defections.

New Orleans had initially said they would start an FCS football program when they were accepted for membership a few years ago, but have failed to follow through. Perhaps they might re-visit that idea now that there are fewer teams in the conference to compete with.

 

[BamaDude]

The Ohio Valley Conference which was raided by the ASUN (for Eastern Kentucky & Jacksonville ST.), will be down to 7 members for football: Eastern Illinois, Murray St., Tennessee St., Tennessee Tech, UT-Martin, Austin Peay & Southeast Missouri St. The league will still have 10 all-sports members, as Morehead St. plays football in the non-scholarship Pioneer League, and neither Belmont nor Southern Illinois-Edwardsville field football teams.

It is rumored that the ASUN may be targeting another OVC team for future membership. That's likely to be a team closer to Central Arkansas, like UT-Martin, Austin Peay or SEMO, that could serve as a travel partner for olympic sports.

The other league affected by the ASUN's announcement is their current football partner, the Big South. Prior to the Atlantic Sun's announcement that it would begin sponsoring FCS football next season, the league had an agreement with the Big South to house the league's FB members under their aegis. With North Alabama & Kennesaw St. due to switch their programs to the ASUN, that leaves Campbell, Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb and Hampton as the BSC's current full-time members with football teams, along with Monmouth as a football associate. However, Robert Morris was schedule to become a FB affiliate member in the Fall of 2021, and their membership will be expedited to allow them to play in the upcoming 2021 Spring FB season. North Carolina A&T will be joining for all sports in the Fall, so total football membership will be at 7 schools.

Non-football members of the Big South include High Point, Longwood, Radford, UNC-Ashville, USC-Upstate and Winthrop. In addition, Presbyterian will remain a member for all sports, except football. They pulled out of the FB side a couple of years ago when they decided to go non-scholarship in that sport. They begin play in the Pioneer League this Spring.

 

[BamaDude]

Thanks to raids by the Big South & the SWAC, the MEAC will be down to 6 FB members when the 2021 Fall season starts. Hampton left in 2018 to join the Big South (they were a FB independent the first year, then joined for all sports the next year. Savannah St. departed around the same time & dropped to Division II & joined the SIAC. This Fall will see North Carolina A&T leave for the Big South, while Bethune-Cookman & Florida A&M depart for the SWAC.

That will leave Norfolk St., North Carolina Central, Delaware, Howard, Morgan St. & South Carolina St. as the only football-playing members of the Mideastern Athletic Conference. Non-football members include Coppin St. & Maryland-Eastern Shore. The league has said it will explore all possibilities - including D-2 move-ups and none-HBCU colleges - for future memberships.

Robert Morris comes to the Big South for football after leaving the Northeast Conference. They are joining the Horizon League for other sports. The NEC still has Central Connecticut St. Sacred Heart, St. Francis (PA), Bryant, Wagner, Long Island, and Merrimack as FB/all-sports members & Duquesne as a football affiliate. The Dukes play their other sports in the Atlantic-10.

Merrimack just joined the league in 2019 as a move-up from Division II & won't be eligible for postseason play until the 2022-23 season. Long Island joined for FB the same season after merging their Division III C.W Post campus with their D-1 Brooklyn campus. Non-football members of the league include St. Francis (NY), Fairleigh Dickinson, and Mount St. Mary's.

 

[BamaDude]

It seems the Southland Conference was displeased with the Texas Four leaving after next season, so they are kicking them out at the end of the current 2020-21 school year. Looks like they will be joining the WAC a year early.

 

[wazzu31]

So what is exactly is Western with the WAC anymore. And why would any team leave the Big Sky for it when the Big Sky is a better overall conference.

 

[BamaDude]

So what is exactly is Western with the WAC anymore. And why would any team leave the Big Sky for it when the Big Sky is a better overall conference.

Actually, it is a little more Western than before MO-KC left, and will be even more Western once Chicago St. departs. It still has teams from Washington (Seattle) and California (Cal-Baptist), Arizona (Grand Canyon), and New Mexico (the Aggies); and will soon have 3 members from Utah (Utah Valley, Dixie St. & Southern Utah). Having Texas teams is nothing new, but having nearly half the conference made up of Lone Star schools is something else again.

The Big Sky is currently a better conference for football, but that's about it. Basketball is probably about even, but the WAC can offer baseball - which is no longer being played in the Sky. The WAC also has bigger markets, which may enhance their conference profile.

 

[wazzu31]

Actually, it is a little more Western than before MO-KC left, and will be even more Western once Chicago St. departs. It still has teams from Washington (Seattle) and California (Cal-Baptist), Arizona (Grand Canyon), and New Mexico (the Aggies); and will soon have 3 members from Utah (Utah Valley, Dixie St. & Southern Utah). Having Texas teams is nothing new, but having nearly half the conference made up of Lone Star schools is something else again.

The Big Sky is currently a better conference for football, but that's about it. Basketball is probably about even, but the WAC can offer baseball - which is no longer being played in the Sky. The WAC also has bigger markets, which may enhance their conference profile.

Umm, the Big Sky is better overall in basketball as well. Baseball well sure, unless it is a Cali of Zona school, schools west of Texas don’t play basketball. And get out of here with the big market. There isn’t a single new WAC or Big Sky school that brings a market.

 

[BamaDude]

It is now official that the 3 newest members of the A-Sun (Central Arkansas, Jacksonville St. & Eastern Kentucky) will join with the WAC's "Texas Four" this Fall in a one-year hook-up for auto-bid to the FCS playoffs. Dixie St. & Tarleton St. will be part of the scheduling alliance but won't be eligible for the conference championship.

The other two future A-Sun football teams - Kennesaw St. & North Alabama - will presumably retain their slots in the Big South Conference for the 2021 Fall season.

 

[Justin Tyme]

It seems the Southland Conference was displeased with the Texas Four leaving after next season, so they are kicking them out at the end of the current 2020-21 school year. Looks like they will be joining the WAC a year early.

Good. Hope the SLC teams quit scheduling the mfers. Don't like losing the Lamar game, but effe them too. Going to be tough for N'western St and SF Austin to quit playing each other. That's a long running series for them.

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opps...wrong site This one doesn't have a McNeese thingie to put at the bottom with the LSU logo. And I ain't swapping out the redhead for a McNeese avi.