http://thecabin.net/interact/opinion/columns/2011-05-27/more-uca%E2%80%99s-apr-and-some-southland-conference-adjustmentsMcCollum's Column: More on UCA’s APR and some Southland Conference adjustments
Posted: May 27, 2011 - 9:12pm
Quote:
...SLC MEETINGS
Teague just returned from the annual Southland Conference spring meeting in Galveston, Texas, where some major changes were discussed or enacted, particularly for basketball, as the league goes from 12 to 10 members with the exit of Texas-San Antonio and Texas State.
Beginning in 2012-13, SLC basketball teams will play an 18-game round-robin schedule with no divisions. The Wednesday-Saturday schedule for conference games, which has forced teams on the perimeter of the conference to have some almost week-long road trips, will be eliminated in favor of returning to a Thursday-Saturday schedule.
Teams will play the Wednesday-Saturday swing this season just as they have the last two years. By mutual agreement because of travel, UCA will play home-and-home doubleheaders with McNeese State and Lamar this season.
Beginning with the 2012-13 season, men’s and women’s teams will play conference doubleheaders at the same site instead of one team being at home and one on the road on each playing date.
“Teams will now play at the same venue on the same day, and I think that will be better for both fans and staff,” Teague said.
Each conference team will have a travel partner (Texas-Arlington in the case of UCA). In that setup, an opponent, McNeese State, for example, will play at UT Arlington on a Thursday then travel to Conway on Saturday. Lamar, for example, would play at UCA on Thursday night then travel to UTA for Saturday games.
“A couple of athletic directors and administrators, and I have advocated for a couple of years about changing that Wednesday-Saturday schedule because of possible missed class time and travel costs if a team has to stay on the road for several days,” Teague said. “When the economy did what it did, it got the attention of more athletic officials. And a 10-team league with no divisions makes it easier to do that.”
And the league’s presidents have asked the athletic directors and coaches to develop a plan in which all teams in all sports would be eligible for the postseason tournament, another process made easier by a 10-team league.
“If you have 10 teams, why take eight and eliminate just two?” Teague said. “This would give every student-athlete a chance to play in postseason competition and that’s what you want for them.”
Because the logistics are still be formulated, the SLC only renewed its contract with Katy, Texas, for its postseason basketball tournament for one year. Some play-in games on campus sites might be needed if that’s a 10-team tournament. The basketball tournament site will be re-opened for bidding next year.
UCA will continue to host postseason events. It was awarded the 2012 SLC volleyball tournament, which would mark the second straight year UCA is set to host that event (at the Farris Center rather than the Prince Center because of capacity) And UCA was awarded that tournament without having the highest bid.
“I think that shows the respect people have for our volleyball program and the atmosphere we have with our facility,” Teague said.
UCA will host the SLC women’s golf tournament, probably at The Greens at Nutters Chapel, in 2013. Now that the SLC softball tournament can be played on an artificial surface, UCA is trying to host a future tournament. It is also seeking to host the conference baseball tournament, possibly in 2013.
Teague thinks the 10-team conference will remain intact for awhile. There have been rumors that Sam Houston State and Lamar had been interested in moving to Division I, but Teague said presidents and administrators at either school are not in favor of that, particularly after Western Athletic Conference officials have indicated it is not interested in annexing either.
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